tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60153321498905137962024-03-19T01:46:45.737-07:00Scarlet Letters, dealing with vascular rosacea, face flushing, burning and the restRosacea blog Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-1064101967767236562022-02-28T15:30:00.001-08:002024-03-13T19:06:38.556-07:00How to treat rosacea redness, face flushing and burning with medication <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8cCEzHwEHWkkjaWz0kILDDJ9cIrC3deMOZJIsif5iz7uRKj6BVq8z2k80t_PVKL7AXRIf6iN-LRsoji7Q1qc03UwlgoadQm34HXPg2sjIPlqhBcV7Ve4Rfe2T3t1FPrw4fToqhoxG7duPNyWXGdprJP5y0YhIpuLfcx3Akvd7WIizTO9T7CBtGytXjA=s1665" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1665" data-original-width="1644" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8cCEzHwEHWkkjaWz0kILDDJ9cIrC3deMOZJIsif5iz7uRKj6BVq8z2k80t_PVKL7AXRIf6iN-LRsoji7Q1qc03UwlgoadQm34HXPg2sjIPlqhBcV7Ve4Rfe2T3t1FPrw4fToqhoxG7duPNyWXGdprJP5y0YhIpuLfcx3Akvd7WIizTO9T7CBtGytXjA=w162-h164" width="162" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: 21px;">I keep this page with treatment options for rosacea skin as my main blog page, but you can read my ongoing most recent <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/11/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-vii.html" target="_blank">blog posts about day to day life here</a>, with the latest personal updates. Or check out my Bulletin Board post <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/09/rosacea-bulletin-board-latest-news-on.html" target="_blank">here</a>, with general rosacea news</span></span></span></b></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 33px;"><b>How to treat rosacea redness, face flushing and burning with medication - (The science behind my current medication)</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCNumNVLx-VgJpqie9aLrXGtKhspQc4Y48gkKM25r4SmLDloU7ArXzGLTCp7AQkpc0G8OaRKJZjg8YWyIF0kN86hI7yOYMv40a5dRU-mQKst6LvKWDaITv0TVBCeofBGCuDFpAupmcpZC/s1600/4_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="572" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCNumNVLx-VgJpqie9aLrXGtKhspQc4Y48gkKM25r4SmLDloU7ArXzGLTCp7AQkpc0G8OaRKJZjg8YWyIF0kN86hI7yOYMv40a5dRU-mQKst6LvKWDaITv0TVBCeofBGCuDFpAupmcpZC/w401-h572/4_o.jpg" width="401" /></a></b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">08 September, 2012</span></b></span><br />
Rosacea flushing is in theory easy to recognize, as it gives the cheeks, and sometimes also the chin and the nose and ears, a distinctive pink or red look. Flushing often gives you a feeling of warmth in the face, sometimes even of heat. It widens the blood vessels in the skin and triggers the nerves in your skin to create a sensation of tingling, warmth or even heat. Flushing of the face can be triggered by many things, but among the most common triggers are heat (a warm room for instance), sunlight, stress, crying, alcohol and very spicy foods. Flushing can be a sign of rosacea, but not everyone with rosacea experiences facial flushing. Flushing resembles blushing, but is typically longer lasting and can trigger more 'deep' redness.<br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-size: 26px;">Facial blushing is an involuntary reddening of the face due </span></b></span></i><span style="font-size: 26px;"><b><i>to embarrassment, stress or a lot of other triggers</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There are different rosacea subtypes and it is more common for people with rosacea to experience skin outbreaks, pimples and papulas, than transient flushing and deep redness of the skin. Unfortunately, it can be really difficult to treat facial flushing, especially when it is severe. One non-invasive way to reduce flushing, burning and redness of the face, is to take certain anti-flushing medication. I myself have tried virtually everything out there to reduce flushing over the past 13+ years and found that the medication <span style="color: #783f04;"><span><b>clonidine</b>,</span><span> </span><span><b>propranolol</b>, <b>mirtazapine</b></span></span> and an <span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>antihistamine</span></b> </span>(Xyzal for me) work best for me to control the worst of my rosacea. Other treatment options are IPL and laser treatments, but they are costly and don't always give the desired results. Although they can help tremendously, it takes a good practitioner/doctor, a good machine, the right treatment settings and filters, the right amount of joules for your skin and a bit of luck too. The more reactive and inflamed your skin is, the more difficult it can become to treat it, so nipping things in the bud early on is wise with rosacea flushing.</span><br /><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span lang="EN-US" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-size: 26px;">I wrote a lot more about the phenomonenon </span></b></span></i></span><i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-size: 26px;">of facial flushing and what different conditions </span></b></span></i><i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-size: 26px;">can cause it <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2014/05/other-conditions-that-cause-facial_29.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></b></span></i></span></div>
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Flushing is one of those things you most likely recognize fairly quickly when you have it, but patients have described it as the feeling of having a bad sunburn. As if the skin of your face feels too hot, is glowing, burning, with heat crawling up. Some describe it as the face radiating heat. Your face can also swelling and sting. Others say that it feels like an iron is being pressed to your face, or that the heat is coming from the inside out. Others feel like they are running a fever and are badly overheating. What is typical for rosacea flushing, is that a flush can make someone's skin go red in a matter of seconds or minutes, when triggered. But that the flush can also subside again (relatively) soon after. It is almost like a heavy blushing attack. But the difference between rosacea and blushing is that unlke with an innocent blush, over time the flush from rosacea can start to take quite a long time to subside. And these flushes tend to become more frequent. And with time, the skin also tends to become more sensitive. Sometimes to a point where even touching your face can become uncomfortable. Sometimes the face even becomes a bit puffy. Although not one patient is exactly like another. A dermatologist should be able to properly diagnose you ideally, because there are more skin conditions that can look like rosacea, including dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis, acne or the skin redness might be linked to an allergy, or a systematic illness like lupus even. It's up to a dermatologist to make the right diagnosis. </div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Focusing on prescription medication;</b></span> I <b><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/disastrous-ipl-in-2005.html" target="_blank">wrote before</a></b> about my failed IPL treatments and how they made matters a lot worse for me unfortunately. So I focused on prescription medication in the aftermath of all that, to try and tackle the debilitating flushing which was at some point pretty much 24/7. I was living and sleeping behind a ventilator. I was seen by a very good dermatologist in London, Professor Tony Chu, who prescribed me several medications that together should help make me less flushed and reduce the intensity and duration of the flushing. These medications are:</span><br /><ul><li><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Clonidine</b></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Propranolol</b></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Mirtazapine</b></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Xyzal</b></span></li></ul>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Below I will explain a lot more about these meds, and also about other medication that can help rosacea subtype 1.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirggcpDeEA5MSdGijajQDaZ_Hxatb2wD4XXNFuqIc7owunEGvk-65NTKkw7V-Cnff6KZXCdVwvzrK_gzzFcGLlFkg7pbCZJc4EKTXyV359IaBpeSn8emzFHrdSG_pm_FoQ_fZ4S7L-yyx5/s1600/nbv.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirggcpDeEA5MSdGijajQDaZ_Hxatb2wD4XXNFuqIc7owunEGvk-65NTKkw7V-Cnff6KZXCdVwvzrK_gzzFcGLlFkg7pbCZJc4EKTXyV359IaBpeSn8emzFHrdSG_pm_FoQ_fZ4S7L-yyx5/s400/nbv.jpg" width="257" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;"><b>Facial flushing in general;</b></span> it is thought that facial blushing is caused by an
overactive sympathetic nervous system. This system helps to regulate glands and
organs without us making a conscious effort; it automatically controls how much our blood vessels in the face are dilated. In some people, these nerves are unusually sensitive to emotional
stress. For a person to <b><span style="color: #444444;">flush</span></b> is to become visibly</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> red in the face </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span lang="EN-US">and often other areas of the skin, from various physiological </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">conditions. As mentioned earlier, flushing is different from blushing</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> because blushing is milder, generally restricted to the face, cheeks or ears, and
generally assumed to reflect embarrassment. </span>Given the right stimulus (such as embarrassment, alcohol, stress etc etc), the
nerves signal to the blood vessels to open wide, flooding the skin with blood and
causing the characteristic reddening of the face. In some people, the ears,
possible neck and chest also blush. As part of the “fight or flight” response when we
are exposed to environmental or emotional stimuli, the body responds via the
sympathetic nervous system. This causes the widening of small blood vessels
(capillaries) just beneath the surface of the skin, hence blushing occurs. Severe facial blushing or flushing is also said to be more common in people who have social phobia,
an anxiety disorder in which the person experiences extreme and persistent anxiety
in social and performance situations, and fears being judged, criticized,
ridiculed or humiliated. But also in people with rosacea, who tend to have <i>more </i>blood vessels in the face, which also function <i>less</i> good. Symptoms include<br />
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<li><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Intense blushing</b></span>, often for no apparent reason</li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Sensation of heat in the face</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Redness of the skin</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Sensation of burning of the skin</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Avoidance of possible triggers</b></span>, including meeting new people or talking in front of groups, for fear of going red.</li></ul>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Erythematotelangiectatic rosacea</b></span> is a subtype of rosacea, characterized by permanent redness (erythema)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> with a tendency to flush and blush</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> easily. It is also called subtype 1. Patients with this subtype can also have small visible blood vessels near the
surface of the skin (telangiectasias), as well as</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> burning or itching sensations of the skin.Triggers that cause
episodes of flushing and blushing play a part in the development of rosacea.
Exposure to temperature extremes can cause the face to become flushed, as well
as strenuous exercise, heat from sunlight, severe sunburn</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">, stress, anxiety, cold wind, and moving to a warm or hot environment
from a cold one, such as in heated shops and offices during the winter. There are
also some foods and drinks that can trigger flushing, including alcohol</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">, food and beverages containing caffeine</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (especially, hot tea and coffee), foods high in histamine and spicy food</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">. Foods high in histamine (for instance red wine,
aged cheeses, yogurt, beer, cured pork products such as bacon, etc.) can even
cause persistent facial flushing in those individuals without rosacea, due to a
separate condition, histamine intolerance. Certain medications and topical
irritants can quickly trigger rosacea. Some acne and wrinkle treatments that
have been reported to cause rosacea include microdermabrasion and chemical peels as well as isotretinoin (roaccutane!)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">, benzoyl peroxide, and tretinoin</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">. </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Steroid induced rosacea</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> is the term given to rosacea caused
by the use of topical or nasal steroids. Even a short term use of steroids has been documented to have the ability to cause rosacea in some cases, as happened to me. Although this can very per person and also; some rosacea patients may have to take oral steroids (prednisone) now and then, for other auto-immune diseases they may suffer from, and have no choice. <br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY7kXM09_nVRet95HMm7RkXpH7KkKGFjoWkmPwvTICFGkr5tAb2Y0w8gHQQkR7uTgStZ_IT71Kv6FnS2c_CAA-PVKc5GgnUzuohzGD7Xx78Qb3Q2SlAsNERQgraJIpJ3LCrHyG_HZFVEOG/s1600/uy.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="539" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY7kXM09_nVRet95HMm7RkXpH7KkKGFjoWkmPwvTICFGkr5tAb2Y0w8gHQQkR7uTgStZ_IT71Kv6FnS2c_CAA-PVKc5GgnUzuohzGD7Xx78Qb3Q2SlAsNERQgraJIpJ3LCrHyG_HZFVEOG/w346-h539/uy.jpg" width="346" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>In most people, facial blushing takes a minute or</b></span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b> two to disappear. However, flushing is a different beast</b></span> and can last much longer, and it usually is more severe than blushing too: more redness, deeper blood vessel dilation, hotter flushes and longer lasting. In some people severe and frequent blushing can become a real hindrance and affect both personal and professional life. Although the vascular –flushing- aspect is one of the most difficult aspects of rosacea to treat, there are several medications available that have proven to help treat facial flushing for a number of patients.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span font-size:="" large="" style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><b>The medication I mention below has helped with my facial flushing, and there are more patient reviews to be found online and on forums, but they are not specfically designed for rosacea. </b></i></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQTtacpZk-H0XTkMxPVH8rL_E5wSdeZ380ikrLlXmXh4X37ajsOXqxzuRip9LEC7pN-0Vj_mbwGRh8L2hJhwy40IQZcH-S2KDIeTcfIDsDltdZihfrVkhhRwfFIyUYYDijKtBztXK_4k/s1600/1014129_10152288268267176_1071687892_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately, there isn't really much at all that is specifically designed to control the facial flushing and redness of rosacea. Only recently <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2013/12/mirvaso-inventory-of-patient-responses.html" target="_blank"><b>Mirvaso</b></a> cream was officially put on the market for this, but it has a rather bad track record and gives a lot of users severe rebound issues after use. And is therefore not a solution for most users. But existing and long prescribed <i>other</i> drugs have been found to be effective to some degree when it comes to curbing the flushing. I detail this further down this blog post. Some doctors are willing to try these other routes. Your doctor can help you determine if you are a candidate for anti-flushing medication. I am sharing here what options there are and what has helped me personally. Best read up and then s</span></span>ee your doctor for suitability of medical treatments. When it comes to standard rosacea treatment options, nothing is usually very effective to reduce the flushing aspect. </span>Oral and topical antibiotics such as doxycycline and minocycline are only rarely doing much. They are more helpful for subtype 2 rosacea with skin outbreaks and more fixed redness of the skin (erythema) due to inflammation. But for those with subtype 1, antibiotics can have a less successful profile. Nevertheless, it's all trial and error with rosacea and very hard to predict for each and every patient what will help them and what not. Each case can respond to different triggers and treatments. I used doxycycline for 3 months myself, 200 mg a day, and it unfortunately made my flushing, burning and redness worse and also gave me chronic IBS at the end of the course. Over time I tried different types of tetracyclines, and also had to take other types of antibiotics/penicillins after wisdom tooth removal and bladder/lung infections for instance, but none of them improved my skin.</div></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>"The erythematotelangiectatic subtype of rosacea is the most difficult to treat. There is little evidence that topical or oral antibiotics have any role in the treatment of erythema, telangiectasias and flushing-blushing reactions". </b></i></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">(<b><a href="https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/554690_6" target="_blank">Source</a></b>) Another more standard treatment option is the drug isotretinoin/roaccutane, which may improve erythema resulting from inflammation, but this effect can be transient. There is a very fine line with </span>isotretinoin/roaccutane, as too high a dose can in fact trigger face flushing and even rosacea. A very low dose is therefore advised. Drugs that antagonize flushing may be helpful in some patients, including drugs that lower blood pressure. More about this in a bit. Vascular laser and light therapy are considered effective treatment options for flushing and skin redness, but can be hit and miss and are expensive.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>It's harder to treat subtype 1</b></span></span><br />The papulopustular type of rosacea (subtype 2) is the easiest subtype to treat. Most of these patients respond readily to topical medications such as metronidazole, benzoyl peroxide, clindamycin, erythromycin, and azelaic acid. In several studies, topical medications were shown to be equally effective to oral medications although therapy may take longer to be effective. S<span style="color: black;">ubtype 2 sufferers also have a <b><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/09/ivermectin-or-soolantra-as-rosacea.html" target="_blank">great new treatment</a></b> in their arsenal; Soolantra / Ivermectin. But this also works usually less well for subtype 1 rosacea. Some people get their flushing under control with </span><span style="color: black;">anti flushing medication</span><span style="color: black;"> (I take clonidine, propranolol, mirtazapine and an antihistamine for it). Others use <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/11/the-antimalarials-mepacrine-and.html" target="_blank"><b>anti malaria medication</b></a> to cut down on the flushing and redness. For this you of course need a good and understanding doctor. In <b><a href="How to improve your chances of finding a cooperative doctor, and what to ask your doctor when you think you have rosacea" target="_blank">this blog post</a></b> I advice you how to best find a willing and understanding doctor. Then there is red light therapy that helps some, or <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2013/03/ipl-or-laser-for-rosacea-flushing-and.html" target="_blank"><b>laser or IPL</b></a> that helps others, or botox incidentally. There are <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2017/02/natural-anti-inflammatory-treatment_17.html" target="_blank"><b>natural herbs and supplements</b></a> that can help some. <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/10/food.html" target="_blank"><b>Diet</b></a> can play a big role in controlling flares. Antibiotics would work as anti-inflammatories but have a better track record for subtype 2. They can still help, but not for everybody with subtype 1 unfortunately. Also all of the other treatment options might, or might not help your particular case. It helps to have a doctor who is willing to go different routes and let you try out what helps your rosacea. </span><span style="color: black;">And of course, regular medication can come with side effects, which nobody really wants. I found that most of the side effects of my medication wore off with time, but not all of them. I tried the natural route for a good 6 years first, but in the end it wasn't enough to cut down my severe flushing. I tried tons of stuff, ranging from a homeopath, natural herbs for years, acupuncture, Chinese traditional medicine to red light therapy and diets. Nevertheless, if your symptoms are mild to moderate, you can find a lot of relief from natural <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/02/natural-anti-inflammatory-treatment_17.html" target="_blank"><b>anti inflammatory herbs</b></a>, like boswellia, flax seed oil/</span><span style="color: black;">fish oil, <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2016/07/niacinamide-as-rosacea-treatment.html" target="_blank"><b>niacinamide</b></a>, grape seed extract. Some find vitamin C supplements to be helpful. Or quercetin, oregano oil, curcumin, lysine. Some people find that their skin improves with added </span><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/12/the-role-of-vitamin-d-in-rosaceafacial.html" target="_blank"><b>vitamine D</b></a></span><span style="color: black;">. Keeping an eye on your </span><span style="color: black;">dietary triggers</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;">can also do wonders. Cutting out some of the sugar you might eat, and processed foods to start with. Some foods are high in histamine, which can be a trigger (old cheeses for instance, tomatoes, bananas, yogurt, nuts). Some people see improvement of their skin by cutting out dairy (replacing it for instance with rice milk, almond milk). Some do better without grains. A lot you can still try, and always drink plenty of water and avoid too much alcohol (which is an inflammatory and will dilate your blood vessels).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">The cause of rosacea is mostly unknown still</b><br />
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unless you have a demodex infection perhaps (mostly only subtype 2) or an allergic reaction to something, or if it stems from severe vitamin deficiency perhaps, to name a few actual, pinpointable causes. Claims about 'prescription medication doesn't treat the cause of the problem' are flawed in my opinion, because as for now, nothing treats the root of the problem, given we don't even know yet what that root problem is in most cases. Although there are new discoveries done all the time, small steps, identifying specific mechanisms in rosacea patients skin and bodies that contribute to these inflammatory symptoms. (Check<b><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/09/rosacea-bulletin-board-latest-news-on.html" target="_blank"> this blog post</a></b> of mine about new scientific insights). If you have no straight forward food allergies, then diet doesn't treat the cause of the problem either; it merely cuts down on histamine release or inflammation in the body if you do it right and are sensitive to food triggers. Natural approaches (herbal supplements, natural rinses or oils/fluids) often do not treat the cause of the problem either, especially given that some cases of rosacea are thought to be auto immune related (and there is no root treatment for them yet). They usually mainly alleviate the symptoms. And common prescription medication can certainly help. It's trial and error, for one rosacea sufferer the natural approach helps but if you tried changing your diet, tried natural supplements, tried different skin care and creams, and still feel it doesn't put a dent in your rosacea redness, flushing and burning, then do not write prescription medication off simply because it's not 'fashionable' right now, and natural is the norm. I don't agree with the whole 'prescription meds are unnatural' and therefore inferior or something vibe, although I do believe that you should start trying to treat your rosacea with the least invasive means first. The biggest guns would be laser and IPL treatments. They can help a lot, but can also make matters worse for an unlucky minority. And unlike medication, you cannot reset things by simply stopping to take the pills.As such, prescription medication can be a relatively safe 'trial and error' step in your quest for a treatment of your flushing and burning.<br /></div><span style="color: black;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWbmpjHLaolrCpgKOsjVhxfAFO31jNjl-pgE7hyphenhyphenMXWXnSNl0mNm_6h-pIyzR2HofLbFTNJ8ul4cqtYUJvteDWm6WEM3tO1pEFRRgD29RQYGUSbYMF5_0nuKyPWmc2VDb2-um0Xe9Q9WmVH/s1600/11218885_10153645175423996_1996257875257184597_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="740" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWbmpjHLaolrCpgKOsjVhxfAFO31jNjl-pgE7hyphenhyphenMXWXnSNl0mNm_6h-pIyzR2HofLbFTNJ8ul4cqtYUJvteDWm6WEM3tO1pEFRRgD29RQYGUSbYMF5_0nuKyPWmc2VDb2-um0Xe9Q9WmVH/w509-h327/11218885_10153645175423996_1996257875257184597_n.jpg" width="509" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 28px;">Look for a dermatologist or GP that is willing to let you try anti-flushing medication</span></b> <br /><b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/07/how-to-improve-your-chances-of-finding.html" target="_blank">here</a></b> is a blog post I wrote about increasing your chances of finding a cooperative doctor. It can also help to bring along some research papers to convince a doctor. If you scroll down in this post, you will find a list of research papers for each of the anti-flushing medications discussed. Pubmed articles are particularly handy to print out and to show, as medical specialists like to see in black and white that an off-label medication is actually effective for the symptom at hand. They are often worried to go off the beaten paths and away from the textbook treatment protocols. But it is important to explain that up until now, there is no official flushing treatment. Nothing. The only thing specifically designed to control flushing, <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/12/mirvaso-inventory-of-patient-responses.html" target="_blank"><b>Mirvaso gel</b></a>, is a liability of a product that has made many users flush worse or made their rosacea worse even in some cases. Medication in pill form is much less risky and can actually really help controlling flushing. A doctor needs to compare it to hot flushes, but then ongoing ones that are not hormone driven often, but that nevertheless widen the blood vessels of the face regularly. Causing pain, heat and worsening of the dilation of the weakened vascular network in the face over time. Just like with untreated varicose veins. We need to control the flushing, in order to be able to control rosacea subtype 1 or neurogenic rosacea. I am always worried about invasive treatments like laser or IPL for our subtype of rosacea, to be honest... <i><b>If</b></i> they stir up your rosacea and make it worse (which was the case for me), you are often stuck with the outcome! Whereas with medication, almost anything but steroids or Mirvaso is a temporary thing when you try things responsibly under the guidance of your doctor. You try them and if you feel things are getting worse, you stop taking them and no long term harm is normally done. So it surprises me always that dermatologists are more easily swayed to offer laser or IPL treatments than they want to prescribe prescription medication to try out. After all, flushing is a very difficult symptom to treat and if left untreated, it can worsen rosacea over the years and make the problem harder and harder to tackle. As professor Chu told me: the key here is to stop the flushing cycle, and let the skin and blood vessels normalize again. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
<br /><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /><br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 50px;"><b>A general overview of prescription medication that is used for the lessening of facial flushing, redness and burning: </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Clonidine</span></b> </span>- used to treat uncontrollable facial blushing by changing the body’s response to naturally occurring chemicals, such as noradrenaline, that control the dilation and constriction of blood vessels. Therefore it reduces the widening of smaller blood vessels in the extremities (face, hands and feet) that play a main role in blushing/flushing. A few paragraphs further down I will explain more about this medication. Please scroll down for a lot more specific information about clonidine as a flushing treatment.<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><i>"Clonidine has also been reported to improve flushing and blushing reactions at doses of 0.05mg b.i.d. At this dose there was no reduction in blood pressure, but lower baseline malar temperature may have been reduced by peripheral vasoconstriction. Although some patients do remarkably well on clonidine, responders are not clinically identifiable before treatment. Since control of this feature of rosacea is so difficult, a trial course may be indicated" </i></b></span><b style="color: #444444; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">(<a href="http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/554690_5" target="_blank">Source</a>)</span></b></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Beta blockers </span></b>- including propranolol and carvedilol, can manage the symptoms of anxiety such as blushing and heart palpitations. They constrict the small blood vessels in the face and lower adrenaline-related flushing. Propranolol is used most often but sometimes carvedilol or atenolol also helps. They don't all work exactly the same, and some have more side-effects than other types of beta-blockers. A few paragraphs below this one I will explain more about this medication, so please scroll down for a lot more specific information about propranolol and beta blockers as a flushing treatment.<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><i>"Craige and Cohen recently revisited the use of propranolol in the control of flushing and blushing. At starting doses of 10mg t.i.d., none of their nine patients improved. Six of nine patients improved when doses were escalated to 20-30 mg t.i.d. At such high doses, three patients withdrew from the study due to side-effects. This study shows that the perceived ineffectiveness of beta blockers may be due to inadequate dosing." </i></b></span><b style="color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-align: left;">(</span><a href="http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/554690_5" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Source</a><span style="text-align: left;">) </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Antihistamines </b></span>can help control flushing that is stimulated by histamine release in the body. This can for instance be the case with (food) allergies, consuming foods that are high in histamine or other histamine producing triggers. Histamine released by the body is a blood vessel dilator. I take 20 mg Xyzal a day. Normal dose is 5 to 10 mg a day but I have been diagnosed with a histamine problem in hospital. A few paragraphs below this one I will explain more about this medication. Please scroll down for a lot more specific information about antihistamines as a flushing treatment.<br />
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<b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Certain antidepressants</span></b> - I take <span style="color: #990000;"><b>mirtazapine (remeron)</b></span> - but there are more who have a good record for helping with facial flushing, Zoloft, Effexor and Celexa (citalopram) as well for instance. SSRI antidepressants in general can help, probably in a similar way in which they can help to combat menopausal hot flashes, by calming the central nervous system. SSRI and SNRI antidepressants also influence the amount of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain, which in return regulates the internal thermostat; in other words, they can help cool your body temperature down slightly which can cool down flushing and hot flashes. Celexa (Citalopram) can help cut down on the facial flushing and also anxiety, which can flare up rosacea in itself. <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?19504-Citalopram-and-rosacea" target="_blank"><b>Here</b></a> is more info on citalopram for rosacea. There are also antidepressants that can cut down nerve pain, like amitriptyline. Ultimately, I heard from my derms that mirtazapine is one of the best antidepressants for cutting down facial flushing (as well as anxiety, depression ánd insomnia). Mirtazapine also has antihistamine effects, which works well for me. It is also a great help for me when it comes to general anxiety and depression. Despite only taking a relatively low dose (22,5 mg at night), mirtazapine continues to work for me in that respect. However, as good as all antidepressants come with side effects. It depends on the type of antidepressant, but most can cause some form of weight gain and increased appetite. SSRIs have their own specific additional side-effects, sometimes involving libido and sleep quality. I will be honest of course and add that I gained weight on mirtazapine (been taking it since 2006) and I gained it despite not eating more, despite eating less than normal at some point, and despite exercise. As my doctor said about it; "You can't diet against it really". Although things have stabilized since. My dad takes the same med and hasn't gained anything, but he does a lot of marathon running :) Nevertheless, it can be worth trying an antidepressant when you suffer from debilitating facial flushing and burning, and especially when you also experience anxiety or depression. And not all antidepressants are not linked to such weight gain issues. Wellbutrin for instance, or Cymbalta tend to not cause weight gain, although they are also not ás effective for flushing. A few paragraphs further down I will explain more about Remeron/Mirtazapine, so please scroll down for a lot more specific information about mirtazapine and other antidepressants as a flushing treatment.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<b style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Also for the rosacea-related nerve pain: certain antidepressants like Cymbalta (duloxetine) and Paroxetine may help </span></b>In <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/how-do-you-treat-neurogenic-rosacea.html" target="_blank"><b>2008</b></a> Duloxetine became the second drug approved by the FDA to treat fibromyalgia. Used to treat treat depression and generalized anxiety disorder, Duloxetine is also used to treat diabetic neuropathy. Duloxetine is class of medications called selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs</span> </b></span>including ibuprofen and diclofenac can help control inflammation and thereby limit facial redness and flushing. However, sometimes these type of meds (NSAID's) actually worsen flushing, so be vary careful with them until you are certain they don't flare your skin... <br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Antimalarials</span></b> (<b><span style="color: #444444;">Plaquenil and mepacrine</span></b> mostly) can help control inflammation and thereby limit facial redness and flushing. Mainly for rosacea subtype 1 with flushing and redness of the skin: plaquenil/mepacrine and NSAID. Read more on them <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/11/the-antimalarials-mepacrine-and.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Natural anti inflammatory herbs</b></span> I wrote separate blog entries on them <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2017/02/natural-anti-inflammatory-treatment_17.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczKJjAJ3LSu4WoqDpoKGRjx8wDUa4JtQhp_Z86tvO1YTo6NYzt4EW4UvxDSOdXhOgOZG0MrNRKJtrdVyZJaw_25PH7uEuzMW3B4tnxvBeQZTnOg5mc97p-xJ_UFoNqCzOXHDu4kcFmJoF/s1600/12105828_10153645175418996_4054096906910303171_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="326" height="449" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczKJjAJ3LSu4WoqDpoKGRjx8wDUa4JtQhp_Z86tvO1YTo6NYzt4EW4UvxDSOdXhOgOZG0MrNRKJtrdVyZJaw_25PH7uEuzMW3B4tnxvBeQZTnOg5mc97p-xJ_UFoNqCzOXHDu4kcFmJoF/w298-h449/12105828_10153645175418996_4054096906910303171_n.jpg" width="298" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Laser and IPL</span></b> - I have bad experiences with both devices, as they made my rosacea worse every time I tried it. Nevertheless these are serious treatment options and help many people with facial redness, flushing and burning. Read more on this <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2013/03/ipl-or-laser-for-rosacea-flushing-and.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/08/disastrous-ipl-in-2005.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. <br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Very low dose Roaccutane </b></span>Active ingredient is named Isotretinoin, which is a vitamin A derivative. This drug has a high side-effect profile and usually works better for subtype 2, with p&ps. For subtype 1, with facial redness, flushing and burning, it has anecdotal success stories, but only at VERY low doses. Otherwise you risk actually making your flushing worse, or developing flushing from scratch (accutane-induced rosacea). So at higher doses it has the ability to <i>cause</i> accutane-induced flushing and redness. It's really a fairly tricky trial and error with this one. But make sure to start with a wildly low dose and let it build up in your system, which can take a fair bit of time. Rosacea patients have reported reduced inflammation on a dose as low as 2,5 to 5 mg a day or every <i>other</i> day (and some people even take 2,5/5 mg a WEEK and see improvement in their rosacea). It is very important to not take too high a dose when you have rosacea already. But aside from having quite a few potential and serious side-effects (especially at higher doses), Accutane can help reduce skin redness and even flushing for some patients. Accutane also dries out the skin a bit however, so be cautious about the dosing. My dermatologists advised me against using it for my rosacea, as I already am a bad flusher and he did not believe my rosacea would benefit.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Diazepam/clonazepam</span></b> - and similar calming anti anxiety medication has helped people with facial flushing as well. I have used it in the past but diazepam made me so dizzy and tired that it wasn't really for me. A friend of mine takes one tablet before having an alcoholic drink, very occasionally, and it helps blunt the flushing he normally gets from alcohol. Both medications and all 'pams' are typically addictive. Best not to use structurally and long term due to dependency and addictiveness.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">HRT</span></b> - for women with rosacea who are going through menopause or who have instable hormone issues, using Hormone Replacement Therapy can help as well with facial flushing, redness and burning. You can read much more about this on the Rosacea Forum, for instance <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?9232-Treatment-for-Menopausal-Hot-Flashes-and-Flushing&highlight=Hormone+replacement+therapy" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?9327-HRT-for-women&highlight=Hormone+replacement+therapy" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?14012-HRT-experiences&highlight=Hormone+replacement+therapy" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. My doctor has said that by the time I go through menopause, we can experiment with estrogen therapy to see if that helps dampen my flushing.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Lyrica / Pregabalin, Neurontin / Gabapentin, Sumatriptan, amitriptyline </b></span>- for the nerve pain and burning sensations that often come with rosacea, there are specific medications that can dampen it and that form specific <b><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/10/how-to-treat-nerve-pain-and-skin.html" target="_blank">neuropathic (rosacea)</a></b> pain control. Most opioids can help with severe skin burning and pain as well. There are also antidepressants that are specifically prescribed for nerve pain control, namely amitriptyline. Gabapentin is an anti-seizure medication that's moderately effective in reducing hot flashes. Lyrica and Neurontin make the nerves that control blood flow to the face less active, which should in theory make you flush and burn less. (However, they can also cause vasodilatation as a side effect in some; when I tried both they made me more red in fact). The migraine and headache pain killer sumatriptan has also been used with some success (100mg up to 3 times a day). All these medications tend to come with side effects however, so make sure to always have them prescribed and discussed with the doctor. I used Neurontin myself for a little while and wrote about it <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/08/summary-from-last-years-iii.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. You can also read more on Neurontin for rosacea <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?31044-Gabapentin&highlight=gabapentin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?15909-Gabapentin&highlight=gabapentin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32386-Neurontin-causing-flusing&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?10488-Neurontin-gabapentine-(was-LInk-to-article-about-neuropath&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. Gabapentin is developed to treat nerve related pain. Lyrica (pregabalin) is also used to treat nerve related pain, and is approved for use in diabetic neuropathic pain, and for the use in fibromyalgia. You can also read more on Lyrica for rosacea <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38651-Anyone-any-experiences-with-Lyrica&highlight=Lyrica+Pregabalin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18507-Pregabalin-Significantly-Reduces-Hot-Flashes&highlight=Lyrica+Pregabalin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?25859-End-of-the-road-Cymbalta-Lyrica&highlight=Lyrica+Pregabalin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38651-Anyone-any-experiences-with-Lyrica&highlight=Lyrica+Pregabalin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?9085-Another-view-on-Lyrica&highlight=Lyrica+Pregabalin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8846-Mermaid-s-Lyrica-Journal&highlight=Lyrica+Pregabalin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?33266-Lyrica-for-burning&highlight=Lyrica+Pregabalin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. INFO about gabapentin for flushing:<br />
<b><a href="https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/772249" target="_blank">https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/772249</a></b><br />
<b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1627210/" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1627210/</a></b><br />
<b><a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/gabapentin/for-hot-flashes.html" target="_blank">https://www.drugs.com/comments/gabapentin/for-hot-flashes.html</a></b><br />
<br /><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">Maxalt or Treximet and narcotics like oxycodone </span><span>- There is a</span>lso some anecdotally mentioning of nerve pain and skin redness relief from migraine medication like Maxalt or Treximet and narcotics like oxycodone. But I would act cautious with such heavy medication. </div><div><div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFfi1ALRyca5rjTzlZnyQcAprj-1WteV7DUiA52AQNzWxMT9edngY0w1VM8NNehcST88S_7j8bAOnP73-oMPVa1bf4x1SXM9c4UchgBzDAzLGBDtkTAwxZ7fs7YzJQFG_6Zy2r9mAiWNVQ/s1600/12088055_10153645175803996_115478832166623747_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="325" height="481" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFfi1ALRyca5rjTzlZnyQcAprj-1WteV7DUiA52AQNzWxMT9edngY0w1VM8NNehcST88S_7j8bAOnP73-oMPVa1bf4x1SXM9c4UchgBzDAzLGBDtkTAwxZ7fs7YzJQFG_6Zy2r9mAiWNVQ/w316-h481/12088055_10153645175803996_115478832166623747_n.jpg" width="316" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 28px;">-Also for nerve pain; antiarrhythmics, such as lidocaine and oral mexiletine, </span></b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 28px; font-weight: bold;">Aspirin, pentoxifylline,</span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 28px;"> </span><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 28px;">nifedipine and amlodipine</b></div>
Mexiletine is a non-selective voltage-gated sodium channel blocker, which belongs to the Class IB anti-arrhythmic group of medicines. It is used to treat arrhythmias or seriously irregular heartbeats. This is a rarely given off-label treatment. Lidocaine infusions help stabilize pain. You can read more about the use of lidocaine for rosacea <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34782-lidocaine-mixed-with-a-topical&highlight=Lidocaine" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?9875-Anyone-tryed-anesthetic-cream&highlight=Lidocaine" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?30358-Dr-Numb-extreme-treatment-for-extreme-situations&highlight=Lidocaine" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. You can read more about mexiletine for rosacea <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38622-mexiletine-for-painful-burning" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. This young man has erythromelalgia and had success with lidocaine IV infusions: Aspirin 0.1, twice a day. Pentoxifylline can ease muscle pain. Nifedipine and Amlodipine are a calcium channel blocker (note: usually contraindicated for rosacea): it works by relaxing the muscles of your heart and blood vessels, dilating them. Used for angina, high blood pressure, Raynaud's phenomenon. You can read more about aspirin for rosacea <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8004-Baby-Aspirin-for-Flushing-Prevention&highlight=aspirin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13712-Aspirin-HELPING-heaps&highlight=aspirin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13073-Does-aspirin-help-or-hurt&highlight=aspirin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8742-ASPIRIN-MASK&highlight=aspirin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?19434-Baby-aspirin&highlight=aspirin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>.</div><div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">(Temporary) Nerve block </span></b><span>- There is only anecdotal information about its effectiveness for skin flushing and burning, and often it does not work (enough) at this point in time. ETS is another type of radical nerve block operation, but it can be mainly helpful for blushing (not usually for flushing) and has a horrendous side-effect profile, including extreme body sweating versus total lack of sweating of the face, causing all sorts of new problems. ETS should really be a last resort option to even consider for anyone with rosacea, and anyone interested should read up thoroughly beforehand, as this treatment has caused debilitating and disastrous after effects in patients. The procedure is banished in Sweden for this very reason. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Tetracycline antibiotics</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></span>(both oral and in cream form - metronidazole cream and rozex cream) are usually prescribed to help subtype 2 rosacea and to combat the red pimples and skin outbreaks of rosacea. But for some, meds like doxycycline (or low dose doxy: Oracea) and lymecycline can also reduce skin redness, inflammation and sometimes even facial flushing. This is a first line rosacea treatment option and often the very first thing a dermatologist gives to a rosacea patient. Metronidazole cream has the potential to irritate very sensitive rosacea skin, but otherwise can be great at reducing skin outbreaks and pimples and even background redness of the skin. For skin flushing it has a less good track record, although there have been mentionings of it even helping for that (but rarely so). Antibiotics were once prescribed because doctors thought that rosacea was an infectious disease. That turned out not to be the case (as in: it's not an acute bacterial infection), but certain types of antibiotics, especially the tetracyclines, do help by lowering inflammation in the skin. Trial and error..<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Medication to lower histamine or mast cells in the body</span></b>: can help for those who flush and burn: antihistamines, mastocytosis medication including inorial and zaditine, anti asthma meds including montelukast. I had anti allergy medication prescribed by my dermatologist some years ago, that are given for people with mastocytosis. They did help calm flushing and skin redness down for me. Read more on this <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2013/08/facial-flushing-due-to-mastocytosis-or.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2017/09/montelukast-singulair-for-rosacea.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/resource-centers/advances-in-migraine/rosacea-linked-new-onset-migraine/2184" target="_blank">This</a> pubmed article</span> </b>also suggests treatment options for vascular and <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/426431" target="_blank"><b>neuropathic rosacea</b></a>: Conclusions and clinical implications: "Based on the findings linking rosacea to diseases involving dysregulation of the immune, vascular, and nervous systems, several new modalities for treating rosacea have been proposed. The success of neurologically focused drugs including <b><span style="color: #783f04;">gabapentin, duloxetine, pregabalin, and tricyclic antidepressants</span></b> in a subset of rosacea patients suggests a neurological component of the disease. [..] The link between rosacea and autoimmune disease has prompted suggestion of <b><span style="color: #783f04;">probiotics</span></b> as a potential therapy for both conditions, which may limit overactive innate immune responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Specific targeting of both innate and adaptive immune responses is justified based on the above correlations, although finding the particular drug targets that will impart benefit in rosacea patients remains a challenge."</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrX1ryr2hPlLW3gYlTjOqEr4i_hESkIhfqRiuihucK4GEFDsa7-aq1mP4pLeZ7_P11bHCwI64l5nThzFnaeHnor6zbrCzJPgzpYZ6EhHDRak2xYhRLbRNpoAL5FYzewGxSq2iIcvNarmyy/s1600/ZZZimages.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="190" height="485" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrX1ryr2hPlLW3gYlTjOqEr4i_hESkIhfqRiuihucK4GEFDsa7-aq1mP4pLeZ7_P11bHCwI64l5nThzFnaeHnor6zbrCzJPgzpYZ6EhHDRak2xYhRLbRNpoAL5FYzewGxSq2iIcvNarmyy/w346-h485/ZZZimages.jpg" width="346" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 45px;">Topical treatment options:</span></b><br /><br />
-<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Finacea gel/cream</span></b>: used for rosacea subtype 2 with skin outbreaks and pimples and redness. Read more about Finacea <a href="http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/skin-and-hair/a8367/finacea-gel-azelaic-acid/" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. Finacea Ingredients; Each gram of Finacea contains 0.15g (15%) micronized azelaic acid in a gel base. It also contains 0.1% <span style="color: #783f04;"><b>benzoic acid</b>, <b>propylene glycol</b></span>, polysorbate 80, lecithin, polyacrylic acid, triglycerides (medium chain), sodium hydroxide, disodium edetate and purified water.<br /><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">-</span></span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Antibiotic cream</span></b>; metronidazole cream, rosex cream: used for rosacea subtype 2, with skin outbreaks and pimples and redness. Metrogel Ingredients: METROGEL (metronidazole gel), 1% is an aqueous gel; each gram contains 10 mg of metronidazole in a base of betadex, edetate disodium, hydroxyethyl cellulose, <b><span style="color: #783f04;">methylparaben</span></b>, niacinamide, phenoxyethanol, <span style="color: #783f04;"><b>propylene glycol</b>, <b>propylparaben</b></span> and purified water.</div><div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOrfQ86EnqQGpsa-9ztS8mkg5xorJY91EVlEYsweUMViMuJnfNYhqS8kc6SC7uWfrDGEceOTATo4TqiUM1w7Q47CwQTVDJ6DXjQI-EvEOOZLqkQlzXKWgzY5M9i-VquvjTP8BVQKdWOd7/s1600/5_2_6_9_3133621.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="185" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOrfQ86EnqQGpsa-9ztS8mkg5xorJY91EVlEYsweUMViMuJnfNYhqS8kc6SC7uWfrDGEceOTATo4TqiUM1w7Q47CwQTVDJ6DXjQI-EvEOOZLqkQlzXKWgzY5M9i-VquvjTP8BVQKdWOd7/w174-h295/5_2_6_9_3133621.JPG" width="174" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">The Ordinary</span></b>: This cream has 10% azelaic acid, just like the prescription cream Finacea does. Azelaic acid is an anti inflammatory and especially can help skin outbreaks and pimples. If you mainly flush and burn just like me, this cream may be too strong for your skin, but best do a test patch on a spot on your face and be safe rather than sorry. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Ingredients:</span></b><br />
Aqua (Water), Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Dimethicone, Azelaic Acid, Dimethicone/Bis-Isobutyl PPG-20 Crosspolymer, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Polysilicone-11, Isohexadecane, Tocopherol, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Isoceteth-20, Polysorbate 60, Triethanolamine, Ethoxydiglycol, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin. You can read reviews on this product on <a href="https://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemId=192198/The-Ordinary-Azelaic-Acid-Suspension-10/Deciem/Treatments-(Face)" target="_blank">makeupalley</a> here.<br />
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-<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Soolantra/Ivermectin cream</span></b>: used for rosacea subtype 2, with skin outbreaks and pimples and redness. Read more about them in <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.nl/2017/09/ivermectin-or-soolantra-as-rosacea.html" target="_blank"><b>this blog post</b></a>.<br />
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-<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Other creams, like sulphur cream, sulphur soap or ZZ-cream</span></b>: used for rosacea subtype 2 with skin outbreaks and pimples.<br />
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-<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Mirvaso / Rhofade cream</span></b>: used for rosacea subtype 1 with flushing, redness and burning of the skin. Both have some <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2013/12/mirvaso-inventory-of-patient-responses.html" target="_blank"><b>bad reviews</b></a> however and can cause rebound flaring of the skin. They constrict the blood vessels in the face temporary, but after that rebound worsening can happen.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-4Tzyh5OX8YuL_bO48YecJ1B7OXvt9IAVrO0CGgJp0XTAFLyJ-Zrfk6gtLk1o9P3jeQkW7bFmRbHmppBFoVT33pyS8KXBfNnX4HYUACybKYPMRulKMfL6NFqN8VULILoXcM61N0LRWLQ/s1600/8ddd19e7db92bb3c0e2eab409e4b7235.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="235" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-4Tzyh5OX8YuL_bO48YecJ1B7OXvt9IAVrO0CGgJp0XTAFLyJ-Zrfk6gtLk1o9P3jeQkW7bFmRbHmppBFoVT33pyS8KXBfNnX4HYUACybKYPMRulKMfL6NFqN8VULILoXcM61N0LRWLQ/s400/8ddd19e7db92bb3c0e2eab409e4b7235.jpg" width="287" /></a>-<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Corticosteroid creams are best <u>not</u> to be used for rosacea.. </span></b>But some dermatologists prescribe them regardless, as they will help initially to make the skin less red and inflamed. However they can permanently worsen your rosacea; mostly after long term use, but there are also people who had their rosacea worsened after short term use of topical steroids, so be careful with this one. Even if your dermatologist throws it at you, be aware that many dermatologists <b><a href="http://www.internationalrosaceafoundation.org/steroids.php" target="_blank">agree</a></b> that steroids, both topical or in pill form, should never ever be used as a rosacea treatment:<br />
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<b><span font-size:="" style="color: #444444; font-size: large;" x-large=""><i>"Never, never, never, ever prescribe steroids for rosacea" Dr.Kligman (Dermatology-University of Philadelphia) & Dr. Pleig (Dermatologische Klinik Und Poliklinik der Universitat Munchen, Germany) state in their 1973 book, entitled Acne & Rosacea, First edition. Likewise, their second edition in 1993 harshly criticizes dermatologists that prescribe steroids for rosacea.</i></span></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><span font-size:="" medium="" style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span font-size:="" medium="">Make sure to check all ingredients, as inactive (filler) ingredients can irritate our skin just as much as any active ingredient a cream might have. In bold I highlight common skin irritants in these creams. Read more about this </span><a href="https://rosacea-support.org/inactive-ingredients-just-as-important-as-active-ingredients.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a><span font-size:="" medium="">.</span><span> </span></div></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
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-<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Niacinamide</span></b>; read more on this <a href="http://niacinamide/" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>.<br />
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-<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Natural anti inflammatory herbs and spices</b></span>; Read more on this <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2017/02/natural-anti-inflammatory-treatment_17.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>.<br />
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-<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Low level red light therapy</b></span> can help reduce inflammation of the skin. It can also cause flushing in some unfortunate people with photosensitivity (myself included). <br />
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-<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Immune suppressive medication</b></span> has the potential to help. But this is very serious medication with worse than average side effect profiles: think of increased risk of infections and cancers for instance. Only to be considered for the worst rosacea cases, with an autoimmune component. Remicade, Methotrexate and Mycophenolate.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
-<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Diet changes</span></b>; reducing the amount of inflammatory foods you eat (sugars and simple carbohydrates especially), and/or testing if you have food allergies or -sensitivities. Read more on food triggers for rosacea <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/10/food.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. And in the below video I uploaded and translated, rosacea is being treated with diet change by German doctors:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="509" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eOwUeTUbSmw" width="613" youtube-src-id="eOwUeTUbSmw"></iframe></div>
<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJP-RuTz3v56LTrisV6xs2Lsxdgue_28eGFbMO-4Wv6MBrcXYc78JqQL58zophUaXc7RqfY5Vru2dTewXIk1FhMPbsrrikZ3K0eKpde7wm0gQ0mNCVnxi-3OpAud3vPmyOPuDtRNCqKzu/s1600/ZZZ.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJP-RuTz3v56LTrisV6xs2Lsxdgue_28eGFbMO-4Wv6MBrcXYc78JqQL58zophUaXc7RqfY5Vru2dTewXIk1FhMPbsrrikZ3K0eKpde7wm0gQ0mNCVnxi-3OpAud3vPmyOPuDtRNCqKzu/w277-h208/ZZZ.jpg" width="277" /></a><b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #990000;">In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5828925/" target="_blank">this article</a>, several of the meds I use for my flushing are mentioned</span></b><br />"Treatment for flushing and erythema may involve oral drugs with vasoconstriction properties including adrenergic antagonists including mirtazapine (alpha blocker), propranolol (beta blocker) or carvedilol (both alpha and beta blocker). These are used at low doses to avoid adverse effects such as hypotension, somnolence, fatigue and bronchospasm. They should be prescribed under specialist supervision, and careful monitoring is required. Clonidine is an oral alpha2 agonist that has been used for flushing. [..] Laser therapy, including vascular lasers or intense pulse light, may help to reduce refractory background erythema and clinically significant telangiectasis, but will not reduce the frequency of flushing episodes."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt5SITsgvcRqdcHzI5r3T0xXzXFb__TWO-45w_nU_Eur8JJnDEya6exxj2t-12XOFRZ2hK2bei3rBOC5IsmLvv8ZtKfcVaMUmIZJtTMDdHl-2umH7JQLdVOX1LV9Izl1plhJxBqLUCKhfy/s1600/a_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="553" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt5SITsgvcRqdcHzI5r3T0xXzXFb__TWO-45w_nU_Eur8JJnDEya6exxj2t-12XOFRZ2hK2bei3rBOC5IsmLvv8ZtKfcVaMUmIZJtTMDdHl-2umH7JQLdVOX1LV9Izl1plhJxBqLUCKhfy/w387-h553/a_o.jpg" width="387" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;"><b>A note on using medication in general</b></span><br /><br />I have read people state that using medication is some sort of weakness. I read for instance in one message I received:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span font-size:="" style="color: #444444;" x-large=""><i>"People are too quick to medicate, It doesn't really tackle the heart of the problem, Medication screws you up even more, People who don't feel like fixing the actual problem turn to medication as an easy fix, You should be able to reset the body and health problems through healthy diet and exercise, Why not do a detox?"</i></span></b></div><br />My personal point of view is that there is only so much that natural healers and doctors, diet and vitamin pills can do.. They might work wonderful for many people, but some rosacea cases can be very stubborn to treatment, and progressive in nature. There is no evidence whatsoever that diet or exercise can 'reset' an illness like rosacea, unless the cause of the skin symptoms was related to an actual food allergy or sensitivity and you eliminate that trigger. Which is not the case for the vast majority of patients. So most people try a lot of things, only to come to the realization that rosacea is stubborn, comes and goes, and does not disappear overnight. Eating a balanced diet and cutting out sugars can alleviate rosacea for some people however. Others see results by going gluten and/or dairy free. You can read more about this in <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/10/food.html" target="_blank"><b>this blog post</b></a> I made. I write this blog mostly for subtype 1 rosacea sufferers, with chronic redness, flushing and burning. It is very rare for these patients to see it all disappear by changing their diet. Subtype 2 with skin outbreaks seems to have a better outlook for improvement overall, but the flushing and redness is hard to tackle. IPL and laser are a treatment option, but they come with risks too and are invasive and expensive treatments. Not everyone reacts well to these machines or to the specific practitioners who operate them; there are many variables and I have in the past compared it all to Russian roulette of some sorts.. <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/disastrous-ipl-in-2005.html" target="_blank"><b>IPL made me a lot worse</b></a> unfortunately, although this seems to happen to some others too but not very often.</div></div></div></div></div></div>
<br /></div><div><div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw76_H_spiMg-3u4zo5OenijcoWYjDRL6h6iuNWLADob0NjF1h7nDftlA1LgmPvuE2wjeAwauDwsAJbzowoiTNIl1bAP_iUBRWSBCwXP-z_jIsQFlRp6mSS2lkEEvBiUNPfJNU0_rSTrGa/s1600/c3e9c3c6213750d40267651c0741c72a.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="490" height="485" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw76_H_spiMg-3u4zo5OenijcoWYjDRL6h6iuNWLADob0NjF1h7nDftlA1LgmPvuE2wjeAwauDwsAJbzowoiTNIl1bAP_iUBRWSBCwXP-z_jIsQFlRp6mSS2lkEEvBiUNPfJNU0_rSTrGa/w323-h485/c3e9c3c6213750d40267651c0741c72a.jpg" width="323" /></a>And lasers and IPL are no cure either. They require top up treatments, as rosacea is a chronic (and for many progressive) disease for which there is no cure yet. People can try to find triggers and eliminate them. Many with subtype 2 rosacea for instance find that Soolantra or ivermectin cream/pills clear their skin completely. But subtype 1 rosacea unfortunately does not benefit from ivermectin. So for us flushers and burners, life can be pretty hard. navigating the many flushing triggers, trying to stay cool and pale in a jungle of triggers often. And then anti-flushing and anti-inflammatory medication can help bring the reactivity of our skin down. Just like many people with chronic autoimmune diseases still have to rely on medication to dampen their symptoms. I'm sure that in the future, doctors can actually <i>treat</i> (and cure) many of these immune-related conditions through gene therapy, but we are not yet lucky enough to benefit from that in this day and age. So, in light of all this medication might be a good way to control flushing and skin redness and burning, helping to improve quality of life and prevent rapid progression of the rosacea.</div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator">My anti-flushing medication really is helping me, and I want to share my experience here. I visited every natural doctor under the sun before even contemplating prescription medication. Saw a natural/ homeopathic doctor for three years who worked with medicinal herbs and acupuncture. He always managed to get rid of my minimal eczema (with viola tricolor and acupuncture) but could do absolutely nothing for my rosacea, despite optimistically trying and reassuring me it would clear up soon. Homeopathy -I saw a reputable doctor for 1,5 years- at times made it worse for me personally, or did nothing. I traveled to one of the best traditional Chinese medicine doctors in Rotterdam and religiously followed programs with juices and herbal teas and acupuncture, until he also stated that I just became worse and worse and had a belly so bloated from the herbal teas that I looked pregnant, which he didn't want to continue with. I went to spiritual healers, followed strict diets for at least 6 years, tried every supplement and vitamin pill imaginable and in the end, the only thing that made a true and clear difference for me personally was medication. IPL also made my flushing and burning much worse unfortunately. I didn't dare to take medication for a long time, fearing it would make matters worse, somehow, and also fearing the side effects. Every medication has a long list of possible side effects after all. Of course manufacturers have to list <i>every</i> possible side-effect and many people have no side effects at all when their body gets used to the medication. But I was fearful of making my dreadful flushing worse back then. But I am for ever grateful for Peter W. for inviting me to come to England to see Prof Chu, who put me on anti-flushing medication which gave me part of my life back, without exaggerating. Prof. Chu says that for severe rosacea flushers his aim is to break the flushing cycle. Because ongoing flushing, redness and swelling can set you up for a continuous cycle, and worsen the underlying problem. I have used the below mentioned medication since 2006 now, and they help me a lot with cutting down on flushing and redness. They may not help everyone, but they seem to help some rosacea flushers and burners. I also write about all this here, because I suffered tremendously before seeing Prof. Chu and literally begged emergency doctors for something to stop the crimson face flushing and burning. Nobody had any idea what to do about it... So now that I know there there <i>is</i> in fact (specialised) medication that may help, I feel obliged to share this information. And not all rosacea cases respond the same way to treatment. It's a lot of trial and error. But if you are in that same boat and contemplating medication at some point, maybe this info below will help you. However: please always discuss with your medical specialist first. And always remind your doctor now and then to check blood levels, liver function etc, especially when you take a bag full of medication at the same time (as many of us unfortunately face daily, especially with other underlying illnesses at play). I add many links in the below info, including direct links to medical studies in support of the medication use for hot flashes and flushing. You can print it out and bring it to your medical specialist and discuss the treatment options. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 45px;">So...</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, for me, after a year of near constant use of fans, cold packs and red hot flushing, this medication helped me control some of it. I have been taking them since the start of 2006, so over ten years by now. These are the drugs that I take, or have used in the past, and that help me:</span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="color: #783f04; font-size: x-large;">1. Clonidine</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"> </span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #783f04;">2. Propranolol</span></b><span style="color: #444444;"> (beta blocker)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #783f04;">3. Mirtazapine</span></b><span style="color: #444444;"> (remeron, an antidepressant)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #783f04;">4. Xyzal</span> </b><span style="color: #444444;">(Levocetirizine, an antihistamine)</span></span><div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b style="font-size: 45px;">1. Clonidine (</b><span style="font-size: 45px;"><b>Catapres</b></span><b style="font-size: 45px;"> / Dixarit)</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3DkkLfgInyI/UiHhXzAGaSI/AAAAAAAAGUk/jc6FqVzATZY/s1600/DSC00292.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3DkkLfgInyI/UiHhXzAGaSI/AAAAAAAAGUk/jc6FqVzATZY/w395-h297/DSC00292.JPG" width="395" /></a>Clonidine official dosing varies between 0,050 mg twice a day to 0,150 mg 3 times a day (and some people take even more than this when the flushing is severe). <span style="color: #783f04;"><b>I take 0,150 mg three times a day, so every 8 hours</b></span>. The most important thing to realize about clonidine is that like no other med, it hás to be taken regularly. It is notorious for giving rebound flaring (and rebound high blood pressure) when people skip doses. This might sound scary, but this does not mean you cannot try it and stop with clonidine again whenever you want to; it simply means that if you stop, you need to <i>not</i> stop it overnight, but gradually decrease the dose, gently. It also means that you need to remember when to take your next dose. I plan my dosing always so that I take a dose of clonidine when I go to bed, and then set the alarm to be sure I wake up 8 hours later, to take the next dose. Clonidine showed to be moderately <b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1704538/" target="_blank">effective</a></b> in clinical trials for the treatment of <span>hot flashes</span> and <span>facial flushing</span>. I was prescribed this drug by dermatologist and rosacea expert <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/03/visiting-dr-chu-in-london.html" target="_blank"><b>Professor Dr. Tony Chu</b></a> from London's Hammersmith Hospital, who I have been seeing as a patient since 2005, and who found it helpful in many of his vascular rosacea patients.<span style="color: #444444;"> </span>It helps with facial flushing in several ways, from what I have understood (although the exact precise way of action might not be fully understood yet): it acts as a peripheral vascular stabilizer; it makes sure your blood pressure goes down by stabilizing the big arteries and making sure there is less blood available to flow to the face, the hands and the feet - basically to the end stations of the bodies blood vessel commuter system. Clonidine stimulates alpha receptors reducing sympathetic tone centrally. It helps the small blood vessels in the face to constrict more and have less blood flow to deal with. It helps the face become a bit less red therefore and it also reduces flushing for many people, as flushing is partly due to vasomotor (blood vessel) instability and dilation. Being a blood pressure lowering drug, it tends to also help constrict the smaller blood vessels in the other extremities, the hands and feet, to some degree. It widens the big arteries in the center of your body and around your heart, so that the blood pressure in the rest of the arteries goes down. Therefore more blood is drawn away from the extremities (hands, feet and face) and the face gets less red, flushed and therefore it also often burns less. It gives the smaller facial blood vessels some (well deserved) rest and that seems to turn around the severity of the rosacea for many. It reduces the pressure of blood flow through the arteries. It's calming effect is also used to treat anxiety disorders, hot flashes, flushing and sleeplessness.</div><div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Unfortunately, there is to this date not a single systematic (pill) rosacea treatment that is effective and side effect free</span></b>, and clonidine can also give some unwanted hassle. Clonidine can make your mouth dry, cause dizziness and tiredness mostly, and they might be more pronounced when you take higher doses of this drug. At higher doses it can also be more effective than at lower doses however, which is something you best discuss with your doctor, or gently experiment with yourself within safe doses ranges. On a lower dose, side effects tend to wear off once your body adjusts to this medication. I have no side-effects from clonidine. But this also depends on your blood pressure; if yours becomes very low while on this type of medication, that in itself can make you feel more sluggish and light headed and tired. I had normal blood pressure to start with, and noticed a short drop of blood pressure (but within the safe range) for a few months after starting with clonidine. Then my body adjusted, as Dr Chu had already predicted, and I have now a steady blood pressure of 100 to 110 over 80. Clonidine is often prescribed as a non-hormonal treatment of hot flashes, especially for women with a history of <a href="http://women.webmd.com/picture-of-the-breasts" target="_blank"><b>breast cancer</b></a>, who can use it without increasing the risk of further cancer cell growth (as in the case of <a href="http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-6028-esterified+estrogens+oral.aspx" target="_blank"><b>estrogen</b></a> treatment). Again: This medication shouldn’t be used every now and then, but structurally and daily, for a longer period of time preferably, as the full effects of it tend to accumulate over time and it might give rebound flushing if you stop with it suddenly. Instead of clonidine, you could also try <span style="color: #444444;"><b>moxonidine</b></span>, which works more or less the same way. I tried both, moxonidine for a few years first and then I switched to clonidine, which for me personally works better. But this can differ per patient and comes down to trial and error. Clonidine has been <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4331402/" target="_blank"><b>thoroughly tested</b></a> for the treatment of hot flashes and flushing:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i>"In a small randomised prospective double-blind study (n = 29), transdermal </i></span></b><br />
<b><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i>therapy with clonidine (corresponding to 0.1 mg/d) over 8 weeks significantly </i></span></b><br />
<span><b><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i>reduced </i></span></b><b><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i>the number (80%, p < 0.04), severity (73%, p < 0.04) and duration </i></span></b></span><br />
<b><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i>(67%, p < 0.03) of hot flashes (HF), compared to 36%, 29% and 21% for </i></span></b><br />
<b><span><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i>placebo, respectively (Nagamani et al. 1987). </i></span><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i>In two larger randomised, double-</i></span></span></b><br />
<b><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i>blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trials in post-menopausal patients, significant </i></span></b><br />
<b><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i>improvements in the number, severity and duration of HF were observed: In the </i></span></b><br />
<b><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i>first study (n = 100), patients received oral clonidine in doses ranging from 0.025 </i></span></b><br />
<b><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i>to 0.075 mg b.i.d. for 4 weeks; effects were then compared to placebo (Clayden et </i></span></b><br />
<b><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i>al. 1974). In the second study (n = 66), patients received a fixed oral dose of </i></span></b><br />
<b><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i>0.050 mg clonidine or placebo twice daily for 4 weeks (Edington et al. 1980), here </i></span></b><br />
<b><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i>however, more adverse events (AEs) were observed in the clonidine vs. placebo</i></span></b><br />
<b><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i> groups (dry mouth: 11 vs. 4, insomnia: 8 vs. 4). Since the reduction in HF </i></span></b><br />
<b><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i>frequency was small although statistically significant, the authors concluded </i></span></b><br />
<b><span><span font-size:="" x-large=""><i>that clonidine was a medication “that makes flushing more tolerable”.</i></span><i font-size:="" xx-large=""> </i></span></b></span><b><i font-size:="" style="color: black;" xx-large=""><br /></i></b></div>
</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQkkUzp04tPnwE3IMhVDXio_jctQFMP2W45gHljGxm7RKk2l1mw0BhZDo1RFd4eqZ3MNEFSfLsruwr6tnzPCQqCUj6egiwrNrph4z6vkTtADQ2IJOLproIyUZYvzj9I4xNK19AqzM4WaL/s460/v4-460px-Alleviate-Hot-Flashes-Step-11.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="460" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQkkUzp04tPnwE3IMhVDXio_jctQFMP2W45gHljGxm7RKk2l1mw0BhZDo1RFd4eqZ3MNEFSfLsruwr6tnzPCQqCUj6egiwrNrph4z6vkTtADQ2IJOLproIyUZYvzj9I4xNK19AqzM4WaL/w297-h223/v4-460px-Alleviate-Hot-Flashes-Step-11.jpg" width="297" /></a><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>In this <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00509061" target="_blank">scientific test</a>, conclusions were:</b></span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span></span>"<i>Flushing in rosacea</i><i> has been investigated by means of (a) pharmacological inhibition of some possible chemical mediators and (b) titration of bradykinin as a possible effector directly in the blood. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Clonidine-inhibited flushing was seen in all patients (mean 45%), other drugs had poorer results."</b></span> </i>In other words: when rosacea patients had been made to flush on purpose, clonidine was most effective of all the medications tested to control the flushing.</div><div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">In <a href="https://www.mims.co.uk/article/1339025/case-reports-worsening-facial-redness-flushing-episodes" target="_blank">this article</a>, a man with persistent facial flushing and redness was given clonidine</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b></span>"This patient's treatment was continued with oral lymecycline to maintain control of the papular and pustular component of the rosacea. Additional options were considered for both the recent onset flushing and the fixed facial redness. Initial treatment for the flushing was 100 microgram oral clonidine three times per day, rising after three to four days to 200 microgram three times per day. The aim was a maximum 1,200 microgram per day in three divided doses, but the side-effect of a dry mouth prevented him from taking more than 200 microgram three times per day." [..] "Systemic agents acting on the adrenergic system, including non-selective beta-blockers such as propranolol or carvedilol, may have a role in anxiety-related flushing, although they are rarely successful for fixed facial redness.<span><b> <span style="color: #783f04;">Alpha-adrenergic agonists, such as clonidine or moxonidine, can also help in facial flushing by reducing sympathetic tone centrally</span></b></span>, but often have troublesome side-effects, such as drowsiness and fatigue. Clonidine in particular has to be used with care and dose escalation and reduction must be gradual."</div><div><br /></div></div></div><div><div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3Lt-VTE4bsc_LVPW7bkvSuQCdYYwUVbMrfgcnYy894UDgM2cZ0Pu1qvh3eSm444WWufejZrwbpw_rhbSuPNO33qT4x4bgQGr5JXTad0ma65Wyt1t4l0nLWtswRsFOpDNZ-1mye0Olr-j/s237/images.png" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="237" data-original-width="213" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3Lt-VTE4bsc_LVPW7bkvSuQCdYYwUVbMrfgcnYy894UDgM2cZ0Pu1qvh3eSm444WWufejZrwbpw_rhbSuPNO33qT4x4bgQGr5JXTad0ma65Wyt1t4l0nLWtswRsFOpDNZ-1mye0Olr-j/w304-h339/images.png" width="304" /></a>
<b><span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #990000;">And in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5828925/" target="_blank">this article</a>, giving a scientific update on rosacea treatments (2018), clonidine is also mentioned</span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span></span></span></b>"Treatment for flushing and erythema may involve oral drugs with vasoconstriction properties including adrenergic antagonists including mirtazapine (alpha blocker), propranolol (beta blocker) or carvedilol (both alpha and beta blocker). These are used at low doses to avoid adverse effects such as hypotension, somnolence, fatigue and bronchospasm. They should be prescribed under specialist supervision, and careful monitoring is required. Clonidine is an oral alpha2 agonist that has been used for flushing. [..] Laser therapy, including vascular lasers or intense pulse light, may help to reduce refractory background erythema and clinically significant telangiectasis, but will not reduce the frequency of flushing episodes."<br /><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">The London Dermatologist writes <a href="http://www.londondermatologist.co.uk/how-do-i-stop-my-face-flushing/" target="_blank">here</a>: How do I stop my face flushing?</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b></span>"Tablet treatments can be very helpful, most usefully clonidine, a blood pressure medication, taken two or three times a day. This has the fortunate side effect in some people of providing excellent facial blood flow control. The dose can be pushed up quite high under supervision from a dermatologist."<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPaptmCyTfmK8kzlD1nnaWCpCSMx_vV9PbXhvSpzRk-0BgzvwSkGdHcL4HI14tXfhJ4hxxvN8uPe0qAKJZT4KdfBDTDLt19xgnTBkjDvubfQCMRUIOzoYI4UaIAQnYRCl47ARFtGb5lWNk/s1600/5_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPaptmCyTfmK8kzlD1nnaWCpCSMx_vV9PbXhvSpzRk-0BgzvwSkGdHcL4HI14tXfhJ4hxxvN8uPe0qAKJZT4KdfBDTDLt19xgnTBkjDvubfQCMRUIOzoYI4UaIAQnYRCl47ARFtGb5lWNk/w306-h436/5_o.jpg" width="306" /></a><b style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Possible clonidine side effects:</span></b><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><br />Cold hands and feet in winter</span></b>; in my experience these symptoms are mild (I have been diagnosed with Raynaud´s syndrome) and for many they are non existent.<br /><br /><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><b>Dizziness and tiredness</b></span>; this happens mainly in the first weeks/months of using, when the body needs to adjust. In time it usually wears off, so you will need to give it some time in this respect as well.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">Dry Mouth</span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"> </span></b>tends to wear off as well, but Clonidine can dry out your membranes (dry mouth, dry eyes), so don't forget to drink some water during the day.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">Low(er) blood pressure</span></b></span> - My experience is that both Clonidine and Propranolol didn’t lower my blood pressure too much. Your body tends to adapt also, I heard from my dermatologist, so you might be ok. For those with existing low blood pressure however, these drugs may not be the right choice: always consult your doctor about the options and risks. You might want to monitor your blood pressure though during treatment. You can buy a small house device for little money usually.</div></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><b>Rebound flushing when you do not use this drug consistently and on time</b></span> Clonidine is NOT a medication that you can take now and again. It has to be taken every day and best divided over 3 intakes, every 8 hours. That way you will almost certainly avoid rebound entirely. Taking it every 12 hours might not be a problem, but for severe flushers it might be better to take three times a day. In case you want to stop clonidine, rebound flushing isn't automatically on the cards; the trick is to taper the drug off slowly and take smaller doses every time, until you wean yourself gradually off it. This drug needs to be prescribed by a physician and your blood pressure needs to be checked occasionally.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span font-size:="" style="color: black;" x-large=""><u>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAaSGrm0CIhjJ4p5nUWWPE5BPB5ThtSLPk7mF4U9g95awUdOMkUSWFtuDgHgUcxjCOu633lTKw7JHcZf2cpLwWGBN2HwRFDmI7lUpGwMJxq6qXY0Fj5XMsfmk2is14Favbh8VlYI_rI1tw/s1600/backstage-at-the-latin-quarter-1958-by-gordon-parks.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAaSGrm0CIhjJ4p5nUWWPE5BPB5ThtSLPk7mF4U9g95awUdOMkUSWFtuDgHgUcxjCOu633lTKw7JHcZf2cpLwWGBN2HwRFDmI7lUpGwMJxq6qXY0Fj5XMsfmk2is14Favbh8VlYI_rI1tw/w325-h464/backstage-at-the-latin-quarter-1958-by-gordon-parks.jpeg" width="325" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><b style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;"><b style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">More scientific links for the use of </span></b>Clonidine for facial flushing:</span></b><br /><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=6219630" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=6219630</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7145250" target="_blank">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7145250</a><br /></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1704538/" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1704538/</a><br />
<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3692271/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"></span>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3692271/</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.mims.co.uk/article/1339025/case-reports-worsening-facial-redness-flushing-episodes" target="_blank">https://www.mims.co.uk/article/1339025/case-reports-worsening-facial-redness-flushing-episodes</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1704538/" target="_blank">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1704538/</a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/1/6053/105.1" target="_blank">http://www.bmj.com/content/1/6053/105.1</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><a href="http://www.aafp.org/afp/2002/0801/p435.html" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">http://www.aafp.org/afp/2002/0801/p435.html</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1604111/?page=1" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1604111/?page=1</a></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6219630?dopt=Abstract" target="_blank">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6219630?dopt=Abstract</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?20816-In-praise-of-clonidine-amp-remeron" target="_blank">http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?20816-In-praise-of-clonidine-amp-remeron</a>!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><a href="http://dermatology.about.com/od/facialflushing/a/ffrosacea.htm" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">http://dermatology.about.com/od/facialflushing/a/ffrosacea.htm</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><a href="http://dermnetnz.org/vascular/blushing.html" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">http://dermnetnz.org/vascular/blushing.html</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=20824841" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=20824841</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhtCn6UmStGlB74NBvj0WwcNLnpZ-cAWsWysjNh0l2EIwztaYxNjl5PJIaE57WfrLmrhKJt_phks3Tdtl1cgFeRRE1-2gFCi3eRRzgy4YLihfj4VHJx2FmNDDRR482CEPY1J2Eo9SLFEyr/s1600/back-stage-at-the-latin-quarter-for-the-entertainment-issue-1958.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="505" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhtCn6UmStGlB74NBvj0WwcNLnpZ-cAWsWysjNh0l2EIwztaYxNjl5PJIaE57WfrLmrhKJt_phks3Tdtl1cgFeRRE1-2gFCi3eRRzgy4YLihfj4VHJx2FmNDDRR482CEPY1J2Eo9SLFEyr/w356-h505/back-stage-at-the-latin-quarter-for-the-entertainment-issue-1958.jpg" width="356" /></a><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">User reviews on clonidine</span></b></div>Someone emailed me about my clonidine dose and use. He was also prescribed clonidine and started with 0,075 mg twice a day and was now told to take it 3 times a day instead. He experienced rebound flushing well after 6 hours already and wondered how I dose my meds, also the remeron (he uses that too).</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><br />I wrote:</span></b> "With regards to the clonidine, I agree with Dr Chu. I find the clonidine to wear off for me after 8 hours and I get rebound flushing around 8,5 or 9 hours. So I always take my next dose after 8 hours. Twice a day (every 12 hours) would mean way too much in between time for me, but I guess this depends on the severity of your flushing. The timing can be a real pain, as I find that taking remeron and clonidine together - at the same time - creates some flushing too.. Perhaps because these drugs are registered as antagonists. As long as I keep some time between intake of these two I have no issues however (and the only interaction they can have is that they lower the antidepressant actions and the blood pressure lowering actions of each other, but even when taken together they will still help lowering the flushing attacks for many of us). Prof. Chu and my pharmacist see now issue with taking them together during the day. So I usually watch a series in bed before I go to sleep and plan my clonidine intake then, at the start, and the remeron at the end of the series, right before sleeping. That way they are taken far enough apart, but I don't have to set the alarm in the middle of the night for my next clonidine dose. When I was reallly bad I had to take the clonidine every 6 or 7 hours for some time and I did set the alarm then at night, as to not oversleep and wake up totally on fire. But nowadays I can get away with a 9 hour time span when I wake up a little later. For me, it still works fine. Its effect didn't wear off over time. I still try at times to take it every 6 hours but I get more sluggish, tired and light headed from it and it doesn't make the flushing or redness dramatically better, for me at least. But when I was a lot worse than now, I did help, so that would be trial and error.."</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Burner </span></b><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?33453-Is-Clonidine-just-oral-Mirvaso">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on July 9th 2015:</span></b> For me clonidine has been really useful. Without it I don't think I could function effectively. From what I have read about mirvaso, the two cannot be compared. Mirvaso to me just sounds brutal when it comes to rebound flushing, whereas clonidine has reduced my flushing by between 40 to 70%. Burner."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">And:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>"I currently take 25mcg of clonidine, (three tablets, twice each day). My main problem is flushing and burning, and although this is by no means a cure, I would say it has reduced my flushing by about 40 per cent on bad days, to 70 per cent on good. I have tried propranolol and gabapentin, but they did not really help me to be honest. For me, clonidine has definitely proved to be the most effective drug in reducing my flushing, but I must mention that I had to build up to the dosage I am now taking, as the low doses that I first took had little or no effect. My advice to you would be to go and talk to your dermatologist or GP about clonidine etc., and work out between you a plan of action that is right for you. I hope this advice helps you a little my friend, and I wish you all the best. Burner."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">And Burner <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36087-Seeking-advice-from-subtype-1-flushers-who-have-had-IPL-or-Laser&highlight=clonidine">wrote</a></span> on October 18th, 2016: </span></b>"Hi Fiugs, I am sorry you are suffering with this horrible condition. I have had many IPL treatments myself, and although they do not stop the flushing completely (unfortunately nothing does), i found them to be very beneficial, both in terms of appearance and flushing. <span style="color: black;">Coupled with use of medication, in my case clonidine, i am much better than i was when i first developed the condition. Although i still have really tough days, i dread to think what state i would be in without IPL and clonidine, as i could not function at all. </span>The trouble with dermatologists and GP'S is that they simply do not understand how painful this condition can be. If i was you, I would definitely consider laser treatment, but must stress that is important to find someone that is both professional and reputable. Although there is no solution at the moment for this condition, there are things that can make life a little easier. Unfortunately, as we are all different Fiugs, it is a case of trial and error i am afraid. I hope this info is useful to you, and i hope you find the answers you are looking for. My advice to you, don't give up, and stay as positive as you can. All the best. Burner"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Sportsfan81<a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?33453-Is-Clonidine-just-oral-Mirvaso"> wrote</a> on july 10th 2015: </span></b>" [..] I take clonidine daily. [..] clonidine has been great thus far (6 months). I do not have any rebound effect, I take it twice daily. Once in the morning and then mid afternoon."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Emz<a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32913-Soolantra/page6"> wrote</a> on August 4th 2015:</span></b> "Hi John, the clonidine helps significantly with the flushing. When I do flush it is usually not as bad or for as long. I can also sometimes stop a flush if I feel it coming on (e.g. by working out whatever I'm doing that may be contributing to it, such as rushing around at work or stressing!) It helps with the flushing I get after eating which was a real problem for me. I would say it's made a 60% improvement and made my condition much more manageable. I wouldn't be without it! Emz"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Romeomilia<a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34316-Never-give-up&highlight=clonidine"> wrote</a> on December 7th 2015:</span></b> "Like you I was on the edge of suicide. At only 43 years old I have lost my career in hospitality finance, my friends, the chance to have a family and to have kids. Owing to rosacea erythematous I lost everything and I am a prisoner in my house. Try to listen to the advice of hg24 and <span style="color: black;">take Clonidine 15mg 1 pill per day. I am the living proof that after 6 months of clonidine my daily flushing and redness that were lasting for hours in my case are now gone. Nothing else in this world could stop my nightmare that was lasting for hours. Try try try. </span>You will be a winner. In my case my face is very sensitive now and does not accept any cream. That is a problem as I still cant stand in the sun, heat and hot water. But at least I don't see my face having the colour of a sour cherry everyday and I don't have bad chemical reactions in the skin of the face. Clonidine was prescribed to me together with Zinckit but Zinc does not make any difference. Try Clonidine. I will keep my fingers crossed for you. Good luck with your marathon plans. As antidepressants I take 60mg of Cymbalta daily. I have tried Zoloft but there is no difference. Kind regards, Romeo"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-AiYqOk_FpBqoAkK334YA66Me7RrxP57lUAIVJylNzq7e7ianYPCFAheYjWwh62O1Sg4PHj3JunDQ3GCp60HfMdD3g1Eah3lIRI_3aTkumXvdqdBrKsAbwrbVcXEFt80fadVrGolUt_mi/s1600/backstage-at-the-latin-quarter-nightclub-in-new-york-1950s-e28093-by-gordon-parks.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="489" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-AiYqOk_FpBqoAkK334YA66Me7RrxP57lUAIVJylNzq7e7ianYPCFAheYjWwh62O1Sg4PHj3JunDQ3GCp60HfMdD3g1Eah3lIRI_3aTkumXvdqdBrKsAbwrbVcXEFt80fadVrGolUt_mi/w314-h489/backstage-at-the-latin-quarter-nightclub-in-new-york-1950s-e28093-by-gordon-parks.jpg" width="314" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">ZK_78<a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37069-Pain-control-%96-Amitriptyline-Gabapentin"> wrote</a> on May 5th 2017:</span></b> "I am currently taking 3 x 100 mcg of Clonidine per day (breakfast, lunch and evening meals). I find it effective for the flushing with little in terms of side effects. If I could only address the pain then I would be in a really good position. Regards."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37111-Just-want-peace&highlight=clonidine">wrote</a> on April 25th 2017:</span></b> "I definitely took my health, and other things, for granted before my inferno face happened :/ And other people don't understand. My friends / family are very understanding in general, but they often forget that simple things for them may be a huge ordeal for me, due to the burning :/My heart goes out to anyone with this disease! I hope that your derm appt is helpful. If not, don't despair though - I think many derms are just not knowledgeable about most of this, and it may take a while to find someone you like. It's sad, *most* of the derms I have seen have recommended mirvaso (why aren't doctors learning that mirvaso is not really for flushing...) This whole thing made me realize you really have to be your own health care advocate. <span style="color: black;">Thank god for this forum and its suggestions like propranolol, clonidine, etc.</span> Even though I have found a derm I like now, I never blindly take his suggestion without googling about it, and always tell him my ideas (really ideas I get from this forum).Anyway, hang in there. I'd really be inclined to think your condition will improve once you try out some anti-flushing medications. One day at a time. Best, Lizzy"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">And laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37111-Just-want-peace&highlight=clonidine">wrote</a> earlier on April 25th 2017:</span></b> "Glad the drug seems to help with your rapid flushes (hate those so much!!). I take it you didn't have the permanent warmness on the cheeks prior to clonidine? Been on it for 6 months-ish myself for afternoon/night flushing ... it actually makes my nose too cold I think during the day which may set it up for worse flushing at night (not sure) ... but I find it generally helpful for ears/cheeks/neck. For ears/cheeks/neck I find my skin generally cooler on the clonidine than before taking."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Sportsfan81 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36876-Dilatend-for-flushing-and-redness&highlight=clonidine">wrote</a> on March 15th 2017:</span></b> "Hey Brady, Thanks for the info have you used clonidine previously and if so how would you compare to carvedilol?<span style="color: black;"> My main issue I try to control is flushing and I use clonidine in the morning which helps but I still get random flushing episodes throughout the day and always an episode between 3-5pm."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Countrygirl <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36782-clonidine-question-for-long-term-users&highlight=clonidine">wrote</a> </span>on february 27th, 2017:</b></span> "I have been on this drug for two months now, and <span style="color: black;">it really helps slow down the rapid rush flushing, when you whole face fills with blood, gets hot and burns for hours on end etc...but it does make my cheeks permanently warm</span>, they never feel cool to the touch unless I'm outside in the cold. Is this normal or is this permanent warm/heat doing damage?"<br /><b><span style="color: #990000;"><br />Madhatter <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?31559-New-here-subtype-1-rosacea-trialling-Remeron-and-Clonidine-under-Dr-Chu-s-care&highlight=clonidine">wrote</a> on August 2nd 2014:</span></b> "New here - subtype 1 rosacea, trialling Remeron and Clonidine under Dr Chu's care. Hi fellow rosaceans. I have been reading this forum for a few months so I thought I would introduce myself and firstly say thank you for all the invaluable information I have found on this forum. Secondly, I would welcome your views on potential treatment options to pursue. My story; I'm a 30 year old female without a typical atopic profile (very fair, porcelain skin, eczema, allergies, childhood asthma). Shortly after moving to London from Sydney in April this year to start a new job as a lawyer, I began experiencing severe facial burning and flushing. It was so severe that I couldn't sleep at all, and was in intense pain at work - it felt like someone was pouring acid all over my face. The GP I saw initially thought it was allergies/eczema and prescribed me a strong antihistamine together with a steroid cream. The antihistamines didn't really help matters and I was loath to use the steroid on my face as I was aware of the potential side-effects. Also, from the research I had done, my symptoms seemed more like rosacea than eczema. So I got myself an appointment to see Dr Chu in July and, in the meantime, convinced the GP and another dermatologist I saw to put me on Clonidine and Mirtazapine based on the research I had done on the forum and the wonderful Scarlet Reds very helpful blog. I also started being quite careful with my diet (cutting out alcohol and trying to adopt a low carb/low sugar diet) and doing anything I could to minimize allergies (taking the antihistamine, getting dust mite covers, keeping a very clean apartment etc). Oh, and I also stay out of the sun, use mineral makeup with an SPF (Jane Iredale) and use very gentle skincare (wash my face with bottled water and use the Avene Tolerance Extreme line and thermal mist). <span style="color: black;">I started on the Clonidine (50mcg 3 times a day) and Remeron (15mg taken just before bed) in May. These did seem to help quite a bit, and the Remeron certainly helps me sleep. So far I haven't had any side effects from these meds - I already had low blood pressure but the Clonidine didn't lower it too much more, and I haven't put on any weight from the Remeron thus far. </span>However, just before seeing Dr Chu, in June, I had a very nasty outbreak where my whole face was red, burning and incredibly swollen for around a week (for which time I couldn't go to work). I was virtually unrecognizable. My mum even flew over from Australia to support me as I was very scared, unable to sleep due to the pain and having some dark thoughts. I saw Dr Chu and he diagnosed me with co-existing conditions - severe atopic dermatitis (which had become infected) and rosacea. He prescribed an antibiotic (doxy) and told me I was on the right path with the Clonidine and Remeron for the rosacea. I also went to an allergist/immunologist and been tested for allergies and other conditions such as mastocytosis and lupus. Tests came back negative for mastocytosis and lupus, however my Immunoglobins E levels were extremely high and allergy tests revealed very severe allergies to dust mites and moderate allergies to pollen and cat dander."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Burner <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?31559-New-here-subtype-1-rosacea-trialling-Remeron-and-Clonidine-under-Dr-Chu-s-care&highlight=clonidine">replied</a> on August 31st 2014:</span></b> "Hi Madhatter, I also suffer from subtype 1 and have had to deal with the flushing and horrible burning sensations for over ten years now, so i understand the pain you have been experiencing. <span style="color: black;">In my case, i was put on a low dose of clonidine, 50 mcg per day, by my doctor, to see if it helped with my flushing and burning. Like you, i did experience some improvement, but it was by no means significant enough to improve my life, so i went back to my dermatologist. To cut a long story short, i am now on 150 mcg of clonidine per day, and although it has not stopped my flushing and burning completely, i am much better than i was before using this drug. Dont get me wrong, i still struggle, i still have horrible days, but before taking clonidine, everyday was completely unbearable. My point is, it might be worth discussing a higher dose of clonidine with your dermatologist,(make sure he listens to what you have to say), it might be worth a try. </span>In addition to this, I have also found improvement through ipl treatments, moisturising and sunscreen, but i am fully aware that everyone has different experiences with their symptoms and conditions, so what works for one, might not work for another. I hope this helps a little Madhatter and I hope you have success in improving your condition. burner"<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 45px;"><b>2. Propranolol (Inderal)</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DENt050RQXg/UiHhk4QoxTI/AAAAAAAAGUs/67A6GUlF3FM/s1600/DSC00288.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DENt050RQXg/UiHhk4QoxTI/AAAAAAAAGUs/67A6GUlF3FM/w408-h305/DSC00288.JPG" width="408" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Propranolol can be taken from 10 mg twice a day, up until 160 mg twice a day for flushing (some take even more). <span><span style="color: #783f04; font-weight: bold;">I take 60 mg 3 times a day, so every 8 hours, and it really helps control my flushing.</span><b> </b>Particularly when taken together with clonidine (more so than taken on its own). </span></span>Prof. Dr. Chu prescribed me this medication together with the Clonidine (and a third med, mirtazapine, see more on this one below), as he finds the combination of the three to be significantly more effective in tackling the flushing and inflammation from rosacea. <span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Higher doses of propranolol will reduce your blood pressure further and potentially improve your flushing and redness symptoms more. At 10 mg propranolol is least likely to do anything for your flushing, keep that in mind. I don't use this med to deal with high blood pressure, but to control flushing and burning of the face and a higher dose is often giving better results. </span>Just like clonidine, a beta blocker like propranolol helps with hypertension, but it works in a different way than Clonidine and seems to tackle a different aspect of facial flushing. Beta-blockers<span style="color: black;"> to a degree block the activity of the nerves from the sympathetic nervous system</span>, thereby reducing facial flushing responses and especially those that are connected to <i>adrenaline release</i>. When the brain sends signals to the heart to speed up, beta blockers block the uptake of adrenaline which causes the heart to race and subsequent flushing that occurs on the face and neck. Besides propranolol there are also other beta blockers that can help with rosacea flushing and redness, particularly carvedilol and atenolol. They work slightly different from propranolol however.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="color: #444444;"><i>"You can control the diffuse ruddiness by stabilizing it with beta blockers. Inderal is effective because it stabilizes vascular expansion." With regards to flushers: "They all go with an overcompensation of the vascular response. The blood vessels expand dramatically." "Flushing is a tough problem. We think that the nerves that control the blood vessels become hyperactive, but since we don't have a direct cause, we don't have a direct cure. The hardest part to treat is the vasodilation. So something as simple as a 10 milligram beta blocker, taken daily and costing pennies a dose, can forestall the flushing type of rosacea as well as prevent some migraines."<br /><br /></i></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqo2x776vkgRVmpuW8zxKwh_agtLv4QqCA4XdAwaXJsnyKdI840fbm02f-LMM1ipPlS_88zfukKYOGqpbl_A_VmgIBqRKNMIcx1Ur3M6TymZNHKDk1gnkdnnrubNEr1X31X2IONyqNbGtK0kv65qhchmWryPvAENP6ytp_RIcfyxvttiDWkytjwdtQ3Y5/s1993/20230721_192118.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1993" data-original-width="1600" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqo2x776vkgRVmpuW8zxKwh_agtLv4QqCA4XdAwaXJsnyKdI840fbm02f-LMM1ipPlS_88zfukKYOGqpbl_A_VmgIBqRKNMIcx1Ur3M6TymZNHKDk1gnkdnnrubNEr1X31X2IONyqNbGtK0kv65qhchmWryPvAENP6ytp_RIcfyxvttiDWkytjwdtQ3Y5/w283-h353/20230721_192118.jpg" width="283" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Propranolol is officially a blood lowering medication, called a beta-blocker. It is a</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> beta-adrenoceptor blocking drug (beta-blocker) which is so-called because it blocks the activity of the nerves which form the sympathetic nervous system. </span>It is effective because <span style="color: black;">it stabilizes vascular expansion</span>. It dampens the symptoms of an overactive sympathetic nervous system, including facial flushing and hot flushes, rapid heartbeat and adrenaline rushed effects of stress and anxiety, intolerance to heat and sweating. It seems to help particularly for the “fight and flight” flushes, that you might have for instance when speaking publicly, but also for more day to day flushing triggers. Propranolol is also found to act as <b><span style="color: #783f04;">an anti-inflammatory drug</span></b>, according to various research studies. <span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">T</span>his medication can be used occasionally, and will not give rebound flaring in the way in which clonidine does. So some people will take some propranolol right before a presentation or speech for instance. However, if you used it for a longer period of time, you do need to taper it off slowly, and not stop overnight. Long term and more steady use tends to give the best results. <span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Beta-blockers reduce the amount of blood which the heart pumps out at each stroke. This leads to a fall in blood flow through the body tissues, particularly affecting the skin, the muscles and the extremities (fingers, toes, face). As a result people often complain of feeling listless or tired and experience cold hands and feet, especially for a few weeks after starting treatment. Then things often balance out, side effect wise. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This is entirely predictable and to some extent is an indication that your treatment is working. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2010/01/beta_blockers_may_offer_simple.html" target="_blank"><b>this article</b></a>, dermatologist </span>Dr. Paul Hazen states the following about propranolol:<br /><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqtO6uxk-oU6r0CGzA9zQIHWYxmA5sGqKDJ3N1XPL4ldo5kRGjGMYWRvo8b5oErQzwl5Q-B_n27IDmRH2Vd8DRwdwBKPgYaXtjiKaLSifbuYimBl0cmHBlsOHcIOKWC3Uapg2GkzDwsfd_/s480/giphy.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqtO6uxk-oU6r0CGzA9zQIHWYxmA5sGqKDJ3N1XPL4ldo5kRGjGMYWRvo8b5oErQzwl5Q-B_n27IDmRH2Vd8DRwdwBKPgYaXtjiKaLSifbuYimBl0cmHBlsOHcIOKWC3Uapg2GkzDwsfd_/w395-h297/giphy.gif" width="395" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Difference with other types of beta-blockers</span></b><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">Propranolol</span></b> is the fast and short acting one of the beta-blockers (half life of around 4 hours), and acts both on beta 1 (mainly heart) and beta 2 receptors (blood vessels). This way, it helps to make the blood vessels in the face less dilated, taking the pressure off them, and as a result your skin should look less red and it should be harder to get flushed. Propranolol also reduces adrenaline output in the body, and is therefore often prescribed for anxiety or for stressful events where 'stage fright' plays a role as propranolol will help reduce the adrenaline and everything that comes with it, for instance sweating and a fast beating heart. It will calm you down. Propranolol reaches the brain and can worsen depression in some cases. However, propranolol can be a very effective treatment of ruddiness of the cheeks, of redness and of mild flushing, even at the low dose of 10mg a day.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">Atenolol</span></b> is a selective beta-blocker and also <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12180896" target="_blank"><b>used to treat rosacea flushing</b></a>. It works more on the heart. It does not reduce adrenaline output, like propranolol does, but it also has fewer potential to cause or worsen existing depression. It also does not affect the lungs. It also works longer than propranolol (it has a half life of 7 hours); one dose a day is sufficient. It is not handy to use this drug occasionally, because unlike propranolol, it can cause rebound high blood pressure when it is suddenly stopped and even can cause severe effects on the heart then. So never stop it out of the blue, if you try this drug. You also shouldn't drink alcohol while taking this drug. At lower doses, propranolol was found to be more effective than atenolol at reducing heart rate and palpitations.</div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Carvedilol</b></span> is a non-selective beta blocker, like propranolol. This means it affects both the heart and blood vessels. It blocks the beta receptors on heart muscle and other cells, making them more relaxed and less responsive to stress hormones. Just like propranolol, Carvedilol also blocks alpha receptors, which are found on blood vessels and relaxes the blood vessels, dilating the large central ones which lowers blood pressure and vascular resistance, making the smaller blood vessels in the extremities constrict more. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28748731" target="_blank"><b>In testing</b></a>, it showed that carvedilol can reduce rosacea flushing: <i>"These findings demonstrate that facial flushing and persistent erythema can be effectively treated by carvedilol long-term with a fast onset of improvement in a dose well tolerated."</i><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Nadolol</span></b> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190962289700220" target="_blank"><b>showed in tests</b></a> to have no effect on flushing, however it was a small scale study and nadolol has in fact been prescribed for its blood vessel distracting and blood pressure lowering effects.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #783f04;">I tried all of these beta blockers myself and think personally that propranolol or carvedilol are the best. Propranolol is my favourite. These drug need to be prescribed by a physician and your blood pressure needs to be checked occasionally.</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-21OShpUopqw/VANaFz-tJeI/AAAAAAAAPEw/SRxYABRSk-w/s1600/c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-21OShpUopqw/VANaFz-tJeI/AAAAAAAAPEw/SRxYABRSk-w/s1600/c.jpg" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMddsWJERsLWbo4p9qVd_nHlMQ50w0gVdu8VVX4CrYtX7z8lH62NCWhLLMCNggHHF8yHNujE3oo1jqhRCbIHE1WwzZRQIFQN064sIMDPpeweGw6XihjNQXYUbPeJJ7vuamfAE2b5I0YuxA/s1600/1049139_10151696222538996_729962828_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMddsWJERsLWbo4p9qVd_nHlMQ50w0gVdu8VVX4CrYtX7z8lH62NCWhLLMCNggHHF8yHNujE3oo1jqhRCbIHE1WwzZRQIFQN064sIMDPpeweGw6XihjNQXYUbPeJJ7vuamfAE2b5I0YuxA/s320/1049139_10151696222538996_729962828_o.jpg" width="279" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0cm 0cm;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzgeHFRvadzf3M9U92f7101GhgiE34L58aSFKCJGKl6Ej8hUsd_cF_mZGRvJjp6AqyFWtl_F-Q_2RYuIaJi3H0eOMcZMQGxC9gf5cCnszV30qaBsveSpffRoaJ7T3GCdMVN0BaAyo-2LK/s1600/uyt.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzgeHFRvadzf3M9U92f7101GhgiE34L58aSFKCJGKl6Ej8hUsd_cF_mZGRvJjp6AqyFWtl_F-Q_2RYuIaJi3H0eOMcZMQGxC9gf5cCnszV30qaBsveSpffRoaJ7T3GCdMVN0BaAyo-2LK/w357-h555/uyt.jpg" width="357" /></a><span style="color: black;"><b style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Some more information on carvedilol</span></b><br />"Pronounced facial flushing and persistent erythema of rosacea effectively treated by carvedilol, a nonselective β-adrenergic blocker." (<a href="http://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(12)00440-9/abstract" target="_blank"><b>source</b></a>) See also <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28748731" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> recent research and these two older ones: <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=21768447" target="_blank"><b>this pubmed article</b></a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=22890733" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>: </span><span>"Rosacea is a common facial disorder characterized by centrofacial erythema, flushing, telangiectasia, edema, papules, and pustules. Treatment of erythematotelangiectatic rosacea (ETR) with severe facial flushing and persistent erythema remains challenging despite some successes with <b><span style="color: #783f04;">β-adrenergic blockers</span></b>, <b><span style="color: #783f04;">clonidine</span></b> (α-adrenergic agonist), <b><span style="color: #783f04;">naloxone</span></b> (opiate antagonist), <b><span style="color: #783f04;">ondansetron</span></b> (serotonin antagonist), and endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy. </span>Traditional β-blockers <b><span style="color: #783f04;">nadolol and propranolol (20-40 mg, 2-3 times a day) can suppress flushing reactions</span></b><span><b><span style="color: #783f04;"> </span></b>but the side effects of hypotension and bradycardia may pose problems because most patients are normotensive. <b><span style="color: #783f04;">Carvedilol</span></b>, a nonselective β-adrenergic blocker with α1 blocking activity and potent antioxidant activity, is indicated in treating mild to moderate congestive heart failure. We have recently reported a case of refractory ETR <b><span style="color: #783f04;">successfully treated with carvedilol</span></b>. In this report, we present the results of carvedilol therapy in a case series. </span>Altogether there were 11 normotensive patients, 9 female and 2 male, ages 17 to 47 years, mean 34.5 years (clinical summary in <a href="http://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622%2812%2900440-9/fulltext#tbl1" target="_blank">Table I</a>). They had been treated unsuccessfully with doxycycline, corticosteroids, propranolol, clonidine, ondansetron, metronidazole, tacrolimus and pimecrolimus, endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy, stellate ganglion block, and pulsed dye laser therapy in various combinations. Patient 6 was the subject of our earlier report. Table I. Diagnosis, treatment, efficacy, and side effects of 11 patients with erythematotelangiectatic rosacea treated with carvedilol". <span><b><span style="color: #783f04;">During the carvedilol therapy, we monitored the severity of facial erythema (based on clinical photographs), cheek temperature</span></b>, patient's assessment of the symptom severity using a 10-point visual analog scale (score 0-10), and the side effects. Carvedilol (3.125-6.25 mg, 2-3 times a day) was added to each patient's other current medications and the daily dose was titrated gradually up to 31.25 mg/d (Table I). All patients experienced significant clinical improvement within 3 weeks (range 3-21 days, mean 10.5 days), <b><span style="color: #783f04;">with a mean reduction of 2.2°C of the cheek temperature</span></b> and a mean reduction of 6.3 of the visual analog scale score (recorded for 7 patients). Fig 1 illustrates the clinical course of 1 patient (patient 11). </span>Our study demonstrated that low-dose carvedilol was effective in treating ETR (erythematotelangiectatic rosacea) with rapid onset of symptom control. Moreover, it also allowed other concurrent medications to be tapered or stopped. The side effect was minimal; only 1 patient discontinued treatment because of asymptomatic hypotension. These results are encouraging, but further prospective controlled studies of carvedilol therapy for ETR are warranted to determine the optimal dosage, treatment duration, long-term therapeutic effects, and side effects."</div></div></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></span><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: 40px;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Possible side effects</span></b></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b font-family:="" font-size:="" new="" quot="" roman="" serif="" style="color: black;" times="" xx-large=""><u><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioZdVItAUi0e56yAPwIyHjUehCjAQyNE8Q9RIz0VuXjPfwXu9NF0S0U-PCSD-fj6qVsA2sWCUc3ahJCmIX6tdAmH5OEyxFL5p04ua2twy-ldgWDfHGk8FrycFnOYXH1fdFGQKDsPSqXyWP/s1600/ilo.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioZdVItAUi0e56yAPwIyHjUehCjAQyNE8Q9RIz0VuXjPfwXu9NF0S0U-PCSD-fj6qVsA2sWCUc3ahJCmIX6tdAmH5OEyxFL5p04ua2twy-ldgWDfHGk8FrycFnOYXH1fdFGQKDsPSqXyWP/w331-h514/ilo.jpg" width="331" /></a></u></b></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I had a few weeks of tiredness when starting propranolol, but that wore off for me and I have used it at a low dose since 2006 straight, and am very happy with it. It reduces my flushing episodes and makes it harder for me to flush. I don't feel side-effects from it anymore at this point. Nevertheless, all medication has potential side-effects. Propranolol's side effects are mainly the same as those of Clonidine (possible cold hands and feet in the winter, initial dizziness and tiredness, dry mouth). </span>When it is taken occasionally, propranolol has almost no side effects. Some people may feel a little light-headed, sleepy, find that it mildly affects their short-term memory or feel more lethargic. Because it lowers your blood pressure, it can also happen that your hands and feet feel more cold, numb and/or tingle. There has also been some proof that beta-blockers can make someone more prone to depression, which might be a concern for many rosaceans, but it doesn’t necessarily have to happen. It didn't with me. And science isn't <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2140288" target="_blank"><b>sold</b></a> on this claim yet:<br />
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<i style="color: #444444;"><b>"The relationship between propranolol and depression is a subject of controversy. Numerous case reports suggest that propranolol can cause depression, but two small prospective trials have failed to confirm this. The contemporary psychiatric literature is divided as to whether propranolol can cause depression." </b></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A small but statistic increase of depression risk on beta blockers like propranolol is probably related to a reduction of blood pressure and an increase of tiredness. I also heard from a girl on one of the Rosacea Facebook pages that beta blockers like propranolol <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2314483" target="_blank"><b>lower noradrenaline</b></a> levels in the brain and that this in itself can make you feel more depressed. I happen to take mirtazapine as well, which blocks certain receptors and increases the levels of noradrenaline, so that med counteracts this beta blocker effect for me. I have been feeling significantly less depressed while taking clonidine, propranolol and mirtazapine, than before I started taking them. And my unprovoked anxiety is as good as gone since. But when you just take a beta blocker, it might affect your mood. But then again, it might not; it is a possible side effect only. Also, theoretically these medication can cause difficulty in obtaining erections in men, but this might be related to the dose. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It is also important to note that beta-blockers like propranolol can worsen asthma or other chronic lung diseases. This is because they can narrow and constrict the</span> airways in the lungs due to the tightening of surrounding smooth muscle. This is not an issue for people with healthy lungs btw.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Low(er) blood pressure</span>.</b></span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>My experience is that both Clonidine and Propranolol didn’t lower my blood pressure too much. Your body tends to adapt also, I heard from my dermatologist, so you might be OK. For those with existing low blood pressure, these drugs are probably not the right choice, but always consult your doctor about the options and risks. You might want to monitor your blood pressure though during treatment. You can buy a small house device for little money usually. </span><br />
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<b style="font-size: 40px;"><span style="color: #990000;">User reviews for propranolol</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><br />GracieTiger <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?17710-propranolol">wrote</a></span> on March 23rd 2009:</span></b> "Hi guys, I hope everyone is well. I wanted to ask a couple of questions about your experiences with propranolol and its effectiveness. I have been taking propranolol for about three months now, and it has DRAMATICALLY improved my flushing. which is kind of puzzling to me because my greatest flushing trigger was a change in cold (or even just a tad chilly) weather to a warmer climate. again, this didn't require going from the freezing cold to a heated room, but even a change in just comfortable light jacket weather to t-shirt weather would trigger a flush. I also experienced anxiety-flushing, although it was much more transient, more like blushing. the cold weather flushing, however, was the classic ten hour long burning pain flushing.<span style="color: black;"> So, when I began propranolol, I assumed only the anxiety flushing would be helped out. much to my surprise, I have not flushed at all since being on the propranolol. i can't say that i haven't turned red or anything, but the bright red, burning flush, the kind that everyone asks me if i'm okay and need to see a doctor, haven't had it at all. it was nothing short of shocking to me. </span>I must add that i have had other mysterious health problems starting at the same time as the flushing began. I was diagnosed with an autonomic nervous system dysfunction, so the inderal also helps the rapid heart rate and arrhythmia i experience.. <span style="color: black;">I have noticed that as soon as the beta blocker wears off, the flushing returns. so it is by no means "better," but masked with medication. </span>My doctors still do not seem to take my flushing seriously. I went to a top-ranked dermatologist in my city, who was also recommended on a rosacea site, and he told me that I absolutely do not have rosacea because i have an autonomic nervous system dysfunction. I also do not have papules or pustules. I wanted to speak with him about possible laser treatment, but he wouldn't have it. all my other doctors, who treat the ANS dysfunction, agree that the flushing seems very much like rosacea. So, I am just wondering if anyone else has found total relief, or near total relief, of their flushing from the use of inderal? would one expect that inderal would treat all kinds of flushing triggers in rosacea, or just the anxiety/adrenaline related ones? is my response to inderal in regards to flushing more in line with an autonomic dysfunction, or is it typical for rosacea? Thanks so much guys."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Melissa W <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?17710-propranolol">replied</a></span> on March 23rd 2009: </span></b>"Hi Gracie, First of all it is great that the Propranolol has helped you so much! I understand your desire to "fix" what the problem is rather than masking it and I think that is a smart way to go. To find a doctor who can treat your ANS dysfunction. [..] Are you on the lowest dose possible that still helps curb your flushing? Honestly, I would love to find a med that would help control my flushing and burning and I would have no problem taking it forever LOL as long as the side effects were tolerable. I would have a problem taking a drug that makes me feel sluggish as I love being active but if it helped stop my flushing I might take it when I was going to a social function etc and not when I was going to be outside biking for example. Sorry I am not any help here [..] but I am confident you are under the care of doctors who are experts in that area and I would look to them for more tolerable long term solutions. Best of luck Gracie and let us know how you are doing. Melissa"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">GracieTiger <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?17710-propranolol">wrote</a></span> on March 23rd 2009:</span></b> "Hi, thank you so much melissa, it is great to hear from you. and as always, i appreciate your insight so much. I agree that i am pretty much willing to do anything to stop the flushing, and am so grateful that the inderal has helped me as well as it has. however, when i do say that the inderal causes lethargy and unpleasant side effects, i mean they are wicked side effects!!! i pretty much constantly walk around completely detached from the world. i find myself always just staring off into space, into some kind of la-la land, and i'll have no idea how much time has passed. i know some people take some hard drugs to experience these feelings, but for me, they are not good at all!!! i have also always been very active, and i am a student and work, so spending the day completely checked out of the world is not good. And yes, i am on the LOWEST dose. such a low dose that doctors insist the propranolol possibly can't help me. at first, my docs all told me i'm better and don't need it. so i stopped and sure enough, heart rate skyrocketed, all my symptoms came back, and everyone agreed i definitely need to be on it. i'm just super sensitive to its effects. so in most people, it might cause a little tiredness, but in me, i definitely feel drug-induced. Now, when i have to choose between the symptoms that the inderal takes care of (like the flushing) and the constant detachedness, i choose the detachedness. i just fear the day that the effects "wear off" and i'm left with all the old symptoms. Thank you so much once again."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Phlika29 <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?17710-propranolol">replied</a> </span>on March 23rd 2009:</span></b> "<span style="color: black;">I found propranolol to be very helpful. I found that the tiredness went away once my body had got used to it and have been taking it for years with no real problems.</span> I take a time release capsule and so just take one per day. What is the actual dose you are on?"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">CharmQuark <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?17710-propranolol">replied</a></span> on March 27th 2013: </span></b>"Thumbs up Propranolol for flushing! GracieTiger: When I saw your post I felt compelled to register and comment because I've had so many of the same experiences/results with inderal/propranolol! I realize this comment is years after your post but I hope you'll see it and update us on how you're doing and what's working for you now! I started using propranolol 5 years ago (early 20s) and noticed immediately that it helped not only with my social anxiety but also my rosacea.<span style="color: black;"> I had the extreme flushing even as a teenager but like you was also told that it couldn't be rosacea due to my age and no papules. </span>Nevertheless I was prescribed metrogel but it didn't seem to do much. <span style="color: black;">I'm so glad that I stumbled on the inderal because honestly it's been a lifesaver for me, not only for situational anxiety and flushing but for other purposes as well (irritability, hypomania). I have 10 mg tablets but sometimes cut them into 5 mg and only need that much.</span> I used to need a lot more. Some of the negative side effects for me have been: cognitive dulling, like you mentioned (it's such a pain to feel my brain slipping away as it kicks in!), decreased libido, and rarely my BP drops too low even on that low of a dose. Anyways, I'll stop this before it's super long but I hope you're well!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Jossan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?17710-propranolol/page2">replied</a></span> on March 29th 2013:</span></b> "I've taken propranolol for two weeks today. It may make me less sensitive to heat and cold, but it's hard to tell as I've avoided it as much as possible. I'm pretty sure it helps against my edema though as I haven't had this little swelling in a long long time! However, it seems like it worsens the ache. Anyone experienced this? Don't know if I should continue taking it or not. Sort of wanna try it for at least another two weeks but scared it's making it worse.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Jossan </b><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?17710-propranolol/page3">updated</a></span></b><b> on April 18th 2013:</b> </span>"<span style="color: black;">I've taken propranolol for 4-5 weeks now and I find that it reduces my swelling quite a bit. But I've started to get cold burning (it's not really cold but I don't get hot when it burns) in my cheeks that I didn't use to have (mainly had problems with aching and other types of pain). It also seems to both lessen the redness and increase it. I've been almost white a few days but then other days I've been much redder than before.</span> I even notice a shade of purple which I've never seen before. I'm not too worried about that though as long as it goes back to pink-red again and doesn't cause damage. I really like that I reduces the swelling but not so happy that it seems to be causing burning. Don't know if I should continue or if the burning and increased redness means that my rosacea is getting worse. Any advice? Thank you"<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Jrlhamcat2 <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?17710-propranolol/page3">wrote</a> </span>on May 30th 2013:</b></span> "<span style="color: black;">I found it reduced flushing from the first dose</span>. If 180 mg/day isn't helping at all, I doubt it's going to help you."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>fed_up <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?17710-propranolol/page3">wrote</a></span> on May 30th 2013:</b> </span>"<span style="color: black;">I also noticed reduced flushing from my very first dose.</span> I have been taking 40mg a day for just over a week and it is really helping me a lot."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Mtred <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://esfbchannel.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/3518-propranolol-so-close-to-being-my-miracle-cure/">wrote</a></span> on August 19th 2010:</b></span> </span>"To describe in words just how much facial blushing (FB) has altered the course of my life would be very difficult. I have been a prisoner of my own body now for nearly 11 years and everyday is a constant struggle to keep a smile on my face. A battle that i will ultimately never win, but hopefully someday will be able to make peace with. However i recently came close........<span style="color: black;">After trying nearly everything on the market I discovered a class of drugs known as Beta-Blockers. The one in which i was taking was propranolol, 20 to 40mg a day as needed. With some research i found it to be best for FB.</span> Basically without going into to much detail they slow your entire sympathetic nervous system down, and not only slow it down but it somehow keeps it there. I dare you to get embarrassed while taking these its literally impossible. Thirty min after my first dose i wanted to cry. I felt a calmness come over me that I've never felt sober. I was finally free. <span style="color: black;">Not only was i unable to blush but my face (cheeks) were barely red at all since the medication also induces vasoconstriction. </span>Sounds perfect right? well not exactly. The calmness that i referred to earlier only last for about an hour or so but the side effects will stay with you all day. <span style="color: black;">My heart sometimes felt like its was barely beating and your lung capacity is greatly diminished. Almost every time i stood up i felt light headed as if i were about to faint. </span>At night was the worst, pretty much the same effects during the day however now your system is slowing down even more as it naturally does before sleeping. I could not stop myself from having panic attacks due to these side effects. I tried to take them several times over a span of a year praying that something might change, but it never did. I cant say for sure how most react to beta-blockers for FB and anxiety since i haven't spoken with anyone else that has taken them. Nevertheless that was my experience but please feel free to share yours and let me know if you have had any success with any other types of meds. Thanks."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>ExFB <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://esfbchannel.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/3518-propranolol-so-close-to-being-my-miracle-cure/">replied</a></span> on August 21st 2010:</b></span> "Dear mtred. I tried beta blockers over the course of probably 10 years. I only ever took them in situations where I needed a crutch, normally presentations at work etc, you know the drill. <span style="color: black;">I agree they can have a calming effect that lasts for maybe 1 or 2 hours and for me they worked, I did not blush during that calming period. So I got the desired effect. The problem for me was also the side effects.</span> Taking high blood pressure medication for someone with normal blood pressure is not a good situation. I felt nauseous for the rest of the day. Which is why I only ever took them for when I really needed them. I never tried anything more exotic than beta blockers. I know there are others who have tried Prozac and the like."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Shellykay </b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://esfbchannel.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/3518-propranolol-so-close-to-being-my-miracle-cure/">replied</a></span></span><span style="color: #990000;"> on August 30th 2010:</span></b> "<span style="color: black;">Beta blockers are also the most helpful tool I have found in regards to my facial/neck/chest blushing.</span> I only took them in social situations where I knew I would blush and they definitely aided in calming me down and therefor not fearing the blush as much(which is half the battle) but didn't stop the blushing entirely by any means. Never felt too many negative side effects. Just as you said, almost couldn't feel my heart beat at times and got quite sleepy. I could definitely see how they might affect you badly if you took them daily though."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Stuckwithme <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://esfbchannel.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/3518-propranolol-so-close-to-being-my-miracle-cure/">replied</a></span> on September 29th 2010: </b></span>"<span style="color: black;">Inderal (propranolol) has been proven to work for blushing in studies. It's not a miracle cure but it does calm down your sympathetic nervous system and ultimately make you less prone to blushing.</span> BUT, it isn't a cure and I'll bet that while it works for some, for others it don't. Thing is also that in the beginning it might seem like a miracle cure, but then you have a blushing episode and then it doesn't seem to work very well any more. Whether or not you suffer from high blood pressure, it is probably best not to be stuck on Inderal. It has all sorts of side effects that ruins your life, like loss of libido, weight gain and a higher risk of developing diabetes."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQ-gZasq3SyL1UspuV1bK6ZrDkBMwYNg7_4hwPaHBq2ZP7jFLmGi8Yw6zlXxPf4AUcCaUWa2f3-FNuWL7MqMpPceVj1CKmOf_eoAb62PLDRS1pJPO0wIzducxsrRXyqyDs_1iqTulhY_u/s1600/vcv.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQ-gZasq3SyL1UspuV1bK6ZrDkBMwYNg7_4hwPaHBq2ZP7jFLmGi8Yw6zlXxPf4AUcCaUWa2f3-FNuWL7MqMpPceVj1CKmOf_eoAb62PLDRS1pJPO0wIzducxsrRXyqyDs_1iqTulhY_u/w334-h520/vcv.jpg" width="334" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Brady Barrows <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36876-Dilatend-for-flushing-and-redness/page2&highlight=propranolol">wrote</a></span> on April 7th 2017: </b></span>"Dilatrend (carvedilol) is a brand name drug manufactured by Hoffmann-La Roche is prescribed for hypertension and congestive heart failure. Another brand is Coreg, manufactured by Glenmark Generics Ltd. Carvedilol is the generic prescription, which is manufactured by many other pharmaceutical companies. Because rosacea sufferers ask their physicians what can they take to avoid flushing, one of the side effects of carvedilol since is reduces blood pressure is it also reduces flushing. Not that flushing completely goes away, it simply reduces flushing. Flushing is one of the signs/symptoms of rosacea. Contrary to a popular belief, flushing is not rosacea. It is a sign/symptom of rosacea just like redness is a sign. So it may help reduce redness but may not. All you can do is ask if your physician will prescribe it and try. Not all physicians will prescribe carvedilol for rosacea, but some do. Depends on your blood pressure. If you blood pressure is low, your physician may have qualms about prescribing it for rosacea. There are a number of other prescription drugs that have been anecdotally reported in RF to avoid flushing and I have collected a list. Carvedilol is simply one among many. There are also several non prescription oral treatments to avoid flushing such as aspirin and red clover."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Emz <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37082-Possible-for-flushing-to-worsen-after-stopping-beta-blockers&highlight=propranolol">wrote</a> on April 19th 2017</span></b><span style="color: #990000;">:</span> "<span style="color: black;">I tapered off propranolol 30mg a day a few months ago. I was taking them for flushing but I have found no increase in flushing at all which was a big surprise</span>. I still use them occasionally (10mg once or twice a week max) and find them far more effective with occasional use (I wonder if my body had just got used to them when taking them daily?). As far as I'm aware it is fine to use occasionally although I would check this with your GP."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Tondar </span></b><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37024-Raynauds-syndrome-flushing-and-betablockers&highlight=propranolol">wrote</a> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">on April 6th 2017:</span></b> "<span style="color: black;">It didn't take long after starting with propranolol before I started noticing that my hands and feet were freezing (tip of my nose as well). I also started seeing my feet turn very red in the shower.</span> I slowly weened myself off the propranolol and started taking atenolol instead which was better (still happens but not as bad as before). I have started to now ween myself off of atenolol and have a found a new "odd" symptom. My sympathetic nervous system seems VERY sensitive now. At work if I speak up in a meeting or get into a disagreement my whole head starts to burn/flush. Beta-blockers are used to treat social anxiety which I never really felt I had before but now coming off of them I feel I now have this condition. I read a research report suggesting this can happen on withdrawal unfortunately it did not say if it was permanent or not."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">mdavis3995 <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/b4dh2m/beta_blockers/">wrote</a> on March 23rd 2019:</span></b> "I’ve been on 20mg of Nadolol a day for almost a year. It really helps to keep me from flushing. I haven’t had any bad side effects. I’m otherwise pretty healthy and I drink a lot of water every day."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Spaceman9086 <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/b4dh2m/beta_blockers/">wrote</a> on March 23rd 2019:</span></b> "I take propranolol. Seems to be one of the more popular / effective medications for flushing."<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">More scientific links for the use of propranolol for facial flushing</span></b><u><br /><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=16243148" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=16243148</a></u></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><u><a class="c_nobdr t_prs" href="http://www.jfponline.com/index.php?id=22143&tx_ttnews%5btt_news%5d=168658" target="_blank">http://www.jfponline.com/index.php?id=22143&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=168658</a></u></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3692271/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3692271/</a></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2010/01/beta_blockers_may_offer_simple.html" target="_blank">http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2010/01/beta_blockers_may_offer_simple.html</a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16243148?dopt=Abstract" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16243148?dopt=Abstract</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><a href="http://rosacea-support.org/nrs-on-beta-blockers-and-flushing.html" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">http://rosacea-support.org/nrs-on-beta-blockers-and-flushing.html</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><a href="http://rosacea-support.org/rosacea-flushing-and-propranolol.html" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">http://rosacea-support.org/rosacea-flushing-and-propranolol.html</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><a href="http://www.dundee.ac.uk/medther/tayendoweb/images/propranolol.htm" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">http://www.dundee.ac.uk/medther/taye...ropranolol.htm</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.aafp.org/afp/2002/0801/p435.html" target="_blank">http://www.aafp.org/afp/2002/0801/p435.html</a></span></span></span><br /><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 45px;"><b>3. Mirtazapine (Remeron / Zispin / Avanza)</b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYNbgi1CBu5Q99uhgOEBsJqrx77BqK10H8Y7H6gaY53NaMJr8rJYGF2zxzAZivaTvU2dclN_O8Qb72D1NctvQWlwGDCb_Wno04UzNdGa3Q2jI6MIZKRJxZ4eO37Oet3lnAUgewfko6rbe/s1600/DSC00287.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYNbgi1CBu5Q99uhgOEBsJqrx77BqK10H8Y7H6gaY53NaMJr8rJYGF2zxzAZivaTvU2dclN_O8Qb72D1NctvQWlwGDCb_Wno04UzNdGa3Q2jI6MIZKRJxZ4eO37Oet3lnAUgewfko6rbe/w426-h320/DSC00287.JPG" width="426" /></a>I take <b><span style="color: #783f04;">22,5 mg</span></b> of mirtazapine at night. I love mostly everything about this med; how it reduces the most violent flushing for me, how I sleep like a baby on it with pleasant vivid dreams, how my anxiety is completely gone, how much less depressed I feel ever since starting it in 2006. But there is one downside; it can cause weight gain. And it did for me too. I went from 50 kg (110 pounds) to 65-70 kg (143-154 pounds). And I hate it. Nevertheless, I can't do without mirtazapine. The times I stopped taking it, the weight dropped off without any effort but I started feeling restless, anxious and more flushed again constantly. Doesn't weigh up against the slimline for me personally, but I am nearing the age of 40 now so maybe that plays a role as well; I can't be bothered as much now as when I was in my mid twenties. <b><span style="color: #444444;">SO... </span></b>Mirtazapine dose for facial flushing should vary between 15 mg and 30 mg a day, taken at night before bedtime. From what I have understood from Prof. Chu, mirtazapine has not only <span style="color: black;">potent antihistamine actions</span>, but also seems to act somewhat as an <span style="color: black;">anti-inflammatory</span> and shuts down flushing to a degree.<span style="color: black;"> It also blocks 5-HT(2A) which helps combating facial flushing. </span>Blockage of 5-HT2A receptors by mirtazapine, has <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4331402/" target="_blank"><b>proven</b></a> to reduce hot flashes and flushing in post-menopausal women. When you have a flush or a hot flush, the body's core temperature regulation gets messed up. Your body no longer can regulate the core body temperature the way it is supposed to, and as a result you overheat. For people with rosacea, this results often in more blood flow to the skin (trying to release the heat through the widening of blood vessels), vasodilatation of the blood vessels near the skin and a red flaring face. It is mirtazapine's blocking of 5-HT2A which plays a key role in the thermo disruption, which helps to control the flushing. Mirtazapine is a new type of tricyclic antidepressant, and it's also called a NaSSA: noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant. It isn't an official nerve pain treatment option, but research recently <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18209516" target="_blank"><b>showed</b></a> that mirtazapine does help with the reduction of<span style="color: black;"> pain sensations. </span>Besides mirtazapine (which can give that particular side effect of increased appetite and weight), there are also other SSRI antidepressants which can help with rosacea redness, flushing and burning. Think of <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Celexa and Zoloft</b></span>. I was prescribed mirtazapine 15mg back in 2005 (currently taking 22,5 mg), together with Clonidine and Propranolol, but these medications can also be taken individually. Many will find however that they can be more effective together than separately when it comes to cutting down on your face flushing. Mirtazapine is a relatively new antidepressant and not only one of the most effective antidepressants to reduce anxiety and depression, but it also has a proven track record for the reduction of facial (hot) flushes. I absolutely love this drug; it has made my life a lot better since I started taking it. No more 24/7 painful debilitating face flushing and burning, a near complete lift of the anxiety I used to feel and a significant lift of mood, even at a lower dose. I just cannot eat as much anymore as I was used to and had to increase my exercise, which is now less of a problem as I flush less violently.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXJc9_LWsoZjLmkVt1JgwstGLS0YaMQoo2Ixd23a3ergc-Luke1SFENJHOZtTPlDb6T4s-l7FZTn07QJNf0M_d1Xfy8XMVA2JnUlRH8iym7wqgnUdyC2w15oR41g2ssFNRCYZszIqvOtT/s1600/vcv.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXJc9_LWsoZjLmkVt1JgwstGLS0YaMQoo2Ixd23a3ergc-Luke1SFENJHOZtTPlDb6T4s-l7FZTn07QJNf0M_d1Xfy8XMVA2JnUlRH8iym7wqgnUdyC2w15oR41g2ssFNRCYZszIqvOtT/w330-h514/vcv.jpg" width="330" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Mirtazapine is a newer type of antidepressant and works on the same primary receptor (<a href="http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/sadhelp/mirtazapine.htm#alpha2" target="_blank">alpha2-adrenergic autoreceptor</a>) as clonidine</b></span> however paradoxically as an antagonist (the theory is that there is an alpha2 dysregulation not simply an excess or deficiency). You can take them both together, but I always leave at least an hour between taking one and the other. Mirtazapine recently has been shown to help hot flushes, just as clonidine does. It also increases (or more precise, stops the blocking of) serotonin similar to SSRIs, Prozac, Paxil etc. But with significantly less risk of sexual dysfunction than those antidepressants. Mirtazapine's main side effect is an increase in appetite and slight change of metabolism, promoting weight gain. Most antidepressants do this, but mirtazapine does not have their loss of libido side effect. It causes sedation right after taking, and is also used as a sleep aide, so best take it around bedtime. I have been <span style="color: black;">sleeping wonderfully</span> since I started taking mirtazapine at the end of 2005. Solid nine hours of sleep with vivid but pleasant dreams. Mirtazapine works in the brain, where it enhances the effect of naturally occurring chemicals called <span style="color: black;">neurotransmitters</span>. These are chemical compounds that act as chemical messengers between nerve cells. Noradrenaline and serotonin are two such neurotransmitters and have various functions that we know of. When noradrenaline and serotonin are released from nerve cells in the brain they act to <span style="color: black;">lighten mood</span>. When they are bound to nerve cells in the brain, they no longer have an effect on mood. It is thought that when depression occurs, there may be a decreased amount of noradrenaline and serotonin released from nerve cells in the brain. Mirtazapine works by blocking receptors called alpha-2 receptors that are found on nerve cells in the brain. Noradrenaline and serotonin would normally bind to these receptors. By blocking them, mirtazapine prevents noradrenaline and serotonin from becoming bound to the nerve cells. <span style="color: black;">This enhances the mood-lightening effect of free noradrenaline and serotonin that is released from nerve cells, and helps relieve depression</span> (<a href="http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/depression/medicines/zispin.html#ixzz2K8rYrPOM" target="_blank"><b>source</b></a>).<br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #990000;">The London Dermatologist <a href="http://www.londondermatologist.co.uk/how-do-i-stop-my-face-flushing/" target="_blank">wrote</a> about how to stop your face from flushing</span></span></b><span><i style="color: #444444;"> </i>"Other drugs that can sometimes be useful are fluoxetine, carvedilol and mirtazapine. Propranolol, a ‘beta-blocker’, is sometimes used, but it is not especially effective in my experience, although it does help with anxiety. All of these medicines are unlicensed in rosacea (meaning that using them to treat rosacea differs to how they were originally intended to be used)." "Tablet treatments can be very helpful, most usefully clonidine, a blood pressure medication, taken two or three times a day. This has the fortunate side effect in some people of providing excellent facial blood flow control. The dose can be pushed up quite high under supervision from a dermatologist."</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>About the best mirtazapine dose for rosacea redness and flushing</b></span><br />
At 30 mg my mood was better than now at 22,5 mg a day, but the drug no longer was ás effective then for face flushing. Reason being that mirtazapine is a strange duck of a med and works twofold: at a low dose, so from 1 mg to about 20 mg a day, it has strong antihistamine effects. This means that at these low doses it gives most antihistamine-related side effects: drowsiness, lethargy, tiredness. But it also means that at this dose it has the highest effect on flushing, as histamine is a potent blood vessel dilator. Mirtazapine does more than just block histamine however. But around the dose of 30 mg a day and upwards, noradrenaline action kicks in and takes over the antihistamine effect. This stronger noradrenaline effect is less interesting from an anti-flushing point of view, although mirtazapine at that higher dose is in fact more effective as an antidepressant. Hence why 15 mg a day is the official start up dose of mirtazapine for depressed patients, and not a stall dose. At this higher dose (30 mg and up), the side effects of mirtazapine also change and<span style="color: #444444;"> </span><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">people are less drowsy and less tired on a higher dose of mirtazapine than on a lower dose.</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></span>This, because most of those side-effects are tied to the antihistamine actions; they are the same side effects you get from taking other antihistamine medication, for instance Benadryl, Singulair or Zyrtec. Derms I know prescribe mirtazapine however at 15 mg per day for flushing patients, exactly because at this dose the anti flushing effects are said to be highest. My experience with mirtazapine was that at 15 mg it worked probably best for my flushing (against them I mean). But at that dose the antidepressant effect wasn't big enough, and the drowsiness related side effects were pretty noticeable. I found my best dose now to be 22,5 mg a day; high enough to not feel completely tired, but low enough to really help curb my flushing.<br /><div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6-VngfVA68gJKv7fZCY-OWxx5RYcHaTC2pb-91OxMWn1Y9h_MLzgAZ94RH-aD73mm0l0UxcdWyQI6SHPmJQwyAUXEX1G-wxn7FvqrwUrTAX_KD3oF2oXbnlht_Ylc8HDrgGic2yARbSk/s1600/c2a8p.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="665" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6-VngfVA68gJKv7fZCY-OWxx5RYcHaTC2pb-91OxMWn1Y9h_MLzgAZ94RH-aD73mm0l0UxcdWyQI6SHPmJQwyAUXEX1G-wxn7FvqrwUrTAX_KD3oF2oXbnlht_Ylc8HDrgGic2yARbSk/w427-h665/c2a8p.jpg" width="427" /></a><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Mirtazapine can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11063897/" target="_blank">improve</a> (menopausal) hot flashes </b></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Treatment of hot flushes with mirtazapine: four case reports. To evaluate the effect of mirtazapine on the severity of hot flushes and bouts of perspiration in women. METHOD: In two women with depression a reduction in hot flushes was noticed by serendipity during treatment with mirtazapine 15-30 mg/daily. On the basis of this observation clinical studies were extended with two non-depressed and non-anxious women with hot flushes. Both subjects were prescribed mirtazapine daily. All subjects reported a practically complete disappearance of hot flushes and associated perspiration, within the first week of treatment. Mirtazapine appears to have a substantial ameliorating effect on hot flushes and perspiration bouts. It is postulated that the 5-HT(2A) blocking properties of mirtazapine is accounted in the symptomatic relief of hot flushes. In addition it is hypothesized that the serotonergic system is crucially involved in the pathogenesis of hot flushes and perspiration bouts. Further evaluation in double-blind placebo-controlled studies is encouraged."</span><br style="color: black; font-size: medium;" /><div style="color: black; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Antidepressants also have an anti-inflammatory <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278584617300726" target="_blank">effect</a> </b></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">"SSRIs and SNRIs are some of the most commonly applied drugs for recurrent depressive disorders. The anti-inflammatory and anti oxidative effect may be one of the potential mechanisms of action of SSRIs and SNRIs."</span><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">My own experience with mirtazapine</b></span> was that I went within some weeks of using it from a 24/7 flusher, at my wits ends, to a ‘part-time’ flusher. It seems to heighten the threshold for flushing. I have heard this from several other forum members, incl. WrinkledClue. From the three meds mentioned, Mirtazapine has the best scientific studies backing up it’s positive effect on facial flushing. Probably because of its effectivity in hot flashes. It is mentioned in the link that Clonidine and Mirtazapine shouldn’t be used together, but I have done this for 4,5 years now without problems, as have many others and Dr. Tony Chu has explained to me that there is no problem in this, as long as you use both meds mostly for the flushing. I do leave an hour at least between taking clonidine and mirtazapine pills, so not literally take them at the same time. They antagonize each other in the way that Clonidine lowers the antidepressant actions of Mirtazapine, and Mirtazapine lowers the blood pressure lowering actions of Clonidine, but this is only partly. The pharmacists in Holland were positive that there is no proof for this as they are up to date on medication interactions they say, and never officially were informed about this. They prescribe both drugs together still without problems, as do dermatologists. For the flushing actions of both, there is no impediment. Nevertheless I leave some space between taking one and the other. Positive note: even on these low doses Mirtazapine works against anxiety and depression. This med can lift your darkest rosacea-induced clouds and the better spirits and reducing of anxiety help combat flushing and inflammation even more.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE5vI9ekZ6StcWDZkqn3ll6IHZrQXJrjyPnbh3vSSu3IrbvA02B4q8vLpM4aLizJJ8fC_kTeIrlGpp6trBvIcPiHklYQuGxfReJ7DB7RBctn6lfNXDJeLzWHCXyg7WZoXtagnztU9utETm/s1600/pc3b6.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE5vI9ekZ6StcWDZkqn3ll6IHZrQXJrjyPnbh3vSSu3IrbvA02B4q8vLpM4aLizJJ8fC_kTeIrlGpp6trBvIcPiHklYQuGxfReJ7DB7RBctn6lfNXDJeLzWHCXyg7WZoXtagnztU9utETm/s400/pc3b6.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><b style="font-size: 40px;"><span style="color: #990000;">Possible side effects:</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><br />Dizziness and tiredness</span></b> If you take this med before bedtime, you won’t have much trouble with it probably. But your body might need some time to adjust to it, so give it some time before evaluating. The antidepressant actions officially will start to kick-in after 3 weeks of use, but many experienced them sooner. Same for the anti-flushing actions.<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Cold-turkey effects when you miss a dose or stop taking it without tapering off</b></span><b style="color: #990000;"> </b>Mirtazapine can give quite strong cold turkey symptoms, including nausea, dizziness, brain zaps and restlessness, as well as terrible insomnia if you go down on your dose too quickly. You need to be careful to taper off slowly, especially if you decide to come off the drug - you can get an expensive liquid form to taper it down very slowly, e.g. 5mg for one week, 4mg the next week etc, as withdrawal effects are quite common otherwise. You can also cut your pills in smaller parts, but be aware that even a few milligrams more or less can already give noticeable side effects.<br /><br /><span><b style="color: #990000;">Weight gain and increased appetite</b></span><b style="color: #990000;"> </b>As mentioned above in this blog post: I gained weight, about 15 kilos (and a few kilos more sometimes), I must say this. But there are others on the forum who were able not to, taking care of a good (though strict) diet. It is said that antidepressant-induced weight gain comes merely from the change in serotonin, which normally regulates your appetite. Taking these types of drugs tend to increase your appetite and make people eat more - hence weight gain. Mirtazapine is particularly suspect here as it also works as an antihistamine, which also increases appetite and creates also an appetite for carbohydrate and sugar rich foods. Someone on a forum compared this effect to wanting to eat glazed donuts morning, evening and night, or having to withstand the urge to eat sugar straight from the package. But there is another reason why antidepressants have a bad reputation for increasing weight: a change in metabolic markers and a lowered thyroid production, as well as a change in adrenal function, causing higher cortisol levels (which is a stress hormone) and lower adrenal production. This in the end leads to <span style="color: black;">slower metabolism</span>. This is something antidepressant users have complained about on forums for as long as these drugs are on the market, basically. People who made sure not to change their diet, nor the amount they were eating, still gained weight while taking antidepressants. I had super fast metabolism before, like my very slim parents, but this has definitely changed. It's the sole reason why I have a love-hate relationship with mirtazapine. But my flushing is simply too debilitating without this med. I love mirtazapine for everything it does except the weight gain.</div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><b>With strict diet and exercise I did manage to get some of the initial weight gain off again</b></span>, but it's very hard work and I never got back to my skinny normal figure. I was a bit underweight to start with though and am not overweight now technically either, but it did change my weight and figure, I want to be honest about that. I also feel hungry a lot more than before. Keeping a close eye on my diet, having less than normal calorie intake and exercise is the way to go for me personally.. I remind myself that without mirtazapine, I could not exercise at all! I could not leave the ventilator and cold packs in fact. So it is the better of two evils for me. <a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?20447-How-to-control-Remeron-food-cravings" target="_blank"><b>Here</b></a> the weight gain associated with remeron is discussed, it's a good read. Left picture was my normal figure (around 50 kg, always close to being underweight), second me around 65 kg, after taking mirtazapine for 6 years.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_9KhkSNKDl23ii8GuyKPOOnuzF345yEfR-hXlGdMBHuIG2aRmvIEYwhQxm_n5y3UU_aKol4U0PDooUfbzY_toDAwP9ll623i5Q4-5xLi2iS1n7QwrMreSYRIeu7rIMeVA9P87AvkdeZor/s1600/DSC00657.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_9KhkSNKDl23ii8GuyKPOOnuzF345yEfR-hXlGdMBHuIG2aRmvIEYwhQxm_n5y3UU_aKol4U0PDooUfbzY_toDAwP9ll623i5Q4-5xLi2iS1n7QwrMreSYRIeu7rIMeVA9P87AvkdeZor/w274-h202/DSC00657.jpg" width="274" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhla9Qo-4dqNIjNoJ8k8CZ5dYF0pzOaeKcoBIMDM6SpD0rJ8nCiL_pCmJ50EQgW8VbfMZEscKbsiSSDfCbF60EX0rjM3u0XJtafYLNj52jm7VMGkx5TBaPihxKXPttTZ730PwBhGHuQLjMK/s1600/13+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhla9Qo-4dqNIjNoJ8k8CZ5dYF0pzOaeKcoBIMDM6SpD0rJ8nCiL_pCmJ50EQgW8VbfMZEscKbsiSSDfCbF60EX0rjM3u0XJtafYLNj52jm7VMGkx5TBaPihxKXPttTZ730PwBhGHuQLjMK/w399-h201/13+%25282%2529.jpg" width="399" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I understand that people who contemplate taking mirtazapine, might be worried about its weight gain side effect. But there is some science behind why this happens and with a healthy diet, reducing your calories a bit and mild exercise, I managed to keep the weight gain within (for me) acceptable limits. I also found <b><a href="http://katependley.blogspot.com/2008/11/beating-weight-gain-of-remeron-low-carb.html" target="_blank">another blog</a></b> where someone finally seemed to be able to explain why people using antidepressants, in this case remeron, can gain weight, without changing too much in their habits and diet. Scroll a bit further down for an account of blogster Kate Pendley's experience with mirtazapine and weight gain and how she tackled it.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hJPI_nlw3QRvdkB_NUQEwwW8agD2HDrjCnqhjyDpMPVx1A4DJwQ3xstjCENbAmnMi3-JbeEhhoJciDj-O6NHHCWcFgR2jIUkQKlNKza_Kse0fANyaxDVU-A5QDFUpDzoUMS-CZxbNOpt/s1600/1468679918-1441613269-55ed45d570b46-063-gordon-parks-theredlist.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="350" height="523" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hJPI_nlw3QRvdkB_NUQEwwW8agD2HDrjCnqhjyDpMPVx1A4DJwQ3xstjCENbAmnMi3-JbeEhhoJciDj-O6NHHCWcFgR2jIUkQKlNKza_Kse0fANyaxDVU-A5QDFUpDzoUMS-CZxbNOpt/w343-h523/1468679918-1441613269-55ed45d570b46-063-gordon-parks-theredlist.jpg" width="343" /></a><b style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span font-size:="" style="color: black;" x-large=""><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 42px; font-weight: 400;"><b>User reviews on mirtazapine for facial flushing:</b></span></span></b><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>WrincledClue</b> </span>gives some good advice on how she tries to limit any weight gain, while using mirtazapine (brand name: Remeron): "I have the same issues with Remeron. I take 30 mg at night and it's critical to blunt the flushing that previously had decimated my life. I read about it online and learned that it increases glucose uptake to the cells, which leaves you with a lower blood sugar, hence the cravings. For me, it removes the feeling of satiety after a meal, so I'm always wanting more more more. I dealt with this very effectively by going on a very low carb diet. I eat meat, chicken, eggs, fish, teeccino with 2%milk, and tons and tons of veggies. Also butter and olive oil. NO FLOUR AND NO SUGAR AND NO FRUIT. The protein and the fat blunt my appetite and stabilize my blood sugar. No blood sugar swings mean much less cravings. Google Paleo Diet or read Atkins or South Beach diets online, it's the same thing. Nothing that causes big blood sugar spikes and the subsequent big blood sugar drops. Now my eating's back under control and I'm losing the Remeron weight almost effortlessly, which I couldn't do when I was stuffing cookies into my mouth on a daily basis. For me, moderation is difficult. I do much better having certain foods simply not allowed. Then, I don't have to try to eat just a bit; I know I can't have any, so it's not an issue. Good luck to you! It was important to me to solve this, I didn't want to double in weight while I was blunting the flushing."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">MissM <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37489-Extremely-tired-of-living-like-this-is-this-rosacea-or-something-else/page2">wrote</a> on July 13th 2017: </span></b>"This past year I hit an all time low. Suicidal thoughts were on the forefront of my mind almost all times of the day. Like Nat007 mentioned, medication did help me a bit. I'm on Remeron as well and it has helped greatly with my depression/anxiety (and sleep!!) and decreased my flushing episodes by probably 60-70%. I still get bummed and anxious and I still flush, but I am closer to the person I was pre-rosacea diagnosis (most of the time). I think the most challenging thing for me to accept is that my life will never be the same no matter what treatment I pursue (I have subtype 1 mostly). That's a tough pill to swallow, I know...but for me, I'm starting to work on my mindset a little more (now that I am medicated, haha) and realize that though I might not be able to change the disease, I do have control over how I perceive it and how I respond. [..] My "blushing" went away ~95%...which brought down my overall baseline redness. I still flush though and get blotchy (burning/stinging) when I'm in a hardcore flare. I'm very grateful for the meds. My anxiety is greatly reduced and I can actually enjoy my life a little more now...where before I was constantly in mental anguish and didn't want to do anything but lie in bed with a fan on my face. My whole nervous system was whacked out and I couldn't even sleep. It took about 2 months though for my flushing to improve, so for me, patience was key. Everyone is different...sometimes SSRI's work very quickly to bring down flushing for some people."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Fed_up <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?33305-Anti-depressants-and-blushing&highlight=Celexa">wrote</a> on June 16th 2015:</span></b><b style="color: #cc0000;"> </b>"<span style="color: black;">I'm on mirtazapine too and it does help. In fact, I basically stopped coming to this forum for quite a few months because my skin was pretty good and rosacea stopped being such a big issue in my life</span>. It has been flaring up again recently though, I think because of stress. Another good thing about mirtazapine - I no longer get those crushing, debilitating lows I used to get with this disease. Partly because my skin is generally flaring less, and also because mirtazapine has made me a more emotionally stable person. I still get mildly pissed off when my skin is playing up, but I'm now much more able to keep things in perspective and adopt a "this too shall pass" mentality. I have been on it for about a year and put on probably 10 pounds, but this is actually a good thing for me, because I was too skinny before."</div>
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Richie1 <a href="http://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?t=620">wrote</a> on May 10th 2008:</span></b><b style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"> </b>"Hello people, For years I have had chronic facial flushing which has been sore and itchy.I have had 3 ipl treatment which have helped but by no means cured the problem.The doctors I visited were pretty much useless saying its a healthy glow etc! <span style="color: black;">After much trial and error orally and topically I have recently started taking Remeron 15mg a day and this has totally stopped the flushing.I do not flush simple as!I still have a few pink marks on my cheeks from skin damage from previous flushing but I would say I am 95% symptom free and no more dark red nose and cheeks!</span>Remeron blocks signals in the brain and is used as an antidepressant,I presume it is blocking the flushing signals from working.It is also used as an antihistamine which is linked to rosacea so I don't know if its killing all of that in my system but to be honest I don't care because its working!! I don't want to get anyone hopes up as different thing work for different people but I can only share the success i have had and if it benefits only one other person it has been worthwhile."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZD8w_nf25fVXjgLLgQ7OaV6lZveTtsSIKy6G3dSWhW51uzNty3jC1lRIVHzny0-sim_3yOB_aJY8T4GTt9N-KCVu0rXqY1ipejJlXmsIn9suy-8erJH-fjzxbfYE3TRFeoNYxkp_yucWv/s1600/546123_10151532028438996_570527142_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="447" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZD8w_nf25fVXjgLLgQ7OaV6lZveTtsSIKy6G3dSWhW51uzNty3jC1lRIVHzny0-sim_3yOB_aJY8T4GTt9N-KCVu0rXqY1ipejJlXmsIn9suy-8erJH-fjzxbfYE3TRFeoNYxkp_yucWv/w353-h447/546123_10151532028438996_570527142_n.jpg" width="353" /></a><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Kiwisamchi<a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?19504-Citalopram-and-rosacea"> wrote</a> about remeron and how it alleviated flushing: </span></b>"[..] I just started taking mirtazapine (Remeron) which is a NaSSA (noradrenaline specific serotonin antagonist) and it is unique in that due to the receptors that it blocks (H1, 5HT2, 5HT3), it can be useful to treat anxiety, depression and agitation with the relative low risk of causing insomnia (mainly causes drowsiness and sedation) and sexual side effects. However, it has a very high risk of weight gain (quoted at 54% vs. the negligible effect of citalopram on weight gain) which in itself, may be a major deterrent if you already have issues with self-image. I am only on Day 5 of taking this medication and I already feel that my body's metabolism has slowed to a crawl. It is giving me the biggest sugar/carb cravings too so that hasn't helped with my attempts to control my appetite. I also have noticed it hasn't helped my insomnia (hey, there's the "no guarantee" clause). But the most important thing that I have noticed is that my daily cyclical flushings (3am and 3pm) have stopped. It is way too early for me to say for sure if it is due to the mirtazapine so I can keep you posted in case you decide you want to try this med. The daily flushing was becoming intolerable so I decided weight gain was the lesser of the two evils. If you decide to come off the citalopram due to aggravation of your Rosacea symptoms, you may want to consider venlafaxine. It is classed as SNRI (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) and have been used to help with "hot flushes" in menopausal women. It has similar sexual dysfunction side effects to the SSRIs but has the tendency to cause more weight loss than gain. Just keep in mind that it has varying effects depending on the dosage (which of the receptors blocked are dose dependent). Your doctor can further discuss this with you at the time."<br />
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And she updated:</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></b>"I've been taking mirtazapine for 2&1/2 weeks now and have DEFINITELY noticed major improvements. My skin is not sensitive to touch anymore (used to flush all night from my skin rubbing on my pillows... can sleep on my side again) and I have stopped using the metronidazole cream and sea buckthorn oil serum (both seemed to dry my skin even more and caused very large pores). So I suppose that the general idea is.... in terms of helping with Rosacea: which specific agent used may not matter so much as long as it is helping the person feel better, get more sleep and feel less anxious. I am convinced that my flushing and P&P's were related to my high level of anxiety before I started taking the antidepressants. I have also been tracking my menstrual cycle to see if my flushing is related to my level of hormones and I am currently mid-cycle (when all hormone levels are highest) and still... so far so good since I've been on the antidepressants. Hope this thread helps more people make a more informed decision about whether or not to start "mood-enhancing" pills or antidepressants."<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Bluedog <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36694-Reducing-Mirtazapine-burning-face&p=331930#post331930">wrote</a> on February 6th 2017:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b></span>"Reducing Mirtazapine - burning face. Been on 15 Mgs of Mirtazapine for about a week for flushing. Slowly worked up from 1/4 tab( 3.75). Not that effective for me and I could not stand the side effects, total fatigue, no motivation and increasing anxiety. Felt actually better at 7.5 Mgs. At any rate, decided to taper to 11.5 Mgs over the past 3 nights and slept better and felt more like my old self. Woke up this morning with increased redness and facial burning, which had been better last week. Was making the bed this am and found 7.5 Mgs of the pill on my duvet! So, I only actually took 3.75 Mgs last night. What should I do from here? I really can't stand the facial burning and my face feels warm again to the touch. Should I add an antihistamine today? What dose should I take tonight? Obviously, I am going to have to taper this drug, but not sure where to start. Any suggestions would be appreciated."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">I replied on March 2nd 2017:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>"Hi. I didn't understand entirely from your post if you had less facial burning and redness on 15 mg of mirtazapine, or more? Maybe it is good to know, that antidepressants typically take FIVE WEEKS of use, before they start working on anxiety and depression. Mirtazapine works statistically a bit quicker, more around the three week line, but one week is statistically too short to see any effect, other than side effects. Side effects happen right away, and tend to decrease and ease up over time, but the benefits of antidepressants take a ridiculously long time to kick in. This is something everyone is warned for btw, both in the med leaflet and usually by your doctor. Because that 5 week time window is dangerous for severe depressed people. The increase of anxiety and depression is temporary, but might tip some people over the edge. In your case, mirtazapine is actually one of the strongest antidepressants that work both on anxiety and depression. But... you need to give it time. It won't work for everyone, but it certainly needs more than one week for most people to start working. The right dose needs to be built up first. For flushing and burning, 15 mg is a good dose. 7,5 mg will mainly work as a sleeping pill. The lower the dose of mirtazapine, the stronger the antihistamine actions, and the more tired and slugged you will feel most likely. This is because only at higher dosis, the noradrenaline effect kicks in (above 30 mg). Because of this, 7,5 mg is only used as a sleeping aid, and the start up dose for depression is 15 mg. Then needs to be upped to 30 mg. For depression doctors can go as high as 45 mg or 60 mg, but for rosacea, 15 to 30 mg is best usually. If you struggle with tiredness and lethargy, then those are typical side effects of the lower dose of mirtazapine, and side effects that might get better over time, as your body adjusts to the drug. Below 15 mg you won't get the right effect on your rosacea and only get more tired. At 7,5 or even 3,5 mg you might as well see it as a very dopey making anti insomnia pill. I'm not saying this would be a good med for you, but one week is not really a good time window to come to any conclusion, given the side effects you mention.... best wishes"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-BztBTzOOeLWgXJFpqLgjlDYPrhPcNOQsxYJo513P9PdhbC3q_Te689Y0o3DUFic-vZ6ruYw6MoaJe622_zbhvOJntz5hq2if_USgoKDMvfCNXQYbdx7ccGZTRuu1piBDWsir8XfnrpN/s1600/87570c23e57e093aa2e0a6a8346e3413--showgirls-gordon-parks.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="600" height="556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-BztBTzOOeLWgXJFpqLgjlDYPrhPcNOQsxYJo513P9PdhbC3q_Te689Y0o3DUFic-vZ6ruYw6MoaJe622_zbhvOJntz5hq2if_USgoKDMvfCNXQYbdx7ccGZTRuu1piBDWsir8XfnrpN/w357-h556/87570c23e57e093aa2e0a6a8346e3413--showgirls-gordon-parks.jpg" width="357" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Bluedog <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36694-Reducing-Mirtazapine-burning-face&p=331930#post331930">replied</a> on March 2nd 2017:</span></b><b style="color: #cc0000;"> </b>"Thx for your reply, Nat. My face felt calmer on the 15 mgs, but it was too debilitating for me and was giving me very bad insomnia and anxiety at night. I felt very weak while exercising which I did not like. I am not sure how the Mirtz helps the flushing response as a stand alone med? I was unable to tolerate clonidine as it made my heart race and turned my body into a fiery inferno at 1/4 dose. That was a huge disappointment as I felt that might be my flush-saver! I am very slight and also very drug sensitive. I saw my GP yesterday and he gave me 10 mgs of propranolol to start and then titrated upwards. I am not sure if this will help on its own. I have reduced my triggers immensely and also on a low histamine diet as I was reacting to anything and everything I ate. The diet is only working after I did a cleanse for 3 days and totally reduced my histamine levels. I am eating 3 or 4 low histamine foods without anti-histamines and without reacting. Baby steps! Do you think propanderol on its own will help the flushing now mainly with stress, temps and exercise? Many thx!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">I <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36694-Reducing-Mirtazapine-burning-face&p=331930#post331930">replied</a> on March 2nd 2017:</span></b><b style="color: #cc0000;"> </b>"That is such a shame that you are so sensitive to medication and their side effects.. I still think that you might have far less side effects from mirtazapine when you are 4 weeks down the line, but that is really your call. Insomnia is the opposite of what mirtazapine usually causes; it's a known sleeping aid normally. The anxiety should also be reduced if the drug is given some time to start working properly. But only you will know what is best here, if you feel this drug is intolerable within one week then you should absolutely discuss this with your doctor, as you did. Mirtazapine helps with the flushing, in a similar way to which it helps to combat menopausal hot flushes, which are a little bit related in mechanism to our type of facial flushing. Literature says about it: "Mirtazapine possesses potent inhibitory effects on serotonin, histamine, and alpha2-receptors, and is believed to be beneficial in the relief of hot flashes due to its inhibitory effects on serotonin and alpha2-receptors." I am not 100% sure how mirtazapine helps completely, but my derm has a lot of rosacea patients and sees mirtazapine being effective for the severe flushers. I think he said it somehow lowers the central nervous stimuli to flush, and also lowers histamine. Mirtazapine reduces alpha2-receptors, and they are directly involved in flushing:<br />
<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2170883">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2170883</a><br />
Propranolol helps some people too with flushing. There is a lot to be found online about this and also on this forum. But propranolol has side effects too.. Incl tiredness initially and some people also feel more anxious on it.. Here are some more studies that found mirtazapine effective for hot flushes:<br />
<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15330372">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15330372</a><br />
<a href="http://pesquisa.bvsalud.org/oncologiauy/resource/en/wprim-298833">http://pesquisa.bvsalud.org/oncologiauy/resource/en/wprim-298833</a><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Bluedog <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36694-Reducing-Mirtazapine-burning-face&p=331930#post331930">replied</a> on March 3rd 2017:</span></b><b style="color: #cc0000;"> </b>"Many thanks for all that information, Nat. It is really appreciated esp with all the research studies. Perhaps I gave up too soon, I found all I wanted to do was to sleep all day and would be up all night. It was really crazy. Maybe now that I am getting a semblance of control on the food front, I should give it a try again. It is so hard to figure out what to do when one has an overactive system. You get really gun shy and figure "less is more". Do you think the Mirtz would help with the exercise flushes? Thx again."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Bluedog <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37241-Best-flushing-supplement&p=334491#post334491">wrote</a> on May 18th 2017:</span></b><b style="color: #cc0000;"> </b>"I have tried hundreds of supplements, nothing had any effect whatsoever. SSRI's allow me to completely control the flushing. Famotidine stops the alcohol flush. Always consult a doctor before taking medication."</div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Blue Note </b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://esfbchannel.invisionzone.com/topic/28-remeron-mirtazapine-for-flushing/">wrote</a> </span></span><span style="color: #990000;">on October 18th, 2005: </span></b>"I posted about Mirtazapine a few times on the old forum and thought I'd pass the info along again. I've been using it for over a year with great success. It's an antidepressant that's also a strong antihistamine. It helps me sleep at night, which used to be a big problem. But most importantly, <span style="color: black;">it significantly cuts down on my flushing. I'd say about 60-70 percent. Granted, I can still flush as bad as ever, but it's not as common (used to be every day)</span> and it doesn't last as long as it used to. Also, since it helps me sleep, I'm less stressed and therefore less prone to flush. Any flushers out there should definitely look into this med. Hope this helps someone! Oh yeah, I take 7.5 mg in the morning and late afternoon, and 30 mg before I sleep. Usually knocks me out within an hour. The first few days I felt really sluggish, but adjusted rather quickly. I did get a serious appetite for the first few months, and really had to consciously control it. I put on a few pounds (went from 165 to 180) but then made an effort to not eat so much. Now it's not a problem. I've tried a other antihistamines (in large doses) and they didn't work nearly as well as Remeron. Perhaps the antidepressant in conjunction with the antihistamine is the key."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>HalfLife </b></span><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://esfbchannel.invisionzone.com/topic/28-remeron-mirtazapine-for-flushing/">replied</a> </span></b><span style="color: #990000;"><b>on October 27th 2005:</b> </span>"Yeah I'm taking it and its helping a lot I think. Definitely has reduced the permanent redness I always had. I'm so glad it wasn't permanent and was actually just flushing/blushing that was all day."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">GBforest <a href="http://esfbchannel.invisionzone.com/topic/28-remeron-mirtazapine-for-flushing/">replied</a> on December 16th, 2005:</span></b> "Thanks for the update Blue Note. Remeron has several interesting pharmacological properties for an antidepressant. Its good to hear a few success stories. Generally, the strong antihistamine action goes hand-in-hand with increased appetite, but with time, a person's appetite should re-establish itself. The sedation should also become more tolerable with time, as well. ....but I'm just restating what was already said. Again, thanks for the update."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">jlb2010 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?14639-Mirtazapine-(Remeron)-Questions/page3">wrote</a> on November 25th 2010:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>"I just started Remeron about 1 week ago. I started out using the 30 mg. Seriously, I am self-prescribing because both my derm and primary doctor had no clue about this drug. <span style="color: black;">Within 2 days my flushing has returned to a normal response!!! I can actually make it through the night w/o flushing. It's amazing. </span>However, I am struggling with the sleep thing. It seriously knocks me out and I feel I would sleep through anything! I am hoping this will wear off. I also noticed a slight increase in papules. They are very small/fine but I had none of them before taking this drug. I am considering dropping to 15 mg...but I finally have relief from the flushing, so I am scared to change it. Maybe a few more weeks and the bumps will settle down. <span style="color: black;">For anyone out there debating on this drug....it has made such a difference in my flushing, I seriously can't believe it. I feel like I have my life back - I can go into warm rooms, I can sleep, I can work on the computer, etc</span>. Just have to figure out the increase in papules!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Thelondondermatologist<a href="http://www.londondermatologist.co.uk/how-do-i-stop-my-face-flushing/"> wrote</a> on his website:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>"Tablet treatments can be very helpful for facial flushing, most usefully <span style="color: black;">clonidine, a blood pressure medication, taken two or three times a day.</span> This has the fortunate side effect in some people of providing excellent facial blood flow control. The dose can be pushed up quite high under supervision from a dermatologist. Other drugs that can sometimes be useful are fluoxetine, carvedilol and <span style="color: black;">mirtazapine</span>. Propranolol, a ‘beta-blocker’, is sometimes used, but it is not especially effective in my experience, although it does help with anxiety. All of these medicines are unlicensed in rosacea (meaning that using them to treat rosacea differs to how they were originally intended to be used). For some people though, flushes can become a major problem which seriously affects their lives. For these people, who have a common skin condition called rosacea, flushes come on very easily, perhaps after a cup of tea or under a little emotional pressure for example at a work meeting. The flushes last much longer, perhaps a couple of hours and can be unsightly, uncomfortable and significantly affect confidence. Antibiotics, either topical (a cream or ointment) or by mouth are also probably almost useless for people with pure flushing rosacea, although they are a great treatment for rosacea with spots or any inflammation. I find other doctors have (understandably) often put patients with pure flushing rosacea on antibiotics. I usually discontinue them however."<br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span font-size:="" style="color: black;" x-large=""><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 45px; font-weight: 400;"><b>Other antidepressants that people with rosacea wrote reviews about</b></span></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio6zFoKppK1q2fThNKLJT1GoOm4E-S2gRm2oqrAb_XTjnMwKeSgVsntY9rkqhsTQbyuS1VIcMiEExg3ZhOUoDaBdYnylGP77enA2bErAtdbfLiZpUX2VpFVHRILD_SNBjMSEvjl7VPG6nk/s1600/zez.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="537" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio6zFoKppK1q2fThNKLJT1GoOm4E-S2gRm2oqrAb_XTjnMwKeSgVsntY9rkqhsTQbyuS1VIcMiEExg3ZhOUoDaBdYnylGP77enA2bErAtdbfLiZpUX2VpFVHRILD_SNBjMSEvjl7VPG6nk/w345-h537/zez.jpg" width="345" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">Celexa (citalopram)</b><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Oil king <a href="http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/308642-how-i-cured-accutane-induced-rosacea/">wrote</a>:</span><span style="color: red;"> </span></b></span>"Hey everyone, About a year and a half ago I finished a 6 month course of low dose accutane (10mg/day at first, 20mg/day later on) which left me with severe, debilitating flushing. I had cyclic flushing which would occur every single night from around 7 pm to 12 am for around a year post accutane. It would also occur out of this time period if evoked (warm rooms, anxiety, etc.). It was extremely debilitating and affected every waking moment of my life during that year. Luckily I study biomedical sciences at a Canadian university and had some knowledge about rosacea, and could recognize it pretty early on (got diagnosed 4 months post accutane). I knew I needed to do something drastic as I could already see damage occurring at the 4 month mark from repetitive flushing (broken caps, swelling, permanent redness forming) and I formed a 1 year game plan for ending the flushing and rosacea. First, I waited 2 more months until the 6 month post accutane mark to begin V beam treatments with the AMAZING Betty Chan at the Baywood Clinic in Toronto. This is the only human being on the planet I would trust putting a laser to my face. I received 5 treatments over the following year, 3 non-purpuric and 2 that were purpuric in the areas Dr. Chan deemed appropriate (bridge of nose, right cheek). The last 2 purpuric completely eliminated all visible vascular damage on my face, and even improved skin texture and pore size by 50% or more. <span style="color: black;">I knew I needed to do something internally to stop the flushing from occurring, so the V beam could repair the damage without being aggravated by repeated flushing. I went through various medications over the following months (remeron, paxil, propranolol etc.) until I found a combo that stopped the flushing from occurring nightly and during the day. Clonidine (.025 X 3 per day) and celexa (20mg). The clonidine never did anything drastic but definitively took the edge off. Celexa at 20mg was the jackpot and helped eliminate any anxiety, warm room and nightly flushing from occurring, but only after taking it for 8 weeks (didn't do very much until the 8 week mark). </span>About 6 months ago I began trying topical treatments as an added boost. With a few that didn't work, I began Finacea. At first, finacea made the flushing, veins, and redness must worst. It almost looked like a rash on my face for the first month or so of use. I pushed through it because I had nothing to lose and after the 1 month mark my face became DRAMATICALLY better. Flushing was much better, redness was all but gone. If your going to try finacea please push through the first month to see if it's for you because it made me much worst as first. Today I no longer flush. I no longer have broken capillaries. I no longer have redness. I can drink any amount of alcohol I want or run a marathon and look paler than others around me. I am finally happy."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">NotPissedJustFlushed <a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?19504-Citalopram-and-rosacea">wrote </a>about celexa: </span></b>"Taken it, at 40mg's for a while. It did not affect my flush at all, in fact it made it better because I didn't care about my flush as much (its semi anxiolytic). The sleeping issues go away for the most part within a week, the sexual side effects do as well but you'll be over both entirely by about a month in. Good stuff."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">RatherBeSkating replied: </span></b>"I was actually put on citalopram BECAUSE of rosacea - I only flush when anxious really so my doc tried this - didn't really work, and I ended up coming off them for the exact reasons you listed. Didn't make any difference to my skin whatsoever."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Peter B <a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?19504-Citalopram-and-rosacea/page2">wrote</a> in response: </span></b>"I have been on Citalopram for about 18 months. I would say it has got rid of my depression and anxiety.. maybe a small improvement on my rosacea."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">KayBee01 <a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?12346-citalopram">wrote</a> however:</span></b><b style="color: #cc0000;"> </b>"I have major depression and must take antidepressants however this has never happened before on any other medication....First I took Lexapro which is very similar to Celexa and that triggered my Rosacea (dermatologist said to stop) so I did stop and Rosacea calmed right down. Then dr. wanted me to try Celexa which was fine for about a month (same as Lexapro) and then the Rosacea flared up. Its been about 2 months now and the Rosacea is bad. Has anyone else had this happen with the Celexa???"<br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7y9tHHWXNJbOWjws_BskN8pBHxphW_i_6_e4HacYAOC6eIEpgLph4ySPsNbuku70Kqk9h5MRV_mlZIzd9TJWWCwcU8RNMpmgO74W9MchtGmbKri1gNAkk5ds6PPqCtgCJaK8D7NJ0VN_j/s1600/images+%25284%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="224" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7y9tHHWXNJbOWjws_BskN8pBHxphW_i_6_e4HacYAOC6eIEpgLph4ySPsNbuku70Kqk9h5MRV_mlZIzd9TJWWCwcU8RNMpmgO74W9MchtGmbKri1gNAkk5ds6PPqCtgCJaK8D7NJ0VN_j/s320/images+%25284%2529.jpg" width="318" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #990000;">RedFace replied:</span></b><b style="color: #cc0000;"> </b><span style="color: black;">"Some antidepressants and more specifically, Paxil and Remeron have been</span><span style="color: black;"> documented as medications that reduce or eliminate flushing/ hot flashes.</span> Other medications such as Pregabalin and Gabapentin have even had successful clinical trials for reducing/eliminating flushing/ hot flashes. I believe Pregabalin/ Lyrica is in Phase III for hot flashes after a very successful Phase II result earlier this year. There are a few possibilities here, the medication could have been helping with your flushing due to its indirect actions on the CNS or possibly due to its ability to reduce your overall anxiety. You also could be just flaring up due to the anxiety that comes with the withdrawal or stopping of the medication, in which case the flushing would be transient and likely last a few weeks. I would take the advice of others, give it a few weeks and see if things settle down. Hang in there."<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkK06XR5YizIhVCpWbmRbs4MhLU7k0PgZd4dFWE_WdmooYk85tNQpincyURh05DJcvmqnbf-1Ep4BosPBywHcCP-aRXKKeIZ6cT7u0X5cZhL57Y96034yWxOwez-HZKpoMWw32GB7NQpjS/s230/download+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></a><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #990000;">Allibear <a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?17369-Experiences-with-SSRI-drugs-for-blushing">wrote</a>:</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>"I was on Citalopram 3 days and my skin started to break out with groups of Papules. It turned bright red really on the first dose and started to feel burny and itchy. This continued for the six weeks I stupidly continued to take it and as soon as I stopped it only took a week for it to all calm down again."<br /><br /><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #990000;">Knatsabooh <a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?11055-My-Over-due-Introduction">wrote</a>: </span></b>"Celexa - Started that initially for the social anxiety I experienced as a result of rosacea flushing in social environments. Helped as I also worked on cutting my overall flushing down. Have cut it way back and plan on losing it soon as its of no real benefit to me anymore that my flushing is under very good control."</div><div><br /></div>
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #990000;">Marvin wrote:</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>"I've been taking 20mg <span style="color: black;">Cipralex</span> for over a year now. It's made a lot of difference for me, in a positive way. It has by no mean cured me or anything but I flush less often, my burning sensation has not been as severe and I actually manage to smile now and then. It has given me time to come to terms with my situation and try to spin my life in a more positive way. Now I only hope they find a cure for rosacea and psoriasis and Ill be fine. ;o)"<br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">AUsefulObsession <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32525-Why-do-antidepressants-help-with-flushing-and-blushing&highlight=Celexa">wrote</a> on February 3rd 2015:</span></b><b style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"> </b>"<span style="color: black;">I have been using Citalopram (Celexa) 20mg a day for a week, and my flushing has near completely ceased</span>. Interestingly my ability to sweat and thermoregulate seems to be partially restored. I can now sit near heaters without issue and my face is cool to the touch. What has happened? What role might serotonin have in regards thermo-regulation or perhaps more broadly the nervous system?"<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcdyiUzWYZP_c5vOpCPm2QQJX_JUCEvUGJn-s9p1ZUMyZgvJmyV8OjXt7ups4487YmMz7ckWwzk4ejQiCinQa-Qng0qfq_kAH-9MuRTQZWN5BNJL1QFohQqPfMdUon2D-b9vD6t-8aaZfI/s1600/0bc3754a999a7ebcab3a25ea57a82d37--vintage-vogue-vintage-retro.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="630" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcdyiUzWYZP_c5vOpCPm2QQJX_JUCEvUGJn-s9p1ZUMyZgvJmyV8OjXt7ups4487YmMz7ckWwzk4ejQiCinQa-Qng0qfq_kAH-9MuRTQZWN5BNJL1QFohQqPfMdUon2D-b9vD6t-8aaZfI/s400/0bc3754a999a7ebcab3a25ea57a82d37--vintage-vogue-vintage-retro.jpg" width="280" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Research on Celexa</b></span><br />
"The North Central Cancer Treatment Group <a href="https://womensmentalhealth.org/posts/citalopram-celexa-effective-for-treating-hot-flashes/">studied</a> the use of the SSRI citalopram (Celexa) to decrease hot flashes in a randomized, placebo-controlled phase III trial as reported in a poster session at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. This group found that citalopram performed twice as well as placebo in decreasing the frequency or severity hot flashes. This study included 254 post-menopausal participants who had a history of breast cancer or who wanted to avoid hormones due to breast cancer risk. The participants needed to have at least 14 hot flashes per week for at least 1 month and could not be taking any other antidepressants or hot flash therapies. These participants were divided into 4 separate groups with 57 participants in each of the treatment arms and 83 participants in the placebo group. For week one, all the participants recorded their hot flashes prior to treatment. The groups received the following interventions during weeks 2-7:</div><div>
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Group 1: Citalopram 10mg (per day) during weeks 2-7<br />
Group 2: Citalopram 10mg during week 2, followed by 20mg during weeks 3-7<br />
Group 3: Citalopram 10mg for week 2, 20mg for week 3, and 30mg for weeks 4-7<br />
Group 4: Placebo<br />
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This study showed that the participants receiving placebo (Group 4) had a 23% reduction in their mean hot flash score, while groups 1, 2, and 3 had mean reductions of 49%, 50%, and 55%, respectively. Similarly, the mean reduction in hot flash frequency was noted to be 20% in the placebo group, while groups 1, 2, and 3, had mean reductions of 46%, 43%, and 50%, respectively. All of the comparisons to placebo noted here were noted to be statistically significant. Women in all three groups receiving citalopram arms also had greater improvements in the quality of work, leisure, sleep, mood, relationships, enjoyment of life, and overall quality of life that those on placebo on the Hot Flash Related Daily Interference Scale (HFRDIS). This study further supports the use of citalopram as a possible treatment option for patients looking to reduce hot flashes and is consistent with previous studies documenting the effectiveness of other serotonergic antidepressants, including paroxetine (Paxil) and venlafaxine (Effexor), for the treatment of hot flushes. These studies also indicate that these antidepressants may be helpful for managing other menopausal symptoms, including mood changes and sleep disturbance. Betty Wang, MD"</div><div><br /><br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhUAjwPjuzui4vqylAoZQ2XZz6zoUSCjZ3MSwbCcf5NuZCT0OaiT13nw2WPNnPuoy-xxHr6AqfklmrwYGu9wtIIyPD_bJJwBQm8MZKcHB-jPv4C8GwU5xVUOyutd1iDJmFZbguIelhyphenhyphen3F/s1600/article-2278423-174AEE47000005DC-38_634x616.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="634" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhUAjwPjuzui4vqylAoZQ2XZz6zoUSCjZ3MSwbCcf5NuZCT0OaiT13nw2WPNnPuoy-xxHr6AqfklmrwYGu9wtIIyPD_bJJwBQm8MZKcHB-jPv4C8GwU5xVUOyutd1iDJmFZbguIelhyphenhyphen3F/s400/article-2278423-174AEE47000005DC-38_634x616.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 36px;"><b>More forum members who mentioned other antidepressants - z</b></span><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 36px;">oloft, effexor, prozac and paroxetine (Paxil) -</b><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 36px;"> to be helpful for their facial flushing and redness </b></div>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Les <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?27538-*-This-Worked-For-Me-Finally!!!-*">wrote</a> on March 6th 2014: </span></b>"Hi There, I've been battling Rosacea and Depression for a number of years and have tried various medicines for both diseases. I started taking Co-Sertraline aka Zoloft for depression and it actually helped tremendously with my flushing and breakouts. I can actually get hot without flushing too much or instantly feeling itchy. This medication may be something to help others also. I just wanted to come back to this forum after a lengthy absence so that I could give back and hopefully help someone like myself who had almost given up. One last thing, I haven't had any side effects with Zoloft either. Good Luck Everyone and Take Care, Les"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32525-Why-do-antidepressants-help-with-flushing-and-blushing/page2&highlight=Celexa">wrote</a> on March 1st 2015:</span></b> "Last Sept/Oct I started on Zoloft (sertraline). Very low dose of 25 mg once a day. Then four weeks later, moved to 50 mg a day. I wanted Celexa but dr preferred Zoloft. I was experiencing bad anxiety, so I took it. It helped my anxiety greatly. But once it got well into my system, around November, my skin burning/stinging/inflamed sensations subsided. I was getting IPLS, too, but I believe it was the Zoloft - because I had received IPLs and V-Beams with no change before. I think it was due to the fact that the. AD helped quiet the nerves in my face. Before then, I struggled to have anything on my face - lotion, moisturizer, any topical felt like saran wrap (cling film) suffocating my skin and causing it to burn. Suddenly, my skin could tolerate moisturizers, etc. I have Type 1 rosacea with lots of flushing. I'd say I've moved from severe to moderate now in rosacea stages. I still have huge challenges - can't use computer because it burns and turns my face red badly and lights are mean. But I'm much better with the addition of the AD in my toolkit. Hope that helps!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?33305-Anti-depressants-and-blushing&highlight=Celexa">wrote</a> again on June 15th 2015: </span></b>"Hi, I take Zoloft. It has helped with burning and stinging and helps my face feel a bit calmer. My flushing is triggered mostly by artificial lights/computer/cell phone screens and heat. I think it's helping a little of my night time flushing/flushing upon waking. A little bit. It has helped my anxiety a lot. My rosacea is always more uncomfortable when my anxiety is raging. But when my rosacea is raging, my anxiety gets worse."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Dg0980 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?33305-Anti-depressants-and-blushing/page2&highlight=Celexa">wrote</a> on June 19th 2015:</span></b> "I suffered unbelievable lows when my skin was bad. After many years of this my doc gave me fluoxetine which is Prozac in USA. This really turned my life around, before taking it I couldn't look people in the eye, talk to women without blushing horribly, go out with my friends or family, basically I was a recluse. Now I do all those things, yes I still have flare ups but I don't let it crush me and this slightly more carefree attitude helps reduce the anxiety flaring. I've not experienced any weight gain, but I have noticed a difference in my sex life. It's great! I now last way longer than I ever did before, making my partners... Well I won't go into detail but the word amazing has been used quite a bit."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">OilKing <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32525-Why-do-antidepressants-help-with-flushing-and-blushing/page2&highlight=Celexa">wrote</a> on March 8th 2015:</span></b> "The only real difference between celexa and zoloft is celexa has some stronger antihistamine properties...but all SSRI's i've been on (celexa, prozac, zoloft) work the same for flushing though at different doses respectively. The only SSRI I did not find made a difference is lexapro but I believe I never tried a high enough dose to properly compare it to the others."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">And: </span></b>"It's really trial and error but personally I didn't get much flushing benefit from Zoloft until around 100mg and 8 weeks of use at that dose. All SSRI's I've used have helped me similarly though - but they all took around 8 weeks at one dose for flushing to reduce significantly. When I increase doses, the flushing gets worse again for around 3-4 weeks. Celexa may be more helpful for you but I would try a waiting a full 8 weeks and perhaps a higher dose depending on your weight and gender. Some theorize that SSRI's change the neural pathways of the brain. I've always felt that SSRI's restructure the ease in which the flushing response occurs but this is why it takes a while for them to work. When you are constantly blushing or flushing, you sort of "train" your brains neurons through practice to respond in that way. This is why I think it gets worse over time, of course not taking into account the increased vascularity flushing causes. All hypothetical of course!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Birdie <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32525-Why-do-antidepressants-help-with-flushing-and-blushing&highlight=Celexa">wrote</a> on February 3rd 2015: </span></b>"Effexor 37.5 mg in morning and night, which is lowest dose, helps keep my flushing down. Many meds are used for off label use and anti anxiety meds/ depression are prescribed for pain related illness. Because they work! I was told that Effexor is a good "relaxer" of smooth muscle groups, hence nerve bundles (I think) I can not tolerate narcotics (had several spine surgeries) so for me, the off label use of antidepressant is wonderful. I am considering weaning off of it to replace it with a newer and more modern one that may have even better results. I have posted in the past that in the evening, without this med for me, flushes would be very bad. I'm not advocating this method of treatment I'm simply saying it works for me right now and hope it continues to work in future. Birdie"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">ShaunD <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37489-Extremely-tired-of-living-like-this-is-this-rosacea-or-something-else/page3">wrote</a> on July 14th 2017: </span></b>"Paroxetine helped my flushing in a big way as did zopax (xanax). Unfortunately I abused the medication which caused other problems but if you can control it and use as prescribed then these types of treatments can be a very useful tool against unbearable flushing."<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">Owldog <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/forum/general/prescription-medications/29700-">wrote</a> on March 21st 2021: </span></b>"I have permanent redness on my cheeks as well as severe flushing at night. Cymbalta has helped with both. Don't be scared about the horror stories. I think if you look up any drug online you'll find negative reviews. People just don't post positive experiences as much. I think you have to weigh up how bad your rosacea is and if it's bad enough that it's impacting on your life, you can't go out, be social, work, you're in pain etc then what have you got to lose to go for it. I've just started taking duloxetine only at 20mg a day and already it's cut out my evening flushing (which was happening every night on my cheek and nose for 3 hours a night). It's as if it's switched off a switch. I don't know if this will last so time will tell but I'm very happy for the relief. I will be slowly titrating the dose up to 60mg a day. Think I'll take 30mg morning and 30mg in the evening eventually as it has a 12 hour half life so that gives me a more even dose. It gave me nausea for the first week which was unpleasant but not intolerable. I find it gives me energy so I take it in the morning. Honestly I was freaked out too by all the horror stories online and withdrawal issues and I put off taking this drug for 6 months. But that was a mistake. The alternative for me was being stuck at home flushing and in pain. This is one step towards being able to hopefully get on with my life. And if it doesn't work out that's also useful information that will help figure out what drugs or treatments that may work for you. You will only know by trying. [..] One thing I have noticed Cymbalta really constricts some of the vessels. In the day I get moments when my face is really icy cold. especially my nose and cheeks. Not sure if that's good or bad. I worried at first thinking that was going to set me up for a bad rebound later on in the evening but that never happened luckily. I actually like the feeling when I'm on it. It makes me energised in the day without being too wired. Once I got past the initial nausea in the first week it feels like I'm not even medicated. Just more alert and focused which I like. I tried taking half the dose in the evening but it made me too awake and I couldn't sleep. But if I take it all in the day I feel it loses some of its effectiveness by the evening when I'm at my worst anyway. I'm still only on 40mg a day and slowly titrating up to 60mg next week. I hope it continues to work at a higher dose. Doc wants me on 80mg a day for nerve pain."<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Momof </b></span></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/forum/general/prescription-medications/29700-">wrote</a> </span></b><span><span style="color: #990000;"><b>on March 24th 2021: </b></span></span>"Duloxetine works far better for me than amitriptyline. I?m going back to Duloxetine tomorrow. My face has been sore since I switched to amitriptyline. I'll happily stay on Duloxetine for the rest of my life if I need to. The brain zaps are fine-just wean off slowly if you need to discontinue it." <span style="color: #444444;"><b>[Note Scarlet: Duloxetine/Cymbalta has also been </b><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17322162/" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">mentioned</a><b> as the cause of facial flushing in some medical literature]. </b></span></div><div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZgCe1qqfeb6VL-f7eTJUOEfusZl0JEKTR3QeK6exEPAYt2LOqQNPBxUtKIesxaPcVzYU6dvkmbJ4ur8iSOOIvP6aR5gowkfFcZVv_hZft_QnuhaqfskxxieA43aEqOJcj7j62BagaNNG/s1600/1455871_10152042065438996_2082557841_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd5zRJvDtzI5xl6IocZIZHkuO_S2-5eoIYMr1INrbMMP3qtqvefoxsGiPVNC1Ij-UpTYugt_b6QmHNmDbohTQE7-OAdcJ5tukqBckAWyplPNDmxcLqTq2EmEnLJTEGz4iLrjhodQQKQlti/s1600/h.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd5zRJvDtzI5xl6IocZIZHkuO_S2-5eoIYMr1INrbMMP3qtqvefoxsGiPVNC1Ij-UpTYugt_b6QmHNmDbohTQE7-OAdcJ5tukqBckAWyplPNDmxcLqTq2EmEnLJTEGz4iLrjhodQQKQlti/w343-h534/h.jpg" width="343" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b><br /></b><b style="font-size: 36px;">More about other antidepressants</b><b><br />Moclobemide</b></span> also proved effective at flushing control: <span><i>"Two different doses of moclobemide, 150 mg or 300 mg/d, were tested against placebo for 5 weeks in 30 post-menopausal women. The lower dose of this reversible, selective inhibitor of monoamine oxidase-A reduced the HF severity score by 69.8%, compared to 35.0% in the higher dose and 24.4% with placebo (Tarim et al. 2002)." </i></span>The same goes for <b style="color: #990000;">paroxetine </b>and </div><div><span style="color: #990000;"><b>sertraline </b></span>and <span style="color: #990000;"><b>celexa</b></span></div><div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Amitriptyline</b></span> is an antidepressant that is also used for nerve pain. It's a tricyclic type of antidepressants and others in that group (imipramine, clomipramine, desipramine, and nortriptyline) can help with nerve pain as well, but amitriptyline is the best known one. It can reduce neuropathic pain by reducing the nerve cell’s ability to re-absorb chemicals such as serotonin and noradrenaline (neural transmitters). This means that there are less pain messages in the spinal cord reaching the brain, and less sensations of pain. Unfortunately it doesn't work for everyone though. There is limited <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16414336"><b>evidence</b></a> that newer antidepressants, called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), may also give <span style="color: black;">neuropathic pain relief</span>. Researchers say more studies are needed before they can be recommended for this use. SSRIs include Prozac, Celexa, Luvox, Zoloft, and Paxil. Mirtazapine is a new type of tricyclic antidepressant, and it's also called a NaSSA: noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant. It isn't an official nerve pain treatment option, but research recently <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18209516"><b>showed</b></a> that it does <span style="color: black;">reduce pain feelings</span>. I tried amitriptyline myself for a short time and it made me more flushed. Other antidepressants that have been mentioned to relieve with hot flashes are:<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Doxepin</b></span> is also an antidepressant that is used successfully for both nerve pain and face flushing. <b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8744423/#:~:text=This%20study%20indicates%20that%20doxepin,distinguishes%20doxepin%20from%20other%20TCAs." target="_blank">Here</a></b> and <b><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1163/156856900750228097" target="_blank">here</a></b> you can read study results. <br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Effexor (venlafaxine)</b></span> for hot flashes: "In the present case, we observed reappearance of hot flashes in a postmenopausal woman who was being treated with venlafaxine 75 mg daily for a year for depression. Interestingly, increasing the dose of venlafaxine to 150 mg daily alleviated her hot flashes. The exact mechanism of venlafaxine to alleviate hot flashes remains unknown. Venlafaxine is known to affect both serotonin as well as norepinephrine reuptake. Effects of venlafaxine at lower doses are thought to be related to the serotonin reuptake inhibition, and at higher doses its effects are attributed to a combination of both serotonergic and noradrenergic effects. [..] In the present case, the new onset of hot flashes while being treated with a lower dose of venlafaxine is probably related to its effect on serotonin reuptake inhibition. The alleviation of hot flashes at a higher dose may involve its action on both serotonergic and noradrenergic pathways or on a predominantly adrenergic pathway." (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1894834/" target="_blank"><b>source</b></a>)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYslZlZ22mADSm5gvbCP-ToLOznNg74Wo-_ZliZImy4J7rUYJ087hRn0nVvdklYTOC9TkPID2ey0u4srCHZFIkQ5mSrjvmEnNlT4ShSvL5Fm2yP5tc8Agv1o2civKqSRUnKPyVxAXrtLSw/s1600/vbc.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="539" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYslZlZ22mADSm5gvbCP-ToLOznNg74Wo-_ZliZImy4J7rUYJ087hRn0nVvdklYTOC9TkPID2ey0u4srCHZFIkQ5mSrjvmEnNlT4ShSvL5Fm2yP5tc8Agv1o2civKqSRUnKPyVxAXrtLSw/w346-h539/vbc.jpg" width="346" /></a><b style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">More scientific links for the use of </span></b><b style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">mirtazapine for facial flushing</span></b><br />
<span><b><span><span style="color: #444444;">*Pilot evaluation of mirtazapine for the treatment of hot flashes </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><span style="color: #783f04;">(</span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15330372?" style="color: #783f04;" target="_blank">Link</a><span style="color: #444444;">)</span></span></span></b><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>*Mirtazapine is named here as a rosacea treatment (</b><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5828925/" target="_blank">Link</a></span></b></span><b><span style="color: #444444;">)</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b></span><i>"Treatment for flushing and erythema may involve oral drugs with vasoconstriction properties including adrenergic antagonists including mirtazapine (alpha blocker), propranolol (beta blocker) or carvedilol (both alpha and beta blocker)."</i><br />
<b><span style="color: #444444;">*The London Dermatologist writes <a href="http://www.londondermatologist.co.uk/how-do-i-stop-my-face-flushing/" target="_blank">here</a>: </span></b>How do I stop my face flushing? <i>"Other drugs that can sometimes be useful are <span>fluoxetine, carvedilol and mirtazapine</span>. Propranolol, a ‘beta-blocker’, is sometimes used, but it is not especially effective in my experience, although it does help with anxiety. All of these medicines are unlicensed in rosacea (meaning that using them to treat rosacea differs to how they were originally intended to be used). Tablet treatments can be very helpful, most usefully clonidine, a blood pressure medication, taken two or three times a day. This has the fortunate side effect in some people of providing excellent facial blood flow control. The dose can be pushed up quite high under supervision from a dermatologist."</i><br />
<span><b><span style="color: #444444;">*Forum posts, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?20816-In-praise-of-clonidine-amp-remeron" target="_blank">In Praise of Clonidine</a> and Remeron and <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?20065-Clonidine-Remeron-Combo" target="_blank">Clonidine-Remeron Combo</a>.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #444444;">*Scientific research that mirtazapine can help alleviate hot flashes and flushes (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11063897" target="_blank">Link</a>).</span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzgeHFRvadzf3M9U92f7101GhgiE34L58aSFKCJGKl6Ej8hUsd_cF_mZGRvJjp6AqyFWtl_F-Q_2RYuIaJi3H0eOMcZMQGxC9gf5cCnszV30qaBsveSpffRoaJ7T3GCdMVN0BaAyo-2LK/s1600/uyt.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="537" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzgeHFRvadzf3M9U92f7101GhgiE34L58aSFKCJGKl6Ej8hUsd_cF_mZGRvJjp6AqyFWtl_F-Q_2RYuIaJi3H0eOMcZMQGxC9gf5cCnszV30qaBsveSpffRoaJ7T3GCdMVN0BaAyo-2LK/w345-h537/uyt.jpg" width="345" /></a><b style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Blogster Kate Pendley uses remeron for severe insomnia and finds it very effective</span></b><br />
"But, I (like many others) made a big mistake when I first started taking Remeron.....I ate. The doctor's will warn you that there is a risk of weight gain (mine said about 6-7 lbs),<span style="color: black;"> but what they should tell people is that the risk is actually reality and that most people end up putting on large amounts of weight.</span> I personally gained about 16 lbs, which, given my frame, is a pretty large weight gain. And, like many others, despite how much I exercised the weight kept piling on. For weeks and weeks I was tormented by the weight gain, as I exercised more and more. I tried to change my eating habits by not eating out, watching calories and being more aware of what I was putting in my mouth. But, the fact was that I wasn't a person who ate poorly, but was now a person who could not lose weight. <span style="color: black;">So, I started taking a hard, scientific look at Remeron and why it causes so many people to gain weight.</span> I read up on the methods of action, the studies that link Remeron to a reduction in stress hormones (specifically cortisol) and how all of that could be connected to what was happening to people's bodies. Here's what I noticed: I couldn't seem to build and maintain muscle mass. If I took a single day off of exercise, the fat would pile back on. After months of exercise, I had barely made a dent. But, then I also noticed that certain exercises seemed to create a bigger effect than others (more on that later) and that some days I could barely walk down the street because I felt so heavy and others I seemed to move faster and easier. Not surprisingly, the research on Remeron talks a lot about the weight gain, but, specifically, about the change in body composition. <span style="color: black;">On Remeron, people tend to gain this layer of fat, or that's how I describe it. I call it the immovable layer of lard. It comes out of nowhere and is very stubborn about leaving. Walk all you want, hit that eliptical all you want....it won't move.</span> It makes you want to give up on the drug. To hate it. To return to insomnia, if that's what will make the weight go away. But then I happened upon some like that lead me another link. And, that's when I put together the cortisol + insulin connection. This is how it goes: Remeron suppresses the stress hormone cortisol. This is one of the reasons it helps people sleep. It basically 'powers down' your brain and slows your metabolism a bit. But, more interestingly is the relationship between cortisol and insulin. Apparently, cortisol counteracts insulin. Insulin basically grabs sugar from your bloodstream and stores it as fat. Your body needs cortisol to counteract and balance this effect of insulin, in addition to helping processing lipids (fats) and proteins. So, as Remeron is suppressing your cortisol it is also contributing to some of the effects of high insulin, specifically hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. When people say that can't stop eating carbs on Remercon, this may be why. Unabated, the insulin is grabbing sugar out of your blood, which leads you to think that you are carb depleted. So, you eat more carbs. That's problem number one. <span style="color: black;">Problem number two comes from simply suppressing cortisol</span>. Because optimal levels of cortisol are necessary for processing all macronutrients, having too little of it a night could drastically effect your body's conversion of these nutrients into energy. This could cause weight gain and would explain why people gain weight on Remeron so quickly. That's problem number two. So, when I rethought all of this, I actually decided to try a little experiment: To eat <span style="color: #666666;"><b>a 'Zone' diet</b></span> that focuses on balancing fats, proteins and carbs, to increase my B-Complex vitamins, add Omegas and incorporate more muscle building activities, such as weight training. The diet gets rid of the carbs that the Remeron are making your body store as fat. The B vitamins help metabolize macronutrients and convert them to energy, omegas can help balance fat levels and muscle building exercise burns glucose and taps your fat reserves. Three days and I lost 4 lbs. So, there is hope. I am going to try and keep this up over the next week and see what happens. But, so far there has been a significant difference. And, given that losing ANY weight on Remeron is almost impossible, I am hoping that this actually works." <span style="color: #444444;">Another post on this matter can be read <a href="https://ask.metafilter.com/169238/Mirtazapine-is-making-me-fat" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>: Mirtazapine is making me fat! </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3692271/" target="_blank">this good research paper</a>, scientists summarized the treatment options for neurogenic rosacea and subtype 1 with skin redness, burning and flushing</b></span></span><br />It states that this rosacea subtype requires a unique approach of management. Typical symptoms and triggers are mentioned for people with this type of rosacea.<br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 45px;"><b>4. Antihistamines (Xyzal for instance)</b></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RBNmpBLyn4A/UiHhx3lL7OI/AAAAAAAAGVE/xzYTcnT102s/s1600/DSC00289.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RBNmpBLyn4A/UiHhx3lL7OI/AAAAAAAAGVE/xzYTcnT102s/s400/DSC00289.JPG" width="400" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Normal dose for allergies is 5 mg of Xyzal a day. However for rosacea flushing, I have always been prescribed 10 mg a day, which I found a lot more effective than 5 mg. And <span>currently I am taking <b><span style="color: #783f04;">20 mg a day</span></b></span>, on advice of my doctor as I have a histamine problem diagnosed, which partly explains why I flush so badly from so many foods and triggers, including the smell of perfumes. Normally, 5 - 10 mg a day should work just fine for everyone who does not have allergy related symptoms. </span>Many antihistamines are available over the counter, for instance cetirizine and zyrtec, but they are not as powerful as Xyzal, which is a new antihistamine with less side effects than older antihistamines. In fact, I have no side effects from Xyzal. Antihistamines block histamine release in the body, which can be a major trigger for facial flushing. Histamine is involved in the widening of the blood vessels. So by blocking histamine, you might be able to eat more foods that are normally high in histamine or histamine releasers, be better protected against allergens from for instance hay fever or animal allergies. They help me a lot, but this is different for everyone. <span style="color: black;">At some point I took 2 different antihistamine medications on top for a month: Inorial and zaditine. They initially really helped me quite a lot to cut down further on the facial redness. But after a month or so, I felt I became more red and more easily flushed, possibly because they made my skin more dry? Not sure. I stopped, things normalized, and then I reintroduced both meds again, only for the same thing to happen. Since stopping them and instead doubling my Xyzal dose, I am at a good stage now. I therefore no longer use Inorial and zaditine (but still use Xyzal daily), only when I can't get out of some dinner party invite and know I will have to eat foods high in histamine. For occasional use I get relief from them. However for those who have mastocytosis; there is more info in this <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2013/08/facial-flushing-due-to-mastocytosis-or.html" target="_blank"><b>blog post</b></a>.</span><span style="color: black;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MhO17iq4J5Q/UiHh0U2AcQI/AAAAAAAAGVM/wAB5EJntfZI/s1600/DSC00290.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MhO17iq4J5Q/UiHh0U2AcQI/AAAAAAAAGVM/wAB5EJntfZI/s320/DSC00290.JPG" width="320" /></a></span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jvgXZvTgyCg/UiHhokxkULI/AAAAAAAAGU4/zWcaeueq8qQ/s1600/DSC00286.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jvgXZvTgyCg/UiHhokxkULI/AAAAAAAAGU4/zWcaeueq8qQ/s320/DSC00286.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div 21.6px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="entry-content" itemprop="text" line-height:=""><div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both;"><div class="robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon-text sd-sharing" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div id="articleContent"><div id="articleContent"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTnhvqj2IAqQ_7pobG-fBoucCY3r_7Txdr_L8rOUl2nIDAzGb28qBvGwVx1nv5JhMN1zhMpyqgMOE1GN9XccIrBrVpuEFT8Gufb6Bv3L2vF265AvUiTPt4H7d9OVBID7Aul936dKtWJ4ioO1TCvZebFtVEK99tHXzXiEdBYzamN7wKFDbTWety-GzQ2e-/s991/9fc5735954b5771faff6a74047db2f65.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="991" data-original-width="640" height="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTnhvqj2IAqQ_7pobG-fBoucCY3r_7Txdr_L8rOUl2nIDAzGb28qBvGwVx1nv5JhMN1zhMpyqgMOE1GN9XccIrBrVpuEFT8Gufb6Bv3L2vF265AvUiTPt4H7d9OVBID7Aul936dKtWJ4ioO1TCvZebFtVEK99tHXzXiEdBYzamN7wKFDbTWety-GzQ2e-/w356-h550/9fc5735954b5771faff6a74047db2f65.jpg" width="356" /></a></div></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">What is histamine</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Histamine are chemicals which your immune system makes. Histamines act like bouncers at a club. They help your body get rid of something that's bothering you -- in this case, an allergy trigger, or "allergen." Histamines start the process that hustles those allergens out of your body or off your skin. They can make you sneeze, tear up, flush or itch -- whatever it takes to get the job done. They are part of your body's defense system. When you have allergies, some of your triggers -- such as pollen, pet dander, or dust -- seem harmless. But your immune system sees them as a threat and responds. Your body's intention -- to keep you safe -- is good. But its overreaction gives you those all-too-familiar allergy symptoms, which you then try to stop with an antihistamine. Histamine also has some good (as in normal) functions: it takes part in the regulation of local blood circulation, in capillary permeability, contraction and relaxation of smooth muscles and blood vessels, secretion of hydrochloric acid in stomach, immediate hypersensitivity responses, allergic processes, inflammatory ones as part of the immune response to external pathogens, tissue healing, and its action has also been observed as neurotransmitter in the nervous system. Therefore it is also indispensable for the efficient functioning of many metabolic processes in the body. And histamine is also present in foods, depending on the food how high or low the histamine content is. Some foods are also naturally high in histamines. These include aged and fermented foods and alcohol (especially red wine). Some people may be sensitive to that. Hence, why some foods are more prone to cause an allergic reaction to people than others. If you eat foods high in histamine or have an allergy and are exposed to an allergen, this is what happens: First, it sends a chemical signal to "mast cells" in your skin, lungs, nose, mouth, gut, and blood. The message is, "Release histamines," which are stored in the mast cells. When they leave the mast cells, histamines boost blood flow in the area of your body the allergen affected (in our rosacea case it boosts blood flow to the skin of the face, making us more red, hot and even itchy). This causes inflammation, which lets other chemicals from your immune system step in to do repair work. Histamines then dock at special places called "receptors" in your body.<br /><br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><h4 style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSCHz0yAY0uRQhwN2Jwda2nvBpzaZAzZtA_3b7WDNCWR_izMp_JUqZ2ytElYvLFHms_NRdDLWYxP-Lxwo3xdPU24UdBg7psv8Q9hSW7bxxwMuBB-pLmIOllKSvRe0c4djpTqtVdcANdpdVpALroutTn7twb7ywVxVIQW8IzNNE8ek2ROxyACjY77GLiBF0/s808/a8c261e07b5153194cf191dcd9545d70.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="564" height="517" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSCHz0yAY0uRQhwN2Jwda2nvBpzaZAzZtA_3b7WDNCWR_izMp_JUqZ2ytElYvLFHms_NRdDLWYxP-Lxwo3xdPU24UdBg7psv8Q9hSW7bxxwMuBB-pLmIOllKSvRe0c4djpTqtVdcANdpdVpALroutTn7twb7ywVxVIQW8IzNNE8ek2ROxyACjY77GLiBF0/w361-h517/a8c261e07b5153194cf191dcd9545d70.jpg" width="361" /></a></div>I found an <a href="https://www.verywell.com/facial-flushing-caused-by-mastocytosis-1069267">article</a> explaining how a histamine-related disease called Mastocytosis can cause facial flushing</span></h4>It explains that mast cells are cells of the immune system that are found around blood vessels in the skin, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, and genitourinary tract. They contain several substances, the most common of which is histamine. They are released in response to contact with certain foreign substances. In the most common form of mastocytosis, there are a greater number of mast cells in the tissues. These mast cells cause a typical skin response called urticaria pigmentosa in which a hive immediately develops after stroking the skin with a blunt object (I don't have this). People with mastocytosis also experience symptoms throughout the body caused by the release of large amounts of histamine and other chemicals. The flushing occurs suddenly on the face and upper trunk. Many patients cannot identify a trigger that causes the flushing, but some identify exercise, heat, or emotional anxiety as a possible trigger. The red, hot face is often accompanied by palpitations, low blood pressure, dizziness, chest pain, explosive diarrhea, nausea, or fatigue. Medications such as opioid narcotics like morphine and codeine, and aspirin or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen or naproxen can also start a flushing attack. And as Y-gwair explained in a comment I added below in this blog post:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>"Also many don't understand the difference between mastocytosis (which is where your bone marrow produces increased number of genetically altered mast cells) and mast cell activation (where you have a normal number of mast cells which have become abnormally over-reactive)."</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">But it is also possible that someone who flushes a lot does not in fact have mastocytosis (or anything other than rosacea and faulty functioning blood vessels), but instead </span><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mast_cell_activation_syndrome">Mast cell activation Syndrome</a>. </b></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mastocytosis causes too many mast cells in your body, but Mast cell activation Syndrome does not create statistically more mast cells in the body, but instead makes the normal number of mast cells malfunction, being hyper-reactive and causing symptoms such as flushing, hives, burning feeling, easy bruising, itchiness, lightheadedness/dizziness, diarrhea, headaches and brain fog. To name a few symptoms. </span></div><div><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #990000; font-family: "inherit" , "serif"; font-size: x-large; line-height: 43.7px;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilr5Mc7SjyqU2x7wOJUNkTvW-7Keos4Mvq3FMqMkxGpHd_Uw153skuGQeJ8B537o23GkXIUR1Kr7_4YAuLifMYki02YY1nmdDSe9n3TyvwnJYFfp5w2CuFQTc0SFT02G92HewhANYJR9_twURG_Cd_P8PI6NCHB-5hF5TnEXR6Q9VG12HL3VeiYaeTvRgY/s800/534081c08e3c433e07631d1780f97e2b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="544" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilr5Mc7SjyqU2x7wOJUNkTvW-7Keos4Mvq3FMqMkxGpHd_Uw153skuGQeJ8B537o23GkXIUR1Kr7_4YAuLifMYki02YY1nmdDSe9n3TyvwnJYFfp5w2CuFQTc0SFT02G92HewhANYJR9_twURG_Cd_P8PI6NCHB-5hF5TnEXR6Q9VG12HL3VeiYaeTvRgY/w341-h500/534081c08e3c433e07631d1780f97e2b.jpg" width="341" /></a></div></span></span></b><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #990000; font-family: "inherit" , "serif"; font-size: x-large; line-height: 43.7px;">Mast cell activation Syndrome</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">It is also possible that someone who flushes a lot does not in fact have mastocytosis (or anything other than rosacea and faulty functioning blood vessels), but instead </span><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mast_cell_activation_syndrome">Mast cell activation Syndrome</a>. </b>Mastocytosis causes too many mast cells in your body, but Mast cell activation Syndrome does not create statistically more mast cells in the body, but instead makes the normal number of mast cells malfunction, being hyper-reactive and causing symptoms such as flushing, hives, burning feeling, easy bruising, itchiness, lightheadedness/dizziness, diarrhea, headaches, pain and redness of the eyes and brain fog. To name a few symptoms (check the rest of the possible symptoms out <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mast_cell_activation_syndrome"><b>here</b></a>). This is what my doctor thinks I have. My tryptase blood test came back negative, so I don't have mastocytosis. But he does suspect a histamine component to my flushing, as I flush from foods high in histamine, from pollen, from perfume and many other triggers that can be linked to histamine release in the body - which then in turn dilates the blood vessels. I am currently trying medication aimed to control Mast cell activation Syndrome: <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/09/montelukast-singulair-for-rosacea.html">Montelukast</a></b> (Singulair), ranitidine and Xyzal. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #990000; font-family: "inherit" , "serif"; font-size: x-large; line-height: 43.7px;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmXZfOmyWoaFQBMzm13naQr1cGwFvPCjguof-Ohnx2wOGBM9s-0LqBrAw_tukpicJ-bJuOtTb7wJPHVccDxVRNgEP4A2DmZeRJ6eGrMoNiJYLE01IPYxSEbkD5QW4i1Y951yJKmagqjpp4WKvvCIeQoPwVcCqx-5PT-poBKjXBRJ26-b2PAiuGHCEyJqiY/s564/01107225886b1d2735252ac649be62c1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="564" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmXZfOmyWoaFQBMzm13naQr1cGwFvPCjguof-Ohnx2wOGBM9s-0LqBrAw_tukpicJ-bJuOtTb7wJPHVccDxVRNgEP4A2DmZeRJ6eGrMoNiJYLE01IPYxSEbkD5QW4i1Y951yJKmagqjpp4WKvvCIeQoPwVcCqx-5PT-poBKjXBRJ26-b2PAiuGHCEyJqiY/w339-h328/01107225886b1d2735252ac649be62c1.jpg" width="339" /></a></div></span></span></b><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #990000; font-family: "inherit" , "serif"; font-size: x-large; line-height: 43.7px;">DAO deficiency</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">DAO deficiency means there is not enough of the specific digestive enzyme present in the body, which is responsible for breaking off the histamine that is in food. Diamine oxidase enzyme or DAO is located in the intestinal mucosa mainly, and starts working during the digestion of food. When there is an alteration in the metabolism of histamine and there is not enough DAO activity, the imbalance between ingested histamine and histamine released from the storage cells leads to histamine accumulation in the blood, which causes health symptoms such as flushing, sneezing and itching, but also possibly: migraine, headaches and/or dizziness. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (diarrhea, constipation), Crohn disease, stomach pain, nausea and/or vomiting. Hypotension, hypertension and/or arrhythmia. Hives, oedema, atopic skin, eczema and/or rach. Nose congestion, rhinitis, asthma and/or sneezing. Muscle pain, fibromyalgia and/or fatigue. Bone pain. It has been observed that most patients with low functional DAO activity present other related symptoms, especially migraine. 20% of patients experience 1 or 2 of these associated symptoms, 41.3% of patients experience 3 or 4 of these symptoms and 33.8% present more than 5. Migraine is always the most highlighted syndrome when interviewing the patients due to its disabling character. With DAO deficiency, unlike with a food allergy, the occurrence of symptoms or adverse effects is not linked to the intake of specific food; by contrast it can be related to a wide variety of food with different histamine contents (even to foods with low histamine levels). A special blood test can detect the DAO enzymatic deficiency. Once confirmed, the treatment consists in a <span style="color: #444444;"><b>diet low in histamine</b></span> and other amines that enhance its accumulation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Y-gwair wrote: </span></b>Quote Originally Posted by lilyian. "<i>If you did actually have a mast cell problem, it is easily controlled with prescription histamine blockers. Best thing to do is to get checked out my an allergist. People with these illnesses don't really have allergies, but the source of the problem is still mast cells which are what cause allergy problems." </i>This is not true, H1/H2s will only control SOME symptoms caused by release of histamine (like itching), but mast cells actually produce about 60 different vasoactive substances which antihistamines have no effect on. It's true that mast cell activation is not a true allergy, but there are still many allergy doctors that don't understand this and only test the limited parts of the immune system that they know about. Also many don't understand the difference between mastocytosis (which is where your bone marrow produces increased number of genetically altered mast cells) and mast cell activation (where you have a normal number of mast cells which have become abnormally over-reactive). </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The kind of doctor you need to see with these disorders is an immunologist specializing in allergic disease. Ideally they will test tryptase (which is a substance that stimulates the production of extra mast cells in mastocytosis), Diamine Oxidase, which is an enzyme that breaks down histamine, histamine levels in urine/blood. They also look to see if you vitamin D levels are low, as this is also a marker for high circulating histamine. If you are in the US, they will also test for prostaglandin D2 and leukotrienes. They should also do a very detailed investigation of your immune system, breakdown of all immunoglobulins, rheumatological markers and many other relevant things. After quite a few misdiagnoses, I've finally found the true reason for my flushing, which is deficiency in Diamine oxidase, linked to mast cell activation causing high levels of unknown vasodilatory and neurological irritant substances. If I'd listened to my idiot dermatologist, I'd still be mucking around with clonidine and beta blockers, both of which were making my condition worse. Doxepin is a tricyclic, which are a group of medications that cause mast cell degranulation, along with many, many other common medications including virtually all painkillers except paracetamol."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 45px;"><b>5. NSAID's like diclofenac or ibuprofen</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStv1nnJGUKrf4qMSQbDMsFwgzJdPbuvcylbh3KPflCNN74vRgKOT1hHtqDEgMH_XQ4sIvaxkQ3T8DmeHGHiivNIAliBDb1cIuOZS6GDEXculykeX9TgdJpTH96o_mZed0GjhHUyk0Qto/s1600/DSC01638.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStv1nnJGUKrf4qMSQbDMsFwgzJdPbuvcylbh3KPflCNN74vRgKOT1hHtqDEgMH_XQ4sIvaxkQ3T8DmeHGHiivNIAliBDb1cIuOZS6GDEXculykeX9TgdJpTH96o_mZed0GjhHUyk0Qto/w405-h335/DSC01638.jpg" width="405" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQQn0T0_h3_lfPbTCJgKaBNifyLuPvc1vOvhWu74Kxz7fWYyuoOIlF7hfYXQU5uIj5tm0cGAetxBLiLXvcnZNWBro4DNxigm9Pvw3HQXY3xVU2mydEmHaND76fY_-h9THkf9uMCXZYDA/s1600/DSC01631.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>Several times I re-started with an old medication, that I used to take for years, between 2007-2010; diclofenac. It's a non steroidal anti inflammatory (NSAID), and I felt at times that it dims the redness a bit. It's not helping me with flushing, but I feel that while taking it, the background redness is not as deep. I have been taking 100 mg a day. (See added pictures, while taking diclofenac). I stopped taking it structurally because it gave me heart pains when out exercising. Another downside of this medication is that you need to be really careful with your stomach. It's quite harsh on the stomach lining. I used to take my dose with a proper main meal, never on an empty stomach, or it feels like it burns an ulcer right away. It won't right away of course, the pills have a protective coating, but they are linked to ulcers after long(er) term use, so you need to be careful with this one. I started taking diclofenac after an IPL treatment, that gave me post treatment inflammation and bad facial redness. My dermatologist wanted to avoid steroids to calming matters down, as I developed rosacea after using hydrocortisone cream. Some can handle steroids, but doc wants to avoid them in my case. Aspirin can help for rosacea and flushing, but it has higher levels of salicylates, which can also make people more flushed, if they are very sensitive to salicylates (it makes me more flushed). His best bet was therefore diclofenac; a non steroid anti inflammatory drug, that doesn't have the salicylates, like aspirin or ibuprofen have. So I took the diclofenac for a period of 2 weeks at the time, 150 mg a day divided in 3 doses. It calmed the inflammation of the IPL treatment down and I felt a bit less flushy on them. Looking back at pictures from that time, I am not convinced they made me less red, but I felt a bit less flushed and burned up at least. I was only supposed to take it for 2 weeks, but asked my derm if I could continue using it on a lower dose; 50 to 100 mg at night. He was a little bit worried about stomach ulcers initially, but gave me the green light anyway. I have to emphasize another time here that the drug is heavy on the stomach, it thins the stomach lining and makes you more prone to acid pains there or bleedings, but I have always taken the pills straight after a proper big meal in the evening and somehow was ok this way. I used it a few years but when we started to try to conceive I stopped. By then I actually noticed that I was less red and flushed while being OFF the diclofenac! I am positive that it really helped with the post_IPL inflammation, but not with my day to day dealings with rosacea. <span>But my new dermatologist told me upon asking, that he always warns rosacea patients against NSAID medication, as in his experience they work 'like steroids' in terms of rebound redness. Hmmm... So, despite these type of meds (NSAID's) calming inflammation, sometimes they actually worsen flushing, so be vary careful with them until you are certain they don't flare your skin... </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">The official narrative is however that NSAID's are typically a lot more safe to try for your rosacea than resorting to steroids</span></b>, either topical (absolutely not wise to use any steroid cream when you have rosacea, or a tendency to blush and flare, it can really make things a lot worse), or systematic; even taking prednisone orally is a risk when you have rosacea, and it can trigger rosacea too, in those with a predisposition for rosacea. But not necessarily. Some people with rosacea take steroids short term and it doesn't affect their rosacea. And in general, many people take steroids for all sorts of health problems and never develop skin problems from it. But people with pale skin, a tendency to sunburn and blush, do have a higher risk to develop a flushing or rosacea skin problem, after using corticosteroids. This risk is unfortunately not something that dermatologists and GP's are always aware of.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000;">Ephemerality</span> wrote about this on <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34971-Steroid-Induced-Rosacea-Severe-Flushing-Redness-and-Burning" target="_blank">The Rosacea Forum</a>: </span></b>"Steroid induced rosacea does not requires long term usage of steroid. For some people, even 1 time application can do all the damage. Don't believe the standard BS thrown out there by those "medical professionals". Everyone's body is different; everyone's blood vessel flexibility/ resilience/ stability is different. Maybe, it is true, for majority people, it takes months of steroid to develop rosacea red face; and there are people who never develop red face no matter how long they keep using steroid. However, for a small number of people, the full steroid damage only requires very short times (days, not even weeks). There is no possibility to persuade those medical professionals to admit/ believe the severe danger from steroid. Biggest tools (pretty much the only tools) western medicines have are "antibiotic" and "steroid". By playing with those 2 things, pharma comps and docs have been able to make tons of shxt loads of money. especially those dermatologists. Without steroid cream, half of them would show up with dumb face and lose job right there, because they really have and know nothing else to offer patients. It is all about money! 1 unlimited supply in the world for derms (and docs and pharma comps) are people. They can keep making money, have their "respectful careers", and pile up assets for their children, as long as general population keep believing their fooling with the notion that "short-term steroid use does not cause problem" and "steroid usage under direction of your doctors is safe". What consequence is there to them when they ruin our faces!!! They will just get new patients and keep doing the same thing, and anyway, some people will be fine, and some will be ruined!"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRi5eNtAwVEPEnrpC2HiD2fNpDsQ08lbWfw8TjwaT_cAn_r_IOczXBq6EzEnik-rdQjVxVXn_21AGJXsXpQqTC1JyhyphenhyphenWeWjmRu0EkTLHVdfPjDRNK5AEKy0SJHvUvnKO0NE9pgPdoXtE/s1600/DSC01633.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRi5eNtAwVEPEnrpC2HiD2fNpDsQ08lbWfw8TjwaT_cAn_r_IOczXBq6EzEnik-rdQjVxVXn_21AGJXsXpQqTC1JyhyphenhyphenWeWjmRu0EkTLHVdfPjDRNK5AEKy0SJHvUvnKO0NE9pgPdoXtE/w308-h400/DSC01633.jpg" width="308" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span>I agree with this post-writer.</span></b> </span>In 1999 I only used a hydrocortisone cream for around 3 or 4 days in the area around my mouth and nose, a bit on a cheek, and developed rosacea, flushing, redness and burning seemingly overnight from it. It was ridiculous really. The problem is that for some people with rosacea, doctors do prescribe short term use of steroids (either something like prednisone, or a cortisone cream even, in an attempt to bring inflammation down) and some do fine on it, and it doesn't hurt their rosacea. But for some others, it does make things much worse. You just don't know beforehand if you'll be fine with it, or if you are one of the unlucky few who have their rosacea worsened by it. My dermatologist always says; it's Russian roulette to use any steroid, if you are a heavy flusher. I'd not take the risk. He warns me against any type of steroid use, including steroid nose spray and eye drops. The worst part is that the steroid use is often not even strictly necessary.. I had some mild eczema at the time, and it really didn't require a steroid cream, but I never had skin problems prior and never thought a short period of use could pose such risks. I didn't even know of the risk. I feel that doctors, both dermatologists and GP's, need to be aware of the fact that steroids can trigger rosacea in those with a higher risk for it, like a tendency to blush, to sunburn and people with pale skin that easily goes red. It sometimes really is thrown at patients as an easy fix for all. It also rarely cures you from anything, as steroids merely suppress symptoms, and topical steroids not only thin the skin in the long run, but they also make the skin addicted to some degree to this cream (weaning off gives often rebound symptoms). So just be careful with steroids, if you have rosacea.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b style="font-size: 45px;">6. </b><span style="font-size: 45px;"><b>Gabapentin</b></span><b style="font-size: 45px;">/pregabalin</b></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7BRhlhVcG9bOZlxyZ6aPBP5FGPgNR3-TJZbYAJERWjI7_eQzue7ghPMUU-Ar3289LX7tgAykodhyphenhyphenz1V-YUt1Hp1gm9U8wKfPx-zDXE2jFqsZrzlBFa9A-VRPGnmye1XAg8zrNdoOoCc/s1600/72d1ff0b4dee1fd589700e6aa4b827ef.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirggcpDeEA5MSdGijajQDaZ_Hxatb2wD4XXNFuqIc7owunEGvk-65NTKkw7V-Cnff6KZXCdVwvzrK_gzzFcGLlFkg7pbCZJc4EKTXyV359IaBpeSn8emzFHrdSG_pm_FoQ_fZ4S7L-yyx5/s1600/nbv.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirggcpDeEA5MSdGijajQDaZ_Hxatb2wD4XXNFuqIc7owunEGvk-65NTKkw7V-Cnff6KZXCdVwvzrK_gzzFcGLlFkg7pbCZJc4EKTXyV359IaBpeSn8emzFHrdSG_pm_FoQ_fZ4S7L-yyx5/w307-h478/nbv.jpg" width="307" /></a></div><br />Lyrica and neurontin make the nerves that control blood flow to the face less active, making you flush and burn less. I used gabapentin for a month or so when I had neuropathic pain, after falling asleep on a frozen gel pack with one cheek. It helped with nerve pain, and helped me get more pale for a little while as well. Gabapentin/pregabalin has a proven track record for alleviating hot flashes during menopause. It also has potential in reducing facial flushing. This effect has been replicated in many scientific researches.<br />
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<span style="color: #f4cccc; font-size: x-large;"><b><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4331402/">On PubMed</a><span style="color: black;">:</span></b></span><br />
<span><span style="font-family: inherit;">"In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 59 post-menopausal women with seven or more HF per day, the effects of 900 mg oral gabapentin on hot flashes (HF) frequency were assessed after 12 weeks of treatment. <b><span style="color: #783f04;">Gabapentin evoked a 45% reduction in hot flash frequenc</span></b>y and a 54% reduction in the HF composite score compared to the placebo response (29% (p = 0.02) and 31% (p = 0.01), respectively). In an extension phase, patients were studied in an open-label trial where the dose of gabapentin could be increased up to 2700 mg/day, as needed. Treatment with the higher dose showed a further reduction of 54% and 67%, respectively. Common AEs in the gabapentin group were somnolence (n = 6), dizziness (n = 4) and rash with and without peripheral oedema (n = 2), which were not observed in the placebo group."</span></span><br />
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<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEOuOhzbmbBnAhQC2JW0rN_sbXQ7UShNaw19nYWC6EbQAt5r4O4CFC7DPxNPs-BqxF6RAxnBd1QPm0jvBHVorN1zuCkjxbsuskrHjxDr2BmW8doMYaQV7pRJuriPpDe_pVauZnvGg1O6mfy9jcNpuEvIcniD_1-I-nOwXl5Yr5XLkYvJ6edkmgY6F0A/s1520/rosacea.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="1520" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEOuOhzbmbBnAhQC2JW0rN_sbXQ7UShNaw19nYWC6EbQAt5r4O4CFC7DPxNPs-BqxF6RAxnBd1QPm0jvBHVorN1zuCkjxbsuskrHjxDr2BmW8doMYaQV7pRJuriPpDe_pVauZnvGg1O6mfy9jcNpuEvIcniD_1-I-nOwXl5Yr5XLkYvJ6edkmgY6F0A/w658-h377/rosacea.jpg" width="658" /></a></div><div><br /></div><b><span style="color: #990000;">
And <a href="https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(15)00347-3/fulltext" target="_blank">this</a> scientific article reports:</span></b> <span style="font-family: inherit;">"A 63-year-old female presented with severe flushing, facial redness and burning. She had been diagnosed with rosacea in her early twenties and it was felt this was simply a flare. She was otherwise fit and well and was treated with a prolonged course of lymecycline 408 mg daily and topical applications including metronidazole gel and azelaic acid. She was becoming increasingly distressed and edema gradually developed over her cheeks. Investigations for porphyria, carcinoid, lupus serology and pheochromocytoma proved unremarkable. She underwent a course of intense pulsed light treatment for the redness which was partially effective.<span style="color: #783f04; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span><b style="color: #444444;">Given that severe facial flushing and burning failed to respond to standard treatments, she was diagnosed with neurogenic rosacea. Within 2 months of starting pregabalin 300 mg in the morning and 150 mg at night, her symptoms improved dramatically</b>, with a reduction in facial redness and swelling</span>. Rosacea is classically divided into 4 subgroups, including erythematotelangiectatic, papulopustular, ocular, and phymatous. Neurogenic rosacea was first recorded in 2011 by Scharschmidt et al and since then there have been very few reports of its existence. It was described as a distinct variant of rosacea characterized by dramatic facial redness, burning, stinging and dysesthesias out of proportion to the flushing or inflammation. A relatively high number of patients have neurologic or neuropsychiatric conditions, including complex regional pain syndrome, essential tremor, depression, and obsessive compulsive disorder. The cause of neurogenic rosacea is poorly understood, with neuronal dysregulation being proposed as a contributor to the development of the disease. We have subsequently encountered a total of 3 cases of neurogenic rosacea over the past decade. Treatment is difficult, but some success has been seen with neuroleptic agents (eg, pregabalin and gabapentin), tricyclic antidepressants, and duloxetine. Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy has also been used to some success in treating debilitating facial flushing. In summary, we present a case of neurogenic rosacea. This is a potentially treatable variant of rosacea that is probably underrecognized and therefore inadequately treated."</span><br /><br /><br /><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #990000; font-size: 46px;"><b>How to get your GP or dermatologist to prescribe you medication for rosacea</b></span><br />
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Start by reading<b> <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/07/how-to-improve-your-chances-of-finding.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a></b> I wrote about the entire matter :) How did I get my doctor to help me? I took a recommendation letter from the dermatologist I am seeing, prof. Chu, to my GP and discussed with her if I could try the anti-flushing medication that he had suggest to me (clonidine, propranolol and mirtazapine combo) for a month and then evaluate with her. She was weary about some of these meds, as some lower the blood pressure and are <i>not specifically designed for rosacea</i>. But we managed to discuss honestly and openly how difficult it can be to suppress this terrible flushing. How there is nothing out there officially for it; how mostly all rosacea treatment options are aimed at subtype 2 with p&p's and skin outbreaks, and nothing to help with the flushing. She understood that the burning and flushing interfered severely with my everyday life and general wellbeing. And also that it is a progressive problem; the more you flush over time, the more you will weaken the blood vessels in your face and the more red and flushed you can become in the long run. So it needs to be treated! I then asked her to let me try it for a given time, we agreed on a month initially, to see for ourselves if these medication types did anything for my flushing at all. Then we would reevaluate and also check my blood pressure. This allowed my GP to keep some control and to see with her own eyes if there was improvement or not. During that month I went from 24/7 flushing and cold packs dragging with me wherever I went, to about 60% improvement and when she saw me back it was immediately clear to her that I had to continue with these medications. As I looked less red and flushed. I have had tests to control liver function and some other things after 4 years and they were all in excellent shape, so she felt fine with continuing to prescribe it to me until this day. Now as you probably know from this blog, I still have rosacea and flushing and burning, but I can function again. So my advice here is this: discuss things with your primary doctor. I would print out some of the medical links I posted with the different medication subheadings, or try to find some better ones perhaps when you have the time for it. Bring them along and allow your doctor to read pubmed results. You may also bring printed testimonials from people on The Rosacea Forum, highlighting the improvement they experienced. Negotiating about a trial period helped for me as well, GP’s are careful not to put their patients at risk, so you will give them some sense of control then. They might say that these are serious drugs. But they are common drugs as well, that have been tested and on the market and prescribed for a long time. These are widely used and have documented benefits for ongoing inflammation and flushing. I would also stress that uncontrolled face flushing can result in long term damage and worsening of the problem. And even when you might not look that red to others, the burning and pain of this subtype of rosacea is often not immediately visible. Flushing has a snowball effect and the only road to recovery, is to stop it in its tracks. Good luck!</div><div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Update;</span></b> a girl on the forum wrote that despite going to her gp with the information about clonidine and propranolol for flushing, her GP refused. Here is her post and my (not as subtle) response. Note, I never had to rely on such measurements as described about my friend, I was red enough as it was to make them realize the problem, at that stage. And I unfortunately can't send meds to other people either. But perhaps others reading this have the same issue.<br />
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<span style="color: black;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Original post: </span></b><span style="color: black;">"So I have posted a few times on the forum, so a little recap of my condition: The rosacea started up fairly recently, a few months ago at most. I suffer mostly from flushing. I have always flushed/blushed easily but usually just my cheeks and would go away, no permanent redness. The flushing has been getting progressively worse, spreading to other areas of my face (chin, nose, a bit of my forehead). I saw a derm who prescribed finacea and noritate - I don't get many P&Ps, my problem is really just the FLUSHING. I printed out a page from this forum , "Medication that has proved to be helpful for facial flushing, redness and burning" by Nat007, and have taken it with me from doctor to doctor practically begging for a prescription(s). I have dropped out of school, stopped seeing friends, I used to love jogging but have stopped that too. Anything and everything causes a flush, worse in the mornings and evenings. It's more than just a cosmetic concern, it burns, it's all I can think about, can't concentrate or focus because my face feels like it's on fire. </span></span><span style="color: black;">It's one thing to have had to give up going out, drinking with friends, (sex... </span><span style="color: black;">) but at this point I'm literally homebound 24/7 doing anything I can to avoid flushing, but even then my face constantly burns (even when not flushing!) I have become so anxiety-ridden because of the condition, having frequent panic attacks, and overall am just really depressed. I miss my life. Went for dinner with my boyfriend, started feeling warm, had to take our food to go. Went to the movies, started getting too warm and left half way through the movie. These are just a few instances of how drastically it is affecting my life. </span><span style="color: black;">Problem is, no doctor is willing to prescribe me ANY of the meds. They barely glance at the papers I bring, simply state the side effects and tell me to avoid triggers. Went to another doctor today, my skin was fairly calm, I explained everything to him and guess what he says - "I'm not even convinced you have rosacea, I think it's psychological - these are not serious drugs, they are prescribed for menopausal women experiencing hot flashes, but I don't think you have a flushing problem". I responded "Do you think I would go from doctor to doctor if I didn't honestly think i had a problem?"...."Well, next time it happens, take a picture. Prove it to me". I kid you not, that is what he said. Every day that goes by it gets worse, causing permanent damage (which i told him, and he said that it wasn't true...). I'm at my wits end, constantly in pain, given up everything, and these doctors just keep dismissing me. </span><span style="color: black;">I need advice. My face burns as I write this and every time is stays red longer, and eventually stays that way. I want to stop this disease from progressing but I don't know what else to do. I'm even considering buying the meds online, which is risky but I'm desperate. Sorry for the long rant but i just can't take it anymore. Any advice? I even tried emailing Dr. Chu.... I live in Canada... I just don't know what else to do."<br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Suggestion:</span></b><span style="color: black;"> "God that's awful!! But no surprise, unfortunately. I dragged myself to 4 big hospitals all </span></span><span style="color: black;">through the country and got the same rubbish; you are too young for rosacea, there is nothing else we can do, here have some more antibiotics etc etc. Had to go to Dr. Chu finally to get some proper help (and was really at my wits end by then from 6 years of severe flushing and my rosacea going from mild to severe by then, also thanks to an IPL treatment). He prescribed all these meds I posted about and well, I just went to my GP and said; I'm dying from the pain, this is a professor and a specialist, this is the prescription. Please let us work something out here (while thinking to myself: if you don't give me monthly prescriptions of this I make it into a courtcase). She agreed with me trying them for a month and then coming back, showing her the results and I was lucky enough to be bright red when I sat there discussing it with her and less red the next month. </span>A friend of mine had to be retested for her welfare allowance and she has very severe rosacea, but some good days, usually when there is something important she has to be red for. So she had this appointment and we thought out all ways for her to look as red as possible; pizza, hot coffee, hair dryer on her face before leaving, she even put some extra blusher on. No joke, its extreme but such a flare will calm down again in days time, but when you rely on a red face to get your medication or welfare, it might also be an option for you? It's a disgrace that you need to rely on such measurements, but also bear in mind that rosacea is not well known, and that GP's especially are very careful with prescribing anything they might get in trouble for. Young girls, they don't like to prescribe them meds for menopausal women or for heart problems, especially when they don't see you flushed enough. I remember sitting crying in my gp's office -again- and telling her that it's burning me up, that I couldn't go to uni anymore, couldn't do anything from the flushing and the pain and needed her help and all she said was 'well you look healthy to me, nothing wrong with apple cheeks, I think you just work yourself up too much". It's horrendous to have such a person sitting self righteous in front of you like that. "Thank you. Next!" If you can't get these meds, don't order it online, you might get dangerous versions with something else in it than the real medication. You don't want to risk that, not even in this bad situation I think. Then you can make before and after pictures (I know it sounds like the last thing you want to do, but just flush yourself with a hair dryer and hot coffee before making the pictures), make plenty of them, in different lights so the doctor has no leg to stand on and no reason to dismiss them, then tell him perhaps that if he won't give you the trial of these meds, that you'll get them elsewhere and that you just want one month of trial and will discuss it with him afterwards. Like you said, who in their right mind, hypochondriac or not, would use such medications if there was not a real problem? They will make you drowsy and tired in the first weeks. And the remeron might work well at 15 mg but it takes some weeks to start working. The clonidine and propranolol work instantly, if they fit your specific flushing. <span style="color: black;">Hope this helps a bit :/</span><span style="color: black;">"<br /></span><br /><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 36px;"><b>More advice for those who have a hard time finding a cooperative GP or doctor, who wants to help you control the rosacea and flushing with medication</b></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY7kXM09_nVRet95HMm7RkXpH7KkKGFjoWkmPwvTICFGkr5tAb2Y0w8gHQQkR7uTgStZ_IT71Kv6FnS2c_CAA-PVKc5GgnUzuohzGD7Xx78Qb3Q2SlAsNERQgraJIpJ3LCrHyG_HZFVEOG/s1600/uy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="539" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY7kXM09_nVRet95HMm7RkXpH7KkKGFjoWkmPwvTICFGkr5tAb2Y0w8gHQQkR7uTgStZ_IT71Kv6FnS2c_CAA-PVKc5GgnUzuohzGD7Xx78Qb3Q2SlAsNERQgraJIpJ3LCrHyG_HZFVEOG/w346-h539/uy.jpg" width="346" /></a><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Username <a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18330-My-flushing-is-almost-cured-Mepacrine/page40">wrote</a>:</span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"> </span></b></span>"I'm going in to talk to my doctor soon regarding an anti flushing med. She likely won't really understand the situation like a lot of doctors don't but I was thinking I ask her if I can start on clonidine? Is that a good option?<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Me:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b></span>"Yeah as a starting med I would go for clonidine. Maybe ask for 0,075 mg (equals usually half a pill), 3 times a day. You can up it to 0,150 mg 3 times a day. It can cause some rebound flushing for some when you wait longer than 8 hours with the next dose, so I find taking it every 8 hours keeps the clonidine level pretty steady in my body. Another med that might help is a beta blocker, like propranolol. Some mention atenolol or other 'lols. I take 40 mg propranolol 1 to 3 times a day. If you have serious flushing issues and find these 2 meds aren't helping enough, consider remeron (Mirtazapine). It's an antidepressant with anti flushing actions. It has more side effects however (like most antidepressants, initial drowsiness and increased appetite, which you can counteract by not overeating). Antihistamines help as well. I take Xyzal. There are people who have good success with antimalarials like plaquenil or mepacrine. They lower inflammation. They work slowly however and need to build up for a month. They don't work for everyone. Good luck!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Carpsy wrote:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>"Not sure if this is against the rules or not but does anyone know if it's possible to get plaquenil online? Was hoping to get it from my gp but the one i normally see is on holiday at the moment so i had to see a different ignorant prick who when i asked for plaquenil looked at me like i'm a complete fucking lunatic and started spewing all the 'it's used for arthritis not flushing so he can't prescribe me it'. I told him everything i knew about it, about tony chu, about everyone's success with it. He was so patronizing as well he kept saying this isn't a mickey mouse drug like paracetamol i can't just hand it out like that. Yes i know that you asshole. You'd think he'd be more understanding seeing as i was only there a few weeks ago cos i wanted to end this nightmare of a life. This is why i always ask to see this certain woman doctor as she's always so understanding. I said it's my last hope having tried everything else and he just said sorry you'll have to see a derm as i'm not licensed to give you it. He said i can refer you to a derm to get his opinion and i just walked out. I'm a 25 year old man who just wanted to burst into tears. I've never felt so deflated after having such high hopes for something. The worst thing was i was sat in the waiting room for an hour absolutely beat red, cheeks pulsating but i didn't care cos i thought i'd come out with a potential cure. I know i don't have rosacea it's just something in my system has been fucked up by taking accutane. I've tried like 5 different lots of antidepressants as well as counselling but nothing will ever help me. I have a 2 year old son at the end of all this which absolutely kills me as i can't even take him out of the house because i'm such a mess. He's the only thing keeping me going. I am exhausted i've been tired for 7 years now since taking accutane, back ache, flushing, severe sweating, mouth ulcers. They all think i'm crazy. I seriously just want to die right now it's almost like what i'd imagine cancer to be. It's killing me and i can't fight it so i may as well give up."<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">I replied:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b></span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"></span>"Yes, it's frustrating to the point of tears. But this is how most GP's handle, it is the system they are trained in. Plaquenil and mepacrine are more serious drugs than lets say clonidine. Most people here seem to get away with clonidine or even propranolol with their GP's, but mine flat out refuses me anything else at this point (well and remeron). And even those meds were only prescribed with a letter to her from Prof Chu. GP's are no specialists and they generally don't want to be held reliable for prescribing such specialized meds, for specialized conditions. It's frustrating, I have been there, crying, begging my GP for the meds. But you need to go through the system. Just as every new derm wanted me to go through the same stupid steps of tetracycline antibiotics in the beginning, regardless of past experience with it with a different derm. I now have 3 different derms (it's pathetic and not too clever perhaps): GP for the 3 standard meds, one derm for antihistamine meds, my other derm for plaquenil and more serious drugs alike. And they reside in different countries, so nothing gets mingled up. Anyway, your best bet is probably to find out if there is a derm in your are that has a real understanding and experience with treating rosacea. If you are at your wits end and desperate for relief, I would make a thorough case of this, looking for all derms in a wide area, calling them all and asking specifically if they have experience and are willing to treat hard to treat, antibiotic resistant, facial flushing burning and redness. It's a waste of time and money otherwise. You might want to consider flying to Dr Chu otherwise, or any other derm that is known to be progressive in rosacea treatment known here on the board perhaps? First step to improvement was for me to find a good derm that fitted my health problem. It's depressing, tiring, awful, that you suffer like this and get such a cold treatment, but perhaps doctors these days are more afraid for court cases when things go wrong and don't want to risk their work/ethics/whatever for a trial with plaquenil for you? :/ Hope you can sort this out. I looked for online plaquenil, but you risk getting a totally different drug, you don't know which supplier is reliable and which one isn't and most reliable online pharmacies want a referral letter from a doctor for plaquenil. Unlike victim roac's posts, it is also NOT otc available in France, and in no other country that I know of. Sorry..."<br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Carpsy wrote:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b></span>"was a silly question really asking whether or not a medication was available online. Decided to search deeper than just the first page of google and have come across tons of different pharmacies which seem to sell it. some of them have lots of decent reviews on pharmacyreviewer.com as well. will probably take a few weeks to receive it but it's worth a shot. i just want my life back. it kills me inside when i think back to when i was 17 years old and although i had bad acne, i didn't flush at all. i can't imagine life without flushing these days it's just part of my everyday routine. sorry for the ramblings to myself i just needed to vent. this is just for plaquenil btw, can't find mepacrine anywhere online."<br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><b><b>I wrote:</b> </b></span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"> </span></b></span>"Hmm, you don't know what they put in those pills carpsy.. You risk spending a lot of money and ending up with a half decent or dangerous drug. It's not checked by a licensed pharmacy this way. Have you tried anti flushing meds like propranolol and clonidine already by the way? And remeron? They all are pretty strong anti flushing meds. I have a stack of propranolol here, if you want to try some safely and see if it works for you? I think I can spare a few weeks worth of all three of those meds actually, then at least you know you have safe meds, the real deal, and you can know what to aim for afterwards with your hopefully future derm. Plaquenil takes up to 5 weeks to even start working. To build up in your system. To start having anti inflammatory actions. It is a very long time, especially as you will not know all those weeks if you have been sold a scam version or not. On tops, if you notice no improvement, you don't even know if you were taking calcium pills or plaquenil all that time (or god forbid something worse). :/"<br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Fed up wrote:</span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"> </span></b></span>"I agree. It's extremely upsetting when you're at your wit's end with this condition, to go in and spill your heart out to a GP, only to be point-blank refused treatment. It happened to me when I asked for remeron - the doctor had just never heard of it being used for facial flushing before and said that from an ethical standpoint she wouldn't be able to prescribe it. I was so disappointed and cried on the way home but looking back she was just covering herself. From a legal and ethical point of view, she couldn't risk prescribing something armed with so little knowledge about how it worked for this particular condition. Carpsy, I'm so sorry you're having such a hard time. I'm a post-accutane flusher too and know how horrible it is to deal with. I would echo Nat and ask if you have tried beta blockers like propranolol and clonidine? I take 40mg of propranolol a day and it does help take the edge off my flushing somewhat. I would also advise extreme caution when ordering drugs online - you just have no way of knowing for sure what's in those pills."<br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Carpsy replied:</span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"> </span></b></span>"yeah i don't normally like swearing on forums but i am so angry i was fighting back the tears. you are probably right about the doctors wanting to cover themselves, it's a shame really because it's almost like you are talking to a robot. this guy just didn't give a shit quite clearly, not just because he didn't prescribe me it but you should have seen the look he gave me when i suggested it, it was like i was a piece of shit on his shoe. i explained i've done a lot of research on it and i defo think it would benefit me as i have accutane induced flushing, not to mention aches, severe fatigue etc. which all seem related. it was like he was talking down to me. acting like i went in there and just plucked a random drug out of midair and suggested it to him. Since i took accutane 7 years ago i have tried most antibiotics for my flushing. i've tried finacea and tons of other topicals, i've tried literally every moisturizer for sensitive skin yet they all make me bright red so i just gave up on them and i just live with the dry skin which is a nightmare, feels like i have a film over my face almost like i'm trapped inside of another layer (can't really explain it). i've had IPL and yag sessions with dr crouch. was a bit disappointed with him as well really, he didn't really examine me and he didn't really investigate the real problem which is how my flushing came from accutane (like dr chu seems to do), he just happily took my multiple £300's and zapped my face when i was very vulnerable and seeking an immediate answer. i've tried propranolol which was mainly for my anxiety at the time, didn't really know it was for flushing back then. that never helped. took clonidine for about 5 days back in 2010 and that was godawful. i can't explain the feeling of it but i kinda struggled to breathe and had serious headaches etc. i'm a fighter but that was just too much so i stopped. this is why i'm desperate for plaquenil. since i discovered it a few days ago all i've been doing is googling it and reading forum posts etc about it. must have read every topic on here containing the word plaquenil or mepacrine about 50 times already. it's a shame it's not a more widespread treatment as google doesn't really bring up much. another massive factor in my life is my extreme fatigue. since taking accutane i have been so tired. i've always been so sure there is something wrong with me but all my blood tests always come back clear. the doctors just put it down to depression and throw some tablets at me. it probably is related to my depression but i know my body and i know this isn't normal, like i can't even exercise anymore because i have to stop after 10 seconds, even running up the stairs takes it out of me. i've also been reading a sjogrens forum because i seem to have most of the same symptoms. have had severe dry eyes and mouth since accutane too, so much so that my front two teeth have kinda eroded and are now like jagged, which makes dealing with this so much harder as well because i'm so paranoid about my appearance. so yeah i'm hoping the plaquenil helps with that as well because even if it doesn't help my flushing, if it manages to help my eyes, mouth or even put a stop to my fatigue i think i will definitely be able to cope a bit better. life is defo much easier to deal with when you at least have some energy. About the dodgy medications. yeah i'm not a fan of buying things like this online and it's my first time but i am so desperate right now i probably wouldn't be exaggerating if i said i'd happily become an amputee if it meant being flush free. so it's a risk i'm willing to take. however i did go on pharmacyreviewer.com and said pharmacy has like 5* reviews with around 300 comments praising it, although this is mainly for the more mainstream medications such as tramadol etc. maybe the plaquenil will also be fine. who knows? oh and nat - love your blog btw, great stuff."<br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="color: #990000;"><span><b>I <a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18330-My-flushing-is-almost-cured-Mepacrine/page43">wrote</a>:</b></span> </span>"Yeh I agree and there is actually a member here, who is doing med school and is studying to become a doctor herself, hopefully a dermatologist. And she says the same thing; she is so frustrated with her rosacea and seb derm and the total lack of interest with a lot of dermatologists to dig into the matter or to look for a cure. And the rudeness and psychological harshness of some. I hope that in 6 years time we have our own great dermatologist on the NHS with her :) Yeh sure, see how you do on the plaquenil once you get your hands on some, and the mirtazapine (=remeron) should have started to make a difference after a week, some notice it sooner. I would keep using it for now if you don't feel it is making you worse, because it is indeed also an antidepressant and has strong antihistamine effects, which are both beneficial for your flushing. I find it most effective at 15 mg, and can up it to 22,5 mg (one and a half tablet) tops, before the anti flushing effect begins to wear off. I swear, I have had endless tests over the years and never something really dramatic or conclusive came up (apart from a mild case of colitis, that doesn't even need treatment according to the doctors) and Raynaud's, which doesn't bother me one bit, and some chronic inflammation of the knee caps (which they don't feel the need to do anything about). All tests for allergies came back negative, tests for infections were negative, etc. But in the end, it were these specialized tests, and the ANA titre test (your dermatologist can perform it, but usually an internist does this) was mild positive. And the blood tests I referred to in my fore last post confirmed that there is some type of systemic inflammation going on and that there is auto immune activity. ANA was fully positive too this last time, so then you have at least some confirmation that you are not crazy and that there is definitely some low grade inflammation issue. But what can you do with that knowledge? I found not much; it's not serious enough to receive treatment for, it is positive but not positive enough to reconsider lupus or other autoimmune diseases to be at play. I got the advice to get my vitamin D levels up, to start taking fish oil and omega 3, to take zinc and magnesium and to avoid multivitamins and everything high in vitamin C (as it further strengthens the immune system, and mine turned out to be overly active, attacking the body's own tissue, causing inflammation). But that's about it. Nevertheless, i got my tests covered by health care so maybe you can as well on the NHS and at least you can eliminate more serious causes for your facial flushing. Good luck either way :)<br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Tom Busby came with a suggestion:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b></span>Hi carpsy, Plaquenil is sold here <a href="https://www.inhousepharmacy.biz/p-1158-plaquenil-tablets-200mg.aspx" target="_blank">https://www.inhousepharmacy.biz/p-11...ets-200mg.aspx</a> It's legal to buy these drugs in the US as long as you don't sell them or give them away, and the quantity is only enough for 3 months of personal use. The FDA has a "non-enforcement policy" as of August, 2012, so the US Postal Service and Customs are required to allow drug shipments under these circumstances. I've never ordered from this company but internet drugs are usually sourced from Thailand or India, where all drugs are incredibly cheap and nearly every drug is OTC, so I'd be surprised if this company was a scam artist. Hi Birdie, I've cut down on my salt intake for general health concerns, and I've found coincidentally that ginger root will increase saliva flow, which thereby mimics the salt of salt. I'm not sure if this will work for you, but ginger root is easy to use -- you can put 6 or 7 thin slices into yogurt overnight in the frig and discard the slices in the morning, or you can shred a little ginger root into food that is cooked. Ginger root has enzymes that make bread rise more in the "final spring," which is why I started using it, but then I found that it mimics salt, and this might help with dry mouth or blocked salivary glands. It's tasty too, so it's worth a try."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Nicofan replied:</b></span> "i also got my plaquenil from inhousepharmacy. I also ordered propecia, dixarit (clonidine), catapres (clonidine) from them. I always got the medication within about 2-3 weeks. They even replaced a package which didn't arrive.I think they are real because they gave me side effects listed for these medications.I have taken 16 pills of plaquenil so far. not much to say yet."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">I replied: </span></b>"Given all the people here who receive systematic refusals to be prescribed any medication, this online pharmacy would be fantastic. Given that it is safe and reliable of course. You need to be responsible though and read the side effects up yourself and keep a close eye on them, as you are no longer under the guidance of a doctor. For instance, with plaquenil, doctors say that you need baseline eye tests, as plaquenil is toxic to some tissues and can cause eye problems. Some never get them, I get them after a few weeks of use already, so such things might be good to think about yourself now. "<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: black;">I want to stress again that there are always significant risks attached to ordering something online, that isn't provided by a state legislated and reliable pharmacy. But it might be worth the try for those who are entirely stuck with their doctors and suffering badly from their rosacea. Yet, I wouldn't like to use these pharmacies myself unless absolutely no other options are left. You just don't know for sure if you get the right drugs supplied. And there have been horror stories where people died from fake drugs...</span></span><br /><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Reflection1 <a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18330-My-flushing-is-almost-cured-Mepacrine/page44">replied</a>:</span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"> </span></b></span>"A few years ago I would have found crazy to self-medicate via internet. But when I found this forum and some others with the tons of good testimonials and infos we find in, I told myself "well derms seems to know very little about rosacea, so why not trying to self-medicate". Of course I agree with you, any drugs shouldn't be taken like candies, but sometimes you feel so desperate that you would do it. In the beginning I made the mistake of not choosing a good online pharmacy. I have tried these crappy generic drugs sent from India, but rapidly stopped it. Finally I found this pharmacy and never quit her ! For example, here in France minocycline isn't prescribed for rosacea anymore, but it was the only antibiotic effective for me. So, I was grateful to find an illegal way (to name a spade a spade) to get it. As I am also fighting a rosacea worsened by isotretinoin, I have stocked a few month ago several boxes of Plaquenil but will only use it as a last resort. Don't want to add a problem to my problem, this is not the purpose... I hope for you nat007 that these side effects are past now. Do you found some relief from Plaquenil before developing these bad effects ? Carpsy : I totally validate the caution from nat007. Plaquenil or others very potent drugs shroud be used as last resort. Get an eye checking before starting Plaquenil would be a good idea."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">I replied: </span></b>"Yeah best to do an eye test once you start the plaquenil (so I would book one soon in your case) and then later on in treatment, so the eye doc has a point of reference: <a href="http://www.revoptom.com/content/c/27904/" target="_blank">http://www.revoptom.com/content/c/27904/</a> It seems to happen more often that the eyes get affected with doses over 200 mg a day, and after a certain amount of years of use."<br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Carpsy wrote:</span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"> </span></b></span>"<b></b>it's quite a scary world we live in isn't it? I'm sorry if I offend anyone on here by saying this but I personally think 99% of derms are absolutely shit. complete waste of time. you wait what, 6 or so weeks to see someone? and then they sit there with their perfect skin and have a look in their god awful doctor bible which is basically google just wrote inside of a paper handbook. every time I go to the doctors and ask them anything they take out their doctors bible and have a look in it. they are all fucking useless. how can you expect to see results in 3 weeks when every one on here and other websites pretty much said 3-6 months? unless it's laser treatment you're after then I'd just ignore all 'professional' advice. I appreciate that I sound a bit of a prick right now but I'm sure most people here will agree with me. I'm 99% certain that derm you seen knows zero about Plaquenil yet they look in their book and give you a rough estimate. you may see results in 3 weeks yeah and I pray that you do but if I was you I would rather listen to google than that ignorant robot that you spoke to."<br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3TSNXnNgNcIbARhrEDfZoKc_DqE6BJcamp5XvPB8SlEBYh4vrRFxcDoRkr7-SWZIaSszeaSLoJi3G1hXRG0CB7vnrKD_LsJB-gPO7-jT-DNwxNRG82xBCIlhMFdp3kkzq-4O8ocyAbmZH/s1600/images+%25285%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="181" data-original-width="278" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3TSNXnNgNcIbARhrEDfZoKc_DqE6BJcamp5XvPB8SlEBYh4vrRFxcDoRkr7-SWZIaSszeaSLoJi3G1hXRG0CB7vnrKD_LsJB-gPO7-jT-DNwxNRG82xBCIlhMFdp3kkzq-4O8ocyAbmZH/w400-h260/images+%25285%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b>I replied: </b></span>"Lol, yeah I know such derms too :) First they check their hand books, of course the off the beaten tracks flushing medication isn't mentioned in them. If you are lucky they then google it in front of you. I always do my research in advance and print the info out, adding the websites where they can find it (cause they always want to double check), and only if you are very lucky they will take your suggestion. But some find it beneath their level and try to belittle you by telling you you can't just 'pluck info from the net' like that. Even though they have to look stuff about rosacea up themselves too online (shakes head). There are good derms too though, I have 2 excellent ones, both older, both thinking very broadly and constantly coming with suggestions of coexisting possible conditions to check for, or for medication that is used for other diseases, but that might help me in their opinion. They are both types to do a lot of reading and staying up to date despite being in their 50/60's, you need derms who keep eager to learn and to update and with some interest in rosacea, I found at least. Needle in a haystack perhaps though :( "</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Username wrote:</span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"> </span></b></span>"Just had my appointment with my doctor about getting clonidine and she had only barely heard of it. Said she has never prescribed it in 30 years of being a doctor. She said she had to talk to someone else before prescribing it. She said thinks treating the flushing is only a temporarily fix and not treating the root of the problem. I agree with this but the root of the problem is my condition and I've been trying to treat that for 10 years."</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">I wrote:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b></span>"That's not fully correct.. I'm sorry your doctor was so negative to the idea.. Part of controlling (vascular, subtype 1) rosacea is to control the flushing. Ongoing flushing will worsen your rosacea and will make you more red and more flushed in the end. Compare it to varicose veins; the pressure of the dilated blood vessels will force the rest of the blood vessels to dilate as well in the end. If you want to stabilize and even improve your vascular rosacea, controlling the flushing is key to most. My rosacea really improved after introducing several anti flushing medications, and I know of many more who experienced this improvement. Maybe you can give your doctor some printed out medical reports on hot flashes and clonidine (hot flashes work in a comparable fashion as facial flushing, partly coming from the central nervous system). On this blog post I gave some links to medical articles, you might perhaps be able to print some out and ask the doctor again?<a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.nl/2012/09/medication-for-facial-flushing-in.html" target="_blank"> </a> Facial flushing is very difficult to treat and some very good derms work with clonidine and other anti flushing medications. They do that because it does improve symptoms. It sounds like a rather unconstructive thing to say for your doc that these medications don't fix the root of the problem. Hello?! There is no cause found for it yet, and no cure either. Like for many autoimmune diseases in fact. Would that have to mean that such patients are withheld medication that suppress the symptoms and prevent progression of the disease? of course not. I'm sorry you are having such a hard time with your doctor, best wishes"<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJj8NhjjYCP1xz0rCBIIon8TJJx20-_MawDO54wSZ8a3V-gL6qLsPHAHJfATvXaIYrmOXdRyNgHNWdeKNhPjZ3aAN07_MfwOopcSFGksMTSHFJiwkSF0JLsmT7nWfrsI7ggnDfMGx0JgPG/s1600/images.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjZ-OeSQAi5yzjhrbNsXrs2X1S-ZofUrmArgGtv18zHyPXoF6ncYVK578tVqlzDouhsF8uCdys6MU54MTTneH-nawWvF_EQ3yZdgnW9Fw7bObs4wkIK8g4I8Rqu4Ym16MZ_Gr_AMVQN1kh/s1600/808.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjZ-OeSQAi5yzjhrbNsXrs2X1S-ZofUrmArgGtv18zHyPXoF6ncYVK578tVqlzDouhsF8uCdys6MU54MTTneH-nawWvF_EQ3yZdgnW9Fw7bObs4wkIK8g4I8Rqu4Ym16MZ_Gr_AMVQN1kh/s400/808.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;"><br />Username replied:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>"Thanks for your reply. :) I expressed to her how badly I needed something for the flushing as it really hurts me in social situations. She said she will get back to me. By the root of the problem I think she also meant my anxiety, which is CAUSED by the flushing. My anxiety is fine until I start flushing and that is when I get all nervous and my heart starts beating fast and my skin gets 5x more red than usual. I already have bad baseline redness permanently so it doesn't help to always be flushing. I would say it happens a lot during the day and my face is only calm maybe a few hours out of the 18 I'm awake. I looked into clonidine and I really think it's a good fit, hopefully she understands. :( Thanks for the great link, I learned a lot from that. Maybe I will find a way to forward that to her if she gets back to me and won't prescribe clonidine."<br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">I replied:</span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"> </span></b></span>"Maybe it helps to give her the link and scientific data. Also, perhaps tell her that Professor Tony Chu from Hammersmith hospital in London works for decades now with the worst rosacea patients and has prescribed the anti flushing medications clonidine, propranolol and remeron for a very long time, with good results and very little side effects. I feel you might also benefit from propranolol perhaps, together with the clonidine preferably. It is a beta blocker and even taking 40 mg a day (a very low dose), helps many here both with the flushing and with anxiety. It makes your body produce a bit less adrenaline and lowers blood pressure, many people take it now and again for stage fright and stressful things. Remeron also helps many I know here with facial flushing and it is an antidepressant with a very strong anti anxiety element. I take a very low dose, the start up dose of 15 mg, yet it is most effective at this low dose for facial flushing (up till around 25 mg, over 30 mg most feel it is less effective to shunt flushing). Yet, at 15-25 mg a day it still cuts down dramatically on anxiety and it will have a mild antidepressant effect. I hope you can convince your doctor to at least TRY these meds. I made that arrangement with my GP, after dr Chu wrote her his recommendations for me to start using these meds. We agreed I would take it for a month and then see if my flushing and redness would go down or not. It went down dramatically, so there was no discussion about it and I am still taking these meds with her agreement 8 years later now. Despite being on 2 blood pressure lowering meds, my blood pressure only was lowered initially and soon rebalanced, in a healthy range. My derm had already predicted that, so there is no big risk of becoming severely hypotensive from this medication regime (but make sure to check it regularly). Good luck"<br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Username replied:</span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"> </span></b></span>"Thanks so much N. I hope she lets me try them too, I really think they can help me. If she doesn't I may look for a new doctor. I don't want to be rude to her but I've seen too many positive things about it helping severe flushers to not try it. I have a blood pressure machine in my house so that will be beneficial so I don't need to go to all the way to the doctor. I think I'll try clonidine first and see how it goes. If all goes well I may consider adding propranolol in the future. I'm currently taking just an otc anti histamine and I actually think it's a helping a little bit, which was awesome."<br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">I wrote:</span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"> </span></b></span>"I hope she will help you, to at least try clonidine under her guidance. I had to swap GP's a few times too and have a very caring, empathetic but firm if needed female GP, for a good 10 years by now. It helped for me to explain to her that my problems go way further than the esthetic appearance thing; that our flushing and facial redness feels hot and burns and ruins our lives. Clonidine is an old med, widely used and relatively safe. I hope and think that with some extra information and another good talk, your GP might want to help you and let you try it at least. Otherwise you can always try to find a better GP or even order these meds from an online pharmacy (definitely your last option and least preferable one I think). In the end, we are the ones who have to live with this beast and who have the day to day suffering from it, so I would advise you to be your own advocate and to take as much control over rosacea as you can. Good luck!"<br />
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<div class="_38 direction_ltr"><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SpFCKAMQ9ZyqMp_CP22_gu4ATDg1YV8OU1yjJOmLauXeFAo-ZlQuihzE6EZBQJoCdZyGrTBvW42sCS8bSKyBGUDN3MHJ96hsv5Zv81mLH_j_ae73TxApzgrPULm_lqKcVft_A4zY0ZjI/s1600/2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFfi1ALRyca5rjTzlZnyQcAprj-1WteV7DUiA52AQNzWxMT9edngY0w1VM8NNehcST88S_7j8bAOnP73-oMPVa1bf4x1SXM9c4UchgBzDAzLGBDtkTAwxZ7fs7YzJQFG_6Zy2r9mAiWNVQ/s1600/12088055_10153645175803996_115478832166623747_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="325" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFfi1ALRyca5rjTzlZnyQcAprj-1WteV7DUiA52AQNzWxMT9edngY0w1VM8NNehcST88S_7j8bAOnP73-oMPVa1bf4x1SXM9c4UchgBzDAzLGBDtkTAwxZ7fs7YzJQFG_6Zy2r9mAiWNVQ/w418-h636/12088055_10153645175803996_115478832166623747_n.jpg" width="418" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38897-neurogenic-rosacea-my-battle" target="_blank">This</a> is an interesting post on The Rosacea Forum, by Laser_cat. </b></span>She had a bad reaction to clonidine and in fact finds good results with a medication called <b>amlodipine</b>, which is a blood vessel dilator in fact, but at the right lower dose 'stabilizes' her blood vessels. It is called a calcium channel blocker, and all meds falling into that category are marked as potential rosacea worseners (and interesting side note; magnesium is a calcium channel blocker too, explaining why stomach acid pills I sometimes take, containing magnesium, make me so badly flushed!). I can't touch it myself, as my blood vessels become a volcano from any type of blood vessel dilator, but it is a very interesting read. Laser_cat also flushes and deteriorates from cold air and actually gets painful pale-white skin on occasions, which is not the case in my rosacea. Either I have pink or red hot skin, or my skin gets a more normal skin tone. I know about the ghostly white painful skin though, as my hands and fingers get it in winter from Raynaud's Syndrome. It is not a nice feeling and has to do with the blood vessels not constricting and dilating normal, but excessively. For that condition (Raynaud's), blood vessel dilating meds like amlodipine are actually prescribed and effective, which makes me wonder if Laser_cat might perhaps have something comparable in her facial blood vessels. Maybe, or maybe not! But cold air is something that actually makes my rosacea skin normal pale in tone, and cool and less painful, so there might be some different mechanisms at play here. Her blood vessels seem to respond violently to being constricted too much, from what I understand from her. Also important detail; Laser_cat takes a low dose of amlodipine (around 0.6 mg a day), not a normal or high dose. And she also takes other meds to help with flushing and burning; Effexor, mirtazapine, plaquenil, and 3 monthly botox sessions. She also has specific underlying other health conditions, including small fiber neuropathy and possibly (from what I understand) erythromelalgia. In her forum posts, she also details specific treatments she received: lidocaine infusions and nerve blocks. Either way, very good posts by her. When I googled amlodipine, I came across <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/hr201132.pdf?origin=ppub" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> scientific article, stating:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>A 45-year-old woman made an outpatient visit to our hypertension clinic. The woman </b></span><b style="color: #444444;">was diagnosed with essential hypertension, and she had an average blood pressure of </b><b style="color: #444444;">150/90 mm Hg, a heart rate of 70 bpm and a body mass index of 26 kg m2. The patient </b><b style="color: #444444;">was not receiving any treatment at the time. In her medical history, </b><b style="color: #444444;">there was a previous diagnosis of rosacea, and blushing was observed. She reported </b><b style="color: #444444;">irregular menses over the past year, with her last menses B2 months before the visit.</b><b style="color: #444444;">She was prescribed amlodipine (5 mg) and instructed to check her blood pressure three </b><b style="color: #444444;">times a week for the next month. After 2 weeks, the patient returned to the clinic </b><b style="color: #444444;">because of worsening skin flushing. The patient reported neither lifestyle changes </b><b style="color: #444444;">nor the use of any other drugs or cosmetics. She reported that the ‘redness’ on </b><b style="color: #444444;">her cheeks worsened after a few days and that, after a week, she started to notice </b><b style="color: #444444;">an increased number of telangiectasias. Treatment with amlodipine was discontinued, </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>and the patient was prescribed ramipril (5 mg). After 2 additional weeks, skin flushing </b></span><b style="color: #444444;">was reduced from constant to occasional, and there was a consistent decrease in the </b><b style="color: #444444;">appearance of telangiectasias. This case suggests a possible association between </b><b style="color: #444444;">treatment with calcium channel blockers (CCBs) and the exacerbation of rosacea.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Patients who presented with flushing were referred to a dermatologist. Of the 62 patients </b></span><b style="color: #444444;">who discontinued therapy because of flushing, 34 were diagnosed with rosacea or pre-rosacea. </b><b style="color: #444444;">Rosacea was diagnosed in 34 patients, 23 women and 13 men, who were between </b><b style="color: #444444;">43 and 57 years of age. These patients were diagnosed with hypertension within the </b><b style="color: #444444;">last 3 to 5 years and had not previously taken CCBs. When patients with rosacea </b><b style="color: #444444;">discontinued the use of CCBs, there was a slow but consistent reduction of symptoms. </b><b style="color: #444444;">In all current clinical guidelines, CCBs belong to the class of recommended firstline</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>antihypertensive drugs for the treatment of essential hypertension. One of the main </b></span><b style="color: #444444;">clinical side effects of CCB use is flushing, which is experienced by B5% of patients. </b><b style="color: #444444;">These types of side effects, which are drug and dose-related, have a greater incidence in </b><span style="color: #444444;"><b>women than in men (4.5 versus 1.5%, respectively). Rosacea is not listed as a contraindication in the </b></span><b style="color: #444444;">Summaries of Product Characteristics of common clinically relevant CCBs. </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Physicians should be aware that subclinical rosacea could be the cause of treatment </b></span><b style="color: #444444;">discontinuation or of the lack of compliance with antihypertensive therapy. </b><b style="color: #444444;">When possible, it may be useful to choose another first-line antihypertensive drug instead of CCBs.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Adverse side effects that forced the interruption of the treatment with CCBs side effects</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Flushing 23</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Peripheral edema 27</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Flushing and edema 39</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Tachycardia 11</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Francesco Natale, Chiara Cirillo,</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Chiara Granato, Claudia Concilio,</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Alessandro Siciliano, Maria Credendino,</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Luigi Aronne, Paolo Calabro`, Maria</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>G Russo and Raffaele Calabro</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><div class="_38 direction_ltr"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="_38 direction_ltr"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOAiE0MDoRfDcIPRiAilHq8AVx-qumgfn7CQ7a7ZGEcMJJHb1JkotWn3xTFuJXJzn4YhxlMaaiLzgJqNK1v-0VQwAgg-TON7gvGucAdOwlo0L9c6s9Kf4UWwEdquGQWJCQJL7xhU9usrH/s1600/images+%25283%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="222" height="409" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOAiE0MDoRfDcIPRiAilHq8AVx-qumgfn7CQ7a7ZGEcMJJHb1JkotWn3xTFuJXJzn4YhxlMaaiLzgJqNK1v-0VQwAgg-TON7gvGucAdOwlo0L9c6s9Kf4UWwEdquGQWJCQJL7xhU9usrH/w399-h409/images+%25283%2529.jpg" width="399" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">On the other hand, <a href="https://f1000.com/prime/8839957" target="_blank">this</a> research mentions that</b><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;"> channel blockers can in fact help sometimes with neurogenic rosacea</b></div><div class="_38 direction_ltr">In <a href="https://f1000.com/prime/8839957" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> small scale study, 14 patients with rosacea were tested. The majority of them were Caucasian females. They had what is called classic rosacea symptoms (burning and stinging, erythema, flushing, facial edema, telangiectasia, pruritus and papules) as well as neurological symptoms. Researchers called these patients sufferers of a special rosacea subgroup: neurogenic rosacea. They suffer from redness of the skin and facial flushing, and some have visible blood vessels on the skin's surface, and <span style="color: black;">they also suffer from stinging, burning and nerve pain of the skin, often even when their face isn't directly flushed or inflamed</span>. They also have a higher risk of suffering from headaches and depressions, or OCD, tremors or complex regional pain syndrome. They emphasize that this subgroup of rosacea patients often has a hard time finding any treatment that really works. Because traditional rosacea treatments often do not work. Many of these trial patients had already tried more standard rosacea treatment options: topical metronidazole, topical steroids, and oral antibiotics with no or limited success. The researchers found that these patients had in fact more benefit from neurological treatment options, including gabapentin (5 of 11), duloxetine (4 of 6), pregabalin (1 of 4), tricyclic antidepressants (2 of 3) and memantine (2 of 2). Some of these patients also saw improvement from topical neurological treatments: Topically formulated neuroleptic agents including doxepin, glycopyrrolate, amitriptyline, capsaicin and ketamine, were effective in some cases (3 of 7). Hydroxychloroquine (3 of 5) and vasoactive agents including beta-blockers and alpha-1-adrenergic receptors (2 of 5) were also helpful in some patients. Photo below is taken from the research article it has the caption: <i>"Facial erythema is seen in most patients at baseline and uniformly during flares. Inflammatory papules and pustules and rhinophymatous change are unusual in this subset of patients." </i></div></div></div><div class="_38 direction_ltr"><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmOQJRfXufw8FWJJ6KroWnCLfI2DIcHPUBFGSXTNkrT-pResrB1Qb3k8PexnKQPhbtTWQl65cBlo4PorpOFrR6tAuL5XJmWcI5gQJUKXOWVNjqz3MEctHP3ymO64w7J9mrL3roRYyVipX/s1600/nihms479644f1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="530" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmOQJRfXufw8FWJJ6KroWnCLfI2DIcHPUBFGSXTNkrT-pResrB1Qb3k8PexnKQPhbtTWQl65cBlo4PorpOFrR6tAuL5XJmWcI5gQJUKXOWVNjqz3MEctHP3ymO64w7J9mrL3roRYyVipX/s320/nihms479644f1.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table>On top of that, researchers found that these patients reacted well to medication like beta blockers, but also to a group of drugs which do not constrict the blood vessels but in fact relax them and widen them a bit, called alpha-1-adrenergic blocker and calcium channel blockers. Only when patients have pimples (p&p's) or skin outbreaks, did the researchers advise the use of traditional topical or oral antibiotics. In <a href="http://www.helpforpain.com/articles/understand-neuropathic-pain/understanding.htm"><b>this</b></a> medical article, clonidine is also said to have some positive effect on nerve pain. Another very important warning from these scientists, which I wished I had heard of sooner than now, is that neurogenic rosacea patients have a heightened sensitivity to heat and sunlight, which can make laser- and IPL treatments more problematic; there is a bigger risk for these patients that IPL and laser do not give the desired results or in fact worsen matters, and they advise these patients to be very careful when wanting to use IPL or laser for their rosacea. Buggers, if only I had known this <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/disastrous-ipl-in-2005.html"><b>back in 2005</b></a> :( IPL made my rosacea so much worse...<br /><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 45px; text-align: left;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIF2WYz-U_psHwTMVTi-qeYj-vDp0lWRRRFaJpVoxJwsh8BN-PcDMYNU1ijx_5d3aOFC996hk_Jd5ARzUGUSZW2S_CAoc6Dwc8Ms_wKKeXxv1UFBbTEbgKfWiCMvIElE_8cCrubRPgEDx/s1600/80.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIF2WYz-U_psHwTMVTi-qeYj-vDp0lWRRRFaJpVoxJwsh8BN-PcDMYNU1ijx_5d3aOFC996hk_Jd5ARzUGUSZW2S_CAoc6Dwc8Ms_wKKeXxv1UFBbTEbgKfWiCMvIElE_8cCrubRPgEDx/w375-h534/80.jpg" width="375" /></a><b>How does facial flushing happen exactly? </b></div></span><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">When my skin burns and flares and feels on fire, the most natural urge is to open all the windows and let in cold air. Or to put my head in a bucket of cold water. Or to sit right in front of a powerful air conditioning machine. The colder the better! But according to the <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/Colin-Dah-Rosacea-Warm-Room.pdf" target="_blank"><b>Warm Room Theory</b></a>, this is actually not the best thing to do when you have rosacea. <span style="color: black;">Making your rosacea skin very cold, might cause rebound worsening in the long run</span>. It is normal for anyone with rosacea to get a rush of warmth up the cheeks when entering a warm room. Every person that gets too hot, can rely on their body to deal with the overheating, usually by stimulating the body to sweat (a way to release excess heat from the body) but also by widening the blood vessels in the skin. The wider the vessels are, the more warm blood will be closely exposed to the skin and be able to lose some of its heat that way. When the body signals the blood vessels in our skin that the body is overheating, then the body activates nerves in the skin to dilate the blood vessels in the skin (<span style="color: black;">vasodilation</span>). The way in which the nerves do this, is by releasing certain chemicals, that message to the blood vessels to widen. And to make the effect even stronger; the more blood flows through the blood vessels, the more these blood vessels themselves release chemicals to keep this vasodilation going. This is a normal process; everyone alive experiences this, or else we humans wouldn't be able to regulate our temperature or fight off infections or have proper wound healing, for instance. The problem occurs when our skin has too many of these flushing events. When it becomes very frequent that the skin flares red and hot. This is the moment that the blood vessels are dilated for a longer period over time, and that the vessels give off a signal that make the body create new (and thus more!) blood vessels in the skin (<span style="color: black;">angiogenesis</span>). The bodies way to create more infrastructure for this extra blood flow. This principle is also normal, but in people with healthy skin it is a limited occurrence. For people with rosacea, it is however the mechanism in which our rosacea progresses, slowly over many years, from mild to moderate, to severe. Because when you have more blood vessels and more nerves in your skin, you will have more dilation of blood vessels and more facial flushing, especially when you are in a warm room and your body goes through its normal steps and paces to cool off the body.</div></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">ROSACEA INFRASTRUCTURE</span></b><br />
So a person with rosacea will have more blood vessels and nerves in the skin than a person with healthy skin, and they have been made by the body to release heat. They will give a rosacea face often the distinctive red(der) cheeks and sometimes also nose and chin or forehead. The human face and head are special, in that they have more and different blood vessels and nerves than any other area of skin on the body. They have special nerves to dilate blood vessels and special blood vessels to release the heat carried in the blood. The nerves involved in these areas are <span style="color: black;">sympathetic nerves</span>. They can act to dilate special blood vessels (arteriovenous anastomoses), which open up and shunt blood into the blood vessels of your skin, creating the phenomenon we know as the<span style="color: black;"> flush</span>. This also explains why many people have intense flushing confined to certain regions of the face. many people with rosacea flush on their cheeks, some (but far less) also flush in their neck and chest and it is very rare to find rosacea patients who flush on the rest of their body, unless they have other skin conditions that cause skin problems elsewhere. Rosacea, however, is mostly limited to the more densely vascularized face, where our skin is also thinnest, compared to other body parts. Showing the redness in our dilated blood vessels even more!<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;"><b>More on these nerves in the skin that are involved in skin flushing</b></span><br />
Another important type of nerve involved in rosacea is the <span style="color: black;">sensory nerve</span>. Unlike sympathetic nerves that are triggered centrally in the brain, sensory nerves are locally handling the blood vessel dilation in the skin. When your face is exposed to sun for instance, or to a skin care product that has irritating ingredients, then it are the sensory nerves that can act immediately and signal to the blood vessels in the skin to dilate and give off a warning signal to us. They play a role in rosacea flushing, as such. When our blood vessels in the skin dilate, after being signaled to do so by the sensory nerves, they not only become wider and let more blood through, but they also <span style="color: black;">create local inflammation</span>, which in turn makes our nerves in the skin give off a<span style="color: black;"> burning pain feeling</span>. For most people with rosacea, a deep flush is therefore painful, feeling hot, sore and like a burn almost. Due to rosacea, more nerves are created along with the new blood vessel infrastructure, but the existing nerves can also become hypersensitive. This can explain why early on, with mild rosacea, facial flushing can be fairly painless, but later on the flushing can create moderate to severe pain and hot burning sensations; the nerves in the skin have become super reactive and sensitive from the long history of being triggered by flushing attacks of the skin. As a result, some people with rosacea have such a sensitive and extensive nerve and blood vessel infrastructure, that even a small increase in blood flow will result in significant flushing episodes.<br /><span style="color: #990000;"><b><br /><span style="font-size: 40px;">Chemicals involved in facial flushing</span></b></span><br />
There are hundreds of known chemicals involved with nerves and blood vessels. But there are very specific chemicals released by our nerves and blood vessels, when we have rosacea and suffer from facial flushing, such as<span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;">neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and growth factor</span><span style="color: black;">s</span>. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that transmit a nerve signal to other nerves as well as other tissues, such as blood vessels. Neuropeptides do the same, but are stronger and act longer. Both can signal blood vessels to dilate or constrict, and nerves to feel pain or to go numb again. There is something special going on with these <span style="color: black;">neuropeptides,<b> </b></span>research showed. More on this soon. Growth factors released by skin cells, help to maintain existing blood vessels and nerve structures, and also make it possible for both to grow. They also play a role in the process of our nerves becoming more sensitive and easily triggered to feel burning and pain. When the nerves in our skin are activated (for instance during a flush), this in turn stimulates more growth factor release, like a waterfall-construction. They are all in place to help the body deal with overheating, but with rosacea patients this system of blood vessels and nerves and chemicals are going in overdrive, causing our increasing facial flushing and red faces.<div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Peptide LL-37</b><br />
I was also told about research about a possible link between rosacea inflammation and the peptide LL-37. There is quite a bit of research online available on it, so I will write a bit more about it now. Know and realize here, that the true cause of rosacea has not been discovered yet. Doctors and scientists do not know what causes the different subtypes of rosacea<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="color: #f4cccc;"><b> </b></span></span>(subtype 1: flushing and redness, Subtype 2: skin outbreaks and inflammation, Subtype 3: rosacea of the nose; rhinophyma, Subtype 4: occular rosacea of the eyes and the recently added Subtype 5: neuropathic rosacea with nerve pain and burning). It is likely that these different subtypes may have some different underlying mechanisms. For instance; subtype 2 is often improving from topical ivermectin or Soolantra applications (see entire blog post about this <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/09/ivermectin-or-soolantra-as-rosacea.html"><b>here</b></a>). Indicating that demodex mites can play a role in this subtype. However, for subtype 1 with flushing and burning these creams rarely work well. The flushing is also not improving when using textbook rosacea treatments, such as antibiotic pills or creams. In fact, flushing is one of the most difficult to treat symptoms of all, in rosacea patients. Topicals like <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/12/mirvaso-inventory-of-patient-responses.html" target="_blank">Mirvaso</a></b> (brimonidine) and Rhofade (oxymetazoline) have proven mostly disastrous for rosacea flushers. Large groups of people had their rosacea skin burned or deteriorated, had bad rebound flushing episodes that were often called "hellish" and long lasting. They chemically constrict the blood vessels, only for the body to compensate with abnormal blood vessel dilation rebound flushing) afterwards. It destabilizes the blood vessels in the long run and patients have mentioned their rosacea progressing to areas and severity they never had it before. of course another group states to have success with it, but it's a Russian Roulette drug, just like steroids. Better to reduce the flushing in my opinion are anti-flushing medication, or IPL or laser. (Read all about this <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/03/ipl-or-laser-for-rosacea-flushing-and.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>). And facial flushing goes by different pathways than the spots and outbreaks that subtype 2 patients tend to get. So, one big discovery, of one single cause, might be unlikely. Nevertheless, a (faulty) peptide called LL-37 may play a role in rosacea inflammation according to some research. In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3346901/" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> scientific research, it is stated that:</div><div>
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<i><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>"Chronic, common inflammatory skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis or rosacea are </b></span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><i>characterized by dysregulation of cutaneous innate immunity (aka; there is an issue in rosacea skin with the normal functioning of the immune system function). Cathelicidin LL-37 is an important effector molecule of innate immunity in the skin and atopic dermatitis, psoriasis or rosacea show defects in cathelicidin expression, function or processing. </i><i>*In rosacea, cathelicidin processing is disturbed resulting in peptide fragments causing inflammation, erythema [skin redness] and telangiectasias [small dilated blood vessels at the surface of the skin]. </i><i>*In atopic dermatitis, cathelicidin induction might be disturbed resulting in defective antimicrobial barrier function [causing infection]. </i><i>*In contrast, psoriasis is characterized by overexpression of cathelicidin. However to date it is unclear whether pro- or anti-inflammatory functions of cathelicidin predominate in lesional skin in psoriasis. </i><i>In this review, the current evidence on the role of cathelicidin LL-37 in the pathogenesis of inflammatory skin diseases will be outlined. As cathelicidin LL-37 might also serve as a future treatment target potential novel treatment strategies for those diseases will be discussed."</i></b></span></div>
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So the research article suggests that the skin of people with rosacea has a disturbed functioning of the LL-37 cathelicidin peptide. Does that mean that there are more of these peptides in rosacea skin? or less than normal? Or that there are normal numbers but that the peptides do not work as they should do in rosacea skin? And what is this LL-37 peptide exactly?<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Cathelicidins</b></span> in the human body play a crucial role in the bodies immune defenses against bacterial infections trying to infect from the outside. Wikipedia <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LL37"><b>states</b></a> that "Patients with rosacea have elevated levels of cathelicidin." And when wiki states that "Excessive production of LL-37 is suspected to be a contributing cause in all subtypes of Rosacea", it cites <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3346901/" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> research paper, which is the same as the earlier quoted research. Its authors, M. Reinholz, T. Ruzicka and J. Schauber published in 2012 their research, stating that normal skin has three ways to protect itself from bacteria's from the outside world, trying to get in. First you have the top layer of the skin, which forms a shield (if the skin barrier functions as it should do!). This outer layer of skin has special cells that work as part of the bodies immune system, signalling when substances enter the skin that do not belong to the body itself, for instance a bacteria. They signal to the other cells of the danger once a bacteria does try to invade the skin. If this happens, the bodies immune system sends specific cells to the surface that are causing inflammation, trying to work out or kill the invading bacteria. One of these specific cells are antimicrobial peptides (AMP's), of which there are to date several hundred different types found. They can kill bacteria by messing with their cell membranes (for instance in case of a skin injury), but also fungi and viruses. So they are part of our skins little army, so to say. Cathelicidins are part of this AMP system. The precise cathelicidin involved in AMP is called Cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (CAMP). And Cathelicidin LL-37 belongs to the CAMP family. It can break up bacteria, fungi and viruses that land on the skin. But they can also give off an "alarm", which brings the skins army into action, causing inflammation to work out or kill the invading substances. They mainly get active and detectable in the skin once there is a skin injury. When all is normal and the skin functions as normal, they are hardly to be found in the upper skin. But Cathelicidin LL-37 can also trigger the immune system. Thus, it plays an important, dual, role in the immune function of the skin. And when this LL-37 peptide does not function as it should, it can in fact have the reverse effect on the skin, and cause skin inflammation. And also allow bacteria to infect the skin. The scientists found that in rosacea skin, cathelicidin LL-37 often does not function as it should, and what is worse, they found that rosacea skin has much higher levels of this LL-37:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-AiYqOk_FpBqoAkK334YA66Me7RrxP57lUAIVJylNzq7e7ianYPCFAheYjWwh62O1Sg4PHj3JunDQ3GCp60HfMdD3g1Eah3lIRI_3aTkumXvdqdBrKsAbwrbVcXEFt80fadVrGolUt_mi/s1600/backstage-at-the-latin-quarter-nightclub-in-new-york-1950s-e28093-by-gordon-parks.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /><img border="0" height="489" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-AiYqOk_FpBqoAkK334YA66Me7RrxP57lUAIVJylNzq7e7ianYPCFAheYjWwh62O1Sg4PHj3JunDQ3GCp60HfMdD3g1Eah3lIRI_3aTkumXvdqdBrKsAbwrbVcXEFt80fadVrGolUt_mi/w314-h489/backstage-at-the-latin-quarter-nightclub-in-new-york-1950s-e28093-by-gordon-parks.jpg" width="314" /></a></div><div style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">"Indeed, cathelicidin is strongly increased lesional skin in rosacea compared to the skin of non-affected individuals."</span></i></b></div>
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Rosacea skin deals with different symptoms, but mostly from chronic inflammatory and vascular response [blood vessels dilating more than they should]. The "alarm" function of LL-37 is off in rosacea skin, meaning it calls for the help troops to come when there is, in fact, no real threat... No invading bacteria to fight off, no fungi and no viruses. And instead, it stimulates inflammation of the (rosacea) skin and dilation of the blood vessels (thanks to the help of nitric oxide and EDHF):<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><i> "In rosacea increased levels of the vasoactive and inflammatory host-defense peptide LL-37 and its proteolytic peptide fragments are found which can be explained by an abnormal cathelicidin production and pathologic protease activity."</i></b></span></div>
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The scientists got <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17676051/" target="_blank"><b>confirmation</b></a> about all this, when they injected these specific cathelicidins in the normal skin of mice. They all developed rosacea-like skin symptoms then. The problem is now, that scientists do not understand yet WHY rosacea skin has these higher numbers of cathelicidins,a lthough they found 3 different 'portals' so to speak, through which the extra peptides were produced. They were retinoid-, vitamin D- and cytokine-activated. The vitamin-D pathway, for instance, could explain why rosacea is only present on the face normally, and not on the rest of the body: the body is usually covered up and it is the face that gets the most sun-exposure and therefore the most vitamin D. And therefore, the more vitamin D is made in the skin, the more Cathelicidin LL-37 (and thus the more disrupting inflammation and vasodilation). But this is only a small part of the puzzle, as many people with rosacea shun the sun and protect their faces from sunlight at all times. Also, many with rosacea have low levels of vitamin D (read more about that in <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-role-of-vitamin-d-in-rosaceafacial.html" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> post). But scientists also found that cathelicidins could be triggered by keratinocytes (outer layers of skin cells), which have nothing to do with vitamin D. They found that the outer skin cells themselves can signal the making of more Cathelicidin LL-37 when they are injured, get exposed to UV radiation, or when the outer layer of the skin gets disrupted in any way. Skin Stress, one could call it. Ánd, interestingly: skin stress included heat. "This again could explain why rosacea patients often report on unspecific triggers (e.g. heat) which would mediate their pro-inflammatory activities through ER stress and cathelicidin induction." So when our rosacea skin gets triggered by heat, for instance you enter a very warm room, then this heat touching the skin will cause stress in the outer layer of the skin, sending of "alarm signals", which stimulate the LL-37 and other peptides to come into action and create.... inflammation. Physical stress can trigger the same response by the way, as well as alcohol consumption: Inflammation.. Just like we see happening in our rosacea faces when dealing with triggers like heat. Demodex mite infections can also trigger the skin to make these inflammation alarm reactions, as demodex mites can cause increased protease activity in rosacea skin, which does the alarm bells of Cathelicidin LL-37 go off again. Which in turn trigger inflammation, redness and blood vessel dilation in the skin. This is probably why oral and topical antibiotics (tetracyclines for instance), azeleic acid and retinoids can work for rosacea: they directly interfere with this pro-inflammatory system and reduce the inflammation or stop it from being formed altogether. So antibiotics can work for rosacea not because of their ability to kill off bacteria, but instead of how they reduce inflammation. And the same goes for <b><a href="http://anti-demodex%20treatment/" target="_blank">anti-demodex treatment</a></b>. which can take away the prime trigger for LL-37-related skin inflammation IF you have a demodex mite infection. And avoid sunlight on your face. Vitamin D from sun is a direct trigger for LL-37-mediated inflammation and blood vessel dilation of rosacea skin. You can bronze on the rest of your body, just not your face, if you want to calm down rosacea-inflammation. (And now that I am at it, could this perhaps explain why so many people flare up from vitamin D supplements?? I get beyond beet red from them and never understood why. Maybe here we have it, the explanation). Certain supplements and herbs can also act as anti-inflammatories. Check my (still not fully finished, sigh) blog post about them <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/02/natural-anti-inflammatory-treatment_17.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. Think of supplements like turmeric/curcumin or boswellia for instance.</div>
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If you want to know even more detailed, microscopic information about how exactly this mechanism works on cellular level, I advise you to go to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3346901/" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> science article and scroll down to the section Rosacea. You can also read more in <a href="http://www.jimmunol.org/content/191/10/4895" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> scientific article. But that is not all, because these LL-37 cathelicidines are not only found in the skin. But also for instance in the bowels. In fact, LL-37 is linking to some other health issues (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3836506/" target="_blank"><b>including</b></a> many auto-immune diseases) that quite a few people with rosacea mention to suffer from, for instance: gut and bowel infections/inflammation, depression and anxiety and cardio vascular disease. Which could explain why this badly functioning, overabundance of LL-37 has different effects on the body, and perhaps (?) why many of us suffer from bowel issues, depression and anxiety on top of our skin problems. In other words: we REALLY need a treatment ASAP to bring these cathelicidins back under control! It might also be yet another way in which immune suppressing drugs, like the ones I discussed at the top of this blog entry, can work. When you suppress the immune function of the body, you also suppress the formation of LL-37 cathelicidin. And thus of inflammation, blood vessel dilation and redness. Wished those meds came with a better side-effect profile :) <br /><br /></div></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhogW1Qy9VPSZxRtwypl2pze-sx965BAXazQPTipp75cC6Li6WdskvbZBFTr3hQsm2lIsoIk6bQNwFy3sF0s75IvzNlaCytI_uYWd5UhiVvzvWE6p86ES2G0gC92J4N3Enocq0elqayBR7_/s1600/960168_10152896796743996_4113813740516169836_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAaSGrm0CIhjJ4p5nUWWPE5BPB5ThtSLPk7mF4U9g95awUdOMkUSWFtuDgHgUcxjCOu633lTKw7JHcZf2cpLwWGBN2HwRFDmI7lUpGwMJxq6qXY0Fj5XMsfmk2is14Favbh8VlYI_rI1tw/s1600/backstage-at-the-latin-quarter-1958-by-gordon-parks.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAaSGrm0CIhjJ4p5nUWWPE5BPB5ThtSLPk7mF4U9g95awUdOMkUSWFtuDgHgUcxjCOu633lTKw7JHcZf2cpLwWGBN2HwRFDmI7lUpGwMJxq6qXY0Fj5XMsfmk2is14Favbh8VlYI_rI1tw/w325-h464/backstage-at-the-latin-quarter-1958-by-gordon-parks.jpeg" width="325" /></a></div>
<b style="color: #990000; font-size: 33px;">You can read more about the treatment options I have tried over the years if you scroll down in <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/update-summary-from-last-years-17-may.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a></b><br />
And you can also read in much more detail what I tried in the process of finding a treatment, and all the (sometimes lame and desperate) messages I posted on Rosacea Forums before and after this dreadful IPL treatment I received in <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2016/02/overview-of-old-forum-posts-from-me.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a></b>. At the bottom of that post I also summarize everything I tried in the past, from acupuncture to traditional Chinese medicine and healing crystals. I wrote in 2006 on The Rosacea Forum about my anti flushing medication:<br /><br /><b style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><b><b><b><b><b><b><b style="color: #d5a6bd;"><b style="color: #cc0000;"><b><b><b style="color: #990000;">January 18, 2006</b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b><br />"Great meds for persistent flushers - <span style="color: black;">Hi all, I have posted about this several times already, but do want to </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;">emphasize once more </span><span>how much improvement I see (relatively) after </span><span>using the following meds for about 2 months: Remeron (mirtazapine, AD), propranolol and moxonidine.</span></span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span><span style="color: black;">I'm 26 years old and have very severe vascular rosacea. In total for 7 </span><span style="color: black;">years now, but only the last years it has been very bad. Last year I </span><span style="color: black;">was treated wrongly with the Quantum IPL and after that I didn't stop </span><span style="color: black;">flushing and burning for almost 9 months!!! Driving me so suicidal in thoughts, </span><span style="color: black;">that I couldn't pass a building in the street without counting the </span><span style="color: black;">floors (more then 8 was 'safe', suicidal wise). I was so depressed </span><span style="color: black;">because I saw so many specialists, took almost all the available </span><span style="color: black;">medication, but there seemed nothing to stop my neural burning, </span><span style="color: black;">redness, inflammation and flushing. All the docs told me I was the </span><span style="color: black;">worst flusher they'd ever seen. Ever. Enough to drive you nuts. And I </span><span style="color: black;">couldn't physically do anything anymore without cold air, </span><span style="color: black;">ventilator's, cool packs etc. Just unbelievable. It was total </span><span style="color: black;">survival; instead of living. </span><span style="color: black;">Since being on these medication my flushing and redness has </span><span style="color: black;">decreased. I take an antidepressant called remeron (mirtazapine) for </span><span style="color: black;">the last 2 months and it has helped IMMENSELY </span><span style="color: black;">with not only the </span><span style="color: black;">anxiety and depression, but also the flushing. This drug has </span></div><div><span style="color: black;">antihistamine </span><span style="color: black;">actions as well, which is helpful for all rosaceans. I </span><span style="color: black;">didn't want AD medication for a long time, but am so happy I did start </span><span style="color: black;">this one. I already was on moxonidine (variation of clonidine) and </span><span style="color: black;">added propranolol, a beta-blocker: they work on different channels: a </span><span style="color: black;">and b channels, and block adrenaline to a certain degree, for </span><span style="color: black;">instance. They also keep your blood pressure a bit lower, which helps </span><span style="color: black;">keeping you less flushed in your face. </span><span style="color: black;">I still have severe vascular rosacea, for which I </span><span style="color: black;">now see Dr. Crouch. </span><span style="color: black;">He has made some test patches, which gave me pale </span><span style="color: black;">spots and next week we will expand the test patch area. </span><span style="color: black;">But overall I </span><span style="color: black;">can sit behind my computer again, do shopping, have sort of a life. I </span><span style="color: black;">still flush and am red/pink, need to watch what I eat and when, but </span><span style="color: black;">this has definitely helped me flushing so far.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span>Best wishes, N."</div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNv1BF46nQK6ZS7L77lCOfhVGfXiZDd5xwyA0RU-ZIgYdFRUrC-2GI9xT6rkIpnyDZSKgpZLSG5WTGgoBZY3WbT65FyZ6CBZb-RmWdL7sN_LkpoOPuw2MvVubd-9hKXOXpHlx9lWxcHt4/s1600/10531470_10152371280652151_9179388393869386794_o.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWbmpjHLaolrCpgKOsjVhxfAFO31jNjl-pgE7hyphenhyphenMXWXnSNl0mNm_6h-pIyzR2HofLbFTNJ8ul4cqtYUJvteDWm6WEM3tO1pEFRRgD29RQYGUSbYMF5_0nuKyPWmc2VDb2-um0Xe9Q9WmVH/s1600/11218885_10153645175423996_1996257875257184597_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="740" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWbmpjHLaolrCpgKOsjVhxfAFO31jNjl-pgE7hyphenhyphenMXWXnSNl0mNm_6h-pIyzR2HofLbFTNJ8ul4cqtYUJvteDWm6WEM3tO1pEFRRgD29RQYGUSbYMF5_0nuKyPWmc2VDb2-um0Xe9Q9WmVH/w517-h332/11218885_10153645175423996_1996257875257184597_n.jpg" width="517" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></b><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Also, I read a really good thorough </span><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?33462-ALL-makeup-makes-Rosacea-p-amp-ps-worse!&p=311480#post311480" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;">post</span></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"> on the Rosacea Forum with general advice for rosaceans. The basic 'rules' so to speak</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><br /><br />hg24 wrote on july 11th2015:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b><span style="color: black;">"<span style="color: black;">Hi there! Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear of the distress right now. Yeah, rosacea sucks. But you're just starting out with managing it and learning everything - so there is hope! You'll find what works for you. </span></span><span style="color: black;">First, go kiss your hubby and give him a big hug. It's hard for our loved ones to understand what this disease is like. It's especially hard I think for anyone else to imagine what the physical sensations are behind our red faces. That is, that it's not just redness and/or bumps - but burning/stinging, itchiness, heat, swelling, nerve pain, etc. But many of them try to understand and listen. It gets hard for them, too, to watch us suffer. So I always think they need to know how much we appreciate them. </span><span style="color: black;">Could you share with us what your dermatologist has prescribed, if anything, for your rosacea? Are you on an antibiotic for the P&P? And/or topical medication? </span><span style="color: black;">What do you do for skin care? Are you able to tolerate cleanser? </span><span style="color: black;">I used to have this problem - sensitive to everything I put on my face. My prob with the creams was my hit, stinging skin couldn't deal with anything on it. The most important strategy I've found to ease rosacea is to calm inflammation in your body and skin. </span>You want things to quiet your system. You need to address it on many levels - holistically. Everything needs to be made simple, gentle and healthy.<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>- Diet:</span></b> </span>sounds like this is a challenge with your IC. But you need a balanced diet. You want to eat so that wounds can heal, skin can repair, etc. So protein, healthy fats, low sugar, low dairy, gluten free.<br />
<b><span style="color: #783f04;">- Nutrient/Vitamin deficiencies/supps:</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b>are you vitamin D deficient? Most of us are. Maybe low on omega 3s? Etc. For example, I've recently started supplementing with Vit D soft gels and eating more beta-carotene-rich foods (sweet potatoes, etc) and taking a little Vit A supps (NT too much!) and my face bumps have been clearing and face calming a great deal. If you have any nutritional deficiencies per your doctor, see what you can do to get all. Your Vitamins and minerals back up. Consider a multivitamin.<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>- Underlying conditions:</span></b> </span>Not sure how your IC might be affecting the rosacea. But if you are on medications for anything or suspect possible other issues, you'll want to see what you can do there. Hormonal times always flare my face - around ovulation and my period. Also, if you have any other inflammatory condition/autoimmune disease, that can also potentially exacerbate rosacea.<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>- Stress:</span></b> </span>This is important. It's amazing how much stress affects rosacea. I've been surprised by it myself. My intolerance to skin care eased once I was able to address the anxiety I developed after developing rosacea. Once I was able to calm my nerves - literally through Zoloft, deep breathing, etc<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>- I could pull out my stash of creams</span></b> </span>that I couldn't tolerate before and finally use them. I think maybe because I had a lot of stinging/burning - so nerve endings in my face were often inflamed - which riles up the blood vessels.<br />
<b><span style="color: #783f04;">- Skin care:</span></b> this is a tough one, since you're not able to tolerate much right now. But gentle is the way to go. You want to treat rosacea as you would a rash, not acne. You want to soothe the skin and the inflammatory bumps. Nothing harsh. Once your skin calms, you should be able to do fine with makeup. Some people have success with various topical treatments: tea tree oil diluted in essential oil/cream, zinc oxide ointment, prescription topicals, etc.<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>- Lifestyle changes:</span></b> </span>You may find the need to make certain changes, again, so that you can try to keep your system calm. For example: Lukewarm not hot showers, more sleep, avoid sun/wear sunscreen or a hat, careful of warm rooms, make adjustments to exercise (cool water nearby, cool towel around neck, etc). Sleeping with the thermostat turned down a bit helps me. <span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;">Well didn't mean to write such a long post. Hope some of this helps. There is no magic pill or treatment, but there are a number of people who have posted here over the years about what's worked for them. It takes time and research to go through the threads here going back over the years, but trust me, it will educate you and arm you with so much information and new things to try. You'll end up knowing a lot more about rosacea than your doctor. </span></span><span style="color: black;">So take a look around. I'm sure you'll find some options that will help you feel both empowered and hopeful." </span><span style="color: black;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>In response to someone wondering if suggesting prescription medication for rosacea isn't a step too far, here is my motivation to do so</b></span><br />These medications should only be used under the care of a doctor, obviously. The dose at which some specialists, including some dermatologists, prescribe them are lower than for their official use (heart related/high blood pressure related conditions). There is a group of rosacea patients who have severe facial flushing, burning and redness, and for whom diet, anti inflammatory supplements, natural treatment options and laser/IPL have not worked (enough) or made things worse. I agree that caution has to be taken when suggesting medication on a platform like this one. I just come from a different standpoint, as I searched desperately for relief for many years and not one derm could think of anything that could be done about the severe flushing. It is through a friend from one of the forums that I came in contact with my current derm (Professor in dermatology, London Hammersmith Hospital) and that I finally learned about the medication that can be used to stop some of this in its track. I doubt anybody here are resorting to medication unless they have very serious and life changing (or at least - affecting) symptoms. They are no candies and anybody taking meds is acutely aware of that, if only from the side effects. There are some professors in renowned hospitals who see the worst of the worst rosacea patients; people who might even consider suicide over this, and I personally find it ok and understandable that such doctors discuss with the patients' GP to start up some relatively well known and widely used medications like beta blockers (propranolol mainly) and clonidine. If they help, of course. They are not taken at the same dose as for those with (severe) heart related conditions. I only take 80 mg a day of propranolol for instance. And only just above the start up dose of 15 mg of remeron. But they take the edge off the flushing. Some people (me incl) went from mild occasional flushing, to almost non stop throbbing flushing in a time span of a decade. Flushing needs to be treated and stopped in its track, or you can end up with uncontrollable rosacea. This can become a serious condition by then as well, slowly ruining the vascularity of your face. And for those who have daily worsening facial flushing and burning, for whom nothing else works anymore, I feel these meds are relatively safe while under the care of a doctor and they can really slow or even stop rosacea in it's tracks. As we know, there have been people who took their life over this, so I don't feel rosacea should ever be looked at simply as 'a benign skin condition'. Although it's not the very worst thing that could happen to someone in life either. A bit of context goes a long way sometimes. There are friends of mine though who are no longer able to leave their houses, for the severe painful flushing, and who spend their lives in cold houses with airco's and ventilators, in pain. I don't try to advocate to people to start taking medication for the sake of it, but I do like to give the more desperate readers an alternative, because it made mine finally bearable and I searched for ever to find a doctor who said he could actually try to treat the flushing. The other 10+ derms I had seen all said that there was nothing to be done about the flushing. I usually have people in mind when I write here who have the severe vascular subtype, so the devastating ongoing facial flushing redness and burning, and for them I like to be out here that there are medications they can try, under their doctors guidance always. <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8229-would-love-some-help-things-are-going-BAD" target="_blank"><b>This</b></a> is a series of forum posts from 2005, written right before I started taking the medication mentioned below. I was doing very badly, with nearly constant facial flushing and burning back then. It might explain just how desperate I was for some relief, and why I now put up with the side effects of the medication (like remeron induced weight gain), even though I hate this.<br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">April 25th 2014</b><br />
In <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?30983-Stopping-a-beta-blocker-cold-turkey" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> Rosacea Forum post, someone asks how to stop with propranolol in a safe way. Along the way he/she gets tips and some writers warn about the use of beta blockers as a whole for rosacea:<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Ants wrote:</span></b> "Hey guys, I've been taking Propranalol for the past 2 months. First week it really
helped with flushing, then it just stopped really working for flushing
but really helped for nerves / public speaking. I've decided to come off it as it was giving me a sunburnt burning sensation on my arms. Now here's my question - I came off it cold turkey 5 days ago and since then my flushing has been TERRIBLE. Is this normal? I know you're technically meant to taper off the med. Would massively appreciate a reply please. Thanks, Ants"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Fauxmccoy wrote:</span></b> "i would contact your doctor immediately and ask for advice. the only time i took beta blockers was when i had a hyperactive thyroid
and they were prescribed to protect my heart while my body was producing
thyroid hormones in dangerous levels. although i see that some people
are now taking them for flushing, i can not nor would i. they are
serious, systemic meds and stopping cold turkey is dangerous."<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Johnabetts wrote:</span></b> "Beta blockers have a profound effect on the workings of the heart and on blood pressure - these are the <u>real</u> indications for their use, not something non-life threatening like flushing. Suddenly stopping beta blockers can be very dangerous to your health and
possibly your life and you are lucky that you are only having minor
side effects. Was this medication prescribed or did you just self medicate in the hope
it would help you? There are good reasons for beta blockers to be
prescription only, which I have partially lighted upon. You should
follow the directions given by your health care professional when
stopping beta blocker medication, not just stop. I've been on beta blocker drugs (Atenolol 100mg daily) for a long time
now for heart disease. I was once requested to attend clinic for a
exercise stress test and it was requested that I delay my beta blocker
dose until after the test (at 1.00pm). By about 10.00am I became
extremely ill, so much so that I called for emergency services who
administered loads of things to bring down and stabilise my blood
pressure which had gone through the roof merely because I had not taken
the beta blocker medication. OK, I was, and am, on a high dose but it
does indicate what can happen when the dosage routine is changed. I never did get to do the stress test (and would never volunteer to take one either, after that happened). Regarding the impatience shown in your second post here, it was really
only a very short time that you did that follow up and not everyone
lives in your time zone. An effect of cold turkeys?<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Username wrote:</span></b> "There can be very serious side effects of stopping beta blockers cold turkey and this is not something to ask a forum. You need to talk to your doctor about it, do not stop them until you have."<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Ants wrote:</span></b> "I have taken this medication for a great many years. It was originally
prescribed to combat menstrual migraine and it also masked an essential
tremor in my hands. Co-incidentally I saw my G.P. today to discuss taking Propranolol, 10 mg
only, on an intermittent basis, not the usual slow release 80 mg pill
that I have been taking every day. This was because of my elevated
blood glucose in the morning. Apparently Propranolol can cause this
reaction during the early hours. I must admit I did choose to go cold turkey and fortunately I have not
had any adverse effects apart from regaining my tremor. But I stress I
was NOT taking this medication for a heart/blood pressure problem. Regarding higher than normal blood glucose, I will continue to monitor
this as I feel a high result might have been exacerbating my skin
problems. In other words - high sugar - hungry yeast - yum yum! But only time will tell.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Fauxmccoy wrote: </span></b>"Sally, the type2 diabetes is sadly, a potential side effect of
taking beta blockers. you were taking it for one of its intended uses
(migraines, tremors) just as i was for hyperthyroidism. it sounds as if
you were in communication with your doc while quitting and elevated
blood sugar levels is an indication to stop taking the med. it becomes a
question of risks to benefits. you were likely worsening your health
if you continued taking it and there are other medications for
migraines. i know, i get them too. the problem i see here is that many people are wanting to take this very
serious drug for flushing. this drug affects the central nervous
system, artificially suppresses heart rate and blood pressure. why
would anyone want to touch this for fun and games? (i.e. maybe it will
control my flushing -- yeah, but at what cost?) as one who had to take
them for life and death reasons, i know exactly how serious these meds
are, what they do, how they work and most of all why one does not stop
taking them without consulting the prescribing doc. i sure as heck
would not be forum gazing while in the midst of what could be a serious
medical crisis. quite simply, beta blockers are not an ant-flushing drug. they sure as
hell never stopped mine in 18 months of use before my thyroid was
removed and i could stop taking them, but then start taking thyroid
hormones. beta blockers are here to help (and they do a great job) with
life threatening conditions such as elevated heart rate, elevated blood
pressure, tremors (all of which i experienced during hyperthyroidism --
to a frightening degree), hyperthyroidism, tremors and occasionally
migraines. i would consider any use other than those to be ridiculous
when the risk to benefit is properly assessed. just as ridiculous as
taking them for the reasons other than indicated would be to stop taking
them without medical advice. these are serious meds.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Nicofan wrote: </span></b>""I don't understand all this scaremongering here about beta blockers (propranolol). If you are not 80 years old, have a heart condition, a heart rate of 50 beats per minute or less and what not, beta blockers won't do much harm to you. Aspirin and Paracetamol have more side effects than Propranolol. I too
took beta blockers once a year ago. I started with 3x20 mg per day and
my GP switched me to 80mg time released propranolol I (just for
rosacea/redness). I took the 80mg for a month or two and decided to
throw it away. I called my doc and asked it I have to tamper it off. NO,
was his answer. I'm 25 years old, (otherwise) healthy / athletic.
Stopped Propranolol suddenly and the side effects I had were increased
heart beat (rose from 55 bpm to 80 bpm) and was sweating a bit more.
that's it, this was for about 1 or 2 days. But this can be different for
everybody. It's up to your overall health. My advice would be to first call your (most likely useless) GP and ask
him. If I were you I would just taper it down. Take 3 times 20mg
(morning/midday/evening) for 5 days then 3 times 10 mg (per day) for 5
days and maybe another 5 days with 3 times 5 mg. then stop. Your GP won't tell you anything else. Except you have a heart condition
or are taking Propranolol for something else I'd taper it as suggested
above. cheers"<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">I wrote in response to the last comment:</span></b> "I understand your concerns, but what worries me is that there are so many people here who seem to think that severe facial flushing, non stop burning and dilated pulsing dilation of the blood vessels of the face, is NOT something serious. Am I on a rosacea forum or what? I doubt
anybody here are resorting to medication unless they have very serious
and life changing symptoms. They are no candies and anybody taking meds
is acutely aware of that, if only from the side effects. There are some
professors in renowned hospitals who see the worst of the worst rosacea
patients; people who consider suicide over this, and I personally find it
entirely acceptable that such doctors discuss with the patients GP to
start up some relatively well known and widely used medications like
beta blockers (propranolol mainly) and clonidine. They are not taken at
the same dose as for those with heart issues. I only take 40 mg a day of
propranolol for instance. But they take the edge off from the flushing.
Some people (me incl) went from mild occasional flushing, to almost non
stop throbbing flushing in a time span of a decade. Flushing needs to be
treated and stopped in its track, or you can end up with uncontrollable
rosacea. Most people see medication as a last resort. I went medication free for 6
years, tried every natural/homeopathic/ acupuncture/ supplement
treatment you can think of, then tried IPL which made it much worse and
finally had to start medication. I really don't understand why
hyperthyroidism, or high blood pressure, or any other official illness
that indicated beta blocker use, is seen by rosacea sufferers here as
more serious than debilitating flushing. It is very serious; you slowly
ruin the vascularity of your face. I find your comment: "why would anyone want to touch this for fun and
games? (i.e. maybe it will control my flushing -- yeah, but at what
cost?) as one who had to take them for life and death reasons, i know
exactly how serious these meds are" quite strong, and a little bit
offensive to be honest. People have taken their lives over severe
rosacea you know? Nobody takes medication out of fun. And good derms and
GP"s keep check of their patients blood pressure, liver levels etc
while on medication. Some people see it as the lesser of two evils.
People should stop talking in a condescending way about others using or
choosing medication here, I feel at times. I am sorry that you suffer
life threatening thyroid issues but it seems your medication is helping
you. Why tell others who have a health condition of which you can't
judge from where you are how severe they suffer from it, to no touch
medication? What? Because they can't die from rosacea?"<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Hucm2IF-t-U5T7W1N940TKYjKlImH7goQOEs3BDCSymC0nqrMVoM3IRPZIbOvyK2DL_IUaY0xDUdVJhmJy6YQIMUhvQnFiW2xCOFWB0nfwSnGlGzhXaqFvBl4gQIMlLLQ3qdWyQtJr8S/s1600/1468679918-1441613269-55ed45d570b46-063-gordon-parks-theredlist.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="350" height="489" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Hucm2IF-t-U5T7W1N940TKYjKlImH7goQOEs3BDCSymC0nqrMVoM3IRPZIbOvyK2DL_IUaY0xDUdVJhmJy6YQIMUhvQnFiW2xCOFWB0nfwSnGlGzhXaqFvBl4gQIMlLLQ3qdWyQtJr8S/w320-h489/1468679918-1441613269-55ed45d570b46-063-gordon-parks-theredlist.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Johnabetts wrote: </span></b>"Aren't we losing the point here? The title of the thread reveals the problem and myself and others have tried to indicate the folly of stopping beta blocker medication without following a safe procedure to do so."</div><div><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">I wrote: </span></b>"The discussion was side tracked very early on actually, by others warning for the use of this drug as a whole, altogether. Which isn't a fair message i feel for others reading this thread and perhaps desperately looking for a means to improve their suffering. It depends at what dose Ants used propranolol. For half a pill or one pill a day for 2 months, as he wrote, you might want to taper the use off. So cutting the dose (in halves, 1/4, 1/6 etc) but taking it at the same times as normal, until you can stop without bad side effects. It is not a problem from what doctors told me, to use propranolol as needed, now and then, for instance for people with stage fright or anxiety. In that case they said it doesn't require any tapering off. It doesn't typically cause the rebound hypertension as a blood pressure lowering med like clonidine does. It's never wise to start any prescription medication without your doctors knowledge and guidance, as others here already pointed out. He/she doesn't mention any heart symptoms, while having stopped the med. Only a return of bad flushing. That seems not per se a side effect of the cold turkey stopping, but more of the normal rosacea returning again. There is also a lot of info on this problem to be found online.<br /><br /></div></div><div>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Fauxmccoy wrote:</span></b> "Nat, I will apologize if you found my words to be overly harsh. i was
speaking to the original poster who stopped taking a very serious
medication without medical advice and was now begging for medical advice
on a forum of laymen (medically speaking). i do consider that to be
fundamentally flawed. yes, this is a forum of rosacea sufferers sharing our own experiences
and attempting to help others. i suffer with the condition, else i
would not be here. i also come with a vast medical history and more
than the average understanding of beta blockers. i would not take them
at this point as i no longer need them for a life threatening condition.
i am extremely cautious when it comes to taking meds that affect the
body systemically, i do not want or need my metabolism, heart rate or
blood pressure artificially lowered. i do not want any other medication
that affects my central nervous system. i have a number of meds that i
must take and would not add to that unless there was a compelling
reason to do so. of course, all medication is an evaluation of risks to
potential benefit. none of my docs (and it takes a team of specialists
to keep me on the planet) have ever suggested beta blockers for rosacea
and i would not ask, simply because i understand the medication all too
well. that is me. if you are taking them, under the guidance of your doc, with proper
testing and presumably not quitting them cold turkey, AND finding some
relief, then of course, i wish you well. i understand full well that
out of control rosacea makes the condition worse and that it is
miserable in its own right. the sense that i got from the original
poster was that this was not happening and i spoke my mind. i am disabled and unlike many who post here, if i am having a bad
rosacea day, i do not have to face work colleagues, but can remain at
home and attend to my flushing as that may be the thing that is
adversely affecting me at that moment. it may sound like a luxury, but
believe me, i would gladly trade places with those who are not disable
and only concerned with flushing. my outlook is different based on a
multitude of experiences and although i am never without empathy, i am
perhaps somewhat jaded. i realize that as one with numerous medical conditions, that my outlook
is perhaps different. i think johnabetts post echoed that. i also sense a bit of something i consider somewhat dangerous in this
forum with regards to medication and/or self medication. if one person
(say you) report good results with a medication (beta blockers) then a
number of people go ask their docs for it and may not bother to become
as informed about the risks of the medication. i see this in this forum
regarding mirvaso, in spite of all of the negative feedback. also,
because i understand the mechanism of how the drug works, there can be
nothing but a negative backlash of flushing if it is used. yet, people
here are still begging for it. i think the same of every tv commercial
hawking meds that we should all 'ask our doctor about". again, this is
just me. i am extremely cautious about medication, especially those
that involve systemic alteration. i would never want to discourage my fellow rosaceans from using any
product that genuinely helped. i only urge caution and education in
doing so."<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">I wrote:</span></b> "I am truly sorry for your host of medical problems and your disability
fauxmccoy. I can relate, even though my other autoimmune related
illnesses are not as severe probably as yours. I read an older post of
you yesterday where you explain about all the surgeries you had and they
sounded tremendous, you seem a real trooper. But to have a full body
system not working, causing disability, pain, inflammation, need for
surgeries etc, does something with you. I don't know
about everyone here, but it seems that a lot of patients don't have the
rosacea all on their own, but a lot of them also have some underlying
digestion problem, and/or Raynaud's, and allergies among others (and
some also have ME, MS, fibromyalgia, Sjogrens, Lupus etc). To have so
many things in your body not functioning and having the daily burning
and pain that a lot of people have here, brings everybody down. I understand that caution that has to be given when suggestion
medication on a forum like this one. I just come from a different
standpoint, as I searched desperately for relief for many years and not
one derm could think of anything that could be done about the severe
flushing. I hardly left the house at some point, always attached to a
fan or cold packs and always purple red almost. It is through Peter
Waters from the forum here that I came in contact with my current derm
and that I finally learned about the medication that can be used to stop
some of this in it's track. It sadly doesn't help when you suffer badly
from something, to try to be happy that at least you don't have a
worse/more severe disease. You still have to deal form day to day with
this monster and some friends here don't leave the house anymore and are
on constant opioids/pain medication to deal with the crimson faces and
severe nerve pain that comes with it. So I don't try to advocate to people to start taking medication for the
sake of it, but do like to give the more desperate readers here an
alternative, because it saved my life to be quite dramatic about it. I
agree with nicofan that there is this scaremongering at times here about
people taking medication, and this 'pure' vibe that being clean is best.
And that resorting to meds is an act of desperation and that just diet
or herbs or psychotherapy, or hypnosis will improve everybody's rosacea.
I usually have people in mind when I write here who have the severe
vascular subtype, so the devastating ongoing facial flushing redness and
burning, and for them I like to be out here that there are medications
they can try, under their doctors guidance always, although of course
some people are suffering so bad and are unwilling to find a cooperative
doctor, that they resort to illegal measures. But even then they need
advice how to take and stop these meds. Thanks for your clarification and a big hug to you, I hope you find some relief for this soon."<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">And in response to a <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/forum/general/prescription-medications/19328-/page2?30975-Medication-for-flushing-amp-blushing-HELP!/page2=" target="_blank">question</a> about medication for flushing</span><br /></b></span></span>
"Is trial and error but there are many patients here who use them and
find that it gave them part of their life back. They cut down severely
on my flushing. They have side effects yes, but like I wrote earlier in
response to Ants, "they are no magic pills and yes they come with some
side effects. This disease is not well researched and there is no
cause/cure yet, so these are the options we seem to have at this point
(plus a host of supplements, dubious in effect at times). It is an awful
choice but it might have to come to the point for some here, that they
have to trade something. Less rosacea pain, less depression for some
weight gain and increased need for excercise for instance. Or any of the
other side effects you mentioned. Nothing is free for us sufferers in
this world unfortunately." IPL and laser isn't for everybody unfortunately. Its cruel in a way that it helps some and worsens others or does nothing. So I guess the bottom line is that yes, there are medications out there
that can help you with the flushing (hopefully, they don't work for
everybody) and yes, they come with some side effects. I don't agree on
the remeron-zombie part. That is mainly an issue in the first period of
using them, after long term use they give energy and make you sleep well,
if anything. But you do need to cut down on your food intake and crank
up the calorie burning for sure. Beta blockers can make you a bit tired
initially and I am not aware of the sexual side effects, but am no male
so not prone to them. Clonidine has similar side effects I guess, for me
they all wear off with time. Good luck and I hope you can find something that helps you."<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaiTJvMUN23EJKxn8L0jgWTEQ5xmLUKp4DHFtCh-YntbjMd7ljcLpr0kruLzIWQD4KKdTdEgR8jINstfH-QYFb7OsY8eoKebdEM16cjJVml5-VrdeoMbckyzeB8l3q8GZPvk-CJj6oXP30/s1600/19736f79ff374d933bf113d382330f9b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaiTJvMUN23EJKxn8L0jgWTEQ5xmLUKp4DHFtCh-YntbjMd7ljcLpr0kruLzIWQD4KKdTdEgR8jINstfH-QYFb7OsY8eoKebdEM16cjJVml5-VrdeoMbckyzeB8l3q8GZPvk-CJj6oXP30/s1600/19736f79ff374d933bf113d382330f9b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrch2W2-7YbMg9bKFEn4goaBTTlbpYQzjLwfn45lNyCLrU7RURV70KO7JIXseyecjViojm6S45y9Y6V771JB3a00y7waLw_ldurNnKQYPzJUnl8UkRsjvnlcM1JtmCc4lz7ZwvFgI-MuR0/s1600/12510466_10153830415253996_5219158926712607429_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-BztBTzOOeLWgXJFpqLgjlDYPrhPcNOQsxYJo513P9PdhbC3q_Te689Y0o3DUFic-vZ6ruYw6MoaJe622_zbhvOJntz5hq2if_USgoKDMvfCNXQYbdx7ccGZTRuu1piBDWsir8XfnrpN/s1600/87570c23e57e093aa2e0a6a8346e3413--showgirls-gordon-parks.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="600" height="556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-BztBTzOOeLWgXJFpqLgjlDYPrhPcNOQsxYJo513P9PdhbC3q_Te689Y0o3DUFic-vZ6ruYw6MoaJe622_zbhvOJntz5hq2if_USgoKDMvfCNXQYbdx7ccGZTRuu1piBDWsir8XfnrpN/w357-h556/87570c23e57e093aa2e0a6a8346e3413--showgirls-gordon-parks.jpg" width="357" /></a><span style="color: red;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">May 25th 2014 </b></span><br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">oxycodone for rosacea</span></b><br />
A
rosacea friend emailed me about her severe rosacea (bad flushing and
severe redness in warmer temperatures, she was also in the little video
op here) and a new medication that has helped her a bit.<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">She wrote:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b></span>"You asked yesterday how I do, as far as my face… the answer is, not well. So basically we never go anywhere or do anything! It's a boring life but we have nice friends, enough money, a high speed internet connection and a good marriage, so all in all, I'm happy most of the time. My doc put me on Opana ER as Meg suggested, and it's improved me remarkably. I still flush terribly to heat over 22 degrees, but under that, if I follow my diet and don't eat tons of sugar, I'm fine. That's a big change! Now, with the drug, when I get a flush or a burn, it lasts about 20 minutes instead of 8 hours. It hurts much less and I'm much less anxious about it as well. The drug has two side effects that are wonderful for me, it makes you mildly anorexic and a bit euphoric. Two things I really need! It's a time release opiate called OxyContin (Contin for Continuous). I take it every 8 hours like my clonidine. It's the most improvement to my face that Charlie and I have seen since we started the clonidine/remeron protocol way back in the fall of 2008. I wish you could obtain this drug over there. But it's even more a controlled substance than the hydrocodone. So if they won't give you hydrocodone, they will never give you oxycodone. Harder to get, and also more rules concerning it; I have to go back in every three months for a refill instead of every 6 months. But beloved doc sees me at 8 in the morning so the visit is real quick, in and out, so I don't burn too much in his hot little office. I'll probably be on this drug for the rest of my life, and I'm fine with that. When I first asked my beloved GP for it a few months ago, I told him I thought it was approaching time for palliative care for me, because I wanted to die from the pain when I couldn't stand the pain any more. He was horrified of course, they're trained to save life not to end it, so he was delighted to prescribe the pain meds for me. And frankly I never expected they would work this well, that they would have a beneficial effect on my flushing. I thought they would just make the pain easier to manage. What a happy surprise."<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">I replied:</span></b> "That is spectacular good news in my book :) I will discuss this med
with dr Chu when I see him at the end of the year, he is the only doc I
can think of who might be willing to prescribe it. My GP won't for sure,
knowing how she responded before to some other questions. So it not
only cuts down on
your pain and burning but also the flushing? Wow! AND WEIGHT LOSS, I
want this stuff too :) I didn't notice too much difference in the
flushing on hydrocodone, do you think they are very different, meds or
did the hydro do the same thing for your flushing as this new med?"<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">She replied:</span> </b></span>"I had no improvement re: flushing with hydrocone and great improvement in flushing with oxycodone." As a little side note, some people using oxycodone did <a href="http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=224319">report</a>
flushing of the face and neck from it, like with other opiads. However,
most medication seems to be able to give this side effect to those
sensitive to it. On The Rosacea Forum the drugs is also discussed:<b><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b></div>
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">lakan <a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?16761-Acetaminophen-with-codeine">wrote</a> on November 21st 2008: </span></b>"Codeine can cause flushing. It releases histamine so flushing, itching
and so on are common side effects. Some pain-killers promote
angiogenesis too according to studies. As for the histamine release you could of course try to counteract that
effect with anti-histamines or maybe switch to some other pain-killer if
that's an option, some cause less histamine release than others. As far as i have understood Morphine is known to promote angiogenesis and usually also releases a lot of histamine. Oxycodone for example seems to be a better choice in regards to that. Maybe Tramadol is worth checking out too."<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>RedFaced wrote on November 22nd 2008:</b></span> "Hey thanks for the info - I have taken Oxycodone and it did not do good
things for my mental state (hositility, agitation etc.). I am
interested in this Tramadol though...so you have read or understand that
it does not cause the increased flushing that others usually do?"<br /><br /></div><div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUbF4N5Ek5xGxWAA6t0SQSJDR_RFzZ2vluA3PkW2gWl_3B-xZlJQtUXM34aJaNrzTahH_xPdmG6-b7muSk0RAVK1Ek4BUNpIBZyalP378FfRDiwhKMUktPusiSIJ3AOGpM3PicGwY-QzfI/s1600/12074540_10153645175408996_7847437955646474750_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="328" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUbF4N5Ek5xGxWAA6t0SQSJDR_RFzZ2vluA3PkW2gWl_3B-xZlJQtUXM34aJaNrzTahH_xPdmG6-b7muSk0RAVK1Ek4BUNpIBZyalP378FfRDiwhKMUktPusiSIJ3AOGpM3PicGwY-QzfI/w334-h502/12074540_10153645175408996_7847437955646474750_n.jpg" width="334" /></a><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">lakan replied:</span> </b></span>"Yes, Tramadol is a bit different compared to the more traditionally opioids and it shouldn't cause that much histamine release as the others, if any. Also, research about cancer and pain management says that Tramadol is not known to promote angiogenesis at all but i'm not an expert or anything, i've just read a bit about this and tried some opioids myself. Higher doses of Tramadol does make me itchy and flushy but doses under 200mg is not a problem for me. Pretty much the same with Oxycodone, anything under 30mg is fine but if i take more than that i have to take some anti-histamines to not get that flushy and tingling feeling. I can't compare it to Codeine though since i haven't tried it and the reason for not trying out Codeine is just the stuff i've read. Tramadol and Oxycodone seems more rosacea friendly to me."</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>RedFaced replied:</b></span>
"Great - thanks for the info.The oxycodone made me feel a bit "high"
when I took it, but not that I minded that as an alternative to pain. How would you compare the Tramdol to Oxycodone in terms of pain relief and its overall effects?"<br /><span><br /><b style="color: #990000;">lakan replied:</b></span> "Oxycodone is way more "stronger" and feeling high while on that stuff is
very common until you get used to the dose... A lot of people compare
it to Heroin actually and i haven't heard anyone claim that Tramadol is
anything like Heroin. I feel high when taking Tramadol too but on a
different level. More like a general pleasant feeling that doesn't
interfere with anything. I only have problems with neropathic pain from rosacea and Lyrica beats
both of those meds easily when it comes to that, for me. But then again,
that's neuropathic pain and i don't know how those meds work for other
types of pain but since Oxycodone is more potent it is probaby more
effective but everyone's different and Tramadol might work good for
you... I would try it if were you :)"</div></div><div>
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Redbreanna posted <a href="http://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=322">however</a> that she got more flushed from oxycodone, on January 13th 200</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">8:</span></b> <span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;">"</span></span>"I had surgery last Monday, and ever since, my rosacea has been kicked up a notch. Almost constant burning, flushing, redness, and stinging, with very little relief from cold ice packs. I think it might be from the pain meds they gave me, and I was wondering if anyone else had this experience. I was taking percocet, and one of the side
effects is flushing. I kept taking it because I needed pain relief, and I
had already tried several other drugs with no effect on the pain. But
now the percocet isn't working on my pain either (I have a fast/high
tolerance to pain meds), so I decided to stop taking it. I haven't had
one in about 24 hours, and I'm hoping my face will calm down now. So far
it hasn't, but I'm not going to take any more percocet, regardless.
Thanks, Breanna"<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Artist replied:</span> </b></span>"Percocet
is just a combination of oxycodone and tylenol. Oxycodone is an opioid
medication, and opioids really can make you flush. I hate taking them at
all because I flush badly with them. There are some good tylenol-type
drugs (NSAIDS) you can try. You may want to ask your doctor for some
"non-opioid" alternatives. Rest assured, once you stop the opioid, your
rosacea will calm down. Cheers! Artist"<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Redbreanna replied:</span> </b></span>"Thanks, Artist. Unfortunately, non-opioids like NSAIDs don't help my pain. I have chronic pain, so I've taken ibuprofen, tylenol, and the like
nearly every day for years... because of that, my tolerance is very
high, and even when I take high doses it doesn't help. That's why I was
happy when my doctor prescribed the percocet for me. It helped for the
first few doses, but after that it stopped working. Of course, i kept
taking it anyways because I hoped it would still help...but all that did
was increase the side effects. It's been 1 1/2 days now since I took
any, and I still have some of the effects, like nausea and flushing. I
don't know how long it stays in the body, but I hope that the effects
will go away soon. In the future I'm not sure what to do when I need
pain relief. I guess I will have to endure the flushing and other side
effects for the sake of pain relief? Anyways, thanks again for the
advice. We'll see how the next couple days go. Breanna"<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Artist replied:</b></span>
"What a terrible choice to have to make. I'm so sorry. There are adjunct
meds like valium you can take to possibly lower the need for the
opioid. Also, sometimes neurogenic pain meds like neurontin and lyrica
help chronic pain. May be worth looking in to...All the best, Artist"<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">June 5th 2014</b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hJPI_nlw3QRvdkB_NUQEwwW8agD2HDrjCnqhjyDpMPVx1A4DJwQ3xstjCENbAmnMi3-JbeEhhoJciDj-O6NHHCWcFgR2jIUkQKlNKza_Kse0fANyaxDVU-A5QDFUpDzoUMS-CZxbNOpt/s1600/1468679918-1441613269-55ed45d570b46-063-gordon-parks-theredlist.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="350" height="523" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hJPI_nlw3QRvdkB_NUQEwwW8agD2HDrjCnqhjyDpMPVx1A4DJwQ3xstjCENbAmnMi3-JbeEhhoJciDj-O6NHHCWcFgR2jIUkQKlNKza_Kse0fANyaxDVU-A5QDFUpDzoUMS-CZxbNOpt/w343-h523/1468679918-1441613269-55ed45d570b46-063-gordon-parks-theredlist.jpg" width="343" /></a></div><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Mirtazapine success<br /></span></span></b></span>A friend of mine who recently developed painful facial flushing and burning, emailed me to say that the clonidine she started on is helping her, but not enough. She then asked her GP for mirtazapine and reports: "<i>Things with me are still up and down. After a few weeks on the Clonidine, I felt that it was helping but not enough – I was still not sleeping at all well, waking up flushed more or less every day and felt like rosacea was taking over my life, was crying most days and in pain. So I went to a GP, luckily I found a really understanding female one who listened to me and took into account the research I had done, and managed to get her to prescribe me mirtazapine. I’ve been on it two weeks now and it does seem to be helping a lot. The main thing is it helps me sleep which makes such a huge difference to my life – I feel much more able to function and go to work etc. Not having side effects at all really except increased appetite (most people say it makes them drowsy but I find it just makes me sleep 7-8 hours a night which is perfect!). Also, the flushing has greatly reduced I think. It still happens almost every day, but seems to be only now in the night rather than to triggers during the day like it was before, not as severe, and it goes down very quickly after I wake up. Did you find the mirtazapine becomes more effective over the first few months?</i>"<br /><br />I am reading on some facebook rosacea groups lately and notice -as well onb the forums- a new (?) tendency to disencourage others to start with medication, and to deal with rosacea the natural way. This seems to equal homeopathy, acupuncture, liver cleansing and other types of detoxification, diet etc. I don't think its nice to almost demonize medication (someone there literally tells new posters to stay away from medication as it will make them much worse), simply because of a personal belief about this. There is not much information out there and with doctors about medication to tackle facial flushing and burning, and it can be notoriously difficult to treat. Therefore I like to have it out there what helped me in the end; not as some miraculous ultimate cure, I'm far from cured and when a detox session 'cured' someones's rosacea I am more inclined to wonder if that person had rosacea in the first place, as it tends to be a multifunction, complex, stubborn condition and it interests me how a cleanse (something the liver and kidneys are build for to do on a daily basis themselves) could cure it. But if it works for someone, then that is great. But I don't find it fair for such people to influence others, with perhaps a different type of rosacea, which might not respond to toxic cleanses, to stay well clear of medication. I always compare it with telling someone with a heart defect to stop taking his betablockers or other heart aids. Who would do that? Yet it seems normal to consider rosacea a condition which one should deal with the 'natural' way, or you are poisoning your system even more apparently. When someone deals with severe rosacea symptoms, and when these are far more than an annoyance to the patient, and we take into consideration that rosacea can be a chronic and progressive illness, then I don't see why someone who is desperate for relief shouldn't go and talk with his or her GP or dermatologist to try out anti flushing medication. It comes with some potential side effects (but to be frank, so did the Chinese traditional medical concussions I tried), but if it keeps you sane and in less pain, and if it breaks the flushing cycle, giving your poor blood vessels and facial nerves some rest to recover, than go for it. Facial flushing needs to be stopped in it's track, no matter what way, to help stabilize your rosacea and prevent it from getting worse. That's my view at least and that of the few good professors/derms I have as doctors. But whatever works for you, keep doing it, whether herbs, teas, cleanses, creams or drugs. Just don't demonize a perfectly scientific treatment option for others who are asking for help on the social media platforms, out of a personal belief. :)</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirggcpDeEA5MSdGijajQDaZ_Hxatb2wD4XXNFuqIc7owunEGvk-65NTKkw7V-Cnff6KZXCdVwvzrK_gzzFcGLlFkg7pbCZJc4EKTXyV359IaBpeSn8emzFHrdSG_pm_FoQ_fZ4S7L-yyx5/s1600/nbv.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirggcpDeEA5MSdGijajQDaZ_Hxatb2wD4XXNFuqIc7owunEGvk-65NTKkw7V-Cnff6KZXCdVwvzrK_gzzFcGLlFkg7pbCZJc4EKTXyV359IaBpeSn8emzFHrdSG_pm_FoQ_fZ4S7L-yyx5/s400/nbv.jpg" width="257" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">I replied to this friend, some parts from it that</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"> might interest someone else here:</span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Good hearing from you. Its really good hearing that the clonidine worked a little bit at least and that the mirtazapine seems to help too. I don't find them to be cures to be honest, they just bring my flushing level back down and flushing threshold back up, and I can stay in an acceptable state now, whereas before I flushed from everything and anything. But my derm Dr Chu beliefs that when you stop the flushing in its tracks early, you can still bring everything back to normality sometimes, so if its working, keep using it :) Mirtazapine, please take this serious dear, it will make you heavier. And more hungry, and everything tastes better, so be very aware to not overeat, as normally I got away with it but not anymore since using mirtazapine. Its a fab drug I think (in terms of medication being able to possess such a quality, nobody likes them in the end or would take them unless really needed), it helped me with 4 problems at one go (flushing, depression, anxiety and sleep deprivation), but the price is the weight issues. It will take some time to creep up on you but be careful ok? I felt the mirtazapine started working after about 3 days for me and it did build up, but you will hit a roof at some point. I also sleep great on it, 8-9 hours usually, and dream very vividly, which I don't mind at all. I also feel that diet plays a big role for me, for instance, had a very good week, then sinned with sweet stuff from the bakery and been flushed for a day and night ever since. It's very personal, those triggers, but for me its defo yoghurt, dairy, wheat, corn and cheese mostly. So what I eat are lots of vegetables, in a wok or stir fry, organic chicken and beef, fruits, rice flour products like self made pancakes or fruit pie, salads, some sweet potatoes or normal potatoes occasionally, skin seems to do best on these foods for me.</span></div></div><div>
<br />
Oh great, wow you are
good, already managed to see dr Chu in June? I find him extremely nice, a very modest man but a true scientist, no hocus pocus, sure you'll like
him as well. Chocolate and coffee, they are like poison for me, I can't
eat them although I do sin on chocolate at times :) Yep I sleep
that way too, double pillows, head a bit upwards, I have the normal thicker blanket pulled up until the chest and an empty sheet for the top part of chest till chin,
that helps me a lot. Trapping the heat below midriff so to speak and not
letting it build up all the way to my face. I also use a small fan at
night and usually wake up pale and stay pale all through the night this
way. It's just that I have to turn sides often cause the cheek I sleep on
is paler than the one turned upwards and need to alternate or one gets
really deep red further down the week. I also have some allergies so I
have special allergy free, mite trapping covers for my mattress and
pillows, they used to be incredibly expensive back in the days, but I found very good and
affordable ones recently, it helps me a lot, and I make sure the house
and especially bedroom are dust free. I use a chemical free, natural
shampoo which helps too I find. Idem for washing powder. Wow that
was a good experiment, to sleep elsewhere for a night :) I do think its the mechanism of sleep itself
that makes many rosaceans flushed at night, the heat of the covers, the
lying down, food digestion at night triggering internal heat and what
not. But keeping your bedroom dust free and as mite free as possible is a
good move anyway, or a good trial at least when you have this flushing
problem. I also always have the window open for fresh air, unless there is some killer pollen attack going on outside. If you do manage to see an immunologist, don't forget to
ask if they will test you on your ANA blood markers, and inflammation
markers (like Regulatory T cells and some others)? They can indicate
auto immune related inflammation and possibly underlying conditions.
They can also do blood tests for allergy levels and markers in the body. I hope to go to Budapest in the fall :)<br />
best wishes Nat"<br />
<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">March 4th 2015</span></b><br />
<span style="color: black;">I got some emails from rosaceans of which I will use a little bit of the bare facts and my responses.. perhaps they can help others. </span><span style="color: black;">It feels a bit hypocritical now, </span><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2014/07/update-summer-2014.html" target="_blank"><b>after criticizing the poor Jess Ainscough</b></a> <span style="color: black;">for advising other cancer patients about her treatment regime. I advice others based on what works for me and it might not work for others, or it might cause terrible side effects for them and that would make me semi co-responsible. But I can't help but tell what helps me, to a degree. No experimental make believe, but medications and lifestyle adaptations which visibly and noticeably improved my rosacea. Unfortunately every rosacean is different though and as my dermatologist already said last month; rosacea seems to stem from a myriad of underlying causes. What a mess..</span><br />
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<i><span style="color: black;">Hi there I appreciate your openness, honesty, and advice for rosacea and facial flushing. I have recently developed debilitating facial flushing episodes that make going to even the grocery store difficult. I use to get a little flushed if I had to speak to large groups, but nothing to this extent. The flushing doesn’t seem to leave it just stays now and is becoming more permanent. I have had laser treatments done on two occasions, but this has seemed to be a real waste of money with little to no improvements. I honestly feel I made a major mistake in having the vbeam laser treatment done some months ago. Before the treatments I had a just a few telangisiticas (sp) and that was that. I am not sure if the procedures could have caused the chronic facial flushing and increased telangiectasias. It seems like the more I focus and obsess about my face the worse it gets. Unfortunately I have as lot on my plate. The facial flushing now happens at just the thought. I am currently taking .05 clonidine in the morning and .2 in the evening. I have been diagnosed with extreme low levels of serotonin- do u think this could contribute? I have read your posts about the antidepressant medication mirtazapine. I recently picked up the medication and am having a difficult time getting myself to take them, as I've always struggled with taking meds. Honestly, the only reason I asked my doctor about this med, was because of your post and success. Do u still feel the same way about mirtazapine as u did in your original posts? Thank u so much for your help. I would be taking clonidine and mirtazapine simultaneously.</span></i><br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Part of my reply:</span></span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><span style="color: black;">"I'm sorry for the late reply, thanks for your nice words. Am sorry you are also dealing with the terrible facial flushing. I would try to up the clonidine to 3 times a day. I take also 50 mg but spread out every 8 hours. I find after 8 hours I get red again without it. I also take 40 mg of propranolol at night, but if you could try to use it and find it beneficial you could also take it more often. Yes I also take mirtazapine and find it very effective and good for my facial flushing and burning. But it comes with some side effects unfortunately. Mostly increased appetite and some weight gain but for me the payoff is huge as mirtazapine cuts down on my flushing and redness, and also on anxiety, depression and insomnia. I can control the weight with a healthy diet and walking every day. </span><span style="color: black;">With the remeron, I found that it takes a good few weeks to see the real anti flushing effects, but a good 6 weeks at least for side effects to wear off. They usually do wear off though.. It's similar to people taking them for depression, the first 6 weeks are terror as you don't see the beneficial effect yet but get a truck load of side effects as your body and brain adjust to this new chemical. For instance, I had nerve twitches in my legs and arms every single night and brain zaps while trying to sleep. Lightning flashes before your eyes, like your brain is getting electrical overload. They all went away. The tiredness and desire to sleep non stop is infamous for remeron but I found that they also wear off. I now sleep 8 or 9 hours straight but feel very energized during the day. That took some time, initially it was hard to get out of bed at all and indeed I felt drugged and so drowsy all day. It will get a lot better in that respect, but I can't judge how much a time and capacity you have to sit those out, especially with your profession.. There are other antidepressants who seem to help people with flushing, Zoloft, Effexor, a few other SSRI's I think. Celexa is mostly mentioned I think as a beneficial one, apart from remeron. </span><span style="color: black;">But there are other meds which might help you and give way less side effects, I would try propranolol, as I said above, perhaps take 40 mg a day or if needed up to 3 times a day. It should help a little bit at least with the flushing. An antihistamine like Xyzal helps me a lot too and perhaps upping your clonidine dose will help too? </span><span style="color: black;">It is hard yes to work with this illness. I taught for half a year at university and already had rosacea back then and brought my little fan into the college rooms, it was very difficult.. I said even no to a teaching opportunity later on because my flushing just was too much. I now work as a researcher so I can do most of that from my rosacea fortress. But it's a bit of a missed chance, I'd have loved to teach. </span>Perhaps red light therapy might be beneficial for you? there is a <b><a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/index.php" target="_blank">rosacea forum</a></b> that is pretty good, they have a section on red light therapy, perhaps it is something that might help, although I am not raving about it myself.. I do not know about clonidine affecting serotonin. I know a male friend with rosacea and low serotonin levels but I am not sure that would affect your flushing in any way to be honest. Hope this helps?"</div>
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<div style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsyaJiZf6fFpWvfw49EFu6NvhmHc40u0pS4d4YZGtMFaASrBtIs_QQd7lPmKCuzrU9Jbr2SFDSqgFJCxr3WSvE99PaEg6HvqEMg1Lx2X_yfaqZtBkV6tz3H_QvS28544kNPlZBm_K_xgAl/s1600/poiu.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="605" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsyaJiZf6fFpWvfw49EFu6NvhmHc40u0pS4d4YZGtMFaASrBtIs_QQd7lPmKCuzrU9Jbr2SFDSqgFJCxr3WSvE99PaEg6HvqEMg1Lx2X_yfaqZtBkV6tz3H_QvS28544kNPlZBm_K_xgAl/w388-h605/poiu.jpg" width="388" /></a><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">February 29th 2016</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I read <a href="http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/554690" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> good and comprehensive overview on rosacea and its treatment options; </span><span>"<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Rosacea is a common condition</span></b> that affects people of all races. In addition to the visible aspects of this disease, it can have a psychosocial impact that must be evaluated when considering the treatment options. More aggressive and innovative uses of existing oral agents have resulted in novel therapeutic approaches, which can provide long-term therapy and sustained remission. </span><span style="color: black;">Rosacea is a common disorder that is thought to affect 13-14 million people in the US alone.[1,2] It is likely that the actual number is substantially higher. Rosacea affects all races, although erythema may be less prevalent in patients with skin types IV and V. The rate of occurrence appears to be higher in women; however, men are more likely to develop phymas. Patients are most often diagnosed with this condition in their 30s-50s. </span><span style="color: black;">To truly understand the effects of rosacea on patients, the psychosocial impact must be evaluated along with the visible aspects of this disease. For many of our patients, the stigma of a 'drinker's nose' and the social and professional isolation that can result from low self-esteem is far more significant than the clinical reality. </span><span>Contributing to the frustration experienced by patients with rosacea is the fact that as clinicians, we do not truly treat rosacea, but rather manage it. We cannot offer patients cures, simply improvements. As with all chronic conditions, continual therapy inevitably leads to non-adherence. The benefits derived from a combination of both medical and psychological approaches cannot be overemphasized. The overall objective is the improvement of the quality of life of patients, and in 2007, this goal is easier to attain thanks to topical medications that reduce skin irritation. Furthermore, with the advent of <b><span style="color: #783f04;">safer, once-daily systemic medications</span></b>, it is possible to liberate patients from the use of topical products. Rosacea is a condition characterized by a constellation of symptoms including central facial erythema and telangiectasias, papules and pustules, granulomatous nodules, phyma formation, and ocular changes. The disorder is capricious with flares and remissions occurring without rationale. For the task of discussing therapy, rosacea is best viewed as a collection of several conditions with a common name. Although many patients have polymorphic disease, most have one predominating feature.</span></div>
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<span>The most commonly used classification system is based on predominant lesion morphology and was developed by a committee of the National Rosacea Society and published in 2002.[3] <b><span style="color: #783f04;">Patients are classified as having one of four types of rosacea: erythematotelangiectatic, papulopustular, phymatous, or ocular</span></b> with a variant form referred to as granulomatous. Individual patients may straddle one or more subtypes, but this system allows us to determine therapy based on similar lesion types. Therapeutic options for the various lesion types are easily categorized and there are few medications or modalities that are significantly effective in more than one category. Our lack of understanding with regard to the pathogenesis of rosacea hampers our therapeutic efforts. Still unclear at this time is the fundamental issue of whether or not the papules and pustules are based in the follicle. There is a growing consensus that bacterial infection does not play a role in rosacea etiology. <b><span style="color: #783f04;">The neurologic or hormonal mechanisms that may generate the flushing reaction and phyma formation are similarly unknown.</span></b> It is also unclear if accumulated sun damage, which bears many biochemical and clinical similarities to vascular rosacea, is involved in its pathogenesis. </span><span>What is known is that <b><span style="color: #783f04;">inflammation plays an important role</span></b> in lesion formation. Inflammatory cells release proinflammatory cytokines and degradative enzymes that induce angiogenesis and damage dermal constituents.[4] </span>The outcome of our poor understanding of its pathogenesis is that treatment has been traditionally based on disease endpoints rather than targeting the underlying anomalies. <b><span style="color: #783f04;">Inflammation is treated with anti-inflammatory agents, flushing with vasoconstrictors, and telangiectasias with laser and light therapy</span></b>. Until recently, papules and pustules were treated with antibiotics and no target organism Oral antibiotics have been used off-label for the treatment of rosacea since the 1950s because it was believed that microorganisms were causative. We now know that there is little to no evidence supporting this premise. </div>
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<span>Although not curative, the observed benefits of oral antibiotic treatment in patients with rosacea have made clinicians and patients reluctant to exclude these agents from their therapeutic armamentarium, much less to downgrade them from their first-line status. Due to the chronicity of this disease, <b><span style="color: #783f04;">antibiotic</span></b> use is often long-term and can produce side-effects. Furthermore, overuse of antibiotics is associated with the emergence of resistant strains of bacteria that have the potential to result in adverse global health consequences. </span><span>Tetracycline received US FDA approval in 1952 and the derivatives <b><span style="color: #783f04;">doxycycline and minocycline</span></b> soon followed in 1966 and 1972, respectively. At the time of their introduction, they were known to be bacteriostatic and have broad-spectrum action. Since then, we have come to recognize the anti-inflammatory properties of the tetracycline class of antibiotics. </span><span style="color: black;">Tetracyclines are known to down-regulate the production of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1 and TNF-alpha.[5] They also inhibit neutrophil chemotaxis and the production of nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP).[6,7] This ability of tetracyclines to modulate the inflammatory response pathway, reducing the inflammatory response, is believed to be the rationale for its effectiveness in treating rosacea.[5] </span><span style="color: black;">Tetracyclines are highly effective for papulopustular rosacea, requiring only 3-4 weeks of treatment for substantial improvement. Tetracycline 250-1000mg q.d., doxycycline 100-200mg q.d., and minocycline 100-200mg q.d. are most common. Use of oral tetracyclines until clinical improvement is seen, followed by a transition to topical antibiotics offers an alternative therapeutic regimen. There are patients for whom low-dose, long-term use of antibiotics are necessary to maintain control of their rosacea. </span><span style="color: black;">Long-term treatment with antibiotics is problematic for numerous reasons including significant side-effects.[8-10] Oral use of tetracyclines can result in disorders such as candidal vulvovaginitis, gastrointestinal distress, and even pseudotumor cerebri. Treatment with doxycycline can result in photosensitivity, and minocycline in vertigo and blue dyspigmentation. Minocycline has also been implicated in the development of lupus-like syndromes and hypersensitivity reactions. Of world-wide importance is the concern regarding emerging antibiotic resistance due to over/ misuse of antibiotics. </span><span style="color: black;">Anti-inflammatory dose doxycycline (20mg doxycycline hyclate) was FDA approved in 1998 for the treatment of adult periodontitis. The labeling permits continuous use for up to 12 months, and as such it is the only tetracycline approved for long-term use. It has been shown to be effective in treating papulopustular rosacea with a low incidence of adverse effects. Bikowski treated 50 patients with all types of rosacea and, at 4 weeks, noted an 80%-100% improvement in inflammatory lesions, and a 50% reduction in erythema.[10] </span><span style="color: black;">Although doxycycline has been shown to be highly effective, perhaps its major contribution is that dosage at 20mg results in sub-antimicrobial blood levels. Several studies have reported no effect on antibiotic susceptibility patterns in up to 18 months of continuous therapy and in 9 months post-treatment.[12-14] </span><span style="color: black;">Golub, in 1998, showed that doxycycline hyclate (Periostat®, CollaGenex) had anti-chemotactic activity, was a scavenger of reactive oxygen species and inhibited the enzyme MMP from being released.[12] Of primary importance is the ability of doxycycline hyclate to inhibit activation of the MMP-2 and MMP-9 enzymes that break down the capillary vessel basement membrane. </span>In 2006, a once-daily controlled-release formulation of doxycycline monohydrate became available (Oracea®, CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals). As the first FDA-approved oral treatment for rosacea, the once-daily 40mg capsule combines 30mg immediate-release and 10mg delayed-release doxycycline. The low dose remains below the antibiotic threshold and the controlled release allows for once-daily dosing. Acting as an anti-inflammatory medication rather than an antibiotic, controlled-release doxycycline does not exert selective pressure on microorganisms and as such does not cause bacterial overgrowth (i.e., folliculitis, vaginal candidiasis) or encourage the development of bacterial resistance. Clinical studies have shown the formulation to be both efficacious and safe.[15] With once-daily dosing, compliance should also be improved.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0ISEynBBw3WIFp1JVOF4Gy991y2vDmnUOsQNrVHmXNma3zcWjBTyZXzHWAHbZJqfmEuUuCGzXRRs_tic5kerzz4Ux2_hogu-lWv3fLIr28ClLWccPNFnOyn6trKR9NURSHoS9JJ8PSZN/s1600/ZZZBacstage-At-The-Latin-Quarter-Nightclub-New-York-1958-300x250.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="300" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0ISEynBBw3WIFp1JVOF4Gy991y2vDmnUOsQNrVHmXNma3zcWjBTyZXzHWAHbZJqfmEuUuCGzXRRs_tic5kerzz4Ux2_hogu-lWv3fLIr28ClLWccPNFnOyn6trKR9NURSHoS9JJ8PSZN/s400/ZZZBacstage-At-The-Latin-Quarter-Nightclub-New-York-1958-300x250.jpg" width="400" /></a><span><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Erythromycin</span></b> is an effective antibiotic in the treatment of papulopustular rosacea, but its use is often</span><span style="color: black;"> limited by GI distress. Erythromycin in doses of 250-1000mg/day is generally used in patients who are intolerant to tetracyclines and in pregnant women in whom tetracyclines are contra-indicated. </span><span style="color: black;">Second generation macrolides such as clarithromycin and azithromycin have been shown to work faster and with less GI distress than erythromycin.[16] One study that followed patients for 3 years showed that subjects taking clarithromycin required less treatment time per year than those taking doxycycline (10.2 weeks/yr vs. 14.6 weeks/yr).[17] A 12-week trial of azithromycin in tapering doses showed an 89% reduction in inflammatory lesions.[18] </span><span style="color: black;">The relatively small advantages of the second generation macrolides, however, need to be weighed against the cost differential in the US of a 30-pill supply: erythromycin enteric coated capsules $8.99, clarithromycin $107.49, and azithromycin $214.95.19 </span><span style="color: black;">In the last decade, there has been increasing concern over the prevalence of antibiotic resistance. Dahl reported the rate of antibiotic-resistant Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) is up to 60%.[20] Globally, antibiotic-resistant P. acnes increased from 20% to 62% from 1978-1996.[21] European studies saw increases of 20% and 50% for tetracycline and erythromycin resistance respectively.[22,23] Consequently, there are concerns that increasing P. acnes resistance would result in a reduction in treatment success over time in rosacea patients. </span><span style="color: black;">Even greater cause for concern is the ability of P. acnes to transfer resistance to other, more pathogenic bacteria. Levy evaluated the long-term (>6 months) use of antibiotics in 105 acne patients.[24] He found that 85% of patients cultured positive for tetracycline resistant Streptococcus pyogenes in the oropharynx compared with 20% in the control group. Margolis, et al. suggested that this was not purely of academic interest, but translated into actual increase in disease.[25] In a large, retrospective study, an increase in upper respiratory infections in acne patients treated with either topical or oral antibiotics for greater than 6 weeks was seen. With the recent epidemic of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus, tetracycline resistance has alarming implications [26,27] </span><span style="color: black;">Concerns about resistance have resulted in the suggestion by several authors that long-term use of antibiotics be discontinued in acne therapy;[21,28,29] and serves as an even more appropriate recommendation in rosacea where there is no evidence of a microbial pathogenesis. Because bacterial resistance is not as much of a concern, the use of anti-inflammatory dose doxycycline and other non-antibiotic alternatives in the treatment of rosacea is preferable whenever clinically appropriate.</span></div>
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<span>Although effective in the treatment of rosacea, <b><span style="color: #783f04;">metronidazole</span></b> has been associated with potential (although rare) side-effects such as neuropathy and seizures.[30] Alcohol abstinence is required during use to avoid a disulfiram-like reaction and headache.[31] Although rarely used in the US, oral metronidazole is prescribed frequently in Europe for long-term therapy of rosacea at doses of 200mg b.i.d.[31-34] In a double blind study of patients with papulopustular rosacea, it was shown to be as effective as oral oxytetracycline 250mg b.i.d.[35] Pregnancy category B labeling makes it an option for pregnant women. </span><span style="color: black;">Isotretinoin is highly effective in the treatment of rosacea. It is one of the few medications that is capable of treating more than one subtype of disease. Onset of action is slower than that seen with the use of oral antibiotics.[36,37] In 1981, Nikolowski and Plewig showed that treatment resistant patients taking isotretinoin experienced fewer papules and pustules, a reduction in erythema, and decreased nasal volume.[38] Irvine, et al. demonstrated that this drug could halt rhinophyma by diminishing sebaceous gland size and number.[39] </span><span>More studies are needed to determine appropriate dosing schedules as well as optimal treatment duration. Unlike in acne vulgaris, it is not clear that isotretinoin can produce a permanent remission in rosacea. Schmidt and Raff documented remissions lasting up to 2 years after a course of isotretinoin.[40] More recently, <b><span style="color: #783f04;">Erdogan, et al. utilized low-dose isotretinoin at 10mg q.d. for 4 months and showed significant reduction in inflammatory lesions, erythema and telangiectasia at 9 weeks</span></b>.[37] </span><span style="color: black;">In our continuing search for a therapy that does not result in antibiotic resistance, isotretinoin may be a viable alternative, especially in males and older women past child-bearing years. Low dose (10mg q.d. or q.o.d.), long-term use of isotretinoin can result in minimal risks of side-effects. Birth defects, however, are possible at any dose of this drug; low dose does not mean low vigilance. </span><span style="color: black;">Reports in the literature support using dapsone in severe, refractory rosacea.[41] It is particularly helpful in patients for whom isotretinoin is contraindicated. </span><span style="color: black;">Many anecdotal reports exist regarding the use of agents that antagonize the flushing reaction, including vasoconstricting agents, and drugs that alter flushing reactions in response to emotional stimuli.</span></div>
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<span><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Beta blockers</span></b> in low doses (i.e., nadolol,[9] naloxone,[42] ondansetron,[43] aspirin,[44] and numerous selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors[19]) have been reported in isolated cases to be effective. However, there is no evidence-based research to support their use. </span><span style="color: black;">Craige and Cohen recently revisited the use of propranolol in the control of flushing and blushing.[45] At starting doses of 10mg t.i.d., none of their nine patients improved. Six of nine patients improved when doses were escalated to 20-30 mg t.i.d. At such high doses, three patients withdrew from the study due to side-effects. This study shows that the perceived ineffectiveness of beta blockers may be due to inadequate dosing. </span><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Clonidine has also been reported to improve flushing and blushing </span></b>reactions at doses of 0.05mg b.i.d.[46] At this dose there was no reduction in blood pressure, but lower baseline malar temperature may have been reduced by peripheral vasoconstriction. Although some patients do remarkably well on clonidine, responders are not clinically identifiable before treatment. Since control of this feature of rosacea is so difficult, a trial course may be indicated. <b><span style="color: #783f04;">The erythematotelangiectatic subtype of rosacea is the most difficult to treat.</span></b> There is little evidence that topical or oral antibiotics have any role in the treatment of erythema, telangiectasias and flushing-blushing reactions. <b><span style="color: #783f04;">Isotretinoin may improve erythema resulting from inflammation, but this effect may be transient. Drugs that antagonize flushing </span></b>may be helpful in some patients. Vascular <b><span style="color: #783f04;">laser and light therapy</span></b> is the most effective modality in this subtype. <br /><b><span style="color: #783f04;"><br />The papulopustular type of rosacea is the easiest subtype to treat. </span></b>Most of these patients respond readily to topical medications such as metronidazole, benzoyl peroxide, clindamycin, erythromycin, and azelaic acid. In several studies, topical medications were shown to be equally effective to oral medications although therapy may take longer to be effective. Since 2006 there has been a paradigm shift in the therapeutic decision-making process for treating rosacea. In the past, topical agents were considered as first-line therapy, and oral agents were introduced only when topical medications were ineffective, or were used in patients for whom immediate response was paramount. With the advent of once-daily, non-antibiotic dosing of doxycycline, oral therapy has become more commonly prescribed as first-line treatment. Often oral and topical antibiotics are used in combination; the resulting effect may be synergistic. Ultimately the patient may be converted to topical therapy alone for maintenance purposes. However long-term, anti-inflammatory dose doxycycline offers a viable alternative. <span><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Isotretinoin </span></b>is highly effective in this type of rosacea, especially given that low-dose, long-term therapy is an option particularly in men and women of nonchildbearing potential. </span>Dapsone may be necessary in refractory rosacea or in a patient for whom isotretinoin is contraindicated. <b><span style="color: #783f04;">Surgical or laser ablation</span></b> is often necessary to eradicate existing lesions of significant size. Isotretinoin has been reported to halt the progression of rhinophymata and to shrink overall volume of phymata by reducing the size of the sebaceous glands, but it does not appear to be curative.[37,39,40,47-50]</div>
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<span>Mild, chronic <b><span style="color: #783f04;">ocular rosacea</span></b> responds well to topical agents and eyelid hygiene. More significant disease responds promptly and substantially to virtually any oral antibiotic. Tetracyclines, because of their safety profile, are most often used.[51,52] Isotretinoin use may improve the more severe presentations of ocular rosacea, including coloboma formation and corneal erosions. Potential side-effects for this type of rosacea include dry eyes and gritty irritation during therapy. </span>The granulomatous variant of rosacea is treated in the same manner as papulopustular rosacea reviewed above. Severe disease also responds to the use of oral and intralesional corticosteroids.</div>
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<span style="color: black;">Until recently, there had been little change in the systemic treatment options for rosacea over the last several decades. In 2007, more aggressive and innovative uses of existing oral agents have resulted in novel therapeutic approaches. The development of anti-inflammatory dose doxycycline monohydrate is an intriguing alternative to long-term or episodic use of full-dose antibiotics. Once-daily dosing with the controlled-release formulation of doxycycline monohydrate can be expected to improve compliance and therefore efficacy. Furthermore, anti-inflammatory dose doxycycline and isotretinoin are helpful modalities for preventing treatment failures. Agents with good or acceptable safety profiles allow for long-term therapy and provide sustained remission. More importantly, the use of oral agents that do not increase the likelihood of future bacterial resistance is of global importance."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Some more photos of my rosacea over time</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmo0s-Rn1bqSqAq-EwfJaNBq4UP20a72wouuj1JNu2AHXWeVWyt3T_Sb7WHLmK8HsMLFow_tKvSDPRKznWJ796nogQ-SQutRRYxwHHADWCYRWutN4VUsnROKscP9x5TfnnMaV1jQ5L49SB/s1600/rosacea%252C+heel+slecht+3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmo0s-Rn1bqSqAq-EwfJaNBq4UP20a72wouuj1JNu2AHXWeVWyt3T_Sb7WHLmK8HsMLFow_tKvSDPRKznWJ796nogQ-SQutRRYxwHHADWCYRWutN4VUsnROKscP9x5TfnnMaV1jQ5L49SB/w402-h302/rosacea%252C+heel+slecht+3.jpg" width="402" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPEiuW53oJZhyphenhyphenzjEk7fmkl5tkJLro_pfsRPInDP5SRV0eQpVPg4VrKsA4R8-t0DAsZm1nR7TJPD3-AEGI5G_VVWQwGw0nZwTdvho77og9VQwj76cpJD8ReEwIKLLJdEoB2mODhpS7cht-/s1600/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPEiuW53oJZhyphenhyphenzjEk7fmkl5tkJLro_pfsRPInDP5SRV0eQpVPg4VrKsA4R8-t0DAsZm1nR7TJPD3-AEGI5G_VVWQwGw0nZwTdvho77og9VQwj76cpJD8ReEwIKLLJdEoB2mODhpS7cht-/w225-h300/1.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Lhbc00lafUTIHC8jDbrMr4b4rMYTsA6lo_xXyytni_O32ZhpPsiQ-Jv00cOOBLz-jDrs9pffLHviW7aKC3910SO9JEkWLZLpITzUYOe3RD6wWwpLR7rmYu2a7twsXdR6Um93qcI-dt4F/s1600/PB090072.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1090" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Lhbc00lafUTIHC8jDbrMr4b4rMYTsA6lo_xXyytni_O32ZhpPsiQ-Jv00cOOBLz-jDrs9pffLHviW7aKC3910SO9JEkWLZLpITzUYOe3RD6wWwpLR7rmYu2a7twsXdR6Um93qcI-dt4F/w218-h307/PB090072.jpg" width="218" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5tejxFN2c4DD4m-Pt2rCqEKCXrV2ub2purHK-Ehs0_ZDVMJjJ5qx5dl5BHYspBPlyosxiz87B2RMXLGw3ypeN1olcpbmAWOmEXgYIKOsWXuNyLNORKLhavqTOAZmIgLybe-MCAxWUdPh/s1600/2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5tejxFN2c4DD4m-Pt2rCqEKCXrV2ub2purHK-Ehs0_ZDVMJjJ5qx5dl5BHYspBPlyosxiz87B2RMXLGw3ypeN1olcpbmAWOmEXgYIKOsWXuNyLNORKLhavqTOAZmIgLybe-MCAxWUdPh/w410-h307/2.jpg" width="410" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicPoqVxEjVqtoFVyithZwAIJn1cNbzNzK5WCVHlggiNSx9DUgt27kx_wshdK6P5yatsi-PV0t2SQLE4FqQpfHv_2re8-M8yo6kx6F8M2MTOfusyr4aDseZ2grPDbKfBHgPYxbG4g9ex1nP/s1600/tal.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicPoqVxEjVqtoFVyithZwAIJn1cNbzNzK5WCVHlggiNSx9DUgt27kx_wshdK6P5yatsi-PV0t2SQLE4FqQpfHv_2re8-M8yo6kx6F8M2MTOfusyr4aDseZ2grPDbKfBHgPYxbG4g9ex1nP/w656-h492/tal.jpg" width="656" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioZdVItAUi0e56yAPwIyHjUehCjAQyNE8Q9RIz0VuXjPfwXu9NF0S0U-PCSD-fj6qVsA2sWCUc3ahJCmIX6tdAmH5OEyxFL5p04ua2twy-ldgWDfHGk8FrycFnOYXH1fdFGQKDsPSqXyWP/s1600/ilo.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioZdVItAUi0e56yAPwIyHjUehCjAQyNE8Q9RIz0VuXjPfwXu9NF0S0U-PCSD-fj6qVsA2sWCUc3ahJCmIX6tdAmH5OEyxFL5p04ua2twy-ldgWDfHGk8FrycFnOYXH1fdFGQKDsPSqXyWP/w331-h514/ilo.jpg" width="331" /></a><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">February 29th 2016</span></b></span><br />A fellow rosacea sufferer wrote me about his flushing, redness and burning issues. He has had laser treatments, but does not get sufficient results from them. He read this blog post and wants to try my anti flushing medication; clonidine, propranolol and perhaps also mirtazapine and an antihistamine like Xyzal. But primarily clonidine and propranolol. The problem is that he cannot find a dermatologist who is understanding of his flushing problem, and willing to let him try this meds. He asked my advise, and I think anyone in this same situation needs to offer his or her specialist or GP some research papers to convince them. If you scroll up in this post, you will find a list of research papers for each of the medication discussed. Pubmed articles are particularly handy to print out and to show, as medical specialists like to see in black and white that an off-label medication is actually effective for the symptom at hand. They are often worried to go off the beaten paths and away from the textbook treatment protocols. But it is important to explain that up until now, there is no official flushing treatment. Nothing. The only thing specifically designed to control flushing, Mirvaso gel, is a liability of a product that has made many users flush worse or made their rosacea worse even in some cases. Medication in pill form is much less risky and can actually really help controlling flushing. A doctor needs to compare it to hot flushes, but then ongoing ones that are not hormone driven often, but that nevertheless widen the blood vessels of the face regularly. Causing pain, heat and worsening of the dilation of the weakened vascular network in the face. Just like with untreated varicose veins. We need to control the flushing, in order to be able to control rosacea subtype 1 or neurogenic rosacea. I am always worried about invasive treatments like laser or IPL for our subtype of rosacea, to be honest... <i><b>If</b></i> they stir up your rosacea and make it worse (which was the case for me), you are often stuck with the outcome! Whereas with medication, anything but steroids is a temporary thing. You try them and if you feel things are getting worse on them, you stop taking them and no long term harm is done. So it surprises me always that dermatologists are more easily swayed to offer laser or IPL treatments than they want to prescribe prescription medication. After all, flushing is a very difficult symptom to treat and if left untreated, it can worsen rosacea over the years and make the problem harder and harder to tackle.<br /><br />He also asked about what medication to best use, or start with, to reduce facial flushing. My advise:<br />"I would start with clonidine if I were you. No doubt about it. 0,05 mg seems a very low dose.. I take 0,150 mg every 8 hours, so 3 times a day. You could start with 0,1 mg, three times a day. This is still a reasonably low dose, but I don't think going much lower will be doing much for the flushing tbh. It is very important to take clonidine 2 to 3 times a day, I'd say 3 times as after 8 hours it can give rebound redness and flushing. This medication needs to have a stable blood level dose, and if you want to stop, you slowly taper its use off. I would try this for one month, then re-evaluate. And add propranolol then. I find it the best beta-blocker out of all the ones, for flushing and redness. But opinions differ on that one. Propranolol 40 mg pills can be taken as needed. You don't need to take them at specific intervals. No rebound issues. But I take 40 mg 3 times a day, together with the clonidine. When I have a bad flare, I take 80 mg (two pills) instead. Again, i would try this med for a month and then re-evaluate again."<br />Hope this helps someone :)</div></div></div>
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Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-7268795840868076562022-02-28T15:00:00.108-08:002024-03-01T05:05:28.892-08:00Ongoing post, Update day to day life XIX, Now - September 26th 2023<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>I try to give an insight in my own life and dealings with rosacea. I also try to gather information that might be useful for everyone with rosacea, especially subtype 1 with burning, flushing and skin redness. I happen to be a bit unfortunate in that I have this condition for a long time already, and unlike many others, I haven't been able to get it into remission. I know it is more uplifting to read about someone who has beaten rosacea, but I like to write about the struggles that come for those who haven't achieved this. I also blabber about other everyday life topics here. </b></span></span></div>
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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2354" data-original-width="1669" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifl5Rbjc5i2Ffn-KkXgaHcF9CaE257nzhzEBcN0aVsLsZMjywLhWSfRsULbxWBl5MBtm9cghzWrYyGQcfHNcU9cyEEnfufHDbyMKY6YGHSy0MnVSXIHNeOembrr0cQs9WtbwTZkemqbrSERUAjWtDuIHvPbCFKa_rXD2-8s4Ok8AhhzzRm5dw86_rkgky9/w172-h242/DSC00089.JPG" width="172" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large;">January 29, 2024</b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1464" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6F4ZLGv0fL-1yjWiiLxhiPu1n6q5KNaWvqYPGqSGuXlYjmCmif2t8t7ytu5DbcGiwrlUw639ANB00WRDjZSp2oKF9JLSjb8p1J1vT3s0Ibz1pVcphXf2cM-DwJUPPRjPbPrAdGefjDDF28augQ3udGPbNNZLihnoSU_RbLw89ylXO761EoKCBvYgwuHy/w164-h229/419216315_10160212866192151_6428490599115088401_n.jpg" width="164" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF8NzyJjJ5ZKUiBoSDAbr3CvrjH_PelRdV1cHEEdYj6PB5gG07uOiugjy9P_sdJJRePPT59dd-IwA_ibffUsNMnt3pmhBZt2_HfW9i3MqhSNYtyV0uYNFpOM6391o94tUrP4vfZUxNQRGscjglNUgJtUqwDHqQkIo38hyphenhyphenBUuN9m0QpDe-wi9OEjx9ndePp/s2796/20231105_165255.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2796" data-original-width="2216" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF8NzyJjJ5ZKUiBoSDAbr3CvrjH_PelRdV1cHEEdYj6PB5gG07uOiugjy9P_sdJJRePPT59dd-IwA_ibffUsNMnt3pmhBZt2_HfW9i3MqhSNYtyV0uYNFpOM6391o94tUrP4vfZUxNQRGscjglNUgJtUqwDHqQkIo38hyphenhyphenBUuN9m0QpDe-wi9OEjx9ndePp/w318-h400/20231105_165255.jpg" width="318" /></a><span><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">BUDAPEST</b></span><br /><br />I went to Budapest. It was lovely. I was happy being able to walk all days with my ankle holding up! It was still a little bit swollen by evening, but no pain and only some slight discomfort on day three. Can't believe how long it took for that torn ankle ligament to heal, but here we are. All (almost) good again. I still have anxieties about misplacing my foot on stairs and breaking the ankle. The weather on arrival in Budapest was horrendous. Total rain downpour and we had to wander through town for four hours until the room was ready for check in. But we enjoyed thick hot chocolate and goulash soup in an old fancy coffee house. The rest of the stay the weather was great. Fresh enough to be outside without the need for a neck fan for me, and nice and cool at night. I brought my beck fans for in the plane and in restaurants and a small clip on travel fan for nighttime. I also brought a thin bed sheet in case the existing one would be very perfumated from washing detergent. All was good and my skin behaved, although my cheeks were red. But I mainly had proper flushing in the evenings from the food, and a late evening walk would always bring it back down again. (Although unfortunately at this time of writing, the cold weather has really flared up my rosacea badly and I am flushing a lot and have cold urticaria on my cheeks again, despite trying to keep a steady indoor temperature 😳😭).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Budapest is a very pretty old city I thought. Outside the town the place looked almost like a warzone (very run down), but Budapest itself is beautiful, clean and has old 19th century European charm. But it is also Eastern European and has a very different vibe from western European cities I know. You can see many crumbling old buildings and remnants from the Soviet era. My father has a great antipathy towards everything Stalinist and Russian and Eastern Bloc (I personally do not), so we pleased him by photographing many dilapidated buildings in town and sending them to him ('delicious shuddering'). He would also type back: 'Look what those fecking Russians did to the place!' If he could change my name into something non-Russian he probably would at this stage hehe, in retrospect. The city does not replace all its old Soviet architecture and I was glad to see that. Neither has it removed the many socialist realistic statues in town.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLp2Ma465sgoyuOI6LKkiFBuln1hBS5hfMJzUE-dKdp9L2G0g1RWKL3UG1rGStFekSzTO4FPYMbyphMIy_k4gVsy1ynHwnaQfIgDpVr_zgICJm1IdV8WiXOfJ6lXR6OcyHmN3mrztwC08-ZYxiB4CztwLS8lHpWVSgyQwrSXOecO9TxufwDeM9jqH7SkYo/s550/central-kavehaz.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="550" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLp2Ma465sgoyuOI6LKkiFBuln1hBS5hfMJzUE-dKdp9L2G0g1RWKL3UG1rGStFekSzTO4FPYMbyphMIy_k4gVsy1ynHwnaQfIgDpVr_zgICJm1IdV8WiXOfJ6lXR6OcyHmN3mrztwC08-ZYxiB4CztwLS8lHpWVSgyQwrSXOecO9TxufwDeM9jqH7SkYo/s320/central-kavehaz.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHkDa4ybWOakcbY3jgaAwPkAZFDK5JBj1OpHHGln-QRAYdzAF-BNhpIUgZayzZUXWsGGm2TSeP55OrzIszOu4iroJ3GEDPAB4oet-uoNkC14O4UX0QduNbO6EvcDhxD374EDuSRMArkUhPOTuDy5ZiW6KPNV_TfmhphV5bIiyIwMtG5o74oeZIZnXxorA/s640/15391505_1266817393375949_7676007307885651967_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHkDa4ybWOakcbY3jgaAwPkAZFDK5JBj1OpHHGln-QRAYdzAF-BNhpIUgZayzZUXWsGGm2TSeP55OrzIszOu4iroJ3GEDPAB4oet-uoNkC14O4UX0QduNbO6EvcDhxD374EDuSRMArkUhPOTuDy5ZiW6KPNV_TfmhphV5bIiyIwMtG5o74oeZIZnXxorA/s320/15391505_1266817393375949_7676007307885651967_o.jpg" width="320" /></a>We walked a lot and also enjoyed some guided group tour. One covered the Jewish quarter. The tour guide had very interesting stories about the Jewish community throughout the centuries and also told about famous Jewish figures from there and the effects of WW2 and communism. Really glad we did that as it just brought that place alive. The group discussions and interactions were nice as well. I had noticed in general that people in the street or in shops were not overly friendly. To nobody, locals or tourists alike. But not speaking any Hungarian was definitely not helping by their impatience. I wonder if the grumpiness had to do with the poor financial situation there. The tour guide did explain that many people make a poor living with their wages. When passing a protest group in the street near Parliament, we all assumed they were marching for Palestine. But the tour guide said that in fact it were school teachers who were striking because they only made 500 euro a month (!). He explained how low the wages are in Hungary in general and how everyone is struggling in the lower ranked jobs.<br /><br />For us tourists Budapest was more expensive than I had expected based on info booklets and online forums. But I suspect the nice hotels and restaurants and coffee houses are purposely made expensive, as they aim at the tourists mostly. And fairly so. Then on top of high prizes they charged 28% service costs at the checkout (not indicated anywhere), and then they also turned out to expect additional tips. It kind of caused chaos in my slightly autistic brain haha. <i>What are these people exactly expecting me to pay now?? </i>I don't mind tipping, but it is not custom in countries like the Netherlands or France. I didn't understand really what was expected of me, but the sour faces of some waiters when tipping just a little bit said enough 😖 Later I understood that many younger people working in cafes and restaurants rely on tips in part to up their low wages. Probably similar to what is custom in the United States. Whereas we at home believe that people should be paid enough (high enough minimum wages for starters), and then tips are an unexpected bonus. I worked on a tour boat as a student and a tape with all the information would run throughout the boat. We just had to sell drinks and snacks. An elderly American couple was on that boat one time and asked me all sorts of questions about the architecture and history of the town. I know a lot about that and was happy to chat with them for that hour of the tour. Then as they got up to disembark the man pressed two hundred euro bills in my hand and said "this is just for you, thanks so much". I was shocked. The boat tickets had cost them only 10% of that tip. It was so very nice. And so unusual, it never happened to me again. Unfortunately I wasn't sure if other colleagues had seen it and the company policy was to hand in tips so that they could be equally shared over all the employees. I did and got 20 euro in the end. I still regret handing it in 😂</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX9jTXooyMJlidWLJmJElpaUlSXguZ9x96FEangecm-hEBgiWNpI7Uh8Bok9Pu5b28F_nVUfWwTkvxcDzCWb59W3lHTpP-UWOwJw_xTcA_50VyiV0ftqE5r9h-xJD3OgfKcBNyvlCRvDj7nd4nM8fF3mGHJTLPImB96IkX7OvAQeWRsU9tvv1_KZTYw7ua/s1200/Matild%20cafe4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX9jTXooyMJlidWLJmJElpaUlSXguZ9x96FEangecm-hEBgiWNpI7Uh8Bok9Pu5b28F_nVUfWwTkvxcDzCWb59W3lHTpP-UWOwJw_xTcA_50VyiV0ftqE5r9h-xJD3OgfKcBNyvlCRvDj7nd4nM8fF3mGHJTLPImB96IkX7OvAQeWRsU9tvv1_KZTYw7ua/s320/Matild%20cafe4.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifG2Czq2m2YvHWi27I6-znJ3yjwiXUyfhegPnVGsUYVU8u-ILKpUxqIsS0UTICWDclt2IziYk7NxRRxnmD0T4YqRK5Cf6G4Gm4bu0DsXyhGgidbVx0zMZlAxbbVwZw27iPH8D9STKUgXQupQpu_NQPT7nktvplODS9oGTjUdl4Izjp0Sb6_8QWKwnCewYU/s1024/Bains-Gelle%CC%81rt-Budapest.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifG2Czq2m2YvHWi27I6-znJ3yjwiXUyfhegPnVGsUYVU8u-ILKpUxqIsS0UTICWDclt2IziYk7NxRRxnmD0T4YqRK5Cf6G4Gm4bu0DsXyhGgidbVx0zMZlAxbbVwZw27iPH8D9STKUgXQupQpu_NQPT7nktvplODS9oGTjUdl4Izjp0Sb6_8QWKwnCewYU/s320/Bains-Gelle%CC%81rt-Budapest.jpg" width="320" /></a>But anyway, Hungarians also still feel the aftereffects of the old communist Iron Curtain days, our tour guide said. Most Hungarians grew up with it all, especially those over the age of 40. He told about the paranoia and madness under the Soviets, and about the sort of state control people lived under. Russians employing millions of Hungarians to spy on their own countrymen. Documents being written of everyone's comings and goings. People did not know who they could trust in life. People were literally wired, observed and tracked. There were spies everywhere, the walls had ears and many people became utterly paranoid. It may have negatively affected the spirit of the people in the long run. Plus the communist credo meant that many people were kept pretty poor (except for the party leaders themselves of course, and their friends).<br /><br />The coffee houses were great, the food different from what I'm used to with cabbage, potatoes, lots of goulash (beef with paprika) or chicken covered in paprika sauce. They have lso lángos: a fried flatbread with sour cream and cheese. It sounds good, but was quite greasy and salty and not really my thing. 🙂 I did love the bakeries and the sweet pies and confectionary. We also visited the old city zoo. it was very old and in part charming. But the lonely lions, tiger and polar bear pacing around bored or manically in their small enclosures left me sad. It kind of ruined the whole experience. Not the sort of zoo I had expected to be open legally still in Europe. The smaller animals seemed happy enough though.</div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYFb6mhhxP5Wj2hJMflrWMeHEfevUiJEe4YoMVsAEenmDu7gSuKJvOo66thuowEYDnIf5-gnTmER7IV8MTj5e9bNwRzWHB7elV1sqGonRBb0Jrdhphkere6ddPVtvZlfUIlku1YTgpz9t61_XhMZyZi2bvguQcbbNoi5OL9sugeWf-EO9TxbEGGRzTxKu/s550/terrace.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="550" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYFb6mhhxP5Wj2hJMflrWMeHEfevUiJEe4YoMVsAEenmDu7gSuKJvOo66thuowEYDnIf5-gnTmER7IV8MTj5e9bNwRzWHB7elV1sqGonRBb0Jrdhphkere6ddPVtvZlfUIlku1YTgpz9t61_XhMZyZi2bvguQcbbNoi5OL9sugeWf-EO9TxbEGGRzTxKu/s320/terrace.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMXLKueoSkXCGCTF6RnzEfING9QB8Itml3wFCXOT4p-ZyD75sgEQ3NJLEzmAaKfIJlNE14ciRZgP97qWux4OU4j_WZCBNCkASVAvcDLr9B2mMlg0U5tFiWDVE1sUI9pOF7p4x43BcTCX5sMM6HQ8vYarpZ3QHk_Evck92Oc5hktIXftCQiSqSUbsXoqsHy/s2322/20231108_135120.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2153" data-original-width="2322" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMXLKueoSkXCGCTF6RnzEfING9QB8Itml3wFCXOT4p-ZyD75sgEQ3NJLEzmAaKfIJlNE14ciRZgP97qWux4OU4j_WZCBNCkASVAvcDLr9B2mMlg0U5tFiWDVE1sUI9pOF7p4x43BcTCX5sMM6HQ8vYarpZ3QHk_Evck92Oc5hktIXftCQiSqSUbsXoqsHy/s320/20231108_135120.jpg" width="320" /></a>And will you believe this! I had been so disciplined and cautious with my money. Careful about potential pickpocketing, careful not to spend a fortune on food and excursions etc. When at the airport again at the end of the trip, I wanted to spend the last Hungarian pocket money on drinks. When trying to pay at the cash, it turned out I didn't have enough spare coins after all for everything, so some items had to be taken off again. I was fussing with the money and in the end we went to sit at a table a fair bit away. After about 15 minutes a man comes up to our table and shows the envelope, asking if this is ours! I almost had a heart attack. So kind, he had seen it lying on the counter of the little food stall and had asked the saleswoman what the people who it belonged to had ordered, so he could check if we were still around. So very nice. In all the consternation I had completely forgotten to take this brown envelope in which I stored my money, which was at that time 450 euro. The man even asked me even to count the money to see if everything was still in there. The money was still all inside and I gave him 80 euro finders prize. Phew!! It left me shaken as I usually three-double check if I don't forget something or leave any belongings behind, as I'm pretty scatterbrained. I wouldn't have realised I lost the cash until we had landed and I would need to use those euro's I think. I would have probably assumed I had been pickpocketed in the metro or bus to the airport...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBlsahoO8_9rSftK7_JduCgoT-NHJ5ud-6KFbpyWmX0TtQtfv7HTMkzl6qjdcYbnGiGtdW3w1fKFVsbaDqO_W4sNpgxh0vrRxuLOwfqGKsS6FUy0kMIEnAoxVcgYi1KobxIyr_yiybOC2648_dJTdOJNCNgFRFGOrRcL-nKJoMzu0vS8KUmf-t7grLdgp/s4077/20231108_134145.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1886" data-original-width="4077" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBlsahoO8_9rSftK7_JduCgoT-NHJ5ud-6KFbpyWmX0TtQtfv7HTMkzl6qjdcYbnGiGtdW3w1fKFVsbaDqO_W4sNpgxh0vrRxuLOwfqGKsS6FUy0kMIEnAoxVcgYi1KobxIyr_yiybOC2648_dJTdOJNCNgFRFGOrRcL-nKJoMzu0vS8KUmf-t7grLdgp/w640-h296/20231108_134145.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ssFaDyr7b2MS9KB6IHyrfbbKKyM8EvbmxTWU0-L2JG1NlbEWG9BCCYb5EIUWgsb9jrkBHOpdgvLxvHKH5qff2y0KTpVgJr3kaGRAEZP-MTV7CyYxmKpBjc4e9KHgZF3U2RZY7VAmmV24Qv25GqWppc6jcXsZf2oMLPfgsGJlvqauQWv5nOKbSmApjkQq/s1599/IMG-20231106-WA0021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1599" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ssFaDyr7b2MS9KB6IHyrfbbKKyM8EvbmxTWU0-L2JG1NlbEWG9BCCYb5EIUWgsb9jrkBHOpdgvLxvHKH5qff2y0KTpVgJr3kaGRAEZP-MTV7CyYxmKpBjc4e9KHgZF3U2RZY7VAmmV24Qv25GqWppc6jcXsZf2oMLPfgsGJlvqauQWv5nOKbSmApjkQq/w298-h224/IMG-20231106-WA0021.jpg" width="298" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdiSriFYQ9fcQApW2PwAt7fd7kQQtetEgWy2iZ57lUkO8JrKt2DuVbujI8UpNHGlZBG81om_go_SQewh10KDQODJaJcoFXV_hac547ZOIVccin4iejkgbgXsKjP7bmMTNIgBEaq599cv6gkyTkgDLV93spCyin8mso1l9KlMH3_LVDtFmQjuHhYvp9OZol/s2963/20231106_1501229.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2272" data-original-width="2963" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdiSriFYQ9fcQApW2PwAt7fd7kQQtetEgWy2iZ57lUkO8JrKt2DuVbujI8UpNHGlZBG81om_go_SQewh10KDQODJaJcoFXV_hac547ZOIVccin4iejkgbgXsKjP7bmMTNIgBEaq599cv6gkyTkgDLV93spCyin8mso1l9KlMH3_LVDtFmQjuHhYvp9OZol/w294-h225/20231106_1501229.jpg" width="294" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">DOLL STORY</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="gmail-separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfXtcEXIMi7uSfMWiIzi8HoiYWUhZnZ1F91YComZ1Zt3sEWJj_axSF5vq3miUILrryL_1ysK04i16P3-ujY6wmM6m1n27BKyumfraUFin5eX292wTpzGFmWOGex83CTk7JtwbBHahr62GSCPHo1fILGuQXyByGEkuiZoH50kPhOe9ZzZ5V_V3hyphenhyphenWmxQ9W7/s2000/402565854_10160147007182151_6655579593645179096_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1626" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfXtcEXIMi7uSfMWiIzi8HoiYWUhZnZ1F91YComZ1Zt3sEWJj_axSF5vq3miUILrryL_1ysK04i16P3-ujY6wmM6m1n27BKyumfraUFin5eX292wTpzGFmWOGex83CTk7JtwbBHahr62GSCPHo1fILGuQXyByGEkuiZoH50kPhOe9ZzZ5V_V3hyphenhyphenWmxQ9W7/w324-h400/402565854_10160147007182151_6655579593645179096_n.jpg" width="324" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Maybe you appreciate these video interviews like I do. They are filmed in the USA (I believe it is San Diego, but it may be another big city in the States). </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I only now and then check her <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Thorayaa" target="_blank">channel</a></b>, but recently I did and watched a couple of videos. So this woman of the project interviews all sorts of city people and asks them confronting, thought-provoking questions. I do like to watch them at times, because it is real. The people interviewed are often very honest in their answers and it reminds me that even though my (health) problems may seem to myself way bigger than the daily issues of many other people, you cannot really think like that. People often carry all sorts of pain and trauma along with them. They </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">may look fabulous and polished and in control on the outside, but we cannot know what they carry inside, unless we ask them. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Maybe you can also relate to some of these three short videos. I upload both the direct Youtube link plus a separate lesser quality version on this blog site, in case the content maker ever decides to remove the Youtube videos there. In these three short videos the following questions are posed: </span>"What do you miss most about yourself", "What's the loneliest you have ever felt". "What's the most painful thing you have been told."</div><div class="gmail-separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail-separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="277" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dC_1IUi7toM" width="333" youtube-src-id="dC_1IUi7toM"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='323' height='268' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxzUGN9GZ9CyciAbft1RQFOJolM9Wt_hRo5uUdi2dw_jBK-h8FsENQJrY92OLZtgmsBzseew78sUSdieW8ZyA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div class="gmail-separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div></div><div class="gmail-separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A9AbYAFfiVA" width="320" youtube-src-id="A9AbYAFfiVA"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxFv8Jn-sgKh0O2dji7mBtFtfT_cmKFueEIhd5x_4jIO9KpE3sO7aQTGRwuxjjnkFuvIYS0RVh_SU9Ks1WNvA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div></div><div class="gmail-separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4PscVXmrzjc" width="320" youtube-src-id="4PscVXmrzjc"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz9iu-4yVVb_V7VbLKYH-tur7NDgwR8QLbVMl4boum8y262mjIIdrHq7h2ZM90LrynAC7YEzWkKb4atyQ_cwQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></div><div class="gmail-separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="gmail-separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="gmail-separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZktuelNJmXlSbSehbxcEWwndssd5l7x2yRu2O_L_59i9SxoO5rAEFME1562bFQRlQZXx3h7MYkr53J5TpbfreGQ0mZCu-Sg9G9f5OMg3LWsX2L646dK9c2GqSc_TjompgwGaYq7gf4Dk45rzId0eCaZNWe7ZjrMucmWGrR-9onMoKPZdvUBHGNiegfcC/s922/412848087_10160186924387151_5906696094845410175_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="509" height="627" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZktuelNJmXlSbSehbxcEWwndssd5l7x2yRu2O_L_59i9SxoO5rAEFME1562bFQRlQZXx3h7MYkr53J5TpbfreGQ0mZCu-Sg9G9f5OMg3LWsX2L646dK9c2GqSc_TjompgwGaYq7gf4Dk45rzId0eCaZNWe7ZjrMucmWGrR-9onMoKPZdvUBHGNiegfcC/w347-h627/412848087_10160186924387151_5906696094845410175_n.jpg" width="347" /></a>I showed them to a friend from Australia (who also has rosacea) and they said some thoughtful things about them I thought. <span style="font-family: inherit;">"Oh wow Nat, what a question to ask someone and it makes you really think deeply about it. <b><span style="color: #783f04;">"What do you miss most about yourself?"</span></b> I know both you and I can really relate to a question like "what do you miss about yourself". Wow, I know I can really get into that and answer that, but I normally probably don't think about it much. Interesting how some people have very deep and reflective answers, while others are a little on the superficial side, and some are quite sad. eg the poor girl who cut herself. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lots tend to lose the confidence it seems. Lots of depression and trauma and these people are still so young. Interesting answer by one guy. He misses having the external motivation of pleasing someone (probably his parents) and making them proud no doubt. He obviously is struggling to find motivation or direction.<br /></span><span><br /><span style="color: #783f04;"><b>"What's the loneliest you have ever felt" </b></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Another deep question pushing you to really open up and be honest. Yes, Nat, you are right, they are very honest. Wow, this bloke is quite young and he has already lived 4 years in a homeless shelter. Isn't it f...... sad that someone could lose friends or family for coming out as gay or bisexual. No wonder some commit suicide, knowing that they fear losing people they love just for being gay, just for being themselves. It must be so paralysing for them. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">Poor man. Grew up without a proper family so he says he has always felt lonely. Poor man! </span><b><span style="color: #783f04;">"What's the most painful thing you have been told" </span></b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Wow, this makes you really think. D</span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">eep question as well. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">I can tell that this kid is wise. He is correct about words having power. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">My god Nat, so emotional and I am getting teary eyed for them. And one thing I have noticed or what is noticeable with these videos is that there is so much pain JUST below the surface with a lot of people. Just a question can trigger pain and emotion with so many who are obviously walking around with a lot of pain and suffering. It is really quite sad! </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Thing is too, as you get older, you realise how important words can be or how they can form your childhood. I remember specific things that are said that had an impact on me and you never forgot them.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">And here is a PERFECT example of this woman never forgetting and it obviously affected her with her mum telling her that "you will never be an artist" when she was in kindergarten. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Wonderful and thought provoking videos Nat. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">And often very sad."</span></div></div><div class="gmail-separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail-separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8zgBKU_JdBvVuCX12_mv2n0YrQTWKxbIbTXAT2rIjNNo0ZBplJ37gC9sRy6pnNFcTLKHnlUFZKHTGq-a31Zwe1RPKYvvfcS5TFuzUf0U0MvqL2tBgX7D-nzKj_I_pvENyoTJ6eUPIkpEp3iIYeQixRZCSLQ-7NyTIYK3OasdG6jCCGlgSjrdJdS2SBp6/s735/Untitled-77.jpg" style="clear: left; color: #222222; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="735" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8zgBKU_JdBvVuCX12_mv2n0YrQTWKxbIbTXAT2rIjNNo0ZBplJ37gC9sRy6pnNFcTLKHnlUFZKHTGq-a31Zwe1RPKYvvfcS5TFuzUf0U0MvqL2tBgX7D-nzKj_I_pvENyoTJ6eUPIkpEp3iIYeQixRZCSLQ-7NyTIYK3OasdG6jCCGlgSjrdJdS2SBp6/w516-h279/Untitled-77.jpg" width="516" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><b><span style="color: #783f04; font-size: large;">DOLL</span></b><br /><span style="color: #222222;">As for myself, there is one memory (or lack of memory, more like) that still sticks with me. My aunt once accused me of stealing a new Barbie doll of my niece. </span></span><span style="color: black;">I was about 9 or 10 years old. W</span><span style="color: black;">e had visited them and my niece and I had played with her dolls all day, including her new Skipper, her big pride. Then back at home the aunt called my parents and said that the new doll was missing and that they believed I had stolen it. </span><span style="color: black;">I was really upset and offended by that. </span><span style="color: black;">They stuck to their guns and it even cooled my mum and aunt's relationship for a while. </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">The worst part is this: I later remembered that story again and I suddenly started to question and even doubt my own memory! </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">I kept thinking: COULD I have taken that Barbie in fact? And have my mind playing tricks and having me forget it?? Could I theoretically have hidden it somewhere? Where would I have hidden it then? Under my sweater in the car ride back home? In one of the compartiment shelves under my bed? </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Can my brain have played games on me? </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">It is a terrible feeling because obviously I have no idea now anymore. I just know I was angry and upset by the accusation at the time and given how much I always have been upset by injustice, I think it was a lie by my niece and she told her mum this. The possible context may be that we were in the process of move to their village and I would go to my nieces school and class. She had already shown kids in class a photo of her niece (me) and apparently some boys had made comments about me looking pretty. While my niece was chubby at the time (she later developed debilitating anorexia). </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">I wonder if she hid the doll herself to make me look bad out of jealousy. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">BUT that doll was never found again. And because I went over this memory a lot in the past, I even started to doubt my own recollections at some point. And thinking about it later in life made me also doubt if those 'what if' imaginary scenarios may over time have blended into reality (and thus me doubting my own experience at the time even more).</span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> It is terrible, it really made me doubt myself for some time.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRMKTUIAUeyppEW2MTexIofa-BkEm748dzres57yW4nYy2TBSDdKRkr8dIDeLp35vEgosV3epo9Zl_sH6JnFenG6yMNELLNI4MYffbw22R0hEpljl6zh7S0n-5GzbH3c9tkCmqyzmPFQRnU4f0LtLy6sCTUq1ABJjspRVElfHUOKChxDPoTTFdSS29ypI/s358/zUntitled-52.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="347" data-original-width="358" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRMKTUIAUeyppEW2MTexIofa-BkEm748dzres57yW4nYy2TBSDdKRkr8dIDeLp35vEgosV3epo9Zl_sH6JnFenG6yMNELLNI4MYffbw22R0hEpljl6zh7S0n-5GzbH3c9tkCmqyzmPFQRnU4f0LtLy6sCTUq1ABJjspRVElfHUOKChxDPoTTFdSS29ypI/w319-h309/zUntitled-52.jpg" width="319" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEmHKLOGVDMIFjFi2A2zkJo4Rr6WiFd0iSmvH1aQxFvFtNv3ar9AJtBSNHO4P9lRZmh1_LaE-kum2fuhbbMCS4Mvz7mBow9ybl1jkpD6T6a6AVRdR-zocQE-4AvpbW9Tijdyb6x9Giq98wX-jpWGb3LCv6upZoGovREaBFKrs6i2Q0PUHzRFBRcW7gFqYy/s2048/420077977_10160227232007151_5259341149071046933_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRfmFxvGofMItSG7VN-bjLeaXG_KYF18Tg3Ia79-qhZ6R0aak-F7l3qSWabLlzoSAJxRiDLiMJk1W8-LKIhMHrtEWjg2K5mkFsagFD2lQPDP9NzXtJEOUw7Cn0_sjo0aLC2Lcc5ESK9O7sSrr4snpkyB-R1qUbgzgTOhhdEpKIZ0wglcdYoyd1sPvNvos/s1024/391641625_634381702231570_862594774264889921_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1024" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRfmFxvGofMItSG7VN-bjLeaXG_KYF18Tg3Ia79-qhZ6R0aak-F7l3qSWabLlzoSAJxRiDLiMJk1W8-LKIhMHrtEWjg2K5mkFsagFD2lQPDP9NzXtJEOUw7Cn0_sjo0aLC2Lcc5ESK9O7sSrr4snpkyB-R1qUbgzgTOhhdEpKIZ0wglcdYoyd1sPvNvos/w523-h327/391641625_634381702231570_862594774264889921_n.jpg" width="523" /></a></div>Hamas 7/10 terrorist attack in Israel</span></b><br /><br />I have long been doubting and pondering about whether or not to include this topic on this blog. It is supposed to deal with rosacea and flushing after all. And then some day to day life updates, which did veer away from rosacea over time I realize. It is also a gruesome topic and a controversial one. But I just feel strongly about this I suppose, so here it goes. Feel free to skip, as always. The topic has become almost emblematic: Do You support the Underdog or the "Oppressor"? Are you as a white "privileged" person an enforcer of 'Apartheid' or of poor struggling people? Are you in favour of 'Zionism' or 'Freedom Fighters'? There is bias and polarization even in these formulations alone. Everything has become so black/white and ideological today. I have multiple friends who support Palestine and I'd say that applies to the majority of my friends and family in fact. I have defended Palestine for years myself and openly criticized Israel's settlement politics. But after the October 7th attack, I feel slightly differently about this.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I remember debating with fellow students in my uni days about the IRA and the ETA: is it morally acceptable for 'Freedom Fighters' (wanting their own state etc) to blow up innocent civilians? With all that youthful audacity I used to defend the Yes camp. As higher goals trump individual losses and because peaceful protests and non-anarchistic negotiations brings splinter groups nowhere, I thought. ETA was a paramilitary and armed terrorist Basque separatist movement which followers killed over 800 people since the 1960's. And in 2004, right in the middle of my university days, Partida Popular bombed a train in Madrid, Spain and blew 193 innocent souls to smithereens and injured over 2000 people. It was the news of the day. It did not really achieve much. The IRA had their own list of bloodshed. I dated a Scottish guy at the time who was from Catholic Irish descend and a Celtic supporter... so the IRA was lauded. And hotly debated. But I was willing at the time to see the necessity of making casualties in order to be taken seriously in your quest, as a separatist party.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8fT5jOCA7byln6r43KTeltIQFypqTOrFCuwmaCioQfgHJJhjLr8ggo433ILsow4gljPRLqMW0m0ctXDeqZE14uPkWcqwOefokkRJXee9d88rp-ZDF1UvmP07mQ2JxhhMcFg9sB74ilINiQ0mZMzpB6QhCVz-TC6N5YSppRVHrjHnugZWz0W-pvwyEpu7z/s960/395335899_634178665585207_2961693370797675967_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="785" height="517" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8fT5jOCA7byln6r43KTeltIQFypqTOrFCuwmaCioQfgHJJhjLr8ggo433ILsow4gljPRLqMW0m0ctXDeqZE14uPkWcqwOefokkRJXee9d88rp-ZDF1UvmP07mQ2JxhhMcFg9sB74ilINiQ0mZMzpB6QhCVz-TC6N5YSppRVHrjHnugZWz0W-pvwyEpu7z/w424-h517/395335899_634178665585207_2961693370797675967_n.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>Nowadays? Not so much! Knowing also how little violence and terrorism achieves in a normal functioning democracy. And perhaps my antipathy regarding ideologists has diminished with age, and my identification with the normal everyday person going on their normal ways has increased now. Like most guns-blazing revolutionary loving students in the end turn into normal people. Just look at many of the hippies of the 70's, blasting the establishment... only to become part of the money making establishment during the 80's. Then there is also a minority segment who radicalizes further. They become so ideological and angry over time that depending on their political stance of choice, they take pleasure in destroying your life and in cheering on every injustice if the courts happen to be corrupted. They happily throw us all in jail if we disagree with them and if it furthered their cause and imprinted end goal. Just look at the 20th century Maoists.<br /><br />So anyway, despite in the past always debating in favour of Palestine, what happened on October 7th in Israel is a total horror show. The mainstream media zoomed in on these atrocities for only a few days, after which the narrative quickly shifted to the Palestinian cause, skipping over the 7/10 atrocities. That's why I feel like posting the below videos of how that day unfolded, in all its gruesomeness and anxiety. Because the current military attack of Israel in Gaza, does not stand on itself or fell out of the sky. I saved every bit of footage I could find about it all and edited some of it into some longer videos for you to see, if you can stomach it. (Although it does not include the worst footage or testimonies, among which gang raping girls to death, cutting them open while alive, stabbing and shooting them in their private parts and burning scores of people to death). These crimes were all documented after all; both by real time victims and surprisingly also by the proud Hamas terrorists themselves. Not even the Nazi's bragged or gleefully documented their crimes. They tried to hide it at the time. But here we have 'Freedom Fighters' with GoPro's, live streaming their killing and torture spree. Just like Isis used to do. I wonder if the people who so fervently attack Jewish citizens now in our West for the actions of Israel, have the guts to watch the footage of the 7/10 atrocities. Instead of ignoring it or pretending the massacre of over 1200 civilians among whom 360 music festival goers, is 'fake news'. And while I do understand and support wishes for a ceasefire, people should understand that Hamas has to release the 100+ hostages they still hold in Gaza, among whom many children and youngsters. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Compilation video I of the start of the attack <a href="https://dai.ly/k3VgtpHSG3OV2qzTIKy" target="_blank">HERE</a> (for some reason it is embedded and loaded into this post when viewing it on my laptop, but my tablet seems to block the video from running. I suspect it gets blocked by blogger, despite not being graphic in nature. See <a href="https://dai.ly/k3VgtpHSG3OV2qzTIKy" target="_blank">this direct link</a> in that case).<br /><br />Or watch it <a href="https://youtu.be/BNZIt1u-QTM" target="_blank">HERE</a> on youtube if you have an account there because of age restriction.<div style="height: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 56.25%; position: relative;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="100%" src="https://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x8rtf8u" style="height: 100%; left: 0px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 100%;" title="Dailymotion Video Player" type="text/html" width="100%"> </iframe> </div><b><span style="color: #990000;"><br />Compilation video II of some of the actual cruelties inflicted (trigger warning for sure) is separately uploaded <a href="https://hallodaarbenikweer.blogspot.com/2024/01/blog-post.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> due to it's distressing nature.</span></b></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZjVRxjh9ln8JFhJmYhzfxsMLfxjeIUSL33pvSIOASZWePHqqKdA1Qj7F-H7KhR1Nf5xfBApKE7iYBIKC9H2mYByMK-09LskJ_j_GxAoHefXtLS4cUSU46HKrNMbniVHY8O1AoJxHwW-TVwBJBH1sGSBI23t3ktStv56UkoGrXU-mTPx-Ws8JDqeaA63s9/s1033/Untitled5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="1033" height="552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZjVRxjh9ln8JFhJmYhzfxsMLfxjeIUSL33pvSIOASZWePHqqKdA1Qj7F-H7KhR1Nf5xfBApKE7iYBIKC9H2mYByMK-09LskJ_j_GxAoHefXtLS4cUSU46HKrNMbniVHY8O1AoJxHwW-TVwBJBH1sGSBI23t3ktStv56UkoGrXU-mTPx-Ws8JDqeaA63s9/w640-h552/Untitled5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">III Some of the victims:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='642' height='534' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzTDs95qdwwywgrMEq8uKpKUGziJGSNDg1d8BkbHknKOes5wLYicvvuyRVWht2dsxRX84re3V-pm78a5J8vjg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_LJQ1MohWqG5hoLKwvni9GAhs3yqUtY11HpRU59jCzDTrnq4cZxI9UBw_y0CJ8UlLbUrxsb8d5ma-Bxs2UF3nvzfZcORLXgDxlYoRXjkKUlV7cVllfPtGzEaoiZY81LeXD7pTbdIjtrhKxibrrqz3BsWgrWFnRHdDX4F758COrc3Qe3YqOFLqG0ExHulu/s1487/20240131_084936.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1487" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_LJQ1MohWqG5hoLKwvni9GAhs3yqUtY11HpRU59jCzDTrnq4cZxI9UBw_y0CJ8UlLbUrxsb8d5ma-Bxs2UF3nvzfZcORLXgDxlYoRXjkKUlV7cVllfPtGzEaoiZY81LeXD7pTbdIjtrhKxibrrqz3BsWgrWFnRHdDX4F758COrc3Qe3YqOFLqG0ExHulu/w640-h464/20240131_084936.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSbQqfB9DeSFTTi9T35lIn_ME_5Rx151ZeFNIdiFynwMTbVkGyw8YQm6ieBK6pnAgPBNKcRR_e63ULNjrQAVk50FtIo5IDRNveyuIk-iDYoGU-iZyVMa0DYLicqY6E_91UdxQumWdroIRAZsGZTKJ9s_Xw35Ey-SDxlzIRFy7ylfjOhodZ12jdYUUMnpA/s900/F9cVcmjXMAAb53I.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="727" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSbQqfB9DeSFTTi9T35lIn_ME_5Rx151ZeFNIdiFynwMTbVkGyw8YQm6ieBK6pnAgPBNKcRR_e63ULNjrQAVk50FtIo5IDRNveyuIk-iDYoGU-iZyVMa0DYLicqY6E_91UdxQumWdroIRAZsGZTKJ9s_Xw35Ey-SDxlzIRFy7ylfjOhodZ12jdYUUMnpA/w323-h400/F9cVcmjXMAAb53I.jpg" width="323" /></a>Gruesome, and this is the sort of military activism I no longer can defend at my age. So the western media has fairly quickly started skipping over the absolute brutality of these October 7 attacks or the remaining hostage crisis. Focusing instead on Israel's brutal return attack, of which they did inform the residents of Gaza beforehand (people were warned of the impending attack through hundreds of thousands of leaflets being thrown out of planes for instance, and by repeated public requests from the Israeli army to leave town or certain areas). But that of course meant for hundreds of thousands of people to pack up and move. To where? To another corner of Gaza, with all the humanitarian tragics to follow. Not great to read about, to be honest. Brazen, some could say. To uproot so many innocent people and destroy so much housing and infrastructure, in order to kill these Hamas terrorists. The Mossad did it a it more subtle after the Munich atrocity. And this approach is not fair for the Palestinian innocent civilians. They may live, but their lives are entirely uprooted and their houses may be demolished. (I don't even dare to bring up the situation for their poor pets). Israel believes that it is in a state of war since 7/10 and that it has the right to defend itself. By destroying Hamas and eliminating its members and their infrastructure. And unfortunately Hamas has built intricate and massive tunnel systems right under the inhabited world in Gaza, including hospitals and schools (video proof of this has been shared and was covered by the BBC among other channels). Storing weapons in houses and hospitals and then saying that Israel kills innocent civilians during its strikes. But Israel's 'self defense' looks more like a huge attack today. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Of course, eliminating Hamas has been made as difficult as possible by them. Hamas does not seem to care that much for its own citizens either. Hundreds of Hamas rockets have already been fired from civilian structures, including mosques, schools and hospitals. An estimated 12% of those rockets fired by Hamas have fallen short inside Gaza. Killing their own people. Does Hamas count on the escalating numbers of civilians to sway public opinion? You start to wonder if normal thinking people in the west can perhaps simply not believe this because they (luckily) cannot think this way? And can only - deep down - assume that everybody has the same hopes and dreams that we free westerners do. Making excuses for jihadists, in effect. Some vocal Americans for instance try to dismiss or even justify Hamas' calculated bloodshed, but don’t seem to understand the logic and the reality of Islamist religious fundamentalist ideology. Like other Jihadi groups (ISIS, PIJ, Hezbollah) there is little that can be done to reconcile Western values with an ideology that is fatalistic and violent. Yes, every innocent death in Gaza is horrible, but you can't have it both ways. And this is not an unprovoked attack from Israel on Hamas, who went out to kill, rape and butcher as many civilians as possible in their kamikaze burst of terror. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So now the next thing happened: thousands of students from especially Ivy League American universities were stimulated by teachers to go out and march and protest for Palestine. In the process attacking and threatening (innocent) Jewish students. Calling Hamas proud Freedom Fighters and supporting its barbaric fundamentalism at times even. Below you see a professor in Vancouver leading a cheer for <i>"the amazing and brilliant offensive waged on October 7"</i>. I can't believe what I am hearing. How this has been allowed on top universities (including Harvard and Penn State) is frankly a little bit shocking, and not at all a fair and nuanced take: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='593' height='493' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw6fMufYGjJv8Ia-hDoALjRSylSKDNmdS-prx4BBi5rGBNWxWkPHQR1KzY4XUKr3Q5O6CeoK5GRILnvWU-hoA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3x2ZOGL0SmgkciJuHwcJ2wiIKb1JubNFUnNzV1urYECrBms1Ua674iQ6gOWF8Ggam9LtM9lR1JzwrBTrSprIDIjeziiGdQHXmquiOsFWNdfgKsMa5K5wiZ_AwAn-EvXW7z5or7iWiuOM0elDL23g4FCUjynKbl9wq_lMJajfA57WPQjM-K4lec4gcKayL/s1536/1697302494313.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1020" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3x2ZOGL0SmgkciJuHwcJ2wiIKb1JubNFUnNzV1urYECrBms1Ua674iQ6gOWF8Ggam9LtM9lR1JzwrBTrSprIDIjeziiGdQHXmquiOsFWNdfgKsMa5K5wiZ_AwAn-EvXW7z5or7iWiuOM0elDL23g4FCUjynKbl9wq_lMJajfA57WPQjM-K4lec4gcKayL/w266-h400/1697302494313.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNBZo1dCKp5u3_fjyAnoMBd0LU-iEWBC9-itcvK_zvAGUBkn4Ec-IMylTUas9M9HgnoCwL46VUU6c24yUGkF6kus3jlcyXQZjndyl_07ZRM_vUw0jLBYPIpY0j49b77eGqkDDotSDfdzFtxgx8X_5XIkuz-SwWyr9rGBr5CbEIF1-YwWjfokySaSLYaU/s1530/F9hUQsQXkAAc6hj.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="1080" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNBZo1dCKp5u3_fjyAnoMBd0LU-iEWBC9-itcvK_zvAGUBkn4Ec-IMylTUas9M9HgnoCwL46VUU6c24yUGkF6kus3jlcyXQZjndyl_07ZRM_vUw0jLBYPIpY0j49b77eGqkDDotSDfdzFtxgx8X_5XIkuz-SwWyr9rGBr5CbEIF1-YwWjfokySaSLYaU/w266-h376/F9hUQsQXkAAc6hj.jpg" width="266" /></a>Other professors also spoke publicly about their "elation'" and happiness after finding out about the 7/10 horror show. How are these people still teaching in this time of cancel culture? It looks like that one only works to kick out conservatives? So on the one hand there are countless 'microaggressions', and misgendering equals violence. But <i>real</i> violence and rape are seen to be a valid form of resistance? The hypocrisy and double standards are interesting. Palestinians have grounds for complaints and sympathy, but to see legions of plush students in the free West revolt the way they do and attack Jewish students over this... Uhm? What if the <i>Israeli army</i> had similarly started all this by slaughtering innocent Palestinians in their homes and during dance parties in such a fashion? More than 1200 of them in one go? A well-prepared mission, solely aimed at raping, killing, burning alive and kidnapping as many young people and families as possible in Gaza? We wouldn't hear the end of it on our news. Israel does kill innocent civilians of course, but in wars the innocent people are always seen as collateral damage, unfortunately. <br /><br />What is even more bizarre to me, is to see minorities who are oppressed and often even killed in a place like Gaza going out with flags stating 'Allah loves Queers' and rainbow coloured 'Allah loves Equality' flags. Are these people not aware of the human rights crises for minorities in many Middle Eastern countries and certainly under Hamas? Isn't this the age of information? Or have we become so decadent here that people simply are too ignorant to appreciate what freedoms they have been born into? Just as absurd: American 'influencers' who suddenly came out supporting Osama Bin Laden... Wtf? Hamas are a group of religious zealots and fundamentalist people who oppress women, who sentence homosexuals to death or simply chuck them off roofs of houses, justifying their deeds with the Quran. Palestinians voted in majority for Hamas during the 2006 elections; a militant terrorist organization who proudly list it as their aim for jihadis to wipe Israel and all the Israelis off the face of the earth. No equal rights for women and girls, no rights for transgenders and homosexuals. You get the gist. When they say over and over who they are, believe them:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='606' height='503' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyBTkQMhm5Cxbt3VJ-cdokwQy2H-JSqdX6eKV67imWdfcRfdACFm37Iq_m_CxrPsqjdei9pAxFujkfV6hpvgw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>And the majority of Palestinians in Gaza <i>still</i> support Hamas, according to all sorts of international polls. Although it remains to be seen in how far Israel and the USA played a role in the initial foundation of Hamas, I must add (crazy, but look it up). Hamas have so far refused every chance to compromise with Israel and create their own Palestinian state, despite decades of serious attempts to create a two state system. Israel tried to talk to Palestine about a peaceful, two-state route for decades. So well in fact, that in the Camp David accords Israel and all of Palestine's negotiators at one point agreed on a treaty that fulfilled every demand made by PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. Israel and everyone but Arafat were ready to turn over Gaza and 90+ percent of West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and give Palestinians their own state. Arafat at the last minute vetoed the deal. Was he so wedded to The Struggle that he couldn't fathom a world without a fight with Israel? In any case, he kept the fight alive. Israel has tried since 1947 to make a peace deal with Arab leaders. Not once have the Palestinians come up with their own peace proposal. Israeli prime ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert both offered specific plans. There have been no Palestinian counter proposals. Time after time the answer to the Israeli proposals of creating a Palestinian state was: 'We want it all, or you'll get nothing but more attacks and terror'. No Israeli leader has ever been able to deal with Hamas or any Palestinian group on a two state solution, because Hamas and every Palestinian group has rejected any two State solution. Hamas wants endless war it seems, or the total eradication of Israel. This is Ben Shapiro debating this with some Oxford students:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='613' height='509' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwGcFXdwVM31Oo-qcuPzer10pylrsmmxvFdYdAXJSySoGtm7YmvTE2OhoD87i15XxoeUYL_VLSQ-i_Ck2vKRA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohsFMVBAfPHyw-gBLtLkLj22japUmr2_CXxjyvkM-S9VTyHwEROcIXwVQPJbZ_ThgVzBY2YlPfQltVqRQwHklnqap7rVzfEcVGpxC27YmlbkYPjZIY39ZReq1inxebNyg8c9cSxrsQSaT-SJRfc6WD-CQrwMjSO8TZwjZzsDrYsUSRwuPmCGi61EA6Enj/s1052/F_NMwe7XAAAk4-S.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1052" data-original-width="870" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohsFMVBAfPHyw-gBLtLkLj22japUmr2_CXxjyvkM-S9VTyHwEROcIXwVQPJbZ_ThgVzBY2YlPfQltVqRQwHklnqap7rVzfEcVGpxC27YmlbkYPjZIY39ZReq1inxebNyg8c9cSxrsQSaT-SJRfc6WD-CQrwMjSO8TZwjZzsDrYsUSRwuPmCGi61EA6Enj/w320-h386/F_NMwe7XAAAk4-S.jpg" width="320" /></a>At the same time, Netanyahu has consistently undermined the peace process himself by rapidly advancing settlements in the West Bank, harassing Palestinians at Al Aqsa, curtailing the freedom of gazans, sometimes taking civilians' lives there and by forming a coalition government with the most far-right ethno-nationalists ever to hold power in Israel. Even though many in the Israeli Left and Center wish to see those settlements in the West Bank stopped or dismantled. And yes, from the perspective of Palestinians there was indeed a big injustice in 1948. There is so much to say about that, but I've always said in discussions with friends that nations cannot just throw families who's ancestors lived there for centuries off a large plot of land. Which did happen. It was followed by centuries of "small" aggressions by Israel, also while a two-state solution was in sight or seemed achievable. But on the other hand, Palestinians have started wars with Israel themselves and lost them all. Now Hamas refuses to negotiate entirely, and (also) consistently seeks the destruction of Israel. They want all their old land back and for Israel to stop existing. This will never happen.. Israel on the other hand has allowed Palestinians to live and work in its country. One in five inhabitants of Israel is Arabic. Many Israeli hospitals have Arabic doctors working there. Many stores in Israel are owned by Arabs too, especially in Jeruzalem. I'm sure there is some level of discrimination against them, but in contrast you will find no Jews in Palestine. In 2005 Sharon removed 9000 Jews from Gaza. Hamas took over and ruined that area for all its inhabitants and armed itself to the teeth. Many Arabs are also said to be raised with the hatred of Jews. Feminist and politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali wrote a fascinating <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12629243/raised-curse-israel-pray-destruction-jews-AYAAN-HIRSI-ALI-Hamas-ISIS.html" target="_blank">article</a></b> about growing up in Jew hating indoctrination. No one wants to say it, but I’m sure many Gazans hold radical views, not just against Israel but against the Jewish people in general and the western world itself.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />It is since Hamas came in power (and quickly got rid of all the opposition, either banishing or killing them) and who since 2006 did not allow new elections, that Israel really started to say: Ok, we have a neighbour here who is structurally unwilling to come to an agreement. A neighbour who is dead set on destroying us and kidnapping and killing our people and shooting off rockets at us. A neighbour who is barbaric and non-democratic. Who impoverishes its own people while the Hamas big shots reside in rich Arab countries, <i>not</i> in 'open air prison' Gaza, mind you. Because that's how it goes, they also let the suicide bombing be done by the peasants, promising them a few dozen virgins and martyrdom in exchange. And Israel had enough of the rocket attacks and closed the border and controlled it vehemently.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='617' height='513' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw5GlEalv5c13QTXlMxymyHkH8ad0MoC-SAFtKTs8amx-FulB_RuLiZ6P5nehCNf3ADFrCEbpRqO5EHweivxA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjREB1dL_2GE90b_VKHxOzrcr61U4dzEJSwzilIe1vfsrUMSBZ5dvedQtwq4tr7N_uUz9XJQkthQZZ3GaR7kwjL-fhec3oOaMfG3viOvrJN1DSJTw09JUPiKjrG0m9OV4bsOi1jH_iuAeWJLppHlM4VR1HjsexSOCeo6W9isnTlV3h-cMxZ-BSUngpKAXQ/s1200/F98aGcOWcAELyOG.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="706" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjREB1dL_2GE90b_VKHxOzrcr61U4dzEJSwzilIe1vfsrUMSBZ5dvedQtwq4tr7N_uUz9XJQkthQZZ3GaR7kwjL-fhec3oOaMfG3viOvrJN1DSJTw09JUPiKjrG0m9OV4bsOi1jH_iuAeWJLppHlM4VR1HjsexSOCeo6W9isnTlV3h-cMxZ-BSUngpKAXQ/w321-h546/F98aGcOWcAELyOG.jpg" width="321" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SjBDVEe2hFs3qr-KW9OmQ4E5nqknEgJBktjyKAicNixMAyqMDyMWLD2I0l8kA6KYtunwSTwFWspK0YSSmLtEgA093PpZ2q0Zvi7QJdZ9TwVQWjQ2QXgrJ47WhxnXDgHY9mzST3M6rEnkZu0GyVmDyvCUu8nB6V2cJTF17khiKKMxQmd5voWuyMcfcrM/s1024/George%20Washington%20University%20-%20students%20are%20projecting%20horrifying%20messages%20onto%20a%20school%20library%20building%20glorifying%20Hamas%20terrorists%20that%20beheaded%20babies,%20raped%20teenage%20girls,%20and%20murdered%201400+%20people.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SjBDVEe2hFs3qr-KW9OmQ4E5nqknEgJBktjyKAicNixMAyqMDyMWLD2I0l8kA6KYtunwSTwFWspK0YSSmLtEgA093PpZ2q0Zvi7QJdZ9TwVQWjQ2QXgrJ47WhxnXDgHY9mzST3M6rEnkZu0GyVmDyvCUu8nB6V2cJTF17khiKKMxQmd5voWuyMcfcrM/w321-h428/George%20Washington%20University%20-%20students%20are%20projecting%20horrifying%20messages%20onto%20a%20school%20library%20building%20glorifying%20Hamas%20terrorists%20that%20beheaded%20babies,%20raped%20teenage%20girls,%20and%20murdered%201400+%20people.jpg" width="321" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV7fvflWNx0X4lNHqQTD6_NaPkakult43IyLsFI2mSxaeXCU1RTjNoq07378JSNjqxc4qKQqjbHRv6mdN2d68UySVrT5UCCnuC3dXYPVEA5mgbspHjG4iz8-ascqKv6u1ZEAYmL2XL_BjlFJ0xmkbWecsk6aLgzH0MGPqT_NeuwIAbMLuy_JrIcutEXUQ/s680/GAqVqMLWkAAq0-8.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="680" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV7fvflWNx0X4lNHqQTD6_NaPkakult43IyLsFI2mSxaeXCU1RTjNoq07378JSNjqxc4qKQqjbHRv6mdN2d68UySVrT5UCCnuC3dXYPVEA5mgbspHjG4iz8-ascqKv6u1ZEAYmL2XL_BjlFJ0xmkbWecsk6aLgzH0MGPqT_NeuwIAbMLuy_JrIcutEXUQ/s320/GAqVqMLWkAAq0-8.jpg" width="320" /></a>Of course the Israeli counter attack is now killing scores of innocent civilians in Gaza, which is terrible and should not happen. It is total overkill, literally and figuratively. But it is also a complex situation. This topic can be reduced to one massive chicken or egg circle debate: did Israel start dismantling Hamas because they first slaughtered innocent Israelis on 7/10? Or did Hamas do this to somehow avenge what they believe Israel has done to them by controlling the borders of Gaza and making life very hard for Palestinians? Shooting with bullets at stone throwing youths? But didn't Israel start doing that áfter Palestinians voted Hamas into power, who have attacked Israel with rockets for many years already and who have it as their prime (written) aim to push Israel and all Israelis into the sea? Does having such a violent and revengeful neighbour, who openly claims to want to destroy and murder you, give grounds for heightened border control and assassination of violent Gazans? Why was Hamas voted in power in the first place? Did Gazans perhaps simply have enough of the sneaky and slow-paced land stealing by Israel, with their ever growing settlements and their objectionable settlement politics? <br /><br />Or is it because people hold onto the injustice of forefathers having been chased off their land to establish the state of Israel there in the 1940's? It were the majority of the member states of the United Nations who decided that the state of Israel should be established in 1948. The immense horrors of the Holocaust and western guilt may have played a role in this decision. The region of current Israel was not chosen willy-nilly. In antiquity it was for centuries home to several Canaanite, Israelite and Jewish kingdoms (it is referred to as the Land of Israel in Jewish tradition). But territories have throughout history often been claimed by others and changed nationalities or identity. This region was ruled by powers such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Achaemenids, Greeks and the Romans. Jews over time became a minority in the region. It later came under Arab rule. Wiki: <i>"The late 19th century saw the rise of Zionism, a movement advocating for the establishment of a Jewish homeland. Under the British Mandate placed by the League of Nations after World War I, Jewish immigration to the region increased considerably leading to intercommunal conflict between Jews and the Arab majority. The UN-approved 1947 partition plan triggered a civil war between these groups which would see the expulsion or fleeing of most Palestinians from Mandate Palestine. The British terminated the Mandate on 14 May 1948, and Israel declared independence on the same day."<br /><br /></i>Jews lived on that land for a very long time in the old days, before being expelled themselves. Modern day Israel was a stretch of largely uncultivated desert land in the 1940's, and the people living there were compensated (somewhat...). All the way back in the 1930s, Palestinian Arabs were offered a one state solution if they agreed to absorb a Jewish minority with equal rights. They said no. There were many iterations of this offer until 1947. Nevertheless it was an injustice for the Arabic people living there at the time, who were expulsed off the land of <i>their</i> forefathers, and not enough compensated probably. This is the root of the wars and troubles of the next 76 years, and counting. But Jews have been persecuted and chased around the globe for thousands of years themselves. Pogroms and ghetto's are not a thing from the 1940's alone. As my dad used to say: <i>the Jews will not let this happen another time and defend their country tooth and nail</i>. As they probably should. As I said, Palestinians have obstructed many peace plans and two-state deal proposals. You can find information online if interested. And it is depressing to see how unwilling Palestinians today are to coexist with Israel. When they say "occupation" they tend to refer to all of Israel's territory, not just the West Bank and Gaza. And "end the occupation" means the end of Israel. Dishearteningly; the few who say they are willing to accept two states tend to be older Palestinians.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="513" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KP-CRXROorw" width="616" youtube-src-id="KP-CRXROorw"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='618' height='514' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxv3W-dc2alZHRvsH7eRFNhvCbznJt-27Sg8Q7Uc-KbfYJDLmHCEO_4ZEK1_7xcfpMbyR28QvHvKQAe57Q14Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHypnE7Mw60-WAfHtDQMEENW40vfuS_tlFJ8ef7hn8Tcz0WJ7exW0Kc82F8z5yHyi8MlZaUDAUNThyphenhyphenLkBQzxU9VpGCQN1RiZoyzkyjbp3lV6xyIWaEoXt1wjem1zcNw0XmvHbWArW3s01dJ39mFDZHL5DxrnjY0fjP8Ip17cuO5hbsLFTW962j1vDujfl/s747/Untitled.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="741" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHypnE7Mw60-WAfHtDQMEENW40vfuS_tlFJ8ef7hn8Tcz0WJ7exW0Kc82F8z5yHyi8MlZaUDAUNThyphenhyphenLkBQzxU9VpGCQN1RiZoyzkyjbp3lV6xyIWaEoXt1wjem1zcNw0XmvHbWArW3s01dJ39mFDZHL5DxrnjY0fjP8Ip17cuO5hbsLFTW962j1vDujfl/s320/Untitled.jpg" width="317" /></a>So is Israel wrong now to destroy Hamas and its infrastructure in Gaza? It surely is causing a lot of damage in the process. But criticism from the United States for instance feels hypocritical. The USA went after Saddam and Iraq after all in the 9/11 era. Even though Iraq and Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11. And they destroyed and destabilized the entire region. They even created the fake report about discovering 'weapons of mass destruction' there, which later turned out to be a complete fabrication to justify that war. The USA bombed the hell out of the Middle East, which we in Europe also still feel the aftereffects of, with the massive immigration streams it caused and suicide attacks of course. Not to speak of the total destabilization of the Middle East and the space created for horror groups like ISIS. All for what, some more oil? Better hold on the dollar as trading currency? Strategic benefits? So it is a bit crass coming from some Americans now that Israel should just allow this to happen. Without avenging or destroying at least the monsters responsible. On the other hand; I also get that none of this is going to help in the long run and that the ongoing suffering of Palestinians will only create <i>more</i> future Jihadi's. What a nightmare. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But as for morality: as Ben Shapiro also debates in the video below: can there be a case made here to distinguish between Hamas deliberately going into civilian areas and murdering everyone they can find, versus Israel attempting to target terrorists and accidentally killing civilians? (Although I don't believe this in fact happens 'accidentally' IDF. More like a calculated acceptance of massive collateral damage on the Gazans' side, which is certainly open for hefty criticism I think). Shapiro claims that this is nothing new in wars. And that during WW2 for instance, entire cities in Germany were bombed by the Allies, notwithstanding all the innocent civilians living there. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='596' height='496' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyXf-VutmQ_CmKJgsRvjKNuhzCAl-sUlzYAcPHT5MPEPFEBvrYxEmZg_QYtqNalfZLSjII30ZvVdvV5YBnR-g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1y7tL1LD4I8x0bQx4AjV8u2t8d7DUfjx3-k-JYrXxbStn_dyZYifgXvBIL0DmTeC7QYovYwjENQTAaXOHxY1fww7yLTB6OE3QuZiu6TkcPcAATMZ681__9Ar0RGGBMtPZzgqUueNUvkt0RZLHCquwvnEySMcPH4QaS0E5CF8LmWKvdVmqW9Q2O80_gv9l/s1056/GE4pSMgX0AAmD6H.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="1053" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1y7tL1LD4I8x0bQx4AjV8u2t8d7DUfjx3-k-JYrXxbStn_dyZYifgXvBIL0DmTeC7QYovYwjENQTAaXOHxY1fww7yLTB6OE3QuZiu6TkcPcAATMZ681__9Ar0RGGBMtPZzgqUueNUvkt0RZLHCquwvnEySMcPH4QaS0E5CF8LmWKvdVmqW9Q2O80_gv9l/s320/GE4pSMgX0AAmD6H.jpg" width="319" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89HWzeqDezq5_L38IRvwj95MttBAKPdFWVORHjoyp9IGFUUbNHlwL0xw7wMXT5wam0E1keN1u_4rT1qOmVagczZTtnmE4GTYNhbcy6xqcTGs1T_gYJcmJbe7tUw3WPdVtDa361N0XVUBSWJ-4zBgeQwJQo6qQv9q7l1uh73y3DTPA9jhUn2p2o7Bsx3Ye/s638/396349347_1350762185816159_6153577862399590041_n.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="638" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89HWzeqDezq5_L38IRvwj95MttBAKPdFWVORHjoyp9IGFUUbNHlwL0xw7wMXT5wam0E1keN1u_4rT1qOmVagczZTtnmE4GTYNhbcy6xqcTGs1T_gYJcmJbe7tUw3WPdVtDa361N0XVUBSWJ-4zBgeQwJQo6qQv9q7l1uh73y3DTPA9jhUn2p2o7Bsx3Ye/s320/396349347_1350762185816159_6153577862399590041_n.png" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1V1whK1-IoVq62ffqcmjL9etkrG_a8mI9M2RrllaE2IYYCixzCWsDPjpnyE809I2-V2cPMlTjjfJtf9v9Oy96kmeQK1voW-dA4BB216yauQohefXqi0lNFIbbiMkBcsXP2A_FrEL0qJnn9aZIvSHGH3fSebT3vWK-iCdg3tKRamBkjUfEGWDVLBeB2K8/s1536/F-0K-cmWsAAz2ro.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1073" data-original-width="1536" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1V1whK1-IoVq62ffqcmjL9etkrG_a8mI9M2RrllaE2IYYCixzCWsDPjpnyE809I2-V2cPMlTjjfJtf9v9Oy96kmeQK1voW-dA4BB216yauQohefXqi0lNFIbbiMkBcsXP2A_FrEL0qJnn9aZIvSHGH3fSebT3vWK-iCdg3tKRamBkjUfEGWDVLBeB2K8/s320/F-0K-cmWsAAz2ro.jpg" width="320" /></a>I don't think there should be a tirade aimed at Israel's counterattack on Hamas without first and foremost starting the explicit recognition and denouncement of the 7/10 atrocities. Which barely happens. There are usually no 100% heroes vs 100% villains in life and no total Right vs Wrong. Not even Saddam Hussein was a total villain and the world saw what happens when you take a strong dictator like him out of a country made up of enemy tribes, held together by such a ruler. So then there are arguments to be made against the overwhelming force that is being used now by Israel to destroy Hamas. I also don't think this is the best way to go about. There are scores of innocent victims on Palestinian side (I don't believe the Hamas controlled ministries and their statistics persé, but it is clear that the destruction in Gaza is gigantic). Some would compare it to killing a bunch of flies with an elephant gun. And this widespread suffering in Gaza is not going to help to build a more peaceful and tolerant new young generation. <br /><br />But then again: over a hundred mostly young Israelis are still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza and Hamas leaders have blood on their hands. And we hear barely anything about them anymore in the western press. Totally forgotten and overshadowed by the gazan narrative. A Hamas leader has openly admitted in <b><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/world/middleeast/hamas-israel-gaza-war.html" target="_blank">a New York Times interview</a></b> that they (residing safely in Qatar) don't want a two state system and planned these terror attacks willingly and knowingly. Knowing full well what the Israeli response would be if they went ahead with their long-prepared torture and death squad attack on October 7th. And they did it anyway. And therefore sacrificed innocent Israeli citizens <i>as well as</i> their own innocent Gaza citizens, for their own twisted political objectives. Hamas leaders openly admitted in this NYT interview that two states will not satisfy them. They will only be satisfied by the destruction of Israel. And that Palestinian lives are subordinate to the Palestinian cause, which needed to be brought back in the limelight. Khalil al-Hayya said: <i>“We had to tell people that the Palestinian cause would not die.”</i> At the expense of Palestinian lives. <i>“We had to destroy the village to save it”</i>. This acknowledgment that the Palestinian cause was slipping away is pivotal. Hamas brought that topic back on the international agenda, at the expense of thousands of innocent lives lost. Please let that sink in.. As Cory Booker said during his tour of Israel on the evening of October 6 of 2023: a good chunk of the Middle East was more or less heading for peace at that time. And Saudi Arabia was on the verge of normalizing relations with Israel. This would further push the Palestinian agenda to the background. It’s such a shame that Hamas cynically concluded its only option was such an egregious attack, to undermine that peace process and restore Palestine's relevance. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So; a new normal was developing in 2023, with Israel's hegemony over the region increasing and the Palestinian plight forgotten. The thawing of relations between the West and the Arab world forced Hamas (in Hamas' view..) to <i>act</i>. And it had effect, in a cynical way. But at what cost? This Hamas attack was probably also instigated by Iran, who's Ayatollahs have the destruction of Israel at the centre of their theology. Iran who is also trying to block normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. That may be why Hezbollah (also an Iran proxy) has also fired thousands of rockets and missiles into Israel since 7/10. But Hamas is a Sunni-based theological group that has used violence every step of the way to drive their agenda (i.e. thwarting the Oslo accords with suicide bombers in Israel, violently taking over Gaza from the PA, trying to implement their heinous "from the river to the sea" philosophy). Hamas has been consistently forthright about its aim to destroy Israel and its lack of interest in a negotiated solution. <i>This is a complex history and situation, gen Z'ers. Not something TikTok will educate you about in one minute. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='607' height='504' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyNFJB6bdeU6r2kzAm3H4RfuJCl7Bl-TzEMSeNHOIJ1O3qSpHScrtwZGz-g--SgP6P3CVHJSFDSRAPBt63GiA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMDBbAGtPI8_Mh-thzjXdgOI5C7tnwL8AklnV58ATp5oA-PPLG7-ZUJ4kMb5f2qvVHAeOLR-Kgh4DTae5mNqcPr4eN5Gg_OKPtpyXDzaCWfT13oLNBv8rEgrDcrBc-jkSfPFHhfN9qzIwmfyIyUhHlWlc3jFBa_76Fgm9ZQwq__oId-sQ4fC-xJ95Rb65/s657/396680661_889061812151702_3351903152946030362_n.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="657" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMDBbAGtPI8_Mh-thzjXdgOI5C7tnwL8AklnV58ATp5oA-PPLG7-ZUJ4kMb5f2qvVHAeOLR-Kgh4DTae5mNqcPr4eN5Gg_OKPtpyXDzaCWfT13oLNBv8rEgrDcrBc-jkSfPFHhfN9qzIwmfyIyUhHlWlc3jFBa_76Fgm9ZQwq__oId-sQ4fC-xJ95Rb65/w500-h289/396680661_889061812151702_3351903152946030362_n.png" width="500" /></a>Although Israel is in some ways the oppressor, they also withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Israel's aim was to leave the Palestinians alone to govern themselves under Hamas. Within two years, Israel closed its borders with Gaza to prevent infiltration by Hamas into Israel. But also to isolate Hamas and to prevent arms from being smuggled into Gaza. Egypt in the south <i>also</i> closed its (Rafah) border in 2007. They do not want any Hamas militaries in their country either, nor risk being held accountable by Israel for any missiles they could theoretically shoot off from Egyptian soil. And I don't understand why the Palestinians think Hamas has anything to offer. There are often Israelis in the media criticizing their own country and government, but where are the Palestinians criticizing Hamas? Where are the Palestinian voices saying the population needs to push Hamas out and that nothing good will ever come from them and their eternal death wish? Even now they continue their deafening silence. Why? The answer seems obvious. Hamas jails and kills dissenters. There is no free speech where they rule. Palestinians either support them or are silent, due to being terrorized. Hamas' goal is vengeance and not justice. Instead of dialog they use murder. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">As flawed as it is, Israel is a liberal democracy. Although they are also a super power in terms of riches, intelligence, military force and diplomatic power. I don't think Israel is playing things 'fairly' all the time either. But Palestinians voted to support a radical Islamic theocracy. That radicalism is why the Palestinian Authority (who abolished free elections) is so weak. The pervasiveness of that radicalism in the Middle East is why Iran was able to destroy Lebanon through Hezbollah. Groups and factions like ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hamas and other jihadists aren’t popping up out of nowhere. It’s also in part why the West supports Israel: to be a stabilizing force to the region. Although they are not doing a good job at the moment, with the death and destruction now caused in Gaza in retaliation 😔And killing civilians and creating future martyrs there will not help this situation. But Hamas has a perverted world view, for viewing the sacrifice of its citizens as a great political victory. Hundreds of millions of western aid dollars ended up in those Hamas tunnels, instead of with the poor people of Gaza. These investments made by Hamas in acquisition of arms, in the development of the bunker systems and in the training in warfare are signifying their accumulated and planned investment in a culture of warfare. Not in helping its people survive in their basic human needs, or enriching the land of Gaza, or use it for investments in healthcare or technology for instance. It also reflects a long-term decision to not seek peace. Hamas does not really care about the direct needs of the Palestinians. If they did, they would have used the hundreds of millions in aid they’ve received (if not more; according to Wikipedia $40 billion in aid was given to Palestine between 1994 and 2020) to provide a meaningful way of life for the civilians living in the Gaza Strip. Hamas took untold riches and invested it in their war machinery, instead of building a modern infrastructure and educating and caring for the population of Gaza in a meaningful way. That should anger the Free West. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='609' height='507' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzvwOby5iaN91nYe_PL9TDjoNA7ejVKOVqhqq-wzxvNT5p5M5aAfDc_2O3RZlSL9i0f4C7D8h3FLPelXL2bMQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEjI01HOXL1GP4YYD7c3uzsaPy513XVhwPQFQ0H_LDVMKP1TpbYlzicW5f0ZIxV55sC53HOrMpdvoymAr3ttrm4AKuGQ8ksi3zR3azm5NKF71UTbZweakXhZAXo7tt396iq7kYLZk7DvrebawJW-od9dWs0avR_BEsXeNAzXQULKcE7YBPuMENeZrg1CrM/s680/F-Ge85UaYAAP08U.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="680" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEjI01HOXL1GP4YYD7c3uzsaPy513XVhwPQFQ0H_LDVMKP1TpbYlzicW5f0ZIxV55sC53HOrMpdvoymAr3ttrm4AKuGQ8ksi3zR3azm5NKF71UTbZweakXhZAXo7tt396iq7kYLZk7DvrebawJW-od9dWs0avR_BEsXeNAzXQULKcE7YBPuMENeZrg1CrM/w400-h286/F-Ge85UaYAAP08U.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Twenty years ago (even 10 years ago) the majority of people in the west would have been undividedly horrified by what the brutal fundamentalists of Hamas have done. And by what they self-recorded as evidence. Hamas is very canny. It has co-opted language used by the progressive left to justify the mass slaughter of 1200+ people and to excuse a war that has left many thousands of Palestinians dead. Lefties who would not have a life in Palestine under Hamas, mind you, as one of the above videos from the </span>Al-Aqsa Mosque<span style="font-family: inherit;"> speech showed. Nowadays the more outspoken groups in the western world seem largely divided in two polarizing groups, who seem unable or unwilling to juggle more than one opinion at the same time. 'Palestine is oppressed by colonisers', end of discussion. The atrocities committed to babies, children and innocent families are simply ignored or cast aside as misinformation. And some aren't even up to date with the 7/10 attack itself. How embarrassing are these students.. So they <i>first</i> go to a </span>political<span style="font-family: inherit;"> rally for a Free Palestine in the midst of Israel attacking as a result of the 7/10 horrors... but then say they have no clue basically that happened and 'first need to be a bit more clued up on everything that's going on'. Peculiar order of things, and does this then show that they are sheep who blindly sided with what the majority of their fellow students went out marching for? And the other student is possibly even worse. When asked about her initial reaction when finding out about the 7/10 attack, she says: "I don't believe they did, did they..?" 👇😕😲</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='629' height='523' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxMusF8EfWEQL51ZY9e4uhOHuEyJLHrEOof1C3BFECTEqcQWa3CFwnDq5ffXRFiDD-NHJHRGKBLSzZdYXv8eA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">That being said, Israel are acting like war criminals right now</span></b> (some will say they ARE war criminals), bulldozing parts of Gaza and killing many more civilians by now than were killing by Hamas on 7/10. It is a scandal really how long this counterattack has been going on now and just how many civilians have died. It makes me suspicious about the reports that Israel and its military were warned beforehand about the impending 7/10 atack. Not saying they allowed this to happen, that is the most cynical and horrible conclusion/assumption. But by now it looks like the counterattack by Israel is about destroying all of Gaza, not just weeding out the Hamas terrorists responsible for the 7/10 massacre. And many countries in Europe and I suspect the USA as well are not in a position to demand Israel to stop. I understand the anger about this. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I understand the protests, asking attention for the innocent victims now in both Israel and Gaza. But not the wave of anti semitism is rolling over us also at the moment. I saw footage of loud, masked people proudly celebrating the 7/10 massacre in a subway in the USA, demanding on camera if the Jewish passengers onboard can make themselves known, so that they can be harassed. And TikTok is happy to publish the footage. <i>Hashtag brave</i>. It is just incredible that innocent people worldwide are held responsible for the actions of some Palestinians or some Israelis. That one works both ways. Being critical of the current military actions from Israel, or of their kibbutz politics, or even of Israel's history is one thing, but attacking Jews all over the world, or looking for excuses to defend these war crimes of Hamas is not ok. And when you go down the slippery slide of 'whataboutism', there is always some 'excuse'. Next we're supposed to tolerate honour killings because of "Islam interpretation" or because of some Family Dispute. It is a difficult conflict and there is not one Heroic side and one Villainous side. Below is a video of a comedian making light of the moral dilemma in the West over this conflict. I hope there will be a deal made pronto and an end made to innocent people's lives being taken, on both sides. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="499" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a0Pw_TxBe7w" width="600" youtube-src-id="a0Pw_TxBe7w"></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnfMyECGlBNkFX06SolDV_C_wdyGv1AGF1sYXCaUHJTtX5fD1VVnlUz9MLFn9dLTu-89ZdBeS7I44FRfXvxvC8XiXjq2q-N-vSvTSPtaHqXbuU2_xbxE3Ncbsu_LZmtwG8grJn71pjOdh1QhLObtOYB87heMdYd3LT-2jhcEZf_cKt0SMRvsSzpaV1-pP/s918/Untitled-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="913" data-original-width="918" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnfMyECGlBNkFX06SolDV_C_wdyGv1AGF1sYXCaUHJTtX5fD1VVnlUz9MLFn9dLTu-89ZdBeS7I44FRfXvxvC8XiXjq2q-N-vSvTSPtaHqXbuU2_xbxE3Ncbsu_LZmtwG8grJn71pjOdh1QhLObtOYB87heMdYd3LT-2jhcEZf_cKt0SMRvsSzpaV1-pP/w640-h636/Untitled-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA-G5smpGAcsfagW9D84-u1Ngxl87NiEtXZy0T0ur3luh3QxYFEVh5Gm9PRCnh4aw6clIOyuxWjV7NHKZd0rfaPcfWgrIygHwR-Yq8bfBkCXKqIN50Hd5lmQ-3l-iM2DuLlWz9bvEouX-ndLCPKbVB1WEaj9xBOQoqfVMfiZ2T6j4tM7XjfoDfjKlgG95n/s917/Untitled-3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="906" data-original-width="917" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA-G5smpGAcsfagW9D84-u1Ngxl87NiEtXZy0T0ur3luh3QxYFEVh5Gm9PRCnh4aw6clIOyuxWjV7NHKZd0rfaPcfWgrIygHwR-Yq8bfBkCXKqIN50Hd5lmQ-3l-iM2DuLlWz9bvEouX-ndLCPKbVB1WEaj9xBOQoqfVMfiZ2T6j4tM7XjfoDfjKlgG95n/w295-h292/Untitled-3.jpg" width="295" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifDUWfboJGw-igvOekxD_uu3S6jkm3B0lFwjW85D3zM-QXkPCkkatXjCStlbaf8ernAXx66wFGv6TmlblXoiaRcyBHX39ZEkxwPWtkPEUG3Q3O3lkoRwKdQQ4yHs9ltJJRiWRiY4jUg5qwg23g16GGsC31aTyn3w6RS1tK8fcpOgdVdCb1vt4pDWxcooiL/s923/Untitled-6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="907" data-original-width="923" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifDUWfboJGw-igvOekxD_uu3S6jkm3B0lFwjW85D3zM-QXkPCkkatXjCStlbaf8ernAXx66wFGv6TmlblXoiaRcyBHX39ZEkxwPWtkPEUG3Q3O3lkoRwKdQQ4yHs9ltJJRiWRiY4jUg5qwg23g16GGsC31aTyn3w6RS1tK8fcpOgdVdCb1vt4pDWxcooiL/w297-h291/Untitled-6.jpg" width="297" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyAWZa3BxuxKPKrHrZkpEi6j7CyXkj8wNuUV_g4xOzB_UuPdZ0AQ1B6muKAQxJtgSccssw2vyf-3JHK0LUj0g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwB40UxJgnkSps_pdrNNz7V3S9Sb1TJa8WLxMDwsI0OSbWyqnDQBT0FFvu1tM97qkcBzgC2TUNZY3Y7i-Hvzg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">REALITY CHECK: THIS IS WHAT HAMAS DEFENDERS AND PROTESTERS ARE JUSTIFYING:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_0QtJrbtr4Twcj-xtWWxfJkTG8hRXcDJ0Cw_Qz-Ktn6aTBZr0zU_pHwP1h_RRzQ5XtrILaZf6g5WZyjD3DSVcf6yloY89K9Ro39lLV_8D054wcvN7WUWdJ3lT0uUQ5dYpHtgy1QoT5RbYJl1Tg2YehgwUZmSbOfCvxrc3JTpse9kZOuZvUwmn6GWJ_67/s1422/20240221_181444.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1422" data-original-width="1093" height="737" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_0QtJrbtr4Twcj-xtWWxfJkTG8hRXcDJ0Cw_Qz-Ktn6aTBZr0zU_pHwP1h_RRzQ5XtrILaZf6g5WZyjD3DSVcf6yloY89K9Ro39lLV_8D054wcvN7WUWdJ3lT0uUQ5dYpHtgy1QoT5RbYJl1Tg2YehgwUZmSbOfCvxrc3JTpse9kZOuZvUwmn6GWJ_67/w566-h737/20240221_181444.jpg" width="566" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_DRC1QI1MIcp6X6U_mmKYQoM1bHMPZtzM1oVpWW9JHztZuLNo2tnpG13UudDA1Y4VaVnUR4iIJiERax3SXaLoMGgiToeFyALR4gT_JfVAdg2uxt3H52Lz5oE0IlLiN52740JZ0h7pLNzHw7ShaVGb-7_TkeJCK-ZansSsNu_CgVntphzNWMmo6JOErM2/s1603/418864166_1307660816564349_8904965988910987422_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1603" data-original-width="1449" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_DRC1QI1MIcp6X6U_mmKYQoM1bHMPZtzM1oVpWW9JHztZuLNo2tnpG13UudDA1Y4VaVnUR4iIJiERax3SXaLoMGgiToeFyALR4gT_JfVAdg2uxt3H52Lz5oE0IlLiN52740JZ0h7pLNzHw7ShaVGb-7_TkeJCK-ZansSsNu_CgVntphzNWMmo6JOErM2/w315-h347/418864166_1307660816564349_8904965988910987422_n.jpg" width="315" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfgkqL0_RJpbEmO-DsvT1iO0jIVL0vAeRHV80z5hjRNQ6z_V6qrrbPHqN3KsQyA0a-PrWDy24kNZ8hjjeF8cfp1sK_Oci-e0M3Z0qinsW39qh77jJNh0Sbzp_LucXib9aKRxBsvDqbr2zbMOLdUvTjpXdMDUp-aSpYVtpe4jJjPGCrwi5Vmvnq_rvrtv3C/s600/restricted.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="478" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfgkqL0_RJpbEmO-DsvT1iO0jIVL0vAeRHV80z5hjRNQ6z_V6qrrbPHqN3KsQyA0a-PrWDy24kNZ8hjjeF8cfp1sK_Oci-e0M3Z0qinsW39qh77jJNh0Sbzp_LucXib9aKRxBsvDqbr2zbMOLdUvTjpXdMDUp-aSpYVtpe4jJjPGCrwi5Vmvnq_rvrtv3C/w276-h346/restricted.jpg" width="276" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-large;">Songs of the d</b><b style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">ay</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3MbEi4dqHhM" width="320" youtube-src-id="3MbEi4dqHhM"></iframe> </span></b><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rj1b3nTR31U" width="320" youtube-src-id="rj1b3nTR31U"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> <b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large;">October 1, 2023</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3PigTjTBajnIrbt_MFGE6c8DJBS1CNBDnE4ljPZ1HeoV_c1dD8yDSh8rbORXIK60-ifNjh02ju95mPYb0_QjSNWS3WfmAvXP566wqU_E6ylJUJwZ-AyaOJeLgAHvm9LATjd3-L8CK1gVBP6daGcTRcm6pDviiKgbbZ4rz-nPRiM2UMACRGmY2p8qJm_9R/s2048/385784049_10160945753338996_8524268851749556651_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1148" data-original-width="2048" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3PigTjTBajnIrbt_MFGE6c8DJBS1CNBDnE4ljPZ1HeoV_c1dD8yDSh8rbORXIK60-ifNjh02ju95mPYb0_QjSNWS3WfmAvXP566wqU_E6ylJUJwZ-AyaOJeLgAHvm9LATjd3-L8CK1gVBP6daGcTRcm6pDviiKgbbZ4rz-nPRiM2UMACRGmY2p8qJm_9R/w776-h434/385784049_10160945753338996_8524268851749556651_n.jpg" width="776" /></a></div><div><div><br />I saw a beautiful and interesting <b><a href="https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/111772-000-A/nicolas-de-stael-la-peinture-a-vif/?fbclid=IwAR3ToRaO72h-1mYSGeQQtxIBqUc7tX8AWy6Q3U228gNCUi4qQkGDfK-Yq-U" target="_blank">documentary</a></b> on Arte about Nicolas de Staël. It only has French or German subtitles/language though.</div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="354" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kTu9Y9oF-pI" width="426" youtube-src-id="kTu9Y9oF-pI"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Some art works from him below:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggf9vKlslWtFN9xTdjKxm2OHVuhoVdVHb3Uwft6iH5wTDkyVCQldsS9wJ0J415OjZhQV0Vf-iKO6WlrO3lp3QU1b7aK7RYW5AKqOE8JDASk56vQ1BjYr7dL0Wn_u_wOxd8KEyUDwlK9c47Ddc3WAumQYPVAlPnAe9Ay56-O1XYkaiJNqncC2iKWf00anD5/s2048/385031716_10160945753733996_2660751378212457257_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1058" data-original-width="2048" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggf9vKlslWtFN9xTdjKxm2OHVuhoVdVHb3Uwft6iH5wTDkyVCQldsS9wJ0J415OjZhQV0Vf-iKO6WlrO3lp3QU1b7aK7RYW5AKqOE8JDASk56vQ1BjYr7dL0Wn_u_wOxd8KEyUDwlK9c47Ddc3WAumQYPVAlPnAe9Ay56-O1XYkaiJNqncC2iKWf00anD5/w640-h330/385031716_10160945753733996_2660751378212457257_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Bbh2xqNZfm68o7deGP72qJ6eqpjPMOVRlSk6mCfxs2C-Lz5Wu9qDEqQHf9C7UngPHYKDb0Fspb-uYgKgJxvIIDV8nCnax6djozJPCke4z8fto-sK4E2H3RJoHk32RJJpOd-D5EFNzfoVI9eV1yV_dOdV0_XEicun84th2_WjkfoUa0-TADmuerI5LoXW/s1301/385031726_10160945754283996_2199357875909790814_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLryXkk0gpHaCuE6F0pkh6E0SFaxvlcOxx1W4mFzYP3mbKJaDWtAmq95J64uWcBpEzsFLHYd07ysUuiNO7xG2wu07jWnYLIqQFnif8WtEqRUu84wcsnvPjw7SADkRNl6639OKhHgzsBO5Vu6eIhlfDSmvYRiIpzzG8cAP_ExrXGzdOwwX5f1CHtP8K9s8/s1831/384803954_10160945753853996_1600841964408426860_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1289" data-original-width="1831" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLryXkk0gpHaCuE6F0pkh6E0SFaxvlcOxx1W4mFzYP3mbKJaDWtAmq95J64uWcBpEzsFLHYd07ysUuiNO7xG2wu07jWnYLIqQFnif8WtEqRUu84wcsnvPjw7SADkRNl6639OKhHgzsBO5Vu6eIhlfDSmvYRiIpzzG8cAP_ExrXGzdOwwX5f1CHtP8K9s8/w640-h450/384803954_10160945753853996_1600841964408426860_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwFUw6TtqJ8GAn7OmBcS488KuFiLOsKpLlbWIpSzYWIA_JVLDChST_wOT0HLquX-6Er9QL5Ep_TgJe_GLUHVqjPKHbTjl8uEPaThiJlznwLdNOpoV818yAnaDjy-DVmZN9cq2yVb1ldn5wrT2YD5h60r6jRjRxAk_kNO-FHExZ_OagyaMeGAtkhUlyf8S/s1997/383978997_10160945754473996_1558619331278126897_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1193" data-original-width="1997" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwFUw6TtqJ8GAn7OmBcS488KuFiLOsKpLlbWIpSzYWIA_JVLDChST_wOT0HLquX-6Er9QL5Ep_TgJe_GLUHVqjPKHbTjl8uEPaThiJlznwLdNOpoV818yAnaDjy-DVmZN9cq2yVb1ldn5wrT2YD5h60r6jRjRxAk_kNO-FHExZ_OagyaMeGAtkhUlyf8S/w640-h382/383978997_10160945754473996_1558619331278126897_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_O1cmqPZzfWWofAEG4Mj_y6l65wS2pgLpHbDF0k2I1v0aZ_8lc-vw_SX7JZVtOepnhLfzRP51_IilBEO91KysdQDxSq2Pzm7P8cpZq4T2ttE2MvfUvKlt6aaWx_2u2TrRqJ1NZFj0SZsMNymwdSBPAbtfl48RdsvC3jbI58cGPKjmjeKMMO3FUabcUSCi/s2048/384789658_10160945753478996_6654563012577192477_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="2048" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_O1cmqPZzfWWofAEG4Mj_y6l65wS2pgLpHbDF0k2I1v0aZ_8lc-vw_SX7JZVtOepnhLfzRP51_IilBEO91KysdQDxSq2Pzm7P8cpZq4T2ttE2MvfUvKlt6aaWx_2u2TrRqJ1NZFj0SZsMNymwdSBPAbtfl48RdsvC3jbI58cGPKjmjeKMMO3FUabcUSCi/w640-h370/384789658_10160945753478996_6654563012577192477_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZikrWTAXCmCqCEwnDXPsqF3AmZWeynvfX8MPZdTITrDoVUU5zG-X-A7iJ-rZkhrXR33uT9FwMdgGcj6aFeQxsW7InRZfFz-13GMy4BdGibj0L-aw204MYZxONGp-ygwtUoY8-F1yS9HUOU5byB7iegyvg1v4quAGQdBNQA3ykKvZceGNqXJ2-o94rQNBQ/s6000/Nicolas-de-stael-honfleur.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4014" data-original-width="6000" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZikrWTAXCmCqCEwnDXPsqF3AmZWeynvfX8MPZdTITrDoVUU5zG-X-A7iJ-rZkhrXR33uT9FwMdgGcj6aFeQxsW7InRZfFz-13GMy4BdGibj0L-aw204MYZxONGp-ygwtUoY8-F1yS9HUOU5byB7iegyvg1v4quAGQdBNQA3ykKvZceGNqXJ2-o94rQNBQ/w474-h318/Nicolas-de-stael-honfleur.jpg" width="474" /></a></div>I also add a couple of photos from my skin, taken today and showing how pale my skin can look right after waking up. But then within half an hour of no cooling, the cheeks get pink and if I don't cool then.. they turn red and hot and painful. I talked with several female friends recently about ageing. It seems to be a topic that creeps up on you when you get to a certain age. It is strange, because I live in such a bubble myself, that time appears to move differently than for my worldly friends. I suspect that it seems to go faster to them, as they have kids related milestones, sleep deprivation and such busy lives. But I find it interesting how these thoughts about ageing and finity creep up almost naturally after.. well that must depend on each individual. I mean, I have been thinking about time and past and present-related topics for decades. But we in particularly now discuss how it feels to no longer be seen as young people. We're called Madame in shops now and people are <i>vousvoyeren</i> us; refer in a more formal second person form, which is used for those who are no longer youths anymore. I also walk through town and even though students still to do the same things we did, and gallivant through life like we did, we just no longer belong to that younger generation anymore. Not even seemingly. But I don't belong to the middle aged school run parent group either. Not that I mind, I do not like groups. And time seems to pass slowly to me as I have oceans of time compared to married parent friends of mine, to do what I want. But it seems a fact by now that I am halfway through life already. The way up always feels more promising and exciting than the way down. It won't get much better than this physical/health wise. And with age there is also a certain tiredness and cynicism that ultimately tries to creep up on you. As so much has already been seen and experienced before. And interhuman drama just seems too boring and repetitive as well. Which is a good thing by the way. But ultimately I don't have a problem with ageing. Sure, I'd like to be frozen in a 28 year old state of prime, but that is just not how it works in this day and age (although I'm sure it <i>will</i> work like that in the far future). So then you have only one alternative, aside from cosmetic and plastic surgeries which are not an option for me personally with all my allergies: grow old or be dead. In that sense ageing is a privilege. <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghP6OGqlxG-CXzTOEjEEruIf4Cz_s9Fa0K32g6LcM1W4_JwMirmqcFhn3Mx0xdVJHBUP8VId7uZFUGqk49JyxpxRBbSky5ZlR8_UfxV0RAeSvAnWyqdpK1UsjsqJffwc4_H73pYjBVayS9HSbZMwBnTqnhexKGV4bVwl8TRl4Z2kThobjnLX-CHgBb_vGH/s2720/20231001_131830%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2720" data-original-width="807" height="441" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghP6OGqlxG-CXzTOEjEEruIf4Cz_s9Fa0K32g6LcM1W4_JwMirmqcFhn3Mx0xdVJHBUP8VId7uZFUGqk49JyxpxRBbSky5ZlR8_UfxV0RAeSvAnWyqdpK1UsjsqJffwc4_H73pYjBVayS9HSbZMwBnTqnhexKGV4bVwl8TRl4Z2kThobjnLX-CHgBb_vGH/w131-h441/20231001_131830%20copy.jpg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnYSKFc6wM5kCXfMir3smxukZd7D9n9l9xkoipmQ_jPXcIOIvbqztX7SSC7SLOnJOrRcUL7T_Dw7901aSYesWyaJFqeRx0N1asTziVd7IacSgPozZyIt0s9t7K3GgpU3kRJu_nRf3H5x9_K-UIEmq1LvKGWHPTnrFNpWvg573UeZhOxGg555q-IN6XYN1K/s2772/20231001_131817.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2772" data-original-width="688" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnYSKFc6wM5kCXfMir3smxukZd7D9n9l9xkoipmQ_jPXcIOIvbqztX7SSC7SLOnJOrRcUL7T_Dw7901aSYesWyaJFqeRx0N1asTziVd7IacSgPozZyIt0s9t7K3GgpU3kRJu_nRf3H5x9_K-UIEmq1LvKGWHPTnrFNpWvg573UeZhOxGg555q-IN6XYN1K/w109-h442/20231001_131817.jpg" width="109" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAy8nt0LmaBMiuPm7xtShyphenhyphen_5_CnA00lY9XMa2Ey0jP1R20B67TsASinPec4SgmPeyNuODWhqb2cWmN4drq2Jz_f_Kg9X4kfVikwdcgSiXdzBazTRi5tC6Hki_r5yfI1Vx2UuLgB6Q4zUJh03haj1KWwpxpHWQ8wJTzXWGpcF7dIhfrMNY5_w68UBftFzF/s2624/20231001_131829,7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2624" data-original-width="733" height="443" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAy8nt0LmaBMiuPm7xtShyphenhyphen_5_CnA00lY9XMa2Ey0jP1R20B67TsASinPec4SgmPeyNuODWhqb2cWmN4drq2Jz_f_Kg9X4kfVikwdcgSiXdzBazTRi5tC6Hki_r5yfI1Vx2UuLgB6Q4zUJh03haj1KWwpxpHWQ8wJTzXWGpcF7dIhfrMNY5_w68UBftFzF/w123-h443/20231001_131829,7.jpg" width="123" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFOp5BHACgXRIsDdgDybvBzp7rUa8u4a-Bsz8FElL06tINKfh6SfHyHM3GEKdt4wde9SvTEpPfAyMvUqNt4JfdClVQCUi3kGjhWt7UTAhMP1UPA9QAiDSH6DzSYL9C7vzLyoeThXHAhM0gx1TgU03yiG3asAH2BqIvRT7uuleGgxvAKUU5QwNZG-ZmysEb/s2500/20231001_131833%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1268" data-original-width="780" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCkVu7ebS826nmCVAjGTvFA0qgDH2NZ7RVwtX6seefDr0o4vtoMJG2sgPUm15C5g4-Bv4AyDl_8w8K5ow2tS6Qn1IrP61MroVtwNS3lHe8QpUqUZ9utvl4eIt0lcv8fRlmvFwTBzT221DidnkR2Je2-9pyR1-hxZwoe9bXiiH2cvv925t5wDJP40ywXj6f/w148-h241/20231001_135632.jpg" width="148" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_HDW9OVffg-OilCqDwzi1o7mgsIx-daWXriB7lFN3ZB_haX_V65azQDb5rn22GNTw7qPnoLi-DvCeKxba67B5cQFRv2TrWPkfQTg5TvulQKsPmpsxNm2M7KK2X1OIIdbiCwslWwBBsHN7GD84bjlGDI196EVpNxjvnubg0XLPIvQEtm3I0QZIsBzf6cu3/s952/20231001_131810,7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="952" data-original-width="803" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_HDW9OVffg-OilCqDwzi1o7mgsIx-daWXriB7lFN3ZB_haX_V65azQDb5rn22GNTw7qPnoLi-DvCeKxba67B5cQFRv2TrWPkfQTg5TvulQKsPmpsxNm2M7KK2X1OIIdbiCwslWwBBsHN7GD84bjlGDI196EVpNxjvnubg0XLPIvQEtm3I0QZIsBzf6cu3/w202-h240/20231001_131810,7.jpg" width="202" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-large;">Songs of the d</b><b style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">ay<br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WyRN8AXB6xY" width="320" youtube-src-id="WyRN8AXB6xY"></iframe> </span></b><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WDVifDI1je0" width="320" youtube-src-id="WDVifDI1je0"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;"> <b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large;">September 26, 2023</b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvcsP7dS05v7R2JLb7hTmYdxoRBjiVCxXskKcXGzMFngC9MIppWyIMX7IRqMg-N81_lYLR22gGo6CTt7stKKjdZ4EIlAyfxQwvAIfUZXHS6Zy-tpYEDJ7vjzqh7YkOnnfTys0eKoUfnF5NmRIL1EJjyFN5fwKeYyL8CLW3qWrV1FGpLVcIKHgZWJYfjbJ/s446/Mervyn%20was%20known%20as%20an%20early%20pioneer%20of%20colour%20photography%20and%20used%20the%20Autochrome%20process.2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="446" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvcsP7dS05v7R2JLb7hTmYdxoRBjiVCxXskKcXGzMFngC9MIppWyIMX7IRqMg-N81_lYLR22gGo6CTt7stKKjdZ4EIlAyfxQwvAIfUZXHS6Zy-tpYEDJ7vjzqh7YkOnnfTys0eKoUfnF5NmRIL1EJjyFN5fwKeYyL8CLW3qWrV1FGpLVcIKHgZWJYfjbJ/s320/Mervyn%20was%20known%20as%20an%20early%20pioneer%20of%20colour%20photography%20and%20used%20the%20Autochrome%20process.2.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuT5hyE0kjbwSe9SJKMhLbXmfLO-6rxE1dSzJshEtxWouJcNI9ZiFmuboAda2ByKrpk7u1G8hCDTXK4fCSDFkgEBJFgpWEaYjutDNNekuCfK8d6uMD2YJdKr_hwBUXVaPF2o3O5nZVbA0ZPUAPYw9tDA2QtVjGyANce0zs2Nma-cdVyzD4u4q6GgvzjwQZ/s640/281008927_1634619120257695_477444930049411973_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="640" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuT5hyE0kjbwSe9SJKMhLbXmfLO-6rxE1dSzJshEtxWouJcNI9ZiFmuboAda2ByKrpk7u1G8hCDTXK4fCSDFkgEBJFgpWEaYjutDNNekuCfK8d6uMD2YJdKr_hwBUXVaPF2o3O5nZVbA0ZPUAPYw9tDA2QtVjGyANce0zs2Nma-cdVyzD4u4q6GgvzjwQZ/s320/281008927_1634619120257695_477444930049411973_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">T<span></span></span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">he summer has been pretty miserable to be honest. I don't like summers and never did. The unrelenting sun, the oceans of free time and listlessness. Friends enjoying endless afternoons on the waterside, while I have to avoid the sun. I don't even enjoy the long days or the short shadows. Am an Autumn person. Even before developing rosacea I was happy when the summer holiday ended and we could all go back to school. Nowadays with rosacea, on sunny summer days I am mostly stuck in the house with the air-conditioning running and a fan on. I honestly switch my day and night rhythm in the summer months, staying up and working with the windows open until 4 AM easily. Then sleeping in and not getting up before noon. Because what's the point of getting up at 8 am when the day is just one big prison? I go for walks through town when the temperatures drop and the sun is down. It is what it is... <br /></span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvj8ga3d8GqiUVWIUQm8Evv-Y0txs6zWtTF7fu_IhXZrQ7wobAnsCF_hC8ROHz1Q2c_CBqpq2wkFwCox42M7nCWC00BXhG3i0ajKz_oNFPgeCsdKb-IPhn8YiQCRqgfyho68J9jHk45cIfFi84ogOQwKY8NYmNtVPOr10QWO-mTtKahC2lbZHv_h4Qaog5/s461/273031683_1567942500258691_5380262856425137208_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="461" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvj8ga3d8GqiUVWIUQm8Evv-Y0txs6zWtTF7fu_IhXZrQ7wobAnsCF_hC8ROHz1Q2c_CBqpq2wkFwCox42M7nCWC00BXhG3i0ajKz_oNFPgeCsdKb-IPhn8YiQCRqgfyho68J9jHk45cIfFi84ogOQwKY8NYmNtVPOr10QWO-mTtKahC2lbZHv_h4Qaog5/s320/273031683_1567942500258691_5380262856425137208_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hl3UfY3wrjLUYVr4ZY07sTdZ5iNMBG8dBDHWA0VksAH8d4Q4GeI3TH21M8gAvDTiVRi3TmZqvapIC9pNNEOm7jIVGIiFuz0HMH_q7LuF0vFSM0LE4K3pbeCJai-SUGG4fX-DkACYf6uYfo78Z6uQ_DKT_yE5DMZ8g5AJo8xjWx_Wzx4Cs7BD3Q2bNEUu/s808/Mervyn%20was%20known%20as%20an%20early%20pioneer%20of%20colour%20photography%20and%20used%20the%20Autochrome%20process..jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="808" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hl3UfY3wrjLUYVr4ZY07sTdZ5iNMBG8dBDHWA0VksAH8d4Q4GeI3TH21M8gAvDTiVRi3TmZqvapIC9pNNEOm7jIVGIiFuz0HMH_q7LuF0vFSM0LE4K3pbeCJai-SUGG4fX-DkACYf6uYfo78Z6uQ_DKT_yE5DMZ8g5AJo8xjWx_Wzx4Cs7BD3Q2bNEUu/s320/Mervyn%20was%20known%20as%20an%20early%20pioneer%20of%20colour%20photography%20and%20used%20the%20Autochrome%20process..jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span>My skin has not been great this summer. The skin flushing is kind of controllable nowadays due to lifestyle adaptations and my </span><b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html" target="_blank">anti flushing medication regime</a></b><span>. Although when the temperature goes up I flush much more easily. So when at home I run the air-conditioning and sleep/work with a desktop clip on fan running. And I have a collection of eight neck fans also, for when I go out. Some are powerful (my favourite one is </span><b><a href="https://media.s-bol.com/mO1nO7gOWx8r/1200x1199.jpg" target="_blank">this one</a></b><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">), others are sleek and resemble headphones. I bring at least one of those neck fans when I go out for a walk or a bicycle ride, when I travel or when I meet people in public. On a good skin day I can go without the neck fan for a bit usually, but as soon as my cheeks start to feel hot and that tingling feeling starts, which usually precedes a big flush, then I put the fan on. They are perfect. My Australian friend uses hers as well when out and about and even had hers running when she had a university meeting. People right in front of you tend to notice that it is a fan, but people around you doing their own thing barely ever pay attention or realise. These fans make a very faint sound also, which is great. <br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br />Like previous summers, the warm </span><span>weather combined with my elevated facial skin temperature has caused a skin rash in 2023 as well. Unfortunately. My darm last year thought it was a regular rosacea outbreak, but I know that it is directly related to my poor facial skin barrier function, which causes heat rash and cold urticaria once the outside temperature gets either too warm or very cold (winter). I tried to control the temperature enough to avoid the red rashes this time around, but only managed to control them a bit more than last summer. I usually just put zinc oxide paste/cream on the skin eruptions and wait until they go away again. But waking up with red dots on the cheeks is just another level of rosacea misery for me tbh. Normally the cheek I sleep on is much more pale than the other cheek (when sleeping on my side). But in the summer months I need to sleep on my back because the slept on </span>cheek is all red and raised and rashy the next day. I think from the heat: rosacea hot skin + cheek on pillow without air flow from the fan means more heat rash. <span style="text-align: center;">Both my dermatologists, Doctor Chu and Dr</span><span style="text-align: center;"> Trost</span><span style="text-align: center;"> have retired by now, unfortunately. They were older doctors to start with, but had so much knowledge </span><span style="text-align: center;">and experience. I kind of stick with their taught routine now and keep delaying the move to find a new derm. I am not sure if it makes any sense to go back to my local hospital. I saw so many local dermatologists in the past and all but one worked with textbook rosacea treatments, which are mostly useless for our subtype 1. Three months of high dose doxycycline ruined my bowel function (have irritable bowel and colitis ever since) and made the flushing also worse while taking those pills.</span><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPLDTzxJ0PetFx2l0wC3eLdxp9T0AiBAQ6JHFC9BuzD6K0w7J3Yf_xtsVNMQW_TxQFDBXHTZGRxJ6qcaxxVaki60YkItlHHfjFHwfNby_aDAY6D4ZP4cCOnpdTFCPbh3-tUzCNCgMeqPPi7STaliRz3sJrxfIdZnzoRdoV-tYSbOUyzD08Ftqv1JnPBfRZ/s1080/DSC00031.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1062" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPLDTzxJ0PetFx2l0wC3eLdxp9T0AiBAQ6JHFC9BuzD6K0w7J3Yf_xtsVNMQW_TxQFDBXHTZGRxJ6qcaxxVaki60YkItlHHfjFHwfNby_aDAY6D4ZP4cCOnpdTFCPbh3-tUzCNCgMeqPPi7STaliRz3sJrxfIdZnzoRdoV-tYSbOUyzD08Ftqv1JnPBfRZ/w226-h229/DSC00031.JPG" width="226" /></a><span><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6KULvIbuwqO_xQVClKXrAXiR0z5NIbHUiEuvY76rdTnlKc9A5CheHMSrRd9wcPuq0pQno0pRWQVLmTQuFNPOGCUKamtmoayhXTRW_qqraHax0STdtgRuUZeeY38yMehk8JslK_SI0tB80IrnBdP0-mUbjj2-0UVhU-IGfovvi5K7UE_5EhDGRMv9qT0a/s4128/20230909_152220.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4128" data-original-width="2322" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6KULvIbuwqO_xQVClKXrAXiR0z5NIbHUiEuvY76rdTnlKc9A5CheHMSrRd9wcPuq0pQno0pRWQVLmTQuFNPOGCUKamtmoayhXTRW_qqraHax0STdtgRuUZeeY38yMehk8JslK_SI0tB80IrnBdP0-mUbjj2-0UVhU-IGfovvi5K7UE_5EhDGRMv9qT0a/w225-h400/20230909_152220.jpg" width="225" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: center;">I can't put anything on my skin, other than washing it</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"> with gentle bottled water. At the moment I use Voss water, which is very soft water and is delivered in a glass bottle, as I don't want plastic residue on my skin either if possible. So dermatological creams and potions only made things worse for me in the past. I use a very pure zinc oxide cream for spot treatment on blemishes or small pimples and that's about it. I have been lucky that twenty years of zero skin care didn't cause me massive wrinkles, yet </span>(I will be 44 in a few weeks time).<span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"> I doubt the dermatological community would be able to find volunteers for such a trial, but due to circumstances I had no other choice really. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ideally flushers and burners like me would need a team of doctors; a dermatologist, an allergist, an immunologist, a neurologist.. Or even better: just one doctor who knows about all these specialities and can address all those aspects of vascular, neurological rosacea. But they are near impossible to find.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then there is also my ankle, which <span>is still not 100% back to normal. But it is getting there. I can walk as normal now and even exercise again, but not at the same intensity as before, so am still feeling a little bit of a slob. But it was a nightmare to have to travel with assistance when I was still hobbling around on crutches. Thank god that is over. Once and hopefully never again, if I can avoid it. </span><span>It feels miserable to need help with the simplest of things. </span></span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I now really appreciate the simple act of walking without pain. I had made reservations already for a trip to the Faroe Islands, in May this year. But given the treacherous landscape there I had to cancel, as my ankle was still not good. Bummer.. May go to Budapest instead near the end of this year. I also am in my early forties now and like female friends my same age I am getting peri menstrual symptoms, slowly but surely. Periods that aren't precisely on time, more hair loss than usual (clumps of hair in my brush or in the shower). Perhaps the start of mini hot flashes at night, although this is hard to be sure of in the midst of summer when I want to throw all the blankets off anyway. My mum is in her late sixties and has struggled with hot flashes quite badly for the past 15 (!) years. I am glad in a way that I already take mirtazapine at a low dose and clonidine, which both should theoretically help with menopausal hot flashes. I hope that I won't get it too bad myself 🙏🤞<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJG8F7IB7Nf9EJ4yEBlOWm0U6sIrertm0NvpMYPcT1ewYG6-wyCK0yVjXa6jjrTLhyfyCQw3BpDy6EeRtXFzZ6PESNc7IH0IIzm9TCws4MQ4ezTXPMHydLxkebmTSa77hLW-x3jGKoflyS1vKo6xd5_CGvsHuchajVUh2-Txk-kg2Z-0ouvsv3w5VbVM4/s210/321995801_1301848373882172_5639148850795343035_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="168" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJG8F7IB7Nf9EJ4yEBlOWm0U6sIrertm0NvpMYPcT1ewYG6-wyCK0yVjXa6jjrTLhyfyCQw3BpDy6EeRtXFzZ6PESNc7IH0IIzm9TCws4MQ4ezTXPMHydLxkebmTSa77hLW-x3jGKoflyS1vKo6xd5_CGvsHuchajVUh2-Txk-kg2Z-0ouvsv3w5VbVM4/w320-h400/321995801_1301848373882172_5639148850795343035_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you are feeling tired and overwhelmed yourself today, my advice would be to pick one task and then choose something that brings you joy to do afterwards. Get your favorite drink. Go for a walk. Do something that truly has your interest. Have a nap. Meet a nice person. Watch your favorite tv show. Whatever you need to do to get through the day because life is not easy with a chronic illness. But we have to choose to see the magic under the bulls**t, regardless of how shitty in can be. Keep in mind that on social media most people present glossy PR highlight versions of their own lives. Find things that move you and help you grow. Life is a long journey and not always fair or *fun*. But we do grow personally from adapting to misadventure and from not always making the right choices. And I think that's the narrative we should be telling, not some fantasy love story that no one (or at least, not many) can or will achieve. And that's a hard lesson I have had to learn over and over. But there are people who make it worth it and there are animals who deserve our love, books to be read, sports to be enjoyed, travels to be made.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I lost my middle sister almost twenty years ago to a missed appendicitis and ever since it is strangely easier for me to just be content with being alive and making it through the years with as much enjoying moments and acceptance of things as possible</span>.<br /> </span></span></span></span></div><p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8QqT0FmAUGyCp49_Pt8xGQjMTtuRH7mkZ3qQwkpkhzoCdAvXlLDtKc43rKFvnMFkKZ_LrlXsWzFmzRtsSUWABzzicjDR-DrAiY9DcJ-dCYAYR3irMWJNS9eaX7cFEE6MS08TNFfMfMzFs9vkexcpF4zyWWRRNU59Py3pf3Js6z8WIOzEcUYCQ5T14UKSh/s1908/1%20(6).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1908" data-original-width="1403" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8QqT0FmAUGyCp49_Pt8xGQjMTtuRH7mkZ3qQwkpkhzoCdAvXlLDtKc43rKFvnMFkKZ_LrlXsWzFmzRtsSUWABzzicjDR-DrAiY9DcJ-dCYAYR3irMWJNS9eaX7cFEE6MS08TNFfMfMzFs9vkexcpF4zyWWRRNU59Py3pf3Js6z8WIOzEcUYCQ5T14UKSh/s320/1%20(6).jpg" width="235" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioiBB5_ZUWtlBjDZa6vEyIdjU3T9IVEnqjagQGmzhIvEc6BYZZQDbJot-dKRAVflFCGJruhH5ZF9y-xRxrK2Bz4lsV3j2FmSWm-TmJ6KSGeLS2P15KE3YIq6e0PlDPIaHSL_pqijBp7h-Upd3Xm92zJneotNyBt9dgRJ84yttmQtPm7SSWh_BGgcu9z9UB/s960/93642893_10158185883478996_7420449996987695104_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioiBB5_ZUWtlBjDZa6vEyIdjU3T9IVEnqjagQGmzhIvEc6BYZZQDbJot-dKRAVflFCGJruhH5ZF9y-xRxrK2Bz4lsV3j2FmSWm-TmJ6KSGeLS2P15KE3YIq6e0PlDPIaHSL_pqijBp7h-Upd3Xm92zJneotNyBt9dgRJ84yttmQtPm7SSWh_BGgcu9z9UB/s320/93642893_10158185883478996_7420449996987695104_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDtYtbmchRF3qNX_ThEfJ7ZEce8Pbr_eahvb44QDQ03KlK4iSWEv_NZDIwTGCij_gREYIrmgYNMN1Eb4_xVkskQbWQJzPm5UCa5jfIlyg1ufOcMnv0szriV5OmzuOCXGdFI24V7202j28_scjhhXCKgZxLXk7HWGPg8a3T20e1JTxORxvJ8xHZyOU-e4rO/s275/download.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDtYtbmchRF3qNX_ThEfJ7ZEce8Pbr_eahvb44QDQ03KlK4iSWEv_NZDIwTGCij_gREYIrmgYNMN1Eb4_xVkskQbWQJzPm5UCa5jfIlyg1ufOcMnv0szriV5OmzuOCXGdFI24V7202j28_scjhhXCKgZxLXk7HWGPg8a3T20e1JTxORxvJ8xHZyOU-e4rO/w400-h266/download.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSFjLVWOlQZ9Y-F-UzX1D_ZcN5VHrP3iF3fAeQBhA_nGPC-gO-Xn54T5cJ-1Ifyhcq0O9t7K8W2mUBU5Zy92mkUbChfZ2BmHiwwHU__1SAeYHHW4BirMUqrcbED54sGQlu-dpPY6wAaez5gLpqmYDwTJntee4mR2K_014rWRBy6DDFz9CO1ztumaZTd6V/s1334/download2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1334" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSFjLVWOlQZ9Y-F-UzX1D_ZcN5VHrP3iF3fAeQBhA_nGPC-gO-Xn54T5cJ-1Ifyhcq0O9t7K8W2mUBU5Zy92mkUbChfZ2BmHiwwHU__1SAeYHHW4BirMUqrcbED54sGQlu-dpPY6wAaez5gLpqmYDwTJntee4mR2K_014rWRBy6DDFz9CO1ztumaZTd6V/w400-h234/download2.jpg" width="400" /></a></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><b><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Oppenheimer</span><br /></span></b></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>I have been to the cinema recently </span><span>and hadn't been there for what seems like ages.</span> But now in summer the cinema hall was nice and cool, so it was pleasant. I went to see Oppenheimer. It is about the 1942 Manhattan Project, aiming to build and test the atomic bomb. Irish actor Cillian Murphy is a favourite of mine and does an incredible job. He is in many Christopher Nolan movies. I recommend the movie! Even though it runs for 3 hours. In structure the movie is a little bit comparable to JFK I thought. Complex storytelling with flashbacks and different intermingling timelines. Easy to follow though. There was a part about Oppenheimer's youth and younger life, a part about the Manhattan Project itself (my favourite part) and then a part about the later McCarthyism years and frantics and how politicians in America tried to ruin him and his legacy. All very interesting and it never felt like a 3 hr movie, it went fast. The pace of this movie never slumps, the magic and magnetisms of the main actors never wavers and for those with a science background there is still enough to enjoy about this movie's fantastic topic.</span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Core question of the movie seemed to me whether or not the development of the atomic bomb (and later the Hydrogen bomb in extension) was ultimately good or bad for mankind. Oppenheimer had problems with his conscience later on, just like Einstein. But in a way I think: it has put the world in a checkmate chess situation in a way. And that may also be a positive thing? Because quite a few powerful nations have atomic bombs nowadays and even H-bombs and they all know that once one nation seriously start to throw them, they get it back 10-fold and everything will be ruined. That made the cold war super frightening, but by now we can see that the bomb never was thrown again after Hiroshima/Nagasaki. Which was bad enough already. Not to say it won't happen in the 21st century or at some point. But until now it may actually have helped in keeping the peace? A checkmate situation where the risks are high enough to keep even the most rogue nations in check? I am not sure about this though. Still thinking about it. After watching this movie, I also felt a bit of indignation about the way the atomic bomb was used on japan. But that is also how the movie is set up to make you feel. So I have been reading some more about it and have been discussing it a bit and I can also see why America decided to at the time. Not just in light of Pearl Harbour, but also knowing what atrocities the Japanese militaries at the time committed. Very brutal. But innocent civilians remain innocent civilians in the end. And so many innocent civilians died directly or in delayed there in an horrific fashion. Also interesting: the methods that were used to try to frame Oppenheimer as a communist. I knew it was a witch-hunt at the time in the United States, but politicians can be so darn relentless, immoral and corrupt. Nothing changed in that respect. Dirty politics is of all times I suppose. <br /><br />The sound was very intense. I thought the volume was set too high perhaps. Had to press my ears shut during some of the high sound scenes. But I later read about the Dutch cameraman who often works with Nolan (Hoyte van Hoytema), who stated that they shot the movie on purpose with an analogue instead of a digital camera. Because they want everything - including the sound - to be as life like as possible. Very few computer effects are used. And he says that Nolan's movies in particular should be viewed in cinemas. Because of how immersive the IMAX experience is then. Sound, depth, wide screen: everything is supposed to really draw you in. That doesn't happen to this extent on a smaller screen at home. I cannot for the life of me understand why this gem of a movie was connected in any way to the Barbie vehicle. The only way in which it links is the premiere date I suppose. The fact that Barbie is more political and indoctrinating than Oppenheimer, set partially in the Cold War era, should raise some eyebrows probably. <br /></span><br /><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseRZCrbwZ8cE3Ue6iJ4KLLkpXHfUCcMA59O4ubXJquJh1Bd0j10Ie5d-AYkqqMlPyB1PqtdNybnV9Yxjb_w7a4PI5qknQMer0XwyFmcS4FPOw6epa75Yw-zLXyCqHfH-g1KDUVJWaIDWp3i6IyN0Bte2H4qQagcAa_OPt3dCayJqFlBrb-uKCD8_lcdlp/s460/273212420_1567942503592024_938754981243229246_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="460" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseRZCrbwZ8cE3Ue6iJ4KLLkpXHfUCcMA59O4ubXJquJh1Bd0j10Ie5d-AYkqqMlPyB1PqtdNybnV9Yxjb_w7a4PI5qknQMer0XwyFmcS4FPOw6epa75Yw-zLXyCqHfH-g1KDUVJWaIDWp3i6IyN0Bte2H4qQagcAa_OPt3dCayJqFlBrb-uKCD8_lcdlp/w640-h460/273212420_1567942503592024_938754981243229246_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /><br /><div><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Barbie movie</span></b></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2wbIuYkQJDa3zUtNfnqEpjWfHCfzgyq9tP9f3uUAX69HBcGtL1CjzwVeXzoJFwMLkvnKMlpiYITR4k9-L6JYsxOf7pqEdDwvYUWhZGcVzFZFdLEOD_iIOVEKZMAVt6aKKjrTJ7-WihC_vg7ruZ5651VXrmJtfUMk7jGilK-zMxekueXuhdhFV_RqJyUoJ/s1280/TWO6MCI7UFGDTKORQ7PXWW7CZ4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="1280" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2wbIuYkQJDa3zUtNfnqEpjWfHCfzgyq9tP9f3uUAX69HBcGtL1CjzwVeXzoJFwMLkvnKMlpiYITR4k9-L6JYsxOf7pqEdDwvYUWhZGcVzFZFdLEOD_iIOVEKZMAVt6aKKjrTJ7-WihC_vg7ruZ5651VXrmJtfUMk7jGilK-zMxekueXuhdhFV_RqJyUoJ/w400-h311/TWO6MCI7UFGDTKORQ7PXWW7CZ4.jpg" width="400" /></a>Then I watched the totally overhyped, overpromoted 'Barbie' movie through an illegal download. It was mehhhh. The story revolves around Barbie world, where the Barbies rule the roost and have all the jobs and all the perks while the Kens are dumb silly doormats, only living to catch Barbie's attention. When Barbie (actress Margot Robbie) starts to get 'dark thoughts', she is sent to the real world as a form of preventive therapy. She wants to figure out what is going on with the kid who has/controls her doll. There Ken notices that it are the men in fact who rule the (real) world and he is very excited about finally feeling validated as a dude. These ruling men are of course totally unreasonable, sexist pigs. Back in Barbie land he stages a revolt and take-over, but the Barbies don't want to share any of their privileges and quickly return things to the status quo and put the Kens back in their pathetic places. The happy ending of this movie is for the Barbies to fool the Kens out of power and take over control again. Completely. Every job of interest is done by the Barbies again. If that is a reflection of how girls play with their dolls, fair enough. But the endless monologues about the patriarchy seem to point to something else entirely: a troubling message and societal commentary <i>for modern audiences</i>. I know some other movies from the director, Greta Gerwig. Wasn't a big fan of her movies until now (even her Little Women was underwhelming), and this new Barbie movie did not help. I was very confused about her treatment of the Kens. Is their total uselessness and second fiddle playing a representation of how children generally play with their Barbies and Kens? And if so, on whose behalf is the female narrator talking (and preaching..) throughout the movie? Or was this another attempt to make women the heroes of everything and men the villains? It certainly felt like that. I personally didn't mind the lack of diversity of the movie characters that much. Nor the 'privilege' of many of these characters. I don't necessarily expect to see all of society represented in every movie. But the political brainwashing was a bit much.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbQZHNkVAtZZy-qlL-nSteigbnd66WOA-XAOYreV0lGSgWeF9NmQHWhbFaHodzCW0DSeBdxnu6E4JnhUUzv2zc2N6FD4xFxmwbh9-EcSzT7gXNQGrzyLkggv2iLQbP_PcqLWEQo_0ZTEqMji6ts0O6Ku08sTAQoxfsL6dS7fvVsFjde1N34jQJTNenndL/s3000/19barbie-takes-jzwg-videoSixteenByNine3000.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1688" data-original-width="3000" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbQZHNkVAtZZy-qlL-nSteigbnd66WOA-XAOYreV0lGSgWeF9NmQHWhbFaHodzCW0DSeBdxnu6E4JnhUUzv2zc2N6FD4xFxmwbh9-EcSzT7gXNQGrzyLkggv2iLQbP_PcqLWEQo_0ZTEqMji6ts0O6Ku08sTAQoxfsL6dS7fvVsFjde1N34jQJTNenndL/w400-h225/19barbie-takes-jzwg-videoSixteenByNine3000.jpg" width="400" /></a>Barbie was a whiney, empty bore in a CGI hellscape. She wasn't even interesting when she went all Schopenhauer for a bit. There is literally no character development and no redeeming quality to her. The other Barbies were equally saccharine-sweet character stereotypes. One or two were modern Hollywood 'quirky' (aka: annoying). I honestly didn't care enough about any of the characters to give them another thought. There is literally nothing redeeming about any of them either. Funny Ken was basically the saviour of this movie, but was consistently treated like dirt. The Kens in general are portrayed as total losers. I honestly wished that Barbie land remained the way the Kens wanted it to be. With beer and giant TV's and just a bit more fun. I'd have considered that a good ending (just because it would go against the grain of expectations of modern day movies). But even for those few fun scenes we were punished with yet another preachy patriarchy monologue by the all-knowing voice. The core message of this movie seems to be that men rule the real world and women only rule in a world of make-belief. This movie would have perhaps had its merits in the 1950's. When women truly were sent to the kitchen and locked in their houses with a brood of kids and a package of valium. But these days? C'mon now. Many western world women (on the whole) can do anything they want and are given positive discrimination too. More women graduate from university here than men. More women go on to do PhD trajectories. The only reason they stop short of the business top is because most women choose to go part-time once they want to have kids. But not even that is expected of them anymore, it is all a free choice. It's getting tiring to see men cast in the villain role so often suddenly, in recent Hollywood projects. Firstly because it has become a dogma of its own and all the virtue signalling movie makers seem to feel the need to jump on board. Secondly because this type of stereotyping is annoying. Especially when the reality is that many of the men we know and even knew in the past (grandfathers etc) were not at all out to suppress and demean all women. I'd say the Church had a much bigger role in this.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2xKVTZjcBRz5wuaG3MFfB2IRj9E_XKubefZrM2no8Z64zMo_0VDXS186TGWlceUtBUCguCLQkylNQhhGHkJmYHuooyQsPEUEG6r-ivfEe7dqLvdREGfsIexSzORA72eK0Va5JwKdvXgx5jfgq1feo1tF-EFMfVedV4GSU02O0PUACcrX35a14eFAu5qnV/s234/download%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="234" data-original-width="215" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2xKVTZjcBRz5wuaG3MFfB2IRj9E_XKubefZrM2no8Z64zMo_0VDXS186TGWlceUtBUCguCLQkylNQhhGHkJmYHuooyQsPEUEG6r-ivfEe7dqLvdREGfsIexSzORA72eK0Va5JwKdvXgx5jfgq1feo1tF-EFMfVedV4GSU02O0PUACcrX35a14eFAu5qnV/w316-h343/download%20(1).jpg" width="316" /></a>My dad always talked about how the world would be a peaceful and fair and well-organized place if only WOMEN ruled it. I always disagreed. And now that women do end up in top roles more often we can actually see that no, psychopaths and corrupt rulers are not all male either. Those are <i>human</i> traits (well, traits of <i>some</i> humans). There are great women and there are manipulative, evil and vindictive women out there. Good female rulers and bad ones. They may have less testosterone than men but they have the memory of an elephant when it comes to slights and conflict. But somehow Hollywood is dead-set on hammering the message into young, impressionable viewers that men are and always were evil. It honestly makes me cynical. I mean, never mind that they gave their lives to save the world from the nazi's etc. Men are oppressing women and our fathers, brothers and cousins were equally terrible men who oppressed women. Never mind men like Mahatma Gandhi, Mandela, Martin Luther King, Copernicus, Richard Dawkins, David Attenborough, Oskar Schindler to name a few. Never mind all the men who selflessly fought in wars to defend their countries; who sacrificed their lives to liberate prisoners in the concentration camps: all prime examples of 'oppressive patriarchy'. And let's not forget all those over privileged men who worked in the mines, ruining their 'privileged' lungs. The ones dying on the Titanic because they let women and children use the lifeboats. Such bastards.. Never mind the men who supported their wives, daughters, sisters, mothers (including disabled and sick women) in history towards progress and living fully deserved rich lives. All were all horrible oppressors of women, if we are to believe the current Hollywood and popular media culture. Guilty by gender association. Barbie teaches us that all of them should be condemned. Cynical... </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiWYeyOs-6J2mczQmoVMBomOsvpKQxUqXo9XDSUG_HlcU4N-7TBNjSLQ6xVlysXthTlm-EtjvYJWpacRV_C0RYe-BnChClbDGpiV6OmG8kyp885PGJRlwNRIpFPatZ56xdqA-nZAbvuuXwElIHZyzF12hRV_873bkA_zCM5UOOKn4nst62gKKyQ6KfMGXg/s612/brads-fam-82.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="612" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiWYeyOs-6J2mczQmoVMBomOsvpKQxUqXo9XDSUG_HlcU4N-7TBNjSLQ6xVlysXthTlm-EtjvYJWpacRV_C0RYe-BnChClbDGpiV6OmG8kyp885PGJRlwNRIpFPatZ56xdqA-nZAbvuuXwElIHZyzF12hRV_873bkA_zCM5UOOKn4nst62gKKyQ6KfMGXg/s320/brads-fam-82.jpg" width="320" /></a>Women do have to catch up in many fields but that is also because for centuries they weren't in a position to become scientists or writers. Blame socio-economic circumstances and the church first and foremost for this. Then the fact that the majority of women had easily half a dozen of children in the past and had to both work and raise those kids in poverty often. But not many poor men were in a position to thrive in the field of their interest either in the past. How many dreamed of spending their waking hours down in mines? They all had little other choice. So why can't people just simply support equality? Equal rights, equal possibilities? Instead of collectively trying to demonize an entire group of people. That sort of black and white thinking is rife at the moment. I wonder if the younger generations' TikTok brain is to blame perhaps. No patience or capabilities to deal with nuance or difference of opinion. Cancelling people left and right based on rumours or hunches instead of hard proof. Ugh.. <br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMbZU2etPGPeEW5TJUDKK2JM3KLz41JhduLI1FCFIGRRXBk_pgMIqEsBlb85--axInvwnR3sfM8ioIaLWrOO3FTgLT9jkcRkXxA6jChupu_KGBHPiNwzdsh57_UUaD1dnf08Sb7yk6mHKM1GIaB8wTa07DCLDM3iFQLL6N-logYu6nYIAJq-_Q_SJThR8/s808/13238964_10154163830763996_6058433352973827020_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="808" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMbZU2etPGPeEW5TJUDKK2JM3KLz41JhduLI1FCFIGRRXBk_pgMIqEsBlb85--axInvwnR3sfM8ioIaLWrOO3FTgLT9jkcRkXxA6jChupu_KGBHPiNwzdsh57_UUaD1dnf08Sb7yk6mHKM1GIaB8wTa07DCLDM3iFQLL6N-logYu6nYIAJq-_Q_SJThR8/s320/13238964_10154163830763996_6058433352973827020_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><b><span style="color: #990000;">(Me and my parents and middle sis on the left).</span></b> I love (most) kids and in another life with better health I would like my own, but there is no denying that over here, parenting has changed dramatically from when we grew up in the 80's. Helicopter parenting. I know of quite a few friends of friends who are 'gentle parenting' - and their kids run absolutely roughshod. Kids hitting and biting one another, things broken and shell-shocked parents. They have bought into the thought that their kids have just as much input into the decisions of the house as the parents (think of kids under the age of six..). When one of the kids is misbehaving, instead of saying 'don't hit your brother' they say things like 'you have a lot of big feelings today, can you tell me how you feel? How do you think your brother feels?' As if the kid doing the hitting wasn't purposely trying to hurt his brother. When they are adults and the police haul them in, can anyone imagine them going down on their knees and saying; 'You look like you are having some big feelings, can we talk about why you assaulted three people this evening?' Followed by a hug. These are college educated and otherwise pretty normal people. My sister broke some of her long standing friendships because of the feral behaviour of kids of friends, and the unwillingness of these friends to discipline. Parents who just stand by helplessly as the little one runs amok. Some openly speak about their fears of their own children's wrath. That they are scared their children won't love them or won't visit them after growing up, because of the parents now disciplining and punishing them. Bizarre... Children always push boundaries. It's part of learning and experiencing curves. Without boundaries and discipline many will max out their recklessness or become unadapted, respectless people. Reasonable rules create a framework to understand the world around kids. It also prepares them for the adult world. It is a parents' job to bring them up to realise that what they want is not necessarily always what they will get. </div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjX3PCXfeWXH76CTuCE8FyZC0MTMFFilNOCreOCPo1MWwtGLq115p1iZdVHnFPrDC89TPI5KTsZnvS7d_Dk1eS_FN3BO_ZE0Xka05ep1_QlKN2PoAFf_8ivFeRaXqyZGgavAplCZnpmUZpYI-pxRk7qV9PFDloBcwhl-7G-ZpiYfI0DdT_4nABHrVRFeJh/s617/287264425_1654322094954064_4596039210680376484_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="493" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjX3PCXfeWXH76CTuCE8FyZC0MTMFFilNOCreOCPo1MWwtGLq115p1iZdVHnFPrDC89TPI5KTsZnvS7d_Dk1eS_FN3BO_ZE0Xka05ep1_QlKN2PoAFf_8ivFeRaXqyZGgavAplCZnpmUZpYI-pxRk7qV9PFDloBcwhl-7G-ZpiYfI0DdT_4nABHrVRFeJh/w320-h400/287264425_1654322094954064_4596039210680376484_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Things were definitely not all better in the past, but us kids back in the day were given both clear boundaries and a lot of freedom and responsibility. All the kids in the village were kicked out the door in the weekend by their parents, and told to be back by dinner time. It was great. I remember scores of us cycling half an hour to the local sand dunes and surfing down them without a care in the world about caving sand. Never did a parent follow us or check if we were safe. We were told what to be careful of and without parents around we were indeed acting responsibly. If anyone messed up, he or she felt the cause and effect instantly. Parents did not mow away all forms of danger and risk for their kids then. They were busy working, being in politics or doing adult only stuff. Many kids are born pre-programmed to try to get what they want. Our parents were pretty open minded and kind, they certainly loved us but were most definitely not our buddies at that time. We were even given a mild slap on a few occasions. Just enough to snap us out of unacceptable behaviour. Slapping is no longer really allowed over here, not even a mild tick. But my sisters and I never suffered under it and knew why it happened; never out of the blue or without a very clear reason. Or we were sent to our rooms without food. My mum once or twice put our heads under the cold water tap also when we were under 10 years old😏 That ended our uncalled for attitude right away! And when we got some form of punishment in school (usually a slap on the hand with a ruler or standing in the corner for ten minutes), no parent marched to school to settle a score there. Mostly all parents assumed that we must have deserved it, and were glad that school helped to raise us. Bullying in our schools was the exception, not the rule as teachers would act and punish. While high achievers were lauded in front of the classroom (I can see though that this really demotivated some students..). I am shocked to hear some stories from teacher friends nowadays. The level of disrespect is astonishing. </div><div><br /></div><div>So anyway, this Barbie movie may do well in cinemas but I can't see people in the future looking all that favourably at this pile of nonsense. Maybe only as a fair representation of the talking points of woke modern privileged women of 2023. All Oscars should go to the PR team who turned this turd into a success and scammed legions of young girls in the process, who showed up in their princess dresses, hoping to be entertained. Only to be confused and bored with this disjointed mess of a movie: too childish in its stereotypes for adults and too serious for kids. Another Hollywood movie that has to preach political views with trigger-warning friendly vanilla humour. It has its place in certain genres, perhaps, but Disney is doing the same and all their woke projects are tanking with the general audiences.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #660000;">UPDATE:</span></b> And now the whole nonsense from Ryan Gosling about him getting an Academy Award (Oscar) nomination for his role, but Margot Robbie not getting one for her role as Barbie and Greta Gerwig neither.... with Ryan writing about what an abomination this is in an online post... That sort of entitled backlash only further cheapens this movie. People don't normally make movies expecting to get Academy Awards, you'd hope. You do it for the craft and then awards are an occasional form of recognition, and depending on many factors including the overall field of competition. This was a mediocre silly movie with mediocre acting. Shame Ryan Gosling 'has no plans' to forfeit his oscar nod haha. Of course he hasn't. Am glad that Oppenheimer does get the critical recognition it deserves. </div></div><p style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ6U6lGX5ENwouTw2Suvwfup_GXzCEdSciKcnJHkUQ3ajwEEoXX0_RU3P4B2tBzYdirxiv2uQ6ipUVarnDwNy0XfoYvj9nuIhXgDxC4wvmaCku32KHatfdaT36QnxG8gRBE1saDxcAykSalvVzh7GRqsb36t6A8v0U0XXsmaCicLSqNi7hYegcRwjbEI0j/s460/327081686_3354528388144163_7209573218019936532_n.jpg" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="460" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ6U6lGX5ENwouTw2Suvwfup_GXzCEdSciKcnJHkUQ3ajwEEoXX0_RU3P4B2tBzYdirxiv2uQ6ipUVarnDwNy0XfoYvj9nuIhXgDxC4wvmaCku32KHatfdaT36QnxG8gRBE1saDxcAykSalvVzh7GRqsb36t6A8v0U0XXsmaCicLSqNi7hYegcRwjbEI0j/w640-h460/327081686_3354528388144163_7209573218019936532_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></p><div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Appalachia</span></b><br />Lastly, I saw this wonderful episode about a young man living off the grid in Kentucky, Appalachia (USA). Even though it is far removed from how we live here I was fascinated by him and touched by his way of living, his beliefs and faith and just his entire attitude towards life. When you have about an hour of free time, give it a go. Titus also looks for a life partner and gave the reporter his landline number - which he shares in a shed with an Amish neighbour haha - and within days of this episode airing on Youtube his answering machine had been chuck full with messages. Understandably the phone number was taken offline again soon after.</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="482" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ir3eJ1t13fk" width="580" youtube-src-id="Ir3eJ1t13fk"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">He lives a charming, simple lifestyle, but I am sweating just watching his off grid life without aircon, fridge or fan 😄 I </span>also saw this clip come by. Touching words of wisdom from the old Uncle Seymore and a beautiful sad song from a descendant of Dutch people, Townes van Zandt. Bob Dylan was a big fan of his. I like what Uncle Seymore said about how to live. Always be busy with something. Eat and drink in moderation. Eat three meals a day, eat 'soul food' such as beans, corn, the best whiskey. Thank God for the time you got from him on earth. Talk to him just like you talk to the people around you. Meanwhile that singer died relatively young from alcohol abuse. Uncle already warned him about this in this clip. Maybe that's why he had some tears at the last part of that beautiful Townes song, because it basically shows through the lyrics that it was pointless to warn him.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="499" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K84dAXpgmHA" width="599" youtube-src-id="K84dAXpgmHA"></iframe><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='600' height='499' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyO1roMA7HlwuRJJtHZf2o08luJXz3W9hl3uSxl8Vu9itY-66VOx1Khhw60sAHq8ux_vpKnUdo9-hEAj7wX9w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-large;">Songs of the d</b><b style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">ay</span><br /><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LgMfK_wDlp8" width="320" youtube-src-id="LgMfK_wDlp8"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JugGmkvhsKQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="JugGmkvhsKQ"></iframe></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Read more of my updates on day to day life <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2022/02/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-xix.html" target="_blank">HERE</a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJP-RuTz3v56LTrisV6xs2Lsxdgue_28eGFbMO-4Wv6MBrcXYc78JqQL58zophUaXc7RqfY5Vru2dTewXIk1FhMPbsrrikZ3K0eKpde7wm0gQ0mNCVnxi-3OpAud3vPmyOPuDtRNCqKzu/s1600/ZZZ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJP-RuTz3v56LTrisV6xs2Lsxdgue_28eGFbMO-4Wv6MBrcXYc78JqQL58zophUaXc7RqfY5Vru2dTewXIk1FhMPbsrrikZ3K0eKpde7wm0gQ0mNCVnxi-3OpAud3vPmyOPuDtRNCqKzu/w640-h480/ZZZ.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-92191832131855979422022-02-28T05:07:00.000-08:002024-01-31T05:32:21.780-08:00Ongoing post, Update day to day life XIX, June 30th 2023 - March 24th 2022<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsYlkWudsx18bglc8T-ZrWnLcYLonChgC12y0x9qvbyUL6y0T9FGA9kkyRmGfBenTcZEbNKaH7vHTRSmOGgxQVIxbm5cmjAZ_NGxRamVNgF90FgBEcei9I-A59NCSutQlRwT42AVSIa7HfHhkj6yhgQvJT5arQXDM4zfN5h7W_UBSSrtEdhlO9UaLRU1T/s774/ezgif.com-video-to-gif-converter%20(1).gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="600" height="517" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsYlkWudsx18bglc8T-ZrWnLcYLonChgC12y0x9qvbyUL6y0T9FGA9kkyRmGfBenTcZEbNKaH7vHTRSmOGgxQVIxbm5cmjAZ_NGxRamVNgF90FgBEcei9I-A59NCSutQlRwT42AVSIa7HfHhkj6yhgQvJT5arQXDM4zfN5h7W_UBSSrtEdhlO9UaLRU1T/w401-h517/ezgif.com-video-to-gif-converter%20(1).gif" width="401" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>I try to give an insight in my own life and dealings with rosacea. I also try to gather information that might be useful for everyone with rosacea, especially subtype 1 with burning, flushing and skin redness. I happen to be a bit unfortunate in that I have this condition for a long time already, and unlike many others, I haven't been able to get it into remission. I know it is more uplifting to read about someone who has beaten rosacea, but I like to write about the struggles that come for those who haven't achieved this. If this depresses you or scares you, it is probably best to skip my day to day life update posts here (which are only a fraction of all posts), and maybe stick to the rest of the posts, which gather information. </b></span></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div arial="" font-family:="" font-size:="" helvetica="" sans-serif="" small=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><p> <b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large;">June 30, 2023</b></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIEBh6b72mTqz2KMM2le91JaO13DigBILmH1plHE1zZbGCfDLP1y3GGs8ywDfHHbNK_mTXAHzSPlq9bcernl-MH6wctpnN1uLQz7wul-XeBnsLCqODXULaSDhetLFkq4YVDlOSSS0GT_im3oIknrP-LeKTE43FeIEy4-7zdBIwLzPFq41G_KOq0ZBS9C_k/s3392/Judith_1_(cropped).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3392" data-original-width="1666" height="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIEBh6b72mTqz2KMM2le91JaO13DigBILmH1plHE1zZbGCfDLP1y3GGs8ywDfHHbNK_mTXAHzSPlq9bcernl-MH6wctpnN1uLQz7wul-XeBnsLCqODXULaSDhetLFkq4YVDlOSSS0GT_im3oIknrP-LeKTE43FeIEy4-7zdBIwLzPFq41G_KOq0ZBS9C_k/w308-h628/Judith_1_(cropped).jpg" width="308" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">I could hardly believe it, but I had covid a few weeks ago. Nobody even talks about it anymore here. Nobody seems to test themselves anymore either. So when a lot of people in my surroundings got sick with 'a type of flu', but they all believed it was just seasonal influenza or allergies, it did spread very easily. Ugh. Luckily I didn't get it very bad. Just was very tired, had no appetite, a mild fever and congestion. I continued to use my face fan and the airconditioning was on as well. My skin had one day of bad redness, when I had a fever of 38,8 degrees Celsius, but then it turned very pale for the duration of the virus infection. Weird.. But I have it too during the flu and a friend of mine said always the same: that when sick with influenza, he goes all pale as well. We assume because our immune systems are too preoccupied then dealing with a virus, to cause us trouble with auto-immune type of useless pesky skin inflammation. So this was a good thing, to go with the bad thing. As I had worried that my rosacea would explode. I took 3 days of ivermectin (have used it in the past to see if it could clear up my rosacea - nope. But I knew I had no side-effects from it) and I tested negative again within a week and without lasting symptoms, knock on wood. As far as I can say now. But it wasn't a fun week. At some point (maybe due to mucus formation), I had the feeling of having my throat squeezed a bit. I've had issues with reluctant to clear bronchitis in the past and feeling short of breath is really very frightening, This wasn't bad. My oxygen meter said my blood oxygen level was between 98 and 99%, so there was literally nothing going on there either. But when you pay attention to your breathing constantly, you can very easily imagine to feel short of breath.Seen the GP about it and my lungs were fine though. By now things are back to normal. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">What didn't help with my imagined breathing difficulties, was the news later on about the missing Titan submersible. I have always been very interested in the Titanic disaster and so this missing sub also had me gripped. <br /><br /><span>The gist cannot have</span><span> escaped anyone probably. Commercial company organizes (very) deep sea dives to the Titanic in a sub-par vehicle and recruits millionaires to pay for very expensive tickets. This time it went wrong unfortunately and the sub lost all communication, pings and tracking before it could reach the bottom of the ocean and the Titanic. </span></span></p><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF2-L6n6NxcI9g3uf1R_crfMdTm2xkGk1LL-YVlY5r2DM-C2xJlEL3udtoZxigk22qhRMixgFFIwrQPT_tvtj_a5d-Vlv6JNsYWpJVku8EQWxpH9pfjOpe_IMd__JaCoVNt7ej_0qzlFBTQ-3lWu56X_aJU9JQUMLyToslnVgUgBb4tGOdEzKfCFzK9uGZ/s1400/gustav-klimt-wall-calendar-2023-art-calendar-9781804170298_hr.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF2-L6n6NxcI9g3uf1R_crfMdTm2xkGk1LL-YVlY5r2DM-C2xJlEL3udtoZxigk22qhRMixgFFIwrQPT_tvtj_a5d-Vlv6JNsYWpJVku8EQWxpH9pfjOpe_IMd__JaCoVNt7ej_0qzlFBTQ-3lWu56X_aJU9JQUMLyToslnVgUgBb4tGOdEzKfCFzK9uGZ/w400-h400/gustav-klimt-wall-calendar-2023-art-calendar-9781804170298_hr.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">There were five days of media frenzy and speculation. The local coast guard provided regular press conferences. Mostly everyone initially seemed to believe that the sub had imploded, me included. Why else would all communication and tracking suddenly stop? But the coast guards said from the beginning that sonar did <i>not</i> pick up on an implosion down there. And that they were still hopeful for a positive outcome.. And if the navy's supersonic sonar equipment did not detect a super loud implosion in the sea, then there was no full-blown implosion, you could deduct. So that opened the door for all sorts of suspicions of them being down there alive, tangled, what not.</span></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br class="ContentPasted17" /></span></div><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY0w0y40TuBh9VnqKRNK9AgYGG_sBt7Ju_C6f1EoofSJcualb5qPyWPareyHY2K78nb4qOgHlHP6bdJG2jDrtnB86cJ4DtZsXTPKaPtjpMp14e_bCbMJdLVUoUAp4672YcEVIvQR0EenasazL7TuGhGHPh8VLSPzJIGMVz3GenTuGLmQG7Vce698CqBiEf/s634/72556419-12250949-PH_Nargeolet_71_was_an_expert_on_the_Titanic_s_wreckage_and_work-a-4_1688129258892.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="634" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY0w0y40TuBh9VnqKRNK9AgYGG_sBt7Ju_C6f1EoofSJcualb5qPyWPareyHY2K78nb4qOgHlHP6bdJG2jDrtnB86cJ4DtZsXTPKaPtjpMp14e_bCbMJdLVUoUAp4672YcEVIvQR0EenasazL7TuGhGHPh8VLSPzJIGMVz3GenTuGLmQG7Vce698CqBiEf/w400-h268/72556419-12250949-PH_Nargeolet_71_was_an_expert_on_the_Titanic_s_wreckage_and_work-a-4_1688129258892.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Was the sub without power? Did it get entangled in the Titanic wreckage, unable to</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> get back up? Did it already float to the surface of the ocean but were they not yet found? Those people were bolted into the sub from the outside, so even if they had surfaced, they had to be liberated by the mothership or by searchers, and helped out. If not, they could still suffocate after 96 hours, when the subs on-board oxygen would run out. Everyone imagined them having made it to the surface somewhere, adrift, and this still not helping because they wouldn't be able to get out before the oxygen ran out. But it was literally like looking for a needle in a haystack. And it is one thing to pinpoint a missing sub 4km down.. but quite another thing to find another backup vessel that would be able to reach the sub and get it up somehow. As the company OceanGate had no 2nd backup submersible. There are not many subs in the world that can go as deep as 4 kilometres. And this sub wasn't tethered. Perhaps because 4 kilometres of rope is too complicated. Perhaps because tethers can get snagged when floating close to or over the Titanic. But still: frightening that it was in no way secured to the mothership.</span></div><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuRyjzIBf4c4yQTGXi4Fp6KqgWgs07303raj6pPHW63ZuX9Sd7bGbE_p7YpoeJJ8Avy2Y3GGdUU1GJVfo-JCN87zGNL8nalyZ1cUAdrNO6EOmoBxXqzaeB9MuNQAze9dT0xVjoEQcTwPtIgUijMdyWbcBL9M-z4LfEvG8YueZbR0JzCR_ZZ87pLJv7_YOy/s624/FzAT6H4XoAIJXFV.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="624" height="538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuRyjzIBf4c4yQTGXi4Fp6KqgWgs07303raj6pPHW63ZuX9Sd7bGbE_p7YpoeJJ8Avy2Y3GGdUU1GJVfo-JCN87zGNL8nalyZ1cUAdrNO6EOmoBxXqzaeB9MuNQAze9dT0xVjoEQcTwPtIgUijMdyWbcBL9M-z4LfEvG8YueZbR0JzCR_ZZ87pLJv7_YOy/w640-h538/FzAT6H4XoAIJXFV.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGGLbh_PNICJNiJ_Tpt7AafJgf40Sy23R5w1nRAxfWbverrfMPh5Blgisu9qrdpOC24ixzQg4RQSUh-reeus-TjHowSldJ9_1iEPzOUtJw4X9rBzdh5c9xJEIJcA8Fjad3ZzjMmIW6RlYGE9s5_RAu-CttjNTVvQ3U8S7VrD4BteSzfKyLlPq1_H_oo-3J/s700/370909.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="682" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGGLbh_PNICJNiJ_Tpt7AafJgf40Sy23R5w1nRAxfWbverrfMPh5Blgisu9qrdpOC24ixzQg4RQSUh-reeus-TjHowSldJ9_1iEPzOUtJw4X9rBzdh5c9xJEIJcA8Fjad3ZzjMmIW6RlYGE9s5_RAu-CttjNTVvQ3U8S7VrD4BteSzfKyLlPq1_H_oo-3J/w400-h410/370909.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then the media started reporting about knocking sounds being detected by sonar at 30-minute intervals. Systematic 30 minute apart banging that was following the SOS signal tapping. So then the speculation went mental, with all sorts of theories about them being alive down there. Media came up with the oxygen countdown angle. They brought in the experts, talked about suffocating and claustrophobia. Psychologists weighed in on what the five people in that sub had to endure all those days. I was honestly surprised that FOX or CNN didn’t have a visual countdown clock of how many hours of oxygen were left. That is many people's worst nightmare, being stuck in this tiny, soup can-sized pod on the bottom of the ocean, with oxygen quickly running out. So many of us were glued to the media for days.. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">But now it came out on Thursday finally, that on Sunday the American US navy already knew and told the US coast guards that two hours after the dive commenced (so at the same critical moment when all contact was lost with the sub), the acoustic sound of an implosion was detected...<br /><br /></span></div><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYsAhJMtVDfMhoe4y5G3DLWhmH4EzF01P8wanWOOnLR7tLpc2gEFWdULBzYSFa1gaZGdgxYDZNS_Gh0t0VJ1Fb8P_OXyHAgnzdvT6bRb4hzJcrvcv2dVUdRbJd8CAoWkHilD9hWczMpyGMMvi6oy7Zbooqdwk8t6ZYkQCc5liCkJllb6BV1NrW79leJonN/s1500/oceangate-titan-sub-victims-062323-1-5864e1da147d46e5a32e5c34395e52cc.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="1500" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYsAhJMtVDfMhoe4y5G3DLWhmH4EzF01P8wanWOOnLR7tLpc2gEFWdULBzYSFa1gaZGdgxYDZNS_Gh0t0VJ1Fb8P_OXyHAgnzdvT6bRb4hzJcrvcv2dVUdRbJd8CAoWkHilD9hWczMpyGMMvi6oy7Zbooqdwk8t6ZYkQCc5liCkJllb6BV1NrW79leJonN/w400-h266/oceangate-titan-sub-victims-062323-1-5864e1da147d46e5a32e5c34395e52cc.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJGtNrRq3cq6ZJfw8RRCDVCiaiZCUH_1WZLNLXCDH25lxjyO0sQc60KdHbSK3jCPigJ3o5sOMWS27r4wY_L0PJZGHW2CHy0pnRDuIEjd0Tb5RqQRczhx4cBfaoaX9L47SHsTjoXQjgoNhTt1y3jZoo_bklsgnoIe1hzSxI1rFUqEuoIL81N2c4epcIi3J/s634/72469557-12244711-Titan_s_carbon_fiber_hull_and_its_acrylic_viewport_were_subject_-a-13_1687995164852.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="634" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJGtNrRq3cq6ZJfw8RRCDVCiaiZCUH_1WZLNLXCDH25lxjyO0sQc60KdHbSK3jCPigJ3o5sOMWS27r4wY_L0PJZGHW2CHy0pnRDuIEjd0Tb5RqQRczhx4cBfaoaX9L47SHsTjoXQjgoNhTt1y3jZoo_bklsgnoIe1hzSxI1rFUqEuoIL81N2c4epcIi3J/w400-h231/72469557-12244711-Titan_s_carbon_fiber_hull_and_its_acrylic_viewport_were_subject_-a-13_1687995164852.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">'An acoustic anomaly consistent with an implosion'. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">They did not know for certain if it matched the disappearance of the sub, but everybody was basically lied to by the coast guard. They denied that any implosion sounds were picked up, when asked by journalists in the crowd. While they were briefed of the opposite by the US navy on Sunday, so that was a lie. Why? Of course, the company Ocean Gate itself also acted all innocent, like they didn't have a clue what had happened, when they had this vital info at hand. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">They then carried out the search and rescue operation, keeping the coast guard and families of the crew hopeful when they clearly already strongly suspected the crew and the vessel were destroyed and that this was definitely not a search and rescue. I suppose, in their defence, it's a bit of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario. If they had said that it imploded when they heard the 'acoustic anomaly consistent with an implosion', they could have been accused of trying to deter a rescue mission. And of course there is also the level of certainty aspect. We were also told for a few days after all that the sub was making tapping noises every 30 min, but this was obviously incorrect information (or the wrong interpretation of the data). So anyway, an implosion is probably the best bad outcome.... Instant exit. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">And everyone came out of the woodworks this week, but now we hear that so many engineering experts in this field expressed warnings about the structural integrity of the Sub. Another case of captain arrogance, basically? Good analysis by James Cameron; </span></div></span></div><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='571' height='475' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy0wQljSIXsF3LaYPSTdXIfjrDl9KC9Z8GzBHjeK13QCR4PMAQSx1DORZnNXJo6Z3vLglf5-LsW-nQNCeuUcQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></div><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">First I thought: what does Mister Titanic know about this? But I since learnt that James Cameron piloted a submersible that went to the ocean floor, 35000 foot deep and he took nearly 70 deep dives. Not only to the Titanic. He was the first human to reach the 6.8-mile-deep Mariana Trench, the deepest place on the ocean floor, and he was alone. A very serious achievement. He seems to know what he's talking about. And he majored in physics.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="459" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jUsf_BXUbKY" width="553" youtube-src-id="jUsf_BXUbKY"></iframe></div></span></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br class="ContentPasted17" /></span></div><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUtOccObtBM9nAChzfW2x6cSyK1ADkItLX4hkF2bXNCV3clIpv-5w-RPrUs-ynEa9sJtJVt6vK0jU5vjlwbqFcVih7qzCpL7Mkxe6ax-D9Hibjemx1Qg2JO_BD_vbJsrbN-8hNiljL7U_YXjTuVFhq8K3YbSJwLYHJlT0JRxzHXOPEFB4IdSHoFlZ5REf2/s634/23643000-12250949-Titan_operated_by_OceanGate_was_on_a_journey_to_Titanic_s_wrecka-a-5_1688129261410.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="634" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUtOccObtBM9nAChzfW2x6cSyK1ADkItLX4hkF2bXNCV3clIpv-5w-RPrUs-ynEa9sJtJVt6vK0jU5vjlwbqFcVih7qzCpL7Mkxe6ax-D9Hibjemx1Qg2JO_BD_vbJsrbN-8hNiljL7U_YXjTuVFhq8K3YbSJwLYHJlT0JRxzHXOPEFB4IdSHoFlZ5REf2/w400-h280/23643000-12250949-Titan_operated_by_OceanGate_was_on_a_journey_to_Titanic_s_wrecka-a-5_1688129261410.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">I do agree with James Cameron's harsh words. In the media the OceanGate folks and their supporters have been interviewed, and they keep saying: "they were explorers/pioneers", "they died doing what they loved doing", "this is the spirit of exploration". But we're not talking about the invention of submarines here. And the Titanic has already been explored in depth, literally and figuratively, for decades by others. They weren't the first to do this, or the first to go deep sea diving. The MIR did it many more times, and safely, with internationally accepted material. Even James Cameron went down there many times. They did not do any scientific work; it was not about exploring unknown areas, but about commercially traveling to the "extremely attractive" wreck of the Titanic. Ocean tourism for the rich. It cost them 250k per passenger. Business, but without any certifications, emergency systems or standardized industry check-ups. Selling their business as important scientific pioneer exploration. They were warned by the industry and even by their own safety specialist employer (before he was fired) that the sub was very experimental and needed to be 'classed' and go through the standardized quality and safety procedures before tourists could be transported with it. But the CEO openly defied this and believed that rules and regulations were conservative and were only interfering with pioneering. It was about the CEO's ‘dream’, and funding it through tourism. (And he made a bit of a clown of himself on TV I think, by stating that he refused to hire experienced “50 year old white men” and instead hired based on youth, rather than expertise. Like; that one aged well...). Was this the deep-sea equivalent of going over Niagara Falls in a barrel? I saw a movie about the Kursk some time ago and it was beyond frightening and claustrophobic. Those passengers had to go down there for their bread and butter, it was their job. But at least these Titan passengers had an Authentic Experience, I guess...</span></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br class="ContentPasted17" /></span></div><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghQ6KBNmPexNMKaO-Y24laXm0W8sIKx5SwGSu7HD65A1N11OjsoZ9qozYtLLj2TqxGFM255FlLqgx3BwwJfUJbQS7VuxIsuK4UjISTzCI-CIPJ8YChs1YN-JtdEyBq-A45jvL_ta10p-Nizr9vuqlFE4NUTucpPSPw6RiyqvI5cH79vIumRwaO9tfPmgoj/s381/gustav-klimt-%C5%93uvres-picturales-compl%C3%A8tes.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="381" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghQ6KBNmPexNMKaO-Y24laXm0W8sIKx5SwGSu7HD65A1N11OjsoZ9qozYtLLj2TqxGFM255FlLqgx3BwwJfUJbQS7VuxIsuK4UjISTzCI-CIPJ8YChs1YN-JtdEyBq-A45jvL_ta10p-Nizr9vuqlFE4NUTucpPSPw6RiyqvI5cH79vIumRwaO9tfPmgoj/s320/gustav-klimt-%C5%93uvres-picturales-compl%C3%A8tes.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hundreds of years' worth of technology and experience from the real pioneers of</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> underwater exploration were available to them, to build something that would have allowed them to do what they loved doing and have a far, far greater chance of coming back to the surface alive and well. I guess that in light of this tragedy, there's no excuse for the cost-cutting and shabby engineering that characterised this vessel. The communication with the mothership went through an Xbox / PlayStation <b><a href="https://twitter.com/gabeschnitzel/status/1670882961606995968" target="_blank">type of device</a></b>. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It navigated via USBL text messages with the mothership. It used old, heavy, rusty construction pipes and sandbags for ballast. It was designed so that all you needed to do to surface was release the ballast weights. That was done by getting everyone to lean to one side. The weights would fall off and up you go. It was super low tech in that respect. They were told to bring one water bottle each. There were </span>Ziplock<span style="font-family: inherit;"> bags for a toilet. Titan had no steel sphere but instead was made of carbon fibre (never before used for a very deep-sea sub) and titanium. Was it fit for all those dives to the bottom of the ocean? Could the material have shown progressive fatigue from the pressure down there? </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">These millionaires signed a waiver, but were they informed of the real risks? And could the company have known that the vessel was unsafe, basically? That there was no backup plan, no second sub to come to the rescue if need be? Having your clients pay 250K but not having a plan B. I see court cases looming... Chris Parry, a former Royal Navy Commander, called the submersible an "Absolute death trap".</span></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3Bft5boxLCE3HQ4wx0jWYhzW44sWNIv5pD3Y5jZh_aaMlCSwGU21-_D53yqxXIuwTws7fdVDPqU27T8loYK_NBV8lgNkLBEGLuLzWLCIRs5OyFFXs2TLm0i0NgqsHb0KLZhUYpUUk2UZnixWanscBdxDwclb8awvjfdUuUChYl7Gynl8SnkzW6QGQyKZ/s763/72381011-12219589-Mexican_actor_Alan_Estrada_told_DailyMail_com_that_the_Titan_sub-a-1_1687372865154.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="634" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3Bft5boxLCE3HQ4wx0jWYhzW44sWNIv5pD3Y5jZh_aaMlCSwGU21-_D53yqxXIuwTws7fdVDPqU27T8loYK_NBV8lgNkLBEGLuLzWLCIRs5OyFFXs2TLm0i0NgqsHb0KLZhUYpUUk2UZnixWanscBdxDwclb8awvjfdUuUChYl7Gynl8SnkzW6QGQyKZ/w297-h357/72381011-12219589-Mexican_actor_Alan_Estrada_told_DailyMail_com_that_the_Titan_sub-a-1_1687372865154.jpg" width="297" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy8I70sZ-c28x2jewEJrBuRGNl2mQ5uf0IVDla_Wp8uOG-yzZegDThc6jQpBGEP5I2QlSu9le_QAtoaz4vdITnqHcRH6ul-I5rNOEHrGXdURZqQl1S9Y5ckQW0E4FXJnlCLqGJql6II_g984eIXt_xQ9CnR6pYNJfTxWohiZ8B0hIVcIQjGhbkEMGriDq3/s906/356870870_826093075545238_4107635408877339293_n.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="906" data-original-width="697" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy8I70sZ-c28x2jewEJrBuRGNl2mQ5uf0IVDla_Wp8uOG-yzZegDThc6jQpBGEP5I2QlSu9le_QAtoaz4vdITnqHcRH6ul-I5rNOEHrGXdURZqQl1S9Y5ckQW0E4FXJnlCLqGJql6II_g984eIXt_xQ9CnR6pYNJfTxWohiZ8B0hIVcIQjGhbkEMGriDq3/w274-h356/356870870_826093075545238_4107635408877339293_n.jpg" width="274" /></a></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And why name it Titan? That seems a bad name surely? The company had to be aware of the book that was written in 1898, that was believed by many to have foretold the sinking of the Titanic 14 years later. The name of the novella was Futility and it was about a fictional British ocean liner that sunk on its maiden voyage after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic. The name of the fictional ocean liner was Titan. The name of the book is 'The Wreck of the Titan' By Morgan Robertson. You'd normally not tempt fate by calling you ship "Titan" and go to where the Titanic sank. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, I was quite gripped by the whole event. By now the wreckage of the Titan has been found and recovered. Despite the specialists explaining on tele how an implosion very deep down in the ocean would obliterate everything, entire sections of the Titan were towed up. Perhaps only the central hull imploded? In any case, RIP to the victims. What a horrendous ordeal this must have been for them. </span></div><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7MTB4JJkjB1tasCd9F1TR5M3g9-0FVGdWqFdxb2Ot_4Eye6fnei4b6mbumbQqNzQthqIWyW1AsKdRr5WO3gPLEuA2sVbiY4aE66YBdanAhtkxqnSEgkN6lzLTGN1SJag4HIbKeEQJQIFwQHW9Dr_yw-2Cxnk9mneuDHpNNk7DMAHqydMxZVwmkKz8aZd/s634/72433681-12244711-image-a-11_1687995164771.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="634" height="588" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7MTB4JJkjB1tasCd9F1TR5M3g9-0FVGdWqFdxb2Ot_4Eye6fnei4b6mbumbQqNzQthqIWyW1AsKdRr5WO3gPLEuA2sVbiY4aE66YBdanAhtkxqnSEgkN6lzLTGN1SJag4HIbKeEQJQIFwQHW9Dr_yw-2Cxnk9mneuDHpNNk7DMAHqydMxZVwmkKz8aZd/w640-h588/72433681-12244711-image-a-11_1687995164771.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODH1DmrPjwmHkAKpLv42sO3m6-j0bEx_cBicPMCyKIBz3IRsxGm833QlZCPsXVzFmI1_ET6xCG_33jGitjI_SB6LQ2s-2L06jFDdj2JMIu156M5tJXKdDFbIaF7toyTMO5xT9PQXly_ABoGQjeQCfBxausPl-v6hMw8WVMqYd_BrBLguyLjjOBAhs32SF/s634/72646521-12244711-image-a-8_1687995164685.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="634" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODH1DmrPjwmHkAKpLv42sO3m6-j0bEx_cBicPMCyKIBz3IRsxGm833QlZCPsXVzFmI1_ET6xCG_33jGitjI_SB6LQ2s-2L06jFDdj2JMIu156M5tJXKdDFbIaF7toyTMO5xT9PQXly_ABoGQjeQCfBxausPl-v6hMw8WVMqYd_BrBLguyLjjOBAhs32SF/w640-h472/72646521-12244711-image-a-8_1687995164685.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-large;">Songs of the day</b></div><div class="ContentPasted17" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P5xM34C0QCM" width="320" youtube-src-id="P5xM34C0QCM"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_PhAMlJDMeI" width="320" youtube-src-id="_PhAMlJDMeI"></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RIg4UC8UJkM" width="320" youtube-src-id="RIg4UC8UJkM"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aM8vrCWsHUI" width="320" youtube-src-id="aM8vrCWsHUI"></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MTz1aGXL41c" width="320" youtube-src-id="MTz1aGXL41c"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Lt5jBl9fNI" width="320" youtube-src-id="3Lt5jBl9fNI"></iframe> <span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Covid made me lose a tiiiny bit of weight... <br />but it seems to come back on already 😅</span></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='542' height='451' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxd9QdVy13DZ3xpG9pnPOT1rdrQXx2j_UT8vvTcKKoCYa77pZU0l3X7txd-NXp2ImLVFSvOxSuwQ6PNqkYu5w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></span></div><div><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large;">March 24, 2023</b><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioAj_xBXg57kN7dEGC9JwKSsVAzF9uXv9AFLbd1uH8xL97BfLW_UEVmkPc1bI48ojiEznMLG4MZJD8A0jc-zvV75maVrJGNhBQ4NuePwsqbTCm8RfplDeS93YLWymaSaz_triAP-xSZvU-txZAs7GhP8j93Y3r3W_papxk4kf89uM_xq0s2RjKKSyNeQ/s1087/Fr2G_KNakAAZVBG.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1087" data-original-width="725" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioAj_xBXg57kN7dEGC9JwKSsVAzF9uXv9AFLbd1uH8xL97BfLW_UEVmkPc1bI48ojiEznMLG4MZJD8A0jc-zvV75maVrJGNhBQ4NuePwsqbTCm8RfplDeS93YLWymaSaz_triAP-xSZvU-txZAs7GhP8j93Y3r3W_papxk4kf89uM_xq0s2RjKKSyNeQ/w266-h400/Fr2G_KNakAAZVBG.jpg" width="266" /></a>Been a while since I updated here. No particular reason I guess, my skin is the same as always. Constant need to keep it cool and I still systematically use anti-flushing medication. Flare ups alternate with periods of calm. Photos show my skin this week when I was not flushed, so that is just my basic skin colour during the day. (Sorry for the stupid sunglasses, but got such bad eyesight at -4 that I wear them or regular glasses all the time now and forget to take them off). Getting nevertheless really tired and fed up still with the severity of my subtype 1 rosacea, especially when thinking back of the way my skin was before that dreaded first IPL treatment. I thought it was bad then, but in reality I could function without ventilators still and just flushed (badly) occasionally from indoor heat, alcohol and stress and such. But not unprovoked. Nowadays I have so many faulty blood vessels in my face that I have a day's job managing it. I know about the warm room theory and to be careful to only cool minimally, to prevent rebound etcetera. But it is all a bit of a horror show, Nevertheless I made it my normal by now and rather use my time for other things that interest me. I spent so many years looking into everything related to rosacea (basically throughout my entire 20's), trying everything I could, being preoccupied by it near-constantly, that by now in my early 40's I am just sick of it. A friend sent me information about a new 'yellow laser' and after reading the info I did think for a nanosecond: Should I try this...? But soon after the thought of more risk taking just made me shudder. Probably not a good idea. Can't be bothered with the anxiety, the test patches, the three weeks of reactivity, then the disappointment of the laser having done nothing or worse. Then rinse and repeat. Nah. I have taken my losses and even though I am still interested in health and medicine in general, I stay away from more Russian roulettes. This rosacea has changed the course of my life quite profoundly I think, although you can never be sure how things would have panned out without it. I could have died in a business-related plane crash if I had been in great health, for all we know. Or during childbirth. But it also gave me a life with so much time and opportunities to do things I have a passion for, like traveling and work in writing/research that does not pay as much as my initially trained for lawyer job, but gives me a lot of satisfaction either way. Time for books, movies, nature, friendships, relationships, my cats. Things can always be worse. I still never caught covid either, despite deciding against getting the mRNA injections. Grateful. And the cold urticaria has been very minimal this winter. I think because I have tried to keep temperature inside above a certain temperature threshold (15 degrees C), also at night. <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbQDJ4T-grUBYpy_fPV2Q1ddlq8S7Wvy2e-tgX8_309w__kBPsVEgbY2eS_sr7TOjuSPxGgv6uofcI2b-M7LfhCqBmFOWkfwER45fIkV4JMdxixELFqRsOGHHKRCgkxYSp76tETNE1uD8RHVc_5zFQWriuPsw5r2zbHVhiP6AJX6QHTmfoKJgJfcbbA/s1548/02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1548" data-original-width="690" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbQDJ4T-grUBYpy_fPV2Q1ddlq8S7Wvy2e-tgX8_309w__kBPsVEgbY2eS_sr7TOjuSPxGgv6uofcI2b-M7LfhCqBmFOWkfwER45fIkV4JMdxixELFqRsOGHHKRCgkxYSp76tETNE1uD8RHVc_5zFQWriuPsw5r2zbHVhiP6AJX6QHTmfoKJgJfcbbA/w225-h502/02.jpg" width="225" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXP4rM9RD9LOMlihvY74xnltjTDbOI9ZxlYwWjnvO2qk3-WOrBfpFmp-S2-bjdnkMdHb2zjQVDfE0W54BwJy0Rs0fqY_tKhUo9OAc1loAkIM9YZBTBarfe_W-Jl9slLe7-c_4J50JcF8btB86esGb78dbaQRca48ZX4ofaPjDbztvC0K9LLoc6se0fuQ/s1515/zc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1515" data-original-width="982" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXP4rM9RD9LOMlihvY74xnltjTDbOI9ZxlYwWjnvO2qk3-WOrBfpFmp-S2-bjdnkMdHb2zjQVDfE0W54BwJy0Rs0fqY_tKhUo9OAc1loAkIM9YZBTBarfe_W-Jl9slLe7-c_4J50JcF8btB86esGb78dbaQRca48ZX4ofaPjDbztvC0K9LLoc6se0fuQ/w325-h504/zc.jpg" width="325" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvOcn5oho4SrQHYMQlNgZ5zwh0nUK8UJpNVHJN7JVoNTFUgh5xybU9THMmJNyGr8XKE0Eca1kUIpr2xNrMT6H3HiuhcX8obIKkTN1gxFlhEXa9eY-WDRlUo8_6WCfi8oZCh3PhZqwtjX2uXhlU3eqkWxyDve8PpCUENjCQJPgTEqA3S2zfiw1B5TLraA/s429/z2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="332" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvOcn5oho4SrQHYMQlNgZ5zwh0nUK8UJpNVHJN7JVoNTFUgh5xybU9THMmJNyGr8XKE0Eca1kUIpr2xNrMT6H3HiuhcX8obIKkTN1gxFlhEXa9eY-WDRlUo8_6WCfi8oZCh3PhZqwtjX2uXhlU3eqkWxyDve8PpCUENjCQJPgTEqA3S2zfiw1B5TLraA/s320/z2.jpg" width="248" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2WtVeUTzcPiCZCPJv039eJTFa0eyxOVJOTUH6ZnIjoxcWXaCSlrnPzgOJFiWnMCB6i_HBSgIr58VVW7Cc10KOrZIC3v85VwmfEwlbOYnIHFC0JUB9eLtgihTKAx968B8LkmzDz9C-tVpNPidAtFmfG6nSt6evcKo4nU1TK7z3vuV-OoZ0K_FsOeEDEw/s500/z1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="476" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2WtVeUTzcPiCZCPJv039eJTFa0eyxOVJOTUH6ZnIjoxcWXaCSlrnPzgOJFiWnMCB6i_HBSgIr58VVW7Cc10KOrZIC3v85VwmfEwlbOYnIHFC0JUB9eLtgihTKAx968B8LkmzDz9C-tVpNPidAtFmfG6nSt6evcKo4nU1TK7z3vuV-OoZ0K_FsOeEDEw/s320/z1.jpg" width="305" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">About the Pro Yellow Laser</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>577-nm pro-yellow laser</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrZVWjbZILtQ5c2FqUdiGbPobpv9oWDVJ2cQOUu_y1tDS6n-7s8snNyI9Dg9fIl_7cPztIYANqNA450GLcoKlB2ZzZWfzA1la3ebtpnXWMw6G2WgUM6hCLCmspw3AxRlgrt37AzcH90hysqMdRBaNH0dOh7u_UyIiwZKF9EnhcNyVo_yyb2RqxKdqx6Q/s2048/z1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1812" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrZVWjbZILtQ5c2FqUdiGbPobpv9oWDVJ2cQOUu_y1tDS6n-7s8snNyI9Dg9fIl_7cPztIYANqNA450GLcoKlB2ZzZWfzA1la3ebtpnXWMw6G2WgUM6hCLCmspw3AxRlgrt37AzcH90hysqMdRBaNH0dOh7u_UyIiwZKF9EnhcNyVo_yyb2RqxKdqx6Q/w566-h640/z1.jpg" width="566" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large;">Ankle sprain</span></b></div><div><p 0cm="" margin-bottom:=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYcB0Tysp_oWO3H65XNqDpKRYA15bVPsOarAwSWbaNuAhoPaCLNryr4lISEZvrDZ5ewG6xN0T37yT3ei1jWUC1ch6IBFMPze2R6QE88qzG9Quffg1d5CXtEFvI6Wo98zKNK09xsTq_A0dF7FD1NGPgvMthrvPeFPpcJB5L14tdcjKSvqLOmkqM6UOUg/s2364/314515189_1826655794171663_3502936028819803603_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2364" data-original-width="1652" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYcB0Tysp_oWO3H65XNqDpKRYA15bVPsOarAwSWbaNuAhoPaCLNryr4lISEZvrDZ5ewG6xN0T37yT3ei1jWUC1ch6IBFMPze2R6QE88qzG9Quffg1d5CXtEFvI6Wo98zKNK09xsTq_A0dF7FD1NGPgvMthrvPeFPpcJB5L14tdcjKSvqLOmkqM6UOUg/s320/314515189_1826655794171663_3502936028819803603_n.jpg" width="224" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuf9XzDkC87nadCPCPkqcsaU_RFik0Cex9OkB2N27XVjQjZflX1f2g3L76rv2q7dwbXV5ks3U0volh8sUP4ZvN7b8281HV-hX5fQIw6O4TXAKJ4B1XlH3BIIlpNOj7Jrw6UK-5WeU0dKe3czd1haOsoQF3ETmLo9gG3yIXsf2GFBMkWF4mABFfciGhbw/s3078/312925349_1099389450764734_7872509546548174680_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3078" data-original-width="2032" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuf9XzDkC87nadCPCPkqcsaU_RFik0Cex9OkB2N27XVjQjZflX1f2g3L76rv2q7dwbXV5ks3U0volh8sUP4ZvN7b8281HV-hX5fQIw6O4TXAKJ4B1XlH3BIIlpNOj7Jrw6UK-5WeU0dKe3czd1haOsoQF3ETmLo9gG3yIXsf2GFBMkWF4mABFfciGhbw/w224-h340/312925349_1099389450764734_7872509546548174680_n.jpg" width="224" /></a></p><div style="text-align: left;">I almost forgot, even though I am still having some ankle symptoms today, but back in November 2022 I had a bad ankle sprain. It happened in the most clumsy manner. I was getting ready for a hike and was all dressed up and had my backpack strapped on and was already walking to the main road but instead of watching where I was going, I was gazing in concentration at my MP3 player, trying to find a specific song. I didn't watch where I was going, stepped with my full weight onto some high ridge on the sidewalk and my entire left foot flipped and inverted inwards. I went flat out down, the other knee was all scraped up. But my foot was super painful right away and that left ankle ballooned instantly. Could barely get my shoe off. Limped back home, iced the ankle right away and elevated it with a pillow and then just waited for the swelling to come down. Well, the swelling barely went down for an entire week. I couldn't walk on the foot but it didn't appear broken. Borrowed crutches from friends. Then eventually decided to go to the doctor with it. </div><p></p><p 0cm="" margin-bottom:=""></p><div style="text-align: left;">Went to see a General Practitioner after five days. One I had never seen before, who seemed in a great hurry. She felt the foot and looked at it and did some minor tests. Said it wasn't broken, nothing to worry about. Just a sprain. To wrap it up, or tape it up, elevate and cool it some more and to start walking on it again in two days time. Ok.. I did say it felt way too painful to put weight on it any time soon, but was told that was the best way to recovery. <i>Bye!</i> I had expected her to send me through for photos to be honest, hypochondriac style (although this truly hurt insanely and I never had such a painful leg injury before), but she seemed to deal with such injuries a lot so I decided to just immobilize the foot some more and strap it in, then try to walk on it again. I honestly was just happy to be reassured that it was a simple sprain. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The next week I started to try to do some mild exercises with the foot while holding it up in the air. But it was still too painful. The ankle swelling also wasn't coming down and my lower leg had turned blue and yellow in places. I was still on those darn crutches, but was honestly clumsy with them. Not in an 'Ohhh woooh see me being charmingly self-deprecatingly clumsy' manner, but just dumb clumsy. They gave me sore upper arm muscles and I tripped in the kitchen, falling flat down and hurting my ankle even more. But the worst thing was the immobility and having to ask other people's help all the time. I honestly never broke a bone in my body and never had a mobility injury before. This was no fun at all. I also started to worry about some ligament tear or something, since this was taking way too long for a normal benign 1st grade sprain to repair. I've only once before super mildly sprained my ankle and it was sore but I could still walk on it. It never ballooned or got this swollen either. A week seemed a long time for no improvement and I started to wonder how much longer I had to baby this foot. I really hoped I could walk on it again in time without lingering pain, as I normally hike every day and was starting to feel restless and sluggish. What a stupid unnecessary accident this was, considering I am always cautious. Not paying attention where I walked for one minute and there you go..</div><p></p><p 0cm="" left="" margin-bottom:="" style="text-align: left;" text-align:="">The next week I went for a second opinion with another GP. A slightly older woman with lots of empathic powers. Had to wait a very long time first, as in the post-covid era there are still all sorts of hurdles for seeing a doctor face to face and half the town seemed to want to see the doctor at the same time as me. The waiting room was also very hot so I had warm throbbing cheeks soon. Ughh.. I was the only one in the room not wearing a face mask. Three hours later and the GP welcomed me in, had me show her my ankle and then was furious that I had been waiting around for 10 days with such a massive ankle. She kept shouting "This is not a simple sprain!" Then said the foot looked terrible and that I needed to go to the ER right away with it for scans and likely a cast. It was pretty absurd, as she was walking around the room like some tiger, hand in front of her mouth, rambling in disbelief, crying out which doctor earlier sent me home without hospital scans for <i>such</i> an ankle. Without anything to immobilize that foot, what had I been thinking? And what was the name of that other doctor, because she would call her right now to tell her off. I did not want to snitch so said I had forgotten her name. </p><p 0cm="" left="" margin-bottom:="" style="text-align: left;" text-align:="">So had to go to the ER after that, since this GP said we needed scans. Because the treatment of a broken foot is very different from the treatment of a torn ligament, or the treatment of a simple sprain. I was slightly freaking out by now. Had I been too lax and had I wasted my time those ten days prior, not treating this thing correctly? My main relaxation is to walk, to hike. Now I was worried I couldn't do that anymore for months to come. [Which turned out to be correct...]. So after three hours of waiting in a hot doctor's office, I now had to wait many more hours in a hot hospital waiting room for an MRI and Xray.... Among all these sick people, puffing and coughing. ER waiting rooms are often sinister places with an odd hushed vibe. Sometimes woken up by true emergency cases. A woman in slippers, wearing a coat and a dressing gown was sitting across from me, supported by a young girl and a guy in his 20's. She looked like she was coming straight from that movie with Jack Nicholson, One Flew over the Cuckoo's nest. It was terrible as she was wailing and had her head in her hands often, or was rocking back and forth. From what I could hear she was diabetic and forgot her medication. A young woman in her mid 20's, wearing a red leather jacket, kept playing games on her smartphone with the sound on loud. So there was a constant background noise of 80's video games. There were about twelve people in the (once again hot) room, mumbling among each other and coughing. Some were openly complaining it was too hot. Hospitals always seem so bloody hot, I wonder why. When I was seen, about two hours later, the doctor did scans of my ankle and foot and later came back to tell me that three X-rays showed no bone fractures or bone cracks or anything. The ER doctor inspected my ankle and said that the ankle ligaments are damaged to a degree. That I had to wrap it up with bandages for 15 weeks (woah!!!), rest it for two more weeks without any walking or trying to stand on it, and then after those two weeks I had to go to a physiotherapist to start to build up some muscle strength and slowly start moving that foot again. Luckily no need for a rigid cast, although at this point I was mostly fretting about need for operations and metal plates having to be attached to my bones or something (I am allergic to metals). So it was just a very bad sprain after all. I hope the GP didn't call the other doctor's office for a bitchfest in the end..</p><p 0cm="" left="" margin-bottom:="" text-align:=""></p><div style="text-align: left;">Fast forward and we're four months further and I am still having a very sensitive ankle. I can walk again and all that, but long walks are not yet possible as the ankle (on both sides, also the side that smacked inwards) remains sensitive and swells up a bit still in the course of the day. I did see a physiotherapist who after one and a half months gave me the green sign to start walking again without crutches. But the intake alone was so expensive that I couldn't afford a string of physio appointments, unfortunately. But I checked videos online about this type of injury and how to go about with it. So that ends my poor me report. There certainly are worse things in the world, but I miss walking pain free and for hours on end. I take it easy and stop once my ankle starts to hurt again and hopefully things will steadily get better. At least I know there was no fracture that could have healed poorly or anything like that. But ankle sprains sound more benign than they sometimes really are. Ugh. They are a pest. I <span>won't take the ability to freely move around for granted ever again! </span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='584' height='485' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwUwQXfXf29Rpx9oaVDixJx_jtDPqxBQhMfKMEixEO3mEIUvw1ObQTpQPWKFqoqz-Z76ROXSbjAjEciJih3ww' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><p 0cm="" margin-bottom:=""><br /></p></div></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large;">Roald Dahl</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjliXelNuFjjmwSJNyQ6gB_bdIhYo2Uoej-RB1EDZy6VO3nVewaglF34XPVjQ-ShPBXVnbVMSnQFv5yd2eVoxXSkCeEoJO9IzCX5rBQeo7rlUg-Pk3bbRZUFaQHl5nH8zW7lPI9Ibmrdpg_sSZZZaRsOUydWXwwahAdvioQZufzx6XRRVWVZf_E8vRXtg/s630/Roald-Dahl-KS2.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="630" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjliXelNuFjjmwSJNyQ6gB_bdIhYo2Uoej-RB1EDZy6VO3nVewaglF34XPVjQ-ShPBXVnbVMSnQFv5yd2eVoxXSkCeEoJO9IzCX5rBQeo7rlUg-Pk3bbRZUFaQHl5nH8zW7lPI9Ibmrdpg_sSZZZaRsOUydWXwwahAdvioQZufzx6XRRVWVZf_E8vRXtg/w510-h255/Roald-Dahl-KS2.png" width="510" /></a></div><div>In the meantime I found something to get worked up about again, hehe. Roald Dahl's books are extremely popular in England, but probably all over the world in fact. In the Netherlands we grew up with his children's books as well. My mum used to read them to us in bed and they were our absolute favorite. We loved his fantastical stories and descriptive language and how it challenged your imagination. His political incorrect humour and his ability to make fun of the adults and allow the kids to be the sensible sane characters made us snigger in delight. I later read his adult works as well, with his short stories in particular being devilishly entertaining. But his children's books are the best and I gave them to my best friend's kids as well, who also devoured them. So I was literally livid for some days when reading that his children's books are now being censored and have been quite extensively rewritten. But are we really shocked here? It is for the American market, where the whole Trigger Warning thing seems at its height now. The indie writer community is flocking en masse to employ "sensitivity readers." The Dahl family sold the book rights through the Roald Dahl Story Company and both Puffin Books and Netflix are involved, so then you know it is not so much about retaining the authenticity of the work, but about 'target markets' and cold hard dollars to be made here, delving into a market of overly sensitive parents who mistakenly believe that his books can damage the delicate souls of their kids. </div><div><div><br /></div><div>Of course the parents (not the kids!) are triggered by Ronald Dahl books. Charlie and The Chocolate Factory shows the consequences of gluttony, arrogance, and being spoiled…. And it promotes the idea of being selfless and humble. Matilda is about an unhinged school administrator and parents getting their comeuppance for abusing kids. These stories are a condemnation of some adult's favorite activities. What seems to be the main issue however, is Dahls use of descriptions such as 'fat' or 'unattractive'. But Dahl did not do so just for the sake of it, or to judge people solely based on that. His stories connect it to certain behaviours. And he also wrote: “A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly.” <br /><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Psg6lgbDqYkjCyyIt6uu1pbSk0Gw4SnGubUhGQfPwLCgYUOiWKXIj5L3VL4X403n_x_CAGjijEjOk6cpBHVVg43f1vmcmQpShBkIhqsVixk1CiPg4XNkLKfjYpFh6wdD_UNuERF1d9wjz8f6T3vDiCmDSykqf1I-hoMf6AjASXOGVO8D5LPK4J19/s900/roahld%20dahl3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="730" height="697" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Psg6lgbDqYkjCyyIt6uu1pbSk0Gw4SnGubUhGQfPwLCgYUOiWKXIj5L3VL4X403n_x_CAGjijEjOk6cpBHVVg43f1vmcmQpShBkIhqsVixk1CiPg4XNkLKfjYpFh6wdD_UNuERF1d9wjz8f6T3vDiCmDSykqf1I-hoMf6AjASXOGVO8D5LPK4J19/w566-h697/roahld%20dahl3.jpg" width="566" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0jbHbp5MuYgRKiufMZ-Bt7S6DrDgHMAHPzRD3ndcV7hV3TFueSXcTbAPUrdwf2vGjgbH5AEOBbTTJbhEaiw6tZie8Fz0-ifUUeMaKY_L6_57Z45NBHkSXedU9QTpoYQQvXnDUwts3NCgxzyfLTP-gm9AeTwM69Z4JBvjzk7G3tODydE4dZwkijGf0A/s976/p047prdm.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0jbHbp5MuYgRKiufMZ-Bt7S6DrDgHMAHPzRD3ndcV7hV3TFueSXcTbAPUrdwf2vGjgbH5AEOBbTTJbhEaiw6tZie8Fz0-ifUUeMaKY_L6_57Z45NBHkSXedU9QTpoYQQvXnDUwts3NCgxzyfLTP-gm9AeTwM69Z4JBvjzk7G3tODydE4dZwkijGf0A/s320/p047prdm.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Gl4jwhOFY0eFNKo-y58Cg6zbhwAD5LoYKs1VOd9kTVEUxsbsMndpPF_iLRz8iczO_IyEekMEHEi69vbG9YNvcqAwhw1n2Jmtbt1HE3ER8sCFyZ32d5rjNiDia5ETh7uyhS_TzLK_EPd5gXypE4unmugKicd8Hq-TBd00hWFiDruqA1e7kGvD6hMqXA/s1200/quentin1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Gl4jwhOFY0eFNKo-y58Cg6zbhwAD5LoYKs1VOd9kTVEUxsbsMndpPF_iLRz8iczO_IyEekMEHEi69vbG9YNvcqAwhw1n2Jmtbt1HE3ER8sCFyZ32d5rjNiDia5ETh7uyhS_TzLK_EPd5gXypE4unmugKicd8Hq-TBd00hWFiDruqA1e7kGvD6hMqXA/s320/quentin1.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqT2vRLTklUf63-FlrJPW5k4lkFqo8dat2HIt5gSwiMtTqUvSe2951rIBktVieHA992e4eM3DZFJnTs2Qh2a4jZQHTcqLSzEkHiraRleZL9bBfrrPw7SHaW3SPufZGneonAktUy6sjwnVhsftn9OaV2MqpsFksR_HzCq5gvBmt9mRCFPe4k9bvyqwTgA/s1024/blake.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="846" data-original-width="1024" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqT2vRLTklUf63-FlrJPW5k4lkFqo8dat2HIt5gSwiMtTqUvSe2951rIBktVieHA992e4eM3DZFJnTs2Qh2a4jZQHTcqLSzEkHiraRleZL9bBfrrPw7SHaW3SPufZGneonAktUy6sjwnVhsftn9OaV2MqpsFksR_HzCq5gvBmt9mRCFPe4k9bvyqwTgA/s320/blake.jpg" width="320" /></a>But that was somehow misunderstood or willingly overlooked. The “sensitivity readers” trawled through his entire body of work and selected hundreds of his words and phrases that might be triggering to the easily offended.<b> </b>How Orwellian (but of course his works are probably up next).<b> </b><i>“Language relating to weight, mental health, violence, gender and race”</i> have been altered. The Oompa-Loompas are now made gender neutral. Augustus Gloop is no longer called fat, but is now “enormous,” as if that is any less likely to cause upset.😄 Miss Trunchbull no longer has a "horsey face" (we loved that one as kids as it was so graphic), but just 'a face'. Mrs Twit's no longer “ugly and beastly” but simply “beastly.” The <span style="font-family: inherit;">Cloud-Men are now called “Cloud-People,” and Miss Sponge is no longer allowed to be called “the fat one.” </span>“Eight nutty little idiots” has been changed to “eight nutty little boys,” and a reference to a character <i>“turning white”</i> has now become <i>“quite pale.”</i> Oh dear... <br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />“Mothers and fathers” has been replaced by “parents.” </span>“Ladies and gentlemen” is now “folks,” presumably lest it offend non-binary children. <span style="font-family: inherit;">And comically, the phrase “you can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and double chin and stick-out teeth” had “double chin” removed. Why on Earth is that deemed more offensive than the other physical critiques? In Dahl’s 1983 novel “The Witches,” (my favourite) about a young boy growing up in a world run by witches, there have been no less than 59 changes. The word “chambermaid” became “cleaner.” “You must be mad, woman!” is now “You must be out of your mind!” and “the old hag” is altered to “the old crow.” Even “foul bald-headed females” is cut to “foul females” despite the fact the witches are all bald in the book. Apparently, it’s fine for kids to think witches can be foul, they just can’t be hairless. And to pander to anyone who may be bald due to a medical condition (Jada, you there?), they added an entire new passage in the book: <i>"There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that." </i>Gone is the magic of the scary bald witches... The sentence “Even if she is working as a cashier in a supermarket or typing letters for a businessman” now reads: “Even if she is working as a top scientist or running a business.” So should kids now think that it’s demeaning to be a supermarket cashier or an office assistant? Most hysterical, in “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” a reference to tractors that reads “the machines were both black” has been cut on grounds of subliminal racism. <i>The colour of a bloody tractor</i> is now deemed racist, god help me..</span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwMg93ojeQus13MqKotJb1h16vmCiv_L0-WcLxoA0QYFQvA4JPWGz8dJjFJR3OvqAnxtUB5Ly_WJyPoaA3JrfEYZaqEZ3bec6oue5eLZarAugV6Mj8cqcaDxGEMKAkRMIxgwHIWOlcOE3swm4AwUFMgprIRA7CVGR0hqDjp8eI1uz-nZV-kRBnLVuNQ/s1400/Roald_Dahls_Matilda.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwMg93ojeQus13MqKotJb1h16vmCiv_L0-WcLxoA0QYFQvA4JPWGz8dJjFJR3OvqAnxtUB5Ly_WJyPoaA3JrfEYZaqEZ3bec6oue5eLZarAugV6Mj8cqcaDxGEMKAkRMIxgwHIWOlcOE3swm4AwUFMgprIRA7CVGR0hqDjp8eI1uz-nZV-kRBnLVuNQ/s320/Roald_Dahls_Matilda.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: left;">All chuckling aside about so many absurd corrections, Dahl refined his texts all the time himself while writing them and was one of the world’s greatest wordsmiths, taking extraordinary care over every word he wrote.</span><b style="text-align: left;"> </b><span style="text-align: left;">The overwriting of his work like this can be seen as a woke overhaul performed by people who have no business doing so, and is basically graffiti. Cultural vandalism. Leave other people's works alone. The only one who should censor his own work is the author himself. And the only thing Dahl ever changed about his books is the looks of the Oompa-Loompa's. They used to be black but he changed them into orange in 1971 and then white in 1973. To avoid racist interpretations. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">But bring up how all these new "improvements" are bonkers or unacceptable, and you are guaranteed to be accused of being i<i>nsensitive and prejudiced </i>anyway<i>.</i> Sensitivity readers are a plague for writers and creativity though, as their censoring and often strangely conservative take on things cause ripples, in which publishers become more and more cautious too when accepting manuscripts. Worried about offending anyone and it causing bad publicity. In the process they steer away from 'possibly problematic' manuscripts, further narrowing the book pool. And even authors themselves are not immune and are steered towards constantly thinking about all these sensitivity restrictions when writing. </span><span style="text-align: left;">Self-censoring their work before it is even shown to these morality knights. </span>Who has voted for these people to decide what others can and cannot read anyway? A<span style="font-family: inherit;">rt and literature and books are supposed to be controversial at times. Showing people different views, different opinions and situations they may not feel comfortable with. Books are not meant to confirm your own world view. They are supposed to widen your horizon and imagination, not narrow it. If you do not confront people with different opinions and challenging views, you get the excesses of today, with some overly sensitive youngsters without any intellectual resilience or ability to deal with differences of opinion through argumentation. People who rather block or cancel different opinions, or stick their fingers in their ears. "Nah nah naaaaah". </span><span style="text-align: left;">As someone wrote:<i> 'Is it even hilarious that the 'most progressive generation like evahhhh' is so fragile that they can't read Roald Dahl without collapsing into whimpering heaps? There's something wrong with these kids.'</i> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvhSGoCQJtulgrq03Zq5M8v6xcMlsOFPZdRPDdJZ-1lcTft1NHVrc1U3gxpr_-qyoGp1bro5_PQllT3tumerfqnOPl77rUmSLo99N4N39ExqgO7VKcCdqDihtJe5pHIEumrYG4DqgPkFgf8e0fTMeE9QEReQ7z586cptKcnErqoCQ-wHKhybPBx4mhQ/s280/AAshakespearesilenced.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="275" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvhSGoCQJtulgrq03Zq5M8v6xcMlsOFPZdRPDdJZ-1lcTft1NHVrc1U3gxpr_-qyoGp1bro5_PQllT3tumerfqnOPl77rUmSLo99N4N39ExqgO7VKcCdqDihtJe5pHIEumrYG4DqgPkFgf8e0fTMeE9QEReQ7z586cptKcnErqoCQ-wHKhybPBx4mhQ/w314-h320/AAshakespearesilenced.jpg" width="314" /></a></div>I still don't understand how in the USA especially, a small group of woke (extreme) people seem to be able to take control of so many things? To see this new form of McCarthyism coming from the woke LEFT is particularly disappointing. But it is no surprise, in light of the recent nonsense involving attempts to censor and even rewrite our own human history (</span>the 1619 project is a prime example of this)<span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span>Orwellian. Can't wait for the time when we won't have a concept of "I" anymore, only "we," where we worry the government can read our minds and tell if we've even thought forbidden thoughts. <span style="font-family: inherit;">Dangerous, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">especially since this is also happening at universities. And some of t</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">he same people who want to censor and edit Roald Dahl, are OK with sexually tinted transgender shows in Kindergarten. Conservative and progressive, alternating it whenever it suits them? </span><span style="text-align: left;">When you change an author’s writings to fit an ideological message, it eventually stops being literature and becomes propaganda. </span>And what is even more absurd is that the real world out there has only become more violent and rude. Censoring words and shielding is not going to protect your kids from the real world. And where does it eventually stop? Some people may be triggered by depictions of disabilities. Should Charlie Bucket's elderly grandparents then be depicted as playing golf and football instead of always lying in bed? Are paintings and works of art up next? Because someone screams murder and takes offense with the way Picasso or Francis Bacon depicted their subjects? Should the words of Shakespeare be edited to get rid of gender stereotypes? Actually, I read that Shakespeare is already on a list of right wing subversive material. And was already edited ("improved", oh the arrogance). If someone cannot see why this is problematic then they are truly past hope. While we're at it, can somebody please rewrite the bible? A lot of what I have read in there - written two millenniums ago - offends me greatly. No? Right, thought so. The line should firmly be placed against allowing zealots to try to change the past, erase history or mutilate literature. Because people may be offended. I am sick and tired of the victimhood culture. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Roald Dahl sold over 300 million copies of his books worldwide. People love them just the way they were written. Let writers portray the world as it really is. Add an introduction page to the book if need be for context, to explain that a book was written in another time with different views on things, instead or rewriting or removing the text. Literature is meant to be surprising and provocative. If the language in a book is that offensive to you, then don’t read it. Simple as that. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c25wVenelZ8" width="320" youtube-src-id="c25wVenelZ8"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oFDjHJJpxfQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="oFDjHJJpxfQ"></iframe> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisHEf6E0qp-FynFwpRw3pfrGpYEX7WHdVFzeg1YPdKEdpVu6qdpTy8ko0lJjD-6QpHpbNK25nrY_LzftzMgRxI8g0L8T8pS2S7BhAjKDVCHr-sFvdSGku-8uJzoPHs35EyoWN_n7iXJT_nT_puplczke087pZZTMAC4_BjU8BzwjFbR-fKWPy-TeuUbw/s843/334965386_1356924075159599_3453525397627458722_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="843" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisHEf6E0qp-FynFwpRw3pfrGpYEX7WHdVFzeg1YPdKEdpVu6qdpTy8ko0lJjD-6QpHpbNK25nrY_LzftzMgRxI8g0L8T8pS2S7BhAjKDVCHr-sFvdSGku-8uJzoPHs35EyoWN_n7iXJT_nT_puplczke087pZZTMAC4_BjU8BzwjFbR-fKWPy-TeuUbw/w640-h600/334965386_1356924075159599_3453525397627458722_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Songs of the day</b></span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2nfRAdgJRgY" width="320" youtube-src-id="2nfRAdgJRgY"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/erXc1UwdIhM" width="320" youtube-src-id="erXc1UwdIhM"></iframe><br /><br /></div></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"> Applause (not jazz hands)</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bO2Wbf5GR8E" width="320" youtube-src-id="bO2Wbf5GR8E"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwtCohQuYcceg0KWOm3hIuTChJFV37FafEIDktUosopBKvqlyRLH8fBuOZBJGshDXXAhbGRbzXLJrGwv0SINA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguDe32RU7jeQVqsaLlBPPqP-VKdncFuWDNyxbrGkUHEsgEJvhdhbA1FvX0qwi2S_uZMvJqEpS1q1I3c4PmTcNX4KAFBxvtFKsHJZ_yDtCnotj8zYNl9JRdy-3g-_Jv1o7EJwsjagRmjSxGJzCFlVPWL3poiNVJT53jSIqVWOTQ5ciMlHxUhUpo-rqdHA/s1000/kahlo-sidebar.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="816" height="407" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguDe32RU7jeQVqsaLlBPPqP-VKdncFuWDNyxbrGkUHEsgEJvhdhbA1FvX0qwi2S_uZMvJqEpS1q1I3c4PmTcNX4KAFBxvtFKsHJZ_yDtCnotj8zYNl9JRdy-3g-_Jv1o7EJwsjagRmjSxGJzCFlVPWL3poiNVJT53jSIqVWOTQ5ciMlHxUhUpo-rqdHA/w332-h407/kahlo-sidebar.jpg" width="332" /></a></div><div><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large;">October 8, 2022</b><br /><br /></div><div>I honestly find it desperately sad and depressing that we are living in a time where everything is polarized in Pro or Con. You are either in favour of something, or when you criticize it you are automatically considered against it, or a conspiracy theorist. Either way, facts are still facts for some of us and I am surprised to see this docu film on youtube. Since such videos are usually removed again by the platform, for not complying with 'community guidelines'; read: the ideology of the day. So if interested, watch it while this is still possible. An honest documentary about the doctors and patients unlucky enough to encounter covid vaccine side-effects, disability or death. Just because you didn't get a stroke or a blood clot from the vaccine, doesn't mean everybody else was fine. And everyone deserves a voice. I also continue to post about this <b><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2022/02/pfizers-recently-published-covid-19.html" target="_blank">here</a></b>. And in case this docu gets removed from youtube, I made a backup which you can view <b><a href="https://vimeo.com/758285050" target="_blank">here</a></b>. Also scroll down in my separate covid vaccine-related blog posts <b><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2022/02/pfizers-recently-published-covid-19.html" target="_blank">HERE</a></b> for latest updates, if you care for this topic. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><br /><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 30px;">Safe and Effective: A Second Opinion (2022)</b><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="543" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HjRT1pv73GM" width="653" youtube-src-id="HjRT1pv73GM"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZrb3QSBfWcwUMjxxIcpEk36YjpCIlOwhxfU_mhwrr0EjLNcrkvTqXF38dpB6UKmsWfFSO5qiextzMVOfJPBovMjMKC86m2TB9rtGoUiSI1LROSxVpZyeVJTEr9LvgSHh773G_3a2CLx4i-JIoVJ5pk4w06cehkthV738TnfEG4gucYmlCO2-_JytrtA/s1500/open-for-vaccinated-only-sign.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1500" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZrb3QSBfWcwUMjxxIcpEk36YjpCIlOwhxfU_mhwrr0EjLNcrkvTqXF38dpB6UKmsWfFSO5qiextzMVOfJPBovMjMKC86m2TB9rtGoUiSI1LROSxVpZyeVJTEr9LvgSHh773G_3a2CLx4i-JIoVJ5pk4w06cehkthV738TnfEG4gucYmlCO2-_JytrtA/w640-h385/open-for-vaccinated-only-sign.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhldsINGWT3ruKlGwaQ5y97pWn5kvp1MhH9cyFNz2GxI7bp8Qpth58HEszxeW1Yty_61G_j3H0s5Lnruy5RUMvAncsySMiutbGQLDYHuNae4Sn_mfiZ5qrjgVHNJ6Ns2MptA3WDBMwRjki3XfhLjzmnWaQndE5Isk8kC7sI-nTU6s2oDavMVaqzDyKgiQ/s1200/NoVaccineNoEntry_1200x666.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1200" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhldsINGWT3ruKlGwaQ5y97pWn5kvp1MhH9cyFNz2GxI7bp8Qpth58HEszxeW1Yty_61G_j3H0s5Lnruy5RUMvAncsySMiutbGQLDYHuNae4Sn_mfiZ5qrjgVHNJ6Ns2MptA3WDBMwRjki3XfhLjzmnWaQndE5Isk8kC7sI-nTU6s2oDavMVaqzDyKgiQ/w640-h356/NoVaccineNoEntry_1200x666.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkzeTDb5Z3nqTBiOmwN3mGM3zCsjCkhNKkD3s1ig_RLmtUaJmJJjq-JmdFvLsHSLJKYV7J88oactnxOVX9S_YensHNaeFhAeRwPJDvwXMBDGs3Iy5K_Ff97A3bT_FowH_KFaGgpCcKFaDWDq_lh4Bax-qyVCAqx7k6DiXwmMc01LBy7OdwFFbRoHFLg/s272/download%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="185" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkzeTDb5Z3nqTBiOmwN3mGM3zCsjCkhNKkD3s1ig_RLmtUaJmJJjq-JmdFvLsHSLJKYV7J88oactnxOVX9S_YensHNaeFhAeRwPJDvwXMBDGs3Iy5K_Ff97A3bT_FowH_KFaGgpCcKFaDWDq_lh4Bax-qyVCAqx7k6DiXwmMc01LBy7OdwFFbRoHFLg/w272-h400/download%20(1).jpg" width="272" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;"><b>September 14, 2022</b></span></p><div>It has been a summer from hell here. So hot, so much warmer than what we were used to only a decade ago. I have spent so much time in the house, in front of the airconditioning and ventilator. It's been rather depressing, unfortunately. My rosacea is the same as always. My face feels tight and burning and is flushed and red most of the time, unless I keep it cool and fanned. The heat rash is not as much a problem now, but I have to prevent my skin from overheating, or else the red rash is back again with a vengeance. I had a dinner party the other week and despite using a neck fan, my face was very hot and I never checked it, but it feels wayyyy warmer than normal 37 degrees body temperature. In the early morning, I had heat rash on several places on my cheeks. The heat from within must have caused that, this time around. But as long as I cool at night, <span style="color: #222222;">I can still wake up pale. </span>I guess that despite the odd dip in mood, I have found some sort of way to live life despite all this, but the warmer the weather, the less opportunity I have to visit others, go out for trips, walks and make the health imprisonment not feel as such. I know I am not the only one who has to live like this. And I'm grateful for the handful of friendships I built over the years with people in the same boat as me. It has been a massive support. But at the end of the day, you have to get through the days and weeks and months (of summer especially) alone. <span style="background-color: transparent;">But anyway, a lot is going on in the world at large and as my friend B. always reminds me; how lucky we are to live nowadays and not in the 1800's. As modern day communication techniques allow us to read and learn about so much of what is going on out there. And how interesting it all is.<br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: transparent;"><br /></span></div><div div=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaheQWb5CogoHKJ6W8aJedjis0Ui1L-FqzWw4oZ5SaSIQz4EaGSBcM1dwxIHwMZBlVdcm0zpIupn2G9G-he7Oxj2WiLuuA1V_fvZdSd69ftTH3_SJMRb3YONqDAEQXfoq9vw9amzVGyvvYqDd692bhLkiII_n4pZWmDfKLdDbOFJ1fDwvuJRv94hCtEA/s797/Maj8.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="797" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaheQWb5CogoHKJ6W8aJedjis0Ui1L-FqzWw4oZ5SaSIQz4EaGSBcM1dwxIHwMZBlVdcm0zpIupn2G9G-he7Oxj2WiLuuA1V_fvZdSd69ftTH3_SJMRb3YONqDAEQXfoq9vw9amzVGyvvYqDd692bhLkiII_n4pZWmDfKLdDbOFJ1fDwvuJRv94hCtEA/w320-h242/Maj8.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_J8FLP9X8cX312pOp__sqZ0UpaWm4j8dROifZzAWVpTrBFVT5EECIvVfcRtvu8eFCaZcgLtUQ8oxhPnmN7AIWTYnTCbCIORogNnYf5hTgT3dvzhCRKC-XSRRr4_DqU7whliAvRSeRiQPIqZsdKV06yuty8Apbxd6t4lcLCRB7vwKILGEcQJdBA_HdA/s605/Maj7.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="599" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_J8FLP9X8cX312pOp__sqZ0UpaWm4j8dROifZzAWVpTrBFVT5EECIvVfcRtvu8eFCaZcgLtUQ8oxhPnmN7AIWTYnTCbCIORogNnYf5hTgT3dvzhCRKC-XSRRr4_DqU7whliAvRSeRiQPIqZsdKV06yuty8Apbxd6t4lcLCRB7vwKILGEcQJdBA_HdA/w317-h320/Maj7.jpg" width="317" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The passing of Queen Elizabeth II</span><br /></span></b>Been a bit sad that the end of an era has come. Even though I'm not British, I quite like the history of royalty in general. Most of all the Tudor era, but also more modern day monarchs. I don't remember a time in my life when Elizabeth II was not Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. In the Netherlands we have a monarchy as well and our Beatrix became queen when I was a baby and she reigned 'only' 33 years, but was like a national grandmother by then. I quite like that Elizabeth reigned until her death. Like others did before her, including Victoria. There is something touching and stately about that. I have watched some long docu's about Elizabeth II's reign this week and it seems that she was as neutral as they come. Most people have no idea what her personal beliefs were on many political or ethical topics, as she became queen at such a young age (25), and always stuck to the demand to be a neutral clean slate; a queen for all and for everyone. Never Explain, Never Complain. <span style="font-family: inherit;">I did love her wit and her ability to seemingly always know what to say in any situation. She was not an intellectual (preferred to talk about dogs and horses and the country life) but she was intelligent and so sharp and funny. Can see why she and Philip had such a long, successful marriage. (Even though there was talk of a mistress but if even true, that still is commonplace among the aristocracy). They did seem very well matched and Philip was very straight forward and she relied on him a great deal. He was like an orphan almost when they met, living here and there and nowhere, and he always did everything to cherish the family he and Elizabeth created. But Philip would mock the Queen as well and told her to get on with things when she was chatting (yapping) too long. She quite liked that I read. A proper man who didn't grovel to her. I also quite liked their sense of duty, hard work, lack of self-pity or flagrant self-promotion. </span>I was a bit of a fan of Elizabeth. She made for a good queen I think. No fuss, hard working, fair and stable and with an eye for those less privileged in life. I also liked how much attention and consideration she had for the overseas areas of the Commonwealth. And she was rather glamorous in her youth. Philip as well. Young people today probably don't realize what a vibrant young woman she was. But she wasn't as frivolous and self-destructive as her very attractive sister Margareth. <span style="font-family: inherit;">They were also the product of their time.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBRa9rXXRR5fS0mCe7oftWJdGXtPOeYtHt9Cmts6bn93APRmbneJov1-ZaPobrLTEHyLjIu9hdQM_yDNeFwcN7x1CjPwL2CUufzFvVSLFeBgeipBMHPTllGgIZT57mg-J64uUL8Ylss850xBK7gl4VxOOpwRv3Ay5I2Hvot364xFvJEp9IEMsmrgHzHA/s602/Maj2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="479" height="403" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBRa9rXXRR5fS0mCe7oftWJdGXtPOeYtHt9Cmts6bn93APRmbneJov1-ZaPobrLTEHyLjIu9hdQM_yDNeFwcN7x1CjPwL2CUufzFvVSLFeBgeipBMHPTllGgIZT57mg-J64uUL8Ylss850xBK7gl4VxOOpwRv3Ay5I2Hvot364xFvJEp9IEMsmrgHzHA/w321-h403/Maj2.jpg" width="321" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJoxmzhtaNes7cPwFwIQUwMuynoAtH_GXjILgwj0QkpJjmZYzjxCTHdAHikTsmciK6ZOrgjmZtKt72HYywth0JIf9TbF7W6PPaeMLT9nqBU4hT9tRm7dm7Zg5kPdmM3BOag63haDVuQkMGNLWBS1cB_rytb6TdkSgeXpngSZgMPSJvT6keLeEotCUlPw/s737/Maj3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="737" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJoxmzhtaNes7cPwFwIQUwMuynoAtH_GXjILgwj0QkpJjmZYzjxCTHdAHikTsmciK6ZOrgjmZtKt72HYywth0JIf9TbF7W6PPaeMLT9nqBU4hT9tRm7dm7Zg5kPdmM3BOag63haDVuQkMGNLWBS1cB_rytb6TdkSgeXpngSZgMPSJvT6keLeEotCUlPw/s320/Maj3.jpg" width="320" /></a><span><span>Someone once said that if you want to understand someone, you have to look at the way the world was when they were 21 years old. As that is usually their formative age. The way of living at that time is often a guideline later in life. Elizabeth was born in the mid 20's, during austerity and she came of age during the 2nd world war. And all that seriousness and practicality and unshaken steadfastness of that generation; well that's what Elizabeth and Philip stood for too. As a friend wrote me: '</span>Her 1953 coronation probably predates even the birth of the parents of the majority of people in the country. When she was made Queen, Winston Churchill was alive and well, Josef Stalin had passed away only three months previously, Dwight Eisenhower was the new President of the United States, with John F Kennedy still a few years away yet. Man (Neil Armstrong) would not walk on the Moon until Sixteen years later - 1969(!). Britain and Europe were still coming to terms with the end of the second World War, and all of its trauma and hardship was still fresh..'.<br /><br />It's interesting how the times in which people grow up shapes them so much. The post-war (WW2) generation in general were hard working, no-nonsense, forward looking, problem-solving. But Elizabeth and Philip would never hold hands in public. They also did not raise their kids with obvious emotions on show. They did not air their dirty laundry to the public. Elizabeth even believed you should not burden the people around you with your personal grievances, emotions and insecurities. One deals with those things privately. Clearly a generational stance. That's probably also why she couldn't deal with rather hysterical Diana most of the time. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was probably at least partially the result of the era in which she grew up, and the manner in which. For context: in the Netherlands, we had Jewish camp survivors come back (not many of them) after World War 2 ended, and there was very little empathy for them upon returning. 'Don't complain, be glad you made it out, now we will rebuild the country'. That was the spirit back then and people did not visit psychologists en masse to talk about their feelings and emotions. Of course, in case of trauma that is not necessarily a good thing. But people growing up today experience the almost polar opposite. My own grandparents were Resistance fighters during WW2 but never felt like talking about it much after the war, let alone boast about it. My grandfather went through traumatizing things, very similar to the opening scene of Inglorious Bastards from Tarantino and lived with the guilt all his life, but they kept those things to themselves. Maybe that is also why I (a child in the 80's and a teenager during the 90's) struggle to understand the modern day 'feelings over facts' attitude, and the way in which younger people seem to scramble to claim one or another victimhood status. And then tell the outside world/online world about it. I talked with a friend about it the other day and back in the days we would rather melt than portray ourselves as victims of anything. You got on with things and did not revel in being seen as weak or special. If that makes sense? There are of course true victims of horrible crimes and that's a different story. And I am telling others through this blog also about the unfortunate things that happened to me, such as that disastrous IPL treatment. But that is also to try to give it some sort of purpose and to hopefully help other people in the same boat to feel less alone. I'm more hinting at the constant offense and 'trauma' some people claim to have with regards to encountering different opinions for instance, or things in life that didn't go all smoothly. The pampered generation is coming of age now, and boy do we need to hear about it. </span>Speaking of generations, I think mine is a little more emotional and self-centered than the never complaining Great Generation, and a little bit more independent and less pampered than Millennials and Gen Z. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='586' height='488' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwKy_K_UIHtyiX52pWbWJUPy9vb4pVA_Fv42nvrHvkM7m_CrsEe6Yqh2AoYe5z6Ln-LmHWijXAsGIwSNwXiwg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But it seems to me that some youngsters today have a hard time</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> empathizing or even understanding how</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> different the world was only a few generations ago. They look at everything with the coloured glasses of today, and judge earlier generations, which seems pretty unfair in most cases. Everyone is thrown into this world by chance and you have no say about what era you live through and which zeitgeist is shaping you and your behaviours and beliefs. <span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">What historians like myself do as a standard,</span></span>to analyse the people of the past by the standards of their own era. Not judge them with today's morality and twist it all into ideological warfare about what is intrinsically right or wrong. Modern day people often leave out the larger historical context of the day (often because they don't even know about it in detail). Historical facts are also facts folks, even if you don't like them. As more often these days, Bill says it Best:<br /><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='535' height='445' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzDKiMvLTPvuyDL9d72U9nOVM5ZHEruFPVXrczP7LR1hHbS76Y9vGQNSaRjBKjH8R_t8fqeVdw1mIxS_l9KyA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />And what Bill says is common sense; not some eccentric fringe belief. L</span>ooking at modern day America is sometimes<span style="font-family: inherit;"> like watching a room full with adult sized babies with diapers on debating. Context, people. I myself always chuckled quite a bit when it came to Prince Philips non-pc comments, called gaffes later. He has some of the funniest and most famous quotes of all time. Some of them are just hilarious, some are very controversial nowadays. But he would often use humour to make people feel at ease. He just had a wicked sense of humour and maybe it is a culture thing as well. Americans take most often offense it seems and don't always get the British sarcasm and tongue in cheek humour. Although Philip could also be boorishly rude at times haha. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">One time a really round looking chef told Philip his profession, or he was accepting some chef award or something. And Philip said to him: 'No wonder you are a good chef because you certainly have the size for it'. The chef himself found it hilarious and laughed out loud. And during some opening in Canada he also spoke right before the reveal of some artwork to the audiences: “I declare this thing open, whatever it is” 😅</span> OK, some more then:</div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOt4USMRfN2uyreiaa2QhnDJxhSwlH0EzMqYmLmlh0Hj8bp_xF6PEYoEMjFHb5r4O1u8Ka764Hp4ziIZMCeJIJuUoovCBHEK6v9S9F55kJwc-Nrxh2aKyDYc42msfXZmcoK1_LXHbusPxk1dHw3l99xpURp_iyyixYBNEW8NwSPaqCZiLhMrT--XZ13A/s614/Maj4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="614" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOt4USMRfN2uyreiaa2QhnDJxhSwlH0EzMqYmLmlh0Hj8bp_xF6PEYoEMjFHb5r4O1u8Ka764Hp4ziIZMCeJIJuUoovCBHEK6v9S9F55kJwc-Nrxh2aKyDYc42msfXZmcoK1_LXHbusPxk1dHw3l99xpURp_iyyixYBNEW8NwSPaqCZiLhMrT--XZ13A/w320-h314/Maj4.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXf5f4GAIU4FjY85bhjnyG82oz6a5b_Qu9UkPtFjawFM6YG74F3KPSeNcqPJXnvDY6k0dph3RM00811hsdFLEFxU65Ld4YvL0RCcypkgYmEfx6py1Q8uXm3W8Nw99H0eO4q77YVLY2AYjHDRQmDBKrbwjVsCT3f33LMDMLFCwSdFbAAPq8QLxhwWCj3A/s1920/FcKv463X0AY_5oA.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1280" height="481" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXf5f4GAIU4FjY85bhjnyG82oz6a5b_Qu9UkPtFjawFM6YG74F3KPSeNcqPJXnvDY6k0dph3RM00811hsdFLEFxU65Ld4YvL0RCcypkgYmEfx6py1Q8uXm3W8Nw99H0eO4q77YVLY2AYjHDRQmDBKrbwjVsCT3f33LMDMLFCwSdFbAAPq8QLxhwWCj3A/w320-h481/FcKv463X0AY_5oA.jpg" width="320" /></a><div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">- <span style="color: black;">Speaking to a Scottish driving instructor, Philip remarked for instance: “How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test?”</span><br />- <span style="color: black;">Upon being shown art during a trip to Ethiopia: “It looks like the kind of thing my daughter would bring back from her school art lessons.”</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">-</span> <span style="color: black;">When asked if he wanted to stroke a koala bear:</span><span style="color: black;"> "Oh no, I might catch some ghastly disease."<br /></span><span style="color: black;">- About the war: "It was part of the fortunes of war. We didn't have counsellors rushing around every time somebody let off a gun, asking 'Are you all right - are you sure you don't have a ghastly problem?' You just got on with it!"</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">- <span style="color: black;">Meeting the president of Nigeria who wore traditional robes: “You look like you’re ready for bed.”</span><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>- T</span>o a British student who had trekked in Papua New Guinea: <span>"You managed not to get eaten then?" </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>-</span> Winning the hearts of the Scottish Women's Institute: <span>"British women can't cook." </span><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>- </span>At the reception of a new £18m British Embassy in Berlin:<span> "It's a vast waste of space." </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">- In China: "If it has four legs and it is not a chair, if it has got two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane and if it swims and it is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it."<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>-</span>When asked if he would like to visit the Soviet Union: <span>"I would like to go to Russia very much – although the bastards murdered half my family." </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>-</span>To neighbour Elton John: <span>"Oh, it's you that owns that ghastly car is it? We often see it when driving to Windsor Castle." </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>-During </span>Elton John's performance at the Royal Variety Show: "I wish he'd turn the microphone off!"</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>-</span>In the Cayman Islands: <span>"Aren't most of you descended from pirates?" </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">-Meeting a wheelchair-bound nursing-home resident: "Do people trip over you?"<br />-Discussing a tartan design with Scottish Tory Annabel Goldi: <span>"That's a nice tie... Do you have any knickers in that material?" </span><span><br />-</span>On being shown Nottingham Forest FC's trophy collection: <span>"I suppose I would get in a lot of trouble if I were to melt them down." <br />-</span>Joining a group of female Labour MP: <span>"Ah, so this is feminist corner then".</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">-“Children go to school because their parents don’t want them in the house”.<span><br /></span><span><br />Ok, the culturally tinged comments are no longer bon-ton these days, but times were different back then and we do not have to 'cancel' everyone from those times in order to "do better" today. Most of his quotes gave me a chuckle anyway. Maybe also because of the zealous anti-humour times of today, where there seems always someone screaming offense online. </span><span>And I also wonder: would the USA be a different place with an all connecting institution like the royals? I know the entire basis of the USA is that it was founded as a republic. But just see how divided and at war they all are today. In the UK there may be different political parties, but the royals have always been a connecting and solidifying force. Just look at the millions of people who are out in the streets now, this week, coming from all directions to say farewell to the queen. They are from mostly all walks of life, all colours and backgrounds. </span><span>Even though modern day royals do not have much political power anymore, they still symbolize tradition, history and unity to me. Although not everyone agrees there of course. </span>Another friend from England wrote: 'No I'm not a fan. They take 100 million a year from the taxpayers and that doesn't include all the rent and tax free earnings they make for owning land, hotels, castles etc etc. They're worth a few billion quid so what do they need to rob the public for? Loose change? Not to mention that we've not had a genuinely English monarch since 1066.' - I can see his point as well of course. And then there are the people unhappy with the royals because of links with colonialism. <span>But the entire world, throughout history, was fought over and went through transitions under different rulers from different tribes or nationalities. Most countries have been taken and retaken over the ages and plundered as such. That's not isolated to one area only, or to the last countries who dealt with that fate. </span>Anyway, a week full of ceremony and emotions in the UK. It is not just the end of this queen, but also the end of an era, and it must be mourned as such. </span></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="532" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y_-Nb5DwB8c" width="640" youtube-src-id="y_-Nb5DwB8c"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0hjtDNWlxgEvrFHKE-AeGPKOFvTAIIjFBhtY4-w4Fi1Dg3otTuYmbq-em8ct3K41YTBImWIesY5h8BDT51rqbmf3d8-2sC4LYwDcCrlJxFZijC4Uy2nRwRN0e-HnAFnQJBw8lqaZWE2eFPVAcO1F6GQR7VgQfDL7CvL0qHfuDv2Tmh1msN-GWspIILA/s1264/back%20off.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="1264" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0hjtDNWlxgEvrFHKE-AeGPKOFvTAIIjFBhtY4-w4Fi1Dg3otTuYmbq-em8ct3K41YTBImWIesY5h8BDT51rqbmf3d8-2sC4LYwDcCrlJxFZijC4Uy2nRwRN0e-HnAFnQJBw8lqaZWE2eFPVAcO1F6GQR7VgQfDL7CvL0qHfuDv2Tmh1msN-GWspIILA/w640-h346/back%20off.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div b=""><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></div></div></div></div><div a="" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihlM9VNQ4zBaMJaBgi_Yftu0rS5MgltWIxLyvG3Zfekk1m2cN-0MT0BfLRv87ppwQjF2RxxCT_Pcbb-D1bF3ldprCshiYUWuUUZ3DK4Xgtaw9JaYcbhMVc6sgv1uiF_nc01ZG9NxvQ7ux64z9wWJ_4PmCUch0yTsmMgEisik826_daoGGs854F061KhQ/s898/Untitled-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="650" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihlM9VNQ4zBaMJaBgi_Yftu0rS5MgltWIxLyvG3Zfekk1m2cN-0MT0BfLRv87ppwQjF2RxxCT_Pcbb-D1bF3ldprCshiYUWuUUZ3DK4Xgtaw9JaYcbhMVc6sgv1uiF_nc01ZG9NxvQ7ux64z9wWJ_4PmCUch0yTsmMgEisik826_daoGGs854F061KhQ/w290-h400/Untitled-18.jpg" width="290" /></div><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Energy crisis</span></span></b><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />There is a massive energy crisis here currently. Europe was heavily relying on Russian (cheap) gas for years and years, and Putin has as good as closed the pipes and now everyone is scrambling for gas and oil. Prices are up 300% or so I read. Although this fluctuates. But prices are up enough for mostly everyone's energy bill go double or tripple (or worse) overnight. The Netherlands have the highest gas price of all the European nations. A small family will this year pay 4000 euro more than previous years, the media revealed. One in four households will struggle to pay their bills, and many already do. Even people with good paying jobs are in trouble with such a massive cost increase for basic gas and electricity bills. Some already spend a quarter to half of their monthly income on electricity bills. And even someone like myself, who barely ever heats the house and does not like hour-long hot showers, notices it one way or another, as these high energy prices are reflected in mostly anything we buy. From our groceries being 20% more expensive on average, to petrol and diesel for our cars being a lot more expensive. And most shops are dealing with more expensive production- and transport costs as well, which means they increase the prices of their products. Similar for most services. So more or less everything has become a lot more expensive, but wages and benefits have not been increased. Not even the minimum wage has gone up, despite the Netherlands having an official inflation of more than 12%. This is about as bad as during the last great world war. People have the same income, but must pay more for everything. There are already people unable to pay their bills and one woman made it into the papers for having her energy company come round to lock off her gas, as she cannot afford to cook or heat the house anymore. We tend to have central heating here, which is gas-driven. The Netherlands both import and export gas, and as a country it does not lose, overall. But due to the current inflation, the people get poorer, while the state stays neutral and the electricity companies are making record profits. Shell, all the oil companies; they all made record profits the last 6 months due to the high oil price. But also companies like Unilever, who sell their produce through the supermarkets for super high prices (and they already made record profits during the covid years, when many people had only their supermarket trip and food for comfort). And now they increase prices even when it isn't necessary or linked to an increase of costs for them. So all costs are rising exponentially, but the incomes do not increase. The government is trying to help out a bit, but it isn't much so far. The Netherlands have a right-wing, conservative block of parties in power. But this problem is hitting many European countries. The French government has installed a 4% energy price increase cap. So energy companies are not allowed to raise prices beyond that 4% mark. Spain gives its citizens free train traveling. Belgium has a 'social tarif' where anyone who earns less than a certain amount gets 30% reduction on electricity bills, arranged by the state. <br /></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge7l_xa7Q-YBM_X8ai8YA-H1oeM7qqDh_lSk2DBQmVjojes8bovUKJPzukH3-0amkGi-rPHiOVyCG3M71VoElls7CIh1evwrDY1dFdmv6JxACLWgqKOQ00eJD_X-y9IjdaLIZuMTy4b2IbuFsXpPJp2Adx95u7-tF5cqYH-qvChH_9WbDxVd7XXJ4I0w/s960/306162420_510140941115033_3294545231708278902_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="768" height="515" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge7l_xa7Q-YBM_X8ai8YA-H1oeM7qqDh_lSk2DBQmVjojes8bovUKJPzukH3-0amkGi-rPHiOVyCG3M71VoElls7CIh1evwrDY1dFdmv6JxACLWgqKOQ00eJD_X-y9IjdaLIZuMTy4b2IbuFsXpPJp2Adx95u7-tF5cqYH-qvChH_9WbDxVd7XXJ4I0w/w412-h515/306162420_510140941115033_3294545231708278902_n.jpg" width="412" /></a>Now the European Union has come up with an agreement yesterday which is pretty ambitious. They want to limit how much profit the oil and gas industries can make within Europe (33%), and every euro they make more they have to hand in to the EU, who will use these expected 100 million euros to help struggling Europeans. Energy companies are making record profits at the moment. Especially energy providers who use nuclear and wind- and solar energy, as they don't have to invest more than they normally would on the heated international gas and oil market. The European Union will soon also allow gas companies to only ask a maximum price of €180 per megawatt hour. Last month this price was €364 per megawatt hour. While one year ago, that prices was around €25 per megawatt hour.... So, insane price increases. The prices on the energy market are more than 10 times higher now than last year, for us in the NL. And the electricity use within the entire European Union also has to be decreased with 10% this upcoming year. <br /><br />The EU puts full blame for this fiasco on Vladimir Putin. Because he broke the energy agreements. I remember Trump warning EU leaders about this dependency we have on Russian oil and gas back in 2018 I believe it was, and they smirked in his face and on camera back then. I guess he was right though, in hindsight. In that respect. And we're not laughing anymore now. Mostly everyone thought beforehand that Putin wouldn't do this, because Russia would need our European gas dollars for their war, etc etc. But the tap is turned off. And interestingly enough, the ruble seemed to become rubble and tumble at first, but is now recovering very well again. Didn't hear yet from Greta T. how we should deal with a cold house this winter and not enough money to get groceries. <span>Already, many folks with a normal income level can no longer pay their gas bills, and we all have central heating in our houses which is powered by gas. It will be carnage this winter, even more so than last winter, when people were told by politicians to stick their thermostat in the house to 17 degrees (62 F.). That's not a problem for me as I don't like heat at all, but most folks like it warm and snuggly at at least 21 degrees (70 F.) in the house. It's going to cost them big time. </span>Putin probably considers Europe's support of Ukraine a valid reason to stop delivering gas and oil to the EU. A war which still rages on by the way, but the Russians are struggling as the Ukrainians are well trained and armed. But the fact that the EU now has to do a bidding war on a heated international market is not helping the situation. And the EU is also buying expensive American gas, as predicted. And even when energy prizes drop overnight, the reduced price will not be passed on to customers initially, who are charged the same high tariff or are charged even more temporarily. As gas companies first need to get their money back from earlier high investments. And the market remains very volatile. Next thing we could also be submitted to eco taxes. Meanwhile the preachy yet self-serving elite have good salaries, mass funds and a gold plated pension, not to mention private jets that come and go. Stashing their cash away on the Cayman islands. Next thing we'll give people limits on their carbon footprint. Politicians have been toying with the idea of a tax on the number of miles you drive. A bit like that Chinese social credit system. Of course, this will mainly hurt the poor because the poorer people often have to travel further for work or they live in the least convenient places. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div div=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLfLDIs073ES36EdKill0y8vhZDYucLubojWP18EM0NLgPfPNUqBXS81frGL4ksUi6ZrCFKZCkehYLATwTPL9CIdQHix8Rvevdonbg-dvDs36CzirxOdTQHaUkOKz1xnCzSlsFIWpKG5Smejw9t9qJ2Z0s8HyqTiLG-QISpKO8X_sV1UUDaoySDQiO-A/s652/291959415_3071082733154958_7878998640320438491_n.png" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="652" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLfLDIs073ES36EdKill0y8vhZDYucLubojWP18EM0NLgPfPNUqBXS81frGL4ksUi6ZrCFKZCkehYLATwTPL9CIdQHix8Rvevdonbg-dvDs36CzirxOdTQHaUkOKz1xnCzSlsFIWpKG5Smejw9t9qJ2Z0s8HyqTiLG-QISpKO8X_sV1UUDaoySDQiO-A/w320-h298/291959415_3071082733154958_7878998640320438491_n.png" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtZdXnsFUAbI6nqIPgrLh5AqbmjmFIRa48NhMiMTJeynHgWwrqTZSDpf-4FMxZj5a_h3VFeWxugJOSboUXGC72p8I07ab5loDr2F0ezjvq7QnQZ3H7Yq12vTpLzexVyn8OTuCOkS-ho_TWDvzRXHZZWG_Yx6PK-LgnT2YJypSlIbvVvhnYUl2X0VNo3g/s2048/FVE7YgrVsAAXaVQ.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1269" data-original-width="2048" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtZdXnsFUAbI6nqIPgrLh5AqbmjmFIRa48NhMiMTJeynHgWwrqTZSDpf-4FMxZj5a_h3VFeWxugJOSboUXGC72p8I07ab5loDr2F0ezjvq7QnQZ3H7Yq12vTpLzexVyn8OTuCOkS-ho_TWDvzRXHZZWG_Yx6PK-LgnT2YJypSlIbvVvhnYUl2X0VNo3g/w320-h198/FVE7YgrVsAAXaVQ.jpg" width="320" /></a>I would love green energy... as long as it will be very affordable and actually sufficient to keep society running. Unfortunately right now, we are far from ready for green energy replacing fossil fuels. Same for all those electric cars. We are told here that we have to replace our petrol and diesel cars for electrical cars, but how will they be charged exactly? What will provide the energy you need for your electric cars? Right. There is not enough of that as we speak. Green energy is just not enough at this moment in time. There are not enough charging points and most normal earning people cannot afford an electrical car yet either. I worry that as it stands right now, the green new deal will mostly affect the poor and the middle classes, while the elite will just get more rich and continue to fly their private jets over the globe, uncontrolled. Same with their empathetic pleas for more refugees and helping the homeless personally. Yet they never seem to invite them in their Park Avenue apartments and gated elite compounds and 'wild reserves'. Like that joke from earlier this week, when 50-something refugees traveled to Martha's Vineyard and the rich liberals instantly took their woke signs out of their gardens (<i>'In this house, we believe: blabla, No Human Is Illegal, blabla, Kindness is Everything'</i>). And they called the cops <b><a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/1570786066025836545" target="_blank">to have the refugees removed again by bus</a></b>. I mean, refugees are fine, but NOT in our neighborhood. Why not invite them into your houses, rich liberals? Why not have them camp in your lush gardens? It's the staggering hypocrisy that annoys me the most tbh. The fake activism, preaching to others in lesser circumstances what to do, while isolating themselves from all the poverty and sacrifice in their rich, protected elite compounds. Do these people not have any self-reflection? A typical case of 'Do as I Say, Not As I Do'. <br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpk2l53d47gngj1samVmawQUr_s_Tg1fU3eP-c-QZNpCYhKJ3kfJC3o4RXep8UcyHhQ11D6aCgH6h3g8aV2p0uyGLnxBY42teDTvz5bs8Em_CRAAuhNMxbRU2ipEbMGOccExBrLmDMWD6IQUNJ-PeQihfcisajmBw5Nur0nxIeO-d1Lm5kXSrjqWHY0Q/s680/FcymvqUXgAEdweq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="482" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpk2l53d47gngj1samVmawQUr_s_Tg1fU3eP-c-QZNpCYhKJ3kfJC3o4RXep8UcyHhQ11D6aCgH6h3g8aV2p0uyGLnxBY42teDTvz5bs8Em_CRAAuhNMxbRU2ipEbMGOccExBrLmDMWD6IQUNJ-PeQihfcisajmBw5Nur0nxIeO-d1Lm5kXSrjqWHY0Q/w263-h371/FcymvqUXgAEdweq.jpg" width="263" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6iq0alzDw0DKdsEkUyUKZZBMy9icXI82HlX5UdeQduh78pGlZShXPFqxuxoykT3u1RX3DJ0EwAgO8g-UeqCs6rjry2zXR82sToRkWVHzQU2ZpMXsMRHP62U8HTlbhcRDKhktsozG4vmSp1BfiNnKowxQ8BG7A9IF7-y0QtJ22K-Z9cRY6va5nLFSYQ/s864/FctrIpBXkAE-3N-.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="795" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6iq0alzDw0DKdsEkUyUKZZBMy9icXI82HlX5UdeQduh78pGlZShXPFqxuxoykT3u1RX3DJ0EwAgO8g-UeqCs6rjry2zXR82sToRkWVHzQU2ZpMXsMRHP62U8HTlbhcRDKhktsozG4vmSp1BfiNnKowxQ8BG7A9IF7-y0QtJ22K-Z9cRY6va5nLFSYQ/w342-h372/FctrIpBXkAE-3N-.jpg" width="342" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2CM8CR0JifxSHr4btd7wb8yrBJ1_r83K3Di6mq_Dl0WJ3h3u5LQZ_tl0erwPV_iavXtZ4cuMHcETFj8bA_fG5CFOrIRu5_Cal1NSAqhvvX9nnHxjSUb8BUPP9eDWsBznRuzhfsdnEceKiixjC4txdWVs2W7zhyWgVZe_u7yKr5ylPjkUnWQa71PGpOQ/s680/FcyZaFKXEAAeCav.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="680" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2CM8CR0JifxSHr4btd7wb8yrBJ1_r83K3Di6mq_Dl0WJ3h3u5LQZ_tl0erwPV_iavXtZ4cuMHcETFj8bA_fG5CFOrIRu5_Cal1NSAqhvvX9nnHxjSUb8BUPP9eDWsBznRuzhfsdnEceKiixjC4txdWVs2W7zhyWgVZe_u7yKr5ylPjkUnWQa71PGpOQ/w443-h282/FcyZaFKXEAAeCav.jpg" width="443" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYBknl_mZH0V-A1b3NgEf17hCbCCuNz3qV7IvA6DQIx6_VlTgMxyZTMAGerqInz8dyWjgq2wBXLjmDuqD_IucfG7dRs2inPtbSBENCsDEh6HR0A4mLNOu9V2IzrLHjsu_4BxeT61D4AR08xtZtEnuEr63ZTyfTlV6IwkFgQA3nBIuGBmemih8OzfA4g/s2048/Fc0iVqKWQAE8998.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYBknl_mZH0V-A1b3NgEf17hCbCCuNz3qV7IvA6DQIx6_VlTgMxyZTMAGerqInz8dyWjgq2wBXLjmDuqD_IucfG7dRs2inPtbSBENCsDEh6HR0A4mLNOu9V2IzrLHjsu_4BxeT61D4AR08xtZtEnuEr63ZTyfTlV6IwkFgQA3nBIuGBmemih8OzfA4g/w159-h282/Fc0iVqKWQAE8998.jpg" width="159" /></a></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikshDwzcrtlQc-9qRKGwDcZeiYAtfF3neSJKlKXkJCtU-LCVMIrTJMiGGHBZuQBuHCkfgYs_Ay3c0SGwFicDg6DMEXMXUmzhvpWHIEWSMCxXSznWGNILzmJ6yv1q4W4xO3G0QO3DFvSfYo8q_ALNktKor3e-Af_pRGlCy6f5_JnARz7gdS46yFqO_34A/s680/Fc18YZCWAAEumZH.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="680" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikshDwzcrtlQc-9qRKGwDcZeiYAtfF3neSJKlKXkJCtU-LCVMIrTJMiGGHBZuQBuHCkfgYs_Ay3c0SGwFicDg6DMEXMXUmzhvpWHIEWSMCxXSznWGNILzmJ6yv1q4W4xO3G0QO3DFvSfYo8q_ALNktKor3e-Af_pRGlCy6f5_JnARz7gdS46yFqO_34A/s320/Fc18YZCWAAEumZH.png" width="320" /></a>Anyway. Add to that the risk of a recession.. As it is often said, inflation is a cruel tax on the middle and lower classes. The poor are now also paying the price for putting economies on hold for two years. But s<span style="color: #222222;">hould you look into the primary providers of energy in your own region, I’m willing to bet they’ve also reported record profits in recent months. It isn’t inflation to simply raise prices just because you can. This is greedy old Masters of the Universe doing greedy old dickish things because it is in their interest and nature.</span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span>We've also been dealing with shocks to the supply system because of the pandemic and the printing of extra money by governments. Our markets and retirement funds here have been hammered too, as the world markets have all been getting hammered. And it has been great for the climate and such that we have closed down coal mines and refocus from fossil fuel on green energy, but from an economic (and now also political) point of view, Europe has been committing 'energy suicide' over the past decade with our reliance on Russia for oil and gas. Not only is reaching our climate targets (Paris agreement and the aim to reduce CO2 emission) in this way an ostrich tactic, when you just push the emission problem over the border basically. It is also interesting in a way that Europe, along with the USA, would give Russia so much energy power. Who knows if it emboldended Putin to invade Ukraine, knowing that Europe and America basically gave Putin all this energy power and money, and any sanctions against the invasion would hurt Europe and America economically. And it has. Meanwhile Biden laughed and mocked the Ruble and did a victory lap, but the Ruble is actually higher right now than before the invasion. Everybody is asked to pay their Russian fossil fuel in Rubles now, instead of American dollars. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxvH-k9tFbi5yzb9jSjO8OzfpCRG_aX7Vkn4BiLu_PV-4TRcOLfW-NWEAkrT_yJLb8_klcaX1MLGu1QA_hy8ZsxRt1MAHejpoxKX9VFvFOS96Gwx6A0zB8rEr01vZy0oPZc3OXG2jtGqm1z5STIszuHtkj5dEo2U0iCATBqSDyZt0v46iCWdgtP8GTg/s700/600168_114033082119861_740155160_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="700" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxvH-k9tFbi5yzb9jSjO8OzfpCRG_aX7Vkn4BiLu_PV-4TRcOLfW-NWEAkrT_yJLb8_klcaX1MLGu1QA_hy8ZsxRt1MAHejpoxKX9VFvFOS96Gwx6A0zB8rEr01vZy0oPZc3OXG2jtGqm1z5STIszuHtkj5dEo2U0iCATBqSDyZt0v46iCWdgtP8GTg/w640-h352/600168_114033082119861_740155160_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZZRzM2aJsVWR4VSCgWdsYF3IDsngc0i5WAEqKUZNYvxrx4u7a1kFmryqaWH7URCLg0nZQJyDMo7_78ir6-PxmxvRFGF-17Yh7GqHcqhapu6XSMNUuss6WaO_1nw8YDiYPbbX2KXI5bEWkimAEndMFDYPwbeaNpaZmZcMKCEeYaSgmM3fpGnh8JH9xQ/s463/thumbnail_20220823_165422.jpg" style="font-size: xx-large; font-weight: 700; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="463" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZZRzM2aJsVWR4VSCgWdsYF3IDsngc0i5WAEqKUZNYvxrx4u7a1kFmryqaWH7URCLg0nZQJyDMo7_78ir6-PxmxvRFGF-17Yh7GqHcqhapu6XSMNUuss6WaO_1nw8YDiYPbbX2KXI5bEWkimAEndMFDYPwbeaNpaZmZcMKCEeYaSgmM3fpGnh8JH9xQ/w303-h250/thumbnail_20220823_165422.jpg" width="303" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdex3b3Ia1r0fFbU498UrGbUFg1j1NJo-vfnNI5EjtCY8UWv5StsUVWA_OW_xgcWAPelG3Eok3KkQ233Hxr6dY6YPaN3olVf8B0SHwOVDIjpBqkC7BFhnEF7bwvJmE2NqTIKRIWQ0WOWvwbsmGCpfQkOrrpt5rn78y3H29YEIiaLzb7YSWFa9Wq_8Lg/s320/zzzthumbnail_20220829_125000.jpg" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="297" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdex3b3Ia1r0fFbU498UrGbUFg1j1NJo-vfnNI5EjtCY8UWv5StsUVWA_OW_xgcWAPelG3Eok3KkQ233Hxr6dY6YPaN3olVf8B0SHwOVDIjpBqkC7BFhnEF7bwvJmE2NqTIKRIWQ0WOWvwbsmGCpfQkOrrpt5rn78y3H29YEIiaLzb7YSWFa9Wq_8Lg/w233-h251/zzzthumbnail_20220829_125000.jpg" width="233" /></a></b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWkPmKpJwFCmNj3E5Q6YlV8MA7iG2bq0CSiaAtANY0fHjsqo37TxHkOTHX78tl4Omb6iAzhSmzSbxxAVEqi9mimzPoKfqoBDZ6oQ88Nya5DyILS-2CYex8Abpnmpf5uFf_r800QUShPZkK71xPjpmVlF9CKRJCwgUatJ_lt9P03x6vlql-rcamfYfiA/s526/305658711_10160265616319736_3110140115387743161_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="526" height="581" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWkPmKpJwFCmNj3E5Q6YlV8MA7iG2bq0CSiaAtANY0fHjsqo37TxHkOTHX78tl4Omb6iAzhSmzSbxxAVEqi9mimzPoKfqoBDZ6oQ88Nya5DyILS-2CYex8Abpnmpf5uFf_r800QUShPZkK71xPjpmVlF9CKRJCwgUatJ_lt9P03x6vlql-rcamfYfiA/w583-h581/305658711_10160265616319736_3110140115387743161_n.jpg" width="583" /></a></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Songs of the day</span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: xx-large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VULbvdUn2gA" width="320" youtube-src-id="VULbvdUn2gA"></iframe> <b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5ROlRlbrK1g" width="320" youtube-src-id="5ROlRlbrK1g"></iframe> </span></span></span></b><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span><span><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="538" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2UJGVRZk0u4" width="646" youtube-src-id="2UJGVRZk0u4"></iframe><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span></span></b></div></span></span></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span><span><b style="font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">July 11, 2022</b></span></span></span></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqt3z7YJbHXPL03h2qhq1dj65tvWHwQXRZYN4cSm8T6OBZS8CuP4wVu1xxFZoI0t3LN_cr0IsPlCU79NRSumACuGluxqka9I_C5_C1Lfnjfygw4oFGDJJAPsNDS2t_YC29H0s1SSD6vstaYs0ChDQ1fTU8yxjr6vPpUA-AiJ_vwzpjg9hdGYPdQAbXA/s960/291799307_10159984745463996_5127105329881913452_n.jpg" style="font-weight: 400; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqt3z7YJbHXPL03h2qhq1dj65tvWHwQXRZYN4cSm8T6OBZS8CuP4wVu1xxFZoI0t3LN_cr0IsPlCU79NRSumACuGluxqka9I_C5_C1Lfnjfygw4oFGDJJAPsNDS2t_YC29H0s1SSD6vstaYs0ChDQ1fTU8yxjr6vPpUA-AiJ_vwzpjg9hdGYPdQAbXA/w632-h355/291799307_10159984745463996_5127105329881913452_n.jpg" width="632" /></a></span></b></div><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></b><p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2yRwodVPuWQMS5oW-19umLkSnrUpahyv3q9J1tXvLY9DWZbJ2XfopKWw7qi14FIGys4vqz34sus71A-hHMqy4loOhW20FsgGsZ1Uj0LE7jMWCvLTwhWALCGaTQxp9p4Pn_gapXGOCppjsw8PDp0unI4q4g2XwsHzp8MwwZXCcf2KDElawFBfiU9C7w/s964/20220711_000808%20(2).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="964" data-original-width="938" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2yRwodVPuWQMS5oW-19umLkSnrUpahyv3q9J1tXvLY9DWZbJ2XfopKWw7qi14FIGys4vqz34sus71A-hHMqy4loOhW20FsgGsZ1Uj0LE7jMWCvLTwhWALCGaTQxp9p4Pn_gapXGOCppjsw8PDp0unI4q4g2XwsHzp8MwwZXCcf2KDElawFBfiU9C7w/s320/20220711_000808%20(2).jpg" width="311" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span><span><b><span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000;">My skin at the moment</span><br /><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ivermectin pills did not seem to do much for the little red rash, but it is hard to be certain. I still had heat</span></span></span></b></span></span></b><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><b><span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> rash on and off during and after the ivermectin course (15 mg twice, one week apart). But right now, things </span></span></span></b><span style="text-align: left;">have calmed down a lot again. I mostly can link the outbreaks to being overheated and warm weather tbh. The cheek I sleep on now has most of the little itching red bumps, which is the opposite of what I experience outside of summer, so for the rest of the year: then the cheek I sleep on is most pale and the other one - sleeping on my side always - seems most flushed in the morning. But the ivermectin didn't make matters worse for sure, and I had no side-effects really. Only felt a little bit dizzy for a few hours, right after taking each pill and that was it. Photos attached here are without filters or any of that, but taken in the morning, when I'm always more puffy unfrt. Will be 43 yo soon, and despite the constant skin trouble and need to cool my skin (and all in all having no wild social life to speak of), the tiniest silver lining may perhaps be that despite obviously ageing in general, I have no big wrinkle issues. Yet.. 😉😌 Despite not using any skin care, no creams, no skin products at all (and no beauty treatments of course). Not that it would matter if I did. But I find it interesting to track, since back in 2004 or so, my dermatologist told me to give my skin a break and just use water on it.. I stuck with that ever since. And did worry about premature ageing and skin wrinkling and all that, but 18 years of only washing my face with water did not do too much harm it seems. Perhaps all that extra oxygen that's sent to the skin through the facial flushing plays a role, I don't know. But of course it also means I have no soothing skin products to rely on, and for all I know I would be less pink/red if I had continued and actually succeeded in finding a skin product that does not make my skin flare and burn. I just gave up on that, to be honest. Also having some mild eczema/perioral dermatitis issue in the corners of my mouth. I just use some vaseline there (spot treatment) as it isn't too bad. But it gives a red rashes/skin scaling issue.</span></span></span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaalHPjuTA2TehnovfeqAEqv7yB7rTxBSLZDSsQrqp_fvlryEpXecdHysUsIV2ez2gj_NoFBreJixQ0wBgRnwTefZ2J4PokQZG3GS0-EMgJy6BNKwx9-lkISxyAaT7T4HN4ldE0NiRqV-qi_b96QbEdzYXRfE1jTt82R16EnXwCAGoexQekrIdnBvyug/s981/20220711_001345,5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="678" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaalHPjuTA2TehnovfeqAEqv7yB7rTxBSLZDSsQrqp_fvlryEpXecdHysUsIV2ez2gj_NoFBreJixQ0wBgRnwTefZ2J4PokQZG3GS0-EMgJy6BNKwx9-lkISxyAaT7T4HN4ldE0NiRqV-qi_b96QbEdzYXRfE1jTt82R16EnXwCAGoexQekrIdnBvyug/w257-h372/20220711_001345,5.jpg" width="257" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTMXdCRSlUZ9W2a28NGDQTvVenValqfSYABrG0tWAqeej-dCvIY9EiFERH7J7qJ4DBc8vCcy1XN5o31VOSyqcrLmMJe3gCfVioes8XGGMjvEcO8v_o-SkJ2RRluQAlqRMqUIboyCEu31hbmf6K6Qkb8KRzz6NbgJOYjK_mzRU1nudbqq9QWFllErbGhus/s1016/20220711_001513.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="1016" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTMXdCRSlUZ9W2a28NGDQTvVenValqfSYABrG0tWAqeej-dCvIY9EiFERH7J7qJ4DBc8vCcy1XN5o31VOSyqcrLmMJe3gCfVioes8XGGMjvEcO8v_o-SkJ2RRluQAlqRMqUIboyCEu31hbmf6K6Qkb8KRzz6NbgJOYjK_mzRU1nudbqq9QWFllErbGhus/w384-h373/20220711_001513.jpg" width="384" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgoaipOlzvDoDtZQxhVKY0SQ4TGQ16q0VlFbIW9PWtL_ojvt-tAPPl0t8z99fG8kB1Qtx_LeU6DwB2I_zT0zjKsP8u9zhPAvV5V0UGTzSDp-2sgcqmoxtc-FBihazJOOouU8eSMpXfoOEQqVjUbm4NYTccAWabfsHt9coxb2analrwcLNU2-r4dcPN3g/s1338/1jpg.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1338" data-original-width="648" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgoaipOlzvDoDtZQxhVKY0SQ4TGQ16q0VlFbIW9PWtL_ojvt-tAPPl0t8z99fG8kB1Qtx_LeU6DwB2I_zT0zjKsP8u9zhPAvV5V0UGTzSDp-2sgcqmoxtc-FBihazJOOouU8eSMpXfoOEQqVjUbm4NYTccAWabfsHt9coxb2analrwcLNU2-r4dcPN3g/w194-h402/1jpg.jpg" width="194" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jrCMTbdZSZxqDRBlLpKs8cj4lGUW0SOYFulzdvzjFNkz50BR90ORtfc3G4I0MVf35PdYy2xJ6IWbAY4kUcsux7V_KWXlClJJaicYuWJUV8f5Kd3aL2fkuvAbf_HFGRAyBV5gQ5cnkA7qFSufDHuQn6rv6YKSf0wkO1s-bhH_agpMSbob64p7uo0w9Q/s259/download.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="194" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jrCMTbdZSZxqDRBlLpKs8cj4lGUW0SOYFulzdvzjFNkz50BR90ORtfc3G4I0MVf35PdYy2xJ6IWbAY4kUcsux7V_KWXlClJJaicYuWJUV8f5Kd3aL2fkuvAbf_HFGRAyBV5gQ5cnkA7qFSufDHuQn6rv6YKSf0wkO1s-bhH_agpMSbob64p7uo0w9Q/s1600/download.jpg" width="194" /></a><b><span style="color: #660000;">Covid</span></b><br />Still didn't catch covid, touch on wood. Despite traveling, not wearing masks anymore in public and not being vaccinated. Hope it stays this way. A blood test I did some time ago showed no covid antibodies, but they can only be traced for about 6 months or so, I believe. So it doesn't say much about whether or not I was exposed to covid in 2020. and developed long lasting antibodies back then, perhaps. Otherwise it may just have been good luck or my overly aggressive pest of an immune system, perhaps. <br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /><b><span style="color: #660000;">Bottled Water</span></b></span></div></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">Since <b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7068600/" target="_blank">reading about</a></b> how many microplastic particles were found in bottled water (in plastic bottles), I switched to buying special super mild natural source water in glas bottles from a <b><a href="https://veenwaters.com/product/still-mineral-water/" target="_blank">brand</a></b> called VEEN. So decadent!! But my skin loves it and does not get red or tight anymore now. This water contains barely any natural calcium, chloride and fluoride for instance. <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">Holiday</span></b><br />I spent some time with my mum and sister and nephew on one of the Dutch islands. Made some photos, will add a few here. It was nice, we spent some time at the beach and walking in the dunes and such. We had a good time and the weather wasn't too warm, around 21 degrees C. But it was sunny often and the bungalow we rented for a few nights did warm up to 24 degrees inside. I tried sleeping in one of the bunk beds the first night, with a clip fan blowing on my face and placed close to the tiny window. But I was so red and flushed all night that I resorted to sleeping on the couch in the living room the next night, keeping the sliding door to the garden open. Didn't sleep too much either then, as vigilent for intruders (who never came, lol), but was at least cool and pale when getting up in the morning. Luckily the people that are close to me all understand my skin needs and make no fuss about it. I bring neck fans with me these days, and have a bunch of them, so there are always a couple fully (usb)charged and ready to use. They last for about 5 hours I think, on lowest speed. But they enable me to be out and about, or simply move around freely in the house without the need of sitting still in front of a cable fan. And they prevent me from getting maroon red and flushed. I still can feel deflated and sad soon over minor things, as this constant pressure of avoiding most stuff that makes life fun and always trying to be a few steps ahead of a flushing and burning skin attacks, is just tiring. And depressing. But I try to focus on other things much more nowadays, and just try to accept that this is my way of getting through life. Like some other unfortunate people have to carry an oxygen tank with them, for instance, or any other medical device really. I always wear a hat also, even when it is winter and people give me strange looks for wearing a running fan around my neck and a hat on. The latest ones luckily no longer look like <b><a href="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0364/7792/7564/files/Ventilateur_de_cou.jpg?v=1654162429" target="_blank">propellers</a></b> that can lift you off any moment, lol, but more like you are carrying bulky earphones around your neck. I have this one and this one, among others. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4mz-cLqMEih6OpFu7ILjxuLKDxlOL1E2G_GVSwyuUKdy67zvrYjvx-RDHI8wMTKr7HxRHzqXcbZB4eo3hwxVFrRdH66nmApd-qn_BkIMz7Nl7yEcsRuRzgwnAbP8HdbbYbrEgUxMNfuZLxm2sXL8OqSBb3j0mDY77WDu0bWZCUHtOi2H-G79DGpAMwQ/s1200/1200x1199.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1199" data-original-width="1200" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4mz-cLqMEih6OpFu7ILjxuLKDxlOL1E2G_GVSwyuUKdy67zvrYjvx-RDHI8wMTKr7HxRHzqXcbZB4eo3hwxVFrRdH66nmApd-qn_BkIMz7Nl7yEcsRuRzgwnAbP8HdbbYbrEgUxMNfuZLxm2sXL8OqSBb3j0mDY77WDu0bWZCUHtOi2H-G79DGpAMwQ/w271-h271/1200x1199.jpg" width="271" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGESWmVzyRV2-kyGsNml--ImLwaS62mhGTcIyq8D0y1OS70kmaWfgdCYFQUQ0xK2wjAW9OogiN2emNZ177Xhl4Zwd7QsLV4RQO7v5_E5cCuKchL_2Yv2U5T2j3MWxwgDyWk4KS7nr0FSk67gGJ8ASVyxsEMrzbMyUNlL96_D27BN8A5eRNA7W0ZpciQ/s250/mini-ventilateur-de-cou-portable-aicok-avec-3-vitesses--climatiseur-et-silencieux-2000-mah--rechargeable-par-usb-pour-lexterieur-143---71-cm--vert-10447598-27039098_250x250.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="540" height="431" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywtbTI1--j1Buwinvuqqg0rdd-6ZDq3-b5ZNVPwV9768H6IBpkPxlDikJBbDzF5klkzjoAty72UBQPOYwWw0vtcFcQXbMckLccyMmhnB3PYwAtV5X5tXoP1Br32r9koDP38v5MmJxqFfmM2rPDFme6FMeFSaDG8hSO-QFgn-BhQSSf0vNfbL9HxcAkg/w242-h431/15.jpg" width="242" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBNMUe0NPReXox5lNcQNfKeOdB8vffSue6PdHPbOZ5SWLZUr-nGqTHvYUUuAJ33DdLKy2baCO3NKOy_8RIWvNVuUgn65js_Du6khreFNoTkPwfANRlFGLO00JDK4C1cSpDbezXyLWh8WkxuKqGZOkEKi4mKq9lNghTGNaBmWIaFbmSsHGqfrmCX--nw/s960/16.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBNMUe0NPReXox5lNcQNfKeOdB8vffSue6PdHPbOZ5SWLZUr-nGqTHvYUUuAJ33DdLKy2baCO3NKOy_8RIWvNVuUgn65js_Du6khreFNoTkPwfANRlFGLO00JDK4C1cSpDbezXyLWh8WkxuKqGZOkEKi4mKq9lNghTGNaBmWIaFbmSsHGqfrmCX--nw/w574-h323/16.jpg" width="574" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqt3z7YJbHXPL03h2qhq1dj65tvWHwQXRZYN4cSm8T6OBZS8CuP4wVu1xxFZoI0t3LN_cr0IsPlCU79NRSumACuGluxqka9I_C5_C1Lfnjfygw4oFGDJJAPsNDS2t_YC29H0s1SSD6vstaYs0ChDQ1fTU8yxjr6vPpUA-AiJ_vwzpjg9hdGYPdQAbXA/s960/291799307_10159984745463996_5127105329881913452_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqt3z7YJbHXPL03h2qhq1dj65tvWHwQXRZYN4cSm8T6OBZS8CuP4wVu1xxFZoI0t3LN_cr0IsPlCU79NRSumACuGluxqka9I_C5_C1Lfnjfygw4oFGDJJAPsNDS2t_YC29H0s1SSD6vstaYs0ChDQ1fTU8yxjr6vPpUA-AiJ_vwzpjg9hdGYPdQAbXA/w577-h324/291799307_10159984745463996_5127105329881913452_n.jpg" width="577" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">Summer </span></b><br />So I really dislike summer. Always have. And with my rosacea it has become even more miserable. My friend in Australia has suggested staying with her throughout our European summers, as it is cooler in Australia then. I am seriously considering this for the future, especially since she has a baby now. My other Aussie friend is in the same boat as me also, in terms of face flushing and burning and the need for fans and restrictive living. We dream of going to the Orkneys to 'hibernate' during summers. But now I have a trip in the making for the spring/summer of 2023, and I am soooooo excited about this. <span style="color: #222222;">My next dream trip is going to the Faroe islands! Will have to save a lot of money to be able to go there, but it is possible and affordable to fly there through Copenhagen, Denmark. Would love to stay there for a bit, seeing the puffins on their island, hiking in the cool weather and just witnessing that great landscape. It never really gets very warm there at all, and has notorious windy, clouded weather. Perfect for me. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixtVUfc0y5JmVIHn8WzU-Nc9W7WISJ8atGDA2AZBDKC3RNFCzFSIxOBX-dx3QdlRviaUfuJbho7bzGjGEJo48ArWsCL5xHAA6wYKeWn6NekMQ2XsRWWYvpbOSIGzJynLLNOT56P56kW76bAjvg8FTFfiTz6OB6IRveg4RYKq3J1RZaDR_iv-pOD33ZxQ/s1553/Untitled-7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="1553" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixtVUfc0y5JmVIHn8WzU-Nc9W7WISJ8atGDA2AZBDKC3RNFCzFSIxOBX-dx3QdlRviaUfuJbho7bzGjGEJo48ArWsCL5xHAA6wYKeWn6NekMQ2XsRWWYvpbOSIGzJynLLNOT56P56kW76bAjvg8FTFfiTz6OB6IRveg4RYKq3J1RZaDR_iv-pOD33ZxQ/w575-h329/Untitled-7.jpg" width="575" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi62cZwaS1AwCbn8kTvs4zfiAQvnikO8iKtfP8U7zPj2dd2Fu_PT7T1SmEpKPse6-6vxwrFQt2k0tR89rFytaOArxpAPRcZgbPHVXp8o2Tc9t0As-DSbJuoPOJz6ugjGKdzTU-fELIgzfOY9LDXUraL8p2CohDhPj4gyLS6ZxPeCOgg1E9FRxRLnf9DRA/s1200/microsoftteams-image_141.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi62cZwaS1AwCbn8kTvs4zfiAQvnikO8iKtfP8U7zPj2dd2Fu_PT7T1SmEpKPse6-6vxwrFQt2k0tR89rFytaOArxpAPRcZgbPHVXp8o2Tc9t0As-DSbJuoPOJz6ugjGKdzTU-fELIgzfOY9LDXUraL8p2CohDhPj4gyLS6ZxPeCOgg1E9FRxRLnf9DRA/w576-h240/microsoftteams-image_141.png" width="576" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUhsZD3X-laTKp1q5f0TQdJWbORr-R50Y652xyLrmH-EsDuu1OGSKeXBr6xCNx086xkMfa_Rf5-CH1lfxWjAzOt0gqaz5afQE-KmrSp1U753BLaSniL6QYVxbcA1w7iFnYcuvmW8vYxES1iDRtc52aazODz0MOrPjH-nxRtCqqwqrR1jdbgX0tSyOvxw/s1352/Untitled-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="1352" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUhsZD3X-laTKp1q5f0TQdJWbORr-R50Y652xyLrmH-EsDuu1OGSKeXBr6xCNx086xkMfa_Rf5-CH1lfxWjAzOt0gqaz5afQE-KmrSp1U753BLaSniL6QYVxbcA1w7iFnYcuvmW8vYxES1iDRtc52aazODz0MOrPjH-nxRtCqqwqrR1jdbgX0tSyOvxw/w579-h384/Untitled-2.jpg" width="579" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7LzZ06CcAKFnxCLv7ymL5u_deI_4xWy1htpL_pi45J3pX_geYiYDa6Z8kEy2aGXlx-S_-gfHUyG62hGzZ0IKRLveyWkhmCYz8cBaV5N86cJ6AIPViB7ST3u9vNCIHZeTxNhltObpfzQBfwpwsGfWmWPaasjurWMLT228y-P5muZBsokQUGRKBRWQbvA/s1346/Untitled-3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="1346" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7LzZ06CcAKFnxCLv7ymL5u_deI_4xWy1htpL_pi45J3pX_geYiYDa6Z8kEy2aGXlx-S_-gfHUyG62hGzZ0IKRLveyWkhmCYz8cBaV5N86cJ6AIPViB7ST3u9vNCIHZeTxNhltObpfzQBfwpwsGfWmWPaasjurWMLT228y-P5muZBsokQUGRKBRWQbvA/w579-h384/Untitled-3.jpg" width="579" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-GjjvP5WE0wAfTy8D4MmwW9uKt5JiDPXSjjd0K95n57UC66lCa_oI-KoXHJSB8S8oFDbd9qquTzznrqwk2ZTW7pyzlEugzwKgbnyzBvGiwgwzgJygmejhAWcoNapQNh5fYat5NcTvQxsO9vEq_SkczdKEVk-13Hrbb_77G88S0XzUDMTBYSlqrz03g/s1346/Untitled-4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="1346" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-GjjvP5WE0wAfTy8D4MmwW9uKt5JiDPXSjjd0K95n57UC66lCa_oI-KoXHJSB8S8oFDbd9qquTzznrqwk2ZTW7pyzlEugzwKgbnyzBvGiwgwzgJygmejhAWcoNapQNh5fYat5NcTvQxsO9vEq_SkczdKEVk-13Hrbb_77G88S0XzUDMTBYSlqrz03g/w581-h385/Untitled-4.jpg" width="581" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyu7viYVVdxMz0G-hbG0VVBKtMEjU9xsiwJa7iI6kafgfzKFPDS_UfRaoGXrgbtteKeQaw11FKik5qqa1qERySuIqkgMt8_j8Vwsqg5wNG1mP7ix1IDkeyIpXxQ7IHrkCxP14Da7ikbu_95FudnBPrPCytWVhTdVVipN08NpsaSbO6B5U_w_s4PQVdQ/s1343/Untitled-5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="1343" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyu7viYVVdxMz0G-hbG0VVBKtMEjU9xsiwJa7iI6kafgfzKFPDS_UfRaoGXrgbtteKeQaw11FKik5qqa1qERySuIqkgMt8_j8Vwsqg5wNG1mP7ix1IDkeyIpXxQ7IHrkCxP14Da7ikbu_95FudnBPrPCytWVhTdVVipN08NpsaSbO6B5U_w_s4PQVdQ/w578-h383/Untitled-5.jpg" width="578" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSU8TzMkB7kye63V-yWdVo9C8-0KcjfRVuKWjiwfSo0LBY63oDB1az8RP_2CjJVj3vul56O3Kdo4qk434baWGNM6dcJFOEfqi_iO_7Zl5vi5CgXfhMVOOWC4hKuZJH4imfsSbDvj9wUfQvoKkUULsjvNLV7q_FepWZ2xs7ScuJV51wnVhtoVhoyTpWXA/s1346/Untitled-6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1346" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSU8TzMkB7kye63V-yWdVo9C8-0KcjfRVuKWjiwfSo0LBY63oDB1az8RP_2CjJVj3vul56O3Kdo4qk434baWGNM6dcJFOEfqi_iO_7Zl5vi5CgXfhMVOOWC4hKuZJH4imfsSbDvj9wUfQvoKkUULsjvNLV7q_FepWZ2xs7ScuJV51wnVhtoVhoyTpWXA/w579-h385/Untitled-6.jpg" width="579" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqnuDSBpfCiZjW706qTrRto2ft1hCLhTZx5NXrk7_mSCdFaPkRhnIBaIH5XuI0xxxEbXl3uCR5Qm2AhzNBFAnVSOBmBeGAe-YSO9HDJYPa6ZXn1JFu-eLXk5QTu9bsoUQ3wb8x1OyitKCTYEDqe5DKQTl0jp4jkLCExZ14Hb7B8W55ELSPgGzDUNQFQw/s1349/Untitled-8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="1349" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqnuDSBpfCiZjW706qTrRto2ft1hCLhTZx5NXrk7_mSCdFaPkRhnIBaIH5XuI0xxxEbXl3uCR5Qm2AhzNBFAnVSOBmBeGAe-YSO9HDJYPa6ZXn1JFu-eLXk5QTu9bsoUQ3wb8x1OyitKCTYEDqe5DKQTl0jp4jkLCExZ14Hb7B8W55ELSPgGzDUNQFQw/w580-h383/Untitled-8.jpg" width="580" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY910m4_tOoHMZBnxzA9rvrYpwu8_x4j_xCOCTV-APB6xWBaMTOk1maF6OoMFFmuzR2BT68OlO5e__WMtxoUn-JJKBdCOkrHwumPRbM1Szxc_aA7FZQ7J1vy6pA3L-V0bB4h5EaEXfSMO3rbdP9fvv49y3eMf-7YwFkCoUfkZwVSZssgZrZelEPXRjjw/s1349/Untitled-9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="1349" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY910m4_tOoHMZBnxzA9rvrYpwu8_x4j_xCOCTV-APB6xWBaMTOk1maF6OoMFFmuzR2BT68OlO5e__WMtxoUn-JJKBdCOkrHwumPRbM1Szxc_aA7FZQ7J1vy6pA3L-V0bB4h5EaEXfSMO3rbdP9fvv49y3eMf-7YwFkCoUfkZwVSZssgZrZelEPXRjjw/w580-h386/Untitled-9.jpg" width="580" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcd5j4PWqpZY81aB2s5asoamRyB28gAp4IbnDVUriMUidyjKqfEhJSerco7WOg-17Ud4fkNiFG-FaYu5u3iR4_ZsCrf7GDNbiqHf7DhqjSdeYUknfKwBlkP_Wr9g2N5Y4uoKpgof7MJSYj9GoAqpmLTsy_-jrbK4FJ4F9JYTbHWCpZ_WzA4FLTjgWUg/s1354/Untitled-10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="1354" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcd5j4PWqpZY81aB2s5asoamRyB28gAp4IbnDVUriMUidyjKqfEhJSerco7WOg-17Ud4fkNiFG-FaYu5u3iR4_ZsCrf7GDNbiqHf7DhqjSdeYUknfKwBlkP_Wr9g2N5Y4uoKpgof7MJSYj9GoAqpmLTsy_-jrbK4FJ4F9JYTbHWCpZ_WzA4FLTjgWUg/w578-h383/Untitled-10.jpg" width="578" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAu5NEeRjqnsMZZ4Li3r_d-Ro8jYBBTXKONyswAdt_NFaVYmbMeWgwJSQo-e8egh0UW5n0050y6t1wJ6yirdZ1DNNgbBuT_CpvOOZq75J5YLLYOmoIXlYBIUqdgrE4ah23GZX87JIt3LxjZlOVKQqVtSZmdNUlJJxXG4qX7ow4qg5G_penwx4-MO2KRw/s752/Untitled-11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="752" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAu5NEeRjqnsMZZ4Li3r_d-Ro8jYBBTXKONyswAdt_NFaVYmbMeWgwJSQo-e8egh0UW5n0050y6t1wJ6yirdZ1DNNgbBuT_CpvOOZq75J5YLLYOmoIXlYBIUqdgrE4ah23GZX87JIt3LxjZlOVKQqVtSZmdNUlJJxXG4qX7ow4qg5G_penwx4-MO2KRw/w577-h376/Untitled-11.jpg" width="577" /></a></div></div></div></div><span><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3kuWnKnXADxdkvYtqYHMKPzq629VWhqvNpfmjHoxAKj5Bglm-v-XbRfEVuJnCxrBvHcW6y_haqC7VHdWMRahEHz12nCd99RZJbkXxiUJf0i9NrMlnHWwPC8R9PQ01CisJ1QhgQ1LMGkf2TJaK5vL145AARfZwWa3TyKalVRH5hNijV566Tla9m_YM2Q/s3648/DSC04821.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3kuWnKnXADxdkvYtqYHMKPzq629VWhqvNpfmjHoxAKj5Bglm-v-XbRfEVuJnCxrBvHcW6y_haqC7VHdWMRahEHz12nCd99RZJbkXxiUJf0i9NrMlnHWwPC8R9PQ01CisJ1QhgQ1LMGkf2TJaK5vL145AARfZwWa3TyKalVRH5hNijV566Tla9m_YM2Q/s320/DSC04821.JPG" width="320" /></a>My Aussie friend responded: "STUNNING Nat!! I have never heard of these islands. I googled more and looked at airbnb as well, just to see what it is like. It looks amazing! Geez, you can see how the continents and land divided when you see that land surrounded by ocean with the lake/river running through the middle. It looks like it would be quite cold there. My god, I can not imagine how cold it must get in these places with the wind coming off the ice in the north. Would you stay in the town Nat or would you go and stay in one of the more remote places and do big walks?" - It is most often overcast with clouds or rain, from what I can see on the weather forecasts of the past years. And in many youtube videos of the place it also often looks covered with clouds, or rain. I imagine you'd be lucky to get a couple of sunny days in a row, especially when skipping the 'high season' of July an August. And often tons of wind. A natural airco slash fan to walk in. Like most Scandinavian places, it seems fairly expensive to go there, but am saving already. My dad told me that he will donate 1000 euro's for that trip, as he thinks it is so brilliant and so good/cold for my skin, yayy. It is just an absolute nightmare and hurdle race to go anywhere for me, unless it is cold and not sunny... But this place I think it among our best bets in that respect. It is not too big over there. Small islands. I think that with a rental car, you can cross around fairly quickly. The tunnels and ferry's are expensive I read, so am looking at renting small cottages in different locations, near where I want to walk and photograph. I really want to go walk here at the witches finger, which is also where Daniel Craig aka James Bond supposedly died, or something. I just don't know if I'd dare doing <b><a href="https://youtu.be/D5GPb6U6j9c?list=PL9yLeHyDX52NZoXE6htL7IqgF6yCsza3p&t=1662" target="_blank">this walk</a></b>, just see the trail and how steep. Will try though, even if I have to go on hands and knees haha. </div><div style="color: #222222;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="457" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D5GPb6U6j9c" width="550" youtube-src-id="D5GPb6U6j9c"></iframe></div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ07fCO5gtxsOLvKDhKuR5UtX0uOKdW4i9sS2gURGuREVobXwed0DgOZOnZTVS_ritAIz2FXJHGmgn-3VtcuXT56axn2sUqA2Igg5GFd7fE7MrnfW2F7R5bB30DIDiDivtCj6pZi9ZKtvEqQJ7rvEcIwO29PqMbKUT2epcjZYT4aKgxGIhKUk-0eoP/s1618/Untitled-1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="1618" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ07fCO5gtxsOLvKDhKuR5UtX0uOKdW4i9sS2gURGuREVobXwed0DgOZOnZTVS_ritAIz2FXJHGmgn-3VtcuXT56axn2sUqA2Igg5GFd7fE7MrnfW2F7R5bB30DIDiDivtCj6pZi9ZKtvEqQJ7rvEcIwO29PqMbKUT2epcjZYT4aKgxGIhKUk-0eoP/w426-h213/Untitled-1.jpg" width="426" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Cold Case - Arjen Kamphuis</span></b><br /><span style="color: #222222;">I have a Cold Case crime blog (you can </span><b style="color: #222222;"><a href="https://koudekaas.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">read it here</a></b><span style="color: #222222;">) and am now working on the English translation of</span><span style="color: #222222;"> a brand new Dutch docu series about a missing Dutchman. In 2018, cyber expert Arjen Kamphuis mysteriously disappeared in Norway. To this day, the disappearance raises many questions and his story is a source of many theories as to what happened to him. Is there 'someone' or 'something' behind the disappearance of this WikiLeaks specialist? So I am adding short parts of this 4-part series on a separate blog. You can only add 100 MB videos at one time there, and on youtube these translated videos are instantly blocked due to copyright claims. But since it may interest people to hear more about this mysterious case, I try to work around all that.</span><b style="color: #222222;"><a href="https://arjenkamphuismissing.blogspot.com/2022/07/case-in-2018-cyber-expert-arjen.html" target="_blank"> Read about it here</a></b><span style="color: #222222;"> (am still working on the translations though, so it may take a bit longer before you can watch the full translated series)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix3-AK154RBTW7hY3Ue4NxUUkfOel9b5--JFI9AIdakVFYIKL9fU1dXM77m-zYbWcpQJqdUeRZCkOtxBts-xfb_Fio-n3k9w4fZJqEefIaYZn6xvVxr7vdO1wzLiAsnKdN-0I_d2JYq4l2eaDC7Vg-aSzxl0lE19RUJLCRioALVwTbRaUGW9DuDOR3Gg/s1532/Arjen%20blog%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="1532" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix3-AK154RBTW7hY3Ue4NxUUkfOel9b5--JFI9AIdakVFYIKL9fU1dXM77m-zYbWcpQJqdUeRZCkOtxBts-xfb_Fio-n3k9w4fZJqEefIaYZn6xvVxr7vdO1wzLiAsnKdN-0I_d2JYq4l2eaDC7Vg-aSzxl0lE19RUJLCRioALVwTbRaUGW9DuDOR3Gg/w640-h376/Arjen%20blog%201.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZdGRc-5wV6mBzUHUB3VUio5_OxhiCMzi-I0C79OAxaY4ZObADVHebHZ1q8yHsVVsHkYoWDVvjug4_SKxwK0fnQhpLVTCa8dLkPxNAVtK68BgF1DB0AyjUzJiH7-okwxaoxsCu_fUI8zf2sJJMMuV5O57EXZ2o2xqIFlyswycPWxTmtZqPTHXbTAysw/s1542/Arjen%20blog%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1542" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZdGRc-5wV6mBzUHUB3VUio5_OxhiCMzi-I0C79OAxaY4ZObADVHebHZ1q8yHsVVsHkYoWDVvjug4_SKxwK0fnQhpLVTCa8dLkPxNAVtK68BgF1DB0AyjUzJiH7-okwxaoxsCu_fUI8zf2sJJMMuV5O57EXZ2o2xqIFlyswycPWxTmtZqPTHXbTAysw/w640-h372/Arjen%20blog%202.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Songs of the day</span><br /><br /></span></span></b><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NOsFQ-VUeMw" width="320" youtube-src-id="NOsFQ-VUeMw"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4_FIwLoIHBY" width="320" youtube-src-id="4_FIwLoIHBY"></iframe></div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span><span style="font-size: 30px;">Interesting</span></span></span></b></div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span><span style="font-size: 30px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="522" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vjqt8T3tJIE" width="629" youtube-src-id="vjqt8T3tJIE"></iframe></span></span></span></b></div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">June 23rd 2022</span></span></span></b></div></span><div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="465" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ebg2YnBj9II" width="561" youtube-src-id="Ebg2YnBj9II"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><br /><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">June 8th 2022</span></span></b><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypR9oxKK3B77mwglLDBcXc-v4wYz4dskGsfLHIMQqz1R_Z8nM9lUm8NYNuAXhOhQeq-5BdC_ABnpbqKbwN0sCk1y6FRI0gYWp3c5eWE6E3GlTnUfHHo4YYyjtm58OCecU3HQCCA2CqrAN_mesDAQSE5L7VGWBoIbKe3aD6_HyEHQQhlgd0pFQgB3QVw/s876/20220602_124152.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="876" data-original-width="492" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypR9oxKK3B77mwglLDBcXc-v4wYz4dskGsfLHIMQqz1R_Z8nM9lUm8NYNuAXhOhQeq-5BdC_ABnpbqKbwN0sCk1y6FRI0gYWp3c5eWE6E3GlTnUfHHo4YYyjtm58OCecU3HQCCA2CqrAN_mesDAQSE5L7VGWBoIbKe3aD6_HyEHQQhlgd0pFQgB3QVw/w224-h399/20220602_124152.jpg" width="224" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpxB4grAGfPsCd33oFsh1DkRl1ffJR6tQerI7qIa4oASduy51FWT42fK3Vw2cMsQqOyCR7O4qNUVLeFapZRQkIZuyQ9gsXeNeXWH9IB3teGzAH7fE-5mTw8aqfq5IBP1sj1Xpx4h-Y2bcFtvlfMWNJJ65Re_3DfUXh8z5f9tEDJbQrCOjCB01LK9zzg/s944/20220602_124225,5.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="944" data-original-width="664" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpxB4grAGfPsCd33oFsh1DkRl1ffJR6tQerI7qIa4oASduy51FWT42fK3Vw2cMsQqOyCR7O4qNUVLeFapZRQkIZuyQ9gsXeNeXWH9IB3teGzAH7fE-5mTw8aqfq5IBP1sj1Xpx4h-Y2bcFtvlfMWNJJ65Re_3DfUXh8z5f9tEDJbQrCOjCB01LK9zzg/w225-h320/20220602_124225,5.jpg" width="225" /></a>Now that it is almost summer, my rosacea is acting up again in that summertime manner. For years now I have specific skin symptoms in both winter and summer, on top of my skin flushing and burning very easily and me using a fan most of the time (neck fan's too lately) to keep it from flaring up. In winter there are the cold urticaria hives and in summer there are breakouts. Now that it is getting warm I have that heat rash on my face AGAIN, sigh :( It's like tiny red dots on my cheeks, not everywhere but mostly on the apple of the cheek area. They mildly itch, which convinces me these are no regular rosacea outbreaks, like my derm thought last year. Although they of course might be.. The bumps don't respond to any anti-inflammatory/rosacea creams and strictly come up in june/july/august, when it is warmest here. The rest of the year I don't have them typically. The whiteness in the photos is the zinc oxide cream I put on them as spot treatment. I still don't know how exactly these red bumps are linked to the summer.</p><p>** Perhaps they are triggered by heat and it is simply the face breaking out due to my facial sweat glands not properly functioning (<b><span style="color: #444444;">heat rash</span></b> is linked to that, and it honestly looks the same as some heat rash pictures online). My skin is also a bit warmer to the touch than normal anyway, and sleeping with one cheek pressed on the pillow, in warm temperatures, seems to cause me breakouts which I normally do nothave. Normally, the cheek I sleep on is most pale (I suspect the other cheek gets more red from 'blood pooling' there due to gravity).<br />** Another explanation may be me <b><span style="color: #444444;">using the </span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><b>air-conditioning</b></span> in the bedroom in summer. But I have properly cleaned it and I can't imagine the rash being the result of some dirt in those aircons.<br />** I have been eating <b><span style="color: #444444;">chocolate</span></b> every day, but no more or less than throughout the other months of the year haha. <br />** My <b><span style="color: #444444;">skin gets a bit more dry</span></b> in summer, maybe it is linked to that. <br /><br />** Or maybe this is linked to <b><span style="color: #444444;">demodex mites</span></b>. I wrote a long <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/09/ivermectin-or-soolantra-as-rosacea.html" target="_blank">blog post</a></b> about the link between rosacea and demodex mites, but don't necessarily believe they are an issue in my own rosacea, as demodex mites would surely be active throughout the year and cause breakouts throughout the year then? And not just during the summer months. But an American friend of mine with rosacea suggested that the warmer temperatures may push the balance in my skin and make it more favourable for demodex mites. Maybe the heat somehow kicks those mites into gear. She showed how her own skin (redness, flushing, occasional break outs) improved from tea tree oil. I don't use anything on my skin though, aside from water. No creams, serums, make-up, nothing. The time I tried out topical ivermectin gel on my chin, it burned and was red for a month or so. It just seems too strong for my flimsy skin and I fear tea tree oil will be too strong and painful as well... But there is <b><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S120197121201315X" target="_blank">information</a></b> online that apparently two doses of oral ivermectin, taken over the span of two weeks, also kills the demodex mites. I honestly think it is just my skin responding to the heat, just as it responds with hives in the coldest winter months. But I took 14 mg ivermectin yesterday morning anyway, and if all goes well, will take another dose in a week. Don't expect any changes, but as least I can sort of rule demodex out then.. So anyway, I suspect my rash is more like prickly heat, heat rash. But I nevertheless tried the ivermectin pills (14 mg, one dose so far). It only made me a bit dizzy for half the day. I didn't flush more from it and today I have no 'die off' symptoms and extra bumps or redness. Will keep you updated. Photos below are of this week. I was not flushing when these photos were taken. (I'm getting old). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJH-LYi_HjBp9ZIsn6tDaS9CPNEtYPjr1Fqa7-6Oimir_qvXIJC_zyiQPyNwYAyV5nicfT92iunsWTA1h-1wvxnsz1lr0ETkmKXEiOV0M5prF0sA7_eC9cmZp5M-BfJ4B_e98s3TdCheGQK7FEp-q2P2KwZ-7bBo0vHAEuii5otWShpuuwXmfB6ZquA/s2901/IMG_20220607_105814.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1392" data-original-width="2901" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJH-LYi_HjBp9ZIsn6tDaS9CPNEtYPjr1Fqa7-6Oimir_qvXIJC_zyiQPyNwYAyV5nicfT92iunsWTA1h-1wvxnsz1lr0ETkmKXEiOV0M5prF0sA7_eC9cmZp5M-BfJ4B_e98s3TdCheGQK7FEp-q2P2KwZ-7bBo0vHAEuii5otWShpuuwXmfB6ZquA/w640-h308/IMG_20220607_105814.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1xXR0OvA-07OiiAsDtX7bosp3ZyMHb8E9ocx6WLHDP7SKcP0DAKWj372qlgeOl15OB7WMqLl8ljYCWRBIV6uLftoDmRGVIOEGcBO7j-pSe3aLP37sZM9wBGl4ET_uK9o46lUWFEKy5cIIh--EsbPelGASSWfpGgEpi5xfTCwahYhwm_8_Kt9nmLtfCA/s908/20220602_124203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1637" data-original-width="1368" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEymu-yfghSXI595ft0xq0NrCWwtG_1cCTHppeP6TcqS1oJdRmNcOUHOxAHRgg4TOiF9s82XmVnwxMBPvmHWpe15JYquoyRsojMgNqT5M2yglSyWuAvblFlrZXdi9yOr6O-4ENQ43xJyVDhQacq7uHmI1oYXZH9IH6PsDSZYso7UGI4gPrkodgVOLRWA/w219-h262/DSC04841.JPG" width="219" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwryRddjCVAUFZPW2M7xFpWXaJheCbxV86hl4ihZhszogTifdaQVRS75Xcl3DtrxJvXIdKE-kJpwvJ_nWeylx_MHDFBHviNruknLf9sL4gk895vuD-DcfNX3H1lEufdzl2dir9oKXQKB-yflLE3H6uH08augYeuCONVlve3fgz__1WTMS98qIZW2jYZg/s648/20220602_124152,5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="450" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwryRddjCVAUFZPW2M7xFpWXaJheCbxV86hl4ihZhszogTifdaQVRS75Xcl3DtrxJvXIdKE-kJpwvJ_nWeylx_MHDFBHviNruknLf9sL4gk895vuD-DcfNX3H1lEufdzl2dir9oKXQKB-yflLE3H6uH08augYeuCONVlve3fgz__1WTMS98qIZW2jYZg/w182-h262/20220602_124152,5.jpg" width="182" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUjUmvOrm86rcbTkkeTIr0qZgIFWXwsUppoVKQpThLCdiShkiOqQsdJolgo2aa0VMqQc16OdZmob2qsRh7DDPB_N_nBMGbRZ9IFNhdHo0I-NppWszDDUNdjxtQ2kZxGzZEKjvzI-Zl9_qXFqEWvl8VVDZh2a6dBOW2OKHGXP_4G2SVhCJ-ZInlYH3PQ/s1224/DSC04815.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1224" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUjUmvOrm86rcbTkkeTIr0qZgIFWXwsUppoVKQpThLCdiShkiOqQsdJolgo2aa0VMqQc16OdZmob2qsRh7DDPB_N_nBMGbRZ9IFNhdHo0I-NppWszDDUNdjxtQ2kZxGzZEKjvzI-Zl9_qXFqEWvl8VVDZh2a6dBOW2OKHGXP_4G2SVhCJ-ZInlYH3PQ/w453-h298/DSC04815.JPG" width="453" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV74no9LhvWOBB1JX4ZLm0d9dACqdG0nCrRRfVuFbmqsG24wY5BnzEyzz48lMNtEhFcfhpCM6lHlCB5QmLfTm4WndIe83OzZI4azx6CTF82s3D3vjmBFYlNmbj5yYwufSoxys8pxbCClw0Bk0qybC9M6yeOLUBVoL5uCNIYbm5XXC5gtpG2aNnGsgQSg/s1551/DSC01272,5(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1551" data-original-width="780" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV74no9LhvWOBB1JX4ZLm0d9dACqdG0nCrRRfVuFbmqsG24wY5BnzEyzz48lMNtEhFcfhpCM6lHlCB5QmLfTm4WndIe83OzZI4azx6CTF82s3D3vjmBFYlNmbj5yYwufSoxys8pxbCClw0Bk0qybC9M6yeOLUBVoL5uCNIYbm5XXC5gtpG2aNnGsgQSg/w149-h297/DSC01272,5(2).jpg" width="149" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_eYlOTT8z7IEYAoRAqYmFnKHQDLTrKhQaTVlDEbEn0xQv3A-9zqLEAcmFKmGnasTZUerUOhN2fVZYlDBpY9dnR7V5m7Os68mjvXIWLFdyOIntaGcolcVhtKtaieEtY2EzgAzrfsjS-wn-ftiR_4JreYJ51Ebk8294duYx_uWLwma9QWKwWJfHOR91g/s460/v4-460px-Treat-a-Heat-Rash-on-Your-Face-Step-1-Version-2.jpg.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="460" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_eYlOTT8z7IEYAoRAqYmFnKHQDLTrKhQaTVlDEbEn0xQv3A-9zqLEAcmFKmGnasTZUerUOhN2fVZYlDBpY9dnR7V5m7Os68mjvXIWLFdyOIntaGcolcVhtKtaieEtY2EzgAzrfsjS-wn-ftiR_4JreYJ51Ebk8294duYx_uWLwma9QWKwWJfHOR91g/s320/v4-460px-Treat-a-Heat-Rash-on-Your-Face-Step-1-Version-2.jpg.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>What causes a heat rash ('prickly heat')</b></span><br /><br />A clog in the narrow pathways (ducts) that carry sweat to the surface of your skin (pores) causes a heat rash. Your body reacts to the clog and attempts to heal it by creating inflammation that forms a rash. Heat rashes can irritate your skin, which can be itchy or sometimes painful. Many factors cause sweat glands to clog, including:<br />*Small pieces of dead skin cells (skin secretions) block your gland.<br />*Too much sweat builds up between your skin and your clothing.<br />*Hair follicles block your glands.<br />*Hormone changes; like being on your period.<br />*Not enough airflow between your skin and clothing.<br />Heat rashes are usually itchy. Most heat rashes have a mild itch or irritation. More rare cases have severe itching that gets worse the more you itch it. Since the skin where you have a heat rash is sensitive, the bumps on your skin can break open easily when you scratch. This could lead to an infection. If calamine lotion or a prescribed cream doesn’t alleviate your itch, contact your healthcare provider. Heat rashes affect an estimated 4% to 9% of newborns between one and three weeks of age. The condition also affects nearly 30% of adults who live in humid climates.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVFLubYtd52PCE4hkCKoYCw7MF82miwuSGFFrWWk3NBV_bleqE-ExouFw9-9VlLTSRHy88rSj-XAaqF21Ji762ZTLD4_JPgMdLCcQFS2DSZ7ZgvYY7ki0l7j_esjQ2bJtIW2ksGrvU7y3o45D7zYWweY_Ul4taIao8RnLC73uxlHLcjf1TjSwj4MVnWg/s865/Untitled-1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="865" data-original-width="576" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVFLubYtd52PCE4hkCKoYCw7MF82miwuSGFFrWWk3NBV_bleqE-ExouFw9-9VlLTSRHy88rSj-XAaqF21Ji762ZTLD4_JPgMdLCcQFS2DSZ7ZgvYY7ki0l7j_esjQ2bJtIW2ksGrvU7y3o45D7zYWweY_Ul4taIao8RnLC73uxlHLcjf1TjSwj4MVnWg/w212-h319/Untitled-1.jpg" width="212" /></a></p><p><span style="color: #990000;"><b>How do I treat a heat rash?<br /></b></span>Depending on the severity of your heat rash, you can treat your rash at home by:<br />*Keeping your skin cool and dry: Use a fan or air conditioner to cool your body down if the temperature is hot or humid. Take a cool shower and either lightly pat your skin dry with a towel or let your body air dry to prevent further irritation.<br />*Wearing cotton clothing: Choose clothing items made of cotton that allow airflow between the material and your skin. Avoid synthetic materials that often trap heat.<br />*Using anti-itch medications: If you have severe itching or pain from your heat rash, your healthcare provider might recommend using a corticosteroid cream or calamine lotion to soothe the area.<br />*Avoid using baby powders, ointments, scented lotions or lotions with petroleum or mineral oils and that could clog your pores and make your heat rash worse.<br />*Try not to itch your rash, and use calamine lotion to calm your skin. Make sure you don’t use powders or creams that’ll clog your pores to prevent the rash from becoming more irritated.<br />*Keep your body cool and dry.<br />*Avoiding excessive activity in very hot or humid temperatures.<br />Once you start cooling your body down, a mild heat rash could go away within a day. On average, heat rashes last two to three days. More severe heat rashes can last up to a couple of weeks without treatment.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6sqAuX-ALIor1AgUvQh_fmpPtgPQxRhfBinCI-IUkQdGYzLS35d4ueA6fg9eeTxKWafVD72jnhDDuXhDRHwXV4T4siRs31f9qXKIEVnKTAcTa860F2_Hb1V-4Wg5c0gxGG6DxIe9D9Vue1eWy4RmVLwaunP-k304uTYB28dw-16rTeHyVfgNy42XgkA/s1280/Prickly-heat%20(1).jpg" style="font-size: xx-large; font-weight: 700; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6sqAuX-ALIor1AgUvQh_fmpPtgPQxRhfBinCI-IUkQdGYzLS35d4ueA6fg9eeTxKWafVD72jnhDDuXhDRHwXV4T4siRs31f9qXKIEVnKTAcTa860F2_Hb1V-4Wg5c0gxGG6DxIe9D9Vue1eWy4RmVLwaunP-k304uTYB28dw-16rTeHyVfgNy42XgkA/w640-h360/Prickly-heat%20(1).jpg" width="640" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFWWhFHyJ4NCSEszsLFkSIqewe0PVzIvT72dPOUd5DkEYUQFsxrvztKXXbeF8WPLDOxA3eFLI9Vq73TP1eVHkfoJqf1KlS9APrrV_DZlzZ_1g6dz-726YQi1whhn5EaHLv9k0BvbzestO78kEyE4VZFBYrg5OFSx-wwKjhlTUBKCW6mq-l0btid0wong/s500/Heat_Rash_on_Face.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="500" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFWWhFHyJ4NCSEszsLFkSIqewe0PVzIvT72dPOUd5DkEYUQFsxrvztKXXbeF8WPLDOxA3eFLI9Vq73TP1eVHkfoJqf1KlS9APrrV_DZlzZ_1g6dz-726YQi1whhn5EaHLv9k0BvbzestO78kEyE4VZFBYrg5OFSx-wwKjhlTUBKCW6mq-l0btid0wong/w344-h317/Heat_Rash_on_Face.jpg" width="344" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkU-QSv4FJieTXrJkvbqV-5RyfDe2n_6mHyd6-DEQBc88aZXEND9G52bFrT4nTP9z90PGK4pK1iCuYiNMFTJAfA9I_E8XDq3iqpJTgK31lqR3cBWJYQhDnANr3cUHvIOS1_DpXOO0qOdL2XjCP5TAAmffkXzk5Go5NfoB20GvQuy0Tw67YvpdTKSQUWg/s600/heat-rash.jpg" style="font-size: xx-large; font-weight: 700; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkU-QSv4FJieTXrJkvbqV-5RyfDe2n_6mHyd6-DEQBc88aZXEND9G52bFrT4nTP9z90PGK4pK1iCuYiNMFTJAfA9I_E8XDq3iqpJTgK31lqR3cBWJYQhDnANr3cUHvIOS1_DpXOO0qOdL2XjCP5TAAmffkXzk5Go5NfoB20GvQuy0Tw67YvpdTKSQUWg/w212-h318/heat-rash.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Songs of the day</span><br /><br /></span></b></div><div style="font-size: xx-large; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YdWOYqmFNxY" width="320" youtube-src-id="YdWOYqmFNxY"></iframe><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qAOwTRsAHlI" width="320" youtube-src-id="qAOwTRsAHlI"></iframe></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><div style="font-weight: 400; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">June 2nd 2022</span><br /></span></b></div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqzSu8mCVrDdDO3R2RL1UEAQJchv4XNZ8y1NR9yPszRwYZosffN4Q4pJNLGInQyCHC_vPGsi15QcaiCgb2aTI6rzCAjBzKeXdGITE_T1Ye8O80iafr2Efzp487plFHsfhUXz4155Uwh2QfUXoA1XLoUr8VC7X-HeR9IpZ_o6k54Ha0iQflEVLF8ocEKA/s1322/Untitled-1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="1322" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqzSu8mCVrDdDO3R2RL1UEAQJchv4XNZ8y1NR9yPszRwYZosffN4Q4pJNLGInQyCHC_vPGsi15QcaiCgb2aTI6rzCAjBzKeXdGITE_T1Ye8O80iafr2Efzp487plFHsfhUXz4155Uwh2QfUXoA1XLoUr8VC7X-HeR9IpZ_o6k54Ha0iQflEVLF8ocEKA/w482-h326/Untitled-1.jpg" width="482" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 32px;">Update - Johnny Depp won the trial</span></b><br /><br />Johnny Depp has won his defamation trial against Amber Heard, on all counts. Heards statements in the Washington Post were proven by a jury to have been defamatory with actual malice. Depp wins all three claims and the jury awards Johnny Depp 10 Million dollars in compensatory damages and 5 Million dollars in punitive damages. Since the punitive damages by law are limited to a maximum of $350K, the 5 million awarded will be capped at $350K. I followed the case for the most part, but read a good <b><a href="https://twitter.com/natlawyerchic/status/1532301598185205760" target="_blank">recap</a></b> from Natalie Whittingham Burrell, who is a criminal defense attorney. Here’s why Amber Heard lost, from a legal perspective: "Johnny Depp sued Amber heard for defamation of character. So he had to prove by “a preponderance of the evidence” that AH published a statement that was false, that harmed his reputation and that the statement was about him. Because JD is a public figure, he had to prove that AH acted with “actual malice” in doing these things, which is a higher standard than what non public figures face. This means AH acted with <i>a reckless disregard for the truth</i> and didn’t just honestly believe her claims. So coming into this, JD had a very difficult hurdle to overcome. VA has a case called Herbert v Lando that says that JD has to bring evidence of all the surrounding circumstances, including the history between the parties and prior statements by AH.<br /></p></div></b></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi42Zk4NOVO3yAcJNDiJS41R_WDQFsL3AEGVJbhaVRJiRYFok6PY0kD8Lop-DaBk_WFRQ6z_unX-wi1YzvfrPtGq0GixBEVl2UGD6-RiCuqpSNu74EhVaJGAZeAI7La9U9NEhfms7ESIajRSilighnODmxb_9oInaNB6St7wFdF92EMcw9DqJ4kna_49w/s1349/Untitled-2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="1349" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi42Zk4NOVO3yAcJNDiJS41R_WDQFsL3AEGVJbhaVRJiRYFok6PY0kD8Lop-DaBk_WFRQ6z_unX-wi1YzvfrPtGq0GixBEVl2UGD6-RiCuqpSNu74EhVaJGAZeAI7La9U9NEhfms7ESIajRSilighnODmxb_9oInaNB6St7wFdF92EMcw9DqJ4kna_49w/w424-h280/Untitled-2.jpg" width="424" /></a>That’s a hefty burden... A jury doesn’t get to just go off of how they <i>feel</i> about the parties in assessing the evidence. They have to follow the law that’s given in jury instructions. One of those instructions is about the credibility of witnesses who provide the support for the surrounding circumstances. Based on all of that, the evidence has to be overwhelmingly in favour of JD, for him to win. And it was. Here’s why. The jury has to consider all of these factors when assessing the <u>credibility</u> of witnesses. Credibility matters, because that’s what proves the actual malice. Most important in this case was number 6. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Contradictions.</span></b> When AH contradicted other evidence, JD got more evidence of actual malice. And also more evidence that the statements were false. And also more evidence that the statements were about him. Here was the evidence that contradicted AH, by the incidents alleged.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mBi-9vz6X3CQT-kvCinx0j4I6w7MdO_TeOFltRKvBIEUoHVfh3ZLF2a7qpS_RGiD71iqLMuJcyS3ApfbNWv7R9fzrPGcQwT_TxoROQBaHVlLqezgrRy_gJvnxnMWz0CeOfgxNbYHIHKgy9qE-OvoBWojPuZXlzvxI6IOIJanKGIDZDUu8gjcPYB5Wg/s522/FUPZP0KWUAAhXyy.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="522" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mBi-9vz6X3CQT-kvCinx0j4I6w7MdO_TeOFltRKvBIEUoHVfh3ZLF2a7qpS_RGiD71iqLMuJcyS3ApfbNWv7R9fzrPGcQwT_TxoROQBaHVlLqezgrRy_gJvnxnMWz0CeOfgxNbYHIHKgy9qE-OvoBWojPuZXlzvxI6IOIJanKGIDZDUu8gjcPYB5Wg/w253-h213/FUPZP0KWUAAhXyy.jpg" width="253" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">Incident 1. The PENTHOUSE INCIDENT</span></b><br />AH said JD assaulted her, in their penthouse, leaving behind destruction and injuries to her. Witness Alejandro Romero, a front desk manager, saw AH the next day and saw no injuries. Isaac Baruch testified that he saw AH within hours of the alleged assault, and saw no injuries to her. He wept on the stand about the injustice of her false allegations. Three LAPD officers testified that they responded immediately after the alleged physical harm incident and saw NO signs of injury to AH and that they saw none of the alleged property damage. AH alleged that JD spilled wine in the hall and had pics of it, but on body cam, there was no wine.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq5ACuZUuxDtWKAI2koJiezCnyNz-HrC6xFF20rRhS_Yj85lYvYWcHnRKojs0n9D18XuKnbm2WAZUR_lno8F_BVrw-M40R58wiRUSb9wDLl4P9DdlPXhcBp-EJ3MMynte1g30iTiQXJgpG_ISw5WyzGNkeCkHljwLaj6yrSKLSMImeiooqnpwCwXfaQg/s712/FUPbz6EX0AELVww.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="712" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq5ACuZUuxDtWKAI2koJiezCnyNz-HrC6xFF20rRhS_Yj85lYvYWcHnRKojs0n9D18XuKnbm2WAZUR_lno8F_BVrw-M40R58wiRUSb9wDLl4P9DdlPXhcBp-EJ3MMynte1g30iTiQXJgpG_ISw5WyzGNkeCkHljwLaj6yrSKLSMImeiooqnpwCwXfaQg/w252-h139/FUPbz6EX0AELVww.jpg" width="252" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">Incident 2: the FILING OF THE TRO </span></b><br />The next day AH appeared at a courthouse to request a restraining order against JD, with a bruise on her face. The bruise that was not seen by five witnesses or bodycam footage. AH testified that she had no idea the media would be there.. However, a former TMZ staff member testified that they were alerted that AH would be at the court, with a bruise on the left side of her face. (And which side to photograph). AH herself testified in a deposition previously that TMZ had been alerted, before gasping and covering her face (when she realized instantly then what she had just admitted to accidentally). Let me be clear here, AH contradicted her own self. That’s bad, real bad. It’s always evidence of deception. The very next day, after appearing with the bruise, AH was photographed smiling with her friend Rocky, with no bruise on her face.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPuFa2AEtiZfaqA6CCeqpwrYvTmTlcAhJP7Cv1d6t6P1tob-4sFPUxg1PUeDZrCoINM1wOCe3-e_M2l2bULzkaClfkxYwOjT0zDGn6zmN1zArgBa4YE6vU0Zeowsg0INXNx5UnogMWbSmFZe_6GTzxVGSyB37canXa_X0NZENRa1gnTgf_4KhaTf1VjA/s545/FUPbz6GX0AAPxld%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="545" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPuFa2AEtiZfaqA6CCeqpwrYvTmTlcAhJP7Cv1d6t6P1tob-4sFPUxg1PUeDZrCoINM1wOCe3-e_M2l2bULzkaClfkxYwOjT0zDGn6zmN1zArgBa4YE6vU0Zeowsg0INXNx5UnogMWbSmFZe_6GTzxVGSyB37canXa_X0NZENRa1gnTgf_4KhaTf1VjA/w242-h238/FUPbz6GX0AAPxld%20(1).jpg" width="242" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xHDyrKw-K9fs1VuI6-Sg_cRCzxLlN0SqSEAY0Ei7cQUV6gAelBzJ9tqec5C0HIMKgB5OH6-qTdPLbQPEdoqQWX2UWVIJnND-BM-rB8N5J9VUKaWekjWqv94iHxkv6149CHDvtsi0UNkp34jgsPkGnZyhz9Ba6gVZILuQrEl3O4spTSTqE5weHb24lQ/s515/FUPcXqfXsAUf0UE.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="515" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xHDyrKw-K9fs1VuI6-Sg_cRCzxLlN0SqSEAY0Ei7cQUV6gAelBzJ9tqec5C0HIMKgB5OH6-qTdPLbQPEdoqQWX2UWVIJnND-BM-rB8N5J9VUKaWekjWqv94iHxkv6149CHDvtsi0UNkp34jgsPkGnZyhz9Ba6gVZILuQrEl3O4spTSTqE5weHb24lQ/w293-h238/FUPcXqfXsAUf0UE.jpg" width="293" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6vqw8V-UL-i-CVkfBSLnnK9uEH8Uww-XWw6UOO2Iu37m_e1YiPdbAOVGhc0ONoigbk01ZalsoujVl-qz6uzn-dnnrdhX_nx4JEgoaBgI2ZSy37G9TQ3860kv7FghHUChQE2D3X8vG7_fNKJst7r0J4lINH5lYF_IRob-CCcVzfSQ5wm6lue_RCX54Q/s452/FUPeITNWYAEtHt1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="416" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6vqw8V-UL-i-CVkfBSLnnK9uEH8Uww-XWw6UOO2Iu37m_e1YiPdbAOVGhc0ONoigbk01ZalsoujVl-qz6uzn-dnnrdhX_nx4JEgoaBgI2ZSy37G9TQ3860kv7FghHUChQE2D3X8vG7_fNKJst7r0J4lINH5lYF_IRob-CCcVzfSQ5wm6lue_RCX54Q/w198-h215/FUPeITNWYAEtHt1.jpg" width="198" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">Incident 3: HICKSVILLE</span></b><br />AH testified that JD flew off in a jealous rage after they all got high on drugs and a woman cuddled with her. AH claimed that JD grabbed the wrist of that woman and threatened to break it. He then trashed their trailer and committed SA against her. AH acting coach testified that JD yelled at AH, but did not witness him grabbing anyone. Rocky Pennington (AH’s friend) testified that JD yelled, but not that JD grabbed the woman. The manager of the trailer park testified that the trailer wasn’t trashed. Only a light was broken. These are, once again AH own witnesses contradicting her. They have no reason to cover for JD, but didn’t see what would have been a horrible assault. Because, it didn’t happen.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444;">Incident 4: AUSTRALIA</span></b><br />AH alleges that JD assaulted her with a bottle. JD alleges that AH threw a bottle at him and severed his finger. AH testified that JD’s finger was severed when he smashed a phone into the wall. There was no smashed phone in any of the pictures in evidence however. AH didn’t receive any medical attention for her alleged injuries, yet JD received extensive treatment for his. AH told her acting coach that JD severed his own finger with a liquor bottle. AH took pictures of writing on a mirror but not her own injuries. Doctors testified that the mechanism of injury was consistent with JD’s allegation (AH threw a bottle at him). Multiple medical professionals were present at the scene to offer assistance to AH, she reported no SA.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444;">Incident 5: STAIRCASE INCIDENT</span></b></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqWcGMsKs3U1-h0Ud-2-tPy7Qn5MGRmL7MVtLbZ-QiEEiB7RR_pUNaSfiGUOSKoRbI4llBfHyClj5Ce7bxhKCzSd2SbadtE2Hi9a-0QqzOH9s8IhVLbuFHIdwsix8iqWTe9Kicpi6XOuctk9hNPcLhyoRIEl7pRKgrqt3VFrHpJIKQqtxXl_fF2Hirog/s534/FUPibxrXoAAjpFX.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="488" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqWcGMsKs3U1-h0Ud-2-tPy7Qn5MGRmL7MVtLbZ-QiEEiB7RR_pUNaSfiGUOSKoRbI4llBfHyClj5Ce7bxhKCzSd2SbadtE2Hi9a-0QqzOH9s8IhVLbuFHIdwsix8iqWTe9Kicpi6XOuctk9hNPcLhyoRIEl7pRKgrqt3VFrHpJIKQqtxXl_fF2Hirog/w200-h220/FUPibxrXoAAjpFX.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizw65HFeTxZGKiyczgPFOJrsGw2ArDh3v5RjThsgeaoOBme51r8ZNwxn1Jv4HyegTY_WdHCTNC3Gw6xY5evvJPY9A1KbBQWRMWjKTWwTs8I3WyRPl9wL7p0pk97Gxsb6oq9G5qSFfwARb7bM-c_JW_fEv90U3uyQybo7oQaMJpEJDJOSFykl2NHhVyIw/s525/FUPjnclXoAIfXod.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="486" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizw65HFeTxZGKiyczgPFOJrsGw2ArDh3v5RjThsgeaoOBme51r8ZNwxn1Jv4HyegTY_WdHCTNC3Gw6xY5evvJPY9A1KbBQWRMWjKTWwTs8I3WyRPl9wL7p0pk97Gxsb6oq9G5qSFfwARb7bM-c_JW_fEv90U3uyQybo7oQaMJpEJDJOSFykl2NHhVyIw/w200-h216/FUPjnclXoAIfXod.jpg" width="200" /></a>AH testified that she hit JD, for the first time, after he assaulted her and tried to push her sister Whitney down the stairs. She said all she could think about was Kate Moss and the stairs. Implying that JD had pushed Kate Moss. Whitney said while she was standing at the top of the stairs with her back to JD, he came up the stairs and pushed her in the back. This contradicts AH’s allegation that JD was in front of Whitney and was going to push her down the stairs. Whitney did not testify that JD hit AH before this push. Travis McGivern, JD security, testified that AH was on a jealous rage and that she hit JD at the top of the stairs without provocation and that JD never hit AH</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444;">Incident 6: KATE MOSS</span></b><br />Finally, probably most damning, Kate Moss, JD ex-girlfriend and supermodel, testified from the UK that JD never pushed her down the stairs. This is damming because it appears that AH just made this rumour up, to justify her “decking” JD.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are more contradictions (let's not even get started on the horrible poop incident), but I cannot write them all here. With all of these contradictions. JD proved that AH’s implication that JD had abused her and committed SA against her, we’re not only false, but made with actual malice. So he won. Under the law:<br />*JD proved that AH published statements, because she wrote them in an op-Ed and made a tweet adopting the title, which said that she suffered sexual violence.</div><div>*JD proved that those statements were about him, because AH basically testified to that on the stand and the surrounding circumstances made it clear that she was talking about him at the time.</div><div>*JD proved that the statements were false because of the contradictions between AH’s allegations and her own witnesses, his witnesses, her testimony and medical and other professionals showed that she wasn’t telling the truth.</div><div>*JD proved that the statements were defamatory (hurt his reputation) because of the movie roles that he lost</div><div>*JD proved that AH acted with actual malice b/c the repeated and heinous allegations were consistently undermined and disproven by other witnesses and extrinsic evidence. <br />This is why JD won and this is why any take that is saying that JD winning hurts victims of abuse is absurd. AH lied on the stand, repeatedly. Demonstrably. Even at times, contradicting her own self. AH hurt victims of DV by making it possible that all people will be more sceptical of true victims. The jury really didn’t have a choice but to find in JD’s favour. The blame lies with her."<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlDKzok-33gHdjK3vJSDomKEt9w-gfNXIS8w8cxSjyoIOsn3AtcIIXMykUQLl_pU3PMf-dF3J71kghGbOs6siROBSfpL9AdE0U3JRLdi5bh1mvzYqo8h_XHnkQqfS5gRbKRQSNirvWoo6PLW-06hC4XcphF-wJJRBJYNpVr4JTc8d412pSQZXN-zmUQg/s612/FUMMn-VWUAAwFrz.jpg" style="font-weight: 700; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="612" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlDKzok-33gHdjK3vJSDomKEt9w-gfNXIS8w8cxSjyoIOsn3AtcIIXMykUQLl_pU3PMf-dF3J71kghGbOs6siROBSfpL9AdE0U3JRLdi5bh1mvzYqo8h_XHnkQqfS5gRbKRQSNirvWoo6PLW-06hC4XcphF-wJJRBJYNpVr4JTc8d412pSQZXN-zmUQg/w279-h279/FUMMn-VWUAAwFrz.jpg" width="279" /></a><a p="" style="font-weight: 700;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"> </span></b><img border="0" data-original-height="1145" data-original-width="1089" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJP71xfuH9EAODX6NBEfnP3USzYp3tSuTczGgET0_oib4Wnq9syDsNGfHZM7T1tUKlLxWHAF6_RtHB8l7QCYZYJlE9tlKkXVUM3uHck7Zp6XtktMpPGkfBmiJ1YJXxhG77YJMl5nzm4d0RbjoGrtq9lJc0opiGgji_XO8pWj14mk0P9O6Ev6VOjiS-Q/w264-h278/FUMMn-cXEAE-cnd.jpg" style="font-weight: 400; text-align: left;" width="264" /><br /><br /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJkY7Fsv7ltuLEaCaXNL5S-y124ZCqyrWVGOehUEm0QH4WbquZdjojd0mo3BqJbUV4t4WVFjMcyQGPoho-pyGTBsgg3VFNY464IJ0WUrCVlhiWwMlfR9hfLUkaeG2W-BzRSAThx8qLLkQYO22O6eA5owxhVcXqc-dI4dP_EbsubD1_nDfv2nrydvQVg/s992/FUPXa1LXEAAkcWz.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="672" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJkY7Fsv7ltuLEaCaXNL5S-y124ZCqyrWVGOehUEm0QH4WbquZdjojd0mo3BqJbUV4t4WVFjMcyQGPoho-pyGTBsgg3VFNY464IJ0WUrCVlhiWwMlfR9hfLUkaeG2W-BzRSAThx8qLLkQYO22O6eA5owxhVcXqc-dI4dP_EbsubD1_nDfv2nrydvQVg/s320/FUPXa1LXEAAkcWz.jpg" width="217" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Then there was a separate counter-claim by Amber Heard</span></b><br />She wanted damages herself because lawyer Adam Waldman, who represented Johnny Depp amid Heard's abuse allegations in 2016, called her claims a "hoax" orchestrated with the help of her friends. Waldman said that “Amber and her friends roughed the place up and called the police again.” Waldman's statement mentions complicity with a lawyer and publicist, which wasn't proven. So on this one count (Ct. 2) in her counterclaim, Heard won something back. But she lost Ct.1 and Ct. 3 of her counterclaim. Amber Heard was awarded 2 Million dollars in compensatory damages and 0 dollars in punitive damages. Meaning that at the end of the day, Amber is left with an $8.35 million damages bill which she has to pay Johnny Depp.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>How will she pay Johnny?</b></span></div><div>There is speculation about Heard's ability to immediately cover the damages of just over $8million ($10million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages, minus the $2million she has to receive from Depp in her counter-lawsuit). Her net worth is unclear, with Fox Business reporting it as $8 million, while others have reported it closer to $3 million. Heard's finances were called into question following her divorce from Depp after it was revealed that she made several demands to him to support her lifestyle. Among them, she asked for the 'exclusive use and possession' of the black Range Rover she drove, with Depp continuing to make payments towards the vehicle's use and upkeep. She also wanted to carry on living rent free in <i>three</i> of Depp's multi million dollar Los Angeles penthouses she and her friends were staying in, all owned and paid for by Depp, and asked for her estranged husband to cover $125,000 of her legal and accounting fees. See more on her legal claims to him, including the demand for 600,000 dollars per year without an end date, <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZkg4k8CfjE" target="_blank">here</a></b>. Eyebrows were also raised during the trial when it was revealed she had moved into a $570,000 rural hideaway in Yucca Valley - far away from the glitz and glam of Los Angeles. During the trial it was revealed how Heard threatened to publicly serve Depp with a restraining order if he did not continue financially supporting her lifestyle after she filed for divorce. Through her lawyer, Heard issued a list of financial and property demands, with the Aquaman star promising to<i> 'keep this matter out of the spotlight</i>' if her requests were granted. <br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmtXF-nUufXFH0CoT0MbgSHGVr6jMQEktbiMWRqNRvPmC3Rm4Vlqd__UQLvZH-gIQnZLB61qO8x0GZbH92RnIg1_iKRlXAf87-ImBPF34AFW1AIDr3JLBWkQcUbZw1Z0RMYelQ_p_cAmRJFKLk4a9eG8sBDzCeBz_CLb81_2iM12ILY6e2rMsxNx8PA/s1339/heard.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1339" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmtXF-nUufXFH0CoT0MbgSHGVr6jMQEktbiMWRqNRvPmC3Rm4Vlqd__UQLvZH-gIQnZLB61qO8x0GZbH92RnIg1_iKRlXAf87-ImBPF34AFW1AIDr3JLBWkQcUbZw1Z0RMYelQ_p_cAmRJFKLk4a9eG8sBDzCeBz_CLb81_2iM12ILY6e2rMsxNx8PA/w400-h269/heard.jpg" width="400" /></a>During the trial, Heard admitted she was unable to donate $7million to charity after her divorce from Depp in 2017 (as she publicly said she would), because her ex-husband had filed a $50million lawsuit against her. She will likely have to post bond for the full $10.35million judgement, plus interest, if she decides to appeal Wednesday's ruling - something her spokesperson, Alafair Hall, told the New York Times she now plans to do. If she can't fulfill her obligation to pay, the court may choose to garnish part of her wages, if it is found Heard has the requisite earning potential. Or Depp can waiver part of the amount she has to pay him, perhaps. Or even decide not to execute the judgement. He stated after winning the trial: '<i>The goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. 'I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that.' </i>Heard could also file for bankruptcy which would likely wipe away the $8 million in compensatory damages, but she might still have to pay $350,000 in punitive damages. Or she could use the divorce money she received from Johnny Depp, since she clearly hasn't donated it yet (just 'pledged' --> On the Dutch tv show, she said she had donated it, not pledged: <i>“Every penny…. I wanted nothing”</i>). Or Depp may himself say that once he gets the money off her, he will donate it to fulfill the 'pledges' to the charities that she has reneged on. Or maybe she has something on Elon Musk, and have him pay the money.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8tPfdoD--4qydFpX_Idp4qVDr9dIpOLP_IFkXThJl8_UIVfJ9jWceitRKIINyo3mAFuo8ATatRDlwHrwF9VM9tGYtpXprTa-gNRaO2G86g4qW1h-4t3jnKBgelYW_iRBojaI7M81szdAsoM75cizNvmuTaiBVPLO7x0oEOlyazf6bBoNa56toT5MeQ/s983/jojo.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="983" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8tPfdoD--4qydFpX_Idp4qVDr9dIpOLP_IFkXThJl8_UIVfJ9jWceitRKIINyo3mAFuo8ATatRDlwHrwF9VM9tGYtpXprTa-gNRaO2G86g4qW1h-4t3jnKBgelYW_iRBojaI7M81szdAsoM75cizNvmuTaiBVPLO7x0oEOlyazf6bBoNa56toT5MeQ/w399-h266/jojo.jpg" width="399" /></a></div>Heard called the ruling a<i> 'setback for women' and a loss for freedom of speech'. 'The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I'm heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband.'</i> She added that the verdict was <i>'a setback'</i> for women <i>'to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated'. </i>-Yeh... But when you accuse people publicly of crimes, you have to provide the evidence, when challenged in court. It isn't right either that anyone can make accusations in the media, and that they do the trial for you. People have the right of being seen as innocent until proven otherwise. But nowadays, any accusation alone can see you fired, ruined and all, before you even had a chance to legally prove your innocence. That's not right either. #MeToo is a good movement, but abusers come in all shapes and forms and a good movement shouldn't be used to derail people's lives. Although Johnny Depp seems a troubled person with a lot of issues, six weeks in court hasn't provided hard evidence that he actually physically and sexually abused Miss Heard. And therefore her op-ed has been declared defamatory. Especially in light of what happened to Depp's career since - and as a result in his opinion. It seems that the jury believes that Amber jumped on the #MeToo bandwagon to gain something from it herself, while in fact doing the movement a disservice. </div><div><br />Amber Heard also said: <i>'I'm sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American - to speak freely and openly.' </i>- No. You cán say whatever you want, but in a free country, publishing unsupported claims about someone in the press can be challenged in court. And after 6 whole weeks of trial, you were found guilty of making false, malicious and defamatory statements.<br /><span><span><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVauB-s4y7h5CB-Vo3AH7btZ5ORgklzCuj7OCruWu353l--u9qtkvYc9h9oW_XD2EEKbnemB8sbFCQulCOp_6n6zN21bxveMF2os_nDexB6vEwJqAiIfQkBFHvynRYqLM5Cl2i2AuwbnyEphYrLjpBSmvX43WjZ_jg0HkIRqlewZNyVcOmzE_FNF7b6w/s611/Amber.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="592" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVauB-s4y7h5CB-Vo3AH7btZ5ORgklzCuj7OCruWu353l--u9qtkvYc9h9oW_XD2EEKbnemB8sbFCQulCOp_6n6zN21bxveMF2os_nDexB6vEwJqAiIfQkBFHvynRYqLM5Cl2i2AuwbnyEphYrLjpBSmvX43WjZ_jg0HkIRqlewZNyVcOmzE_FNF7b6w/s320/Amber.jpg" width="310" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinOGHXb5Ntvhxs1BqiUnHppimzJbv_eSNGS4Uo6Pnx29qjck4MhFLBTNEi_l2XjbFKIiOVwrJU8qSY3lZk2jan7udHnK093ngC6_N_a9-5u_IgiVjfdxMcOOM_PB-J_6CG6voW2cuQRqah1fuXwRFhF6LKjf8zytS8q6kMURp6tdW-_1PERcMrbYZHiw/s603/Amber2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="590" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinOGHXb5Ntvhxs1BqiUnHppimzJbv_eSNGS4Uo6Pnx29qjck4MhFLBTNEi_l2XjbFKIiOVwrJU8qSY3lZk2jan7udHnK093ngC6_N_a9-5u_IgiVjfdxMcOOM_PB-J_6CG6voW2cuQRqah1fuXwRFhF6LKjf8zytS8q6kMURp6tdW-_1PERcMrbYZHiw/s320/Amber2.jpg" width="313" /></a><span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">POST-TRIAL STUFF</span></b><br /><br />Jury members are not allowed to read up anything about the case during the trial and are given strict instructions in that regard. But Ambers lawyers are now <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHujXUBaWmo" target="_blank">blaming social media</a></b> for their loss... As is Amber Heard herself in <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_0AkqgkfNw" target="_blank">a post-verdict interview</a></b>. Elaine, it was your own expert that told the Jury what was trending on Social Media during the trial... Of course they knew public opinion. You told them what it was. Since losing the case, <span style="font-family: inherit;">Elaine has already done four interviews with American TV networks. Right after the trial ended. In which she is trying to spin the case and blame the jury. I don't think this comes across very well. It may even </span></span><span>border on defamation, since she is acting as an agent to AH. For an officer of the American legal system, Elaine Bredehoft throwing shade at the judge, the jury, Depp's legal team, the media (both main stream and social) is beyond the pale. She's basically saying that the legal system failed, the judge was incompetent, the jury broke their oath and followed the trial when they weren't supposed to, Ben Chew's team played dirty tricks, the media and commentators who don't back her client are misogynists. </span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">But we all watched the trial live and saw how it actually played out. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">S</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">he said basically; we have to assume the jurors broke their oath. What an accusation. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">She may get smacked in the face with a cease and desist letter. I even read that </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">according to the American Bar Association ethical professional code of conduct 4.1, Elaine's interviews could be cause for disbarment. <br /></span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><b><i><span style="color: #660000;">One jury member now explained to the media why they did believe Depp, and not Amber Heard. Read about it <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10923313/Depp-v-Heard-juror-says-none-believed-crocodile-tears.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></i></b></span></span></span></div><span><span><span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">JD's lawyers could also go around from show to Show and tell everyone that those Australia recordings which weren't legally allowed to be played in this trial (as someone else was speaking on it who has since passed away) in fact do exist, and that Heard is clearly heard saying in them that she indeed severed his finger and didn't mean to hurt him. In fact, there are more tapes which didn't get played in court, but which are circulating online for all to hear. In another recording you can hear her</span></span> telling Johnny Depp, after she got the restraining order against him, that she only did so because she thought that she was going to become homeless after the divorce. And you can hear her begging him to hug her and to look at her, while he is distant and does not want to touch her. Hmmm. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But Depp's team don't talk about that stuff in post-trial interviews. I suppose that is the more classy and professional thing to do. On the other hand, </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Elaine tries to spin her client's loss as misogyny and pulls the victimhood card yet again. But Heard lost because her evidence was flimsy, her testimony was considered not credible and her witnesses both personal and professional were inconsistent and left much to be desired. Elaine didn't do the best of job either imo. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Her closing statement alone was a raging dumpster fire. A court reporter said that the jury members dozed off and lost concentration during Elaine's closing statement. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Enough already, she lost. Don't try to gaslight the public now through post-trial interviews with favourable TV networks who only throw softball questions. Heard</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> was slapped with significant punitive damages. To have her attorney repeat</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> that Ms Heard is a victim/survivor of DA and more, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">without pushback from journalists, is peculiar. H</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">eard said on the jury stand that </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">she just wanted this all to be over, and for Johnny to leave her alone. But Miss Heard will appeal and drag this thing out even further.. But she will probably first have to pay Johnny his millions. Pay, not pledge. </span></span></span><p></p></span></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: 400; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="489" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rbFgBnOPLn4" width="588" youtube-src-id="rbFgBnOPLn4"></iframe><br /><br /></div></div></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: 400; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">May 26th 2022</span><br /><br /></span></b></div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgax8z4s7xzPzM6BwdsXRFc2kjF1AA56lRbhkNF1ZnGltnv63yfe5-0SZnWtWO8Ino-kJct_8AQEcpAlhp2LtSs1uFz7nK7PNeSeF23RLxUpDQUwKred1JhNXpMWQGO0FWaYPlNfHh3ptQUhAIODxK6vc7yoO8OeTEG413ggeJsl7-q_vtNiiJiNFxjug/s1234/Untitled-5.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="1234" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgax8z4s7xzPzM6BwdsXRFc2kjF1AA56lRbhkNF1ZnGltnv63yfe5-0SZnWtWO8Ino-kJct_8AQEcpAlhp2LtSs1uFz7nK7PNeSeF23RLxUpDQUwKred1JhNXpMWQGO0FWaYPlNfHh3ptQUhAIODxK6vc7yoO8OeTEG413ggeJsl7-q_vtNiiJiNFxjug/w499-h362/Untitled-5.jpg" width="499" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 32px;">Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial</span></b><br /><br />I have been following this trial the past weeks, and aside from it having been entertaining and voyeuristic, it also has been a very interesting peek into civil court cases in the United States. Depp is suing Amber Heard in Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia for $50 million over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse." His lawyers say he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name, and that it cost him acting roles. Heard is counter suing for $100 million, claiming Depp defamed her when his legal team referred to her claims as “fake” and a “sexual violence hoax”. Heard said she is "harassed, humiliated, threatened every single day" thanks to Depp and his attorney Adam Waldman's statements about her. Depp and Heard were married from 2015 to 2017 and both accuse the other of being physically violent during the relationship. They each deny the other’s claims.<br /><br />Quite a few media outlets, the liberal ones, were quick to resort to not all that neutral reporting on the case. The Washington Post itself for instance, gave way more information in favour of Amber's claims and arguments than Depp's. Overall, there is that well-known trial by mob-thing going on, where just the accusation of sexual abuse is deemed enough to cancel the alleged perpetrator. This made the actual trial all the more interesting, and boy were we not disappointed. Amber Heard was the over-the-top, eye rolling, screaming, grimacing and frankly off-putting centrepiece of the trial. Johnny was on the mumbling, more minimalistic approach. But Depp's lawyers (in particular Camille Vasquez) are not disappointing either. Depp has denied he ever struck Heard and says she was the abuser in the relationship. Heard has testified about more than a dozen separate instances of physical abuse she says she suffered at Depp's hands. Depp calls Heard's accusations "insane." "Ridiculous, humiliating, ludicrous, painful, savage, unbelievably brutal, cruel, and all false," Depp said, when asked about his reaction to hearing Heard's allegations when she testified in the trial.</p></div></b><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYdALe06PPV8Uc0jhMcIir2zxlLe8ETmnXe0nyiB9b_6WL5M77ftFGUxywpVCFjbAkP11nMPzW8SP50Jls90KafXxKEfFj21c5i-6AwWPO3nRXkNGId5XzOi0ynd2g5wZ4m4B9Fr8pN01VD-Huvj0fGs92how-KD_00qieBCIve-JomcDx46jeZCILTQ/s1311/Untitled-1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="1311" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYdALe06PPV8Uc0jhMcIir2zxlLe8ETmnXe0nyiB9b_6WL5M77ftFGUxywpVCFjbAkP11nMPzW8SP50Jls90KafXxKEfFj21c5i-6AwWPO3nRXkNGId5XzOi0ynd2g5wZ4m4B9Fr8pN01VD-Huvj0fGs92how-KD_00qieBCIve-JomcDx46jeZCILTQ/w400-h243/Untitled-1.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjGUgggKA3EeSAuxwj9R1pczkCF3f5hu-62duqrEIe2Y8CAvxeh5EdgFrq_mGubwPjzzIZ3fyWr7llZncBJ4mobIA7-KIn_b_-CEUPw1S1B5ElIs0R1DkJOH0KiKUoqvoxTbL_kH40y2Wlm8S7od9lK1ltXG66uX7T1doHaQuZJxqXyHtu1SkdRo5MA/s1316/Untitled-2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="889" data-original-width="1316" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjGUgggKA3EeSAuxwj9R1pczkCF3f5hu-62duqrEIe2Y8CAvxeh5EdgFrq_mGubwPjzzIZ3fyWr7llZncBJ4mobIA7-KIn_b_-CEUPw1S1B5ElIs0R1DkJOH0KiKUoqvoxTbL_kH40y2Wlm8S7od9lK1ltXG66uX7T1doHaQuZJxqXyHtu1SkdRo5MA/w400-h270/Untitled-2.jpg" width="400" /></a>Over the weeks, Heard and her team have not provided any hard evidence of said violence, with the exception of some photos which are claimed to have been altered in photoshop by a specialist witness. But her friends, make-up artist and the police she called over, testified to never having seen her injured, for instance the broken nose she claims Johnny has beaten her. There are no medical records verifying this either. She bought him a big hunting knife for his birthday, and could not explain in court why a victim of DA, petrified of her own safety, would do that. Depp does admit that he used drugs and alcohol at the time, as did Amber herself on occasion. Depp testified that he smashed a kitchen cabinet, but never hit Heard or any other woman. He said she was the one who became abusive and “bullied” him with “demeaning name-calling”. Audio and video footage confirm this and show Amber insulting and sneering at Depp. Heard is recorded admitting she had been hitting Depp ('but not punched'), and even mocked him and told him no one would believe him, a man, if he said to others that he was a victim of domestic abuse. Amber Heard says literally loudly on audio to him: <b><i><span style="color: #444444;">"Tell the world Johnny, tell the world that I, Johnny Depp, a man, am also a victim of domestic violence. And see how many believe or side with you"</span></i></b>. You can hear her almost daring him, in a horrible tone, to do it and see what would happen. After having hit him and admitting this also on audio. But at the same time Heard says she was petrified of Depp and wouldn't antagonize him...<br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs_H0eoVZKZu1l-ojdwWUxckekNBOCY43Z0zPFQo7YcGtlRmJK9gNIvwjYGcta6mzwrgXhTtvKKfbF38eFrnB49uhlW8DcDUxqWF0COoS6heoZGvp9TzygGmCIV5_Qn2UOaz2Qb-XMb6kIatlwRFo5PChjlJSqRNF7mDrfPJMhP-KCopymNcUvxTeUtg/s893/Untitled-3.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="762" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs_H0eoVZKZu1l-ojdwWUxckekNBOCY43Z0zPFQo7YcGtlRmJK9gNIvwjYGcta6mzwrgXhTtvKKfbF38eFrnB49uhlW8DcDUxqWF0COoS6heoZGvp9TzygGmCIV5_Qn2UOaz2Qb-XMb6kIatlwRFo5PChjlJSqRNF7mDrfPJMhP-KCopymNcUvxTeUtg/w341-h400/Untitled-3.jpg" width="341" /></a>Depp initially did stay silent, after their divorce. But Amber wrote a Washington Post op-ed article in 2018, joining the MeToo movement and implying Depp physically and sexually abused her. - The audio recordings also allow us to hear Depp pleading with Amber from within a closed bathroom to leave him alone. “If I stayed to argue, eventually, I was sure it was going to escalate into violence, and oftentimes it did,” he told the court. Amber is heard roaring outside the bathroom door and Depp said she would chase him around a ton of rooms and bathrooms in the house, to harass him and also beat him. Heard herself has said “she didn’t assault Johnny, ever”. <br /><br />Then there was the 2015 incident in Australia, where the top of one of Johnny's fingers was sliced off. He says it happened as Heard hurled a vodka bottle at him which exploded. The medical specialist witness confirmed that the specific injuries that were recorded in hospital, could match this scenario. Heard on the other hand says that Depp did it all to himself, and she also claims that he sexually violated her with said vodka bottle. No evidence of this has been provided. A few months later, Heard said, Depp broke her nose and ripped out chunks of her hair during another violent encounter. Again; no evidence of this exists. She did not have medical files or photos to prove this (despite her taking pictures that night of some damage Johnny created in her view) and none of her friends or acquaintances could confirm this broken nose. Photos and videos of Heard taken right around that time, show her face being flawless, but Heard says this was all down to proper make-up use. Depp's team accuse her of using make-up to actually <i>stage</i> bruises and red skin areas in the photos she took of herself to 'document' her 'injuries', sustained at the hands of Depp. He denies ever having hit her or physically violated her in any way. A photo editing specialist called to testify by the Depp team, declared under oath that Heard's various photos of these facial injuries had been edited, in the sense of being photoshopped. It is mainly Ambers' sister Whitney Heard Henriquez, who claimed that she personally witnessed Depp hitting Heard. Although she also declared under oath that it was Amber who started to hit Johnny, and he then retaliated, in her recollections. Then there is a very unsavoury incident in the bed, that gave Amber the nickname 'Amber Turd'. Depp sent horrible text messages to a friend, suggesting “Let’s drown her before we burn her”. He says they were sent by him when he was very upset and angry and hurt. (And since Amber Heard never handed over <i>her</i> text messages, unlike Johnny Depp, we cannot compare).</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4b5ugukCC5rTU1zjITmTQNak35iPPgWy868Ms_m-EXuIQUpIbVIIh7su84iDdVgwe9UImXCfwACeOyrpbjpA_fQiMhCYn2OeEB0DUXW326AxnlJz4RHdR-4wP1iOcoq3clN7HYAoBTVd9aU0VSBDxbsnYZKxTSE_56peJtr2VKBef47iyjwEufHaUmQ/s814/Untitled-6.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="806" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4b5ugukCC5rTU1zjITmTQNak35iPPgWy868Ms_m-EXuIQUpIbVIIh7su84iDdVgwe9UImXCfwACeOyrpbjpA_fQiMhCYn2OeEB0DUXW326AxnlJz4RHdR-4wP1iOcoq3clN7HYAoBTVd9aU0VSBDxbsnYZKxTSE_56peJtr2VKBef47iyjwEufHaUmQ/w324-h327/Untitled-6.jpg" width="324" /></a>Psychologist Shannon Curry took the stand, testifying that Heard shows symptoms borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder. Heard claims she has PTSD, but Shannon Curry also claimed Heard exaggerated signs of PTSD during her testing. Ambers lack of empathy shown in court to even her own teams witnesses - and her constant posing for the court camera - do not come across very well I think. She accused several witnesses of lying under oath, because their evidence contradicted her own stories. But Depp's lawyers already caught Amber Heard on multiple lies and inconsistencies. One particular lie was about Amber's promised donations of all the 7 million dollars she received from Johnny Depp, to the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and a Children's hospital. Amber had declared on TV that she had paid both these 7 million dollars. During trial, Depp's team proved that Amber Heard lied about this, and only paid a fraction of this amount. Heard tried to twist the story and said she had 'pledged' the money and that this, to her, is the same as 'donated'. Camille Vasquez corrected her and said the two are not technically the same thing, and Heard only seemed to have spread this story in the media to gain sympathy. Heard herself claimed she couldn't pay the rest, as Depp sued her and she needed the money for herself. [Camille should have asked if Rottenborn and Elaine Bredehoft also agreed with Amber <i>pledging</i> them their millions in wages, or if she actually had to PAY them.. I bet they know the difference full well when it involves their own bank accounts].<br /><br /><b style="color: #990000;">THE MOST INTERESTING PART</b><span style="color: #990000;"><b><br /></b></span>The most interesting part of the trial to me happened today actually, and it is the following. There has never been a denial that Heard wrote the op-ed in the Washington Post (though it was revealed months ago that the ACLU wrote it for her, in her name). But she's denied that the op-ed was <i>about Johnny Depp</i>. She made that denial frequently and pointed to the fact that his name isn't mentioned and that anybody interpreting it as being about Depp, including by Depp himself, was mistaken. “It’s not about Johnny,” she told the court. “The only one who thought it was about Johnny was Johnny. It was about me, and my life after Johnny.” In the many drafts seen from the ACLU team writing and creating the op-ed, their own lawyers constantly worried that it had details that pointed to Depp and tried their best to remove them and or make it neutral to avoid pointing fingers at him, <b><i><span style="color: #444444;">lest he'd sue them</span></i></b>. But Depp himself says that this article wás written in particular to create the association that HE was the abusive ex-partner she referred to, and that it in effect cancelled Johnny Depp's studio career and more. But Amber and her team insisted throughout the trial that this is not true. And then this happens.. on the very last day before closing arguments.</p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='497' height='413' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx3vkskzqG10cSodxHFf7M2zl3OmFt8wdoJjp7wnNnQG_4OwyNr4r9-9AJex8j5-0oLFKrGEGLQmCtmHwnY0w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0zJKSDL3YJiCYISZsDtWM57HSQseKXf2Mzb22TltyDZpiZi-l9hBofzqpWud3WdwgLyMjMr4P3NDcVY7e2dQtSLRTvrWh3mPzZrpRD4xhxUv30J-wJEkwm2sLmFuf3nQBjNoNuUl8Z09836UmVm-v2_vNbZg4Et0-62i4ZLRJcGFzJ9u-x-5z4ZqHqg/s807/amber%20.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="773" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0zJKSDL3YJiCYISZsDtWM57HSQseKXf2Mzb22TltyDZpiZi-l9hBofzqpWud3WdwgLyMjMr4P3NDcVY7e2dQtSLRTvrWh3mPzZrpRD4xhxUv30J-wJEkwm2sLmFuf3nQBjNoNuUl8Z09836UmVm-v2_vNbZg4Et0-62i4ZLRJcGFzJ9u-x-5z4ZqHqg/s320/amber%20.jpg" width="307" /></a>So on her final examination, on the stand and under oath, Amber Heard said loud and proud that the op-ed <i>was</i> about Johnny Depp. Amber said: <i>''I know how many people will come out and say whatever for him. That's his power. That's why I wrote that op-ed. He is a very powerful man and people love currying favor with powerful men. That's why I wrote that op-ed."</i> That's an admittance that the article was about Depp, the whole reason why they're in court! It opens the door of defamation wide open. I really hope the judge and jury picked up on that and if not, Depp's team should repeat it tomorrow on closing day. I bet Heard's team and the ACLU are despairing right now. Kudos also to Camille Vasquez, who has been outstanding during this trial I think. And going by Camille's facial expression and quiet smile, she knew right away what Amber was admitting to here and she pushed her to get it. All in all, this honestly should be game over for team Heard, in a legal sense. I would like to be a fly on the wall in Amber Heard's camp of Rottenborn and Elaine Bredehoft after that. Weeks of carefully construction one narrative, only to end up with <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FnO3igOkOk" target="_blank">a "You can't handle the truth" moment</a></b>. She did exactly what Camille had intended. Ask her many questions in succession so that it would catch her out and she'd answer a question that wasn't even asked. In Amber's frustration, she angrily admitted that she wrote the op-ed due to Johnny Depp being a "powerful figure" protected by the establishment. If I were her laywer, I'd be very nervous to put her on the stand, as she does not seem to easily stick to a plan, when given a chance to speak. So many lies and inconsistencies on Amber's 'I haven't lied about anything' part. It are women like Camille Vasquez that young girls should be looking up to, not fake social media celebrities. Can't wait for the closing argument tomorrow. This should be case closed, legally. But of course, with a jury you never know. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMDKsoqjFZiwsCF-sz5pviEdA5KRevUANkf4N1EHOWZq_-_3xDoQxBpQvhQ9Ucr9CyUmL0XHRv1sNJ8Zx6TvajPLsJaquRwM2xYEHYLmW14rCrtg02jm7jUk9OsRGnzjfh6xXubT6RmYSVz9d6DYFRJUkwG0YEMg3zaWnb8F1DZ53jvyzodnLtuDDvdw/s1318/Untitled-4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="1318" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMDKsoqjFZiwsCF-sz5pviEdA5KRevUANkf4N1EHOWZq_-_3xDoQxBpQvhQ9Ucr9CyUmL0XHRv1sNJ8Zx6TvajPLsJaquRwM2xYEHYLmW14rCrtg02jm7jUk9OsRGnzjfh6xXubT6RmYSVz9d6DYFRJUkwG0YEMg3zaWnb8F1DZ53jvyzodnLtuDDvdw/w400-h265/Untitled-4.jpg" width="400" /></a>But by now we have seen Amber lie about donating the money, lie about not writing the op-ed article about Johnny Depp, lie about hitting Depp immediately after a clip was played where she admits to hitting him. We have heard her taunt him and mock him while he begs for her to leave him alone for a bit, while at the same time claiming she was deadly afraid of him and suffering from PTSD. Even if Depp was abusive, this trial has not proved it. Heard violated the NDA she herself had requested, by contacting him again and being recorded begging for another chance with him. She most likely leaked a video of Depp smashing something to TMZ, who under oath declared as much, but Heard denies everything, always. Everything seems always somebody else's fault and never her own. What's wrong with saying she leaked something to TMZ if she was abused? "Yeah, he was beating me so I wanted to share my version of events." But no, never with her. Therefore she's left her legal team scrambling harder than a pan of eggs to come up with anything. She had the audacity to say that world famous KATE MOSS was coming 'out of the woodwork' to defend Johnny for attention. Amber has claimed that every witness who disagreed with her was a liar or wrong. Her never admitting any fault, may have given a very bad impression to the jury, just like her ongoing looking at and turning towards the jury when she spoke. I bet it made them uncomfortable, and feeling like they were being intimidated and maybe even played. That was not a wise decision of Amber.<br /><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUD3AkZlWLuyZ-Kl9PkIFYGosr9Rm1bU5vCxNxRgK-JAaZYJK1L4Gm0V7c5d-bjbQVRtCEL50rUaeVOtUO5aTlJZ-AVRuJzHruysVHeBPhh_9sBppsALZLm5pLGgIzN0pvawPp7jXFOfR7o5L_DiH_PfxPsQeh57ZoiFhKRKTLcyc5rxNxr6PozZMeLw/s1298/z1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="1298" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUD3AkZlWLuyZ-Kl9PkIFYGosr9Rm1bU5vCxNxRgK-JAaZYJK1L4Gm0V7c5d-bjbQVRtCEL50rUaeVOtUO5aTlJZ-AVRuJzHruysVHeBPhh_9sBppsALZLm5pLGgIzN0pvawPp7jXFOfR7o5L_DiH_PfxPsQeh57ZoiFhKRKTLcyc5rxNxr6PozZMeLw/w422-h281/z1.jpg" width="422" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">ABUSE</span></b><br />Depp seems to have had substance abuse issues, but at no point during this entire trial did Heard and her team offer the evidence that Johnny Depp indeed physically or sexually abused Heard in that relationship. I could possibly believe that Johnny only got violent in one relationship, even if all his past partners say he was never violent. But I cannot believe that Amber went her whole marriage being "beaten up" by a man who she said never ever took his many big rings off, and literally no-one could testify even a single time that they ever saw her with a verified injury, other than the few red marks seen in photographs of which one specialist witness claimed they were edited. She blames Depp for her career status and all the hell that has been brought on, but she is the one who penned the op-ed in a miscalculated attempt to ruin Depp's career. Which in fact it may have. <br /><br />Amber was and stayed in a relationship with a man who had alcohol and drug problems, and she chose to stay with him despite this self-destructive behaviour. I have experience with that myself, and it was no fun. But it was my choice at the time to stay and try to make him change (didn't work). Amber tolerating that sort of behaviour for years is not the same as suffering <i>physical and sexual abuse</i> on his hands. She may have, but legally she never proved this, despite publicly accusing him of it in a national newspaper. Amber chose to stay with a man who on occasion smashed kitchen cabinets and passed out from substance abuse. She tried to secretly record it and document it, but never documented evidence of him actually physically or sexually abusing her, and he left her in the end. And what's worse: that video evidence had nothing to do with her: he'd just found out by telephone that his manager had stolen or made him lose almost $650 million dollars, so he started kicking kitchen cupboards. She knew this but walked in, stirred things up and secretly started filming. But now - years later - she uses that footage to blame him for abuse, because of it. In other audio you heard Amber provoke and chase Depp, and then taunt him and his career and his wimpish nature. It made me seriously think: what victim of physical abuse intentionally baits and instigates arguments with their abuser? As opposed to pacify and avoid conflict with them? Maybe he wás an abuser, but during this case, Amber's team in my view have not proven that he actually smashed her up or raped her. But over the course of the weeks, Amber's team also kept moving the goal posts. Now sending nasty messages to a friend = abuse (suddenly they make it about <i>emotional</i> abuse and move their own goal posts); having a bag of weed = abuse. Raised voices are abuse, passing out = abuse. Slamming kitchen cabinets = abuse. Anything but proving the actual claimed <i>physical and sexual abuse</i>. But Amber admitting she hit Johnny in the face and attacked him, that is just her being imperfect and <i>not</i> abuse. Same for her on audio recording belittling him, mocking his acting work, challenging him that nobody will believe him after admitting to hitting him = all no abuse. Sad, the entire situation. (Is having to listen to Elaine Bredehoft lie and ramble on and on and on also abuse, I now wonder?)<br /><br />While Depp vowed that Amber would never see his eyes again during her lifetime, and avoided looking at her throughout the trial, she on the other hand stared at him, pulled faces at him, laughed at him in court and rolled her eyes. When you want the jury to believe you are petrified of this man, this is not a good technique. Practically speaking. And her acting on the stand has been horrible, frankly. Crunching up her face in an attempt to cry, without any tears. In fact, the only tears came from Johnny. Heard mostly seemed full of rage and out for revenge. She looked at times like an embittered Nurse Ratched. I'm no big fan of either of them, but she has done herself no favours after being found out telling numerous lies in court. If I had been her defense lawyer, I'd have struggled to contain this hot mess. And not even the two weathered lawyers Rottenborn and Elaine Bredehoft could contain her. It is all very sad. Regardless of the outcome of this courtcase, I don't see her ever work in the top Hollywood movie industry again and this will cost her a fortune. I think no big studio in Hollywood will ever want to work with Amber Heard again after this is all done, regardless of the jury verdict. Johnny Depp had his voice heard publicly and won the court of public opinion, it seems. <br /><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5MEoL887hWmhxhhYMmwjvGbfoMRI1bGcpLwHqPvQlyEU7mRg9JpF5yXF-8GTJG8ens7ypGtKx3k6Xe1_NYhLiupMrbvq9oRrQMOLL4OWSENd8ARUNl0jFDQ3Ww1TU-_MsxWkeglvZy1g7u3a__oki7zgDhwpkxxIdVQU2Vy5cxloxa_xzF-HxsyUDAg/s844/281091813_4987964177983755_6560723827126911154_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="843" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5MEoL887hWmhxhhYMmwjvGbfoMRI1bGcpLwHqPvQlyEU7mRg9JpF5yXF-8GTJG8ens7ypGtKx3k6Xe1_NYhLiupMrbvq9oRrQMOLL4OWSENd8ARUNl0jFDQ3Ww1TU-_MsxWkeglvZy1g7u3a__oki7zgDhwpkxxIdVQU2Vy5cxloxa_xzF-HxsyUDAg/w225-h225/281091813_4987964177983755_6560723827126911154_n.jpg" width="225" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">UPDATE:</span></b> <br /><u><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L0Jl0voe8U" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a></u> you can listen to the closing argument from Johnny Depp's team. It summarises his part of the story, which his legal team - in my opinion - proved throughout the trial. And <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/LawCrimeNetwork/videos" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a></u> you can hear the version of events from Amber Heard and her team. It is good that the stories of 'female victims' are not blindly believed without subjecting them to the duty to prove their accusations. Especially in this cancel culture and trial-by-mob era. That is also equality, #MeToo or no MeToo movement. (Or as Depp's lawyer said: <i>"#MeToo without any Me Too in Mister Depp's case"</i>). Sometimes it is #MenToo.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="447" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7L0Jl0voe8U" width="537" youtube-src-id="7L0Jl0voe8U"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhie-Fb7cDM_Anu5QWB8Cewrsg9TTh22hux1j57P-8eNLSvnmuK_gqrGbUZw9XnNyuCUee05_-GiWZnWCe_ejhYD3S5JjkpqphvndfRCXBWt7lqsHOJjA1nGMz0OrMjyPGvvN1AV-Np6PMjNog37Hj8EFPMZUqbUgamIxVm45j_IcsydoSd-5ugL2vXdw/s1158/FT2Y80iVIAA-v8-.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="1028" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhie-Fb7cDM_Anu5QWB8Cewrsg9TTh22hux1j57P-8eNLSvnmuK_gqrGbUZw9XnNyuCUee05_-GiWZnWCe_ejhYD3S5JjkpqphvndfRCXBWt7lqsHOJjA1nGMz0OrMjyPGvvN1AV-Np6PMjNog37Hj8EFPMZUqbUgamIxVm45j_IcsydoSd-5ugL2vXdw/s320/FT2Y80iVIAA-v8-.jpg" width="284" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZkHfFuDXz6K3ru92Xz7uUpERhoWGPjzlEEfviMK5h6AwLfK9-sVUB20L25kBU72NJeW9KJrQXKRwU7iW6nYczRx12cCgUedbgepLPBkFnbYSw-3nSW5GipIjCjn8rRc10teH3isMhuNN9cdYilvytDGpmAXjxOqrVoR4WzCodUkPWrdfeBU9TtdK6KA/s1822/FT9oTMsUEAAtkkx.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1822" data-original-width="1284" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZkHfFuDXz6K3ru92Xz7uUpERhoWGPjzlEEfviMK5h6AwLfK9-sVUB20L25kBU72NJeW9KJrQXKRwU7iW6nYczRx12cCgUedbgepLPBkFnbYSw-3nSW5GipIjCjn8rRc10teH3isMhuNN9cdYilvytDGpmAXjxOqrVoR4WzCodUkPWrdfeBU9TtdK6KA/s320/FT9oTMsUEAAtkkx.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><p><br /><br /></p><p><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">WIMBLEDON</span></b></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjPUaOdkfM8P1fW9Sdr-4em-0Xwi_SCwZKWLCvcRuykEiLNb3onE4LIK_MAMX-e8xjANH6JbS5lLljpDrDz_-8osuFbSAixr6zRb41scu13Vp2KxHJwQoGGDw44iRJagk7OrlTKbfpj0d5kitY5uqLDWfWvMOfTwajA05SEOTDjgXW7LSkH8W1O7STg/s828/ea6cc.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="828" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjPUaOdkfM8P1fW9Sdr-4em-0Xwi_SCwZKWLCvcRuykEiLNb3onE4LIK_MAMX-e8xjANH6JbS5lLljpDrDz_-8osuFbSAixr6zRb41scu13Vp2KxHJwQoGGDw44iRJagk7OrlTKbfpj0d5kitY5uqLDWfWvMOfTwajA05SEOTDjgXW7LSkH8W1O7STg/w400-h266/ea6cc.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6702ARY0NevFBoR8xjOGAwVPjYT1PZFaWqAthBz_AxYuYG9IpAO5NU_REFpN8L8-LswpjAhoHptEj0ZegDi6Hur4bjlnFhHu5q935v-8NMUGCocn0b4x9aG8FRDDWhFhoYMvbka_UlAjV8KDyBave6nsrOuefXMtpe601rHitb6N2mpAz1TUSLRd_Qw/s1620/1363220-kate-middleton-tient-le-trophee-du-vainqueur-de-la-finale-en-simple-hommes-a-wimbledon.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1620" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6702ARY0NevFBoR8xjOGAwVPjYT1PZFaWqAthBz_AxYuYG9IpAO5NU_REFpN8L8-LswpjAhoHptEj0ZegDi6Hur4bjlnFhHu5q935v-8NMUGCocn0b4x9aG8FRDDWhFhoYMvbka_UlAjV8KDyBave6nsrOuefXMtpe601rHitb6N2mpAz1TUSLRd_Qw/w400-h266/1363220-kate-middleton-tient-le-trophee-du-vainqueur-de-la-finale-en-simple-hommes-a-wimbledon.jpg" width="400" /></a>Sports wise it is a great time for me. I follow Formula 1 with my F1TV subscription and am of course rooting for my fellow countryman and race hero, Max Verstappen. It is an incredible season, with new regulations and cars that allow for much closer racing, making the competition so much more interesting than 2013-2020 were. Mostly a vastly superior car leading, with the merry-go-round of cars trailing behind it in a parade. Boring. But last season was grandiose and this one has been very good so far as well, with a close race at the top between Red Bull and Ferrari. I'm loving every bit of it and am fully invested again.<br /><br />Then there is football and tennis. Right now Roland Garros in Paris, and I am rooting for Djokovic and Medvedev, although there are plenty of good players to enjoy, such as Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Stéfanos Tsitsipás and others. The Spanish have Nadal and a new kid on the block (playing in a somewhat similar style); Carlos Alcaraz. But a lot of Russians are playing and ranked within the top 10. Unfortunately, these excellent players have been controversially <i>banned</i> this year by Wimbledon. Earlier this month, Wimbledon laid out its stance as it announced a ban on all Russian and Belarusian players. It did not matter if these athletes played under a neutral flag, and it also did not matter if they ever spoke out in any way about the war in Ukraine. Wow.... Insane. That is blatant racism, unfortunately, in order for the UK to virtue signal its political stance. Wimbledon said in a statement: <i>'We share in the universal condemnation of Russia's illegal actions and have carefully considered the situation in the context of our duties to the players, to our community and to the broader UK public as a British sporting institution.'<br /><br /></i>Luckily the overarching ATP was not charmed by this unilateral decision of Wimbledon either, and they have decided that such a move would 'set a damaging precedent for the rest of the tour'. '<i>Discrimination by individual tournaments is simply not viable on a Tour that operates in more than 30 countries.' </i>ATP were also critical of the way in which Wimbledon caved into government pressure, who provided informal guidance but not a mandate. And of the way that Wimbledon acted 'in isolation'. And they also decide to act. As a result of Wimbledon's decision, the tournament is stripped of all ranking points. In other words: players can go and play there and earn some cash, but they will not gain any ranking points in the overall tournament. These ranking points determine a player's eligibility for entry into other tournaments throughout the year, and, for the highest-ranked, their seeding in tournaments. It has become just a show tournament therefore. And players will now lose their points from 2021, so the likes of Novak Djokovic will be denied the chance of defending the 2000 he won from twelve months ago. Very painful for Wimbledon and the UK... And a number of players have already expressed their concern about the prospect of playing at what is effectively an exhibition tournament, with Naomi Osaka already admitting she may skip it. World No 1 star Novak Djokovic came out in opposition of Wimbledon's decision, saying he could not support it - even though the ATP's call to strip them of points threatens his status at the top. <i>'They haven't discussed it with anybody from ATP or any individual players - or, for that matter, Russian or Belarusian players - to just communicate and understand whether there is a common ground where both sides could be making a compromise and something could work out,</i>' Djokovic said about the All England Club.<i> 'So I think it was a wrong decision. I don't support that at all.' </i>Seven-time Grand Slam winner McEnroe also said the tournament's organisers made a 'mistake'. 'I think it was a mistake by Wimbledon to do what they did in the first place, kicking out the Russians and Belarusians,' he said.</p><div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0XUUFaksthYNPf9bkbfbI3TlJjTC5pW1nVb5sX7DILyCdX40DdJl68uY6fLS_2xNJNjMoGhSfMQMq-mY_6bbDB9IOQ23en0D1v0gjPQRopFwEC6jlMLadmInMXP4g9AesCFDEDxD04XdtttPcvYv1P-ODo0IjvNPASE3mDPSMbuR9-Ho577XD7sCxw/s1200/FTRL4RtWYAAqjR6.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0XUUFaksthYNPf9bkbfbI3TlJjTC5pW1nVb5sX7DILyCdX40DdJl68uY6fLS_2xNJNjMoGhSfMQMq-mY_6bbDB9IOQ23en0D1v0gjPQRopFwEC6jlMLadmInMXP4g9AesCFDEDxD04XdtttPcvYv1P-ODo0IjvNPASE3mDPSMbuR9-Ho577XD7sCxw/w256-h400/FTRL4RtWYAAqjR6.jpg" width="256" /></a>Wimbledon responded by expressing its 'deep disappointment', adding: <i>'We believe these decisions to be disproportionate in the context of the exceptional and extreme circumstances of this situation. We remain unwilling to accept success at Wimbledon being used to benefit the propaganda machine of the Russian regime.’ </i>Yeh sure... I think Wimbledon should stick to the overall sport ethics. In sport especially, one should not be discriminating against innocent people, simply because of their passport or the country they were born in. Many players including Medvedev don't even live in Russia, they all live in Monte Carlo! And they have never supported the war in Ukraine. Tennis players play as individuals, not for their countries. It's not the Olympics. And their place of birth is not a choice. The Russians even play under neutral flag, instead of the Russian one! No-one particularly cares that Usain Bolt is Jamaican or that Michael Phelps is American. The fact they are going to exclude the World No.2 because his country (which is not even a democracy so the people literally have no say) decided to self-destruct, makes no sense to me. The Wimbledon decision is completely unfair. It basically comes down to guilty by association. Many people do not understand that if this 'collective guilt' thing is applicable (by whim) it can be used against YOU as well in the future. As they say: 'the path to hell is paved with good intentions', but that lesson seems to be largely forgotten by each generation, thinking it is historically exceptional. And Djokovic has principles. He spoke out when he was banned from the Aussie Open. And he showed he has principles by speaking our for his banned competitors now. Frankly, it is just more empty virtue-signalling from countries and clubs that never banned players from South Africa during apartheid, and who take money from regimes like Saudi Arabia. Can't you remember all the cancellations at the Baghdad open? Remember Iraq? Libya? Did Wimbledon ban American and British players during that unethical, illegal war? No. That war launched by the west had in essence the same impact on the civilian population. Ban Russian players but still ok to buy Russian gas.... Don't get me wrong, I think Putin's actions are evil, but we can't operate a double standard here. Politics has no place in sport. The ATP are correct in their actions. Ranking points aside, the majors are where the big money is made for players and nobody complained when Wimbledon shut down completely in 2020 and cashed in themselves on pandemic insurance money.<i><br /></i></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga7hwtnRaHwO3Sa7UR85PUAzqXTbi_ZA-_Fief5P-cgy2KMknIMt9ng8ZcPQHYNTj3CZlOLlfIrY2jdaU8xI6LiAbqKLZu_JQ85korEh2cy8xhEau04JPr16OOu-GCga-jEv-aZQLNZJy7pnslLu1BtpfYMDvNOFb3b-RmYlrNtmHFikpKD1VK2pFaWQ/s1200/No-ranking-points-at-Wimbledon-What-Djokovic-Medvedev-Osaka-1200x675.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga7hwtnRaHwO3Sa7UR85PUAzqXTbi_ZA-_Fief5P-cgy2KMknIMt9ng8ZcPQHYNTj3CZlOLlfIrY2jdaU8xI6LiAbqKLZu_JQ85korEh2cy8xhEau04JPr16OOu-GCga-jEv-aZQLNZJy7pnslLu1BtpfYMDvNOFb3b-RmYlrNtmHFikpKD1VK2pFaWQ/w522-h294/No-ranking-points-at-Wimbledon-What-Djokovic-Medvedev-Osaka-1200x675.jpg" width="522" /></a>Some people, I read, want Marxist-type of public denouncements of such players. The whole "if you do not openly condemn it, then you are endorsing it" nonsense. But realistically (and aside from the ridiculous regressiveness of such a move), these Russian players cannot realistically just come out and say they are against the war, because of family and friends still living back in Russia, not to mention that when they retire they will most likely head back there themselves. Sport is entertainment. Sadly, in part, more and more sports people have forgotten that and use it as a platform for whatever views they may have cultivated or been forced upon. There is no place for discrimination in sport. Be it on ethnic, xenophobic, religious, orientation or whatever grounds. Wimbledon's unbelievable action of banning these players will completely devalue their tournament. As I said: these players don't even play under the Russian/Belarusian flag, they don't even live in these countries - they just happen to have been born in those countries - banning them is the most perverse action Wimbledon has ever taken in its history and could actually end up with the tournament losing its Grand Slam status if they aren't careful. Wimbledon has spinelessly pandered to a public moral crusade, in a way that doesn't make a blind bit of difference to Putin, but does abuse the human rights of dedicated professional athletes who have nothing to do with wars. I believe that in their scrambling to appear woke and politically correct, Wimbledon has missed the mark, broke an ethical sports code and also severely damaged their brand. Or is discrimination allowed when it suits the narrative? Keep politics out of sport.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div></div></div></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">April 28th, 2022</span></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfrpjJXOI4xQ6EpSW937bjsl2AZed_zdYY0oO2VsnBvicZZnGnZJkItAoldqNkz-THArrrsi7ScJTzvH5ozeWu105ur-YFUEOvUPSPiozVVz3mE5fvrHWjpqzSKLeFcVEjIOsLx3-8eAKe8lrXT3eevyrWoMAPvzf5boMi3QHXPdK0xTLIGg_2qEEy_g/s278/download.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="181" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfrpjJXOI4xQ6EpSW937bjsl2AZed_zdYY0oO2VsnBvicZZnGnZJkItAoldqNkz-THArrrsi7ScJTzvH5ozeWu105ur-YFUEOvUPSPiozVVz3mE5fvrHWjpqzSKLeFcVEjIOsLx3-8eAKe8lrXT3eevyrWoMAPvzf5boMi3QHXPdK0xTLIGg_2qEEy_g/w256-h393/download.jpg" width="256" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRg6MlY7Ws4qUCncKt2ETwQh15j0Bhnd1Vq4DJy1yLZicIhK-oHvn8n90or1ZmXfz7kL_pkMS0hVLKBmknG4oKgUP3taKL5Q5_qZmtLMQj-FxVbkJIeDtj6BDYL7gY3VwIREfqFwnM7zfK2hM2TjvRW8_9OwiCb7BRUd754Jvu1nMpR3QtbKYdLm-mtg/s902/yuval3.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="792" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRg6MlY7Ws4qUCncKt2ETwQh15j0Bhnd1Vq4DJy1yLZicIhK-oHvn8n90or1ZmXfz7kL_pkMS0hVLKBmknG4oKgUP3taKL5Q5_qZmtLMQj-FxVbkJIeDtj6BDYL7gY3VwIREfqFwnM7zfK2hM2TjvRW8_9OwiCb7BRUd754Jvu1nMpR3QtbKYdLm-mtg/w257-h293/yuval3.jpg" width="257" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Homo Deus, from Yuval Noah Harari</span></b><br />I really enjoy audio reading this book by Yuval Harari, and uploaded the audiobook in the <b><a href="https://hallodaarbenikweer.blogspot.com/2022/04/book.html" target="_blank">below link</a></b> for you, in case you are also interested. He is a historian and got a lot of fame from his book <i>Homo Sapiens</i>, and this is the second one, <i>Homo Deus</i>. You can read this book all on its own, and do not need to have read <b><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMuXyXh84B0" target="_blank">Homo Sapiens</a></i></b> first. <i>Homo Deus</i> looks back on our history but only shortly, and then moves on to explain modern history and makes predications for the future then. It is a great listen, even though I may not agree with 100% everything. The first topics and chapter about health care and pandemic control sounded a little bit outdated for instance, with the covid pandemic that happened since (he wrote this book in 2016 and made it sound like big pandemics are a thing of the past). Plus he also repeats himself a bit in these very first chapters. But then the rest of the book was really very enjoyable and interesting. Overall it is like a massive, engaging university lecture and I thought it thought-provoking. He moves to world religions versus humanism and how modernity changed the world. Harari also delves into historic warfare, then goes onto capitalism versus socialism and liberalism, and then onto the future for us homo sapiens. <br /><br />I don't always understand why he calls communists like Mao for instance 'socialists', but voila. That is a difference of definition perhaps. He uses often easy to follow arguments and examples, but keeps it all interesting. I never got bored from listening to this. Some ah ha moments were for me when he explained the difference in world view and sense of meaning between a traditional religious person and a humanist. It makes me understand this modern quest for ongoing experiences better. A religious friend of mine was fuming because of the assumed contempt from the author for religion, but I didn't read it like that at all. More like an intellectual historical take on the function which religion used to have in societies and how these functions have by now been taken over by other ideologies and technological advancement, for a good part. And how things have changed throughout history. Although I suspect he the author is an atheist and there is some bias there in the way he treats these topics. <br /><br />He in the end tries to make informed predictions about the future, but of course they are just that; predictions. I think this 3rd, last part of the book is most interesting to a lot of readers, although I liked the second part also (how homo sapiens gave meaning to their world until now). The author roots his ‘predictions’ for the future in present trends, which he in turn explains by looking at how humankind came to be. He also dissects the concept of 'free will' in humans and corrects it based on new scientific findings in the field of brain- and neuroscience. Not a lot of what he predicts sounds too far off to me, tbh. For instance: Harari explains that even today already, a lot of specialty fields work with robots and algorithms. Doctors for instance already use algorithms to double check their analysis of X-ray photos and MRI scans, as the algorithms consistently detect smaller tumors which human doctors at times overlook. During the corona pandemic we all experienced just how difficult it can be to make a face to face appointment with a GP. Harari predicts that in the future, robots will take over the work of GP's for a good part (if not altogether), as they rely on comprehensive algorithms which much more reliably connect symptoms of the patient with the correct ailment diagnosis. He names an example where these algorithms picked up 90% of undiagnosed lung cancer patients, based on their comprehensive symptoms, compared to only a shocking 50% among actual GP's. Robot doctors are not just thorough and easily updated with the latest information and scientific discoveries, they also are never sick, work 24/7 and are always available. The only thing they miss is emotion. But Harari says that, like in call centres, the algorithms already can easily detect in patients or clients what personality type they are and in what sort of psychological state they are, hence attaching the right emotional approach to them. One person prefers a matter of fact like approach, the other needs kind reassurance and patience. Harari also explains that the same super intelligent robots will soon be able to do part of the work of lawyers, going through case precedents in seconds, where it could take a human lawyer years to go through all previous cases of interest. Scientists can already see through brain imagery if a person tells the truth or lies. This will be further used in the practicality of court cases in the future. And modern day armies already consist of a smaller group of military specialists who use powerful weapons. They days of the first two great World Wars, with millions of humans serving as canon fodder in the trenches, are gone. In the future, wars will increasingly be fought by robots or weaponry which only requires a person pushing a button. This all makes you wonder about the future of mankind, and the role in which the individual human beings are left to play in it. So this was all very interesting, in the 3rd part of this book. A lot of extremely plausible predictions are made about our future and the implications therein. All in the quest of immortality, divinity and happiness. I think that if you stick through this, it will be one of the best history classes, sociology courses and future predictions you'll ever had 😀 <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">You can find the English audiobook version <a href="https://hallodaarbenikweer.blogspot.com/2022/04/book.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></b></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMS2y7eQ6sxnJoft1Zg4l61LjfSwKb8RymvvpMSybO9Yg-sQtgo00a0_7125u11ElXhUkSxuIAcQ0LqKrd_z2B-HEVgfPtUFJPk9lsh5mBajLFn7ImZ9f-E-84vyBrSWm5o6KVm-zr1zXAlCmsnBcG24riGYapXM3fa4D-ftOclboZu_T10MNwupwpTw/s1080/272019735_357046819216122_5836587606197560726_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMS2y7eQ6sxnJoft1Zg4l61LjfSwKb8RymvvpMSybO9Yg-sQtgo00a0_7125u11ElXhUkSxuIAcQ0LqKrd_z2B-HEVgfPtUFJPk9lsh5mBajLFn7ImZ9f-E-84vyBrSWm5o6KVm-zr1zXAlCmsnBcG24riGYapXM3fa4D-ftOclboZu_T10MNwupwpTw/w331-h331/272019735_357046819216122_5836587606197560726_n.jpg" width="331" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DwxJymzgj4Sg_KnRNlJQ9rzhe0BkO6kSGYecYN7CELyx26w8YbBFY3OJI8Ujjv04UdtsKl04ghN6scX21oE-BA0VJrJtpz8xQ2eNMswCwAPy1aMeB8PJRF6QrYE_dUFJedC4AD75GfgYlMcXocQYGK9FZkhWRqiNTJqEnvo5ElFtfKYYGGK0iO-HaQ/s965/FO4_2HHWYAItb6l.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="965" data-original-width="736" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DwxJymzgj4Sg_KnRNlJQ9rzhe0BkO6kSGYecYN7CELyx26w8YbBFY3OJI8Ujjv04UdtsKl04ghN6scX21oE-BA0VJrJtpz8xQ2eNMswCwAPy1aMeB8PJRF6QrYE_dUFJedC4AD75GfgYlMcXocQYGK9FZkhWRqiNTJqEnvo5ElFtfKYYGGK0iO-HaQ/w253-h332/FO4_2HHWYAItb6l.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQW6QjkgRyIE87iO0J2IKaENjA9SG3f8S14q-8wSZ5npZ4_AYf2TmFPNV_DH8aFUj3IhpYzytROhnsE1L5K0RpUwQePmHea470hFcqfMJKGYDj5YYjXElCtBY3acWU_Thn1L6n3nAe8VgLGkc1iWl87qAQjB4pZ64sy71tTRz7SL9OhChZMCPR_-TPA/s2048/FB_IMG_1611001901884.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQW6QjkgRyIE87iO0J2IKaENjA9SG3f8S14q-8wSZ5npZ4_AYf2TmFPNV_DH8aFUj3IhpYzytROhnsE1L5K0RpUwQePmHea470hFcqfMJKGYDj5YYjXElCtBY3acWU_Thn1L6n3nAe8VgLGkc1iWl87qAQjB4pZ64sy71tTRz7SL9OhChZMCPR_-TPA/s320/FB_IMG_1611001901884.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Cycle tour through home town</b></span></div><div><div class="elementToProof" style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span color="inherit" style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="elementToProof" style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">A </span><span style="color: #222222;">friend from Australia asked me for some time ago to make a video there, to show what that town is like. So I made one last week. It is not very refined whatsoever, as I just held a tablet with a running video in one hand in front of me, haha. But maybe you like to see it. I live in a ground apartment in the town centre and I went on a bike ride to show you some parts of town. </span>It is a decent sized city and very busy, with lots of students as we have a big university. <span style="color: #222222;">The city also</span> has many outer neighbourhoods. The NL are pretty densely populated. Haren is a posh village outside of town where my mum lives. I show the road to there as well, as it has some very pretty houses.</span></div><div class="elementToProof" style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="459" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AbObOVTOsbg" width="552" youtube-src-id="AbObOVTOsbg"></iframe></div><br /><div class="elementToProof" style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></span></div><div class="elementToProof" style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="elementToProof" style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><div style="color: #222222;"><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWX-vHReJoN_GFeGF1CjHhkmEn9UTijZ4oqzeZu924DwyzH0bAHY_RPopwyJ9YDE48JrUSQxNFKuwU2I2CruIEH-r0m74BrYoVoxux6Akw3VicvgKjusg174BlemKcuRNmVyleC-c4akMmQo_6Rzeo6DFtNWSpnzadImzXNFWJk5PGM76LiGGvGYASg/s924/aggressive-chi-1024x1024.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="924" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWX-vHReJoN_GFeGF1CjHhkmEn9UTijZ4oqzeZu924DwyzH0bAHY_RPopwyJ9YDE48JrUSQxNFKuwU2I2CruIEH-r0m74BrYoVoxux6Akw3VicvgKjusg174BlemKcuRNmVyleC-c4akMmQo_6Rzeo6DFtNWSpnzadImzXNFWJk5PGM76LiGGvGYASg/w325-h325/aggressive-chi-1024x1024.jpg" width="325" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7pIkP_cC_KMA8OuUHDjoa_2ypSXI0vdMM5ximGFVlTOOnc3R910LUi9CtcGeQpOWn72r4OHL-UQuIfFlUUmGAlYziI80C6bFi89YNviqSw_gfWgaEvKuAC-EbyldEeEKUwpGvoWuENq08mYFnM8JIhl0X2A2AEItCN5YXxG7zyd7n6y0XwgzcRlpixw/s275/download%20(1).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7pIkP_cC_KMA8OuUHDjoa_2ypSXI0vdMM5ximGFVlTOOnc3R910LUi9CtcGeQpOWn72r4OHL-UQuIfFlUUmGAlYziI80C6bFi89YNviqSw_gfWgaEvKuAC-EbyldEeEKUwpGvoWuENq08mYFnM8JIhl0X2A2AEItCN5YXxG7zyd7n6y0XwgzcRlpixw/w325-h216/download%20(1).jpg" width="325" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHS1mqaMeRVNxd2BwYbGTNHHcDf_Z-ooClKgZcERT2yO9S7PZUmFNVmZj-9oERv_a2PHvDxHqRJoLIN_wMOUyHnQ-zM4gP0m0XfHN1hC-bQ5lrfTopaK-aAVCtYRLjSUvc2BUVflTrHhbCZel6l4ZHowx-b6ejaAM5V5nU4Bbc-GkDmew2VM5yvaorA/s276/download%20(2).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="276" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHS1mqaMeRVNxd2BwYbGTNHHcDf_Z-ooClKgZcERT2yO9S7PZUmFNVmZj-9oERv_a2PHvDxHqRJoLIN_wMOUyHnQ-zM4gP0m0XfHN1hC-bQ5lrfTopaK-aAVCtYRLjSUvc2BUVflTrHhbCZel6l4ZHowx-b6ejaAM5V5nU4Bbc-GkDmew2VM5yvaorA/w325-h214/download%20(2).jpg" width="325" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Chihuahua laughs</span></b><br /><span style="color: #222222;">Oh and this made me chuckle. I do love animals and particularly cats, donkeys, geese and dogs. But I read <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10651235/Cotswold-town-terrorised-two-CHIHAUHAUS.html" target="_blank">this</a></b> article and had to laugh about some of the comments below it. Chihuahua's are these pint-sized dogs that are often carried around in handbags. They can look very cute, but apparently have a bit of a reputation for snarling and yapping haha. So in this article, one specific chihuahua dog is described as the local hooligan. See some of the comments: <br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">-"I love dogs and have two of my own but I have never met a Chihuahua that wasn't a psychotic bundle of rage and hate."</span></div><div style="color: #222222;">-"They suffer from Small Dog syndrome."</div><div style="color: #222222;">-"They're pit bulls in a tiny body. Thank goodness they're small or it would be carnage."</div><div style="color: #222222;">-"These wee doggies are lovely to look at but beware! They either like you or don't like you and they have a nasty way of letting you know the latter."</div><div style="color: #222222;">-"Set em on Rasputin."</div><div style="color: #222222;">-"They are vicious one attacked my poor Rottweiler she's been frightened of them ever since. Get you right round the ankles.."</div><div style="color: #222222;">-"My fella's mate has one and it's a devil of an animal!"</div><div style="color: #222222;">-"They are just yappy bullies. My own, much larger, dog is terrified of them."<br />-"I had one, and it was also known as the village hooligan."</div><div style="color: #222222;">-"I only called to deliver a plant to a lady recently bereaved and her Chihuahua leapt out and fastened it's teeth in the back of my leg without any warning."</div><div style="color: #222222;">-"Can well believe it, my neighbour has one and it has to be the devil in dog form! It even goes for it's owner! She's struggling to find a dog Walker - can't imagine why!"</div><div style="color: #222222;">-"I've had 2 chihuahuas, and they can certainly be fiesty - what they lack in size, they're sure make up for in attitude! They should be on a leash in public."</div><div style="color: #222222;">-"I find any dog that is below a foot tall likes to have a go at anything and everything. I got mauled by a Pomeranian whilst out for a walk the other day!"</div><div style="color: #222222;">-"They are yapping little ferrets. Always yapping and snarling."</div><div style="color: #222222;">-"I have one and it's a drama queen!"</div><div style="color: #222222;">-"Believe it or not Chihuahuas are on the list of most aggressive dogs and most likely to bite. My boy was a 1.9 kilo terrorist."</div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="467" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ftq0TQU3SQc" width="562" youtube-src-id="ftq0TQU3SQc"></iframe></div><div style="color: #222222;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">But then I have to admit that my cats are spoiled little yappy monsters as well 😂</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZbUnFv_CpFLEZ3TUkkagNq8QJl1hjqx2HAmy7nFg9NkcJ0JMwlVw-YNW5g_oHlJuqCBQ7twnmWUXTy6_kilLUFVljzPAIBWQTw7L-L6m1CsyAkRu8XedZyt-Af20L0ww_NxAxatQ_nGs02D_U8dyVQlc8eHRT817yH89yPTLc9rUL8tvql_LgrhBsXQ/s3264/BeFunky-collage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="3264" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZbUnFv_CpFLEZ3TUkkagNq8QJl1hjqx2HAmy7nFg9NkcJ0JMwlVw-YNW5g_oHlJuqCBQ7twnmWUXTy6_kilLUFVljzPAIBWQTw7L-L6m1CsyAkRu8XedZyt-Af20L0ww_NxAxatQ_nGs02D_U8dyVQlc8eHRT817yH89yPTLc9rUL8tvql_LgrhBsXQ/w500-h500/BeFunky-collage.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Travel show</span></b><br />I also love watching the odd travel show. After The Amazing Race's forelast disappointing season 32, where very unsympathetic glory hunting backstabbing teams pretty much ruined everything, I may go back to the latest season 33, but for now discovered a British travel show, where teams have to make it through a continent with a limited budget, but without too many show manipulation elements. It's called Race Across the World, and so far I really like it. Episode one of the second season is added below. (To avoid the annoying advertisements, disable your Ad-Blocker to get this DailyMotion video started, then enable the Ad-Blocker again right away once the video itself is running).<br /><br /></div><div style="height: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 56.25%; position: relative;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="90%" src="https://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x7t1w14" style="height: 90%; left: 0px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 90%;" type="text/html" width="90%"> </iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">Wimbledon</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaug7PUFilIUE0bdqn2RqlG0Lhehx-HLsxbgtFGi-ijGX0hIrX6_QmASFjjSAYcKGU1xQP8UIUjM1h2BcKad6eScA9e84BkZ3AcHzHlsnIIvYuz4CRu-9pVZwZSHfbha5inaGEbYC4Yt7yFqxxbGAq07xvjD5TmXe3tkNDNiwPZXIMVGwqYu2hZkVo3g/s1803/Danill_Medvedev_Miami_2019.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1803" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaug7PUFilIUE0bdqn2RqlG0Lhehx-HLsxbgtFGi-ijGX0hIrX6_QmASFjjSAYcKGU1xQP8UIUjM1h2BcKad6eScA9e84BkZ3AcHzHlsnIIvYuz4CRu-9pVZwZSHfbha5inaGEbYC4Yt7yFqxxbGAq07xvjD5TmXe3tkNDNiwPZXIMVGwqYu2hZkVo3g/s320/Danill_Medvedev_Miami_2019.jpg" width="213" /></a>Am also annoyed with Wimbledon banishing Russian and Belarusian tennis players from the tournament. Supporting Ukraine is obvious, but this, to me, is cancel culture going mad, again. I'm a Medvedev fan so well.. But in general, since when are sportspeople lifted out of tournaments due to their native nation's wars? Mixing politics and sport..... Hypocrisy and virtue signalling. Why should a player like no. 2 Medvedev be banned just for being Russian? Would Wimbledon ban any professional Saudi player if there was one, on the bases of the Yemen war? Of course not because that's more than tolerated by the West, despite longer suffering there. I also don't recall UK and US players being banned at the time of that illegal invasion of Iraq by Blair and Bush... Chinese players are also still allowed. How is Medvedev in any way responsible for the war in Ukraine? Are we heading towards Chinese Communists scenes soon here in the West, where players like him have to show repentance on live TV, disowning their homeland or something? First the Djokovic vaccination soap in Australia, now this. And I won't even start on recently transitioned males winning medals in women's sport. Anyway, I think it's unfair for Meddy but well, the UK makes its own rules. </div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkPuKR-yZ8QPfCS_M4Tj5y2HJjxnrkzOzN3_xxirqFH8XvUVFd6vjtqDLFBIHSRf_yJRKtAP1LTWOIgVRVWiyQlgFjx6C67GyA1-laFR3Ym6hxNq8HWYqOhBkf0vTlphPIkzMe9fHeO-pnD64MXtnQq6C9A8SgnTJ4o7yp3vPeG4sqzsg8PIYJwqrV6Q/s500/756487330321439.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="500" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkPuKR-yZ8QPfCS_M4Tj5y2HJjxnrkzOzN3_xxirqFH8XvUVFd6vjtqDLFBIHSRf_yJRKtAP1LTWOIgVRVWiyQlgFjx6C67GyA1-laFR3Ym6hxNq8HWYqOhBkf0vTlphPIkzMe9fHeO-pnD64MXtnQq6C9A8SgnTJ4o7yp3vPeG4sqzsg8PIYJwqrV6Q/w610-h381/756487330321439.jpg" width="610" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPVLR_dZ6cTfflGAalNI7pQMakoWfFy5RbAu1TV5Pj-mnBxxK6JqchdEzigIg9bKSXFJ6PfAU8qaL8RBVoyf93esuyoKB1mRb_1Ra3_Z1dYERETg7C2QoThcR47ZpEJRM5HdcjYNeq2tkk8-2sraiHUFlE7wARld2FDqNX7QIPirfvFlgXdRsBdQ_UgA/s965/FQd9ukHWYAE1o-f.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="965" data-original-width="798" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPVLR_dZ6cTfflGAalNI7pQMakoWfFy5RbAu1TV5Pj-mnBxxK6JqchdEzigIg9bKSXFJ6PfAU8qaL8RBVoyf93esuyoKB1mRb_1Ra3_Z1dYERETg7C2QoThcR47ZpEJRM5HdcjYNeq2tkk8-2sraiHUFlE7wARld2FDqNX7QIPirfvFlgXdRsBdQ_UgA/s320/FQd9ukHWYAE1o-f.jpg" width="265" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgt4Y6GcJrGjYnGHwUaRzQfDjlml7HO0_aIARyz3jF0u6j8HpSkvm-ETn7pwKhATiyelxGVzMYhw3BkDkg-DUkDDlrMYLECydH_xHRfW7w9o6Zzshom6awefmEWVYGqTa6YpWZlHYwchTnl34lkLMVXhxxvML3DsSsUZPMopadjMKCDMYnuraIxaCKowQ=s2848" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgt4Y6GcJrGjYnGHwUaRzQfDjlml7HO0_aIARyz3jF0u6j8HpSkvm-ETn7pwKhATiyelxGVzMYhw3BkDkg-DUkDDlrMYLECydH_xHRfW7w9o6Zzshom6awefmEWVYGqTa6YpWZlHYwchTnl34lkLMVXhxxvML3DsSsUZPMopadjMKCDMYnuraIxaCKowQ=s320" width="225" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBoS4SDTMYmeQoNGeQRgV59lE0_tLMB-lXczuyZdc7YOVXtNnr4t0hBpw6XKldk5Pm7_7Bzb7UaFayXRFsGdrQVz_-BhNGkGfe1eNJ0taJSqjx7drSxrS11ymgUBkZBL0FG8yjMjHDx83vvEMK2RJgpHHplL3-iv2Cn3zmbtZlFriVo9Jt1FWxhtzIXg=s2000" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1252" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBoS4SDTMYmeQoNGeQRgV59lE0_tLMB-lXczuyZdc7YOVXtNnr4t0hBpw6XKldk5Pm7_7Bzb7UaFayXRFsGdrQVz_-BhNGkGfe1eNJ0taJSqjx7drSxrS11ymgUBkZBL0FG8yjMjHDx83vvEMK2RJgpHHplL3-iv2Cn3zmbtZlFriVo9Jt1FWxhtzIXg=w512-h320" width="512" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6Nhylxu6zsQh3wzF3DFSWDQLhWQMn8n3AlDd6LBa1ywU99atiDZx-KWQD8EbBgqJYHzgkNk4hF18RrWdw7HbAsC-dSF1p3FCQuhLcgDB5RoB2B2mJgiLlQYGn-9ebpqrr0Q3ZOVh1O7koSpQEDUJyi0OvMZMMBOjgQ-cKqw76kUsL_3xQVNtAfy99Q/s862/spot%20on.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="862" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6Nhylxu6zsQh3wzF3DFSWDQLhWQMn8n3AlDd6LBa1ywU99atiDZx-KWQD8EbBgqJYHzgkNk4hF18RrWdw7HbAsC-dSF1p3FCQuhLcgDB5RoB2B2mJgiLlQYGn-9ebpqrr0Q3ZOVh1O7koSpQEDUJyi0OvMZMMBOjgQ-cKqw76kUsL_3xQVNtAfy99Q/w513-h309/spot%20on.png" width="513" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #222222;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Song of the day</span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="521" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m4yFmRNcX3I" width="626" youtube-src-id="m4yFmRNcX3I"></iframe> </div><div><br /></div></div></span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><br /><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">April</span></b><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"> 9th,</span></b><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> 2022</span><br /><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="526" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p-c2eUltH58" width="633" youtube-src-id="p-c2eUltH58"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhToiwkvikeY1_Kx4PLZaeOsQtToJeW9vlGWiO7CjC4hKUdzs__QBO6o3vnv2H0sk5o8ddx3zgb8yLmjBpO5fm1XnjBJG3dBJ_wU3XkKdmDN2Ng3bAx0SFoUyd47jodgZSyGwf9BnAe5_s5j4ZVW3u2YicOETkptgjZiOq69jZQNddDXRYnBkvNyGyCUg/s806/willsmith.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="806" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhToiwkvikeY1_Kx4PLZaeOsQtToJeW9vlGWiO7CjC4hKUdzs__QBO6o3vnv2H0sk5o8ddx3zgb8yLmjBpO5fm1XnjBJG3dBJ_wU3XkKdmDN2Ng3bAx0SFoUyd47jodgZSyGwf9BnAe5_s5j4ZVW3u2YicOETkptgjZiOq69jZQNddDXRYnBkvNyGyCUg/w477-h301/willsmith.jpg" width="477" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq35lmpDdOkWipRaZX3he3uHfxBOUjg5VmF4C1L7xd4Hkd9gCxm_fZhYzYb2OaNFByHnmNNsktgAVVxzYIP_las6jWolAjOrWMbxBnFD3HhzC1uc42n7jqX97dNHwFbY7cxbNXTj1wi4nMyvB6hGWRsuMgqFX0RbHg6PJxl4Dga2A_2jJ1KZo-C8P1uQ/s1204/will2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="1204" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq35lmpDdOkWipRaZX3he3uHfxBOUjg5VmF4C1L7xd4Hkd9gCxm_fZhYzYb2OaNFByHnmNNsktgAVVxzYIP_las6jWolAjOrWMbxBnFD3HhzC1uc42n7jqX97dNHwFbY7cxbNXTj1wi4nMyvB6hGWRsuMgqFX0RbHg6PJxl4Dga2A_2jJ1KZo-C8P1uQ/w477-h327/will2.jpg" width="477" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">March</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"> 31st,</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"> 2022</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Below I add an insightful, entertaining and true video about the erosion of Hollywood celebrity. Now more so than ever, after that ghastly last Oscar disaster, with an Academy unwilling or unable to remove a rogue actor who physically assaulted a comedian live on stage, for the world to see, and an audience of Hollywood actors so spineless and hypocritical that they <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVvgCMZSkyw&t=33s" target="_blank">cheered</a></b> and stood up to applaud the offender when he picked up his gong. He <b><a href="https://youtu.be/mZLsn4VKOss?t=108" target="_blank">apologized to everyone BUT Chris Rock</a></b>, and the celebs forgot all about their usual PR-infused 'be kind' mantra's and roared like he just won a boxing match. Given a hero's treatment for violently destroying a man's integrity for a job he was supposed to do. It was baffling. And so much limelight was also stolen from the winners that night, who nobody talks about now due to his disruption of the event. Then he partied the night away without a care, before his management gave him a reality check the next morning and churned out a meek apology post on social media. There were no consequences, the actor was not escorted out of the venue, he got his airtime (casting himself as <i>a proud protector of his family</i>, while apologising to the Academy but <u>not</u> to Rock) he got his standing ovations and his applause. He also got his hugs and comforts, by people like Denzel Washington and that wet sleazeball Bradley Cooper, smiling with Will and consoling him as if he was the wronged party, while Chris Rock just stood there alone in bewilderment. And to make things even more bizarre; Will Smith is seen on camera heartily laughing about the joke initially. Until he saw the cold disapproval on wife Jada Pinkett's face, and then he went ballistic and turned reactionary out of the blue, with Jada pictured bending over laughing after the attack. Interesting that the Smiths think that a verbal joke isn't funny, but physical assault is. Smiths vulgar, repeated and hated filled profanity after the slap was just as shocking. So much woke talk about privilege this and privilege that, but the people with the true privilege, the multimillionaire celebrities, have the arrogance to whack someone in the face on live TV, smirk while walking back, shout some more profanities while sitting in his chair like the Godfather, believing he stands above any rules. And the Academy committee and the actors in the audience proved him right. It was utterly absurd TV. Like Jim Carrey <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd9qrDtXq0E" target="_blank">said</a></b> later about the incident: <i>"I was sickened. I was sickened by the standing ovation. I felt like Hollywood is just spineless, on masse. And it really felt like, oh this is a really clear indication that we're not the cool club anymore."</i> About Chris Rock not filing charges, Jim Carrey said:<i> "He doesn't want the hassle. I'd have announced this morning that I was suing Will for 200 millions dollars, because that video is going to be there for ever. It's going to be ubiquitous." "You do not have the right to walk up on the stage and smack somebody in the face because they said words." </i>And comedian Wanda Sykes, who co-hosted the Oscars of 2022, <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MB67RZ0C1Q" target="_blank">told Ellen Degeneres</a></b>: <i>"It was sickening. It was absolutely... I physically felt ill. And I'm still a little traumatised by it. And for them to let him stay in that room. And enjoy the rest of the show. And accept his award, I was like: how gross is this. This is just the wrong message. You assault somebody; you get escorted out the building. And that's it, you know. But for them to let him continue, I thought it was gross. I wanted to be able to run out, after he won, to say 'Uhm unfortunately Will couldn't be here tonight...'. I believe that.. we were the hosts, right. So this is our house, we're inviting you in, we're the host and we're gonna take care of you tonight. Make sure you have a good time. And nobody has apologised to us. And we worked very hard to put that show together. So I'm like, what the hell is this?"</i></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i>"Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right"<br /></i>- Ricky Gervais</span></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV3GKc8U6dmT4nhyyOTbEUHnHXHtiy9BBDNwyiNtRSdmCAtt1CCL95y0Y7I1wB6-0sLtxVJy7HOWR__bF8x2GQIvbugj6U9mADSrAiwnA4F3KHIY3ItX9f2eg9U_mButjWHDcKBSZN0viF8BGRHeZABntC6kGdoc2KhPMcVvrcyiFGYNeeUTlaSzo_KA/s783/will6.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="783" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV3GKc8U6dmT4nhyyOTbEUHnHXHtiy9BBDNwyiNtRSdmCAtt1CCL95y0Y7I1wB6-0sLtxVJy7HOWR__bF8x2GQIvbugj6U9mADSrAiwnA4F3KHIY3ItX9f2eg9U_mButjWHDcKBSZN0viF8BGRHeZABntC6kGdoc2KhPMcVvrcyiFGYNeeUTlaSzo_KA/s320/will6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_WOSOjBGvZrp98EbQjfkxmi9Qyy3AV1GBsUGS4RoCh4iIDR9MSY-hOXpsAviQURjeG61CKZZbWVY8w5rwNVwdGj4SJv6AHVvP2o_SPVIhcEvGT_1V_6Wj-XIAEswhH258vlInh27DbHpyALrkNqVhsy8S7ty6ySwGKGtWRb6GNJ6NUOIPqTNlAw31w/s1920/will3.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="944" data-original-width="1920" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_WOSOjBGvZrp98EbQjfkxmi9Qyy3AV1GBsUGS4RoCh4iIDR9MSY-hOXpsAviQURjeG61CKZZbWVY8w5rwNVwdGj4SJv6AHVvP2o_SPVIhcEvGT_1V_6Wj-XIAEswhH258vlInh27DbHpyALrkNqVhsy8S7ty6ySwGKGtWRb6GNJ6NUOIPqTNlAw31w/s320/will3.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimg8wMlIxwm-erwZTUUdZOwXeww_cvZeVbAlm19b0WBAX8o7lGuoW6vmtMt7wfUMTlShcYZcLFeiSTBBIg-euX14VMLZuqd2iDae5JMqUOKB0cIx3gUKWeTCjKM81VTcYo2SmfrT2ix2OWB5i6fEZuuQxKmgnHopAbMRX1UCay-vFtYGWp3cIxKzHI3w/s1920/will4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimg8wMlIxwm-erwZTUUdZOwXeww_cvZeVbAlm19b0WBAX8o7lGuoW6vmtMt7wfUMTlShcYZcLFeiSTBBIg-euX14VMLZuqd2iDae5JMqUOKB0cIx3gUKWeTCjKM81VTcYo2SmfrT2ix2OWB5i6fEZuuQxKmgnHopAbMRX1UCay-vFtYGWp3cIxKzHI3w/s320/will4.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNsrof7AisW0Xj9TuX3iYKaT3IQl7YOIBj0J4vfjI0ZlOwZeQ2Y6dOBadJqPXOIW__78VZqcm3ilchVlEwOSW-F07k7cYfajKrePJbEfCWVFsWzpAd7IxfkCnoPRlLD7JQ1mczyc-U87iJjuN9XW6K991JbsuVSNFEQaXKvjycG6fe0N9iedEMhCPh9Q/s1920/will5.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNsrof7AisW0Xj9TuX3iYKaT3IQl7YOIBj0J4vfjI0ZlOwZeQ2Y6dOBadJqPXOIW__78VZqcm3ilchVlEwOSW-F07k7cYfajKrePJbEfCWVFsWzpAd7IxfkCnoPRlLD7JQ1mczyc-U87iJjuN9XW6K991JbsuVSNFEQaXKvjycG6fe0N9iedEMhCPh9Q/s320/will5.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4VFNUfzKUsUnG7f_OMgb3WV7pliWYMD9IXbbRPhVQJwDWoinhjpEXMIBG7svDPErD9ZYUNDQ6I0X1AnF4X5Qs_2jS60AvVT4G3vIKviNmfbfZ50TPcesda43CZtlqxq4Zo922enWb7-R0fk5PQ5c6uUTBVyPYWXot7b42tjK-LMp48ybyb9rP3LsbIA/s1300/smith7.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="1300" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4VFNUfzKUsUnG7f_OMgb3WV7pliWYMD9IXbbRPhVQJwDWoinhjpEXMIBG7svDPErD9ZYUNDQ6I0X1AnF4X5Qs_2jS60AvVT4G3vIKviNmfbfZ50TPcesda43CZtlqxq4Zo922enWb7-R0fk5PQ5c6uUTBVyPYWXot7b42tjK-LMp48ybyb9rP3LsbIA/s320/smith7.jpeg" width="320" /></a>The next day, the Academy made it known that David Rubin, the president of the Academy, and CEO Dawn Hudson, díd ask Will Smith to leave the venue, soon after the incident. <i>But he refused</i>. And that was that, apparently. He stayed. And the Academy's cameras still gave him rolling full coverage during his acceptance speech. Too hot to handle for security? <i>If</i> true (and this could very well just be lies and attempts to cover their own backs): who dares to refuse to leave when asked so by the CEO and President of the Oscars? A troubled couple who feels entitled and smug and thought this was <i>their</i> night. The self-appointed King & Queen of the show. I hope they kick him out of the Academy after all this. Or that this was the last Oscar event altogether. And as for Chris, he was seriously let down by almost everybody. He looked humiliated and at a loss before an audience of "friends" and "peers" who didn't lift voice or finger in his defense, thereby appallingly taking Smith's side. You couldn't hear a single boo from the audience. A powerful actor publicly physically assaults someone, is allowed not only to remain in the theatre but receive an award and a standing ovation from his peers. Reminiscent of how they all smiled and posed and cooed over Weinstein, before others cleaned up his mess for them. And then there was the aftermath: imagine being assaulted and having the entire world try to decide if it was right... I followed some online discussions about the whole thing, and am surprised by the people making excuses for this assault. The slap may not have done much physical harm, but imagine the humiliation to have it done to you on live TV, watched by millions and seen directly in the venue by hundreds of other actors. How many kids or victims of domestic violence were traumatised from unsuspectedly witnessing this on ABC? It is just unacceptable, regardless if the joke was not well liked by <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEAk1u34b88" target="_blank">the wife</a></b>. Having a medical illness does not give people special rights to censor others or hit them in the face. If Will Smith would have had any class or wits about him, he would have used his stage to tactfully bring awareness to (Traction) Alopecia. I can't even be sure anymore about the amount of times people have joked about my red face. I don't go around with a baseball bat to get my revenge. You try to smile and explain the reasons behind the red face.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />I also don't get the whole hierarchy behind victimhood. So does Jada feeling offended about being compared to a bad ass heroine with a shaven head trump the victimhood of a Chris Rock, of whom everyone knows that he was bullied both physically mentally - and even sexually - as a teen? After all <i>he</i> has been through, is it OK to potentially traumatise him or anyone having to watch this unexpectedly during a live entertainment show, just because Will Smith is suffering from Stockholm Syndrome and had to revenge his wife's honour? Because that's what it was all about. Did that justify for Chris to be slapped by a fellow colleague and be humiliated in front of millions? <span style="text-align: center;">But as The Critical Drinker points out, these celebrity people live in a different dimension. One where they stand above the rules, and one in which the virtue signallers call for the 'cancelling' of people with the wrong political opinions, but totally protect their own or turn a blind eye if speaking out jeopardises any of their life's privileges. Expect everyone <i>but</i> Will Smith to be cancelled. He will go into some kind of 'rehab' and all will be forgiven. These actors are no role models or heroes. They are just very rich professional entertainers, and should not be taken for philosophical or political inspiration. As the Critical Drinker points out; in today's culture you hear them more than ever before however, talking or lecturing about what others should think or do. Personal political opinion is not something we heard the Hollywood heroes of the past talk much about. And for good reasons, as the public simply wants to see actors morph into characters. We don't need to know everything about their private lives, as it only distracts. Plus: familiarity breeds contempt, in this day of excessive social media. What a great analysis this is of modern day celebrity. I'll upload both the direct youtube video itself, as well as a copy. Since some videos over time disappear from youtube for all sorts of reasons, and I then forget what I posted exactly and how to replace it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="475" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l04RZVeJViI" width="572" youtube-src-id="l04RZVeJViI"></iframe></div> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="273" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W34ueQvL938" width="329" youtube-src-id="W34ueQvL938"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='319' height='265' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dygbOD_3PcOPnJMMfXf0DEnoT4IZzLPCvsKXKdmwKLrjnAG85fk31Dpz6Fe0H8f4LWPfOP_MDrMc8pZs4qBHg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdU9TB2E8FWhEQ8CZnaP1yV2pw8FRDU2leTSKtt86LkLNHaHaaEVmmwSBnwgjjrOAWN6Y9AALcs2CTox3zedN9aDJEKA9o1C1o_xRDV3drIQ6RDCQ2CLWZjLFri8ZqDva-2Xn57gJ-SoedMyexnh0m6sP4Pad3fn4IKcnXeilVMkOh1dBM6OXV_F0RA/s280/download%20(3).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="280" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdU9TB2E8FWhEQ8CZnaP1yV2pw8FRDU2leTSKtt86LkLNHaHaaEVmmwSBnwgjjrOAWN6Y9AALcs2CTox3zedN9aDJEKA9o1C1o_xRDV3drIQ6RDCQ2CLWZjLFri8ZqDva-2Xn57gJ-SoedMyexnh0m6sP4Pad3fn4IKcnXeilVMkOh1dBM6OXV_F0RA/w372-h239/download%20(3).jpg" width="372" /></a>If people accept the kind of behaviour displayed by Will Smith, then they have to be OK with other comedians getting assaulted for telling jokes that "offend" people. If we as a whole are OK with comedians getting assaulted for "offending" someone, we have to be OK with everyone else being assaulted for "offending" anyone. Which automatically means we have to be OK with "subjective offence = justified violent response". Which easily leads to the government and other structures of authority using violence to silence anyone who does not agree with them because they are "offended". Do people really not realise where this goes? It is a beacon of the developed world to have freedom of opinion. This isn't just about two celebrities or their private quarrel, this is also about public perspective, our values and where the collective wants modern culture to head towards. If this is not punished in some way, more comedians could be slapped or knocked out on stage by anyone claiming victimhood. Because that is where the whole offense thing is rooted in. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">And Chris Rock was pretty mild also in his stand up comedy that night. <br />Makes you wonder how former host Ricky Gervais made it out in one piece:<br /><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='578' height='481' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzrR8XRlkj-2YFbvN7SPs-aHFodh6XED515_Eg-RiHVVmnIELCTBFhUJhfC97KsbQQua1rR_4wwWwcATI05Bw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1gD6uPf5EWW1KNy_ZGYyJU8FhhfAv0C7Vq5rvjJbLx-rkINb8rVGr4avv4-88498c8uqHx4BlTn2JeWGo8oj6RpFu0uswcCuVRvijznd3gFFAUs9Vdz4Wnw_kcyjKI8Bti1Lx9eNuljmibcVBZymBM2l4GID4WTf5r3X7uAKda8qKRGeEYyDLwEIQKw=s3096" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3096" data-original-width="2044" height="445" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1gD6uPf5EWW1KNy_ZGYyJU8FhhfAv0C7Vq5rvjJbLx-rkINb8rVGr4avv4-88498c8uqHx4BlTn2JeWGo8oj6RpFu0uswcCuVRvijznd3gFFAUs9Vdz4Wnw_kcyjKI8Bti1Lx9eNuljmibcVBZymBM2l4GID4WTf5r3X7uAKda8qKRGeEYyDLwEIQKw=w293-h445" width="293" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOt-mLC14dX6HTZ7dsph80hvBsrP6sYKu7SgFcwYAi9_2D8-s6KcLZxtNUyot9luU9GUSDLQQx_KJHncfIaoGBKviUfaOCM-xM8L_S5679pnYiHDR3viPLQAPsZanieOg3DJrG8kMlOpGRYf9dJcqGKWBZQVCqgkgWecM3O_jh_dEdAlObzirWChhmjQ=s3132" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3132" data-original-width="2136" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOt-mLC14dX6HTZ7dsph80hvBsrP6sYKu7SgFcwYAi9_2D8-s6KcLZxtNUyot9luU9GUSDLQQx_KJHncfIaoGBKviUfaOCM-xM8L_S5679pnYiHDR3viPLQAPsZanieOg3DJrG8kMlOpGRYf9dJcqGKWBZQVCqgkgWecM3O_jh_dEdAlObzirWChhmjQ=w305-h446" width="305" /></a><br /><br /></div></div><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Something else<br /></span></b><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZkEmusCnWddkjRElbYu2rYmQ5z_sa1QoeVFSnEEN6OUyG_NSXL3SFpx4fQitnL-S9DyRUqEo-UygrAQENMzjGhpEm3hKk2FlaCsvvygK6uh9s83-0stCW4rcfLaEanOpPqYRDXEoq5F6kSSiDehQYwoycyxXt5ajfhoK8-CV8JvWaOx6XAOXyLjNGg/s830/silhouette--shadow-man--creepy-window.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="830" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZkEmusCnWddkjRElbYu2rYmQ5z_sa1QoeVFSnEEN6OUyG_NSXL3SFpx4fQitnL-S9DyRUqEo-UygrAQENMzjGhpEm3hKk2FlaCsvvygK6uh9s83-0stCW4rcfLaEanOpPqYRDXEoq5F6kSSiDehQYwoycyxXt5ajfhoK8-CV8JvWaOx6XAOXyLjNGg/w537-h302/silhouette--shadow-man--creepy-window.jpg" width="537" /></a>Something else, that had me chuckling. This is just some parody comedy, and should not be taken too seriously probably, as there are so many real problems in the world right now (as I sometimes blog about as well). But that's why it can be good for someone to mock the more extreme aspects of modern day society a bit. We can all take a good joke, right? (Except for Will and Jada). In this case, the jokes are on local politicians and law-makers. I know several friends who had or still have a very hard time of being heard by their councils. Who have trouble with violent psychotic neighbours from hell, or who are badly treated in other ways. And they just cannot seem to get through to local politicians, or be heard. Or taken seriously. One was even told that the police were too busy dealing with online 'hate crime' to look into his reported burglary. In extension, one topic I am always interested in, is the appalling way in which police handle women who are stalked. There have been dozens of high profile cases in the media, of poor women who looked for police protection against a violent, revengeful ex-partner, and who have been told time and time again that the police can do nothing of substance for them - other than installing a no contact order, which die hard stalkers do not respect. Not until the stalker commits an actual crime, and by that time it is often already too late. Gruesome murders have taken place of young women, mothers, who asked help in all the right places, but who were let down by the system. I had some sort of experience with that myself in the past and honestly think that when a woman does everything right, by the book, and still has to wait it out and look over her shoulder all the time, it is time to arm yourself in a reliable manner. I'll just leave it at that. But luckily most struggles with the authorities cover more mundane topics. Nevertheless, fighting against the faceless men in the concrete government buildings can be extremely frustrating and exhausting. That's why this man's comedy had me laughing. Thanks to my friend B. for linking me to it all. So what is the story here? This bloke, Alex Stein, gatecrashes town meetings and takes the piss. Stein said in an interview that he gatecrashes democratic city council meetings because he is sick of politicians not taking him seriously when he has legitimate issues. So he thought this gatecrashing style was the only way he could get heard. To get full attention, he steps up to discuss topics that are hot talking points in society and in the mainstream media right now, such as vaccine mandates, transgender rights in professional sports, recruiting soldiers to fight in WW3 in the "Ukraine Foreign Legion". And then he magnifies it. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but what amuses me most of all, is that the council members have to sit through it and cannot take away his democratic free speech right of a few minutes (or they KNOW they could be cancelled and sued in case he is in fact serious). And the officials don't always know whether he is serious or not, or if he is on their side or not.😅 Inventive, although a bit crude comedy. (The Plano committee must be so sick of this guy lol. Every time they hold a meeting sitting anxiously wondering when Alex Stein is going to show up & have his voice be heard... Or maybe they look forward to a bit of comedy in an otherwise boring long day).</div><div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bwaMr24Ojc8" width="320" youtube-src-id="bwaMr24Ojc8"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y__217RLXzU" width="320" youtube-src-id="Y__217RLXzU"></iframe></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="548" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-9mR36gJB6I" width="659" youtube-src-id="-9mR36gJB6I"></iframe><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">March 24th, 2022</span></b><br /><br />My friend Peter sent me these photos of an article he read about rosacea. Interesting read and am glad that the author mentioned that rosacea can be linked to an abnormal immune response to a range of factors. It highlights the common basics about rosacea, but I will add the article below anyway. Bottom line; don't call people names over their red faces, as they may be rosacea patients. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgIq0z1vBY9yYe2FKBxvIRWpkMmHRrDkHSt5CQr1ofWqgNQNEwY1rVXPOaRRxRC92wWbGWl2eJ6OwuUo4pWITMBydNBfzuiYp8msCKUZKhvkEdIs2Hz0PvKTzRLwjx4ji3P32HWSnADbl8cOqYYu4aYSK3GsTHrxPpD1GyynB5Ve7d8mXF1UNJWvL2Q/s3612/275567797_493429579085702_5287256538349164769_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3612" data-original-width="2704" height="820" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgIq0z1vBY9yYe2FKBxvIRWpkMmHRrDkHSt5CQr1ofWqgNQNEwY1rVXPOaRRxRC92wWbGWl2eJ6OwuUo4pWITMBydNBfzuiYp8msCKUZKhvkEdIs2Hz0PvKTzRLwjx4ji3P32HWSnADbl8cOqYYu4aYSK3GsTHrxPpD1GyynB5Ve7d8mXF1UNJWvL2Q/w615-h820/275567797_493429579085702_5287256538349164769_n.jpg" width="615" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFV4qSVWx1Y572TwWAl740mSjJ6RyTMyl6aPfPyWRLgHvzSkcGjphBzLECDXirgSBNFP2Gjx61Ul0Iopsm-WToAV95aeTjkqS7ufLg4zFnk37ZDazfBP7_R1RrGyZgEJEiDUKmLLbEXkx71rtXkEtk4DacTCRkH3aSpgfiGwI6BNj0T5cIzzcs0PiqNg/s3612/275613979_506625027661484_8472969961128460226_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3612" data-original-width="2704" height="820" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFV4qSVWx1Y572TwWAl740mSjJ6RyTMyl6aPfPyWRLgHvzSkcGjphBzLECDXirgSBNFP2Gjx61Ul0Iopsm-WToAV95aeTjkqS7ufLg4zFnk37ZDazfBP7_R1RrGyZgEJEiDUKmLLbEXkx71rtXkEtk4DacTCRkH3aSpgfiGwI6BNj0T5cIzzcs0PiqNg/w615-h820/275613979_506625027661484_8472969961128460226_n.jpg" width="615" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span><span><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgywTLU2i-WXKM0VIZBPx3lJ2LU4RAYNl5o35dbAt0_VlzqsJ0d6brAwWPfQVlUHm4aHYsqdDXt2B9-V8PdJaw6wUWFqSkOtd5ksk22N6DHE67-d9_qN6NMnOtqCavK3ohXVqcctn8NpkRN1XUWSFkdTV0Wbs_XDVhlrDEe6HoTl87Dcm_XEk3EgiRy0g=s1526" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1526" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgywTLU2i-WXKM0VIZBPx3lJ2LU4RAYNl5o35dbAt0_VlzqsJ0d6brAwWPfQVlUHm4aHYsqdDXt2B9-V8PdJaw6wUWFqSkOtd5ksk22N6DHE67-d9_qN6NMnOtqCavK3ohXVqcctn8NpkRN1XUWSFkdTV0Wbs_XDVhlrDEe6HoTl87Dcm_XEk3EgiRy0g=w484-h286" width="484" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">March 10th, 2022</span></b><br />Pfizer's recently published COVID-19 vaccine side-effects, produced together with BioNTech. </span></span><span><span>Despite Pfizer's wish to keep its vaccine research documents sealed and secret, a</span></span><span><span> federal judge in Texas ordered the Food and Drug Administration to make public the data it relied on to licence Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.</span><span> </span><span>When Pfizer applied for FDA approval, they were aware of almost 158,000 adverse events from their vaccine, calculated only over the first three months of use of the vaccine, and Pfizer requested these documents remain sealed for 75 years [By December of 2021, so nine months later, there were already nearly 950,000 reports of adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination in the VAERS database alone, with almost 20,000 events listed as “death.”]. </span><span>I have read the documents and have selected some serious and wildly varied side-effects that are mentioned in their now published documents, and explain if needed what the terminology means. You can read about it in a separate blog post <b><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2022/02/pfizers-recently-published-covid-19.html" target="_blank">HERE</a></b></span></span></span>👈, if you like 😊</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Song of the day</span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="495" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QP3zRBtgvJo" width="595" youtube-src-id="QP3zRBtgvJo"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"></span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">March 10th, 2022</span></span></b></div><b><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></b><span style="color: #222222;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgr3_qVOLXucfZ5Q1Ubi3_mpYXtAMNYs5kboYXl_qJFKrWBBcynoSblay9KEubPuHKrY8KK3N9UBH1zJIks6cBX0w_isPPrGtf04WKJ4qnBbAGJ1cptywWq-dLfTi1zetLnD5lKa6MzmrmBI4Ma3BdbHz_KAbsbbslJLy2wrTj1O5BAIBXoympvnVMVTQ=s924" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="924" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgr3_qVOLXucfZ5Q1Ubi3_mpYXtAMNYs5kboYXl_qJFKrWBBcynoSblay9KEubPuHKrY8KK3N9UBH1zJIks6cBX0w_isPPrGtf04WKJ4qnBbAGJ1cptywWq-dLfTi1zetLnD5lKa6MzmrmBI4Ma3BdbHz_KAbsbbslJLy2wrTj1O5BAIBXoympvnVMVTQ=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><br />NYT National Security Correspondent, Matthew Rosenberg, Pulitzer Prize winner, was caught saying some interesting things, for instance about the NYT inner culture, the aggression of the extreme left wacko's and about printing stuff that isn't necessarily true, in order to make headlines. He comes across pretty sympathetic in this video footage if you ask me; the kind of</span><span style="color: #222222;"> guy you'd wished was allowed to run the New York Times. I used to love reading that newspaper, </span><span style="color: #222222;">but nowadays it gives me allergic urticaria. So much hysteria, such extreme opinions, so biased in their reporting. </span><span style="color: #222222;">I don't read newspapers as an extension of the social media hysteria. I want to read newspapers to find some balance and some sanity in reporting, and read well informed pieces. </span><span style="color: #222222;">But those days are gone. Anyway, here is some of the footage:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9y-ClpvWnq8" width="320" youtube-src-id="9y-ClpvWnq8"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxq8C2RJR7jWkO9J1ax-SJWzEUXiSugHgtGV2jmLWChorD06E_mV5ddQul26QqfmVIsU4D19anlZ3nqy47qdw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Rosenberg seems blatantly honest and seems a lot less leftist wacky than some of the others, writing for the NYT. Just goes to show that they know often that they are writing garbage, but do so anyway. I knew there was a Marxist overtake there, with über-woke, navel-gazing writers, but he just confirms it. These people are not always out for real news reporting; they are also opinion makers, pushing their personal, elitist, 'neurotic' views on the world. Or pandering to the opinions of their 'rich', 'elite' readers, as Rosenberg puts it himself. Or the message of people in power. We knew this, but it is interesting when someone with the stature of this journalist confirms it. As a result though, barely anyone subscribes and pays for the NYT anymore. Their reputation is down the drain (and he knows it), just like barely anyone seriously watches CNN and cronies anymore. And I am a left wing voter! Just getting sick and tired of the extremists in the media. In another video, Rosenberg also <b><a href="https://youtu.be/p0WYUbl6zn8?t=33" target="_blank">acknowledges</a></b> that there were "a ton of FBI informants among the people who attacked the Capitol", on Juanary 6th 2021. He did not report on that in his NYT articles, however. Not wise to brag about such a thing in public, if it is supposed to stay a secret. He also talks about sources the NYT has within the CIA and the NSI. So anyway, interesting footage. I like the guy, but I think he will most likely be ditched by the newspaper after this. When he was later <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ-tzrwgNFQ" target="_blank">confronted</a></b> about the tapes by James O'Keefe, he felt busted and wished to no longer talk about it. What a shame. Secret undercover taping someone in an apparent honey trap is not the most chic thing, but then again: these journalists shove one PC opinion down our throats, but privately appear to think totally different about it. How disingenuous. And as Rosenberg himself said in one of the tapes: <i>"Like, I'll overhear a conversation and like, look, if you're talking in public, it's fair game." </i>Unfortunately he was also talking in a public bar himself... So let's not be hypocrites here, Matthew. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222;"><b style="color: black; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Some nuance and details of the <br />horrible Ukraine conflict</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CxMVcrvtqqs" width="320" youtube-src-id="CxMVcrvtqqs"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyVbjLwEKUUiZdyV0ckBXI8e2V-1g9QHtMhdHh3TK3jMkef5MRz4QpWgZsykXXGlfSqPjqRaUksjf9Z0wsN9Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Songs of the day</span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br style="text-align: left;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_TNXrnplVlc" width="320" youtube-src-id="_TNXrnplVlc"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZkgX6pVAX2U" width="320" youtube-src-id="ZkgX6pVAX2U"></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br style="color: black;" /></div></span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Continue reading my updates on day to day life <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/11/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-vii.html" target="_blank">HERE</a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJP-RuTz3v56LTrisV6xs2Lsxdgue_28eGFbMO-4Wv6MBrcXYc78JqQL58zophUaXc7RqfY5Vru2dTewXIk1FhMPbsrrikZ3K0eKpde7wm0gQ0mNCVnxi-3OpAud3vPmyOPuDtRNCqKzu/s1600/ZZZ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJP-RuTz3v56LTrisV6xs2Lsxdgue_28eGFbMO-4Wv6MBrcXYc78JqQL58zophUaXc7RqfY5Vru2dTewXIk1FhMPbsrrikZ3K0eKpde7wm0gQ0mNCVnxi-3OpAud3vPmyOPuDtRNCqKzu/w640-h480/ZZZ.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div></div></div> Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-57155314771602623972022-02-26T18:38:00.000-08:002024-01-31T05:29:28.898-08:00Pfizer's published COVID-19 vaccine side-effect documents and the vaccine lies and inefficiency - plus the aftermath (post gets updated)<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2KZS4Lhcl8xEarlIyWj8bvfx62d8EVmS7Wb-RLRNU1Cm4dcev1WBj3GkbKhMV3s1Ps4vLzaaWbTiMKnSmmnMJdi7-_rFw3zjhYHPDRsbPsH4gB8YdbbbAqktPC2noZp3yLps5nIp96dWQ_ZAnnGunnjR_dJEvs_31J_t0HGgWpwJTOhkOOB5P_hfk=s1280" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2KZS4Lhcl8xEarlIyWj8bvfx62d8EVmS7Wb-RLRNU1Cm4dcev1WBj3GkbKhMV3s1Ps4vLzaaWbTiMKnSmmnMJdi7-_rFw3zjhYHPDRsbPsH4gB8YdbbbAqktPC2noZp3yLps5nIp96dWQ_ZAnnGunnjR_dJEvs_31J_t0HGgWpwJTOhkOOB5P_hfk=w680-h383" width="680" /></b></span></a></div><p><span><b><span><span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Pfizer's recently published COVID-19 vaccine side-effects, produced together with BioNTech </span></span></span><span><br /></span></b></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtXnruXHZdejKhwhCARQgBdQSJweoxV1vzxftLh4tYWYvD7D9wuZXy1NvnSkXc8pY09fCMxmkDlvf2t10ZvvOiX5_91B7qW0azOQ52Cwuc3DKtFbG4PiJB4kf2v5z3maQJ50ITEYdLLD447tZLYaLDOZ6yR4KsquERmao3guhuTk4MFJL_n5OvHzK4hA/s627/FnaegR6WQBAljSZ.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="622" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtXnruXHZdejKhwhCARQgBdQSJweoxV1vzxftLh4tYWYvD7D9wuZXy1NvnSkXc8pY09fCMxmkDlvf2t10ZvvOiX5_91B7qW0azOQ52Cwuc3DKtFbG4PiJB4kf2v5z3maQJ50ITEYdLLD447tZLYaLDOZ6yR4KsquERmao3guhuTk4MFJL_n5OvHzK4hA/w373-h377/FnaegR6WQBAljSZ.jpg" width="373" /></a><span style="text-align: justify;"><span><span><span><b style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #990000;">March 3rd 2022<br /></span></span></span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">Scroll down for latest updates.</span></b> Despite Pfizer's wish to keep its vaccine research documents sealed and secret, a</span></span><span><span> federal judge in Texas ordered the Food and Drug Administration to make public the data it relied on to licence Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.</span><span> </span><span>[<a href="https://childrenshealthdefense.org/wp-content/uploads/pfizer-doc-5.3.6-postmarketing-experience.pdf#page=30" target="_blank"><b>Source</b></a>, <a href="https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/comirnaty-and-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine" target="_blank"><b>source</b></a> and <a href="https://phmpt.org/pfizers-documents/" target="_blank"><b>source</b></a>]. </span></span><span>These documents were submitted to the FDA, and ensured the vaccine's full approval and emergency use authorisation. </span><span><span>When Pfizer applied for FDA approval, they were aware of almost 158,000 adverse events from their vaccine, calculated only over the first three months of use of the vaccine, and Pfizer requested these documents remain sealed for 75 years. So that means that almost none of us would have been able to hear about it within our remaining lifetime. Luckily this decision was overthrown now. Almost 158,000 <i>reported</i> side-effects over a short period of several months. By December of 2021, so nine months later, there were already nearly 950,000 reported adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination in the VAERS database alone, with almost 20,000 events listed as “death”. </span><span>I will select some serious and wildly varied side-effects that are mentioned in their documents, and explain if needed what the terminology means. These side-effects were known to Pfizer and the FDA, but they were not provided to the public. The data was protected and the package insert leaflet that came with the covid19 vaccines is entirely <a href="https://twitter.com/AnnaSPhilipps/status/1499730730473119748" target="_blank"><b>empty</b></a>. </span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5M1882xWVTb2IdNoUPnEfSTI9zapf_FfMcbkw7VylYxBqw_ahzLJfmLOwBM8KPbzZdAb4p6OHRVLjhI5mCCM34TA4pkmUexzGb7BfiLXDjEQJn3DvNUqIKq0aYpj_dNwjxOrwAgOSG4sAdGAGg_3YNPqJHYUxnrr5r0P4_wu1iXKAnvXUnXAWZwC3=s1158" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5M1882xWVTb2IdNoUPnEfSTI9zapf_FfMcbkw7VylYxBqw_ahzLJfmLOwBM8KPbzZdAb4p6OHRVLjhI5mCCM34TA4pkmUexzGb7BfiLXDjEQJn3DvNUqIKq0aYpj_dNwjxOrwAgOSG4sAdGAGg_3YNPqJHYUxnrr5r0P4_wu1iXKAnvXUnXAWZwC3=w373-h400" width="373" /></b></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>You already know that children, especially young boys, can get myocarditis from the vaccines but you should add to that list the serious possibility of them getting: a brain stem embolism, blood clots, acute kidney injury, cardiac failure, frontal lobe epilepsy, Hashimoto's encephalopathy, herpes, interstitial lung disease, or Type 1 diabetes mellitus — just to pick a few very serious side effects from a very sobering list. As the news cycle continues to focus on the Ukraine situation, the FDA complied with a court order to begin releasing 55,000 pages of Pfizer data per month that was used to authorise their COVID-19 vaccine produced with BioNTech, with the first batch quietly released on March 1st. There are 150 documents that the public can now download <a href="https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/comirnaty-and-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine" target="_blank"><span><b>here</b></span></a> and <a href="https://phmpt.org/pfizers-documents/" target="_blank"><span><b>here</b></span></a>. The documents were made public as part of a court-ordered release schedule, stemming from an expedited Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency (PHMPT). PHMPT, a group of medical and public health professionals and scientists from Harvard, Yale, UCLA and other institutions, submitted the request in August 2021.</span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>The FDA had originally wanted to hide the data for 75 years and release it in 2096. The FOIA request asked for the approximately 400,000 pages of documents pertaining to the approval of the Pfizer COVID vaccine to be made public, including safety and effectiveness data, adverse reaction reports and a list of the vaccine’s active and inactive ingredients. When the FDA ignored the request, PHMPT sued the agency in September 2021, taking the case to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. On Feb. 2, federal judge Mark Pittman issued an order requiring the FDA to release redacted versions of the documents in question according to the following disclosure schedule:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>-10,000 pages apiece, due on or before March 1 and April 1, 2022.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>-80,000 pages apiece, to be produced on or before May 2, June 1 and July 1, 2022.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>-70,000 pages to be produced on or before Aug. 1, 2022.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>-55,000 pages per month, on or before the first business day of each month thereafter, until the release of the documents has been completed.</span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTr0vy9vjBjZafl8ZjhAiZMCNk0L6DLxbTUyfu8_qtetZrPOB52MhApWiOyLGNYakYF0LrMZUICLpErQzPck_mInTsZyyQu-oXDK8nIU27_gkko7vM1vX2x8QhiggrxEEuOkSar9KnzOqDEhFya5c00TvuOebghsn_HzQE1KPK_9rxJDW-QAyH-NDprw/s752/Fnajgx3WQAo5Wht.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="592" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTr0vy9vjBjZafl8ZjhAiZMCNk0L6DLxbTUyfu8_qtetZrPOB52MhApWiOyLGNYakYF0LrMZUICLpErQzPck_mInTsZyyQu-oXDK8nIU27_gkko7vM1vX2x8QhiggrxEEuOkSar9KnzOqDEhFya5c00TvuOebghsn_HzQE1KPK_9rxJDW-QAyH-NDprw/s320/Fnajgx3WQAo5Wht.jpg" width="252" /></a><span>The<b style="color: #444444;"> <a href="https://phmpt.org/pfizers-documents/" target="_blank">cache of documents</a> </b>made public on March 1, available on PHMPT’s website, represents the first release of such documents following the issuance of Pittman’s order in February. <span>The first batch of documents, produced in November 2021 and totaling a mere 500 pages, revealed safety concerns and the fact that <span><i>more than 1,200 vaccine-related deaths occurred within the first 90 days following the release of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine</i>.</span> <span>But since Pfizer redacted and hid the number of participants in the 90 day trial, we cannot calculate a death risk percentage</span>. </span>The documents also revealed adverse effects risks and details, as well as a nine-page list of adverse events of which Pfizer says to look out for among patients. <span>One of the documents released was the “Prescription Drug User Fee Payment” that BioNTech paid to the FDA on 4/20/2021 for the “COMIRNATY COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine”</span> which the FDA subsequently approved in August of 2021. That “Prescription Drug User Fee Payment” was <span>$2,875,842.00</span>. “Pfizer is responsible for conducting this study. BioNTech is the regulatory sponsor of this study.” The question that then begs to be answered here is, what role did the FDA play, if any, in the “external” monitoring of the data to ensure integrity and safety of a new vaccine about to be injected into hundreds of millions people in the U.S.? It would appear that all they did was rubber stamp the process that was completely managed by Pfizer, and funded by BioNTech. Hiding out in one appendix is the clinical data for Pfizer’s vaccine — which lists 1,291 adverse side effects in alphabetical order. Below I will give the main summary of the document findings.</span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXDtQ-nRP_73YbVbfDN8HWSo_6qiMtEaU5Zqsej0leQ75wWGrZf5GdH9lhkxS3rZo3pk30zTaZBruVoHXK52L1X094Xom60Wdl0bFxZMoVT4M70mwMvmSQr-nnQdUSA2eYVmjTjYSLWOzlWMKQTjOThDX5odx3JzLplyCTS5wWmwg4FriNv6TaetmE=s897" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="897" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXDtQ-nRP_73YbVbfDN8HWSo_6qiMtEaU5Zqsej0leQ75wWGrZf5GdH9lhkxS3rZo3pk30zTaZBruVoHXK52L1X094Xom60Wdl0bFxZMoVT4M70mwMvmSQr-nnQdUSA2eYVmjTjYSLWOzlWMKQTjOThDX5odx3JzLplyCTS5wWmwg4FriNv6TaetmE=w451-h378" width="451" /></b></span></a></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRBvsDP-ivxkfKkHXslCA4vpkKmClDGbavetdbCK8kDQWjOt8D05-vEk06D4Y91Lx1Lq0nQt1EoZz48kf_fFNo1pI1Y_x7-WWkukm6hcnxxqg-mUaqUXDUHqcJvvZy07Uh6QDPlJMsMDNLmMdNnSDFcFAJxXlmTSKnzqMnCxyrsf1BFgK-N-QXaQbV=s845" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="845" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRBvsDP-ivxkfKkHXslCA4vpkKmClDGbavetdbCK8kDQWjOt8D05-vEk06D4Y91Lx1Lq0nQt1EoZz48kf_fFNo1pI1Y_x7-WWkukm6hcnxxqg-mUaqUXDUHqcJvvZy07Uh6QDPlJMsMDNLmMdNnSDFcFAJxXlmTSKnzqMnCxyrsf1BFgK-N-QXaQbV=w452-h404" width="452" /></b></span></a><p><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b><span>CUMULATIVE ANALYSIS OF POST-AUTHORIZATION ADVERSE EVENT REPORTS OF PF-07302048 (BNT162B2) [</span><i>Pfizers covid19 vaccine</i><span>] RECEIVED THROUGH 28-FEB-2021</span></b></span></p><p><b><span style="color: #444444;">[<a href="https://childrenshealthdefense.org/wp-content/uploads/pfizer-doc-5.3.6-postmarketing-experience.pdf#page=30" target="_blank">Source</a>/<a href="https://perma.cc/6W69-9WFT" target="_blank">source</a>] Report Prepared by: Worldwide Safety, Pfizer</span></b></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>"<i>Pfizer is responsible for the management post-authorization safety data </i>on behalf of the MAH BioNTech according to the Pharma-covigilance Agreement in place. Data from BioNTech are included in the report when applicable. Pfizer’s safety database contains cases of AEs [<i>adverse events; so side-effects</i>] reported spontaneously to Pfizer, cases reported by the health authorities, cases published in the medical literature, cases from Pfizer-sponsored marketing programs, non-interventional studies, and cases of serious AEs reported from clinical studies regardless of causality assessment. The documents highlight that the <i>limitations</i> of post-marketing adverse drug event reporting should be considered when interpreting these data:<br /></span>•<span> "Reports are submitted voluntarily, and the magnitude of underreporting is unknown</span>. [<i>But typically it is a high percentage; <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16689555/" target="_blank"><b>this pubmed research</b></a> mentions that 85-95% of adverse effects to drugs are in general NOT reported</i>]. Some of the factors that may influence whether an event is reported include: length of time since marketing, market share of the drug, publicity about a drug or an AE, seriousness of the reaction, regulatory actions, awareness by health professionals and consumers of adverse drug event reporting, and litigation."<br />• "Because many external factors influence whether or not an AE is reported, <span>the spontaneous reporting system yields reporting proportions not incidence rates. </span>As a result, it is generally not appropriate to make between-drug comparisons using these proportions; the spontaneous reporting system should be used for signal detection rather than hypothesis testing."<br />• "<span>An accumulation of adverse event reports (AERs) does not necessarily indicate that a particular AE was caused by the drug</span>; rather, the event may be due to an underlying disease or some other factor(s) such as past medical history or concomitant medication."<br />• "<span>Among adverse event reports received into the Pfizer safety database during the cumulative period, <i>only those having a complete workflow cycle in the safety database (meaning they progressed to Distribution or Closed workflow status) are included in the monthly SMSR</i>. </span>This approach prevents the inclusion of cases that are not fully processed hence not accurately reflecting final information. Due to <i>the large numbers of spontaneous adverse event reports received for the product</i>, the MAH has prioritised the processing of serious cases, in order to meet expedited regulatory reporting timelines and ensure these reports are available for signal detection and evaluation activity. [..] Non-serious cases are processed as soon as possible and no later than 90 days from receipt. <i><span>Pfizer has also taken a multiple actions to help alleviate the large increase of adverse event reports</span>.</i>"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtugvA41qXWJnhzKUYWx8cIWlEFOzfGT9kuWm3Umgsi1G800rh6gLqyE83PvBDo74gRIWdRMVZDgxN0T5SY6samFXZCWi5NHCvAaEFBoCZpHf2UxtO3DgkoPHw8CVlDRYCgDUnXkX3vpMtwW9XdDoxHMi9TKp-9B8LxrccBnm-oP5ImkW7FUG6cBxjg/s1500/61AJUz-xaJL.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtugvA41qXWJnhzKUYWx8cIWlEFOzfGT9kuWm3Umgsi1G800rh6gLqyE83PvBDo74gRIWdRMVZDgxN0T5SY6samFXZCWi5NHCvAaEFBoCZpHf2UxtO3DgkoPHw8CVlDRYCgDUnXkX3vpMtwW9XdDoxHMi9TKp-9B8LxrccBnm-oP5ImkW7FUG6cBxjg/w140-h211/61AJUz-xaJL.jpg" width="140" /></b></span></a><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">People should be </span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="text-align: justify;">free</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> to choose for themselves what is best for them. But in order to properly do that, they should not only </span><span style="text-align: justify;">nót</span></span></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"> be blackmailed and forced by politicians, but they also need to be properly informed. And protected from malpractise. ALL of this has not been the case with the covid vaccines. </span></span><br /></span></b></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><p></p><p><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;"><b><span>RESULTS: reported Pfizer covid vaccine side-effects reported between 1 </span></b><span><b>December </b></span><b>2020 - 28 February 2021</b></span></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-tpNYJD_jF326JSVy4qP1IkF1qjjslt88B9xaUJ1WxsK_ZcHs4CgquXGqBgL_8qhO5zZAf0ZDnOGwXo9xiZq5BfZgr1FqFta0DhSEr6woVme2yy0CS9XDgmnEx_1lAsli0Pzc349c8GVPtoWv29BTTTBB1CIukySTlMiptlHAorxXBqw0y3nCjMZj=s2491" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="2491" data-original-width="1063" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-tpNYJD_jF326JSVy4qP1IkF1qjjslt88B9xaUJ1WxsK_ZcHs4CgquXGqBgL_8qhO5zZAf0ZDnOGwXo9xiZq5BfZgr1FqFta0DhSEr6woVme2yy0CS9XDgmnEx_1lAsli0Pzc349c8GVPtoWv29BTTTBB1CIukySTlMiptlHAorxXBqw0y3nCjMZj=w275-h640" width="275" /></b></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5Y746SDEesMwcjcWjNrIonRA3aQ-nZ8JKIFFgkrYndG_Y8-eQjPagke4PtIWrRjCnXMIlUoQzmhkksYRTYyldBBcVu6o5bMVgFXWCKlRrRzRR35iCHezHIPvb4Re07OjU3azezKLm5O1dPwyMB7k_mOUki3IEdZ83UwlMTZVRIZ7yUHjiIRSQaL3l=s1659" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1659" data-original-width="1064" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5Y746SDEesMwcjcWjNrIonRA3aQ-nZ8JKIFFgkrYndG_Y8-eQjPagke4PtIWrRjCnXMIlUoQzmhkksYRTYyldBBcVu6o5bMVgFXWCKlRrRzRR35iCHezHIPvb4Re07OjU3azezKLm5O1dPwyMB7k_mOUki3IEdZ83UwlMTZVRIZ7yUHjiIRSQaL3l=w275-h430" width="275" /></b></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh__zzbmyyYKeqfnEo92e0oI5NlKEW59yv4JICMmupoB79EYiznuCt6eg08flI55t66gqMBmf4MdHXfvSHN8INTN8JEPFeb2xBPZAo1-97yw7rTFJsYSl9o7K4NmVr3CNV_qLayiPoG91Nzo912BfrddhZbc8U_sf7MDYCvZwaUeDdCxU6C0MJg7ChV=s1685" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1685" data-original-width="1090" height="429" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh__zzbmyyYKeqfnEo92e0oI5NlKEW59yv4JICMmupoB79EYiznuCt6eg08flI55t66gqMBmf4MdHXfvSHN8INTN8JEPFeb2xBPZAo1-97yw7rTFJsYSl9o7K4NmVr3CNV_qLayiPoG91Nzo912BfrddhZbc8U_sf7MDYCvZwaUeDdCxU6C0MJg7ChV=w277-h429" width="277" /></b></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirj2OVLBVssvzz_vZhkG8R7ecSRIPy1KNCuYd5X4HwLL4oqMkznEOpsg_GNplA8sJmN9ileBuhWrHo4TXZ4fj2XSJD_ImiQu0tYtD7JbgqwTGXLaccSDfGOkkGEZ-RSYnPojt-1JPLJ9RKnxKMFNq8XKvNBvaU6a3dqVmqMRacXXdf-TQsmSzhEbVd=s1443" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1443" data-original-width="1070" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirj2OVLBVssvzz_vZhkG8R7ecSRIPy1KNCuYd5X4HwLL4oqMkznEOpsg_GNplA8sJmN9ileBuhWrHo4TXZ4fj2XSJD_ImiQu0tYtD7JbgqwTGXLaccSDfGOkkGEZ-RSYnPojt-1JPLJ9RKnxKMFNq8XKvNBvaU6a3dqVmqMRacXXdf-TQsmSzhEbVd=w276-h373" width="276" /></b></span></a><b><span style="color: #444444;"></span></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span>So we are talking about the reported side-effects</span><span> of</span><span> Pfizer's</span><span> covid19 vaccine, over a relatively</span><span> small period of time: only three months. And this timeframe overlaps with the first vaccination rounds (so <i>not</i> with the later accumulative booster rounds <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=967&v=-Y7dTMzn9B8&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">after which more adverse effects take place</a></b><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span>- even Pfizer itself has admitted that serious side-effects like myocarditis happen more often after a second vaccination*). Keep in mind that </span><i>reported</i><span> side-effects are typically </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16689555/" target="_blank">estimated</a><span> to be only about 15 to 5% of all actual adverse effects, experienced by patients. The document also reveals: </span></span><span>"Cumulatively, through 28 February 2021, there was a total of 42,086 case reports (25,379 medically confirmed and 16,707 non-medically confirmed) containing </span><span>158,893 adverse reaction events</span><span>. Of those, 1,223 cases are claimed to have been fatal (</span><i>although real numbers are probably much higher due to general lack of autopsies and research</i><span>). The majority of these case reports involved people aged between the ages of 31 and 50 in the United States. In addition, cases were picked up in the United Kingdom (13,404) Italy (2,578), Germany (1913), France (1506), Portugal (866) and Spain (756). The remaining 7,324 were distributed among 56 other countries. Missing information: there is no evaluation of the 413 cases of pregnancy-related side-effects reported during these three months, including </span><i>270 miscarriages</i><span>. Going by the Pfizer documents, the following list of reported vaccine side-effects takes into consideration the information from the following expert groups and regulatory authorities: Brighton Collaboration (SPEAC), ACCESS protocol, US CDC (preliminary list of AESI for VAERS surveillance), MHRA (unpublished guideline). *Pfizer states itself in its </span><a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/153713/download" target="_blank"><b>FACT SHEET FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS ADMINISTERING VACCINE</b></a><span>:</span><i> "Postmarketing data demonstrate increased risks of myocarditis and pericarditis, <span>particularly within 7 days following the second dose</span>".</i><span> Most frequently reported side-effects include:</span></span></div><p></p><p><span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">-Cardiovascular adverse events</span><span style="color: #444444;"> <br />(3.3% of all reported cases over these 3 month): </span></span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Acute myocardial infarction</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">a <span>heart attack</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Arrhythmia </span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">(</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span>irregular heartbeat</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Cardiac failure</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">a <span>heart attack</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Cardiogenic shock </span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">(</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span>heart suddenly can't pump enough blood</span>, life threatening condition</i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Coronary artery disease</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">plaque build up, causing a <span>narrowing or blockage of the blood vessel</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">)</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Myocardial infarction</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">a <span>heart attack</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome </span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">(</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">POTS; a change from lying to standing causes an abnormally <span>large increase in heart beat rate</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Stress cardiomyopathy </span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">(</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">sudden acute stress that can rapidly <span>weaken the heart muscle</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Tachycardia</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">a <span>fast heart rate</span> over 100 beats a minute</i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">)</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">**Onset of these adverse effects ranged from</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> <24 hours to </span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">21 days, with a median of <24 hours. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">About these heart-related adverse events, the report concluded: </span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span>"Conclusion: This cumulative case review does not raise new safety issues. Surveillance will continue."<br /><br /><br /></span></i><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><span>-Neurological </span><span>adverse events</span></b></span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span> <br />(1,2% of all reported cases over these 3 month): </span><br /></span><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Seizures</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">sudden, uncontrolled electrical disturbance in the brain</i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">)</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">;</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Generalised tonic-clonic seizure</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span>a type of seizure that involves the entire body</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Status epilepticus </span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">(</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span>a seizure that lasts longer than 5 minutes</span>, or having more than 1 seizure within a 5 minutes period</i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bell's Palsy</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">(</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">facial muscle weakness or paralysis</i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Epilepsy</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">:</span></span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Petit mal epilepsy</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span>seizures beginning in both sides of the brain</span></i><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> at the same time</i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Tonic convulsion</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span>seizures in which sudden tension or stiffness may afflict the arms, legs or body</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Guillain-Barre syndrome</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><i>(a rare, autoimmune disorder in which a person's own immune system damages the nerves, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis)</i>;</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Trigeminal neuralgia</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">gives extremely painful aensations similar to an electric shock on one side of the face</i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">):</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Febrile convulsion</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span>convulsions</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Demyelinating disease</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">condition that results in <span>damage to the protective covering that surrounds nerve fibers in your brain, optic nerves and spinal cord</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Convulsions;</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Ataxia</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span>damage to the part of the brain that is responsible for coordinating movement</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Cataplexy</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span>loss of voluntary muscle control</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Encephalopathy </span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">(</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">any diffuse <span>disease of the brain that alters brain function</span> or structure</i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Fibromyalgia</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues</i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Aura and Myelitis transverse </span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">(</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span>inflammation of both sides of one section of the spinal cord</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Intracranial pressure increased </span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">(</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span>growing pressure inside your skull; dangerous condition</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">); </span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">Meningitis</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">inflammation and swelling of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord</i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Meningitis aseptic </span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">(</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span>inflammation of the membrane covering the brain and spinal cord</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Narcolepsy</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">chronic sleep disorder; people with narcolepsy often find it difficult to stay awake, regardless of the circumstances</i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Multiple sclerosis</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">(</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">a serious chronic disease affecting the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord</i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Optic neuritis</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">inflammation of the eye nerve</i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Foaming at the mouth</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">**Onset of these </span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">adverse effects ranged from</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> <24 hours to 48</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> days, with a median of 1 day. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">About these neurological </span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">adverse events, the report concluded: </span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span>"Conclusion: This cumulative case review does not raise new safety issues. Surveillance will continue."<br /></span></i><br /></span></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_5wI0F07IafRJrrSPyZE5r_GvtbJAY162ftAckfsY_NIdRhPIlhGo86GGOzP_I0QH8Hz7UXwEhE4G1clpJrHQlHnpmupKpp4njrcz68K8BktuIwNqzeuApWxNYhnFKXLF_y3OcfGF-DL5qc0G62zFgVrOgte8VsTBOD8-OI8oGvnBfjXU1TxcVr_O6g/s902/Untitled-3.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="902" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_5wI0F07IafRJrrSPyZE5r_GvtbJAY162ftAckfsY_NIdRhPIlhGo86GGOzP_I0QH8Hz7UXwEhE4G1clpJrHQlHnpmupKpp4njrcz68K8BktuIwNqzeuApWxNYhnFKXLF_y3OcfGF-DL5qc0G62zFgVrOgte8VsTBOD8-OI8oGvnBfjXU1TxcVr_O6g/w400-h398/Untitled-3.jpg" width="400" /></b></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGe7o5VDKTawjX0LXZSyUh3m3pxOifY_kekF_CndpKPv1wsB8Nye1yYWDOdPkfq3hDG77BfGscr8MidHlm12HaxE7VzEbv-7F6DEufnF3t7Fw2Fox8ypWPJUAqsNbozGiDQsqy-jcJilBxEOSaEbsnzkz3fr474nwLfuozYWcJN8hvg0HIR6iTjk_vBQ/s1310/Untitled-2.jpg" style="clear: right; 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float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="666" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxb3bspXV5Kd_8meybj8pWQFYajGe28yZ5sEGCABU2YMbTwdn2wNVejr8ioPlKH2h1tQQBooKrv3CvVdYmZhLLYX308ycm-MoYpOALqY1G8VHjUa1VP58DYuGv0VJ0dcC1KMdfJ74ppyErjge6YKY9C79A68tNXEAgMloYtMBGHISiKrrNYgTkJ_wyZg/w400-h210/bells-palsy-source-allaboutvision.jpg" width="400" /></b></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihRZDlmrWtvulhlm6NEN_mzVG8nefiMqFl05RtecOnZ452rhZVNQAg5qcM54VztvW6rOtmP4WDZuItF51PxA1NRGYmPQ41zMZcsYPjmdwZaXLGXfn-7Rha1pOBfY-cU6jTQyAB2f1B9buQ5uoMe3G5VeDZg7jbS3yXOWE0x5Y51vwX6bvLnTf8U-6rSw/s264/Mental-Neurological.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="264" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihRZDlmrWtvulhlm6NEN_mzVG8nefiMqFl05RtecOnZ452rhZVNQAg5qcM54VztvW6rOtmP4WDZuItF51PxA1NRGYmPQ41zMZcsYPjmdwZaXLGXfn-7Rha1pOBfY-cU6jTQyAB2f1B9buQ5uoMe3G5VeDZg7jbS3yXOWE0x5Y51vwX6bvLnTf8U-6rSw/w400-h318/Mental-Neurological.png" width="400" /></b></span></a><span><b><span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">-Immune-Mediated and Autoimmune side-effects <br /></span><span style="color: #444444;">(2,5% of all reported cases over these three months): </span><br /></span></span></b><b><span><span style="color: #990000;">Autoimmune disorders</span><span style="color: #444444;">;</span></span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Pericarditis</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><span style="color: #444444;">(</span><i style="color: #444444;">inflammation, swelling and irritation of the tissue surrounding the heart, which can range</i><i style="color: #444444;"> from mild to a life-threatening condition</i><span style="color: #444444;">);<br /></span></b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span>Myocarditis</span> </span></b><b style="color: #444444;">(<i>inflammation of the heart muscle, ranging from mild to heart failure</i>);<br /></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span>Encephalitis</span> </span></b><b style="color: #444444;">(<i><span>inflammation of the active tissues of the brain</span>; a serious condition affecting the brain that requires prompt treatment to lower the risk of lasting complications or death</i>);<br /></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span>Diabetes</span> mellitus type 1</span></b><b style="color: #444444;"> (<i>disease that affects how your body uses blood sugar</i>);<br /></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">Cytokine release syndrome</span></b><b style="color: #444444;"> (<i>an acute systemic inflammatory syndrome characterized by fever and multiple organ dysfunction</i>); <br /></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">Cytokine storm</span><span style="color: #444444;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444;">A severe immune reaction in which the body releases too many cytokines into the blood too quickly; dangerous</i><span style="color: #444444;">);<br /></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">Hypersensitivity;</span><br /></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">Neuropathy peripheral </span></b><b style="color: #444444;">(<i><span>damage to the nerves located outside of the brain and spinal cord</span></i>);<br /></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">Dermatitis </span></b><b style="color: #444444;">(<i>a number of skin irritations and rashes</i>);<br /></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">Psoriasis</span><br /></b><b style="color: #444444;"><span>**Onset of these adverse effects ranged from</span><span> <24 hours to 30</span><span> days, with a median of <24 hours. </span><span>About these immune-related adverse events, the report concluded: </span><i><span>"Conclusion: This cumulative case review does not raise new safety issues. Surveillance will continue."<br /><br /></span></i></b></p><p><span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Anaphylactic reaction</span><span style="color: #444444;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444;">a <span>serious allergic reaction</span> that is rapid in onset and may cause death</i><span style="color: #444444;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Anaphylactic shock</span><span style="color: #444444;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444;">if untreated <span>deadly allergic reaction </span>with severely low blood pressure</i><span style="color: #444444;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Dyspnoea </span><span style="color: #444444;">(</span><i style="color: #444444;">shortness of breath or <span>breathlessness</span></i><span style="color: #444444;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Rash, pruritus </span><span style="color: #444444;">(</span><i style="color: #444444;">itching</i><span style="color: #444444;">), erythema (</span><i style="color: #444444;">redness of the skin</i><span style="color: #444444;">), urticaria (</span><i style="color: #444444;">itchy welts</i><span style="color: #444444;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Cough;</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Respiratory distress </span><span style="color: #444444;">(</span><i style="color: #444444;"><span>trouble breathing</span></i><span style="color: #444444;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Throat tightness;<br />Swollen tongue;</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Hypotension </span><span style="color: #444444;">(</span><i style="color: #444444;"><span>high blood pressure</span></i><span style="color: #444444;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><span>Chest discomfort</span>;</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Swelling of the face or lips;</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Pharyngeal swelling</span><span style="color: #444444;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444;"><span>swelling in the back of the throat</span>, dangerous</i><span style="color: #444444;">)</span><br /><span style="color: #444444;">**</span><span style="color: #444444;">2958 relevant anaphylactic cases were retrieved from the Anaphylactic reaction SMQ (Narrow and Broad) search strategy, reported over this three month test period.</span><br /><br /></b></span></p><p><span><b><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><span>Musculoskeletal </span><span>adverse events</span></span></span><span style="color: #444444;"><span> <br />(8,5% of all reported cases over these 3 month): </span><br /></span><span style="color: #990000;">Arthralgia </span><span style="color: #444444;">(</span><i style="color: #444444;"><span>joint stiffness</span></i><span style="color: #444444;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Rheumatoid/Arthritis</span><span style="color: #444444;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444;">inflammation, swelling and tenderness of one or more joints</i><span style="color: #444444;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Chronic fatigue syndrome;</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Polyneuropathy</span><span style="color: #444444;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444;">malfunctioning of many <span>peripheral nerves</span> throughout the body</i><span style="color: #444444;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Post viral fatigue syndrome;</span><br /><span style="color: #444444;">**Onset of these </span><span style="color: #444444;">adverse effects ranged from</span><span style="color: #444444;"> <24 hours to 3</span><span style="color: #444444;">2 days, with a median of 1 day. </span><span style="color: #444444;">About these </span><span style="color: #444444;">m</span><span style="color: #444444;">usculoskeletal</span><span style="color: #444444;"> adverse events, the report concluded: </span><i style="color: #444444;"><span>"Conclusion: This cumulative case review does not raise new safety issues. Surveillance will continue."<br /><br /></span></i></b></span></p><p><span><b><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><span>-Facial Paralysis </span><span>adverse events</span></span><span style="color: #444444;"> <br />(1,1% of all reported cases over these 3 month): </span></span><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span><span style="color: #990000;">Facial paralysis </span><span style="color: #444444;">(</span><i style="color: #444444;">an inability to move the muscles of the face on one or both sides. Facial paralysis can result from nerve damage)<br /></i><span style="color: #444444;">**Onset of these adverse effects ranged from</span><span style="color: #444444;"> <24 hours to 46</span><span style="color: #444444;"> days, with a median of 2 days. </span><span style="color: #444444;">About these adverse events, the report concluded: </span><i style="color: #444444;"><span>"Conclusion: This cumulative case review does not raise new safety issues. Surveillance will continue."<br /><br /></span></i></b></span></p><p><span><b><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><span>-Other </span><span>adverse events</span></span><span style="color: #444444;"> <br />(19,4% of all reported cases over these 3 month): </span></span><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span><span style="color: #990000;"><span>Herpes</span> viral infections</span><span style="color: #444444;">;</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><span>Inflammation</span>;</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Middle East respiratory syndrome</span><span style="color: #444444;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444;">another virus, <span>MERS-CoV</span></i><span style="color: #444444;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><span style="color: #444444;">(</span><i style="color: #444444;">failure of at least two of the following organs: liver, lung, and kidney</i><span style="color: #444444;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Acute kidney injury;</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Renal failure</span><span style="color: #444444;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444;"><span>kidney failure</span></i><span style="color: #444444;">)</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Pyrexia </span><span style="color: #444444;">(</span><i style="color: #444444;">fever</i><span style="color: #444444;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Lower respiratory tract infections</span><span style="color: #444444;">;<br /></span><span style="color: #990000;">Acute respiratory distress syndrome</span><span style="color: #444444;">;</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Embolisms</span><span style="color: #444444;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444;">blockage inside a blood vessel</i><span style="color: #444444;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Brain stem embolism</span><span style="color: #444444;">;</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Thrombosis </span><span style="color: #444444;">(<i>when blood clots block veins or arteries</i>)</span><span style="color: #444444;">;</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Strokes</span><span style="color: #444444;">;</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Central nervous system haemorrhages</span><span style="color: #444444;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444;"><span>bleeding within the brain</span></i><span style="color: #444444;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Cerebrovascular accidents</span><span style="color: #444444;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444;"><span>a stroke</span></i><span style="color: #444444;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Covid19 itself</span><span style="color: #444444;">;</span><br /><span style="color: #990000;">Vasculitides</span><span style="color: #444444;"> (</span><i style="color: #444444;"><span>a group of disorders that destroy blood vessels by inflammation</span></i><span style="color: #444444;">);</span><br /><span style="color: #444444;">**Onset of these adverse effects ranged from</span><span style="color: #444444;"> <24 hours to 28</span><span style="color: #444444;"> days, with a median of 2 to 4 days. </span><span style="color: #444444;">About these adverse events, the report concluded: </span><i style="color: #444444;"><span>"Conclusion: This cumulative case review does not raise new safety issues. Surveillance will continue."</span></i></b></span></p><p><span><b><i style="color: #444444;"><span><br /></span></i></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Also: during the Pfizer clinical trial, more people died who got the vaccine than those in the placebo group.</span> (see also page 7 <a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/152176/download" target="_blank">here</a>)</span></b></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRDn49IUAliVrQDEzMNArKctNR9ctEkjV-iHbBqGJBcLyPGIKXCtJBAZEfoXGsQnYsqs2gVo8dEfGKQ8rSwzsAY4csD5LF-O5we37XWAho-RUY38t38E7q2OGIQymITlz1yMaAOo1apNQLbiYThIv7X_dOJXdZrXNNG-melAfPHr6FS-qghPFmUNxq=s1242" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="1242" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRDn49IUAliVrQDEzMNArKctNR9ctEkjV-iHbBqGJBcLyPGIKXCtJBAZEfoXGsQnYsqs2gVo8dEfGKQ8rSwzsAY4csD5LF-O5we37XWAho-RUY38t38E7q2OGIQymITlz1yMaAOo1apNQLbiYThIv7X_dOJXdZrXNNG-melAfPHr6FS-qghPFmUNxq=w640-h460" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj16PdDP5I6tYpWaWaFvTvko-gdCTLnLNjBIuwNEGG7h5H_1B2a0ek6JrdgxL2Ug-WiwwEmR4acrI0RbboS745fFxQFrhwGLhnFWK_W9oHZmLW9Yc_Ff7ZclSyaITbUEP6DG7lhO2KpxBpTMwVZGBUflFw--CrRVfF6BhbF_y-Nllmf0QXD7XrFetRs3w/s968/Fe-NvncUcAEjTwc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="142" data-original-width="968" height="94" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj16PdDP5I6tYpWaWaFvTvko-gdCTLnLNjBIuwNEGG7h5H_1B2a0ek6JrdgxL2Ug-WiwwEmR4acrI0RbboS745fFxQFrhwGLhnFWK_W9oHZmLW9Yc_Ff7ZclSyaITbUEP6DG7lhO2KpxBpTMwVZGBUflFw--CrRVfF6BhbF_y-Nllmf0QXD7XrFetRs3w/w640-h94/Fe-NvncUcAEjTwc.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;"><b>Nothing to see here</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAJmNrHWoWlUk0NA2F_UdpOo4FK2eSvbXAR1FUqcWgaS9Ydh1vPt3nmvrYdjULjgToH-yS9foe8VTHgPBhAG-cxBTEl4zJAtSuy1X9LhCp69gwEOHOGltmMHKiXHOxLO9cP17njnYDzE4t2Shy3h-ygLxH7vHEDmbMhhPk5JBjs7FmbQui1xl39gOqFA=s1671" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1671" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAJmNrHWoWlUk0NA2F_UdpOo4FK2eSvbXAR1FUqcWgaS9Ydh1vPt3nmvrYdjULjgToH-yS9foe8VTHgPBhAG-cxBTEl4zJAtSuy1X9LhCp69gwEOHOGltmMHKiXHOxLO9cP17njnYDzE4t2Shy3h-ygLxH7vHEDmbMhhPk5JBjs7FmbQui1xl39gOqFA=w485-h260" width="485" /></b></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjP_YWyo_UDEGIMihf7bpL0E6vKak_-F-XQP_WdQ65599BxhEk16c2Bu9AW5I0jcAafuMjduee-XSMa5U-7fAwi2KOOkTKdMRFPXC1-9JxsR6jAWXSA8rzXIaEibQ_2B08KsRJ-BhjWqnv0WrsrqVQ8TNw3brw2YsUNbIcNnWsRLoWgXC457OofT7XIxw=s1567" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="1567" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjP_YWyo_UDEGIMihf7bpL0E6vKak_-F-XQP_WdQ65599BxhEk16c2Bu9AW5I0jcAafuMjduee-XSMa5U-7fAwi2KOOkTKdMRFPXC1-9JxsR6jAWXSA8rzXIaEibQ_2B08KsRJ-BhjWqnv0WrsrqVQ8TNw3brw2YsUNbIcNnWsRLoWgXC457OofT7XIxw=w485-h270" width="485" /></b></span></a><b><span style="color: #444444;"></span></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span><span>A lot of very serious side effects were known already before Pfizer got its emergency use approval from the FDA. </span><span>But what did they print in <b><a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/153713/download" target="_blank">their factsheet</a></b> for healthcare providers<b style="color: #444444;">, </b>who had to administer these shots? See the image on the right here. Only the mildest of side-effects were mentioned, like joint pain, fever and chills. </span><span>Same story for the official <a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/151707/download" target="_blank"><b>package insert</b></a>; the only side-effects mentioned there are </span><span>fatigue, headache, muscle </span>pain, chills, joint pain, injection site swelling or redness and fever.<span> <i>"</i></span><span><i>Additional adverse reactions, some of which may be serious, may become </i></span><span><i>apparent with more widespread use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.</i>" </span>This is in the factsheet of January 2022! <span>No, Pfizer knew already very well what those serious side-effects were, of which I added a selection in the chapter above this one. They just rather didn't put them in print. Even in its approval documents (which they kept secret for the public), Pfizer</span><span> diminished them and concluded, after listing those highly serious side-effects I detailed above, that <i>"The findings of these signal detection analyses are consistent with the known safety profile of the vaccine. </i><i>The data do not reveal any novel safety concerns or risks requiring label changes and </i></span><i><span>support a favorable benefit risk profile of to the BNT162b2 </span></i><i>[Pfizer's covid19 vaccine] vaccine. </i><span><i>Review of the available data for this cumulative PM experience, confirms a favorable </i></span><span><i>benefit: risk balance for </i></span><span><i>BNT162b2.</i></span><i>" </i></span><span>Critically, Pfizer’s documents were used by the FDA to declare the company’s jab is safe. </span></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span>It has since been approved for children as young as five and for booster doses. Clearly the above detailed side-effects were not considered serious enough, or they were considered too rare in occurrence, considering the seriousness of covid19 itself. But until this pandemic, <i>other </i>vaccines linked to as few as 25 deaths were taken off the shelves and banned. It is a shame that the mainstream media have almost collectively ignored these pretty damning Pfizer documents... </span></span></span>I guess that since over a billion people worldwide have taken the vaccine, and only a very small fraction so far encountered severe side-effects, it will continue to be downplayed. My beef is mostly with the secrecy and lack of transparency. If all these test results from December 2020-february 2021 had been instantly printed in a patient leaflet, then everyone taking the vaccine could make an informed decision and the risks are theirs, basically. My problem is mostly with the corruption of covering these far from perfect test results up, and for the FDA to declare them acceptable side-effects, without publishing them for all to see. If I take a drug like mirtazapine for instance, I also am given a leaflet full of potential side effects. And if I proceed to take the medicine and develop any such side-effects subsequently, then that was the risk I willingly wanted to take. With the vaccines, there is zero informed consent. Even the people administering these jabs did not know of all these side-effects. All they ever told people was to expect at worst a sore arm and a headache. That's not right, knowing how many people developed heart issues and blood clots, and knowing how many kids developed myocarditis or pericarditis. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><a href="https://community.covidvaccineinjuries.com/compilation-peer-reviewed-medical-papers-of-covid-vaccine-injuries/" target="_blank"><b>Here</b></a> you can read many scientific articles about covid19 vaccine side-effects. </span><span>And for real life people suffering these side effects, you can find some of their stories in the following links, for instance:</span><span> </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span> <br /><br /></span></i></span></span></p><p></p><p><span><b style="color: #444444;"><br /></b><span><b><span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Links to more information:</span><br /></span></span><br /></b></span><b style="color: #444444;">*<a href="https://community.covidvaccineinjuries.com/" target="_blank">Covid Vaccine Injury community</a><br />*<a href="https://community.covidvaccineinjuries.com/covid-vaccine-injury-stories/" target="_blank">Covid Vaccine Injury Stories</a><br />*<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CanWeTalkAboutIt?src=hashtag_click" target="_blank">Twitter posts of covid vaccine injuries</a><br /><b>*<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=vaccine%20injuries&src=typed_query" target="_blank">Twitter posts of covid vaccine injuries</a></b><br />*<a href="https://t.me/s/covidvaccineinjuries" target="_blank">Telegram covid vaccine injuries page</a></b><b style="color: #444444;"><b><span><span><br /></span></span></b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><b><b><span><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7bqTWmlWb07GaOEHmIU_Q5QYLWG-2XDaGonktjRCTzIGVHAmBGj0a4I6LJuyx289ewOehrzvHYbX1R22lDO8kQOiYag_uiorhp-CDjg3FFMvSUh7B8Gmv6lF514cl78XGtINh1yVj8zla9PvWL1uWiKc4oi7a_cJ-Etzk1pDyPQ1q8TdCV4nHhgp0Q/s1072/75210211_10157703501318996_6266727167447531520_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1072" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7bqTWmlWb07GaOEHmIU_Q5QYLWG-2XDaGonktjRCTzIGVHAmBGj0a4I6LJuyx289ewOehrzvHYbX1R22lDO8kQOiYag_uiorhp-CDjg3FFMvSUh7B8Gmv6lF514cl78XGtINh1yVj8zla9PvWL1uWiKc4oi7a_cJ-Etzk1pDyPQ1q8TdCV4nHhgp0Q/w400-h400/75210211_10157703501318996_6266727167447531520_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></span></b></b></span></div><span><b style="color: #444444;">*<a href="https://t.me/s/covidvaxinjury" target="_blank">Telegram covid vaxx injuries page</a><br />*<a href="https://www.realnotrare.com/" target="_blank">Real, not rare website</a><br />*<a href="https://twitter.com/RealNotRare" target="_blank">Real, not rare twitter page</a><br />*<a href="https://campaigns.dailyclout.io/campaign/brand/cc3b3e5a-6536-4738-8ed6-5ee368c67240" target="_blank">Daily cloud, Pfizer document analysis</a><br /><b>*</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"><b><a href="https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g1-i49577-k13465693-o460-Have_you_had_any_side_effects_from_your_COVID_Vaccine-The_Layover_Lounge.html" target="_blank">Over 500 covid vaccine reviews on Tripadvisor</a></b></span><br />*<a href="https://twitter.com/CWTAIC" target="_blank">#CanWeTalkAboutIt</a><br />*<a href="https://twitter.com/React19org" target="_blank">React19, science-based vaccine side-effect twitter page</a><br />*<a href="https://vestibular.org/forum/dizziness/covid-19-vaccine-side-effects/paged/1133/" target="_blank">Forum: Covid-19 Vaccine side effects (ongoing posts)</a><br />*<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/why-is-it-so-hard-to-compensate-people-for-serious-vaccine-side-effects" target="_blank">National Geographic: 'Why is it so hard to compensate people for serious vaccine side effects?'</a> + <a href="https://twitter.com/eekymom/status/1535936520275865601" target="_blank">Twitter version with comments</a><br />*<a href="https://www.instagram.com/jab_injuries_usa/" target="_blank">Instagram page vaccine injures</a></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span><b><b><b><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><br />Links to my own blog diaries throughout the pandemic, being unvaccinated & critical of the covid approach and 'science':</span></span></b></b><br /><span style="color: #444444;">-Posts from March to May 2020 </span><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/10/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-xv.html" target="_blank">HERE</a><br /><b style="color: #444444;">-Posts from May 2020 to September 2021 <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/10/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-xvi.html" target="_blank">HERE</a><br /><b><b>-Posts from October 2021 to January 2022 <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2020/10/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life_15.html" target="_blank">HERE</a><br /><b><b><b><b>-Posts from February to March 2022 <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2020/10/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life.html" target="_blank">HERE</a><br /><b><b><b><b><b><b><b><b>-Posts from March 2022 till now <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/11/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-vii.html" target="_blank">HERE</a><br /><br /></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></span><p></p></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimKgoKOjT5yEOZdMjtZeIkD94DJGwKkDzHlI3LQCISs2E6X5a0D07KXAm9Mfzz2pFXpSjL3WL2brXOIIsXdb-cpmf7GgI42GIzXG4jx0WUvEv3_ZYO7GOmtJni4pXGSeWCIViptXvLGx8b3zAdZX4SrDfG869if4Ehm9EYLev5BGrpixwXg2BfcHfvsQ/s752/Untitled-1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="713" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimKgoKOjT5yEOZdMjtZeIkD94DJGwKkDzHlI3LQCISs2E6X5a0D07KXAm9Mfzz2pFXpSjL3WL2brXOIIsXdb-cpmf7GgI42GIzXG4jx0WUvEv3_ZYO7GOmtJni4pXGSeWCIViptXvLGx8b3zAdZX4SrDfG869if4Ehm9EYLev5BGrpixwXg2BfcHfvsQ/s320/Untitled-1.jpg" width="303" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kbtPc8opNe6TLnGz1dd4q6gyvs-2Ljkh4IEPVvC13OqZr8n1mMzlWhyA5M9azx3QnRXUtz_f12_plMlN4uCZ_PSkkCeGEkewU4vWLVPYE6EtYAk1ixK2D1LDAov5YsugbtPuiP6NL6VfhKblOkcqRsOnCzdpXPahpnU92whdiSoeiCz72cdvlk71IA/s818/war.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="818" data-original-width="795" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kbtPc8opNe6TLnGz1dd4q6gyvs-2Ljkh4IEPVvC13OqZr8n1mMzlWhyA5M9azx3QnRXUtz_f12_plMlN4uCZ_PSkkCeGEkewU4vWLVPYE6EtYAk1ixK2D1LDAov5YsugbtPuiP6NL6VfhKblOkcqRsOnCzdpXPahpnU92whdiSoeiCz72cdvlk71IA/s320/war.jpg" width="311" /></a> </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='590' height='490' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxixx0QduY_HT-cBlMhxngwBiSV4hBJJK0IjR5puBosp-MEsaPPkEPlHQ9uUjctuYX9NbsRZ3qigxATqCRyqQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></b></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='590' height='491' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw6gJYksdxNjWR35rj2zS6a98lrY8L4bLEio1Ub_qIpThI0mokTXm-Z13OR_egoTYb-dFm-p2gQV4Rz7UwBpQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Important watch; the Pfizer info summary</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>[<a href="https://rumble.com/v174zbr-new-pfizer-releases-more-documents.html?fbclid=IwAR3Kc-fQXYrHKjSTpxmRF5V1_AdZM036dcC8_rZXc6T4l88zkOAxod5fIE8" target="_blank">source</a>]</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='562' height='467' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz6o7LMC807acl9yuIbIyClbolRhWafiGRFQf3cyJL90nyCdXHa45rr6sJVv2Zq8x16iX83cnY55d41K3jITQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Summarized:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Pfizer and the FDA knew in 2020 that the vaccine didn't work.</b></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Pfizer and the FDA knew that the spike protein didn't stay in your deltoid (arm) muscle and knew that within 48 hours the spike protein went into your bloodstream and into your liver. </b></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Pfizer and FDA knew that 35 teenagers had had heart damage a week within the vaccine but they didn't tell anyone and they gave the go-ahead for kids to get it and kids didn't have inform consent.</b></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Pfizer knew that 100 microderm was far too high and dangerous and they dropped it internally but let the public have it. </b></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444;"><b>The CDC and NY Times were saying the vaccine was "safe and effective" for pregnant women. There was no evidence at all, except that they experimented on 45 rats in france and the people who ran the study were investors in Pfizer. The evidence actually showed that the babies of rats were dying. The records are lost on this.</b></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444;"><b>They knew that babies were dying and the rate of fetal deaths in Scotland almost doubled. They never told anyone.</b></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Vaccinated mothers were showing suppressed lactation and pollyethlene was being found in parts of the breast milk and there was proof of bathers failing to thrive and there was proof of babies dying of liver damage.<br /><br /></b></span></li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Pregnancy and the Pfizer vaccine</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><a href="https://phmpt.org/pfizers-documents/" target="_blank"><b>More</b></a> documents are <a href="https://www.icandecide.org/pfizer-documents/" target="_blank"><b>released</b></a>. Pregnant women were <i>excluded</i> from all phases of the Pfizer trials of the covid vaccine (both trials, 1, 2 and 3), and they only looked at the results of only 44 pregnant rats (tested for 42 days by Pfizer or Biotech employees)... Until now, there has not been a covid Pfizer trial performed on pregnant women. There are no safety data therefore, and Pfizer officially advised against the use of its vaccine in pregnant women. But what did pregnant women hear in reality from their doctors about the use of this experimental and untested vaccine...? That they should get vaccinated and that it was safe to do so... So unfortunately, pregnant women did get vaccinated and 20% of the adverse reactions reported were serious, including fetal deaths, miscarriages, uterine contractions, premature rupture of membranes and of course the blood clots that were generally over-represented in the reported adverse effects of the covid vaccines.. Female pregnant soldiers (forced to take the covid vaccine) also reported dramatic increases of 50% of congenital malformations of fetuses in 2021. <span>- Again: the fact that the overall majority of vaccinated pregnant women experienced no adverse effects, does not mean that the nevertheless significant group of women who <i>did,</i> should just be accepted as collateral damage. And as always has been my argument: people should be <i>free</i> to choose for themselves what is best for them, but in order to properly do that, they should not only <i>not</i> be blackmailed and forced by politicians, but they also need to be properly informed. And protected from malpractice. ALL of this has not been the case with the covid vaccines. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnNEC54HVhS-TD7WrAK-zkFNkh2lAqOcUnNx25c7hHR3FZClDeE0uX8gUB7kGot-3YmZAvCMO4Fg2XiEYCKW067e6v7N5KN2CNij1ShjrCmJkTZFhkpZrIxfbhUqF3ZIN9wuZ5e4Wo202A2Jfcs3tduac3r44MA-U89FnsY6XOy4pcKp4UDPO6S_tVaN_/s802/z1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="626" height="847" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnNEC54HVhS-TD7WrAK-zkFNkh2lAqOcUnNx25c7hHR3FZClDeE0uX8gUB7kGot-3YmZAvCMO4Fg2XiEYCKW067e6v7N5KN2CNij1ShjrCmJkTZFhkpZrIxfbhUqF3ZIN9wuZ5e4Wo202A2Jfcs3tduac3r44MA-U89FnsY6XOy4pcKp4UDPO6S_tVaN_/w662-h847/z1.png" width="662" /></a></div></span></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLw8gHMtymrYve6Mlwl9AKZQmuOeRiVoieyz_txvg331hSfXdjDxE_IS-SEtqnf8TQJNK5EWDw08qbnbPAPCH-eIO5CffQrTtT30mTT3skl9ucjWNK-tkr_9I36ovjVHa6JjcZd62L1ABUXIkfW28gtHbK1fWYkFzIMmDsNoTwkPRLtxB2JkkF9zN7DQ/s1499/FR7H85mXwAIRp72.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1499" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLw8gHMtymrYve6Mlwl9AKZQmuOeRiVoieyz_txvg331hSfXdjDxE_IS-SEtqnf8TQJNK5EWDw08qbnbPAPCH-eIO5CffQrTtT30mTT3skl9ucjWNK-tkr_9I36ovjVHa6JjcZd62L1ABUXIkfW28gtHbK1fWYkFzIMmDsNoTwkPRLtxB2JkkF9zN7DQ/w289-h400/FR7H85mXwAIRp72.jpg" width="289" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RV0YGhZRHKX71kXi7wbHAeDJN17lo2PPrcUslxC8l33kJ3PpnHRSJ5nr3CUv1tqPrSmwBrhUdifCOL60j-YimEyKfFYJGIHBWpYQm8JUJw_AnJTJZgiEN1xhT2l1GhXMTPzHAgirOge67HxHDaZyhfRSpCu6dI9DRVKzS8x7nYvemlhw9fz7dX0h2A/s680/FR70osBXsAcPRM1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="510" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RV0YGhZRHKX71kXi7wbHAeDJN17lo2PPrcUslxC8l33kJ3PpnHRSJ5nr3CUv1tqPrSmwBrhUdifCOL60j-YimEyKfFYJGIHBWpYQm8JUJw_AnJTJZgiEN1xhT2l1GhXMTPzHAgirOge67HxHDaZyhfRSpCu6dI9DRVKzS8x7nYvemlhw9fz7dX0h2A/w300-h400/FR70osBXsAcPRM1.jpg" width="300" /></a></b></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Johnson & Johnson covid vaccine sharply limited due to blood clots </span></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>More proof that the vaccine isn't as safe as we've been led to believe. They banned people over the past year and a half from social media for simply suggesting this was possible. 'Fact checkers' said it was a conspiracy theory to suggest this. Heaven forbid if you called it the "clot shot" on social media. Tragic. This is unfortunately what can happen with emergency use vaccines, that did not go through sufficient clinical trials (which usually takes years before a vaccine is authorised for use). The worst part to me is that all the vaccine makers are exempt from lawsuits over this, because of their emergency use status. Just like anyone who was mandated to get a COVID vaccine by their employer, cannot hold them accountable if they require inoculation as "a condition of employment". And also worrying: how committed the mainstream media is to cover up the #pfizerdocuments that are slowly being released. Mind you; Pfizer is still left off the hook for now, even though hospital data on blood clots shows mRNA vaccines are twice as risky in this respect as the J&J vaccine, and that blood clots can occur any time during a 3 month period, instead of only during the first two weeks. There was also a peer reviewed study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that concluded hospitalizations among the Moderna and Pfizer recipients for heart inflammation was up to 15 times greater than for the unvaccinated. Maybe in time, the media will eventually decide to dedicate the time and attention warranted for the highlighting of Pfizer's atrocious covid vaccine side-effects. And all this for a vaccine that works for 12 weeks at most, and has a 12% efficacy rate. I wonder if the silent majority out there are OK with all this, because they didn't encounter these side-effects? And tough sh*t for the minority who did? Collateral damage in the 'fight against covid'. </span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtMORfyTwuWD88WHIOBV7PbM9YPBnpocuObmpmpgc9uZC_9h-zW53X0AlvkYwtNWcaPlqoaI22ix0ogKoi7xFgx5mP6NOivtSXZFX_HKJxV1VKGZVOfHj7Efn5lMwX5Zxz-3uFxhKloQfg8QvoPmFxsxuUEENw9Qt1WAe-lPtxUQaaZ9syai89nv-GQ/s1329/clots.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1329" data-original-width="953" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtMORfyTwuWD88WHIOBV7PbM9YPBnpocuObmpmpgc9uZC_9h-zW53X0AlvkYwtNWcaPlqoaI22ix0ogKoi7xFgx5mP6NOivtSXZFX_HKJxV1VKGZVOfHj7Efn5lMwX5Zxz-3uFxhKloQfg8QvoPmFxsxuUEENw9Qt1WAe-lPtxUQaaZ9syai89nv-GQ/w238-h333/clots.jpg" width="238" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXEN_0RS_vltck1J5_nvDf2_KHaxSpBOCIGIyBvXtV7DBneLoedssGKzKGujJHeFWlzLTsvrGzbFX9OiGEqylh4TbGpBcdmjH67x4-oquSHT2adZTeXneWnX7UFj2jBgfKm35BxSliZxVDKLNgZLUiDr7i_gFLnnAD3EmFot-s5onTlAkzCtfZIhTq0A/s961/clots2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="961" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXEN_0RS_vltck1J5_nvDf2_KHaxSpBOCIGIyBvXtV7DBneLoedssGKzKGujJHeFWlzLTsvrGzbFX9OiGEqylh4TbGpBcdmjH67x4-oquSHT2adZTeXneWnX7UFj2jBgfKm35BxSliZxVDKLNgZLUiDr7i_gFLnnAD3EmFot-s5onTlAkzCtfZIhTq0A/w356-h333/clots2.jpg" width="356" /></a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><span><span>And more 'disinformation' slowly getting debunked:</span></span><span> </span></b></span></div><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">"According to a just-published, peer-reviewed study, the vaccine was “significantly associated” with a 25 percent hike “in emergency medical services (EMS) for heart problems in 16-39 year-olds in Israel, whose vaccination rate is among the world’s highest,” Just the News reported Wednesday, citing the study."</div><br /></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdbhoqpl1M_TF7r5B2L3cD5CS-8JXDvlc2xb1C78LWhEofALxZuOfn-lTPlR0Xcp-C3LpWtvC7928OPYo0Ia1n7toUAB5rDIsl_4H7CCfgR2L8oSQincO-60RbVGI96vGCrxpi3TnFhIuaRxBmDdruBomyVrbKHoBgMujPUV3Gue8_tw83TvV7LyK2Q/s925/clot3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="925" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdbhoqpl1M_TF7r5B2L3cD5CS-8JXDvlc2xb1C78LWhEofALxZuOfn-lTPlR0Xcp-C3LpWtvC7928OPYo0Ia1n7toUAB5rDIsl_4H7CCfgR2L8oSQincO-60RbVGI96vGCrxpi3TnFhIuaRxBmDdruBomyVrbKHoBgMujPUV3Gue8_tw83TvV7LyK2Q/w662-h440/clot3.png" width="662" /></b></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><span>But for us patients, there are empty package inserts: </span><span>no informed </span></span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">consent possible therefore</span><br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='610' height='507' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxxupyjgpfvghSav0jmHBDqtuoz5h6nih3BK587blEQUB_OZLJMFszbjtYKx6Oi7AlHnRf9bWnlDgQM3WnYZQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGo3gcoVt0WKTyFRZU2E3PvujVtUMSGH5aGIzBaW2DVKSOLz4qinO9tD8j61NjWF-NDJ2U7nc8n6GExmwui5Z45n1_yDP6vcPQjy4JlW7-7y9ThGnTCW_5qmPLKc7hV54ebrkbUuxRsqA2WSAIeuXGlttZ38_PcyLPA3Od6wsAGAaEmIhNhsHMpkmjyw=s1816" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="1125" height="544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGo3gcoVt0WKTyFRZU2E3PvujVtUMSGH5aGIzBaW2DVKSOLz4qinO9tD8j61NjWF-NDJ2U7nc8n6GExmwui5Z45n1_yDP6vcPQjy4JlW7-7y9ThGnTCW_5qmPLKc7hV54ebrkbUuxRsqA2WSAIeuXGlttZ38_PcyLPA3Od6wsAGAaEmIhNhsHMpkmjyw=w337-h544" width="337" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsDzI3fGDnDrUk-Nw9fYP7Krel5pC5xkjswQXdFJTKatitycB0b5hUsr9c-VJRkBXjOhghMesI3xQPW1gR8clZSof6T98VK1pCaBo-gxGlFraZaNXq4FEuvHnc4SCk9-QI6Z-xWfwpjvCE_1i9kvy6TsySTvlz1ioMgfyXXQXIFt4DkvS4DsOsoeXDYQ=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="946" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsDzI3fGDnDrUk-Nw9fYP7Krel5pC5xkjswQXdFJTKatitycB0b5hUsr9c-VJRkBXjOhghMesI3xQPW1gR8clZSof6T98VK1pCaBo-gxGlFraZaNXq4FEuvHnc4SCk9-QI6Z-xWfwpjvCE_1i9kvy6TsySTvlz1ioMgfyXXQXIFt4DkvS4DsOsoeXDYQ=w252-h546" width="252" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">More mentioned adverse effects in the <br />Pfizer documents that were looked for</span></span><br /><div style="color: #444444;"><span>*Adverse Event of Special Interest (AESI) means: “serious or non-serious <br />adverse effect that is one of scientific and medical concern, specific to the <br />sponsor's product for which ongoing monitoring and rapid <br />communication by the investigator to the sponsor can be appropriate.”<br />It is a vague terminology and Pfizer seems to purposely leave it in the<br />middle whether or not these adverse effects have already been identified </span></div><div style="color: #444444;"><span>in patients or not; and why they highlight all these side-effects- very</span></div><div style="color: #444444;"><span>possibly because they are already identified as possible side-effects.<br />Not even all doctors <a href="https://youtu.be/EASM6EzCVeg?t=168" target="_blank">understand</a> the true definition of this phrasing.<br /><div>But Pfizer basically says: look out for these complications. And it is a <br />massive list to be worried about. A list which was not distributed to <br />doctors and nurses, mind you, and of which most don't even know <br />that it exists. Brilliant lawyer-type of tricks, if you ask me. </div></span></div></b></span></div></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEheP4VIueGDpDjqAAWq2GlxvVtYK2USTyfHE2C79Akxyu0RLw-P35zW8ZpQiWZUx5QTjem1eechl8NJbsv9zhDSfdozCwEmxnhp0fWdD2b7HL1RIh_Xn7VTDRD7zxuCMiqfK79ZyklmDs1xw4Zpi4SLOEciEthGvZ1piWPjd_QqyQql9DeDelS728zU=s827" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="794" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEheP4VIueGDpDjqAAWq2GlxvVtYK2USTyfHE2C79Akxyu0RLw-P35zW8ZpQiWZUx5QTjem1eechl8NJbsv9zhDSfdozCwEmxnhp0fWdD2b7HL1RIh_Xn7VTDRD7zxuCMiqfK79ZyklmDs1xw4Zpi4SLOEciEthGvZ1piWPjd_QqyQql9DeDelS728zU=w282-h294" width="282" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2jV0K6eseMtoQSrd2mARgSk1VfvVpmPvASQb-3026V4ghDc72eLkTD3xHEqvOVb97ryle521gApPSmAsofCnOF_QJetm69kpp2JiAis735ITKE7pl7JKlViWfId0-_TVpQSkQqMvHHTyLSv_cPmblCwYLESWQbMKwV-ymSqgeZMAT01Cu590LIcMY=s830" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b> </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="498" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7YOD9drZasM" width="598" youtube-src-id="7YOD9drZasM"></iframe></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpXqnxPS9caAfFxGU8QGdUD1UfzwRpJYZ77G6NJg2w8188hK-BjGM9IV117go_AsTPQao2uUReWKD1BKRP2LCulnwq89U0HkPsGobqNN5zk_0Zn3KoeHwzJyp0__0Be2o2mdxivgr_z_DHLlL_g9qtebOGBiCDlduPsUpjsCD88FnoRsqEKXa_YNLGtQ=s842" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="793" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpXqnxPS9caAfFxGU8QGdUD1UfzwRpJYZ77G6NJg2w8188hK-BjGM9IV117go_AsTPQao2uUReWKD1BKRP2LCulnwq89U0HkPsGobqNN5zk_0Zn3KoeHwzJyp0__0Be2o2mdxivgr_z_DHLlL_g9qtebOGBiCDlduPsUpjsCD88FnoRsqEKXa_YNLGtQ=w376-h400" width="376" /></b></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRZ4i-1srXu1_HBFI_Lt4bom2O5z0H-wwN6MCBHVCkpi4cv9choKgKNn0CrH4cW3dj1lReJleA3jy5jl91zW1rEzCajRqNtQcBFaNyQXzWw9r2J25QAiXYdNU4kSkV1Opedz-Vs4lvVHSAmQ-rxBD4CfBsnAETP1H3QbcVxumPG7nwzWt0IlvTAiMGxw=s810" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="810" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRZ4i-1srXu1_HBFI_Lt4bom2O5z0H-wwN6MCBHVCkpi4cv9choKgKNn0CrH4cW3dj1lReJleA3jy5jl91zW1rEzCajRqNtQcBFaNyQXzWw9r2J25QAiXYdNU4kSkV1Opedz-Vs4lvVHSAmQ-rxBD4CfBsnAETP1H3QbcVxumPG7nwzWt0IlvTAiMGxw=w376-h372" width="376" /></b></span></a><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: bold;"><span>Doctor Afshine Emrani,</span><span> Cardiologist and</span></span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: bold;"> Internist, wrote in disgust about the revealed Pfizer documents </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Ninety days after administering the vaccine, Pfizer declared its covid19 vaccine was "safe" and rushed it to the CDC and FDA for approval. "Are '1223 deaths and 42,000 cases of side effects in 90 days' safe?", asks the cardiologist and internist Afshine Emrani on his <a href="https://twitter.com/afshineemrani/status/1501591641185931266" target="_blank"><b>twitter account</b></a><span><span>. He looked at the first documents that were published and, as he says himself, became very nauseous. "Unless I'm completely wrong, it's scandalous that the media isn't covering this," he wrote. It was also revealed that week that the Biden administration has given the media $1 billion to spread propaganda about the coronavirus vaccines. “This data was withheld from the public and it took a judge to obtain it. Why? Imagine you want to take medicine for diabetes or blood pressure and you have to go to court to make sure it's safe because you can't trust the authorities!” stated Dr. Emrani. </span><i><span>To make matters worse, some of the Pfizer information has been redacted. For example, we don't know how many people were vaccinated in those 90 days, so we don't know how many people received the vaccine during those 90 days, and hence we don't know the % of death and adverse side effects. </span></i></span>"I find it CRIMINAL at this point to force healthy children who are at extremely low risk of hospitalization or death to get a vaccine whose side effects are potentially serious and life-threatening. We need a reckoning of these data and a congressional hearing of what happened or people will never trust the system again. As a doctor who cares about patients, I am heartbroken."</div></span><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><span style="text-align: justify;"> "Imagine you want to take medicine for diabetes or blood pressure and you have to go to court to make sure it's safe because you can't trust the authorities!" "</span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span>To make matters worse, some of the Pfizer information has been redacted. For example, we don't know how many people were vaccinated in those 90 days, so we don't know how many people received the vaccine during those 90 days, and hence we don't know the % of death and adverse side effects." </span></span></span></i></b></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span><span>-So yeh, I understand that sentiment from dr. Emrani.</span> For healthy, non-obese children and adults (and those under the age of, say, 70), the risk of getting these vaccine-induced side-effects is much higher than dying from covid. There is also new research data available by now, showing that a lot of what the pharmaceutical companies initially said about the way these vaccines function, is incorrect. The vaccine does not stay into the muscle of the arm for instance, but 9 out of 10 times travels throughout the body with the blood within 6 hours. It accumulates in places like the spleen, the ovaries and the brain, as well as in blood vessels. The spike protein making (through the message to do so from the vaccine) does not last only a day or so, but months, sometimes over a year. A peer-reviewed <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)00076-9?rss=yes#relatedArticles" target="_blank"><b>study</b></a> published in the prestigious journal Cell by researchers at Stanford University found that the spike protein created by the COVID vaccines remains in the body much longer than believed and at levels higher than those of severely ill COVID-19 patients. This contradicts the official narrative, with the CDC stating on its website: <i>“Our cells break down mRNA and get rid of it within a few days after vaccination. Scientists estimate that the spike protein, like other proteins our bodies create, may stay in the body up to a few weeks.” </i>All these spike proteins which your body is taught to make itself, are 'toxic' and can cause extreme auto-immune response (inflammation) and blood clots. There is even info now from <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1467-3045/44/3/73/htm" target="_blank"><b>a new and approved Swedish scientific publication</b></a>**, that the mRNA in the vaccine can be converted into DNA in the liver cells (something which supposedly was impossible according to the vaccine makers; the CDC also claim that the vaccine can never enter our own body's cell nucleus), and it remains to be seen what the consequences of that will be. It were researchers from Lund University in Malmö, Sweden, who found that the mRNA vaccine does enter human liver cells and triggers the cell’s DNA in the nucleus to increase the production of the LINE-1 gene expression to make mRNA. Their research has been checked and approved for scientific publication by the university’s Department of Clinical Sciences, meaning the research results are correct. The Swedish researchers also concluded the spike proteins expressed on the surface of the liver cells through the vaccine could target the immune system and possibly cause autoimmune hepatitis. They noted “case reports on individuals who developed autoimmune hepatitis” after getting the Pfizer shot. The researchers said there is a possibility that <i>“spike-directed antibodies induced by vaccination may also trigger autoimmune conditions in predisposed individuals.”</i> The vaccine also temporarily lowers the Killer T cells in the body, which are very important when it comes to keeping cancer cells in check, among other things. Already there are reports of an increase in recurrent cancers among people who had been years, decades, into cancer remission. I believe that the finer details of all this will be published about over time. <span>**I show and explain this breakthrough Swedish medical discovery further below</span></span></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj12fH732HSjLILnAAhGijVUnsYkxuNKfep-0maxbzamlk5oLCTzxpB0shQ0Tih9R7STWTXIWE4fLf_u_8HCVoo2UOzQChUwGhAtKINuzy3dqw2TVOthVxNI_AmDJe4QNYoBBxYikW-RaKwvIP9zAWHZ3AQJb2lF-epkkTTtY0gQteZQGyTgMITl1sglQ=s1280" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj12fH732HSjLILnAAhGijVUnsYkxuNKfep-0maxbzamlk5oLCTzxpB0shQ0Tih9R7STWTXIWE4fLf_u_8HCVoo2UOzQChUwGhAtKINuzy3dqw2TVOthVxNI_AmDJe4QNYoBBxYikW-RaKwvIP9zAWHZ3AQJb2lF-epkkTTtY0gQteZQGyTgMITl1sglQ=w574-h323" width="574" /></b></span></a><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: bold;">No liability</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span>And what is particularly bad in my eyes, is that there is barely any p</span><span>ossibility to take the vaccine makers to court, or sue them over debilitating side-effects, for those people unlucky enough to experience them. I know that every medication has potential side-effects, but they have gone through decade-long rigorous testing (including animal testing, sad but true). With regular medication, you receive a leaflet, warning you of all potential side-effects. In the case of these covid19 vaccines, the leaflet (if you could even get hold of it) was literally a big empty, folded up leaflet. Hard to believe, but it's true. So how can anyone make an informed consent then? And people can sue pharmaceutical companies normally over drug side-effects, and they have indeed done so in the past. But this is all different with these vaccines as well. </span></span></div></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Because our governments have exempted pharmaceutical manufacturers from liability of adverse reactions. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">While at the same time, the vaccine is mandated for use as an "emergency medical treatment", and required in many countries to participate in everyday public life. But if things go wrong (and even Pfizer's own vaccine data proves that things <i>do</i> go wrong for some users), will insurance companies instead pay out on any policies? </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">No, they won't either. It comes down to <span>the taxpayers</span> to pay the recompense, if the injured or the relatives of deceased vaccine users even manage to win their case. M</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">any European insurers have even refused to pay out life policies, as they don't want to be held accountable for the vaccines of pharmaceutical companies who rushed through testing phases and ignored worrisome side-effects. Insurers now say: it was an optional choice to take a emergency usage vaccine. The risk is yours, good luck with it all. And they rely themselves on </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">a clause which states that these companies cannot be held liable, as the covid pandemic was an emergency situation. It is the government who sometimes coughs up the compensation (with tax payers money). </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">While the pharmaceutical companies are earning a fortune from these vaccines. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Astra Zeneca's profits last year were 37 billion pounds, and they were among the least profitable ones. So w</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">hy are government paying for the actions of a pharmaceutical company? </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Because governments agreed on this. At the same time, they </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">more or less forced people to take these emergency vaccines, despite shoddy minimal testing results and a known washing list of side effects. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Side-effects of which the serious ones were not shown to people. </span>There is no such thing as informed consent without this information being made public. Who would risk blood clots, heart disease or an array of 41 possible autoimmune ailments, in exchange for a vaccine that is molded around the original, pre-mutated covid19 strain which is no longer around? A vaccine which does not reliably prevent you from catching covid or passing it on, and not even prevents you from dying of covid, as a year+ of data has by now proven? And why have the CDC and other powerful organizations not made these 'rare' side-effects public? <span style="font-family: inherit;">Using the word 'rare' in regards to a side-effects list, does not justify encouraging people to take these vaccines without them having been fully informed of all the side effects. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our leaders spent millions pushing, even mandating the potentially damaging products and used a slush-fund created from the victims money to compensate for disabling some of them. Even if you yourself were fine and sustained no long term adverse effects from covid19 vaccines, it should worry you how less fortunate users are being treated right now. - <b><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b></span><b><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Below is an </span><a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/black-hole-covid-vaccine-injury-claims-2021-06-29/" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">article from Reuters</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, highlighting the sheer difficulty of suing in case of covid19 vaccine injuries:</span></span></b></div></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /><br /></b></span></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuyXUiwedyD2UFpM6skO3abvzmUq1MLimu_71aqU-U9ucg5xd60jDy8h7ehDjZgCkbYQppCBSgVB55RAwecBu1PSTsgeT9-JH6t2aT5eKE70npZaFHtJM3ri6e-HP1MSzaBh8uVAp6zjcHeQpDwWMhTlCzLGRT1-osDB9NabUz8hQIcfoGC8zTEpMY=s1599" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1599" data-original-width="996" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuyXUiwedyD2UFpM6skO3abvzmUq1MLimu_71aqU-U9ucg5xd60jDy8h7ehDjZgCkbYQppCBSgVB55RAwecBu1PSTsgeT9-JH6t2aT5eKE70npZaFHtJM3ri6e-HP1MSzaBh8uVAp6zjcHeQpDwWMhTlCzLGRT1-osDB9NabUz8hQIcfoGC8zTEpMY=w321-h516" width="321" /></b></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgre4koctBI8J_gmnuvq_77i_aLwDBT3FB6HpS9D8vr5JDDevUCHUZvt9WJGfjhcDXCCmW6cOov1SIOfGxXOV939UcQ0Y7KgI2ztxvtuqlHwJMcpI4BjvgXCVmeLnTEDAJCFsaksUq-g7lAkgKJECjAmdPjaHCx-zx6fl41bQYOTym8TZh1K51ucZhq=s2651" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="2651" data-original-width="948" height="898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgre4koctBI8J_gmnuvq_77i_aLwDBT3FB6HpS9D8vr5JDDevUCHUZvt9WJGfjhcDXCCmW6cOov1SIOfGxXOV939UcQ0Y7KgI2ztxvtuqlHwJMcpI4BjvgXCVmeLnTEDAJCFsaksUq-g7lAkgKJECjAmdPjaHCx-zx6fl41bQYOTym8TZh1K51ucZhq=w320-h898" width="320" /></b></span></a></div><div><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;"><b>A ‘black hole’ for COVID </b></span></div><div><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;"><b>vaccine injury </b></span><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">claims</b></div><div><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br />By Jenna Greene</b></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">(Reuters) - Altom Maglio says his law firm in recent years has litigated more vaccine-related injury claims than any other in the United States. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">But 22-lawyer Maglio Christopher & Toale on its website has a discouraging message for would-be clients who believe they’ve suffered a serious injury from the COVID-19 vaccine. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">“Our law firm has concluded that there is nothing our attorneys can do to significantly assist you,” the firm states.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Maglio told me his Sarasota, Florida-based firm has been “contacted by at least a couple hundred people” about suspected COVID vaccine-related injuries, including blood clots and cardiac inflammation. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">It’s not that his firm doesn’t want to help. Representing people who’ve had (rare) major adverse reactions to vaccines for tetanus, measles, hepatitis, influenza and a dozen other shots is its bread and butter. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">But the current system for handling COVID-related claims is different – and not in a good way. Because if you’ve suffered an injury related to the Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines, you’re basically out of luck. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">As Renée Gentry, director of the Vaccine Injury Litigation Clinic at the George Washington University Law School put it, COVID vaccine claimants have two rights: “You have the right to file,” she said. “And you have the right to lose.” [..] </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">M</span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">ore than 317 million doses have been given in the United States since December 2020, according to the agency. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">With numbers that big, a few bad reactions are inevitable, regardless of what’s being administered. “Even if it was baby aspirin,” Maglio notes, “someone would have an adverse reaction.” </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">Which means we can assume a small number of people who got COVID-19 vaccinations suffered an injury as a direct result. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">The question is, what to do about it?</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">Since 1988, the government has run a special, no-fault tribunal housed within the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (known colloquially as “vaccine court”), to handle injury claims for 16 common vaccines. Payouts (including attorneys’ fees) are funded by a 75-cent tax per vaccine. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">I’ve written about the court before, and plaintiffs' lawyers in the past have expressed their share of complaints. The $250,000 cap on awards for pain and suffering is too low. The proceedings often turn into drawn out, contentious expert battles. The backlog of cases is substantial. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">“We didn’t know how good we had it,” Maglio said. The vaccine court “is not without problems, but it does work, and people do get compensation.” </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">But that’s not where COVID vaccine claims are being adjudicated. Instead, at least for the time being, they’ve been relegated to an even more obscure forum, the Countermeasure Injury Compensation Program, or CICP, run by the Health Resources and Services Administration. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">Both Maglio and Gentry use the same phrase to describe the program: “A black hole.”</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">A public affairs officer for the HRSA, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, did not respond to a request for comment. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">The agency’s website outlines the parameters of the program, which is authorized by the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (or PREP) Act. In March 2020, then-Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar added COVID claims to it. Coverage includes vaccines as well as injuries stemming from other “countermeasures” used to treat the virus, such as medications and devices. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">It’s telling to look at the nine other “public health emergencies and security dangers” covered by the program, including Ebola, anthrax, Marburg and acute radiation syndrome. None are what you’d call common afflictions.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">And then there’s COVID, where 180 million people in the U.S. have received at least one shot. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">The program provides compensation for medical expenses, lost employment income and survivor death benefits as “the payer of last resort,” covering only what remains unpaid or unpayable by other third parties such as health insurance. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">Except historically, almost no one gets anything. Since the program’s inception in 2010, only 29 claims have been paid, with an average payout of around $200,000. (Ten additional claims won approval but were deemed ineligible for compensation.) </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">The other 452 claims -- 91.4% -- were denied.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">As of June 1, the program reports that 869 cases are pending but offers no further details. Given the lack of, say, current Zika or smallpox outbreaks, it’s probably safe to assume that most or all are COVID-related. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">Gentry is not optimistic that any will be approved. Because the vaccine is so new, there’s no definitive research on injuries caused by the vaccine, she said. Which means that when the claims land on someone’s desk at HRSA, that person “can do their job and look at the ‘research’ and everyone loses.” </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">The solution to her is obvious: Move the COVID claims to vaccine court. Cases there are decided by experienced special masters, the U.S. Justice Department already has a division of torts branch lawyers who focus on such litigation, and an experienced petitioners’ bar knows how to tap medical experts to determine the likely cause of a post-vaccine injury. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">Bipartisan legislation is pending that would expedite the addition of new vaccines, including COVID-19, to the court. </span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">“I believe this would be the best antidote to vaccine hesitancy,” Maglio told me. “It would instill confidence that if something bad happened, you’re going to be taken care of.”</span></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p><b><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Updates: News articles and social <br />media posts about the vaccines</span><br /></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx9PcVkuInw062W5q1EUgUQRm0pNYYFa106oqEgO_BpgTpUEmgZYafkFftI5BbzRMXY-pF3T9KhJHM9sOrbjA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy1nq3KoOKyrOxI3S9qxnqbhP6XxZkmEhxq5B83PVyRBQBTgzSH2XlC0xC3LLDF_PdB8wyZAVtcM4uStPM1JA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></b></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgi5hyt22IPdR10jVO5Tl6Q1hLYx8TkKYNSmTu1GwDRIB6dBRa866hk03QSbYGZhsbydWWKUbXA__GFbQyDJJSdFVoHZuATlpt9ESSMnJXYZ6M3yqtoKAVPGJcqBYN-7V38n2nbB7SGbcQO_1ygK_1v3tfDOgdWrujGztF4tcJsIOK0bc5Ea06XlYHk=s1380" style="margin-left: 1em; 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font-size: xx-large;"><span>*More</span><span> about</span><span> this <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1467-3045/44/3/73/htm" target="_blank">a</a></span><span><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1467-3045/44/3/73/htm" target="_blank"> n</a></span><span><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1467-3045/44/3/73/htm" target="_blank">ew and approved</a></span><span> Swedish scientific publication:</span></span><br /><br /><span><span style="color: #990000;">Published: 25 February 2022</span></span><br /></b></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>A Swedish study is the first of its kind to show that the mRNA vaccine of Pfizer and BioNTech enters the <span>cell nucleus</span> and triggers the formation of DNA. The scientists from Sweden concluded:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>"In this study we present evidence that COVID-19 mRNA vaccine BNT162b2* is able to enter the human liver cell line Huh7 in vitro. BNT162b2 mRNA is reverse transcribed intracellularly into DNA as fast as 6 h after BNT162b2 exposure." [..] Our study shows that BNT162b2 can be reverse transcribed to DNA in liver cell line Huh7, and this may give rise to the concern if BNT162b2-derived DNA may be integrated into the host genome and affect the integrity of genomic DNA, which may potentially mediate genotoxic side effects. At this stage, we do not know if DNA reverse transcribed from BNT162b2 is integrated into the cell genome. Further studies are needed to demonstrate the effect of BNT162b2 on genomic integrity, including whole genome sequencing of cells exposed to BNT162b2, as well as tissues from human subjects who received BNT162b2 vaccination." </span>[..] "The Pfizer EMA assessment report also showed that BNT162b2 distributes in the spleen (<1.1%), adrenal glands (<0.1%), as well as low and measurable radioactivity in the ovaries and testes (<0.1%)."Our results showed that BNT162b2 mRNA readily enters Huh7 cells at a concentration (0.5 µg/mL) corresponding to 0.5% of the local injection site concentration, induce changes in LINE-1 gene and protein expression, and within 6 h, reverse transcription of BNT162b2 can be detected. It is therefore important to investigate further the effect of BNT162b2 on other cell types and tissues both in vitro and in vivo."</div><span><span>*BNT162b2 stands for Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. This is also how it was called during its development stages by Pfizer and BioNTech themselves.<br /></span><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span>So, this study showes for the first time</span>, that unlike what was promised so far by the CDC and the vaccine producers, the covid19 vaccine's mRNA <i><u>does</u></i> enter the cell nucleus, where our DNA is stored. They tested this on very specific human liver cells. The researchers show that the mRNA code (delivered by the vaccine) in fact enters liver cells as early as six hours after the vaccine has been administered. They also, importantly, noticed that <span>there was DNA converted from the vaccine's mRNA</span> inside the host cells. </span>The CDC and the vaccine makers had until now declared that this was not possible. The way mRNA vaccines have been presented and explained to the public so far, is that mRNA is only a messenger, enabling the creation of the building blocks that make the spike protein. And that this mRNA does NOT enter the cell nucleus (where our DNA is stored), but only delivers the genetic code message outside of that nucleus, to the cytoplasm. The cytoplasm then produces the spike protein </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>You can see in the below added animation video how the mRNA type of covid vaccines are supposed to work, that the mRNA is not entering the big purple egg, aka the cell nucleus. The man in this video literally says that the mRNA from the vaccine cannot enter it. This is also what vaccine producers and the media have always stressed: <i>"It is not biologically possible for the mRNA from the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to be reverse transcribed into the human DNA. The vaccine mRNA and the human DNA reside in two different compartments of the cell. Our DNA stays in the nucleus, while the vaccine mRNA is only delivered by the nanoparticle into the cytoplasm, thus never entering the nucleus. There are no transporter molecules that can direct the mRNA into the nucleus."</i></span></div><i><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div></i><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>So what this Swedish research now shows is that <i>in fact</i>, the vaccine mRNA <i>does</i> enter the cell nucleus and also directly stimulates the production of DNA. That also goes against what was said and promised until now. But more research is needed to find out what the exact consequences of this are. It needs further research, and this is probably not the same as it changing our core DNA. This study does not investigate whether the Pfizer vaccine alters our genome. My bet is that it does not.. But perhaps scientists will find out soon what it does mean exactly. And whether it is true that the mRNA only orders the cytoplasm to produce spike proteins for a very short period of time, as is the claim. It is already looking like this is also not true, as scientists have found that the body of vaccinated people has been producing spike proteins up to at least <i>months</i> after vaccination. While the idea was that our immune system destroys the vaccine substance and its mRNA as good as instantly. Science will also have to show in the near future what the exact effects are of having these spike proteins floating through the blood for all this time, and accumulating in our organs, as they do. The spike part is the most cytotoxic aspect of the covid19 virus, so it begs the question what months of exposure to these vaccine-induced, self-made spike proteins in the body has on our health and potential side-effects...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Btw: Researchers looked at the liver cells specifically, because about 18 percent of the vaccine accumulates in the liver just 30 minutes after the vaccine is injected in mice, as was also reported by Pfizer in its EMA assessment report. But these liver cells are not exactly the same as the liver cells of living human beings, so that has to be further researched as well. (They used a cell line that originally came from a human liver tumor, which is standard for this type of testing).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hYfptHaDNouCAkYjAK60eZ91h6aoSxlVSu_lkCWypCMY_bHPOMysJOd3j7_AWxzpDjtV5QN1WBVdNafg5mP5Enc3ghnAd-5GZ54lGqLmiPm85fWA5LrppkhIfoLQFsVpukNw7ezyQRL27QlIfmoPJhYUIT1dBaAUphdK3lh8i4lid1WVxm2mMiBfNJtQ/s1023/Z19.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="969" data-original-width="1023" height="606" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hYfptHaDNouCAkYjAK60eZ91h6aoSxlVSu_lkCWypCMY_bHPOMysJOd3j7_AWxzpDjtV5QN1WBVdNafg5mP5Enc3ghnAd-5GZ54lGqLmiPm85fWA5LrppkhIfoLQFsVpukNw7ezyQRL27QlIfmoPJhYUIT1dBaAUphdK3lh8i4lid1WVxm2mMiBfNJtQ/w640-h606/Z19.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsj4oxV27Y2NZVZpeg0bgSpJLOMriCvTRv6eIFy6eNlM_FgZgV0A719F0keWmjz-xf-0o_yawt3ARxj-Be7_pSdqbgfsVw-6-OIxvJ2iuMmd3b6_ZwlsdUAr-sivZAHpBejalhMlAQdzZdoZssjNORPB9UN2fY1XkTE47HBlo_JHAoUbrZCt5L3aiikij3/s1019/Z20.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="951" data-original-width="1019" height="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsj4oxV27Y2NZVZpeg0bgSpJLOMriCvTRv6eIFy6eNlM_FgZgV0A719F0keWmjz-xf-0o_yawt3ARxj-Be7_pSdqbgfsVw-6-OIxvJ2iuMmd3b6_ZwlsdUAr-sivZAHpBejalhMlAQdzZdoZssjNORPB9UN2fY1XkTE47HBlo_JHAoUbrZCt5L3aiikij3/w640-h598/Z20.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDMiZXrMaIKj3sCSordby62_7zUFbf6HJgwXNKny5e53W7iJqB6CcmAqTdPhI9t1jHuvKfjQMhrDasIOybpdEBMfel7tCCnBHeyduuKGm-Sw0fXxMoB23KfxnGi-UjSKOb7mdCq8BSf2042nP9BXHtbO2131CxJA46fAvzVXyJrWiQ00ALzlprA_2aJYBm/s1049/Z21.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="983" data-original-width="1049" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDMiZXrMaIKj3sCSordby62_7zUFbf6HJgwXNKny5e53W7iJqB6CcmAqTdPhI9t1jHuvKfjQMhrDasIOybpdEBMfel7tCCnBHeyduuKGm-Sw0fXxMoB23KfxnGi-UjSKOb7mdCq8BSf2042nP9BXHtbO2131CxJA46fAvzVXyJrWiQ00ALzlprA_2aJYBm/w640-h600/Z21.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="475" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XTLYXmgG8DU" width="571" youtube-src-id="XTLYXmgG8DU"></iframe></b></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Below, an article in the prestigious British Medical Journal about malpractice from Pfizer</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoVSGpfSwwMF9CgUpf0yG2AJSgaJDAOYzG1FuYInNela6LUgBWuH1KEDqxZ5TPSdo3On8KphedGf89j8XzpXOzayXWi5iuX6N09otiIa5HON1OxLCRsIo-BL8oI-ut51Y7o82xKHhimK1HK9skaHw4DH3fVDDQ7p8L5-2rrUpWu5DqMS6pJM-69qrZAQ=s1664" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1664" data-original-width="1595" height="668" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoVSGpfSwwMF9CgUpf0yG2AJSgaJDAOYzG1FuYInNela6LUgBWuH1KEDqxZ5TPSdo3On8KphedGf89j8XzpXOzayXWi5iuX6N09otiIa5HON1OxLCRsIo-BL8oI-ut51Y7o82xKHhimK1HK9skaHw4DH3fVDDQ7p8L5-2rrUpWu5DqMS6pJM-69qrZAQ=w641-h668" width="641" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5sqlWq3B3tGiZk5Z7isjNw7V9w7jbZbp52dr9BQnwdusEC65gd8I4FcjNUH9jlzKe3qHlT5VMuuNTnDWOhqXoSmIqB8eFejrmxbkIsvj1GvMn_KLNmJSHBvzFrGgLkNV1Ekqje6MaP_r_5_IhcIQp5guRZ1NjjQgmc1tZ6uedgFfX4z5TJ9XLUv7l1A=s1595" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1595" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5sqlWq3B3tGiZk5Z7isjNw7V9w7jbZbp52dr9BQnwdusEC65gd8I4FcjNUH9jlzKe3qHlT5VMuuNTnDWOhqXoSmIqB8eFejrmxbkIsvj1GvMn_KLNmJSHBvzFrGgLkNV1Ekqje6MaP_r_5_IhcIQp5guRZ1NjjQgmc1tZ6uedgFfX4z5TJ9XLUv7l1A=w645-h339" width="645" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_eyYSaK0GwtmfyfMJgCh9lAr0h6eUHEwsqinXykx4mo-0SjE6xcv65sNv6udyHbhlww5Og_9hOvKXQ9xGTW6hMfljNxWLapkQNrVCeUs4S3iz2O5CxuyF9-SP--ZnOvsAcnCvBfumsyaXX7luLvCCZB4_-kgj1spbbptOyqPcfoidAODt_MycymnJ1w=s1599" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="1599" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_eyYSaK0GwtmfyfMJgCh9lAr0h6eUHEwsqinXykx4mo-0SjE6xcv65sNv6udyHbhlww5Og_9hOvKXQ9xGTW6hMfljNxWLapkQNrVCeUs4S3iz2O5CxuyF9-SP--ZnOvsAcnCvBfumsyaXX7luLvCCZB4_-kgj1spbbptOyqPcfoidAODt_MycymnJ1w=w644-h438" width="644" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj47TS9c0g2I5lgCR-ll8nzr4xWMp1vpcTN4LFLFlN17WyImtPqyzz292PV5LjHy4AD4ZhCvfmpR5vFqTOKTO8Y-_2H6SWEA3xJjnGGm4LBIngoetgL9fgsmcAtMOPSyGC7PcuvQoasJNNs2uZZT7hXJEBRQcg5MDBsq3ipMuKnILJ43o4PwmAcpBhyRg=s1599" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1599" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj47TS9c0g2I5lgCR-ll8nzr4xWMp1vpcTN4LFLFlN17WyImtPqyzz292PV5LjHy4AD4ZhCvfmpR5vFqTOKTO8Y-_2H6SWEA3xJjnGGm4LBIngoetgL9fgsmcAtMOPSyGC7PcuvQoasJNNs2uZZT7hXJEBRQcg5MDBsq3ipMuKnILJ43o4PwmAcpBhyRg=w644-h452" width="644" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTlESSt_dk5YiKOdfQyC4L2g1ekyIecD9MTw8rT-GciGqZnG3fDjvsdjOjkDsl8I2cirvXtzdXFBLZbWuYQcrZCt0YVNnsKBymfq9wH40xyTGNs3078iA1ti6XDKJsWISLlKxHl2hVzB0EirRSNPN8Rup2HpEwPSaxb41t6Cw8OCYAAP35PH_bv1mRug=s1630" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1095" data-original-width="1630" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTlESSt_dk5YiKOdfQyC4L2g1ekyIecD9MTw8rT-GciGqZnG3fDjvsdjOjkDsl8I2cirvXtzdXFBLZbWuYQcrZCt0YVNnsKBymfq9wH40xyTGNs3078iA1ti6XDKJsWISLlKxHl2hVzB0EirRSNPN8Rup2HpEwPSaxb41t6Cw8OCYAAP35PH_bv1mRug=w650-h436" width="650" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJezjF2LmRngltN0inoUFxgbIoY5SIfwydQzoLk4m-kT5SF0O1QGsn3qtup_JxfGddCgMRqeopYX1ueoXtX0GIFF_Gn5NPbGvvJlQ9grEhYTLth9P1nEQQ42Lpg8YQ-ruImvIwlWdvH9OncKyDPGI-jcdcrpdKP3YcMgbS4KOvJb-ujupYjEVxEZaU8w=s1630" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1318" data-original-width="1630" height="529" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJezjF2LmRngltN0inoUFxgbIoY5SIfwydQzoLk4m-kT5SF0O1QGsn3qtup_JxfGddCgMRqeopYX1ueoXtX0GIFF_Gn5NPbGvvJlQ9grEhYTLth9P1nEQQ42Lpg8YQ-ruImvIwlWdvH9OncKyDPGI-jcdcrpdKP3YcMgbS4KOvJb-ujupYjEVxEZaU8w=w654-h529" width="654" /></b></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='502' height='417' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz59WTWLUg9rRO6ZIwmIOpxAwTZWLbRUXvcuX-hIz8PBDI7U_HHpjTs84bMTsYOHz0KL2T_7VXCWBBXPEkUvw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://twitter.com/agy_lena/status/1520734951624294401" target="_blank"><span>Source + discussion</span></a> </span></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh52k8gNRjoghWO4uIalpycBsTOfSWIF7Lc6r1qVt5JwIh4U5ytGpGZb8v2eJK9Glx3eTD5Rep3lqsJm05qJDoZwPcfMvkjdPtpZwuKK5SXNjp052XDkD1a_lkXnvys3LEiWo7G7C-C8vxz5VztZ6wPXZmLRflgFEU0Icc3OyBdI_i8iA5ageLJAS3svQ=s2346" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="2346" data-original-width="682" height="1777" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh52k8gNRjoghWO4uIalpycBsTOfSWIF7Lc6r1qVt5JwIh4U5ytGpGZb8v2eJK9Glx3eTD5Rep3lqsJm05qJDoZwPcfMvkjdPtpZwuKK5SXNjp052XDkD1a_lkXnvys3LEiWo7G7C-C8vxz5VztZ6wPXZmLRflgFEU0Icc3OyBdI_i8iA5ageLJAS3svQ=w516-h1777" width="516" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>More anecdotal info</b></span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9kaFS43rvEdW7R58qV30QStyoL3fBSkmLRZL8x5A5k89rAwGQBePuIwCechPd1fkNlOyq25TZ7HKu9J0nL0ilp6diNThVjrwbbd86otpsteyao6vup871hmrWLmttykeOo4NvuG3Im5Hz66oMtj61gYZi4IEPAIEIXrw3NjXR-Q8c-Uo7Kpdikt06=s680" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="680" height="485" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9kaFS43rvEdW7R58qV30QStyoL3fBSkmLRZL8x5A5k89rAwGQBePuIwCechPd1fkNlOyq25TZ7HKu9J0nL0ilp6diNThVjrwbbd86otpsteyao6vup871hmrWLmttykeOo4NvuG3Im5Hz66oMtj61gYZi4IEPAIEIXrw3NjXR-Q8c-Uo7Kpdikt06=w646-h485" width="646" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="587" height="403" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEij0eR5JSjkr9eJfNzg0fKGI1IPendPkNrGnlhtdTWwOm4kxTX_xqXe8kYmPbT59YYEmHDHyPUs-fWElImZ6M8B4gxVnf39u0CiYwi8qsxjUyWrp9l3JgmSc4Zv05nxb-S7j5GV4q0sgRykOQykLUh0T-E0GNi6StNqX9ZGLobAuzQqZi4f9VpZd3sxIw=w309-h403" width="309" /></a></b></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi35mXT6Oaby6B8pF2STxggU0B1DlQllzm1Dh4FbHCw2nuxfBxD_PNey9oScCLN4lsAk3wTsbMVyC3ok9TYxTZAGZrV8FSUO8hU2uuHa6Kamy2oajUrL4rnOVegrC5arF1ioWYEEPXVv3Pnrn6dq-TR5oTmw9D-3JBZ1LxZYbrJHsBkwex--aLBSsyU=s1024" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi35mXT6Oaby6B8pF2STxggU0B1DlQllzm1Dh4FbHCw2nuxfBxD_PNey9oScCLN4lsAk3wTsbMVyC3ok9TYxTZAGZrV8FSUO8hU2uuHa6Kamy2oajUrL4rnOVegrC5arF1ioWYEEPXVv3Pnrn6dq-TR5oTmw9D-3JBZ1LxZYbrJHsBkwex--aLBSsyU=w320-h426" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUBntulm1bDjBCqRtqghcBdm6znDipwTZ-djJLCDaPQ7KSFsQ-QtLx5EwIEB46iF3q8fFpQUBhtuzTQUchVr2J1Q7loUG4JkIK3wvVT4NoM94nH56K8g3f8m-u2TsvRdSku8I28KsS0RymO3KyvcmkAssbhWHbIQBv8pEz1BPL52rqL7MgfqI42hCF=s960" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="630" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUBntulm1bDjBCqRtqghcBdm6znDipwTZ-djJLCDaPQ7KSFsQ-QtLx5EwIEB46iF3q8fFpQUBhtuzTQUchVr2J1Q7loUG4JkIK3wvVT4NoM94nH56K8g3f8m-u2TsvRdSku8I28KsS0RymO3KyvcmkAssbhWHbIQBv8pEz1BPL52rqL7MgfqI42hCF=w280-h427" width="280" /></a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbGZjR18A-i00e1lDLCwkZ-46iWt6yE1KmaLZBIpi83q8sfnLsQEPRETCq2MKQCTm1R-4iLrE8Fs5sXdl0RKUfh-KDcyJIbu24qXSI0vAVcizvHy85v_IDqmBFKXQIP7tGM82v5LEBxqbtXVseEgF08fBC5VmA3vFG9Kqxj-awCdaARve6IosR9ePb=s820" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="817" data-original-width="820" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbGZjR18A-i00e1lDLCwkZ-46iWt6yE1KmaLZBIpi83q8sfnLsQEPRETCq2MKQCTm1R-4iLrE8Fs5sXdl0RKUfh-KDcyJIbu24qXSI0vAVcizvHy85v_IDqmBFKXQIP7tGM82v5LEBxqbtXVseEgF08fBC5VmA3vFG9Kqxj-awCdaARve6IosR9ePb=w299-h298" width="299" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiemEkxUnZyqAIPB3GJqPlo3HNwBDfYVPRtnbEVMmPMzcC4sBqX8X6ke6OomGPmZaEmlVS1TQNXEq3WU8a4ZuyjKqbTy_0fsyrh9hk7zu6BuZr36CFsbs8e8yh99vXdMz5lc_9-VLNdmXiFE5x-IeFR9rPEyQqixpuU0E8KzFHkiQyyveiEXqpeu-qg=s818" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwDBNSughbVdHzNjaL14pe5B5XKwftagFBHXf7M074R-7KZC-PT0zNV7dlEYH_O5_NjwDjFSl7XEYEayXLI8yXF7URnVnvVA-qmcZsz-ACRwrDhZl4aPOJHemX-f7qA1kykV3AjP-52jUzE1xtK4IeLprJXiknvVMC1-LG_qUsbuoc1p4SQE0lzP7u=s768" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="768" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwDBNSughbVdHzNjaL14pe5B5XKwftagFBHXf7M074R-7KZC-PT0zNV7dlEYH_O5_NjwDjFSl7XEYEayXLI8yXF7URnVnvVA-qmcZsz-ACRwrDhZl4aPOJHemX-f7qA1kykV3AjP-52jUzE1xtK4IeLprJXiknvVMC1-LG_qUsbuoc1p4SQE0lzP7u=w633-h252" width="633" /></b></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">'Intelligent and ambitious' trainee solicitor, 26, suffered 'excruciating' headaches before dying from a blood clot after having Astra-Zeneca Covid vaccine, inquest <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10755311/Ambitious-trainee-solicitor-26-died-rare-blood-clot-having-Astra-Zeneca-Covid-vaccine.html" target="_blank">hears</a> </b></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxiuoqHDKeHItkCHNv6jm27WmIurTUurY6uHAtsC53OwYfAX8BuuTKarkIJ2UWJ-XyjqYMtuqSXlyH2PjpvlQYR5UFQlvQ5qwqC3ulfiOoxQaHUlXjRhoLqR-hee4sf9_TueaVJ6TjMzZbG_PG37bVFfP09N96Shxa14zTn2NKdUErqoXTGDkJAEdhMA/s802/oxford2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="523" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxiuoqHDKeHItkCHNv6jm27WmIurTUurY6uHAtsC53OwYfAX8BuuTKarkIJ2UWJ-XyjqYMtuqSXlyH2PjpvlQYR5UFQlvQ5qwqC3ulfiOoxQaHUlXjRhoLqR-hee4sf9_TueaVJ6TjMzZbG_PG37bVFfP09N96Shxa14zTn2NKdUErqoXTGDkJAEdhMA/w180-h275/oxford2.jpg" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYduRZSf-GjCJ_qaofYOXyuZvPd9QxsgNju3BxXbBRWepX3hIs5V_2m1vZJYph_VR1lKsIq42qnashItsAMn-w02WsrOEOrHdS-fdSgTutiHPs7y4cTA-ze58FI12_RxtwdM1mcN17vq8ha5RgZ6Rrd9-JTJeYldF7O3a8t5UNAM2X8Sp5ZUZ6QC6hQ/s958/oxford.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="958" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYduRZSf-GjCJ_qaofYOXyuZvPd9QxsgNju3BxXbBRWepX3hIs5V_2m1vZJYph_VR1lKsIq42qnashItsAMn-w02WsrOEOrHdS-fdSgTutiHPs7y4cTA-ze58FI12_RxtwdM1mcN17vq8ha5RgZ6Rrd9-JTJeYldF7O3a8t5UNAM2X8Sp5ZUZ6QC6hQ/w418-h278/oxford.jpg" width="418" /></a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Large German insurance company estimates 2,5 <br /></b><b>to 3 </b><b>million people in Germany 'under treatment <br />for side-effects of vaccination after covid shot'</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXHjX3qqGzJlPgpwD3Dcr9_2LP2hmllssol8OZPSrCQuhWX724ndxHYaUjHK-nh7HNYYhLQ8eaksKRHPqcYCLjzK3z0QUQhsFHBff3j219D8ZCWYwLEzpq6oaiy8S5W4R0ZF1MGKf7DXaofRKIh3E456BC_-namytKjyZfw64vW3fkKAb0lGdJTiMWUA=s2128" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2128" data-original-width="1868" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXHjX3qqGzJlPgpwD3Dcr9_2LP2hmllssol8OZPSrCQuhWX724ndxHYaUjHK-nh7HNYYhLQ8eaksKRHPqcYCLjzK3z0QUQhsFHBff3j219D8ZCWYwLEzpq6oaiy8S5W4R0ZF1MGKf7DXaofRKIh3E456BC_-namytKjyZfw64vW3fkKAb0lGdJTiMWUA=s320" width="281" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjszgWY-6oTjhhf1Zw3pwwoX4SqgAkapu2gWhnNBKMPZIUIxeTOnf9uBzfkc1bXaM0ch0P_vYJD-AEt4bFj0aC7S-0GShWWVcDtgzOs3vL_5zPNC3EyxauRx3dW-2x_JgLMPIt7sos5VVJxWUd5B9RFk9kvkvH437ZVpHUEBDDBhLRrxL9CiKFHSE7L-Q=s1534" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1518" data-original-width="1534" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjszgWY-6oTjhhf1Zw3pwwoX4SqgAkapu2gWhnNBKMPZIUIxeTOnf9uBzfkc1bXaM0ch0P_vYJD-AEt4bFj0aC7S-0GShWWVcDtgzOs3vL_5zPNC3EyxauRx3dW-2x_JgLMPIt7sos5VVJxWUd5B9RFk9kvkvH437ZVpHUEBDDBhLRrxL9CiKFHSE7L-Q=s320" width="320" /></a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Unfortunately the Lancet has politicized science as </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>well recently and has shown its bias. Fauci and <br />Steve Dazak were all part of this Lancet piece</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>to smear anyone who suggested the virus came<br />from that lab. Now the same author privately said <br />what we all know</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvuLnGNwPDrFWFufNDAXiIKQ9W3-Qp8Knc3hcY_RL5djd2qWbgNDCErax3XZLVJqnwscAxDlz5u7YMatH0t4PlQUXABgHbUc45FIWo-vbODU4hWnId6aH-D2Pq7NYasACCmYgZijJmxA3FtR55bVeHYhExo1-tUlHagQPTa2sOfvKF3UMjmTW4FJoJg/s906/z3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="906" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvuLnGNwPDrFWFufNDAXiIKQ9W3-Qp8Knc3hcY_RL5djd2qWbgNDCErax3XZLVJqnwscAxDlz5u7YMatH0t4PlQUXABgHbUc45FIWo-vbODU4hWnId6aH-D2Pq7NYasACCmYgZijJmxA3FtR55bVeHYhExo1-tUlHagQPTa2sOfvKF3UMjmTW4FJoJg/w640-h464/z3.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">More ancedotal info</span><br /><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM5QcDgXXhpU5fgTZ3WA4ObxV012si4O8k71qsvqaGB2YKtYB2jsuB1XdrvIadxVizaGBxt5WQ6hjBIIKTfFisBpK7__2zL6kWzpxvQhCY9QfLrCSOs2-W6B73kMntwZ7S3t8voH_X3yYLQTMOOJEO3fZTdoIHHd8Zwya7HQwixMZzG1_4j7WkGhxTKg/s838/277456372_696461501557511_1405458689119604662_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="750" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM5QcDgXXhpU5fgTZ3WA4ObxV012si4O8k71qsvqaGB2YKtYB2jsuB1XdrvIadxVizaGBxt5WQ6hjBIIKTfFisBpK7__2zL6kWzpxvQhCY9QfLrCSOs2-W6B73kMntwZ7S3t8voH_X3yYLQTMOOJEO3fZTdoIHHd8Zwya7HQwixMZzG1_4j7WkGhxTKg/w308-h345/277456372_696461501557511_1405458689119604662_n.jpg" width="308" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwiZBWWW8oyp0jG0_eXvlLqxV5JjRCiK6LeOf3Q5u2lcOOD4aOoUPATQE5yUdkuiQ6wfe0ExnajQQXY14RwPWSalWujMjGOoHxEdIpu2-AKKwLG0qdJCUFWr6t1LbgZqxLKtwlmH9nG788VI8rYS-9lArZGjwI0WCGsm8Kj8_VK3hQwoPIo-NWtA4CkQ/s932/277248310_929659847728604_7807187698820698142_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="750" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwiZBWWW8oyp0jG0_eXvlLqxV5JjRCiK6LeOf3Q5u2lcOOD4aOoUPATQE5yUdkuiQ6wfe0ExnajQQXY14RwPWSalWujMjGOoHxEdIpu2-AKKwLG0qdJCUFWr6t1LbgZqxLKtwlmH9nG788VI8rYS-9lArZGjwI0WCGsm8Kj8_VK3hQwoPIo-NWtA4CkQ/w283-h351/277248310_929659847728604_7807187698820698142_n.jpg" width="283" /></a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTODXlIkkkTmE23XPSh-91Q0iM9RYGDVUBQHPYnSnzgPvs_nIv7eCumg97C6E88vncK02wbt1Dhi2aZWyScgwi6geqgPOB4_CWu9d0Vb6thytfBvM7m0mrHJ5jowFwiiHJGgkqAzgGdMgY-2sh_GEnYvchK7wFwCc4avyxLUTO31ZAl0WH1l-bAlrPDA/s1030/277824695_5604040849608095_8703644837561756654_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="750" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTODXlIkkkTmE23XPSh-91Q0iM9RYGDVUBQHPYnSnzgPvs_nIv7eCumg97C6E88vncK02wbt1Dhi2aZWyScgwi6geqgPOB4_CWu9d0Vb6thytfBvM7m0mrHJ5jowFwiiHJGgkqAzgGdMgY-2sh_GEnYvchK7wFwCc4avyxLUTO31ZAl0WH1l-bAlrPDA/w191-h262/277824695_5604040849608095_8703644837561756654_n.jpg" width="191" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmknLf_1CDVxIJl0UpTwSaUdb4nkfRro_Xp3Nk4OUU77frcFtFH-QHeaBwWNH7UvrbpEMiXc5DIKHLR53BXdaQcWeTtLxGfaQ61xIw5E-nsyPTyzvkZUJIWo21jz24SewIsPtTwKYGj4PyOy4JvHGAsd9XSjgGu6-t4li-arjgAlo-L6NtyLY3nbYyGw/s760/277612621_417085796848978_2775291573811152886_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="760" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmknLf_1CDVxIJl0UpTwSaUdb4nkfRro_Xp3Nk4OUU77frcFtFH-QHeaBwWNH7UvrbpEMiXc5DIKHLR53BXdaQcWeTtLxGfaQ61xIw5E-nsyPTyzvkZUJIWo21jz24SewIsPtTwKYGj4PyOy4JvHGAsd9XSjgGu6-t4li-arjgAlo-L6NtyLY3nbYyGw/w401-h264/277612621_417085796848978_2775291573811152886_n.png" width="401" /></a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="263" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6nSXHrmOy8o" width="316" youtube-src-id="6nSXHrmOy8o"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="264" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ay2_AY9uyOU" width="317" youtube-src-id="ay2_AY9uyOU"></iframe></b></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: xxx-large;">The situation in Sweden<br /></span><br /></b></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKgSo4JnNVHCr4BPE_6NrPTwQ2yvdtP7zn6FHYKYQq1Y9EAiFgcwMmWng4_oybPRsFncpA2ORklH9ze-P-5GuTdZFxzrWmET1srfxEW4E2a5oZvEPMPGYvKAJIwoKX42vEVFyWBt45B5D2oRq-rzcYe6e-qDvAvzg3FCgRlOkjwsMGGyEX1p8Asvb9Sg/s1203/sweden1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="819" data-original-width="1203" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKgSo4JnNVHCr4BPE_6NrPTwQ2yvdtP7zn6FHYKYQq1Y9EAiFgcwMmWng4_oybPRsFncpA2ORklH9ze-P-5GuTdZFxzrWmET1srfxEW4E2a5oZvEPMPGYvKAJIwoKX42vEVFyWBt45B5D2oRq-rzcYe6e-qDvAvzg3FCgRlOkjwsMGGyEX1p8Asvb9Sg/w522-h355/sweden1.jpg" width="522" /></b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"></span></a></div><span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #990000;">May 6th 2022 </span></span><br /><span>Sweden has logged </span><span>one of the lowest pandemic death tolls in Europe despite its refusal to impose lockdowns</span><span>, World Health Organization estimates suggest. The Scandinavian nation became an international outcast when it defied scientific advice and chose not to shut down in 2020 — instead relying on people's common sense and light social restrictions. Now, the WHO's analysis of excess deaths — people who died directly and indirectly from Covid — suggests the highly-controversial hands-off approach has been vindicated. Of the 194 countries looked at by the UN health agency, Sweden's pandemic death rate ranked 101st with 56 per 100,000 — well below the average of 90. It also puts Sweden below most other major European nations that locked down several times, such as Italy (133), Germany (116), Spain (111), Britain (109), Portugal (100), the Netherlands (85), Belgium (77) and France (63). Of course, compared to their direct neighbours, Sweden was not the best performer.. - Mind you, this estimation of 15 million has been reached in a slightly non transparent manner. How many of those deaths were vaccine deaths, for instance? We don't know. How many were counting as covid deaths because they were treated in hospital for something else entirely, but tested covid positive with the high strung PCR routine test? Anyway.</span><br /><br /><span>PS. </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span>Interesting:</span> Africa has a lot of people but far less covid deaths than the west. For instance: Nigeria, the biggest country in Africa with over 200 million inhabitants, has fewer covid deaths than Long island.. </span><span style="text-align: left;">According to the official John Hopkins Institutes data (3144 deaths). </span></span><b style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span style="color: #990000;">As of today, you have 2.176 million reports of adverse effects of the covid vaccines through the VAERS system</span></span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL81aIuhA5-JMYO9VLEOH6_0yIwPrCaQu70akhKnzxAx8NaosJO1FB6gfgn3AApmxuL47CkeoK6XeOdrsIx0ipBgdXWN-3SH01mKoa_lItLCmLhTUe1gHZoUrv5Tpzsmr58aYRL8xlH0EOuacMePobktFNzJ9VE03QXa7LOPErhwBgD86UT6VhZ1VgeA/s1205/Sweden2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1205" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL81aIuhA5-JMYO9VLEOH6_0yIwPrCaQu70akhKnzxAx8NaosJO1FB6gfgn3AApmxuL47CkeoK6XeOdrsIx0ipBgdXWN-3SH01mKoa_lItLCmLhTUe1gHZoUrv5Tpzsmr58aYRL8xlH0EOuacMePobktFNzJ9VE03QXa7LOPErhwBgD86UT6VhZ1VgeA/w640-h454/Sweden2.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5FIrLyjJ7KAW_jXbEpqmJqwyk9BiDQBJTRAmq3nhlb-ELS7nPRU7orH9gFIVw3RFhNz8wrdWz51uT4hZ6V0SiPNcv_jbvqX5zCsLhyS1FwGZrwfj3D15-iKSauGb5WNzs8NQzvgeNXuKvlVvjGuIfxOeftc-3dUanaTzHs-yGLq0t2uJu3b_gsKfDMw/s777/rare.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="777" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5FIrLyjJ7KAW_jXbEpqmJqwyk9BiDQBJTRAmq3nhlb-ELS7nPRU7orH9gFIVw3RFhNz8wrdWz51uT4hZ6V0SiPNcv_jbvqX5zCsLhyS1FwGZrwfj3D15-iKSauGb5WNzs8NQzvgeNXuKvlVvjGuIfxOeftc-3dUanaTzHs-yGLq0t2uJu3b_gsKfDMw/w640-h374/rare.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /><br /></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit9OQ1QJxssAYoUN0mgdgKSl49JvgXckUQhx-WtiikK9dxSOc8XJpwaoZEDncNo7R2Kghr_CDJNNzPl1QvvCqkWeAfu4TZkRdgjuuoHJN7vE6DHMaUvi38GqD3gksaHiM3Ji2ixfvCmWOTixeyKtIyfLoAxWpLcXehuOdx7qttdWnHdv05QQXaWCEtLQ/s275/download.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit9OQ1QJxssAYoUN0mgdgKSl49JvgXckUQhx-WtiikK9dxSOc8XJpwaoZEDncNo7R2Kghr_CDJNNzPl1QvvCqkWeAfu4TZkRdgjuuoHJN7vE6DHMaUvi38GqD3gksaHiM3Ji2ixfvCmWOTixeyKtIyfLoAxWpLcXehuOdx7qttdWnHdv05QQXaWCEtLQ/w400-h266/download.png" width="400" /></b></span></a></div><span><b><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">June 2022</span></span><br style="text-align: left;" /></b></span><div><span><b style="color: #444444;">[<a href="https://www.blogtalkradio.com/citizenaction/2022/06/23/action-radio-5--worlds-greatest-doctors--mikovits-ardis-marble-thorp" target="_blank">source</a>] </b>Worldwide there have been about 12 BILLION vaccines administered (some people got multiple shots). Going by VAERS reported side-effects (which is pretty much only US based side-effect reports), scientists multiply this by a factor 100, because that is the standardized underreporting factor. Then you get risk indications. That constitutes of 1,9% risk of significant adverse events. Going by the reported deaths, you run a 2.5% risk of death from the shot. Myocarditis/pericarditis: 3,7% risk. Permanent disability: 2.8%. Severe adverse allergic reactions: 3.7% Who takes a vaccination with those type of risks? And these are only estimates. But these risks are so statistically out there, no matter what changes you make in the assumptions, you continue to get up with really elevated side-effect risks, including life threatening adverse events, severe allergic reactions and life-changing effects. And far more than ALL the previous vaccines combined (!). It's pretty unbelievable. </span></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>[<a href="https://intellectualtakeout.org/2022/06/why-are-so-many-young-people-dying-suddenly/?fbclid=IwAR0C_3F2KtoJJePgSMUFjuZXUQgJjFCEWtF7eWEOPjSks4pZ0-9HfHIUfyA" target="_blank">source</a>]</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOs974LQmKWUP6IT_S122jjDg2D5mL6oRg4ho7c6baCInsefKV3sZb3sO4291SR9i9ELy6uQYOVrklrNUkN5zhPO18YDMib1Qy5syna19TohIyog5DeMgx0rdVRzNgDWCPj0CVZyaUsPchwuBgfJrpMQ__LOMiIUv0Vfdy0fl_rYGu9KBrnti-OXDoHA/s1058/article1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="1058" height="588" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOs974LQmKWUP6IT_S122jjDg2D5mL6oRg4ho7c6baCInsefKV3sZb3sO4291SR9i9ELy6uQYOVrklrNUkN5zhPO18YDMib1Qy5syna19TohIyog5DeMgx0rdVRzNgDWCPj0CVZyaUsPchwuBgfJrpMQ__LOMiIUv0Vfdy0fl_rYGu9KBrnti-OXDoHA/w684-h588/article1.jpg" width="684" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJ3DlRfBEtxNY-fc8CmOqmOSELZrav4lQMP92yLlOKlwVP3juGlel7lciVCznd5A6V3kcbiLncPQ--_8M99MdbCQ4jEEVMjonSNXKQdD0Vuf1fL1lzDEle5Ur7fSd6td74uyMwDiqECvmNQ2v90yhBksGGVlZ-Fp_6yldiDQj5oWY5yTmtdTqU8fnKQ/s680/289479562_3162007947406508_4021696187309225952_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="680" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJ3DlRfBEtxNY-fc8CmOqmOSELZrav4lQMP92yLlOKlwVP3juGlel7lciVCznd5A6V3kcbiLncPQ--_8M99MdbCQ4jEEVMjonSNXKQdD0Vuf1fL1lzDEle5Ur7fSd6td74uyMwDiqECvmNQ2v90yhBksGGVlZ-Fp_6yldiDQj5oWY5yTmtdTqU8fnKQ/w683-h558/289479562_3162007947406508_4021696187309225952_n.png" width="683" /></b></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">July 9th 2022</span><br /><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="483" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1MJrUew2Kyg" width="582" youtube-src-id="1MJrUew2Kyg"></iframe></b></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Back-up version of that same video</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='580' height='482' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzH_qu5fInHLW8L1edbo6QUDGozCgk9YfBOFyv2_wY0O5Eb7Qre_EI7OMwdc92KXBqgeeQiBNOYXB53jdpo1Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><span>A very early word of warning from a doctor, </span><br /><span>Dr Larry Palevsky, MD. Testimony Connecticut 2/19/2020 </span></span><br /><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nT6I864vwbE" width="320" youtube-src-id="nT6I864vwbE"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxLxsl-3Xj4Us8EotGm6_tU6dr_iGz8-_IJGRLSB8G7g6zcjDofR1xTbrTncknvCpvPG4x8FgW5mAz__eesDA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Swedish in vitro study shows the <br />mRNA vaccine cán in fact alter DNA</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='679' height='565' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwA6P2VUV59qjvcnzSl6IEZxMPFzJgove9ubw0IwnZBLVmnN4r_bEEFjrfsEN0U917yPG_xUNUL3aK8cH3TPg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>It seems as though we should have these types of studies and results clarified PRIOR to plowing ahead with world wide mass vaccination mandates. And it was widely and officially claimed - without the full data and research - that this would not happen. Not even in vitro. I remember specifically being told that the gene tech jabs could not alter your DNA. It now seems that was wrong. The whole jab authorisation went ahead far too quickly without knowing anything about long term effects. Note the manufacturers would not accept liability. But let's just listen to the fact checkers...</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">July 11th 2022</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Big increase in blood clots, neurological and vascular issues. And a big increase in wild media deflection in 2022. </span><span style="color: #444444;">Suddenly we're warned that anything under the sun can cause blood clots and heart attacks. But NOT due to the actual clot shots. But Pubmed knows the truth. Just look at all these deflection articles suddenly popping up in our media:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOIN8I_AOYSC-Pg4y7_KMik2SLtZcygwmK91JFACxUqzAS563IUaRCfAWkl1r7t_QpblTlEmENJSzq3UCogTxFQwqAYk8L3wwmJpWtyY67fc1jZ-37ni8XR9fEoOok8MRwHCnp8BYwMYAo3s68kR1WSpo6qbMh2-1-Ez-ZLq383tHG-dsneIjkG2OvIQ/s1086/excuse.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="1086" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOIN8I_AOYSC-Pg4y7_KMik2SLtZcygwmK91JFACxUqzAS563IUaRCfAWkl1r7t_QpblTlEmENJSzq3UCogTxFQwqAYk8L3wwmJpWtyY67fc1jZ-37ni8XR9fEoOok8MRwHCnp8BYwMYAo3s68kR1WSpo6qbMh2-1-Ez-ZLq383tHG-dsneIjkG2OvIQ/w640-h442/excuse.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqPZFz5fVduZnJzuF3snzJG7pOMrhShwbjdoReliVv4EWjQiKR_a-tAjGzBxWPVrBIFoialU3cQC-DlkSyrKI8DaSwk1vRqp87fsFVwaOo6WEKCvu47XRuyonva3_VieQVzscQGSBEMhIQdK-1f7rqxWBB-hc1PQE5KxnzdYyrY_xWkuiHz3G3RQlaBA/s940/Untitled-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="940" height="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqPZFz5fVduZnJzuF3snzJG7pOMrhShwbjdoReliVv4EWjQiKR_a-tAjGzBxWPVrBIFoialU3cQC-DlkSyrKI8DaSwk1vRqp87fsFVwaOo6WEKCvu47XRuyonva3_VieQVzscQGSBEMhIQdK-1f7rqxWBB-hc1PQE5KxnzdYyrY_xWkuiHz3G3RQlaBA/w640-h598/Untitled-1.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KTaX6p9LXLU4yQggR6x5F8Bj3Ka2UZdkPQqCAEYG54eamX5Bp4bKo9bCe5nPld4QCtogRsHm_YlatJOwe7yb4X0YGuc2Hn64-hnM8Xlt4zJfBA1HY1A0mlHHZBbevl1W_R0H9ANrC_ZBnoFMovDWLAsod5Io0PolP36MVhJ3vuYNeyc_hSuukPUWww/s1148/tea2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="847" data-original-width="1148" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KTaX6p9LXLU4yQggR6x5F8Bj3Ka2UZdkPQqCAEYG54eamX5Bp4bKo9bCe5nPld4QCtogRsHm_YlatJOwe7yb4X0YGuc2Hn64-hnM8Xlt4zJfBA1HY1A0mlHHZBbevl1W_R0H9ANrC_ZBnoFMovDWLAsod5Io0PolP36MVhJ3vuYNeyc_hSuukPUWww/w640-h472/tea2.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwL8jBqANSGGS3uyWld0Noy-PvMcqxq5vOcw3V9st_ntVZt0W3OWkf5f77l_s3R9PwiyrNgA6md1-KtqNOSouLEq1hfCwP0ITK9NlOpqBE1qh-7o2pbDYMAgMo94VxG27X6WSND5OgGdY31g5uZy8n_zJdf33ETcXrCEvFALq0pst1JR9gPJUT4NTAGg/s1347/tea.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1347" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwL8jBqANSGGS3uyWld0Noy-PvMcqxq5vOcw3V9st_ntVZt0W3OWkf5f77l_s3R9PwiyrNgA6md1-KtqNOSouLEq1hfCwP0ITK9NlOpqBE1qh-7o2pbDYMAgMo94VxG27X6WSND5OgGdY31g5uZy8n_zJdf33ETcXrCEvFALq0pst1JR9gPJUT4NTAGg/w640-h422/tea.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoqnxlz23PQyGp2Qd9-38rpNhkHm48i2pvn5qA5gDShiSIOQaUvMhfZkFARTFgwoJeMZjcGEw4Nk64rYnO3KgJN3Ur5o3dyKJDoE8tjyx8zrlmnZ9YjM76sQEzVr7ByLrG_2L5j3wKeyFg8Ik2Vei9I92BcKQDYBB69aFqFIgXeI2nXnUHujrUAV087g/s563/286343281_1038805000081875_6133954986948215303_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="553" height="656" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoqnxlz23PQyGp2Qd9-38rpNhkHm48i2pvn5qA5gDShiSIOQaUvMhfZkFARTFgwoJeMZjcGEw4Nk64rYnO3KgJN3Ur5o3dyKJDoE8tjyx8zrlmnZ9YjM76sQEzVr7ByLrG_2L5j3wKeyFg8Ik2Vei9I92BcKQDYBB69aFqFIgXeI2nXnUHujrUAV087g/w644-h656/286343281_1038805000081875_6133954986948215303_n.png" width="644" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="628" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqM_atRzyKu3KYYwz-qY8dFatZBO4gyJCqmFDdrLdOaCT6nNqCyS1u-qMv6bFZyhnoD2mMhfeyS1xGmN4fJ0Lyd0MkoAz5W_3gdKzBsbIFanhiAPiKlPaBxchg5S1QRvZKcXxfYMSHcsNR0uoNUl-LPlJGcUP2nJ2QaoM8Z3Kw-z1zYxfejzk0sQ5LA/w640-h508/327281518_510819261158375_4159365079069290746_n.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;"><b>Problems</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUBEdZMNPYih3Tujx6urnPpNahSBJv7cMHOzqSjn_P-fhQjU7PPuLsJZ2uY6OSwxMuION5SrhMzb2ILR-SikwPdQ17_ZqOjh6IE9_5yMQhgjPLvFqSDIcrYWx5E2gY8HQ_ebyKzkda15DgclqiQIyRuSC1BUt7ygitiFtcYLK3sU2ye3PgkY9cEzPHvw/s664/292126061_454838102743738_3156992792625124845_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="664" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUBEdZMNPYih3Tujx6urnPpNahSBJv7cMHOzqSjn_P-fhQjU7PPuLsJZ2uY6OSwxMuION5SrhMzb2ILR-SikwPdQ17_ZqOjh6IE9_5yMQhgjPLvFqSDIcrYWx5E2gY8HQ_ebyKzkda15DgclqiQIyRuSC1BUt7ygitiFtcYLK3sU2ye3PgkY9cEzPHvw/w640-h516/292126061_454838102743738_3156992792625124845_n.png" width="640" /></a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZlG5yciQvRi3lMBZKff7687aMhs6Ju3oExovK7NZ0SC6mXhmZLVvOGG-38gODJQBRH8iWD5uL744ANWesRw4D6PqtMUcg45-EtC9qDtguKvZvotiPP8HHaYx9RJIICxdcTP8TnEj5Py7o1jbaQI1m0fqBFBmIE5rDTLQ1faGccSF-uHA_qA-QFBRo0g/s679/287934199_5316760691722601_1391650560096968505_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="679" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZlG5yciQvRi3lMBZKff7687aMhs6Ju3oExovK7NZ0SC6mXhmZLVvOGG-38gODJQBRH8iWD5uL744ANWesRw4D6PqtMUcg45-EtC9qDtguKvZvotiPP8HHaYx9RJIICxdcTP8TnEj5Py7o1jbaQI1m0fqBFBmIE5rDTLQ1faGccSF-uHA_qA-QFBRo0g/w640-h314/287934199_5316760691722601_1391650560096968505_n.png" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_0nzMYCmosk6cR0cUNYO3EnXPO2OsG5lsoGp1VhSGKakLEPBFO0vSlXUTNrpY_aH_tbAkELEWVQih_A-QFi5Yq5pIDGYyRjVsg5ivWPUVHwfmpIai5lLv3mOm4dvTbUcr6H1wzXXYld0i8Er_OVlGTQawUYVu0Ve9TiUt42IInKVEgq4_Rgbnwyutw/s682/287983180_609504253850262_8448280870987789526_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="682" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_0nzMYCmosk6cR0cUNYO3EnXPO2OsG5lsoGp1VhSGKakLEPBFO0vSlXUTNrpY_aH_tbAkELEWVQih_A-QFi5Yq5pIDGYyRjVsg5ivWPUVHwfmpIai5lLv3mOm4dvTbUcr6H1wzXXYld0i8Er_OVlGTQawUYVu0Ve9TiUt42IInKVEgq4_Rgbnwyutw/w640-h390/287983180_609504253850262_8448280870987789526_n.png" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fZRlkul2lBAZbGsU4Ns7cIc71jEiHiiQipHzqz2mIGdek9nnSi29Qq8R_v9brJ_WrXKVvSm_7DB5PemHexLkXjppD6ETW9b925Jkoz_O9pt_TLjstHUfpMLhfO6jHlcvKo0Em7w0PCGjyJsI8MdhtXzvItJnAd3_nS6NP6sClsmvMPy7i38MRD8mNw/s664/288877570_767476797771311_8916236938028875557_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="664" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fZRlkul2lBAZbGsU4Ns7cIc71jEiHiiQipHzqz2mIGdek9nnSi29Qq8R_v9brJ_WrXKVvSm_7DB5PemHexLkXjppD6ETW9b925Jkoz_O9pt_TLjstHUfpMLhfO6jHlcvKo0Em7w0PCGjyJsI8MdhtXzvItJnAd3_nS6NP6sClsmvMPy7i38MRD8mNw/w640-h388/288877570_767476797771311_8916236938028875557_n.png" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnnwgDNAANVnXJ_lDbbipL6d_bcmCShGd331RohWQ2f5R4dDmDqRmO-4MVR3eDmd6cwPTJ7wUG4YqqrG0dMI7ygGSpzELw5hAY0EfrbcZehnx25q2-e2d21c1mgNGxsgvyyWEhQ78Z6QdUjVfgjRQwlHFZ05k1bc_s6nZPgOBWuopw_v4BZgKj2suFQ/s666/290566584_3294444490789751_8415125874656318841_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="666" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnnwgDNAANVnXJ_lDbbipL6d_bcmCShGd331RohWQ2f5R4dDmDqRmO-4MVR3eDmd6cwPTJ7wUG4YqqrG0dMI7ygGSpzELw5hAY0EfrbcZehnx25q2-e2d21c1mgNGxsgvyyWEhQ78Z6QdUjVfgjRQwlHFZ05k1bc_s6nZPgOBWuopw_v4BZgKj2suFQ/w640-h362/290566584_3294444490789751_8415125874656318841_n.png" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhna13OvpL27Bx3ODWki1Jse1pd7uTc20DhoT6bmS7MFawWu3z2b1fGSqXMUA_w-fk52uefNiJTn6CHT-mhVFkfz4tWpViobNyE-trnjq1ywJx7i_1Sg-te6OGiCFp7bJEwHvOz7TJF_vP7bWHJH1rVYJBrHL2GFJqJY0vGh0o2po9Qru4MvZbi71CVQA/s671/291749414_587213656151429_2656041310388997063_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="671" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhna13OvpL27Bx3ODWki1Jse1pd7uTc20DhoT6bmS7MFawWu3z2b1fGSqXMUA_w-fk52uefNiJTn6CHT-mhVFkfz4tWpViobNyE-trnjq1ywJx7i_1Sg-te6OGiCFp7bJEwHvOz7TJF_vP7bWHJH1rVYJBrHL2GFJqJY0vGh0o2po9Qru4MvZbi71CVQA/w640-h308/291749414_587213656151429_2656041310388997063_n.png" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkY1jPEDCelXzLbTRysycRiLF1H-seKhuQktpV_FldEkke_5zHaF7T6OZGl2coX_5MR3kneWRpw_ehh6q9lPbvfwq3v7Mh1sn8-ISoMhKvLywPG1n6MQVXFqKNbyy2YomlCieI8PjA3bUuX41Nhd22vIKl7QkEBxSMQ-whoTEQReirluTKQfOIF4Nmw/s713/288177608_1087867855475836_6977498451370055540_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="713" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkY1jPEDCelXzLbTRysycRiLF1H-seKhuQktpV_FldEkke_5zHaF7T6OZGl2coX_5MR3kneWRpw_ehh6q9lPbvfwq3v7Mh1sn8-ISoMhKvLywPG1n6MQVXFqKNbyy2YomlCieI8PjA3bUuX41Nhd22vIKl7QkEBxSMQ-whoTEQReirluTKQfOIF4Nmw/w640-h398/288177608_1087867855475836_6977498451370055540_n.png" width="640" /></b></span></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span><span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">Interesting</span><br /><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span><span style="color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzpB6s9IRC_ZEPJfVvyEKVlw3zCfy_anJzEfcFjpdh1mtuzMDAwKO9bYDdyoyiLaidm3LqGNBb2Na5O9WAdHA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <b><span><span><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxtPljvooZC40fbAKGpYzE0XfT65Khy_ZGONA9n5GBGj6FK6cFVrDT8ed0wTgiBXVVFSzEv3py5CRKqA5d1zQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></span></b></div><div><b><span><span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">Interesting, daring docu</span><br /><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="548" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-z_W3yRA9I8" width="659" youtube-src-id="-z_W3yRA9I8"></iframe></span></span></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br style="text-align: left;" /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span><span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">The UK wanted to follow China's (and Australia's) ultra-extreme covid handling example, shocking</span><br /><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lf8y4gS6mUA" width="320" youtube-src-id="lf8y4gS6mUA"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwQveux7YJyaWbzPRaQNsZKI_QCZhfHpY_hO0cnoa52MTAcEVJQrso58PurknHUQYJX43Qhq3uIDMrx3QI5Ag' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><span><b><span><span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">July 18, 2022</span></span></span></span><br /><br /></b></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Headline in the Dutch <a href="https://www.ad.nl/nijmegen/ziekenhuis-overvol-radboudumc-moet-operaties-afzeggen-wegens-onverklaarbaar-veel-spoedopnames~aef13035/#comments-anchor" target="_blank">news</a> today, I added the english translation for you. Same thing seems to be happening everywhere, but not a word about the possible links with the vacine and boosters. I would not be surprised if a lot of these emergencies involve blood clots, strokes and heart failure.. But since such info is sparcely made public, it remains a guessing game. <br /><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7qQ8mIqqKKi_RJBVQdvMMJpR8qu0lLtOwIo9aSdIBnqQkymzuB5S2_2LSr-CT8nxdqTeRRWoerDUqTOq2HQNtxUu_7fsgr1X2sMRLxiST58dvJ0EzU3u7ucLKL8_Nff5rwOjXGhRVAJJNAPnnk2bbWCMALhWvH-thZQqKtUtQ18oa8ARzQWhWcUMoCQ/s1172/news%20july%2018%202022.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="905" data-original-width="1172" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7qQ8mIqqKKi_RJBVQdvMMJpR8qu0lLtOwIo9aSdIBnqQkymzuB5S2_2LSr-CT8nxdqTeRRWoerDUqTOq2HQNtxUu_7fsgr1X2sMRLxiST58dvJ0EzU3u7ucLKL8_Nff5rwOjXGhRVAJJNAPnnk2bbWCMALhWvH-thZQqKtUtQ18oa8ARzQWhWcUMoCQ/w640-h494/news%20july%2018%202022.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>More media instigated gaslighting and stigmatisation. Be sure that people were given a carefully curated, one-sided 'fact check'.. Not.<br />Can't believe there is so much media propaganda for this, still. </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifzdL-_IDVzEEwMbZpf5qbuyvgBUaxpvs7tcjD7t60Bmzc88jnbJLluonMNGlkYInUPejOkPknyLCLiQIn33DgtShqXfstPC1hIEZzOvDfA3bbtDbjE9g78EXYJv2QfsnExcZa8vxH3mhf8_38gI_EnNLEiK_hrvJFdVt0sxXD7frq6tJ03LYrD64BYA/s1696/woke.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1696" data-original-width="1042" height="1044" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifzdL-_IDVzEEwMbZpf5qbuyvgBUaxpvs7tcjD7t60Bmzc88jnbJLluonMNGlkYInUPejOkPknyLCLiQIn33DgtShqXfstPC1hIEZzOvDfA3bbtDbjE9g78EXYJv2QfsnExcZa8vxH3mhf8_38gI_EnNLEiK_hrvJFdVt0sxXD7frq6tJ03LYrD64BYA/w643-h1044/woke.jpg" width="643" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqxgASaLy7DpZ5zNViqAluLQ7RlbAyDKxuQWama8sfL52VBZ-llkHu8ArNalP8QcIB66WKiY9A1VmErIrxgLjTaA4Qw1FD4t2RmhsEfFMQJRQyxHUe_qcu1NKQDcOUj-ITheENyTxonPtQuomaThZsdD4dvOYNNFyymTub5l4Dr0ls00EjbKwKLkDIfQ/s750/FXaAwNVX0AMkQL-%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="750" height="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqxgASaLy7DpZ5zNViqAluLQ7RlbAyDKxuQWama8sfL52VBZ-llkHu8ArNalP8QcIB66WKiY9A1VmErIrxgLjTaA4Qw1FD4t2RmhsEfFMQJRQyxHUe_qcu1NKQDcOUj-ITheENyTxonPtQuomaThZsdD4dvOYNNFyymTub5l4Dr0ls00EjbKwKLkDIfQ/w640-h570/FXaAwNVX0AMkQL-%20(1).jpg" width="640" /></a><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><span>Worrying new study findings</span><br /><span>about the mRNA vaccine </span><br /></span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">July 2022</span><br /><br /></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtDuk-1JOYvG-1k_2z5Ahm4ER_gANt0bMtwbUTptwyeEj73iO3PNlNMfc_pe2D27-NGuB74SfXuoWu1_p-BCmId1F9y3bIeR8SM5Bmpu5qrSA5BDixPFE2s7H2bNG3zH_Ye7_54Irdx2aEguLymfyFo0gkBlakz-zjygGrMYdxQBbGSl3dmjA1EwhHw/s2048/291640725_357964969853001_2280580480988288016_n.png"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1084" height="1197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtDuk-1JOYvG-1k_2z5Ahm4ER_gANt0bMtwbUTptwyeEj73iO3PNlNMfc_pe2D27-NGuB74SfXuoWu1_p-BCmId1F9y3bIeR8SM5Bmpu5qrSA5BDixPFE2s7H2bNG3zH_Ye7_54Irdx2aEguLymfyFo0gkBlakz-zjygGrMYdxQBbGSl3dmjA1EwhHw/w635-h1197/291640725_357964969853001_2280580480988288016_n.png" width="635" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx5JKfdzwFtZO5JwzOH_7UrQrBVAaLJUH5R8ne4ZqS3V57_q_gBamCkTq1HnvoFZlOMQBmBXChCxyQ_bvCu7w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwB6-7ebm1VaD4XAnje341pGS2rkkEjw3uLIF_3OoGPv20j1IRnl-pk5gHnOKrvJ5Ep51etbOd1gBvqM7OQaQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sad to read/hear this, but I'm not entirely surprised... Not trying to sound smug or anything, but I had a very bad feeling and also rationalisation regarding these mRNA vaccines. Just reading about how they were claimed to work, and the promises made about them only staying in the body for hours, stimulating the body itself to make spike proteins for mere hours, and then being broken down by the immune system, sounded like best case scenario BS to me. And having all these auto-immune issues myself, this also spelled potential trouble to me. Injecting a genetic code that allows the body itself to produce these cytotoxic spike proteins, I mean; what could possibly go wrong here? E</span>ven though the majority of people who were vaccinated seem OK so far (but large numbers of people who had these vaccines are not ok or died as a result), time will tell if that remains the case. And we need to hear about the poor souls who were not OK after these new mRNA vaccines, not silence or whitewash them. Meanwhile a girl I know who was vaccinated twice but had no 3rd booster, since her partner developed (diagnosed) heart disease from the Pfizer covid vaccines, is unable to travel to Europe, despite being able to show a negative covid test and despite having gone through covid herself more than 9 months ago (so having long lasting natural antibodies), Where is the science in this, when the plane is full with boostered people who - like president Biden - can be covid positive nevertheless, but do not even have to do a covid test to go anywhere.... Politics over science, is what this is. <span>See the heartbreaking video below.... I don't even want to think about what my face could look like by now if I had conceded in order to fly easy (and no longer being treated like a 2nd class citizen..). The vaccines cán in fact negatively affect the immune system of patients with auto-immune diseases.</span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Devastating eczema after vaccine</span><br /><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='639' height='531' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy2GiP2o99ycECMVyc8W_3nibiiE1mFuZClqwCc0rvjbcyGzWHHl4aQ48NP1E8tubRrpwtpz5RrT1QnMkBPDA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><span>Always read the fine print</span><br /><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYl5izdxLBqnGTbm0H8A-V_dPoWXrodqPzvzLXdc9Pn1-2IU-VowV6crP_ij91FVpHn5H5De_iw0Cn24hwwlZNJctz5K5hn9VYiKK-Zne4AAVlYGxPztjqQ0IOxcECuawXun5ST9iFa_daqPNpUDD3CQSBPnbMgDVx0zDI9oL2d4WePKmXE45paCI2Mg/s720/FYdX0r8XgAAE47H.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="720" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYl5izdxLBqnGTbm0H8A-V_dPoWXrodqPzvzLXdc9Pn1-2IU-VowV6crP_ij91FVpHn5H5De_iw0Cn24hwwlZNJctz5K5hn9VYiKK-Zne4AAVlYGxPztjqQ0IOxcECuawXun5ST9iFa_daqPNpUDD3CQSBPnbMgDVx0zDI9oL2d4WePKmXE45paCI2Mg/w640-h596/FYdX0r8XgAAE47H.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444;">Kell et al, amyloid coagulopathy described. Cohesive with the clinical observation that Spike protein induced clots are not resolving in the expected time frame with anticoagulants. Multiple exposures to Spike protein are making the situation worse.</span></b></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gCFOP4QOxiVS32iypbMpZriyBFngsU-nKBUpZMCYSf9XW4dSDqdWyu9dbG6uDPamsfOQe_TQU5L-Srgq_7XRapCLwjavljrL8uQ2pPjkcWm8cC1aOU1_LVft9WguEwOSAXM5aju1oMWg_Pgv7Wh63lVKgK7KM_uNdOmu9lolhqTwrRNjLQdN0yDpSQ/s680/FYhyzDUWYAQMjN2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="680" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gCFOP4QOxiVS32iypbMpZriyBFngsU-nKBUpZMCYSf9XW4dSDqdWyu9dbG6uDPamsfOQe_TQU5L-Srgq_7XRapCLwjavljrL8uQ2pPjkcWm8cC1aOU1_LVft9WguEwOSAXM5aju1oMWg_Pgv7Wh63lVKgK7KM_uNdOmu9lolhqTwrRNjLQdN0yDpSQ/w640-h480/FYhyzDUWYAQMjN2.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Jp-srIb5DO3694uIpPhL6cmn8Ku3RoJiM7LoOlAaPsMzwITnFUCn8QjjD_-mBs3655-gfLmfEt1N-jXdajaMCoU2vXvFsxwq5JehPGg3DCV1cmwQN_FqSuN6FJ44XKwUtnB39dV-8fI1ictoWNESddHF9b3qK4lSIZmkNHFEVmkzlEv3pVfLVsL7jg/s2048/FYPRhvpWIAAb4gX.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Jp-srIb5DO3694uIpPhL6cmn8Ku3RoJiM7LoOlAaPsMzwITnFUCn8QjjD_-mBs3655-gfLmfEt1N-jXdajaMCoU2vXvFsxwq5JehPGg3DCV1cmwQN_FqSuN6FJ44XKwUtnB39dV-8fI1ictoWNESddHF9b3qK4lSIZmkNHFEVmkzlEv3pVfLVsL7jg/w640-h360/FYPRhvpWIAAb4gX.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span><span><span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">July 28, 2022</span><br /><br /></span></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><b style="color: #444444;"><span><span><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='649' height='540' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzPKBHGlbcjdlrEpNKdMJ72oJejQS6HIQSUHJ_JUg0ZrrDd09tpyFNhokG97z0X35IteBps12Sr_0_f5ym2xA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='647' height='538' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyGXuEFFdlrRYYOtrSzx_Qcgx-h7-VKLXukVUphSwCAS4qM5fY-2lAapyjz4-DLYrekbeAb-6VYl2ImbJd9Eg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><b style="color: #444444;"><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></b></span></div><br /></span></span></span></b><b><span><span><span><span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">July 30, 2022</span><br /><br /></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='644' height='535' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwa92Hrq7KBQHYC7G9tzRMYF5JthqhF_zO12e7TzqDazY5HCaCKzzJj30UHOoaTzR9f83qADpWSjq-jMuf8cg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div><br /><span><br /></span></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span><span><span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">August 18, 2022</span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><b style="color: #444444;"><span><span><span><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1075" data-original-width="1169" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMcaXKiPiHvrZeAJn5c8HU9_X-rDsGXPwk8aKAgD8LpO_qOorI3QTesFLzq7LtzUF63ufZsXYNgEWIUsKf2ckUFoXlyj_ofM0q7H1Tn5sHEPWJ-V1ddyBaA3lJOrOjrr1OCfFtML0pwOlKa4qErGMOdz4emww4a00u3IvEpXgPfXjYW7VKwsBGC5lf4w/w287-h264/FaDlyrnUYAAtE3c.jpg" width="287" /></a></div></span></b><b><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='632' height='525' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzA8jhsrnFSfk9uYv6oM12c-7gAHBHTYDQN-9HwKINeuUeqFwpHzbSy1Zogg3CY1ZuknnX-b1dUpSwTWnQ18A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='633' height='526' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwisXMwaU-evg0OJnnFskcS-fZ0s4qJ2TPo_xblY59ywc2IcKJ_86YJ89CHb3BTduZmNaB9lLJVNbQ0rcDsZA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='631' height='525' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzNFCJVemePstIRzBh3j_hgRCQYOdjmUNDJinHu6NnAS8o3FqZORB85bT00oBue38UstdAy26sueFxd4nXkYA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span><span><span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Dr. Campbell sharing the latest Thai medical results regarding Pfizer vaccine cardiovascular side-effects. Must See</span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ekTR0w2M9-U" width="320" youtube-src-id="ekTR0w2M9-U"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy5BNy8EBHAC1hSYE8frB0GBLT8G-zsKj5loLmhg5w0QF7lcee1AkK_BgAnNBvDoNdVJ8M9Yf4SgG6vyytGlg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></div><br /></span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span><span><span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">And let's (still) not forget the covid LIES told, that some are now trying to scrub off the internet, 1984-style..</span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzPbhZQgUpGWI-Ow2zl5U5PNpJGw8OiBeU8qSk6UI0WeflzCdOSXSxyMD6FquXfrQ7lP5S7H95PUpk6vH8M2w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzJRrKEL6XTOA_ubUDFT_ekxR7m22vcalmHgvTs_N4lWXKbDshH4Aey_m6Y-SIuXNQYAFIE8JJ3gy2LgrEHng' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></div><br /><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Why seems no one upset about these calculated and repeated lies? Pfizer's CEO Bourla's tweet:</b></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSmN8vmkiXeCEX8dVCgCPzCih_BByGFBiN0F5ov4_oVekQuqvA01OV0Odak_egFtKk6gz518GZn8dA_YsuqBYXLriYSswSkHSFtLvQ3qwQkfgER04mK86bO9S9mBq3Rch0xUV6MV_4yom1w7kKIAtjxt1kPMGC0MEs1sppSmxlgNQ2hxiGMXuPS_rmw/s767/295810841_2198067397019330_288486315717299596_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="767" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSmN8vmkiXeCEX8dVCgCPzCih_BByGFBiN0F5ov4_oVekQuqvA01OV0Odak_egFtKk6gz518GZn8dA_YsuqBYXLriYSswSkHSFtLvQ3qwQkfgER04mK86bO9S9mBq3Rch0xUV6MV_4yom1w7kKIAtjxt1kPMGC0MEs1sppSmxlgNQ2hxiGMXuPS_rmw/w640-h520/295810841_2198067397019330_288486315717299596_n.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX7uZtueVEQBpjQfWTjeCuxUioqxm6QA4fqz18rCaydZcpBEfhHUXiq-cnpPFGZ4LzPKbwgSP4bxkfc7PH2aEsyDnrXdkGNVH85hWaW4-ADqW2J1CqA5sGwXIrjHIZwveVjmBrnjsL7_1msMUVZc6-6SC-i4wuiyYNjbqbTytCOObCXkfLtDquA_17IA/s759/297827995_1103888507177483_6158180710542621935_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="759" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX7uZtueVEQBpjQfWTjeCuxUioqxm6QA4fqz18rCaydZcpBEfhHUXiq-cnpPFGZ4LzPKbwgSP4bxkfc7PH2aEsyDnrXdkGNVH85hWaW4-ADqW2J1CqA5sGwXIrjHIZwveVjmBrnjsL7_1msMUVZc6-6SC-i4wuiyYNjbqbTytCOObCXkfLtDquA_17IA/w640-h528/297827995_1103888507177483_6158180710542621935_n.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /></b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Sharp rise in 'unknown cause of death'</span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F74iqEJnb14" width="320" youtube-src-id="F74iqEJnb14"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dze9wuduRW6XntVUK6qfmzXLQLE6hkRxsXpamMYUYT98nvcfjjnT_ZmZxGXk_ZHsePxQbBNE3u_X0WYd7ylZA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">August 22, 2022</span><br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='634' height='527' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzf7chianxuWj4Ek3Mr_XAe37QX2PwLODK9cbI4YRpKnXyLyEVazLH9gpEhTTJ40_-g-h8h6cWlbMMQVGQZog' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">August 29, 2022 - Excess Deaths</span><br /><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='634' height='527' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy_Ie2p9fuWYdAIJ0VIqj5lUQaoiSzFGoC7T-h6lnl0_BwMHOGY0M6va8Z1cDMoHEKkLKH1kjzdqX6DpaylSg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='635' height='527' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwFAdI8f8g24M9E93hVIR0FVR9G0SWj983XP7xBxXTmB9feyLlHTRGQZBWas8rP26hmzS9dtQy9JH77IF22NA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>More Excess Deaths</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><span><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzqOep6LXMgITnGKrdKwGYX0UeqjL6dPMJU5HIeokx-u9tuWMfPT0KPX5k09bTQ0vRkpxrscGLG8eObpH-SByLtd19uFvKQrCzYBqZM709j9PXwUxxFLAnllT8enczhMsZgLw-IixQ4NV7LycPE36pe2I92To5Km6jAdM35FYnZGP0GtAbkaB7jmNZw/s1106/Untitled-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="1106" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzqOep6LXMgITnGKrdKwGYX0UeqjL6dPMJU5HIeokx-u9tuWMfPT0KPX5k09bTQ0vRkpxrscGLG8eObpH-SByLtd19uFvKQrCzYBqZM709j9PXwUxxFLAnllT8enczhMsZgLw-IixQ4NV7LycPE36pe2I92To5Km6jAdM35FYnZGP0GtAbkaB7jmNZw/w640-h260/Untitled-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTsmgvFuZk_-AsEeLqh5bUp-h2xZxR2F_EqXDpm3jrCtw0mQ6xObFZLRWz8EI6SATO9RRwGJG2z9pH69pdom5UBfoW1YbUNi1F51gplNBFPKRv6Tj1yGzdNDQccUXi38nb4_h3H6xsVAPDFd___nDd_NW09b9Z2lFmpAyKh6ttIJaplPfFMbCaJKAqg/s1413/Untitled-5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1413" data-original-width="944" height="957" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTsmgvFuZk_-AsEeLqh5bUp-h2xZxR2F_EqXDpm3jrCtw0mQ6xObFZLRWz8EI6SATO9RRwGJG2z9pH69pdom5UBfoW1YbUNi1F51gplNBFPKRv6Tj1yGzdNDQccUXi38nb4_h3H6xsVAPDFd___nDd_NW09b9Z2lFmpAyKh6ttIJaplPfFMbCaJKAqg/w640-h957/Untitled-5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span>So the CDC decides that you can’t have the vaccine for the variant that’s around now, unless you first have receiver all the previous vaccines for the ones that <i>aren’t</i> anymore first? 'Follow the science', lol. More like 'Follow the tyrannic rules, just because'. If this doesn’t prove it isn’t about your protection I don’t know what does!</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiew1Pv9h5l2FT5xeRWfmhlvdgKKgbcbUL3tf0XQHerfwlhq09_MgXspKmJ2aW0TUutaL7pzI_3MeRZ8M5L66t4TR8KOxoq4HgOtrAeJienr-esNO7sdVVQ0gbDfI3O7RyjlgOLAB1832JxbVOFnYu46qZLt55fkkzwjHnoZrnKAyY7EJNFdOrvJ7h4XQ/s833/nog%20uploaden2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="587" height="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiew1Pv9h5l2FT5xeRWfmhlvdgKKgbcbUL3tf0XQHerfwlhq09_MgXspKmJ2aW0TUutaL7pzI_3MeRZ8M5L66t4TR8KOxoq4HgOtrAeJienr-esNO7sdVVQ0gbDfI3O7RyjlgOLAB1832JxbVOFnYu46qZLt55fkkzwjHnoZrnKAyY7EJNFdOrvJ7h4XQ/w542-h770/nog%20uploaden2.jpg" width="542" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span>Overlap in vaccine injury and long COVID with the exception of respiratory tract complications (Part of a blame game?)</span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmfluyjFRyusvKTzNnCdaTTXlPRzC9108iEcli1JyedeEaJ_JlhemPU6ddUyOiLRe8EWtETwmxo_axgDDE_vG3SXdsU45cCZOgyHUK721vLViMgOBQFq-fkdy9iM27wtqDzoyK0nogpE8FHUPLiH_tnx_-8qmRUD32Ax7LkdZPXYBgAUyDGVIi5xKSg/s1082/Overlap%20is%20clear%20in%20vaccine%20injury%20and%20long%20COVID%20with%20the%20exception%20of%20respiratory%20tract%20complications.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="1082" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmfluyjFRyusvKTzNnCdaTTXlPRzC9108iEcli1JyedeEaJ_JlhemPU6ddUyOiLRe8EWtETwmxo_axgDDE_vG3SXdsU45cCZOgyHUK721vLViMgOBQFq-fkdy9iM27wtqDzoyK0nogpE8FHUPLiH_tnx_-8qmRUD32Ax7LkdZPXYBgAUyDGVIi5xKSg/w640-h424/Overlap%20is%20clear%20in%20vaccine%20injury%20and%20long%20COVID%20with%20the%20exception%20of%20respiratory%20tract%20complications.png" width="640" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Goes to show that this pandemic and the vaccines were also used for tactical power. It may even have been created for that reason</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkizpPCeuD8pXOblMb1R0Z078d4AAgAqnNkz2S_4g06CG4vLJExl91hdKryXHLBHqpK6rWSW38bEgB957m_fn1kywn9oJpdYe37PW7VmOk6BEKE2vOzqmImKC8wQ7Co2pQlQuZ73b6iEVcLTfKzlvkMMAOWwTdWPaMym-BdkRapQKE-Qtux7L4c6bt2g/s679/293521629_379378537702354_3889764527950641557_n%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="679" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkizpPCeuD8pXOblMb1R0Z078d4AAgAqnNkz2S_4g06CG4vLJExl91hdKryXHLBHqpK6rWSW38bEgB957m_fn1kywn9oJpdYe37PW7VmOk6BEKE2vOzqmImKC8wQ7Co2pQlQuZ73b6iEVcLTfKzlvkMMAOWwTdWPaMym-BdkRapQKE-Qtux7L4c6bt2g/w640-h370/293521629_379378537702354_3889764527950641557_n%20copy.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Silver wrote that “liberal public health elites” pushed Pfizer to “change its original protocols” that govern its authorization of vaccines so that the decision would be put off until after Election Day two years ago. Silver noted that Pfizer’s decision “had the convenient side-effect of delaying any vaccine announcement until after the election” and that the story “deserves more scrutiny.” "The FiveThirtyEight editor-in-chief said most public health officials “tend to be strong [Democratic] partisans” and that their push for Pfizer to take its time in announcing a vaccine “may have been politically motivated in whole or in part.” “It’s a story that deserves more reporting and I’ve done some poking around myself,” Silver tweeted." - So they held onto it untill after the election. They announce the vaccine a week after the election. Cynical or what? </b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><span><b><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Let's not forget the (well-intentioned) lies</span><br /></span><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='604' height='501' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwAWkAshA8l1ufetISelGZE6MNjWMYv4BEUMrx92f8_eFRSBz7jgBHwtjL2fpH99p2hqqNmxW4H3pNtE-ypIA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></b></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='605' height='503' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwTr9RmhzE8BylSPB98vQZZIErxmtcDxokiAn7zlvHIMjphH5UBfYXvRn2IHZ83tx9pt949-xpHbsXhduTmaA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-N7cY8ulQqYodmkWhcEOKRsHbwLb5s4eSCdn-ZH-mjptXd9VHNW_mnN8FcbFVY-TGt68VRTiy_GDSaakE7TYfZAB1uzFgXLckW24zWB9qL2prPNhXTAzRQn4hG5YKCXUSkzPxd-2Tlz_4RvIYwEgVNjMafVr2Na31ysQFhTk_IZuNfvRo5G6xDXhzsQ/s680/293439316_1058330568127962_7251335442505437803_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="680" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-N7cY8ulQqYodmkWhcEOKRsHbwLb5s4eSCdn-ZH-mjptXd9VHNW_mnN8FcbFVY-TGt68VRTiy_GDSaakE7TYfZAB1uzFgXLckW24zWB9qL2prPNhXTAzRQn4hG5YKCXUSkzPxd-2Tlz_4RvIYwEgVNjMafVr2Na31ysQFhTk_IZuNfvRo5G6xDXhzsQ/w640-h500/293439316_1058330568127962_7251335442505437803_n.png" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><b><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1B-do6Dg9HHztJHnUdrSh6aqirTVfh8zWs3uOrmBOPBeEvyZHffWvRWp6PZW1CdtkgFVeMPZlaaYmPAT_HOY0X9gN2Awwkwbp9-aH01gsEnEowAPMiAtDNsxSx5AMYOTiRv1gf2KZ8sUZugiQgW2vvMDYZyUXjpte0gt2_4oKLYj7STEdVgn_DFwbCw/s1253/299527162_462307519099289_8559755510072528436_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1253" data-original-width="1072" height="405" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1B-do6Dg9HHztJHnUdrSh6aqirTVfh8zWs3uOrmBOPBeEvyZHffWvRWp6PZW1CdtkgFVeMPZlaaYmPAT_HOY0X9gN2Awwkwbp9-aH01gsEnEowAPMiAtDNsxSx5AMYOTiRv1gf2KZ8sUZugiQgW2vvMDYZyUXjpte0gt2_4oKLYj7STEdVgn_DFwbCw/w346-h405/299527162_462307519099289_8559755510072528436_n.jpg" width="346" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOkRhjUUDZJx-x4qT5rCbLfnsXqwbG2rFFuwOdfcLVP-AdoEuYCwr2MA2utl-HWEHL_8o4S6p_gvzzouiq0QSf91N7Z_EFnRlDtcrXVjpR-ZLO7dmTocdmVum2vww70Pugc-v48MHPZHKQ0wYrUDhzMMTAPo3Ekv7nNudfit5RSDg-xf9iik6rQ8lvg/s866/nog%20uploaden.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="556" height="405" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOkRhjUUDZJx-x4qT5rCbLfnsXqwbG2rFFuwOdfcLVP-AdoEuYCwr2MA2utl-HWEHL_8o4S6p_gvzzouiq0QSf91N7Z_EFnRlDtcrXVjpR-ZLO7dmTocdmVum2vww70Pugc-v48MHPZHKQ0wYrUDhzMMTAPo3Ekv7nNudfit5RSDg-xf9iik6rQ8lvg/w259-h405/nog%20uploaden.jpg" width="259" /></a></div></div></div></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></b><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJbIDQ-7SdwOVScTFqGWHMU3IQaW2vUMkEbm9vAj2uqg8BcOaCzEiG4E10hOEQblYSJgNgh5rmyZXBsnBnrrDq_qZlOzfTupwWt-yotIQNGXEISnKY89jxnX1TMfxVw7WvgxdBmE4c6kFxIXyZRglAXeuQiQdfqUUYAb3LNSkUH-I43S-SpMUPkuSBQ/s928/300084776_804301920931801_4332875187134836222_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="928" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJbIDQ-7SdwOVScTFqGWHMU3IQaW2vUMkEbm9vAj2uqg8BcOaCzEiG4E10hOEQblYSJgNgh5rmyZXBsnBnrrDq_qZlOzfTupwWt-yotIQNGXEISnKY89jxnX1TMfxVw7WvgxdBmE4c6kFxIXyZRglAXeuQiQdfqUUYAb3LNSkUH-I43S-SpMUPkuSBQ/w332-h211/300084776_804301920931801_4332875187134836222_n.png" width="332" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBNh7TkGgSkoLKEYSKQvZPuIL5qAnIqtE-sAdHOTAPOT92chAyrQOteiTzeqK8-q8ZjcRWKh-Rnd2CKHpJsc9h8xJ18fuMyoLdjmuzpEpXI1CQZsgQUEJ4JKn81vzbEMMyQsa9U_BvTG_9hIf2x9QXZq1uvLiTQr2-IZLfrg8_9kA7Xmj96upV8qy_Q/s672/300392805_5454221414639202_7930498483469495975_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="672" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBNh7TkGgSkoLKEYSKQvZPuIL5qAnIqtE-sAdHOTAPOT92chAyrQOteiTzeqK8-q8ZjcRWKh-Rnd2CKHpJsc9h8xJ18fuMyoLdjmuzpEpXI1CQZsgQUEJ4JKn81vzbEMMyQsa9U_BvTG_9hIf2x9QXZq1uvLiTQr2-IZLfrg8_9kA7Xmj96upV8qy_Q/w270-h210/300392805_5454221414639202_7930498483469495975_n.png" width="270" /></a></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><b><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">Interesting</span><br /><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="508" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ub8BgowUE2M" width="611" youtube-src-id="Ub8BgowUE2M"></iframe></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">September 1st 2022</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">This sums it up, and after the initial <br />fearshock, I said this all along </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>And what's most frightening of all, is when entire populations condone this ideology - like they did war-related atrocities in the past. The scariest part is the overwhelming compliance of the masses. The mass psychosis, the unquestional and uncritical obedience of the majority of people out there. Being ostrasized from open air terraces, just because I won't or can't be vaccinated. The daily scare TV with live death counts and total propaganda and handy tailored science-to-go. The insane levels of freedom infringement, the discrimination, the deplatforming and cancelling of doctors and scientists for telling the truth (and now that the truth is coming out, they won't get their channels back). The lack of critical thinking and following actual science. </b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hDaqNgOsw6M" width="320" youtube-src-id="hDaqNgOsw6M"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy9DoXrl2qsSMW4lob-nJ1O8GZVS8kUJO0zm6zCPOl9W0jMOCyrxdoHj5KFTerOrUSoqRaxMD2koPorDDEFKQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>This experiment truly showed how easy masses are brainwashed and turned up against one another. Friendships broken, families torn apart. As someone wrote below that video: '<i>One of the most chilling aspects of the lockdowns was the government encouraging friends, families and neighbours to report on each other, anyone breaking the so called rules.'</i> Or another one: <i>'I will never forget that many people, family, neighbours, workmates who I once thought of as intelegent and sensible would have happily seen us unvaxed removed from society.</i>' That's right. Will people never learn from history? No they won't. Some affluent, bitchy woman once even came up to me in the street (!), demanding why I did not wear a mask outside. Just fark right off lady, we had a name for such people during the last great war. Full HD Orwellian dystopia in the making this century, this was only the beginning. We're already facing daily thoughtpolicing online and poiticians lying through their teeth and using doublethink tactics. Meanwhile 8 out of 10 people I know who never were vaccinated also never caught covid. Myself included. Whereas I barely can think of anyone who wás vaccinated who remained covid free. And people still won't believe it. Or critisize the lengths to which politicians and law-makers went to enforce vaccination on the population, and keep them at home during lockdown after lockdown. Let's not forget the actual internment CAMPS they built in Australia for covid positive people. I don't even start on communist China, but in our western world the same madness took place. And they planned on continuing with it for as long as possible. Mental illness, suicides, broken relationships, businesses lost, GP offices closed for years on end, late diagnosis of terminal cancers, development delays in children, complete discrimination and ostracizing of <i>healthy, covid-free</i> people, while vaccinated but covid carrying folks were welcomed everywhere with open arms; the list is endless. But hey, it's all good, because 'it was done with good intentions'. 'Unprecedented times'. No accountability. You can forget about any apologies. Lather, rinse, repeat.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcg6Bdg_OaN8ZkSt8t7ilQcYLcv5bpqlXaxnUL3k3sXJ-SHJ23c4gF9uUJ4JYqZpo5f2WbVWB3br2z87QfMh_Nz5bEStFv23kwn3and8wL2s1yE5WIXF6iaiz-9S7mJKZXd-rXcRGJmX1P7TBLoIW3uey9JJ2F8OzaVZSpPjpL06WP3cAyeEnwT4La4g/s695/294933473_598882055158231_4852134307277440456_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="695" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcg6Bdg_OaN8ZkSt8t7ilQcYLcv5bpqlXaxnUL3k3sXJ-SHJ23c4gF9uUJ4JYqZpo5f2WbVWB3br2z87QfMh_Nz5bEStFv23kwn3and8wL2s1yE5WIXF6iaiz-9S7mJKZXd-rXcRGJmX1P7TBLoIW3uey9JJ2F8OzaVZSpPjpL06WP3cAyeEnwT4La4g/w308-h272/294933473_598882055158231_4852134307277440456_n.jpg" width="308" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYKdWPml_UFdI3xPizvAs-DlCNiHRPQr_lnE39ImJtVT9LYV2hI_4eoDnIxO2ONXxJmKy7DRJd676w33S1DUEOHkMu1YlXsDA7KeXrJIoOv95mEuq0zhR4_MGz6PCuI1SeLpBB-hQYeTveymLRVwoIxW_M6UYAknaeTx5T8u-34-cZRb0xs2UiL74FQ/s596/300985000_3121471231451903_7103471943138314350_n%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="565" data-original-width="596" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYKdWPml_UFdI3xPizvAs-DlCNiHRPQr_lnE39ImJtVT9LYV2hI_4eoDnIxO2ONXxJmKy7DRJd676w33S1DUEOHkMu1YlXsDA7KeXrJIoOv95mEuq0zhR4_MGz6PCuI1SeLpBB-hQYeTveymLRVwoIxW_M6UYAknaeTx5T8u-34-cZRb0xs2UiL74FQ/w288-h273/300985000_3121471231451903_7103471943138314350_n%20copy.jpg" width="288" /></a></b></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kpZoanvSKeKKDiOlDJ4_HfkpcY5tHoTQG1giYRm2y9oF1bODIkJbO7UgX8idc9R3G5heF-JmnvtuEuff0uAquh2koe1kzncsQFz_g07SXe2IHZPlVrwOeUtsxC_tdOm3K1nyXtsuxM2446zKw3gqxGaOA5P3dbtDpL0GiOUyrCNxDrHa9INKiC-wTg/s955/295944025_769834297610510_6554595270521725049_n%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="955" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kpZoanvSKeKKDiOlDJ4_HfkpcY5tHoTQG1giYRm2y9oF1bODIkJbO7UgX8idc9R3G5heF-JmnvtuEuff0uAquh2koe1kzncsQFz_g07SXe2IHZPlVrwOeUtsxC_tdOm3K1nyXtsuxM2446zKw3gqxGaOA5P3dbtDpL0GiOUyrCNxDrHa9INKiC-wTg/w626-h340/295944025_769834297610510_6554595270521725049_n%20copy.jpg" width="626" /></b></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilOtsiYAG5mltpLvoQUDDjTfo40hoSP7q_4ShymvciIpaQiH69TFiCxSgj7Bi2sMBlYETHSRMWm2CuUCVaFpW8nGNyswIi8ckqyAtK6xBPW8w8X_O4RHwlFXvna3Jfr74dOxxUm9YMvntDl3XAAAGF36hxGsPVdH07e_OfOj0hC8cxZ4TJV3KGrmhBdg/s929/296478473_602736781448593_2584905381804936228_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="929" height="423" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilOtsiYAG5mltpLvoQUDDjTfo40hoSP7q_4ShymvciIpaQiH69TFiCxSgj7Bi2sMBlYETHSRMWm2CuUCVaFpW8nGNyswIi8ckqyAtK6xBPW8w8X_O4RHwlFXvna3Jfr74dOxxUm9YMvntDl3XAAAGF36hxGsPVdH07e_OfOj0hC8cxZ4TJV3KGrmhBdg/w620-h423/296478473_602736781448593_2584905381804936228_n.jpg" width="620" /></b></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1R6mmmI1NH8ol0V9GJro0udvdzn7gB7xl9wjFQEy3-ZV34MkXnv7biyMY3UhU4dJNkTPNKDNWqJi8Kk9YyfSCeUvmEhvzReG5irZyjFO7Y3gJha2-AUOBqlaUJwD_53Knel7_hJXEtlQCWjlHltnNZEoUm_Cng3ZM9rmfXVcYo0McRdnpUHSsbphSw/s745/299525149_434140652069536_107324380181412346_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="745" height="525" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1R6mmmI1NH8ol0V9GJro0udvdzn7gB7xl9wjFQEy3-ZV34MkXnv7biyMY3UhU4dJNkTPNKDNWqJi8Kk9YyfSCeUvmEhvzReG5irZyjFO7Y3gJha2-AUOBqlaUJwD_53Knel7_hJXEtlQCWjlHltnNZEoUm_Cng3ZM9rmfXVcYo0McRdnpUHSsbphSw/w616-h525/299525149_434140652069536_107324380181412346_n.jpg" width="616" /></b></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><span><span><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">September 19, 2022</span><br /><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='624' height='519' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy_JPu9jm_0qFvLmeAMwqgCLIg6ZDkB01-c8tbvseFXxm61yUfKUcX1e36I555emc_N6STyfvbnOfhy4BMBLQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5a7D4s1rPoOkSSGi9_nmF9LS4idVtVFUoxk1D1VuAYs6kEaON7mZUSy7onBEJW38WC0aaUdrAEG9BuXoqLcSbSrZMI0ZEH-iEkbg8TCGEJ-E5TLDY2RvVltdtAzAd9WR22axEH1VtY6DHkmEWCWg_Xu0xs0j8olkTFMjxPEz4j9CRCjqFt_xuIa0jQ/s818/305003340_1541572639637786_2544454924193604061_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="818" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5a7D4s1rPoOkSSGi9_nmF9LS4idVtVFUoxk1D1VuAYs6kEaON7mZUSy7onBEJW38WC0aaUdrAEG9BuXoqLcSbSrZMI0ZEH-iEkbg8TCGEJ-E5TLDY2RvVltdtAzAd9WR22axEH1VtY6DHkmEWCWg_Xu0xs0j8olkTFMjxPEz4j9CRCjqFt_xuIa0jQ/w640-h490/305003340_1541572639637786_2544454924193604061_n.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='641' height='533' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzs08sYSybAZS0iN3tafUNbcmtlKMHUF1ul3GM5Tm7LFuxBqRyeDnRnJQwaT_bPqIZHen43xk0IsxQ--7YgRw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><br /><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">The sheer pantomime</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='635' height='529' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyUU4bxKw_PJqKRYZx9Rwpa6Ouw8E0HbYeZ6Ucf7jfyxmuYJJ2T8We02L81yTQWRMPMK7kkd0BkRIObqNncTw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><br /></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><span><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">October 5, 2022</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='642' height='533' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwy6qf9kdJFQKDbckTo0KjqKptz9uMb0qGr2W_xrqnNHq7wm_VtsIY2z2fkgbT_NnDtbUZRqgdCfjUD78RdQA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></b></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzFTEYCGfIedZBj34RvqdRfQUuBz3S94vD3bcatpAUvTfQE5dLMUjXWlQLGW4Vn2w8ywFvsDmGVfMGCIppLHg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz7ayqm4d0RKAZOsOBP0e_VnOVzswgvswe3fZrk1kXbNPUlaxLmXYcScLJ_FwiqdTzhAboYgvPf6h8nV9oMEQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6Y9VwiVjilghkbCpPonX75-9Lo_Y2zeiH9UvZvIEkqczANOhMSVKz2WiZA918eJmEQsYutUuMO41qH_CDIYRU_vtLQwFVdmsj7RnOUXw1OhyDcRMGBJxRE0J_7CVGFs8VKPIYB-RrMhp8DsjRkPZo_WQSZ8llZqPq9Ij8ZHADPLT6dcwLeK42J81oQ/s952/Untitled-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="952" data-original-width="772" height="790" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6Y9VwiVjilghkbCpPonX75-9Lo_Y2zeiH9UvZvIEkqczANOhMSVKz2WiZA918eJmEQsYutUuMO41qH_CDIYRU_vtLQwFVdmsj7RnOUXw1OhyDcRMGBJxRE0J_7CVGFs8VKPIYB-RrMhp8DsjRkPZo_WQSZ8llZqPq9Ij8ZHADPLT6dcwLeK42J81oQ/w640-h790/Untitled-1.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jqT1FpFU2zCr2s8vsUlsPL4Qdsr6wUewtsJ28w0bUSFqDa_zskr-wDiXuxJessxKgzTssrFyaxl4tVtaIp1a5Tvgfe3uDt7p7SQ711K4-LzR552icTWCwZPRTbHBoXsimy2zMsgKUwKK4wDHOUbSnbhS_Mp0PECkkBTjMlX7F0UbT3njCjinPm1Bkw/s723/305530629_3258522411026635_8977096729327544486_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="723" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jqT1FpFU2zCr2s8vsUlsPL4Qdsr6wUewtsJ28w0bUSFqDa_zskr-wDiXuxJessxKgzTssrFyaxl4tVtaIp1a5Tvgfe3uDt7p7SQ711K4-LzR552icTWCwZPRTbHBoXsimy2zMsgKUwKK4wDHOUbSnbhS_Mp0PECkkBTjMlX7F0UbT3njCjinPm1Bkw/w640-h486/305530629_3258522411026635_8977096729327544486_n.png" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVn0tKiscj9AXJ5HW1B7i_JVCBAHM2osxisbtNXnM7hTcwzUoK2s-qFffRVXTWZyInB9TTNNKsMQWIwzqVYy7k1pbWQuxBFgEwrsT4a2DWybXKga8NPConSWc0m6HLlyXxLs4RX_fXag8sFihwzlP9ffB26SQmQkudHkwSrUTzgBCylCS0AibxaK0UAQ/s749/306242537_1532335667221045_6306845420924553965_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="749" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVn0tKiscj9AXJ5HW1B7i_JVCBAHM2osxisbtNXnM7hTcwzUoK2s-qFffRVXTWZyInB9TTNNKsMQWIwzqVYy7k1pbWQuxBFgEwrsT4a2DWybXKga8NPConSWc0m6HLlyXxLs4RX_fXag8sFihwzlP9ffB26SQmQkudHkwSrUTzgBCylCS0AibxaK0UAQ/w640-h456/306242537_1532335667221045_6306845420924553965_n.png" width="640" /></b></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZrb3QSBfWcwUMjxxIcpEk36YjpCIlOwhxfU_mhwrr0EjLNcrkvTqXF38dpB6UKmsWfFSO5qiextzMVOfJPBovMjMKC86m2TB9rtGoUiSI1LROSxVpZyeVJTEr9LvgSHh773G_3a2CLx4i-JIoVJ5pk4w06cehkthV738TnfEG4gucYmlCO2-_JytrtA/s1500/open-for-vaccinated-only-sign.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1500" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZrb3QSBfWcwUMjxxIcpEk36YjpCIlOwhxfU_mhwrr0EjLNcrkvTqXF38dpB6UKmsWfFSO5qiextzMVOfJPBovMjMKC86m2TB9rtGoUiSI1LROSxVpZyeVJTEr9LvgSHh773G_3a2CLx4i-JIoVJ5pk4w06cehkthV738TnfEG4gucYmlCO2-_JytrtA/w460-h277/open-for-vaccinated-only-sign.jpg" width="460" /></b></span></a><span><b><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">October 8, 2022</span></div><span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Safe and Effective: A Second Opinion (2022)</i></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><div style="text-align: left;">Wow, surprised that this is allowed to stay up on youtube.</div><span><div style="text-align: left;">Watch it before it is removed again due to censoring actions of youtube. </div><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">And in case this docu gets removed from youtube, I made a backup which you can </span><span style="text-align: left;">view </span><span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://vimeo.com/758285050" target="_blank">here</a> in HD or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpNp9WUoI1o" target="_blank">here</a></span><span style="text-align: left;">. </span></div></span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="549" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zpNp9WUoI1o" width="660" youtube-src-id="zpNp9WUoI1o"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='658' height='547' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxvujJmtId7LrTcgKz9hqpgZwyXXRtznKUDWQkLIJk2VBJM00m5zCkj3DDhrbHjmxPHpigxCAdo5NR2QjR8rw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Some good comments about the video:</span></b></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhZB6qy3S6I_LJ5e--qNmGWuR4FJhSLWneeUd-jqqb4BRd4Uc5JSpzOp_eY8aB1FfQd-z2nKBm2LgZwIGSFscIAemKWt87b6ttyh8t_ci0HbNw70YuQ1RZ30SeqqBvD1VFhfN8sYfg7T9pu-CIKSgzX53bsDU59zrYlvfJmD9LZ8lQ_VXPiMOkdXFZQ/s347/download.jpg" style="clear: right; 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float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="1494" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKETqqW28y2YM6ag9WJ3T_ZpS5Iqg3-4E4izXj2i0fxfR_8x5Qn77PWqk5ezzwzYypofMuyCaZ0wPkxAfUD2c7fNFmETCdbGXtLfldYYbNdOGiFUI-acgBN1sHkHHWFcISV8LvAASPXCpCZaRdRew8rWXGsnNtDk5uM0BoiS9W-EHgY2OlkJfmFRTtw/s320/Untitled-6.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FkQPMqWOU0B6grg1SB-Tboel2OKnUnFwS96KeTJKN1U4NFYaqEMtQSdaEDMgjr56i9I7ifSML6AnByoJqzHVnpXbEGlR4X8LjKBbnQGLHCxN-4mfx2xXkXFEY8uhqvE4gq0NpRtih8iNnwliMWMg5riBz7G29K11cahd9QNEvhNHIm8LMWJ_t8Hcpg/s1200/NoVaccineNoEntry_1200x666.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1200" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FkQPMqWOU0B6grg1SB-Tboel2OKnUnFwS96KeTJKN1U4NFYaqEMtQSdaEDMgjr56i9I7ifSML6AnByoJqzHVnpXbEGlR4X8LjKBbnQGLHCxN-4mfx2xXkXFEY8uhqvE4gq0NpRtih8iNnwliMWMg5riBz7G29K11cahd9QNEvhNHIm8LMWJ_t8Hcpg/s320/NoVaccineNoEntry_1200x666.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwZhOc7IzX0cf3f0ZsMnNVr60xJYAIPdS8cXE8QoBrduQ_NeprS0SbSF6YmE5gJPz8hkUU1I5sfnkMC2qrK1n121dUUIFC56LXCS6h3iNSsR2wsiMjf_eqdnk9DkEkJWemegaaoqhGtwHtuun6b5Qss5zXycg3YYSBeGETzWkYH4fi2eGbcx4ZLNAIw/s2016/Cropped-1634179522IMG_8432.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="2016" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwZhOc7IzX0cf3f0ZsMnNVr60xJYAIPdS8cXE8QoBrduQ_NeprS0SbSF6YmE5gJPz8hkUU1I5sfnkMC2qrK1n121dUUIFC56LXCS6h3iNSsR2wsiMjf_eqdnk9DkEkJWemegaaoqhGtwHtuun6b5Qss5zXycg3YYSBeGETzWkYH4fi2eGbcx4ZLNAIw/s320/Cropped-1634179522IMG_8432.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Asking questions and challenging a narrative should never be censored, it should always be encouraged. YouTube should promote this film for all to see, not ban it. It is way past time for the suppression to end - though I fear that the damage has already been done.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- The public has to not just look at the government, but also to look deeply in the mirror at themselves. It takes two to tango - willfully blind compliance is part of what allowed this situation. Many of us who possessed healthy skepticism from the beginning were lambasted for taking that position, and sometimes treated like the scum of the Earth. It did not make a good impression, at all, of my fellow citizens.The public has to not just look at the government, but also to look deeply in the mirror at themselves. It takes two to tango - willfully blind compliance is part of what allowed this situation. Many of us who possessed healthy skepticism from the beginning were lambasted for taking that position, and sometimes treated like the scum of the Earth. It did not make a good impression, at all, of my fellow citizens.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- It genuinely has changed my life, watching this virtue signalling world be usually offended by everything meanwhile people were being threatened to lose their jobs, human rights being violated and the daily abuse to us unvaccinated. It still really angers me. It was the darkest times of my life just how bad the unjabbed were treated. I fought and spoke out from the beginning, and i’d never change how hard I tried to raise awareness of this psychological war from the beginning!</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- I know what you mean. People who follow the trendiest causes, who become incensed by human rights violations of minority groups elsewhere, become incensed at the unvaxxed in their own community?! It boggles the mind.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- I work in the NHS. I was bullied into the 1st AZ. I regret it to this day. The side effects I had within 20 minutes, some of which I still suffer to this day, are horrific. No-one knew what to do to help me. They thought I’d had a stroke. But when the jab was mentioned, I was dropped and ignored. I have been left to manage by myself. I relate to that feeling of worrying of whether I’ll wake up or not some nights. I have physical evidence of the side effects, photos, videos etc. I get accused of lying, or it being psychosomatic. I don’t know how I can make my arm & leg on the vaxxed side swell up x3 times usual size, or how I can will random bruises across my body etc. Just another medical “mystery”</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- I am 18 months into my injury with no end in sight. I choose to believe I will heal in time, though I still cannot work or do most of the things I used to be able to enjoy. I have made it this far due to the generosity of family, friends, and kind strangers. I try not to think about what will happen when the well of charity runs dry. I just keep praying to be well enough to make any sort of income. May we all get the medical and financial help we need to survive and go on to thrive again, like we did in our previous lives. This video gives me hope that maybe one day there will be some form of justice done, but with what I now know, I cannot count on it.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- Thank you for the work that you do. This hit close to home for me. I was hesitant at first because something didn't seem right- the propaganda, the fear, the coercion. Then the love of my life was injured after being pressured to get it to keep his job. I chose not to do it, and he never did it again. Doctors will not acknowledge it. Some of my closest family relationships have been strained. This has been incredibly isolating. My heart breaks for those around the world who are also struggling.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- Congratulations to every brave, free thinking person, for surviving the greatest psychological fear campaign in human history. May each and every one of the perpetrators be held accountable, and soon.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- The amount of ridicule the unvaccinated got is unforgivable. I won’t ever forget it</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-Same here in israel pfizerland.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- Agree. I cannot and will not forgive them because their compliance is what made it so vicious for the rest of us.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- I almost split with my wife of 25 years over all this madness. She works in NHS and was on the verge of getting the injections and I begged and pleaded that she didn't do it. My wife thought I had become a conspiracy nut.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>I finally managed in sitting her down one day and said " give it a few months and if we don't see any warning signals on the yellow card system, then I will get the injections with you"</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>It really didn't take long in her completely changing her mind.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- Great doco, really appreciate how well this was put together. It cost me a lot not to get vaccinated (here in NZ) and I’m heartbroken for those whose health it’s cost in getting it. My prayers go out for you - I believe you.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- I’m in NZ too. I lost friends, family referred to me as crazy, was uninvited to our family Christmas (ironically we are invited this year but we’ve opted to spend time with those who love us unconditionally) I lost my business. Our life has changed and in spite of our sacrifices, it’s changed for the better. Now that I’m not slogging it out working, I’m able to homeschool my children. It has been amazing! 😊</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- The coercion was incredible. Discrimination, social segregation, abuse and threats were criminal. When these tactics were deployed I knew it had nothing to do with public health.<br /><br />-- "They're there, by your side, they seem normal, but they're superheroes. Even if I were fully vaccinated, I would admire the unvaccinated for withstanding the greatest pressure I have ever seen, including from spouses, parents, children, friends, coworkers, and doctors. Those capable of such character, courage, and critical thinking undoubtedly embody the best of humanity. They are everywhere, in all ages, levels of education, countries and opinions. They are of a special kind. They are the soldiers that any Army of the Light would wish to have in their ranks. They are the parents every child desires and the children every parent dreams of. They are beings that transcend the average of their societies, they are the essence of the peoples who have built all cultures and conquered all horizons. They are with you, by your side, they seem normal, but they are superheroes. They did what others could not, they were the tree that withstood the hurricane of insults, discrimination and social exclusion. And they did it because they thought they were alone, and they thought they were alone. Shut out from their families' Christmas tables, they have never seen anything so gruesome. They lost their jobs, they dropped their careers, they had no money... ... but they persevered. They suffered immeasurable discrimination, denunciations, betrayals and humiliations.... … nevertheless they remained steadfast. Never before in human history has there been such a "casting", we now know who the resistance fighters are on planet earth. Women, men, old, young, rich, poor, of all races and all religions, the unvaccinated, the chosen of the invisible ark, the only ones who managed to resist when everything collapsed. They are the ones who passed an unimaginable test that many of the toughest Marines, Commandos, Green Berets, Astronauts and Geniuses could not pass. You are made of the stuff of the greatest that ever lived, those heroes born of common men who glow in the dark.” - Gen. Christian Blanchon (08.09.2022)</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- I remember just 'regular' people actually calling for violence against people who were simply protesting for their rights. The most basis right: to do with their bodies what they want. The whole pressuring and pushing people is what made me decide I dont want it and I will never be forced into taking it. If someone physically forces me I will use violence to defend myself and I won't feel bad about that either. I actually think corona is harmfull and I've supported certain policies, but the government response to this, the way they were openly trying to force people into taking it is one of the most disgusting, malicious things I've seen in all my time on this earth.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- Thank you for giving these injured people a voice - the fact that this has been ignored by the mainstream media is shocking and makes you realise how very "controlled" we have been for so long. This is eye opening for so many people and enabled me to share it with all the people who have been looking at me as if I'm crazy for the last 2 years!!</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- I live in a block of 6 flats. Out of all the properties myself and my immediate neighbour were the only ones that did not get vaccinated. Every other person in the block who were vaccinated have been hospitalized with clots stroke symptoms ches pains etc but worst of all, The guy at the bottom flat actually died in his bed from a brain hemorrhage. He was only found when his work collegues told us he hadnt turned up for work for 3 days. 3 days after his first Astra zeneca vaccine! A locksmith was bought in by the police and he was found passed away! His family are having none of the blame put on the vaccine.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- Many of us present & former NHS staff tried to speak out in the beginning and were silenced.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- As a straight white male the possibility of being discriminated against for any reason never crossed my mind in my 36 years. I refused the experimental jab in 2021 and my whole perception of society changed. I am SO glad I stood firm despite the harassment from every direction. The constant hate was an educational experience and somewhat enjoyable in a twisted way, and I wouldn’t change any of it.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- Glad I stood my ground. I was ridiculed by friends, interrogated by colleagues and faced the derision and name-calling of family members on top of hearing and reading about what a terrible and unethical reprobate I was in the media, from my own government and wider society. It was all absolute crap and deliberately, cruelly and methodically encouraged by the authorities and the press.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- Unvaccinated in Australia and still uncontaminated by Covid, I have survivor guilt because unlike so many people I didn't have to lose my livelihood . However, I still paid the price. For a long time I was treated as a leper but the worst thing is how my relationship to my son was severely damaged because he believed the government and so-called experts. We are all going to need great strength and compassion when it all comes out, the vaaxed the unvaaxed and the injured.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- Very moving...what they put people through . I will not forget when they next try and come across as caring again. Any trust in mainstream media is completely gone forever</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-- Thank you so much, I'm a vax injured Nurse in NZ and had 3 doses, or lose my job...we are still under mandates...but I'll never have another, my GP mocked me when I suggested my symptoms could be from it last year. It's changed my life...and we are seeing increased heart problems, weird clots and all sorts of other issues in our patients..I just wish I'd been brave enough to leave and not so gullible at the start of it all!<br /><br /></b></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr81rASjJ4q0XonxtUN13xNclTRSu8oPrl-vH0WOQBNGPUFGCe3VGPX7jOwkjvPHjgspR-WYGEzKik4_2NkMafKHSCk472AOi740ybdAaXbkwpZYP_GGQ8ij0hEZif9Dfps7SwHgb6VDtGPf95FjA5xuApxxYTYy3GuiQ34dEqJls8eapH1j8Wv3b10g/s680/ExFqsOLWQAAmuM5.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr81rASjJ4q0XonxtUN13xNclTRSu8oPrl-vH0WOQBNGPUFGCe3VGPX7jOwkjvPHjgspR-WYGEzKik4_2NkMafKHSCk472AOi740ybdAaXbkwpZYP_GGQ8ij0hEZif9Dfps7SwHgb6VDtGPf95FjA5xuApxxYTYy3GuiQ34dEqJls8eapH1j8Wv3b10g/s320/ExFqsOLWQAAmuM5.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6FviDFTCtp_i-JkHmPvcXi56DlhneNoCVAHwKahCDSuklini-pYil96GrZcbB0jC24GWJkO7A8e6lZM8eWXUitjOaCoORVTPq6hS7ipoUGydlFEvL34oI3AcM3bMVf4WI1qRyP1UX3ur6Pq0WYYENRhL7SpZn82bkWtsY3QHJW8YxeQHxWNdU_MmAfg/s1024/covid-incentive-791x1024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mO2mVtCkT_PjkHdBNdty19dEp9fIbIWSw7oUHbaP-SO4i7FaW9nH00RrV5jYSEoZc0Ja4JPAThF96lcDl9mdnsuEODyB2HBNcQ-AAWw0xcj5SLaoc63Jb1VZO-DPH_R3-bXsuIYgIruNnR53JRMfxioERC3gvpej4wf8ac_SJ3ZhGQ3REaguFeOmVw/s240/vaccine-pop-up-flyer.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="240" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mO2mVtCkT_PjkHdBNdty19dEp9fIbIWSw7oUHbaP-SO4i7FaW9nH00RrV5jYSEoZc0Ja4JPAThF96lcDl9mdnsuEODyB2HBNcQ-AAWw0xcj5SLaoc63Jb1VZO-DPH_R3-bXsuIYgIruNnR53JRMfxioERC3gvpej4wf8ac_SJ3ZhGQ3REaguFeOmVw/w226-h226/vaccine-pop-up-flyer.png" width="226" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_FaB4Tw0Wm8xtqFFbsRzZxwusX5JmLqjsQQvJhOp_2UyVD1Q3oa9nZLFg_3rXIdN3srqVi_3-5pel6cRxyq2NrshQNYrbuh54gGTr1jgl3sXSSbT83CSjEJXPGPw3fbBC3GDUkVmSLzRpV97OzTlSiX8LQIa5tHDbt47sPMyxzCN-neN6RFDxUwTiA/s2048/rawImage.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_FaB4Tw0Wm8xtqFFbsRzZxwusX5JmLqjsQQvJhOp_2UyVD1Q3oa9nZLFg_3rXIdN3srqVi_3-5pel6cRxyq2NrshQNYrbuh54gGTr1jgl3sXSSbT83CSjEJXPGPw3fbBC3GDUkVmSLzRpV97OzTlSiX8LQIa5tHDbt47sPMyxzCN-neN6RFDxUwTiA/w341-h227/rawImage.jpg" width="341" /></a> </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbtAXvMTcCvyZSnzaG3zvJnuoIdC4OQ-JgGJZn5vPHHRlwYYhy4HBnqWnuCDrTjYoUfpuQbShmZzQUHGQIltLfwL38r_8T_NBJ2FjE6-22NKTgA01AQevvlHRJ_K9KlsHdP3CRIpzvT2wO9HsqP1qq1u3hnTIt4GRwaOyg35FaaaGQyB-1KbEBpULJQ/s2012/CEAL%20Infographics_Vaccine%20Journey_12.1.20.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2012" data-original-width="900" height="461" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbtAXvMTcCvyZSnzaG3zvJnuoIdC4OQ-JgGJZn5vPHHRlwYYhy4HBnqWnuCDrTjYoUfpuQbShmZzQUHGQIltLfwL38r_8T_NBJ2FjE6-22NKTgA01AQevvlHRJ_K9KlsHdP3CRIpzvT2wO9HsqP1qq1u3hnTIt4GRwaOyg35FaaaGQyB-1KbEBpULJQ/w206-h461/CEAL%20Infographics_Vaccine%20Journey_12.1.20.jpg" width="206" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGyXEFrEavaP7Z0VgjPyopqUUvXe1EZX12BPXkQZOVKZxDELwTLucBbp5yK0WN5VhxSgNpFIQ8aclDO6W4GN_vNBkjfPXNYpOkLO6WxYeTis2Oh7RzZMUhLK2DSgwOzmGSLYUjfVMaHFLN0COKfpkM4kK98d01kBmpaHv2KY_NUlVjR0NIzCncFJY8A/s1181/covid-19-vaccination-children-aged-5-and-over-can-get-the-covid-19-vaccine.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1181" data-original-width="836" height="463" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGyXEFrEavaP7Z0VgjPyopqUUvXe1EZX12BPXkQZOVKZxDELwTLucBbp5yK0WN5VhxSgNpFIQ8aclDO6W4GN_vNBkjfPXNYpOkLO6WxYeTis2Oh7RzZMUhLK2DSgwOzmGSLYUjfVMaHFLN0COKfpkM4kK98d01kBmpaHv2KY_NUlVjR0NIzCncFJY8A/w329-h463/covid-19-vaccination-children-aged-5-and-over-can-get-the-covid-19-vaccine.jpg" width="329" /></a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><b style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">October 11th 2022 </span><br /></span></b><b style="color: #444444; text-align: left;">Never forget what some people did in the name of covid:</b></span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><b style="color: #444444; text-align: left;"><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='593' height='492' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy-3Dp4z2ETc9qTPCWIJJGiLhMVH8MiWJw7VWh6aQ6agK21CbUYcJnLqEuG9Z9qt72E7gydeGemsdHJCr3KiQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><br /><span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">October 11, 2022</span></span><br /><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><span>Ok, Pfizer's </span><span style="text-align: left;">president of international development markets, Janine Small,</span><span> </span><span style="text-align: left;">testified before the COVID committee of the European Parliament in place of CEO Albert Bourla (reportedly down with covid<i> again</i>). And she said on the record and on behalf of Pfizer that </span><span>they had NOT tested their </span><span>covid vaccine on whether it stopped transmission of covid, by the time it hit the market..... </span><span>The main reason politicians told us to get the vaccine, remember? To save others. Lies. Our leaders (and the rest of the world) called it a "public duty" to ensure we don't pass it on to others.<br /><br /></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='604' height='503' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxHk9KofCR6AT5ZKU8NifD6ljKboX4m9x1cZGE05Gpr0PaZrgle6Q06o6ljh4vZFhZVZuRvJ3j5rDNijoN5Vw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3ti-lrPt6Oh_pGJcuJ3D7SRe5LqObGk7F2Vw_rX4sjV2JRM5sUGtsCYYFVwrbufT8CqU7ugmoHpqcRMIXLzdv5wSWjSfsP22UBD8s-Qyy7R-LAuEbMBf-N9B7MCWj2lI-mcI_-3YX_Eh4MA71d6TiyTpfQ04HvRmQiizjfQPbWhU6HB6wTjp-S4xNw/s1024/GettyImages-1234732372.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="1024" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3ti-lrPt6Oh_pGJcuJ3D7SRe5LqObGk7F2Vw_rX4sjV2JRM5sUGtsCYYFVwrbufT8CqU7ugmoHpqcRMIXLzdv5wSWjSfsP22UBD8s-Qyy7R-LAuEbMBf-N9B7MCWj2lI-mcI_-3YX_Eh4MA71d6TiyTpfQ04HvRmQiizjfQPbWhU6HB6wTjp-S4xNw/s320/GettyImages-1234732372.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>These lies, aka "Trust the Science" were used by politicians and law makers to exclude anyone<br /> who did not want to be vaccinated from active parts of society. Lies, it now seems. We knew that the goal posts were changed over time. First the vaccinated could not spread covid (false). Then the vaccinated could not get covid (false). Thén the vaccinated could not get very sick or get hospitalized with covid (false again). What a bloody scandal this, in light of the unacceptable side-effect profile and adverse event RISK. Forcing medical treatment is already against the law in many places. But that doesn't seem to matter. If you control information and get the people scared enough, there's no law they won't welcome the government breaking to "protect" them. Mandating these covid vaccines was ALWAYS wrong for many reasons. Religious/conscience objections, prior immunity, complex health that the state doesn’t deem worthy of ‘exemption’, ‘hesitancy’ and plain old autonomy and freedom of choice. On top of these vaccines not being vaccines, having a too high side-effect profile and not being tested in the long term. And yes, threatening someone's livelihood and freedom of movement (unless...) also falls under enforcing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='608' height='504' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzTKv2BxspjcTxBQiwf_u3EUYd6ZqE9iPSwdI10AKEBg-Pn6EknPs3YWwpRX9-x9A2AvWemh7BEtJ_bXmeEQQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><span>LET'S NOT FORGET HOW THESE 'VACCINES' WERE SOLD BY THE BIG SHOTS AT THE TIME:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='623' height='519' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dznmJC6NUT4LuYilJPRciu-GQ1gE9fXX0waBjqgpkRbQzFo771JW0gue4-qNaHWWPrG6H2SSdtMTzbpePrcag' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWqu580HsyLgBLNJe5Gc9O50Ax4qsvpWu6ACg7aMhY9-Tj8fddH68vIbY9YxWMCoEYLafT73I52aDI_PDAQKI9hbqLkb9ClPcT50Kllw15ZUCQuRxb55bZjY4i1j5wUb_2eUJNi0LztV1Vx-Y2JDHaSSHp2ePHrSrM_JBPXlBgeOO8KHB6hp2Qq26FAw/s776/Untitled-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="776" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWqu580HsyLgBLNJe5Gc9O50Ax4qsvpWu6ACg7aMhY9-Tj8fddH68vIbY9YxWMCoEYLafT73I52aDI_PDAQKI9hbqLkb9ClPcT50Kllw15ZUCQuRxb55bZjY4i1j5wUb_2eUJNi0LztV1Vx-Y2JDHaSSHp2ePHrSrM_JBPXlBgeOO8KHB6hp2Qq26FAw/w594-h466/Untitled-2.jpg" width="594" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuK4Kaqk0uEsY1NblJWfs1X3iBSkCzCdL-RCFTsQw2I_YdPWnunKhjn4BgW09Y5DpBqH1PlsYTOseI5_eTJPMsS8knpWY3XnsAgsSlOQpTymn3J6fEK-N04akvKuIaZC0FgaVqPf-CY2HEh7iNl0n1VjBa1GyZ4x-u8v_AXMFUnfefSkNfA0RMYFRdyQ/s680/Fe2scnNWQAA8ya_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="591" height="680" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuK4Kaqk0uEsY1NblJWfs1X3iBSkCzCdL-RCFTsQw2I_YdPWnunKhjn4BgW09Y5DpBqH1PlsYTOseI5_eTJPMsS8knpWY3XnsAgsSlOQpTymn3J6fEK-N04akvKuIaZC0FgaVqPf-CY2HEh7iNl0n1VjBa1GyZ4x-u8v_AXMFUnfefSkNfA0RMYFRdyQ/w592-h680/Fe2scnNWQAA8ya_.jpg" width="592" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT-xsGstTEBf6OPcgI4vIvu6OOBYf4n4rlbNG1WkIi5T0ExwLhgMpdsN9zvI3udLdCh5T4RgugVv1PaDvvBjJ4rANk4iDFYtYZJsgMOeRR0Jg-pkODU_U8aOvWvDlTLXPRdP-P1eb7AnTYQDf7y7MiQFxVo8gdqFJVHuljlP2oUZmwei2ndN7XcOPtkg/s735/Untitled-3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="735" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT-xsGstTEBf6OPcgI4vIvu6OOBYf4n4rlbNG1WkIi5T0ExwLhgMpdsN9zvI3udLdCh5T4RgugVv1PaDvvBjJ4rANk4iDFYtYZJsgMOeRR0Jg-pkODU_U8aOvWvDlTLXPRdP-P1eb7AnTYQDf7y7MiQFxVo8gdqFJVHuljlP2oUZmwei2ndN7XcOPtkg/w595-h404/Untitled-3.jpg" width="595" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1iha_RH2ntyd84wtLlY0d4M0EIM_wb3zszVu2x__DNcBxTNYqd9iydYqnhe3o4g7fR_FGeR4QdKDI6sfZsXs-LAF4DSAks5O2GmryWNxsxQJ9dF1bxSKddKuYzVljTogHoFZL4pnX1Cq8Rq0w5raXY5-p4RnZhkXNeoR_81TEztVVqU5LGlKVT1byQ/s690/Untitled-4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="690" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1iha_RH2ntyd84wtLlY0d4M0EIM_wb3zszVu2x__DNcBxTNYqd9iydYqnhe3o4g7fR_FGeR4QdKDI6sfZsXs-LAF4DSAks5O2GmryWNxsxQJ9dF1bxSKddKuYzVljTogHoFZL4pnX1Cq8Rq0w5raXY5-p4RnZhkXNeoR_81TEztVVqU5LGlKVT1byQ/w640-h480/Untitled-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='634' height='527' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz6-r281zmm8P8y53yEAAsyeBfeYHhEaSXpayUxh8S6gqSB_p2MewQ763QlxHMiANy8XE15M7B2_DKxRjCzZQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">October 12, 2022</span></span><br /><span style="color: #444444;">And the whole woke movement has enabled all this. People have been scared and censored into black and white thinkers and governments are too worried about being cancelled or doing the wrong thing and creating a shitstorm of online criticism, so they went along with the pressure of companies. Others have been made to believe (or chose to believe) the black and white mantra that if you weren't choosing to get vaccinated, you therefore 'must' automatically be a conspiracy nutcase; someone who doesn't respect science, someone who is in the wrong 'camp'. Perfect tools to get people to do what you want them to do, with the help of compliant media and a compliant general population who completely let go of basic human rights and autonomy. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='604' height='503' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz8SXTYGSaRsA6vGUtzB7eWqJhv3C-pbhmeJGLDlRyGT0PfyMNMbG2g5E7Jez0EN8fgMBTliX8i-ROBY-H3rg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='606' height='503' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxpV9jEwZmi_re3WDC2kdsbrazEf1dvJ71TUwvtUjUgffZYOKaubLi0lYs5EBRn18V1H1jUYpE9xmsFMjB1xw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJIwA6-dLQWlv93NAT90OFU4mxThA94a8WPbBlW2Iae9vwgufehL-JyOq-T6kocLLhQWKRzrf-qcp5ZSASMrTq6yvJtmZQ5141eR_dSz51qxEORb5GMn7t41UGy1qAteVhXYhkTdbggWz61IoHsCnwOq72xQenFw6oDfsz14MtQSC2mWKk3AF6xj6KQ/s1551/310971726_1789274854745730_519241804697708451_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1551" data-original-width="1536" height="618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJIwA6-dLQWlv93NAT90OFU4mxThA94a8WPbBlW2Iae9vwgufehL-JyOq-T6kocLLhQWKRzrf-qcp5ZSASMrTq6yvJtmZQ5141eR_dSz51qxEORb5GMn7t41UGy1qAteVhXYhkTdbggWz61IoHsCnwOq72xQenFw6oDfsz14MtQSC2mWKk3AF6xj6KQ/w612-h618/310971726_1789274854745730_519241804697708451_n.png" width="612" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGPBI6UyQJOh1fOWZZIUU1tPA3suWBBuRTBKAaANGbaa0VoEFBrPHmhFAUH5w4hrKMfL5LrhZEaZsAS2_-WyrOA53HMmk6wovodysIGB-ZkRuTZ3A7nGq1bZ5fxdkmyPtuiLxBP0Qzw9ygIvXsB8COulpJR3yw45ysnCJeaVnTY2K_5MCXolME2CqDA/s2956/310895372_647192183430280_5550982043731121264_n%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">October 13, 2022</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;"><br style="text-align: left;" /></span><div><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7yxxKDbrKNF85Vliq2bEMvcMRaAV6xtOlmWPbv1V_mtwnHrX6R0BcYn9vMnmFE07zXd5AM8X-cNj8qi44WGJFcOd7DYLJylaBbUVC4VtW3VIcvU4Bjy3ZXUhGsSa-IJEeVrdNqBvEpDzKjKTL6EmYQPGv91111-P7k6FDIehlYJsWL4hElfaaJKSpA/s680/306787162_2226428407525508_8443659635028034116_n.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="680" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7yxxKDbrKNF85Vliq2bEMvcMRaAV6xtOlmWPbv1V_mtwnHrX6R0BcYn9vMnmFE07zXd5AM8X-cNj8qi44WGJFcOd7DYLJylaBbUVC4VtW3VIcvU4Bjy3ZXUhGsSa-IJEeVrdNqBvEpDzKjKTL6EmYQPGv91111-P7k6FDIehlYJsWL4hElfaaJKSpA/w400-h381/306787162_2226428407525508_8443659635028034116_n.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>Some people are already starting to backtrack, now that Pfizer admitted that there were no data on trasnmission prevention. So we were told lies by our law makers and media people. I never got vaccinated myself, but know that the pressure was SO immense. Coming from all corners and we now KNOW that the government worked with communication specialist to force people and shame people into getting vaccinated. To hell with the absence of actual science on their effectiveness. They all took a merely two months short, biased trial result from the pharmaceutical companies themselves as gospel. It was pure PR and make-belief. NO testing done on prevention of transmission, barely any testing (very small scale and as it later turned out; edited and glorified) </span><span>done </span><span>on prevention of developing covid yourself. They kept changing the goal posts, and even now people still parrot that the vaccines 'prevent serious illness and hospitalization'. NO THEY DON'T. Over 90% of people in hospital with covid have been double/tripple/more vaccinated. And their immune system is less able to fight covid off in fact, due to Antibody-dependent Enhancement issues. The vaccines may have done<i> something</i>, but at this point we can't even be sure on that as the reliable objective science is missing in that respect as well. Many countries have started to publicly advice <i>against</i> covid vaccination for younger people, sometimes including anyone under 60 years old. Wow.. Bit late eh? After 1,5 years of mass vaccine mandates. Meanwhile the mainstream media platforms still <a href="https://youtu.be/KXZB2N2PzV8?t=2113" target="_blank">cancel anyone who publishes such new facts</a>, especially youtube. We have been conned into a segregated society with vaccine passports and countless vaccine victims, who cannot sue the pharmaceutical companies, as they have been declared exempt from responsibility. Look, I don't even think that the vaccines should be taken off the market. If people still believe they do anything positive, feel free to take more shots. But everyone should be <u>properly informed</u> at least beforehand. Since when has it ever been acceptable to not report potential side effects? Instead, people are sold lies and the pharmaceutical companies go all out, as they have been given special status and cannot be held accountable legally.</span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;">Of course, the large majority of people who got vaccinated with these covid vaccines did not die, nor had serious side-effects. That's what makes it so difficult. There is hard scientific evidence by now that in an unlucky minority, these deadly or debilitating side effects can and dó happen, such as blood clots and brain inflammation. Does that mean that we take this relatively large group for granted and dub them collateral damage? In light of the very short term effeciency of these vaccines (if at all)? In the past, ANY vaccine that caused even 1% of such serious side effects was pulled off the market. That is a fact. Why are the rules suddenly different when it comes to covid vaccines? Is this because the media (also provenly) inflated the covid death numbers? Yes covid killed many people, but so does every year's winter flu. The same groups are mostly at risk: the elderly and those who are immuno-comprised. It still fascinates me what exactly made so many people SO involved, emotionally also, with the vaccine narrative? To the point of breaking up relationships and family ties with those who thought differently. Is it the fear of covid + the anger of the lockdowns, making them desperately wánt the vaccines to work? Is it the groupthink pressure? Is it the superior self image, that heas a person of 'science', anyone who doesn't trust 'the science' is a right wing nutter or a bogan? I suspect a bit of all of that. It were mostly the highly educated professionals and well to do people who had mass vaccinations here. That's the thing; most of these people don't have time or the knowledge to keep up to date. Even many of the GP's and general doctors didn't do their homework and just mindlessly took the info given to them (often skewed pharmaceutical data) and implemented it. But I kept an eye on the pubmed and otherwise public research articles these past years and there were trial results from the get-go, indicating that a lot of the official narrative regarding how these vaccines work and just how many side-effect risks they actually pose.. were flawed. Or downright incorrect. And as my friend B. said: "Then the media did a great job at finding the wackiest person doing the most stupid things and then putting them out in front of the media as the "face of anti-covid vax".</div></span></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwR3N9RAjuyktDVpiqkIaVs5mRfI2TMgwmiZkHwFsNS3niPMH6cJAhXtLpnSYCc408KJsOgMhi8ojaznFgqP1Fno6urtwtRvd9xA83H0i04OzEs5A7bCTrptbOW9AciBp4qjMKVAHv8b3Gp-uxwslRt0l9bR7cV3gWAgLg4wzbpzOC9PT69XSykySLOA/s1070/Untitled-5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="1070" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwR3N9RAjuyktDVpiqkIaVs5mRfI2TMgwmiZkHwFsNS3niPMH6cJAhXtLpnSYCc408KJsOgMhi8ojaznFgqP1Fno6urtwtRvd9xA83H0i04OzEs5A7bCTrptbOW9AciBp4qjMKVAHv8b3Gp-uxwslRt0l9bR7cV3gWAgLg4wzbpzOC9PT69XSykySLOA/w640-h210/Untitled-5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGgfLfp3wLtzQEMz_yuCBnMtSfDVR9VVU07_oX091JErIGEepxvhdpocf8sQvcJp2g0UDBmOklrBVvK7xDm3nLNS-r5gYgSf-Rm9i57tgNjoMYYqedLvPT35u7KxJ_xpHEzn5Z41VcE9tTW1J_1j9F0PQZvVQvFNo9As3BH2bK-ZGzXOt9lg033XaldQ/s903/Untitled-6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="903" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGgfLfp3wLtzQEMz_yuCBnMtSfDVR9VVU07_oX091JErIGEepxvhdpocf8sQvcJp2g0UDBmOklrBVvK7xDm3nLNS-r5gYgSf-Rm9i57tgNjoMYYqedLvPT35u7KxJ_xpHEzn5Z41VcE9tTW1J_1j9F0PQZvVQvFNo9As3BH2bK-ZGzXOt9lg033XaldQ/w640-h280/Untitled-6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='617' height='513' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzhaCkf4_1zAinMfoM7zRJ_7SGW-heU0DDOgKQgFajUGPj4K9MCfDc7F8nwzbDFye4f5dJNYzZ6SN1cuXPnlw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; text-align: left;"><b><span><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_4jq3DJa8nEkFMCSXRRSU7cUWESCdTLPUpS6DCBsR8CgCmat0SyLxlWVRRP2o0EuHQUUObKE02EeGWbhH6-U_Y3GSQCHZWeccsn9QYqvebYSxOHlbl70KqHvSjKtSs5SIVWICoq3ybSRikaYcudLKF54-2U_DR9gibKMQLlnz6TpdS03M2mDjZeIpg/s680/FekFXpVX0AAqtIi.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="680" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_4jq3DJa8nEkFMCSXRRSU7cUWESCdTLPUpS6DCBsR8CgCmat0SyLxlWVRRP2o0EuHQUUObKE02EeGWbhH6-U_Y3GSQCHZWeccsn9QYqvebYSxOHlbl70KqHvSjKtSs5SIVWICoq3ybSRikaYcudLKF54-2U_DR9gibKMQLlnz6TpdS03M2mDjZeIpg/s320/FekFXpVX0AAqtIi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Surgeon General's tweet being censored.. Referring to </span></b><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: 700;">a study documenting “an 84% increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination.” </span><b><span style="color: #444444;">It is mindblowing that giving information about "potential risks" is censored. America of all places, where if you listen to any of their medication ads, they always lists the risks of course because of the legal risks. Now when it comes to the covid vaccines, potential risks are being censored. Mindblowing and corrupt. </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">"In the analysis Ladapo released, males aged 18-39 were found to be at “the highest risk” for cardiac-related mortality after having received the Covid jab, with the study noting that “[t]he risk associated with mRNA vaccination should be weighed against the risk associated with COVID-19 infection.”</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxSHlgSaDxFpaYPCwwakLjXEuZDCavvDg8l6-ZJ2TPPDxWOtcxATbgO9zNkxfIJNpBUwzgoXmgThdjewIMEFEmuxJbGVUNAzWU9ZdgKXR1ZLI94munL8B_-0XskIjtaNBQTpYh5_9cNW0hccYQdG9JuAxnVZYuICNetsydIepf_JYG7VSewyIBUNGH1A/s914/Untitled-7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="914" height="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxSHlgSaDxFpaYPCwwakLjXEuZDCavvDg8l6-ZJ2TPPDxWOtcxATbgO9zNkxfIJNpBUwzgoXmgThdjewIMEFEmuxJbGVUNAzWU9ZdgKXR1ZLI94munL8B_-0XskIjtaNBQTpYh5_9cNW0hccYQdG9JuAxnVZYuICNetsydIepf_JYG7VSewyIBUNGH1A/w640-h624/Untitled-7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQoFBcOiZEpbefrhgjSLyYE1L_OvquTenG2WZWQ3fjC4mWjVpHu2DPoptPZV3iRbd0TM1G6C8cooc-0hJi6yVK5e395tGUeRWXmO2ZBDhFc1cczMxXM4SM3uXwzy2XHfX75YbvnTNH92uIlt5XSvLS2wNnFC0h_ewTs202uIliJ7TuV4pUM69X3IYaEQ/s901/Untitled-8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="892" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQoFBcOiZEpbefrhgjSLyYE1L_OvquTenG2WZWQ3fjC4mWjVpHu2DPoptPZV3iRbd0TM1G6C8cooc-0hJi6yVK5e395tGUeRWXmO2ZBDhFc1cczMxXM4SM3uXwzy2XHfX75YbvnTNH92uIlt5XSvLS2wNnFC0h_ewTs202uIliJ7TuV4pUM69X3IYaEQ/w634-h640/Untitled-8.jpg" width="634" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ALI-rBbLr_uuQTitABjJ7L_KuLzpwchAM_JwOEZL1PeGsbeqgBTZiM44Yaf-dry28_XyvjduQwZDbebSltddZEOuw9p4lRRMjwW9pMqV0WdLOLUbOf07BPhs3-kVGW6pFUkKAmMy9Gs6pfZUx4b8lBorHI4cyssGABEF8oXaKTHWvQs_ypuF4b1_Qw/s898/Untitled-9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="898" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ALI-rBbLr_uuQTitABjJ7L_KuLzpwchAM_JwOEZL1PeGsbeqgBTZiM44Yaf-dry28_XyvjduQwZDbebSltddZEOuw9p4lRRMjwW9pMqV0WdLOLUbOf07BPhs3-kVGW6pFUkKAmMy9Gs6pfZUx4b8lBorHI4cyssGABEF8oXaKTHWvQs_ypuF4b1_Qw/w640-h638/Untitled-9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEPct6scG9E-1U6I-QB_0KKXGQ_DTTAw00j5hxd4lV7k65KqEm9K4N8lPGe4YDStdLiBvHMDXGuv-q_NgWvR85ZskYn3EihB2lTbLHeNijT554HqnCqBcEasfi3lH3MtF8HTalKhPwov9iL9OlaGYkcqefDN1iCXoPDIAnjB5TjFegeyNUi8nAy8yJQ/s572/307258403_639989807481533_8223136675585397932_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="547" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEPct6scG9E-1U6I-QB_0KKXGQ_DTTAw00j5hxd4lV7k65KqEm9K4N8lPGe4YDStdLiBvHMDXGuv-q_NgWvR85ZskYn3EihB2lTbLHeNijT554HqnCqBcEasfi3lH3MtF8HTalKhPwov9iL9OlaGYkcqefDN1iCXoPDIAnjB5TjFegeyNUi8nAy8yJQ/w612-h640/307258403_639989807481533_8223136675585397932_n.png" width="612" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">Go to minute 25:00 for new covid vaccine info:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="515" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KXZB2N2PzV8" width="619" youtube-src-id="KXZB2N2PzV8"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>No transmission promise, </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>no covid infection promise..<br />And then the reality check</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #990000; font-size: xx-large; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='619' height='515' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyTdpZpLaHdS5vC5IyrJQaJNm-JLYhFNPAzlNtU6axvDtUwmNa3VsOKHX7EB0Q6sVw-VVhNbuWSJ1Fcek4Eog' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvYgIY1T0Hbd_kGMCQkA4q9ii2lbNp5FauFrK0rUH80vFFTMoyNg0zeM1r7x2woMSBxT5jtltNwlQU7z5g4z9EoKsniX5OXZwVKM3QEGLUxJfALY7J8OXSuTq6v4eRn_ww8OYo45ir2TdE7yoKaxOlQTxurU9n4r5MTXDOrEnCEJqygG1qTuwvSptCWA/s1128/Fjz4mOXWQAM2fNX.jpg" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1128" data-original-width="1125" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvYgIY1T0Hbd_kGMCQkA4q9ii2lbNp5FauFrK0rUH80vFFTMoyNg0zeM1r7x2woMSBxT5jtltNwlQU7z5g4z9EoKsniX5OXZwVKM3QEGLUxJfALY7J8OXSuTq6v4eRn_ww8OYo45ir2TdE7yoKaxOlQTxurU9n4r5MTXDOrEnCEJqygG1qTuwvSptCWA/w638-h640/Fjz4mOXWQAM2fNX.jpg" width="638" /></a></span></div><div style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">October 15, 2022<br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">The standard defense of pro-lockdown authoritarians and vaccine enthusiasts now seems to be:</span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;"> <i>'based on the facts at the time'</i>.. They weren't facts. They were unfounded claims based on hysteria, panic, malice and corruption. Pfizer and others handed in edited, poor test results and the figureheads ran with it. And enforced it in many ways on the population, making false promises. If only the ladies and gentlemen scientists and policy makers had been transparent about the lack of relevant data at that point. Instead of shaming everyone into <i>"Follow the Science"</i>. (Oh the irony). That would have been informed consent. Then at least they would have allowed people to make a personal informed choice. I mean I stayed away from it all but then again: I am in the position where I did not risk losing my JOB over it, or be banned from travelling (god knows how much time and money I spent on mandatory testing all the time in order to, despite never having caught covid myself). But others did, or risked losing everything including ZEALOUS friends AND FAMILY. </span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Instead, they lied and bluffed and now they wiggle themselves out of it with platitudes. I checked out the twitter accounts of some of the prominent scientists and TV talking heads in the Netherlands, and their response to the #PfizerGate. As expected, denial and excuses. </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Still </i><b>no transparency from them. But it is out now and confirmed by Pfizer itself in the European Commission: #Pfizer didn’t even test if their ‘vaccine’ reduced transmission. And we already knew that vaccinated people catch covid as much if not more than unvaccinated people, and if they do they are just as contagious. That info dripped dripped out over the past year already. Just like the vast majority of covid patients in hospital being at least double vaccinated. Yet still our elected public servants and the legacy media put us through all this based on those lies. Still the unvaccinated were demonized, discriminated against and used as public scapegoats. STILL people insist now that they "follow the science" and any word of criticism deems you a right wing extremist. Never forget the covid mandates and the segregation based on utter nonsense. It seems that nobody actually checked Pfizer and the politicians. You needed to dig through recent pubmed articles online, which NEVER made headlines when they disproved any of the nonsense promised about these vaccines, to get an actual view of the situation. </b></span><span style="color: #444444;"><b>I did, but even when sharing those findings (about lack of effectiveness, about lack of transmission reduction, about significant increase of blood clot and heart-inflammation side-effects among other things), most people I sent it to simply did not believe it. </b></span><b><span style="color: #444444;">The news anchors have to announce it first before 'Follow the Science' to be true, after all. Let the "Fact Checkers" back paddling begin!</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0-uIaHwBPhLlF5CVc67FGcXsuulJsUb3RrU0n2n2znHSeVaZ8hgmpQocWvdSx4JcijpI7rxIRS_Ri1drYqfH59hLUyyuyCeQCh3bx2rDWyn2fSXrKGKIhfqFbWcM0wt8TIM9tt53UGiUE1KGTbL8FtCDTmUTH1uhUQZpIbCK3HHjSUyBCyEwv-NQpQ/s1965/Fe4uASPWAAYxnv2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1965" data-original-width="1965" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0-uIaHwBPhLlF5CVc67FGcXsuulJsUb3RrU0n2n2znHSeVaZ8hgmpQocWvdSx4JcijpI7rxIRS_Ri1drYqfH59hLUyyuyCeQCh3bx2rDWyn2fSXrKGKIhfqFbWcM0wt8TIM9tt53UGiUE1KGTbL8FtCDTmUTH1uhUQZpIbCK3HHjSUyBCyEwv-NQpQ/w640-h640/Fe4uASPWAAYxnv2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='630' height='524' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz4RCeHfKYOXmYtZRvsUL-v7kQIZVgFlMEW4Udk519k7kiLkFPvZeiDoD31_ucvbQiskSMO48IszJwwTAsGbw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTEc7aotvt8kZ_YXQzdVH18l_aVxowJEXC8o9KhuVe4zFxGNRoFsqHSZFj1drGT9e3bxcziQYiYFRJndUlBeyoggOC5BS063o8D8FPbDv7PSecl7t4xVtV8J9vvojHW4XDVO4FU8QK5VeesGmkr5_Ofa0UxUCXCyI44_oL8GRWfedVv0tqqEXTaJvGog/s680/FfG7RMrXkAEkiS0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="664" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTEc7aotvt8kZ_YXQzdVH18l_aVxowJEXC8o9KhuVe4zFxGNRoFsqHSZFj1drGT9e3bxcziQYiYFRJndUlBeyoggOC5BS063o8D8FPbDv7PSecl7t4xVtV8J9vvojHW4XDVO4FU8QK5VeesGmkr5_Ofa0UxUCXCyI44_oL8GRWfedVv0tqqEXTaJvGog/w312-h320/FfG7RMrXkAEkiS0.jpg" width="312" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TwweONa6CmxzsPzkCQSAPH76hCZj3HgpnDXVdD7SkxNFCF6rvvN9BOntEvIygWlAiNsNkA0XUMYFP1jTOoMsBwqrr3hkg9tmPkOABv0h9ckU-yei0Od5S9GoUYNhTiQi6EudFToNjQ_O0eZz1XldoKyioi9Yx0kryudPLskSgawbfdBiNONzv74NXA/s680/Fe_SvvoXgAAAPjy.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="589" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TwweONa6CmxzsPzkCQSAPH76hCZj3HgpnDXVdD7SkxNFCF6rvvN9BOntEvIygWlAiNsNkA0XUMYFP1jTOoMsBwqrr3hkg9tmPkOABv0h9ckU-yei0Od5S9GoUYNhTiQi6EudFToNjQ_O0eZz1XldoKyioi9Yx0kryudPLskSgawbfdBiNONzv74NXA/s320/Fe_SvvoXgAAAPjy.png" width="277" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqIEs2iWY2p6fw6wELBCyJxaHvuTooqdgtvjVeVD8JyZFBrE1xsMyoxgy7OJ16Ya578TSqZbj6lGUBcCxbl2XvTfm-hHhO3XdVOJQ3tQimDtXnCNqQnla7LsF6gKT0lCVvffcIrr1NFIm3_HMl4H5s8pmDpK6j8OgLu2qX849oqmJMH_BsaK5jlKzGYQ/s680/Fe95bV9XEAcrMwx.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="520" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqIEs2iWY2p6fw6wELBCyJxaHvuTooqdgtvjVeVD8JyZFBrE1xsMyoxgy7OJ16Ya578TSqZbj6lGUBcCxbl2XvTfm-hHhO3XdVOJQ3tQimDtXnCNqQnla7LsF6gKT0lCVvffcIrr1NFIm3_HMl4H5s8pmDpK6j8OgLu2qX849oqmJMH_BsaK5jlKzGYQ/w306-h400/Fe95bV9XEAcrMwx.jpg" width="306" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">So how will this end? The pharmaceutical companies were given legal immunity because well, "emergency use only". The talking heads on TV will hide behind the data Pfizer&Co provided. In short; they alll had the best intentions supposedly and nobody will be held accountible. Notice MSM stays silent now and none of the scientists who sold these falsehoods on prime time TV are coming back on to explain the latest data, contridicting mostly all they sprouted as the truth and 'the Science'. Typical of these times: everything is polarized and you can forget about transparency. </span></b><b>The jab never stopped transmission & it was known on day #1. It also did not prevent getting infected (as promised initially) and not even prevents from serious illness or hospitalizations, as data I shared on my day to day posts here of the past 2,5 years showed rather soon. If people only had been honestly told about these doubts and the lack of solid research data in that respect, then at least everybody could have made an informed decision. Instead of being blackmailed into 'saving granny' with the jab. But anyone who pointed this out was censored, vilified & attacked by the media & state propaganda apparatus. Regulators also knew this but ignored the data. </b><b><span style="color: #444444;">Mainstream media in the USA is also sponsored for a good part by the pharmaceutical industries, which everyone probably already knew, going by the absurd amount of medication ads you see come by there. </span></b></div></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='603' height='501' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyNAPSsHPkoGVx7H9rcK8nEakDqJRWxEQET6MFkOUJPoMPNrkkm9kP_K1bDJCAFsXlDVeL6BtHOisJm5AoCPQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold;"><b><br /></b></div><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Watch dr John Campbells full video </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">on the Pfizer admission <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6VbI8gOnUM" target="_blank">HERE</a> or below</span></div><div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>He is an honest doctor with a great informative channel. <br />This is the truth of this moment:<br />Pfizers Director: <i>"The vaccine doesn't stop transmission."</i></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>YouTube: <i>"You are not allowed to say the vaccine doesn't stop <br />transmission as it falls under medical misinformation."</i></b></span></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='595' height='497' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxBuZoDYNX7sJk8wjtDiIXC6gLHdpbrezUXMcCxrXKeOcterZ9mYuke_kER5iTPRmcqABADY0wGBQk3YMJh3Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='596' height='495' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwUGmZQynnLZSVDG_b67YWecIro1ZMUFv2ycqSDFtWY8XQlONrGRQouPoOGt_uC1sYtKFrUPU95Lh3DNBl63g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">So many vaccine injury stories </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/jab_injuries_usa/" style="font-size: xx-large;" target="_blank">HERE</a><br /><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVp6XU708Ya8Wcd1q63szlw9urG70OyDpolfzSGGq_HBOnoPD22A7hFRmhXLfLRCEM7AKO_99wHA5cPZTUo5EgMPsuNq1MPueLCwkHNNGqCgSVwPCb8eFRkz4bSnS2VH30y2HHKnNpSi05GZvGSSfG0A_BE8q8lv5AE30-6n7rnICsA6EZUj9utA2Jzg/s1145/Untitled-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1145" data-original-width="791" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVp6XU708Ya8Wcd1q63szlw9urG70OyDpolfzSGGq_HBOnoPD22A7hFRmhXLfLRCEM7AKO_99wHA5cPZTUo5EgMPsuNq1MPueLCwkHNNGqCgSVwPCb8eFRkz4bSnS2VH30y2HHKnNpSi05GZvGSSfG0A_BE8q8lv5AE30-6n7rnICsA6EZUj9utA2Jzg/w321-h466/Untitled-2.jpg" width="321" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTpMKhzyo8Fj7_Y8vpTdebnWZKvYP2dYxDsZdLJRygmyhLadPlV4lHsDUR9mAxbOk6axIXMHQEZBhE_pVo5Rr1RFzLY4YzDSvAqtNN7HeaHI7eoOqc28yh0FuKy7dHAqbNabfbkOhfX6f6OIxA3XUDKRot6AyLzS6DP13KFIhAvGsVi_MaBBBClRLCA/s1298/Untitled-6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1298" data-original-width="774" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTpMKhzyo8Fj7_Y8vpTdebnWZKvYP2dYxDsZdLJRygmyhLadPlV4lHsDUR9mAxbOk6axIXMHQEZBhE_pVo5Rr1RFzLY4YzDSvAqtNN7HeaHI7eoOqc28yh0FuKy7dHAqbNabfbkOhfX6f6OIxA3XUDKRot6AyLzS6DP13KFIhAvGsVi_MaBBBClRLCA/w278-h466/Untitled-6.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClIZZhRndUrAwLM1zVGF_YCFqu2iLbBLt3ME-r0ElxdjTiZltZP1k7P1KLyOJ65hDVRKrDI5nMk0eWdovGqdoE5iN8rhfNFnmXCn0OESaUbqMSwRSAkBMPPPKdMHR326u1ArJXcEnyYexEjGzHwgoR58NMJTIo_ibRl38sA3w-8n9VjY_sjBQmPo7_A/s845/Untitled-5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="598" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClIZZhRndUrAwLM1zVGF_YCFqu2iLbBLt3ME-r0ElxdjTiZltZP1k7P1KLyOJ65hDVRKrDI5nMk0eWdovGqdoE5iN8rhfNFnmXCn0OESaUbqMSwRSAkBMPPPKdMHR326u1ArJXcEnyYexEjGzHwgoR58NMJTIo_ibRl38sA3w-8n9VjY_sjBQmPo7_A/w280-h397/Untitled-5.jpg" width="280" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho1_acFzVkpeVc4Ujw_BaTNkjsGMr-m6_6lcKEgicPxlMO1CZQ91blSmAJhKVTLWU6xWxK1-m1p1fsYj5oHJWpF7sa2InmaSuIGM3JpQmt9fw0fSuh_VYpEqUwjMgsOgjbc48hBn4zSfTxrqXmnnkTxGaneAHxEPmH7-WWxybLrf0A5yPQ_OF1OIcxGw/s834/Untitled-8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="677" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho1_acFzVkpeVc4Ujw_BaTNkjsGMr-m6_6lcKEgicPxlMO1CZQ91blSmAJhKVTLWU6xWxK1-m1p1fsYj5oHJWpF7sa2InmaSuIGM3JpQmt9fw0fSuh_VYpEqUwjMgsOgjbc48hBn4zSfTxrqXmnnkTxGaneAHxEPmH7-WWxybLrf0A5yPQ_OF1OIcxGw/w322-h396/Untitled-8.jpg" width="322" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Gary's case:</span></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDNvxYwEarLyL_wR046LVv8jLO0kfCw1L50DsXB5EzsJhaw-AyA5Q2pqQWyQtg-cjZb2gk6Bp5HJ5kgDXNSDa2EaFyeYPXqUCN1T-tXK5w2ryqFX3NmKYyuxfbJ0XdjTYKDyY_NkW_x_5CwnSxeOkAf7xHnPgfHj0m4YPhh2t52cCCk3YVRnvDOpLhAA/s1029/Untitled-9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="1029" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDNvxYwEarLyL_wR046LVv8jLO0kfCw1L50DsXB5EzsJhaw-AyA5Q2pqQWyQtg-cjZb2gk6Bp5HJ5kgDXNSDa2EaFyeYPXqUCN1T-tXK5w2ryqFX3NmKYyuxfbJ0XdjTYKDyY_NkW_x_5CwnSxeOkAf7xHnPgfHj0m4YPhh2t52cCCk3YVRnvDOpLhAA/w312-h228/Untitled-9.jpg" width="312" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu7ZkaP-5AZtY2As502C30qBZILsbBCcSV1E77zZBd7AJAEKyAPSfNCz6s_cSd96h01swZ_Ck6Zjz6pwa27Ghczowg-vrlswzNWC-LdiuNVdzfGeR4e-x27eT2Tv8-GDjcFVDXxMcx7NDh0DbtvGgYSnXOZ-85WwNGNrgUEVeikfSD5jx6YprSn7bdvA/s963/Untitled-10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="963" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu7ZkaP-5AZtY2As502C30qBZILsbBCcSV1E77zZBd7AJAEKyAPSfNCz6s_cSd96h01swZ_Ck6Zjz6pwa27Ghczowg-vrlswzNWC-LdiuNVdzfGeR4e-x27eT2Tv8-GDjcFVDXxMcx7NDh0DbtvGgYSnXOZ-85WwNGNrgUEVeikfSD5jx6YprSn7bdvA/w292-h225/Untitled-10.jpg" width="292" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKdFf65tLRubyd3Z_w7SqOul21eMb4BJPeWbnrSdwiXwdnOwSEkjO-2WJrd2UFQMmAYCxaf7CuikxbaYjByOO4owf4uxAcYc-RQ50A3FtJ6tIQRvobICiXGxCY2TeBEJSMojUGst_IzHXzrKJdUN3UsX__ns7TwEGt8l1zhqIZ3hCtvuIZFRJwqKBZug/s1002/Untitled-12.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1002" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKdFf65tLRubyd3Z_w7SqOul21eMb4BJPeWbnrSdwiXwdnOwSEkjO-2WJrd2UFQMmAYCxaf7CuikxbaYjByOO4owf4uxAcYc-RQ50A3FtJ6tIQRvobICiXGxCY2TeBEJSMojUGst_IzHXzrKJdUN3UsX__ns7TwEGt8l1zhqIZ3hCtvuIZFRJwqKBZug/w336-h250/Untitled-12.jpg" width="336" /></a><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='296' height='246' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzpefLrcRquDpEUKSzYTwXeiOn0aKGDDESmjDNxrRFOnsVojZFAtMcdgDVVAlh1s4i9n8MIkH9KZ2dJmX1F0Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Whitney's case:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9P2jnzH0L94uTjOF4x3gBrZDSIR5OcRC_yEITksRuw6pjvFLyGaTxYiaSKqo8unBPqSJmGaz3VWZmk6F8tq0R0L6uBT7BSWcc5nNTK99yGzQ7vh1PupZ5hiYfmQxoRLuRPIVe0zR325XYdbsmMtXKOhPaogWiNfa4y2H6NFB3V0K4LK5J67JFXhcug/s1136/Untitled-14.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="1136" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9P2jnzH0L94uTjOF4x3gBrZDSIR5OcRC_yEITksRuw6pjvFLyGaTxYiaSKqo8unBPqSJmGaz3VWZmk6F8tq0R0L6uBT7BSWcc5nNTK99yGzQ7vh1PupZ5hiYfmQxoRLuRPIVe0zR325XYdbsmMtXKOhPaogWiNfa4y2H6NFB3V0K4LK5J67JFXhcug/w402-h256/Untitled-14.jpg" width="402" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGOihiLLvlVDJQjz-dXwpK0g8DCIF4nyCgBpy_THtVOI2UcRwKDkCfkZ-AzHIx8oRcIUPsY7wlyoOM8OGQ37hIGZkVNb9SuRrw_dHU49J3TvBuNX1M4MP9NevoZy_MJreum6sU3ZF9uTq-QTarq5urJRo_q81lRTdmHTJ9TqvwEmBazgamdogmQHTjw/s701/Untitled-15.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="548" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGOihiLLvlVDJQjz-dXwpK0g8DCIF4nyCgBpy_THtVOI2UcRwKDkCfkZ-AzHIx8oRcIUPsY7wlyoOM8OGQ37hIGZkVNb9SuRrw_dHU49J3TvBuNX1M4MP9NevoZy_MJreum6sU3ZF9uTq-QTarq5urJRo_q81lRTdmHTJ9TqvwEmBazgamdogmQHTjw/w202-h258/Untitled-15.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-VZCQ1Cs_PNEqfeGEnOAtCrt-F7hkPbOTASzVh2Iuc1Yf-vivJxnK-Dclz-dU3AvM7ucZVLBcPvunf5RVfLPy75VJepKCpLaw0adhbTsVh6PfYQ5zwfL6IDMp_LIyxtLx2yLbtxIbKD-pmyXKagIO0x671EOfeVxc6lYDqgyHwLIeBaGF70QpAaBeaA/s857/Untitled-16.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="857" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-VZCQ1Cs_PNEqfeGEnOAtCrt-F7hkPbOTASzVh2Iuc1Yf-vivJxnK-Dclz-dU3AvM7ucZVLBcPvunf5RVfLPy75VJepKCpLaw0adhbTsVh6PfYQ5zwfL6IDMp_LIyxtLx2yLbtxIbKD-pmyXKagIO0x671EOfeVxc6lYDqgyHwLIeBaGF70QpAaBeaA/w291-h241/Untitled-16.jpg" width="291" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCH6mbBlh4mDfS3zwKFnq1oZ5ng6aQkwPh9G9wLsJrlB63avB-d1Ov8tbdXKgrdyqqMhn_moF3lHCy2sa51kWZNaj7KMsoeJNBzkN9hXcSVTu5KL5o9faaOY-NeQXsbD0hDvs6PzEpSlmBu1pWCarLD8gVUYswuJq8i9lWkF6k22f1GMwDe3tCBxMOiw/s922/Untitled-18.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="922" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCH6mbBlh4mDfS3zwKFnq1oZ5ng6aQkwPh9G9wLsJrlB63avB-d1Ov8tbdXKgrdyqqMhn_moF3lHCy2sa51kWZNaj7KMsoeJNBzkN9hXcSVTu5KL5o9faaOY-NeQXsbD0hDvs6PzEpSlmBu1pWCarLD8gVUYswuJq8i9lWkF6k22f1GMwDe3tCBxMOiw/w314-h240/Untitled-18.jpg" width="314" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Arielle's case:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrCXy-kpJQ5UfbUs_dglYmhWcEW7mSUJHV_TL9uVTSGa6hdncLfnYQnx6jrILRuw6DxGpoCYGbGugjMd4pf-T8CMcvKZB-Y5WFQAn-NrUiqkkczobVOqxGa6h3dzXgCMbkmRDMjf0AXQzO53M9Suyb6uqIqBHfqe97j3Dc2_QwGXTIdXfnxEplYgRZg/s1165/Untitled-20.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="1165" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrCXy-kpJQ5UfbUs_dglYmhWcEW7mSUJHV_TL9uVTSGa6hdncLfnYQnx6jrILRuw6DxGpoCYGbGugjMd4pf-T8CMcvKZB-Y5WFQAn-NrUiqkkczobVOqxGa6h3dzXgCMbkmRDMjf0AXQzO53M9Suyb6uqIqBHfqe97j3Dc2_QwGXTIdXfnxEplYgRZg/w417-h258/Untitled-20.jpg" width="417" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQKkkNL3jwW0U_6VY2KoPkefS3bgHnBqc21F4BBV_wbTvmEJ40kph2OZRjhxx3pH-ToRRU-VDkS_xSwtJTLB39I5t_7vbHsoxQX2lO_V3iPMAaljUk0nqi-2TQR7Sncu3RMGIUjXI_MkMY5qeIufYizF2qulNGq0rY-5MzJ_JbAVn2Ut06oDw7O-Xw8w/s693/Untitled-21.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="693" data-original-width="507" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQKkkNL3jwW0U_6VY2KoPkefS3bgHnBqc21F4BBV_wbTvmEJ40kph2OZRjhxx3pH-ToRRU-VDkS_xSwtJTLB39I5t_7vbHsoxQX2lO_V3iPMAaljUk0nqi-2TQR7Sncu3RMGIUjXI_MkMY5qeIufYizF2qulNGq0rY-5MzJ_JbAVn2Ut06oDw7O-Xw8w/w187-h256/Untitled-21.jpg" width="187" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujNqNxMRzKT6ZfrzwqwJQ7-8FhbdbHeKud8tGvNw3pemBmlhqufPYxKagdfvsna504xQKxvE2-eduzz9yAsKEdNpEBrukA_5cQvsOR7BDuiqpmt_a4f09CkwoUdA2VDMEC4Hvmq8hzkKeOsPsD9S2XXTVM6yC2JKXNuFfkWeJLiUMaNw3th8RBhmfZA/s862/Untitled-22.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="862" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujNqNxMRzKT6ZfrzwqwJQ7-8FhbdbHeKud8tGvNw3pemBmlhqufPYxKagdfvsna504xQKxvE2-eduzz9yAsKEdNpEBrukA_5cQvsOR7BDuiqpmt_a4f09CkwoUdA2VDMEC4Hvmq8hzkKeOsPsD9S2XXTVM6yC2JKXNuFfkWeJLiUMaNw3th8RBhmfZA/w291-h238/Untitled-22.jpg" width="291" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghOMN2RBtiucV7SOwTztQj1WD3w6jFqz6MKiPSoZFLQQerD3LsI2Cwe3yiW4CY2Vn2u3rAYxywJOU3aEUwFSrtQOMt5vuky3YL9eP4x9B17MFroHsijd62bMa6HOsMrAaRQOTyYNvmIzHcR3QjXMPVhIllhLBtBFnWEItteI4xBconA5oSUUhG31q1MA/s918/Untitled-24.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="707" data-original-width="918" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghOMN2RBtiucV7SOwTztQj1WD3w6jFqz6MKiPSoZFLQQerD3LsI2Cwe3yiW4CY2Vn2u3rAYxywJOU3aEUwFSrtQOMt5vuky3YL9eP4x9B17MFroHsijd62bMa6HOsMrAaRQOTyYNvmIzHcR3QjXMPVhIllhLBtBFnWEItteI4xBconA5oSUUhG31q1MA/w312-h240/Untitled-24.jpg" width="312" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58QYUrXxJRoRwmoFRuY8O8m_t2JheCZESq9AIxGL6QWCFzNdJHEcJLVqSvLa15HY1FvhJEazeofqaLO18yHDbZwszOWZCr1NR4OMExFqk56jlSKUUZBqmaeAFJZP_UbNIVG2ruMsVjC-5shwW69zEmSTKg-G0zR54AlnZ9bRQKRgUQ7wNxzDmLKvLEQ/s1000/Untitled-27.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="1000" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58QYUrXxJRoRwmoFRuY8O8m_t2JheCZESq9AIxGL6QWCFzNdJHEcJLVqSvLa15HY1FvhJEazeofqaLO18yHDbZwszOWZCr1NR4OMExFqk56jlSKUUZBqmaeAFJZP_UbNIVG2ruMsVjC-5shwW69zEmSTKg-G0zR54AlnZ9bRQKRgUQ7wNxzDmLKvLEQ/w356-h245/Untitled-27.jpg" width="356" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh36GhkbClAvpEFIKhi5llI1XEyWaSopEJsAREYOqEcEzx6KxUu9K2qpe1WgjHU9tlxbhsb-uuVL9k5qhrEGnK0gbp_EGsgzpou-0rdVTovZ--G11_SVUbAgGowDfq4yjmMeqJVcgvd4jt4Rgj0gTU4AqSRXQN7Hxhd13zVMKhMr0lGqMpOERE-4HH5PA/s761/Untitled-7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="761" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh36GhkbClAvpEFIKhi5llI1XEyWaSopEJsAREYOqEcEzx6KxUu9K2qpe1WgjHU9tlxbhsb-uuVL9k5qhrEGnK0gbp_EGsgzpou-0rdVTovZ--G11_SVUbAgGowDfq4yjmMeqJVcgvd4jt4Rgj0gTU4AqSRXQN7Hxhd13zVMKhMr0lGqMpOERE-4HH5PA/w249-h247/Untitled-7.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">October 17, 2022</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='603' height='502' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyxfwpuoc8NjWQbSqhyxDIRrxfomHcMMnEMLtn7SogR_ovoy7BrwaZPEWezklmYoek6ASaiWNJFiI8myqihFw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Dr Aseem Malhotra, Cardiologist</span></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='603' height='501' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx6Cpb5QJFe1sVPgEL2vEldrK1ugifW-HCgRKsgF1wJ0cEiw6d3km0ugvy1Uf1WzvE-HIpqN5xxCAiuAulQ-w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>How the renowned British Medical Journal bites back to the faceless, Orwellian 'Fact Checkers' for </b></span><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">censoring the<i> actual</i> Science.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">Explained by Dr. Campbell, who is always professional and transparent.</span></b></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='611' height='509' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzveKm3e7EfMoyS_rjxio5Rmb8bkl7edn_krBRpPWZXpp09rBa-xYpIsVpwjRkyE6nXLxRIZ4mUnAc2yd4upw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></div></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">October 24, 2022</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">Pfizer and its blanket out info sheets and refusal to answer questions of the <br />European Parliament, despite getting a 36 BILLION euro contract from the EU<br /><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='603' height='501' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxLZoKk8yJ0qjsT43HJ--FiuHhORwdzR0syKBiQcwK8n5Yg4YCzZu4Ki_PUb_I0aYAV6D5r51xBFHMZ1NJO3Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Myocarditis cases through the roof:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='607' height='505' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzYAa_G3SZfEG9qax66BUx4_88sUzZGk0MNu1jUBbC0-o3WO9cSwYsQ4O3idynY8lNVHpWsDluQ3jP1-pX9pg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWD8wndIxQ7RiVdrfVw9SuvGwZZQN2Pn5_nPqiY3iDCyZlhstpbOj9Bwx4bzCEIBSQSmF1QLNDU-aHk0Td623eh9r39l9-Zx9mmPg-PotqITMZAOYVWOLDDEkxrZbEk6wZ-tydUd6GIIhP6e2fU0yob0rkBKD1-iMd6ChE0BHbUZncL26GhSB2SGj6Hg/s2282/more%20myocarditis.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2282" data-original-width="1330" height="1039" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWD8wndIxQ7RiVdrfVw9SuvGwZZQN2Pn5_nPqiY3iDCyZlhstpbOj9Bwx4bzCEIBSQSmF1QLNDU-aHk0Td623eh9r39l9-Zx9mmPg-PotqITMZAOYVWOLDDEkxrZbEk6wZ-tydUd6GIIhP6e2fU0yob0rkBKD1-iMd6ChE0BHbUZncL26GhSB2SGj6Hg/w607-h1039/more%20myocarditis.jpg" width="607" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLje5FgMVPvqoT0GpXDUzoCmr08EHkHRNGK_Wn8E-e8THsYGmNGK_kPnc-sRDKAU8tdBdMZn3gy6O41N2h3q9M7qswjcfK_2ZgFsNjmsqUIWo3GA2JFwZpFrilDqQJ_OEoXYEkz5flID9rgoAJLgifCIWm95NM4MvdymhEP7fQGWBC7PKJarsFERIDg/s1780/heart%20attacks%20increase.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1780" data-original-width="1111" height="562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLje5FgMVPvqoT0GpXDUzoCmr08EHkHRNGK_Wn8E-e8THsYGmNGK_kPnc-sRDKAU8tdBdMZn3gy6O41N2h3q9M7qswjcfK_2ZgFsNjmsqUIWo3GA2JFwZpFrilDqQJ_OEoXYEkz5flID9rgoAJLgifCIWm95NM4MvdymhEP7fQGWBC7PKJarsFERIDg/w351-h562/heart%20attacks%20increase.jpg" width="351" /></a></div></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Rates of heart attacks are up significantly</span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">Meanwhile, </span><a href="https://www.news-medical.net/news/20221024/Heart-attack-death-rates-took-a-sharp-turn-and-increased-during-the-pandemic-study-shows.aspx" style="color: #444444;" target="_blank">according to</a><span style="color: #444444;"> the Journal of Medical Virology, heart attack deaths are up in 2022 by </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">30% for adults ages 25-44 20% for adults ages 45-64 14% for adults age 65 and up. </span></b><b style="color: #444444;">They blame it on COVID itself of course. Let's stick to the program and the narrative, after all.. </b><b><span style="color: #444444;">But "By the SECOND year of the pandemic, the "observed" compared to "predicted" </span><span style="color: #660000;">rates of heart attack death had increased by 29.9% for adults ages 25-44, by 19.6% for adults ages 45-64, and by 13.7% for adults age 65 and older."</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b><b style="color: #444444;">During this second year covid itself has become much more mild. But a majority of the global population is vaccinated by now. NO MENTION OF THE ROLE OF THE SPIKE PROTEIN PRODUCING VACCINES IN ALL THIS, however. It just isn't even suggested as a possible factor:</b></div></b><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>"The possible explanations, Yeo said, include that COVID-19 may trigger or accelerate the presentation of preexisting coronary artery disease, even in younger adults. Reasons for the spike in heart-related conditions could also be related to psychological and social challenges associated with the pandemic, including job loss and other financial pressures that can cause acute or chronic stress leading to cardiac disease." - </b><b>No vaccine mentioned... </b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">""There is something very different about how this virus affects the cardiac risks," said Susan Cheng, MD, MPH, director of the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging in the Department of Cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute and senior and co-corresponding author of the study. "The difference is likely due to a combination of stress and inflammation, arising from predisposing factors and the way this virus biologically interacts with the cardiovascular system." - And how about the mRNA vaccines? </span></b></div><div><br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">More backtracking and gaslighting</span></b><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='613' height='509' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyZAhD_mbSEJrcrSsL1Bw7OpS9ssUkA3Xq5ijTU6BO3Ebx46a5rty9A7dVDFScZJItqaSDzle7EXHp0W2MnqQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">Originally they told us the jabs stopped transmission buy 95%. This is why many people took the jab, to protect the elderly. We now know this was a lie. Then the goal posts were shifted and the mRNA covid vaccine was said to prevent serious illness and death. That is also a proven lie. For a very long time now the sick and dying in and out of hospital are made up for the vast majority by double/tripple/fourt times vaccinated patients. And the vaccines also don't prevent you from getting covid by the way. And <i>yet</i> they brought in Covid passports, sacked care workers and bullied the rest of us to take it with endless propaganda and abuse.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Pfizer developer did not get vaccinated himself (responds with wordsalad attack). </b></span><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Dr Ugur Sahin, the CEO of BioNTech, the biotechnology company that worked with Pfizer to develop the world’s first Covid vaccine, has admitted on camera that he did not get jabbed with a Covid vaccine. He admits it on camera, but Reuters fact checkers are gaslighting you and saying that Sahin did </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">nót</i><b> say what he actually said on camera..</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='630' height='524' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwA6HpZ9reyAeeOPUWXHYrcyPY4qzJEQOihoRaoPg8bzvyRHeLP-l-rTZYmpEVGEBLPQJmLAX5-jk_x17ubnw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">October 27, 2022</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Excellent specialist video explaining myocarditis and other heart related problems, also linked to</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><span><b>the new covid mRNA vaccines (strategically called <i>'recent pharmacological interventions'</i>, in this mad sad time of mass censoring)</b></span><b> </b></span></div><div> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZtPykIjP7h0" width="320" youtube-src-id="ZtPykIjP7h0"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx14tQmPCujZz4UXw3bghiT-sSgvu_1zv6wwO5KXVY4tyjlWXrBlvNawURKa94KBziYP8xBlYc0poVapq_wSQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><div style="font-weight: bold;">Notice by the way how the UKHSA stopped producing comparisons in its weekly Covid surveillance reports between vaccinated and unvaccinated infections/hospitalisations/deaths. They did so at the start of the pandemic, in order to push people towards vaccination. But once the vaccinated started to become overrepresented in all categories, this suddenly stopped. The reason? They cite that it's unhelpful to show such stats anymore.. Unhelpful to whom I ask?</div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">November 24, 2022</span></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b style="text-align: left;">(<a href="https://rumble.com/v1w6kuq-dr.-sucharit-bhakdi-the-path-to-living-hell.html" target="_blank">source</a>)</b><b style="text-align: left;">, the original video plus back up upload in 2 parts:</b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe height="600" src="https://www.bitchute.com/embed/CdZMD8PPIxQw/" width="100%"></iframe> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwKn6UskJRFtUshqr0mAg0BMlEITfB3XfrFikuiSmXAkosI-5aSfWKs9mW-RGGqRYNsI-yy6LdcJxo2y4xw8A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz1o-z8P9nuySrAhDG7KP9wX9Cog_5ylLEnQkCxjVLZ_XI4BX0YVabpFaN_JpI-SFOxySMCqY9q9kw3-Cbg-g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></div><b style="text-align: left;"><br /></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b style="text-align: left;"><br /></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b style="text-align: left;"><br /></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">Documentary 'Died Suddenly'</span></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b style="text-align: left;">(<a href="https://rumble.com/v1wac7i-world-premier-died-suddenly.html" target="_blank">source</a>/<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo-LjifaqiM" target="_blank">source</a>)</b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></div></span></div></span></span></div></div></div><script>!function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src="https://rumble.com/embedJS/u4"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+"/?url="+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+"&args="+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, "script", "Rumble");</script>
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<iframe height="600" src="https://www.bitchute.com/embed/vWBu19bmSMsR/" width="100%"></iframe> <div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">December 20, 2022</span></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">For context: Dr Kerryn Phelps is very famous in Australia. She has been famous for the past 30 years appearing on tv regularly. Her brother is a famous Australian actor and she also was a member of parliament for a term and is left leaning. Also very famous for being a lesbian and was prominent in the same sex marriage debate. Well, that is someone with some sort of power. But even her plight will be quickly wiped under the metaphorical carpet. The medical field really showed its most shortsighted side these past years. It is an absolute travesty. I mean, I expected it from politicians, but from the ethics-driven medical field itself? From medical renowned newspapers and magazines who suppressed the truth and rejected peer-reviewed science papers that showed concerning data? INSANE. not to say disappointing. Does this show just how deep large pharmaceutical industries and their reps have penetrated politics and the medical world?</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMcAGHeTH1Jcvb5XdAeEYB-jjc3hjD_m3uK7YMOOukA5Og2r7OEWBUMu6h6BpmsfHO2htEYvugO8TmYoSbmjamwVqL86d8iQFqqlXBeQGJpp7hAws31zHsysCav2FTmTZF1qjFH7WXMooareeIYJ6TiWs1JfbqWUNDIRustLRGnVlk3A5XZcMXeh8Hw/s1833/z6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1833" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMcAGHeTH1Jcvb5XdAeEYB-jjc3hjD_m3uK7YMOOukA5Og2r7OEWBUMu6h6BpmsfHO2htEYvugO8TmYoSbmjamwVqL86d8iQFqqlXBeQGJpp7hAws31zHsysCav2FTmTZF1qjFH7WXMooareeIYJ6TiWs1JfbqWUNDIRustLRGnVlk3A5XZcMXeh8Hw/w640-h314/z6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO4J0mj8_23iOHiz2SpHTe3GrOjU3w0ZyHtt93Gsduu_DQSPuuVMNQlFruoRHPUpjSRFCEOlmOQjztotFmctlm3rP1aHJnE4fC6UsQANo8XfPb6v4s4gLIax0a7bDK8NauqYgEAMkuNcLCupcpLrIeNcEk6hiolPtWEJK4njnx0QMpkAicvSmXIX6zVw/s2270/z7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2270" data-original-width="1184" height="1221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO4J0mj8_23iOHiz2SpHTe3GrOjU3w0ZyHtt93Gsduu_DQSPuuVMNQlFruoRHPUpjSRFCEOlmOQjztotFmctlm3rP1aHJnE4fC6UsQANo8XfPb6v4s4gLIax0a7bDK8NauqYgEAMkuNcLCupcpLrIeNcEk6hiolPtWEJK4njnx0QMpkAicvSmXIX6zVw/w637-h1221/z7.jpg" width="637" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglS9RDlEzJCmqiUbMwt5IMECfP4D3VKstV4QJme7lIot9i2Eb4pwggXKMz1bPVEWNSJTRm_SP2jHYpqQ-l-TQmyBo0xKhxQHc2W0N2YKpkC-OztOVkvzQnKbvxTT3bhzXvPqJ6xV7vbfOqZjtV_9OKD6bOfGU1kvn7dPNsq2ZkNdrJQoyQmv7fp1HH0A/s3010/z8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3010" data-original-width="1187" height="1607" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglS9RDlEzJCmqiUbMwt5IMECfP4D3VKstV4QJme7lIot9i2Eb4pwggXKMz1bPVEWNSJTRm_SP2jHYpqQ-l-TQmyBo0xKhxQHc2W0N2YKpkC-OztOVkvzQnKbvxTT3bhzXvPqJ6xV7vbfOqZjtV_9OKD6bOfGU1kvn7dPNsq2ZkNdrJQoyQmv7fp1HH0A/w633-h1607/z8.jpg" width="633" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPKELCphBAsE7RSFWImz_qZCAVzHk392pSMeFSy75UVbEx46fnSWhsHxrt9tleO5IrHVsC1QXovJAoBilYvOwj73KBPU7XaweJ8BU7jIJkz3RKHJ_A0r2ZUBbsJg2LIe_WXBgt3z3rKhMSHr85bfyjDVuyyvPnFNaVfmur6icDOB1_3sPhrHmeVKLIOA/s753/316844069_835637904388544_6357822949997304046_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="753" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPKELCphBAsE7RSFWImz_qZCAVzHk392pSMeFSy75UVbEx46fnSWhsHxrt9tleO5IrHVsC1QXovJAoBilYvOwj73KBPU7XaweJ8BU7jIJkz3RKHJ_A0r2ZUBbsJg2LIe_WXBgt3z3rKhMSHr85bfyjDVuyyvPnFNaVfmur6icDOB1_3sPhrHmeVKLIOA/w640-h424/316844069_835637904388544_6357822949997304046_n.png" width="640" /></a><br /><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvMmb1rcfXLctmJAAM_WszKr1zDK-9M5zSv1b2ixiYRUfsQJKl98P3Fyj6EBJJ2I-clrdahvoqq2iKOIo6f02c44b-Dud35XutePuibTQ7sRIq6b5vOy5NvEYvBgIBUGfytBMyXKJY0daUadTnuGJHwaZWGIVEZTaogUjjxZBoc8NV-xI3pG3TJLWoYg/s806/319335603_826186408679548_2284233973526843324_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="806" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvMmb1rcfXLctmJAAM_WszKr1zDK-9M5zSv1b2ixiYRUfsQJKl98P3Fyj6EBJJ2I-clrdahvoqq2iKOIo6f02c44b-Dud35XutePuibTQ7sRIq6b5vOy5NvEYvBgIBUGfytBMyXKJY0daUadTnuGJHwaZWGIVEZTaogUjjxZBoc8NV-xI3pG3TJLWoYg/w640-h432/319335603_826186408679548_2284233973526843324_n.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQmD6KjfxXRliyu7r0CNUqkTR5r22HFM1K50pq-g1oBDOBWWhlU-uM6eDdDmDZw0JeZQYiN5feOFMnD-63hrUzDTRH6EcWs_EtskH7EDnLvDATyTDeQvdPW3fAASMIOqNbJ0GXrgaCTwhw7s_hN4ZBicD9MRzp6zGzdvZ-toMx0_syIId3AydPzZ1TQ/s648/314413307_697831878353373_5746366479617837947_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="648" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQmD6KjfxXRliyu7r0CNUqkTR5r22HFM1K50pq-g1oBDOBWWhlU-uM6eDdDmDZw0JeZQYiN5feOFMnD-63hrUzDTRH6EcWs_EtskH7EDnLvDATyTDeQvdPW3fAASMIOqNbJ0GXrgaCTwhw7s_hN4ZBicD9MRzp6zGzdvZ-toMx0_syIId3AydPzZ1TQ/s320/314413307_697831878353373_5746366479617837947_n.png" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGWQkDjqM4r7zvFibCO0_xmIw7oNPj3EdAU7TVoOagag-9ss_hbHu-mGo6HOox8K_Cy3XGi17W1Raq-7CpW6D04DP8sewoqF2WEP47EIzsY39goQ8J1VlXwdzZsRPq3uOq9CVdirNiTvQUUlJFMdr8Ult2fz3bYv06T8prUvva_Q6r-iFD9xqqYKx8A/s680/FekFXpVX0AAqtIi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="680" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGWQkDjqM4r7zvFibCO0_xmIw7oNPj3EdAU7TVoOagag-9ss_hbHu-mGo6HOox8K_Cy3XGi17W1Raq-7CpW6D04DP8sewoqF2WEP47EIzsY39goQ8J1VlXwdzZsRPq3uOq9CVdirNiTvQUUlJFMdr8Ult2fz3bYv06T8prUvva_Q6r-iFD9xqqYKx8A/s320/FekFXpVX0AAqtIi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span><b>Yes, going by the <i>actual, </i>massively ignored,<i> </i>research papers we knew all along that ivermectin significantly slows the spread of the </b></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span><b>SARS-CoV-2 viral infection in the body</b></span></span><b> when taken soon enough. They used it very successfully in '3rd countries' like India and in Africa, but we here in the '1st world' are simply toooo advanced for a drug that costs less than 1 dollar, right. One example where the 1st world were actually worse off, with their super expensive and toxic remdesivir 'treatment'. But keep believing your CNN news anchors. </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTgVa5yo6PTTc5r-aVCxCwjHPCefWZjoF-4mFdj7k2DqsSklN7w5CVhCjbjFz95LuZjzvzDkXyAc6q4t_EW32jw9pJyJgrQQJBHQbN7SjTjMG3ORqfv6l6-479HO38l5iyRi0HwMxvIo1OG86N44-BJB_4CuDP9BaTLuH_Ncvs0D3ypfVxqxUSQBBIpQ/s1024/319063583_2735727439891360_4144123825171906947_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="824" height="738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTgVa5yo6PTTc5r-aVCxCwjHPCefWZjoF-4mFdj7k2DqsSklN7w5CVhCjbjFz95LuZjzvzDkXyAc6q4t_EW32jw9pJyJgrQQJBHQbN7SjTjMG3ORqfv6l6-479HO38l5iyRi0HwMxvIo1OG86N44-BJB_4CuDP9BaTLuH_Ncvs0D3ypfVxqxUSQBBIpQ/w595-h738/319063583_2735727439891360_4144123825171906947_n.png" width="595" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">December 29, 2022</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold;">Hasn't Bill Gates changed his tune and body language with regards to the vaccine. <br />Look at him squirm now. And why won't he answer directly and just say "yes"?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='609' height='506' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwJdEIW-VjrFSS9wJ9JrYOPGtuo7CXFiPKCMHjdjQpLU_K3QAfDTfjCN_jel14ajkvlRvbS3BY7henVuH5b7g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5-2kMOw94kHR3uPky4jFnwmiCdcuPxqN5hBfV75d3kZrhD7DqDUlxNy6JcpvRKt_HMZclS7CLfW64PhfYgJslG2H5s0MQaRoaGwAfnKjqh-Ldiol-Kj-kg0nHjRJE9oYHSY2EtPDoPADLfV-yQZLbwhiIqGFZSqwRCnCsd_ra8L_CvNSDMSsQ0-17Wg/s657/320340313_857729498766006_8378816595314912499_n.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="657" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5-2kMOw94kHR3uPky4jFnwmiCdcuPxqN5hBfV75d3kZrhD7DqDUlxNy6JcpvRKt_HMZclS7CLfW64PhfYgJslG2H5s0MQaRoaGwAfnKjqh-Ldiol-Kj-kg0nHjRJE9oYHSY2EtPDoPADLfV-yQZLbwhiIqGFZSqwRCnCsd_ra8L_CvNSDMSsQ0-17Wg/s320/320340313_857729498766006_8378816595314912499_n.png" width="320" /></a><b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b>That poor woman... She looked so lovely and kind. I totally understand the anxiety and the desperation one must feel when your health is taken from you in such an unexpected, cruel manner. and the thought of just wanting to end things then. Her life was RUINED by a shot she didn't need. And in these corrupt times, all this stuff gets wiped under the metaphorical rug. Sure, most people were OK after their vaccination, but in the past only a few dozen serious side-effects or victims were enough to pull the entire vaccine. Pull the entire vaccination program. While here people are just ignored, ridiculed, called liars or any correlation with the vaccine is simple denied. </b></div></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXps5zUrv9h0FOF5gm9y-uCZmShUB5JQ5g-8w2rvP_eYDlnRRekqQmVLfjNvOiUuYGesXsmWiCRKA5gSsZGCV5TFZzu2JdbcB2-GZGP8VRHW1IlUfRHtltmH1QSzZiy4u2nEal95NIAIpV6eUHL2v2DPI9cvdAem3jzvZoGKVv0fInhliXAhL6bLR71A/s960/312909577_501418852089237_4673748725107725226_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXps5zUrv9h0FOF5gm9y-uCZmShUB5JQ5g-8w2rvP_eYDlnRRekqQmVLfjNvOiUuYGesXsmWiCRKA5gSsZGCV5TFZzu2JdbcB2-GZGP8VRHW1IlUfRHtltmH1QSzZiy4u2nEal95NIAIpV6eUHL2v2DPI9cvdAem3jzvZoGKVv0fInhliXAhL6bLR71A/w640-h640/312909577_501418852089237_4673748725107725226_n.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><b><div>So brave... Coming with these scientific facts <i>after</i> the pandemic ended... We knew it at the start of the pandemic, but saying so was akin to heresy back then. Despite the scientific data telling us so. Because we all needed to be vaccinated, end of discussion. And all these media outlets joined the lies for all this time. Now think about how they put gym owners in prison for staying open during lockdowns.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOeteHJzt8EZ47qmUVH9pNVuBJd6ruvxIFcLVIQv3Ywjplg7Pp-H5T59Usflv-a_PwHcXpI31Vo7JzEpVG3HKKHUEfoCg-shLxeLlorQHO0bLD9zWOqWVTk8Vy-W5p5IUVumGshgFsPQwPwQGA30I4yIw94WDBA7ZnPKK-SZIdtVzUB6iITce_GeHrw/s625/318015078_1377932246349506_4445955657534239848_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="625" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOeteHJzt8EZ47qmUVH9pNVuBJd6ruvxIFcLVIQv3Ywjplg7Pp-H5T59Usflv-a_PwHcXpI31Vo7JzEpVG3HKKHUEfoCg-shLxeLlorQHO0bLD9zWOqWVTk8Vy-W5p5IUVumGshgFsPQwPwQGA30I4yIw94WDBA7ZnPKK-SZIdtVzUB6iITce_GeHrw/w640-h600/318015078_1377932246349506_4445955657534239848_n.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div></b></div></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></div></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">January 14, 2023</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">Is the BBC waking up now? Are they given permission from above to finally report on this instead of shelving it for as long as they did? Or is it fair game now to start reporting on the true statistics and science, now that most people had their 3 or 4 clot shots and the pandemic is basically over?</div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjqpEFwE5CnNfGfXOKjrH3mpN-npGNeRR73qTWg6ogjdkl8MseCNzuvl6IjvRCy-mrlu0vYvGcujWfT_rFiJ3ekTF60MXhoj6g1744zlqg-gW9p_O0bXxeEjIMLG1XMJDQ1NuajVJxRL46SCE8OBWSWkB5siCfFwU3Qszee7w3H1h81wnsNYZVzg2Wvg/s705/324393425_855407312348052_2843533120855920024_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="705" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjqpEFwE5CnNfGfXOKjrH3mpN-npGNeRR73qTWg6ogjdkl8MseCNzuvl6IjvRCy-mrlu0vYvGcujWfT_rFiJ3ekTF60MXhoj6g1744zlqg-gW9p_O0bXxeEjIMLG1XMJDQ1NuajVJxRL46SCE8OBWSWkB5siCfFwU3Qszee7w3H1h81wnsNYZVzg2Wvg/w640-h482/324393425_855407312348052_2843533120855920024_n.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">The excess deaths in the meantime continue. The reliable Dr. Campbell - who defended the covid vaccines for a long time initially - has been reliably covering the science once it came in. He continues to highlight the massive excess deaths across the world</div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="495" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B3_bqcvDxvI" width="595" youtube-src-id="B3_bqcvDxvI"></iframe></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div><b style="color: #444444;">There come the half lies. First they denied any of this, but now the data is overwhelmingly showing these vaccine side effect risks, and they finally <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11633619/U-S-says-Pfizers-bivalent-COVID-shot-linked-stroke-older-adults.html#" target="_blank">start to publish</a> it, 'but it only happens to the 65+ year olds!' Sure, and not to the teenagers these jabs were given to....Never mind that there is ongoing (massive, non-covid) excess death among ALL age groups, including the young. Give it a bit more time and the entire pile of sh*t will become known to everyone. Feelings over facts doesn't quite work for science, in the long run. But even THEN many people will simply refuse to accept or believe it. 'Because I had 2 boosters and I am fine!' </b><span style="color: #444444;"><b>And they wanted all information sealed for 75 years, remember?</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDToQRResTCY3VxWtZlR-fLjCrROBBf4mCqybC5ud4-EB8s7IfKk0duZLfuN3KI6qe46fcN2w-i9v5ag2oEg-u9f1lHdovaBlOOLSOFRDiyTsmlmql7AvBpljXl6MLGhHz9QkPMxpChHAZgIJrBiGFobXoa4Gth9UMEg2SYkTU253FbrOmcUO5zCr2Tg/s1688/Untitled-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1688" data-original-width="718" height="1439" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDToQRResTCY3VxWtZlR-fLjCrROBBf4mCqybC5ud4-EB8s7IfKk0duZLfuN3KI6qe46fcN2w-i9v5ag2oEg-u9f1lHdovaBlOOLSOFRDiyTsmlmql7AvBpljXl6MLGhHz9QkPMxpChHAZgIJrBiGFobXoa4Gth9UMEg2SYkTU253FbrOmcUO5zCr2Tg/w611-h1439/Untitled-2.jpg" width="611" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">'Because coincidences happen, <br />pretty much all of the time!'</span></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='624' height='518' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzZYuY_Vt9Mfm758kNigiSSuGhd7zgcoKaWzWwJFVPm_ikE5nYjN7BxD5bumkL4Qzb7m0dbkUVMfMYJYpklyg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJb247btdjlJHEdvKdAGd0T3nXtt3Cx37A9H9QJ8VVAU_d72_ggQI0Uwkvd9jRIqUVGcXFiO1DtNSL-tbbwzClFM73RCDddDVECdmYmnc7h6Xz1IQXNFdDLxsJ-cAjt6WGQSrMrp4EAjRBeQjV53U2vlTV1KHNKJIgh3JR0wBWMMTIanqB5cQ98Z8JA/s1169/FltSlMlXgAIg1J0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1095" data-original-width="1169" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJb247btdjlJHEdvKdAGd0T3nXtt3Cx37A9H9QJ8VVAU_d72_ggQI0Uwkvd9jRIqUVGcXFiO1DtNSL-tbbwzClFM73RCDddDVECdmYmnc7h6Xz1IQXNFdDLxsJ-cAjt6WGQSrMrp4EAjRBeQjV53U2vlTV1KHNKJIgh3JR0wBWMMTIanqB5cQ98Z8JA/w640-h600/FltSlMlXgAIg1J0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJxEaH_6W9wYD4CyfIGIY72SbrKIiCQU1q4EjREQzPS1a-NzQp5iEA7k39jD7M6Orgfl2ffUJ8p9l8MZ6o9r-jkMyaItUrTXO_3pOgeOzsFlTnmaGvklijWXVPDVKYTX_OYVtYuWdjpxxtn_4-gU3vbltD5DH5SdOOldQc3q2u0sgjeBhT_9nW2Ejfw/s897/Fl12Rn2XgAAjbJN.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="897" height="562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJxEaH_6W9wYD4CyfIGIY72SbrKIiCQU1q4EjREQzPS1a-NzQp5iEA7k39jD7M6Orgfl2ffUJ8p9l8MZ6o9r-jkMyaItUrTXO_3pOgeOzsFlTnmaGvklijWXVPDVKYTX_OYVtYuWdjpxxtn_4-gU3vbltD5DH5SdOOldQc3q2u0sgjeBhT_9nW2Ejfw/w640-h562/Fl12Rn2XgAAjbJN.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZEuflygNVpaw_p4VUDfkrEh1iZNbGmHHmfOHcXZHZLO-jIChbkxJaywTudGbFBzw2kiimSkDu6sAy-UNjrJ1obRtUIVeH_AUJx_EsgQJ9FvKzXb7JIeRcGhYMWXynd6h52X6EApvPXIh5eDCB2nbaIH3U8_--c43CyYHsv-nhNH9C2J9DgGII5VxbQ/s700/FmX7PtIWAAgOLQD.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZEuflygNVpaw_p4VUDfkrEh1iZNbGmHHmfOHcXZHZLO-jIChbkxJaywTudGbFBzw2kiimSkDu6sAy-UNjrJ1obRtUIVeH_AUJx_EsgQJ9FvKzXb7JIeRcGhYMWXynd6h52X6EApvPXIh5eDCB2nbaIH3U8_--c43CyYHsv-nhNH9C2J9DgGII5VxbQ/w640-h366/FmX7PtIWAAgOLQD.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="color: #444444;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">January 15, 2023</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">Look who is late to the party? After years of denying the science, gaslighting its readers and childishly branding every deceased person who tested positive for covid a 'covid death' - regardless if they actually and ultimately died as a result from a car crash, major organ damage, cancer, underlying heart disease and so on... Car accident-CoVid, Drug Overdose-Covid. Let's not forget here that the governments arranged things in such a way that hospitals were <i>financially incentivised </i>to report deaths as Covid deaths (depending on the country, some governments were paying bonuses for every patient tested, admitted or treated with remdesivir for covid, for every covid patient on a ventilator and every covid death). We now have a WASHINGTON POST and CNN writer and covid expert stating the obvious. Dr. Leana Wen now writes in the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/13/covid-pandemic-deaths-hospitalizations-overcounting/" target="_blank">Washington Post</a> that the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 may be greater than the number of people actually dying from the virus. Wen says the counting can lead to imprecise reporting making people more anxious or skeptical about the true impact of the virus. You don't say.... A little too late probably. But perhaps the mass psychosis is finally lifting. </span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Almost three years since the coronavirus pandemic took hold, CNN medical analyst and Washington Post columnist Dr. Leana Wen has admitted the medical community is 'overcounting' the number of 'COVID deaths and hospitalizations.' </span></b><b style="color: #444444;">In an opinion piece entitled: 'We are overcounting COVID deaths and hospitalizations. That's a problem,' Wen cites sources that claim that most 'patients diagnosed with COVID are actually in the hospital for some other illness.' - </b><b style="color: #444444;">But it were these grossly inflated numbers that were ultimately used by politicians to scare and force people into getting vaccinated. I</b><b><span style="color: #444444;">t is utter hypocrisy from the Wash Post to just publish this without any reference to all the misinformation they have spread when it really counted..</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Wen had the backing of two other infectious-disease experts who also believe that the number of deaths attributed to COVID is greater than the actual number of people dying from the virus. </b></span><b><span style="color: #444444;">She cites </span><span style="color: #990000;">one expert, Robin Dretler, an attending physician at Emory Decatur Hospital, who estimates that at his hospital, 90% of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 are actually in the hospital for some other illness. </span><span style="color: #444444;">NINETY</span></b><b style="color: #444444;"> PERCENT!!! No surprise for me and neither for many others who looked critically at what's been happening these past years. But </b><span><b><span style="color: #444444;">reading the comment section of the Wash Post, many readers are livid and refuse to believe it. The power of propaganda.</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #444444;"><br /></b></div></div></div></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRrb_Z6lk4y2k6BUBMgWd18E_u-4VKyipy-hCj2uvTfFFFtldfgNexZfgNtXA6kkVxPl-YGb7O0UAuJmm4h0pMaWRCjfh-SEHF-AJ1_gJQLvJgMTsu7zAEhA0T-wMNmAuJqm5FrmxVFA5qIOBUT50FPKcGW6jgdTCH2d4mHrI_ns_nkuLl0ey36fPccg/s2935/Untitled-8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2935" data-original-width="1440" height="1224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRrb_Z6lk4y2k6BUBMgWd18E_u-4VKyipy-hCj2uvTfFFFtldfgNexZfgNtXA6kkVxPl-YGb7O0UAuJmm4h0pMaWRCjfh-SEHF-AJ1_gJQLvJgMTsu7zAEhA0T-wMNmAuJqm5FrmxVFA5qIOBUT50FPKcGW6jgdTCH2d4mHrI_ns_nkuLl0ey36fPccg/w600-h1224/Untitled-8.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnN7yHglwA4meRSS3w0WQqjSifcdHPgwep9bK4Zkx-E3YOU7VzZc4XJDndV7QJpV3CU1hT4A58sdUOtqvn5SsOj0SXVIHz3QjPF-MyqFev7NjSaA3QYZc5m-vrzFZ2leR1IfqLNiUMcxxuNzmXf7nmlemV91lQsLVvBGJip7JCcra_Xz2wEFcNt2jYlw/s2929/Untitled-9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2929" data-original-width="1310" height="1361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnN7yHglwA4meRSS3w0WQqjSifcdHPgwep9bK4Zkx-E3YOU7VzZc4XJDndV7QJpV3CU1hT4A58sdUOtqvn5SsOj0SXVIHz3QjPF-MyqFev7NjSaA3QYZc5m-vrzFZ2leR1IfqLNiUMcxxuNzmXf7nmlemV91lQsLVvBGJip7JCcra_Xz2wEFcNt2jYlw/w608-h1361/Untitled-9.jpg" width="608" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvsOk1-yBXTYeibaMX6DaXJrLZ0nm3S5Q8pjWANgavPB6uYsNO4IxNL6rFd0FPUDVqQVo3kKA7Sz1RWmZl8-9O747nXEyoqVCc5TR2m9gBPgyZyI9aEzfMakQKnEFs1fC2taFuyL_QgJRwKXvQaMMDp2H1vcCjtAuS8I6ZvvszJQXY6e35H-q90rM5ZA/s1698/Untitled-10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1698" data-original-width="1150" height="899" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvsOk1-yBXTYeibaMX6DaXJrLZ0nm3S5Q8pjWANgavPB6uYsNO4IxNL6rFd0FPUDVqQVo3kKA7Sz1RWmZl8-9O747nXEyoqVCc5TR2m9gBPgyZyI9aEzfMakQKnEFs1fC2taFuyL_QgJRwKXvQaMMDp2H1vcCjtAuS8I6ZvvszJQXY6e35H-q90rM5ZA/w609-h899/Untitled-10.jpg" width="609" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><i><span style="color: #990000;">Mind you: this is the same Dr. </span></i></b></span><i style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">Leana Wen who </i><a href="https://reason.com/2021/09/10/cnn-leana-wen-unvaccinated-travel-outdoor-ban/" style="color: #990000; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;" target="_blank">declared</a><i style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"> that unvaccinated people should not be allowed to leave their home! </i><i style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"> </i><span style="color: #444444; text-align: center;"><b>Dr Wen was one of the main covid propagandists and public fearmongers.</b></span><span style="color: #444444; text-align: center;"><b> She supported the worst covid policies and was fully on board with taking kids from parents and discriminating against those who refused the jab. If she's now admitting this, there must be a lot more we will be kept in the dark over. As I do not buy the whole 'well it was all new and we did the best we could' excuse. Covid has been used, abused and politicized consciously. So it is a bit late to change your tune now doctor Wen. </b></span><b style="color: #444444; text-align: center;">She also revealed a week or so ago that those vaccinated for covid are now at least three times as likely to be infected as unvaccinated people and four times as likely to be hospitalized than the unvaccinated who had covid. </b><span style="color: #444444; text-align: center;"><b>But the Gov. is responsible ultimately for having forced folks into an experimental vaccination in order to go to work, travel and school. And that is Criminal.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: 400;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNSBBfEzacEOy0NrTfFNH7iqMreQDpHPWHygA8Ov-LpHkmbfh5ybJx7jFjMNw78LlRgyFY__uPyUOuhh4U0vYfzm1pkO6sCeBpzSvjPuK70ekj8zyflO3ZG4GirXqzyHLbNZ9fxA5ensZbzSInr_oURKM5FTvSVp_3YSaksIIe6bZvbtbEQiWSg1wzg/s881/Untitled-11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="860" data-original-width="881" height="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNSBBfEzacEOy0NrTfFNH7iqMreQDpHPWHygA8Ov-LpHkmbfh5ybJx7jFjMNw78LlRgyFY__uPyUOuhh4U0vYfzm1pkO6sCeBpzSvjPuK70ekj8zyflO3ZG4GirXqzyHLbNZ9fxA5ensZbzSInr_oURKM5FTvSVp_3YSaksIIe6bZvbtbEQiWSg1wzg/w640-h624/Untitled-11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">January 17, 2023</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">Jimmy Dore calling out Bill Gates. Wow, even Gates is backtracking now. <b>It's incredible that these people are now backtracking and the same media that lied are now refusing to call out these people who lied. </b>Bill Gates has acted like the covid guru, pushing lies and scaremongering on the highest platforms (and he isn't even educated as a doctor), but now people like him just casually drop that they may have been off a bit. No consequences. Shit happens. Never mind the millions of lives ruined through side-effects, lost jobs, vaccine mandates and the rest of the global trauma that was created. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='624' height='519' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwe-EvcfLceowa69OUTuccW1A6_faCtMlmW0cxmSEwXCIoVvj5BOtHzThtt3iFOHYnxiGV1L81dQbhgHb7e8g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='625' height='519' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyMugpfRDu0Bprb3tm3j5MejlbGtxzdLVqhiv4f0LW8zicEtMktK1gNXLx-tQESP-6fFdx_8izMJCCvjA575w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='621' height='517' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzhNhU0-fODM2n7Lk8fCo8Nac7TFoptppzszremItibBHKrKCet8RqesWXzjAq9Rv_pxhzOdo34956dMzQ2cg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Heart wrenching. </b><b>That poor mother. </b><b>Just because side-effects don't happen to everyone who got the shot, doesn't make it OK for an unacceptable percentage of people to deal with these type of side effects. </b><b>They honestly are among the worst side effects you can get. Heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, embolisms.... How much worse can it get from a simple 'vaccine'? That should be a totally unacceptable side-effect profile. But the pharmaceutical companies got away with it by 1. banking on the 'emergency status' of the whole drug, as it was all panic mode by politicians who wanted a vaccine NOW. never mind any long term studies, as is standard (ethical) practice. And 2. because they manipulated the studies they did do. Going for small, pre-selected test groups to create favourable efficiency and side-effect outcomes. It is known for a fact now that they botched things and that these jabs are nowhere near 90% effective against covid infection or hospitalization, as initially claimed. And they severely downplayed the side effects. But this just shows how people can act like total lemmings when it comes to the combination of fear and government propaganda. Till this day many folks refuse to acknowledge that they have been misinformed in mostly every manner on all this. They close their eyes for these horrible side-effects, because 'they themselves are fine'. The scale of the whole thing is so gigantic, that most people just don't even want to think about malicious decisions or medical specialists who are lying about all this to hide their own uncertainty about what those shots truly can cause. The doctors in hospital don't even really know, because they can't know for sure yet. Since there are no long term studies. But instead of admitting this - as this mother also highlights - they say 'Oh No! Data tells us that it is impossible that the shots caused your son's heart defect'. They are bluffing, they are not doing their research properly and they are going by the hospital's policies, created by managers. It is highly disappointing. Especially when you see some medical specialists who <i>do</i> speak out, and who are being shunned or cancelled by the medical community. You'd expect this retarded behaviour from PR people or media makers or politicians, but not from doctors. </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz6idU0jl9JElyRyGurp_dZ0deXnWvRpMES2XQTym3frW_LflELpTUMcyuR6GIA0KTxt0xW4RIIVOi68B8Bow' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzxmb66tiWj_yEq5ojJKRw_m8NWEC6kSqHFGmDVMQmWLi4jV5TF3fGmKOsZIWkBur3hQ8leg84seJbttsMJUA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">January 20, 2023</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold;">Now even journalists are starting to wake up and ask critical (warranted) questions</div></div></div></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fEXsCFZSDGI" width="320" youtube-src-id="fEXsCFZSDGI"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzGMcvZUPEVG-Znzy68SJrinh6uG5PDzby9TzNBbyoOwSxelxEIb7cHtQRORekGkmBEhSsVY9bgx2AmxWozXw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">January 21, 2023</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">Main topic on the Dutch news today: the Netherlands has an unprecedented excess death problem of 25% more people dying that anticipated. Reasons unknown, but parliament asks for further investigation. nevertheless our own national 'CDC' already knows to tell the people that it is NOT linked to the covid vaccines. Impressive how he knows this before any actual research has started even. Same for the excess heart attacks. Even before proper investigation, it is already pushed in the media that it must be surely linked to covid. Even if the vaccines are to blame, I doubt we will ever hear the truth about it or the true scale of it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: 400; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihdlj9QPfpCwSmhJpGxWOFcLg8djufAfVf_xFeYcjy7q3HyzSHsacfS7EfMk_rSX6r6waQIpqlC8bhetWFUga2WF8nJOp8wMmI4RdJBQDK2VyZ9rwHAropz4iNfwkEUbZfDAePGicVlY-O0_ReQJ-Lz5QxlO3uX3tMQX0CASV65S-FGhBFlUbmzTwRrA/s570/325621537_5598664930255303_3672488898354714136_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="570" height="536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihdlj9QPfpCwSmhJpGxWOFcLg8djufAfVf_xFeYcjy7q3HyzSHsacfS7EfMk_rSX6r6waQIpqlC8bhetWFUga2WF8nJOp8wMmI4RdJBQDK2VyZ9rwHAropz4iNfwkEUbZfDAePGicVlY-O0_ReQJ-Lz5QxlO3uX3tMQX0CASV65S-FGhBFlUbmzTwRrA/w640-h536/325621537_5598664930255303_3672488898354714136_n.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">We have known that this is pretty much the case since last year, as scientific data showed this already back then. But it is incredible this is not massive news.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj0UEkOikll3g5GWPsfw8sEX4PeiLk9DpRkoCCoyWYNh9OgLZy2nTpA-Ii0rIzMRdTx6T6FsT2xZQ0UlXa0gWCuBa-YvLOOOmRDCVY5ieWwlH4TswOTwuRVP0Kh2Xs_lePSFjvxtnKgBn0g8fZRgLe9ffXP7zWwrXMSZe_eC1Gw0ZFmiYwMNA3B1PRGA/s768/324463663_748845033422433_4348356782812271446_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="768" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj0UEkOikll3g5GWPsfw8sEX4PeiLk9DpRkoCCoyWYNh9OgLZy2nTpA-Ii0rIzMRdTx6T6FsT2xZQ0UlXa0gWCuBa-YvLOOOmRDCVY5ieWwlH4TswOTwuRVP0Kh2Xs_lePSFjvxtnKgBn0g8fZRgLe9ffXP7zWwrXMSZe_eC1Gw0ZFmiYwMNA3B1PRGA/w640-h424/324463663_748845033422433_4348356782812271446_n.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">January 27, 2023</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #444444;">FASCINATING new footage from </span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Project Veritas</span><span style="color: #444444;">. A top Pfizer employee spills some hot beans on a date... Must See. Also his epic meltdown when realising what is happening.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: 400; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='632' height='526' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxnRco9-jiPioctpjS-Wwf12I0YLyrFQfqsEOMzt6VvW_OZ-AiwPXcPH-Tzb6CYStbELGpU9-4T5LyylAm7gA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: 400;"><br /></div><b style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">THE AFTERMATH - for now</span></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; font-weight: 400; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='631' height='524' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwcfI_FOHDN16wZmpeDgUY0NFfaw6j13DL4c-uDaYTxVsBE0BJA6SBS9djnRfOeixqrdRMAvtK0KXcqEvh_3A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><br /></div><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>BARELY ANY MEDIA </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>PICKED UP ON THE STORY</b></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='630' height='524' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx2tMRyQUzJRhjl2LLOKd63mgNIFRAy2UL7kh5kQyzeL4i4ipgWKv0SQL0VzsWvLDW0hLltx26H6xIAhIyVvQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h_WoSW1lFdQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="h_WoSW1lFdQ"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mO86vEGsOB0" width="320" youtube-src-id="mO86vEGsOB0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='660' height='549' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz5t4i7rJ-cKy2JDaaPHnLBiujs7-K2GKapw-Su9uuePoGE2xGv4MmR2RKB-RHYjcgK_L59IsvePGCoGtZIFw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="549" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dAW_zRoO5bM" width="661" youtube-src-id="dAW_zRoO5bM"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><b style="font-size: xx-large;">FORBES TRIED TO DEBUNK THE STORY, LAIMING JORDON TRISHTIN WALKER DOES NOT WORK FOR PFIZXER, but he does. And google attempts to wipe his info off the internet have started a <a href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1618473062655234049.html" target="_blank">little too late</a>. </b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2FUPXQNHmQoSMqUxsppKLPwMbKQnnL77HgSgqoP5P1briDvBPvQFKoI2NWs7d_sa-usxogrULKWS9kyaoVNgtFsqVmsCL_rw33RZi9nOOrn__FlO1RGfp1PVUJkCxiP6t71CPLxFrc6zvBXRz-E36VrJtkyy4vzM42MwAZP0OWxDKXhJA4flWLByhw/s908/z3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="908" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2FUPXQNHmQoSMqUxsppKLPwMbKQnnL77HgSgqoP5P1briDvBPvQFKoI2NWs7d_sa-usxogrULKWS9kyaoVNgtFsqVmsCL_rw33RZi9nOOrn__FlO1RGfp1PVUJkCxiP6t71CPLxFrc6zvBXRz-E36VrJtkyy4vzM42MwAZP0OWxDKXhJA4flWLByhw/w640-h518/z3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUnS0Bmqhw-v4G2ku_PiBLRKWRjJegybDxtGo0dccBuxw_S-EnmtVtSuYds1ySMb3y6Fw0rGob7KEiS4LSkccOMN5WcQnzWehRCyZjLc9f53mgP1iy0yff6bVBOyQqZyDp7ExxvCkOXcZ2rwzVCl9DFTWJPZwd6PJVJxYODXiYw-OOLJgtBYJYczLyA/s1143/z4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="1143" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUnS0Bmqhw-v4G2ku_PiBLRKWRjJegybDxtGo0dccBuxw_S-EnmtVtSuYds1ySMb3y6Fw0rGob7KEiS4LSkccOMN5WcQnzWehRCyZjLc9f53mgP1iy0yff6bVBOyQqZyDp7ExxvCkOXcZ2rwzVCl9DFTWJPZwd6PJVJxYODXiYw-OOLJgtBYJYczLyA/w603-h418/z4.jpg" width="603" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGhGokCHoVUhVXQBYtpt3SN38yW1wx8Xo8lhMOG2iL0IOZTd-zOgxx4KMUra9rovDSEFeZWjaXX-Xej-rR1QgjBEZbhKHLP4yMdQA6Kr685rTdY9CeZtS3RtbKIeHS0XUwnnuIaJGwUaUZZ1q0_VfzBon9qXdx3rK3nvC1VAs7bMU_AXMjvqq4M0cXnA/s1061/z5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="733" data-original-width="1061" height="441" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGhGokCHoVUhVXQBYtpt3SN38yW1wx8Xo8lhMOG2iL0IOZTd-zOgxx4KMUra9rovDSEFeZWjaXX-Xej-rR1QgjBEZbhKHLP4yMdQA6Kr685rTdY9CeZtS3RtbKIeHS0XUwnnuIaJGwUaUZZ1q0_VfzBon9qXdx3rK3nvC1VAs7bMU_AXMjvqq4M0cXnA/w640-h441/z5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh7IzoQZDxH0eckU3Ebs7oU9rYLamRP6fnm8O0-anSZWgJAc3EMOjOoPtNMHM3oBR1tcRCQQEqLmFDAvdF_7o8zCUK-IyqYr5-Bm1QI7dDV_a6O1GbgAuLqD2RMNRHjJCBj1Bnk7p1EjaHzR5UTKMbWFSNXmxSA_kJJvg4PsKjYcn3qXJxYvX_wlRs3g/s680/FnYDXDLWYAAkFD1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="680" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh7IzoQZDxH0eckU3Ebs7oU9rYLamRP6fnm8O0-anSZWgJAc3EMOjOoPtNMHM3oBR1tcRCQQEqLmFDAvdF_7o8zCUK-IyqYr5-Bm1QI7dDV_a6O1GbgAuLqD2RMNRHjJCBj1Bnk7p1EjaHzR5UTKMbWFSNXmxSA_kJJvg4PsKjYcn3qXJxYvX_wlRs3g/w640-h516/FnYDXDLWYAAkFD1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRokU_mJMXnAumqm39_4IM5xMcyYz34I0_xNub8RAMAvUjcAMYDYRBxr6sgMQFkW5ki_Xcn1UdUtjsfF1yiPGAPhQE8eplIYy1JMjdwvq9lZekCCxrekMVhrTfgXvYhUdpgWLB-BbUMKnSTT2Y-UwMPKg8BO6d_dnUZiF3KPKqSOfdcspx8lt8q7gP6g/s1200/FnX5UUvX0AApeo3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANffI82i7HlwqbltoH2YUKwa8z7ZXIw0uVqfVJ0LPj2EHqRHpEGkVhaa-BCycieTiNrvvOBzHBilK_-k1gti53no5b_MXk7yvGgHDYr6vFOudxO0K8YQW02kv39cGLfv2DC45kgKp-rpu348J-kskgpGqn32PJxqQLYy4a4A9TM7D3HUsui3Nr2NMXQ/s2160/Fnk1YQ1WQAAabc9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="1080" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANffI82i7HlwqbltoH2YUKwa8z7ZXIw0uVqfVJ0LPj2EHqRHpEGkVhaa-BCycieTiNrvvOBzHBilK_-k1gti53no5b_MXk7yvGgHDYr6vFOudxO0K8YQW02kv39cGLfv2DC45kgKp-rpu348J-kskgpGqn32PJxqQLYy4a4A9TM7D3HUsui3Nr2NMXQ/w134-h267/Fnk1YQ1WQAAabc9.jpg" width="134" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx1C5uOax3zQCBBTgHt8v6aHcEvEWjXtc7wVf0uvq1h-oHwygog3JmDazJvDdoSOkgXMBZJshjB6rq4nms0gHSAlMG6mI9hLTCEBEmm4Z3VoBwyseDSuvzIYZPLKuivVlsS6yP9SJqEPJoeQZyVtQfjcPOAcSklSBabhkFPyvwjzr1-oVvsILyipDUug/s1200/FnX5xeWXgAAfLDJ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx1C5uOax3zQCBBTgHt8v6aHcEvEWjXtc7wVf0uvq1h-oHwygog3JmDazJvDdoSOkgXMBZJshjB6rq4nms0gHSAlMG6mI9hLTCEBEmm4Z3VoBwyseDSuvzIYZPLKuivVlsS6yP9SJqEPJoeQZyVtQfjcPOAcSklSBabhkFPyvwjzr1-oVvsILyipDUug/w465-h262/FnX5xeWXgAAfLDJ.jpg" width="465" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMx4fcfln3PVTb32HyNstCL7bO4M8GUa9bY3-1Rg3EPIyzX3BwZIBS9GaPpYVzkuFhWE1ZIdTwvOytD1TuOWE6WnYvQhJTKhUuovGimQOb2yjP1hZYgf3AaBe5pCtb2VRZI8qxVptqnLqAAR4Ac3AWhtNJ6fmy9r5bNlYW_GbELY5gxCMIYyLYCFUoaQ/s1200/FnaDAdAXgAI4_e4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="797" data-original-width="1200" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMx4fcfln3PVTb32HyNstCL7bO4M8GUa9bY3-1Rg3EPIyzX3BwZIBS9GaPpYVzkuFhWE1ZIdTwvOytD1TuOWE6WnYvQhJTKhUuovGimQOb2yjP1hZYgf3AaBe5pCtb2VRZI8qxVptqnLqAAR4Ac3AWhtNJ6fmy9r5bNlYW_GbELY5gxCMIYyLYCFUoaQ/w336-h223/FnaDAdAXgAI4_e4.jpg" width="336" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbtwtTqLfBtJ2Wp_rTn_Kn4t7y8XomBH9uSw4vlCy4-_5GBjDMo_GTXydyhsUs5UFxAaR7X0_-nCNvAXzZ-PO9oGnSnk0wz8dM6s1_srIxjVTY_ieBV2GySVrzMA7Wd7BlfewsAcYii8IKzcG2ub2aivOtdcSSLl-ks22Ay0o4PvoihCqDvjBHgf2Zmg/s1640/FngRyq6XECA_0kq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="1640" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbtwtTqLfBtJ2Wp_rTn_Kn4t7y8XomBH9uSw4vlCy4-_5GBjDMo_GTXydyhsUs5UFxAaR7X0_-nCNvAXzZ-PO9oGnSnk0wz8dM6s1_srIxjVTY_ieBV2GySVrzMA7Wd7BlfewsAcYii8IKzcG2ub2aivOtdcSSLl-ks22Ay0o4PvoihCqDvjBHgf2Zmg/w269-h226/FngRyq6XECA_0kq.jpg" width="269" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><b style="font-size: xx-large;">THE DAILY MAIL PUBLISHED THIS STORY AND THEN.. DELETED IT AGAIN WITHIN HOURS (but I screen saved it in time)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGlrBu3MXJ7aXYyEr8s8xdAHbipIsHsRgzNg6BVX_yYXNWLOd1NZj9GBqhtDfcEtrHDG_0bXKGeMsuAFI1dIea-ry_eUkBSYln0efkDVg1pXhl-KRT-GWAjJyaTmuMLY6uVvMlXcgziWLH2Gi3hugP5FlGT0G0rFLfioF4I6Hz5a6l_1cSybLtEmhAg/s1082/Untitled-14.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="1082" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGlrBu3MXJ7aXYyEr8s8xdAHbipIsHsRgzNg6BVX_yYXNWLOd1NZj9GBqhtDfcEtrHDG_0bXKGeMsuAFI1dIea-ry_eUkBSYln0efkDVg1pXhl-KRT-GWAjJyaTmuMLY6uVvMlXcgziWLH2Gi3hugP5FlGT0G0rFLfioF4I6Hz5a6l_1cSybLtEmhAg/w640-h176/Untitled-14.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvDSJL53EVR5z1ZWXPEQdyTxwbMBdGuLjBBnElx_D5jgw62-1Y-MZ2ayXnlG710o9U34Vh54uNbHDw7tR6GUi74-3l60sdQsuAh7nfCT2ea4yAixRwmgfGasd-w06HZr6vPq_DsfamObnBwZ3e_FBzbpMdrjW1g8G5WUKU0lhFVtS-I7uL8ECDws1aw/s2048/324895359_3556151478001325_5654620346753669489_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="892" height="572" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvDSJL53EVR5z1ZWXPEQdyTxwbMBdGuLjBBnElx_D5jgw62-1Y-MZ2ayXnlG710o9U34Vh54uNbHDw7tR6GUi74-3l60sdQsuAh7nfCT2ea4yAixRwmgfGasd-w06HZr6vPq_DsfamObnBwZ3e_FBzbpMdrjW1g8G5WUKU0lhFVtS-I7uL8ECDws1aw/w249-h572/324895359_3556151478001325_5654620346753669489_n.jpg" width="249" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaG2BIZlsiUPiCZbsPwldE_o3Ur8ADVijFankVBe1Sg9M-PcSz9FvqACnMFVJ1aeh9EJOHPG5i94Hp0Lvp-AV0id9oeiUuPHTJEmDKXO7H90uh4ze992fYyVwj6QQx7wKgtVkCu3WDFDohVJeqxgYGc1-uhxUShLTh5cnHhyVRtqDCs6in1A1DLfkUXw/s1717/325993373_895532561899593_7809790371500364309_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1717" data-original-width="1064" height="574" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaG2BIZlsiUPiCZbsPwldE_o3Ur8ADVijFankVBe1Sg9M-PcSz9FvqACnMFVJ1aeh9EJOHPG5i94Hp0Lvp-AV0id9oeiUuPHTJEmDKXO7H90uh4ze992fYyVwj6QQx7wKgtVkCu3WDFDohVJeqxgYGc1-uhxUShLTh5cnHhyVRtqDCs6in1A1DLfkUXw/w356-h574/325993373_895532561899593_7809790371500364309_n.jpg" width="356" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg007FO1UnIuxLDEsJK6G-dKbVTmR8WR5tl-XDnoDI4QsqkmbV7yrhKeExwOjQ6iHVeslNEFHPVnc_N7WZ_TqIwWgIAmMHTXWRCNl8nODbgln0u0jgiTURZ-PYCnK7tHtQLnVjQL1vsRjkpKU_CgVaUcoYaBZQsrlzuLfjPlQVDGs1eE1Z-tISKZWuOfA/s2048/324217136_3083440301948310_465372818103813833_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="892" height="541" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg007FO1UnIuxLDEsJK6G-dKbVTmR8WR5tl-XDnoDI4QsqkmbV7yrhKeExwOjQ6iHVeslNEFHPVnc_N7WZ_TqIwWgIAmMHTXWRCNl8nODbgln0u0jgiTURZ-PYCnK7tHtQLnVjQL1vsRjkpKU_CgVaUcoYaBZQsrlzuLfjPlQVDGs1eE1Z-tISKZWuOfA/w235-h541/324217136_3083440301948310_465372818103813833_n.jpg" width="235" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dlzh-rCE6TIrsDx5V_0Gw6NwECVrtx6LL-k8idItrpUKEy-5zoVD05iwJ-Ctj388m94y6sSw0DI1VwKy6KhxJpHASdbkQUaLQZETUuucjkoteRDFgRXQanEdFh2n7G68H1ul-8URf2Gd38V69lwKnz7qz9YIOyu04GHMgiAu8BVyR--boUiaAwZHBw/s1608/326025200_5486753868096109_675972539663545779_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1608" data-original-width="1091" height="539" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dlzh-rCE6TIrsDx5V_0Gw6NwECVrtx6LL-k8idItrpUKEy-5zoVD05iwJ-Ctj388m94y6sSw0DI1VwKy6KhxJpHASdbkQUaLQZETUuucjkoteRDFgRXQanEdFh2n7G68H1ul-8URf2Gd38V69lwKnz7qz9YIOyu04GHMgiAu8BVyR--boUiaAwZHBw/w366-h539/326025200_5486753868096109_675972539663545779_n.jpg" width="366" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><b style="font-size: xx-large;">THE DAILY MAIL COMMENTS </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><b style="font-size: xx-large;">WERE ALSO DELETED</b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKzmE-_KJLslqoeyjTb3SvL11VgMsCEspMpHd1_ykuFuZQ1AfKtOhGbxbcqXTjEd1hICrO-vLedHiX1GxAxAwqUrlQo7ZbiF6T0eXQwlXJyG5sDrZg3Q0JveFACoodvJCsrRbsxmbRG4_QvCxe2jmSdUz93qqmbIjH6s1EZFey1-TCRud6PMMaqjfYQ/s1352/320387295_2332214190294750_4757405441003866481_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="411" data-original-width="1352" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKzmE-_KJLslqoeyjTb3SvL11VgMsCEspMpHd1_ykuFuZQ1AfKtOhGbxbcqXTjEd1hICrO-vLedHiX1GxAxAwqUrlQo7ZbiF6T0eXQwlXJyG5sDrZg3Q0JveFACoodvJCsrRbsxmbRG4_QvCxe2jmSdUz93qqmbIjH6s1EZFey1-TCRud6PMMaqjfYQ/w640-h194/320387295_2332214190294750_4757405441003866481_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCsybVWEK3n159hiE53Ph28VEgq8ZM_Y6J4A85af7hTXFEBuIoXzUry8CbNjMhipMgsxMbRgCYPUaZn6OjpSG0f7uuw3ioQTtOzv8SQZ-n3ySEjXDm_pMkA5mVTk8UXzBT0LYKBFHbp5lWpACqL99437DcwM68Vy5Zc5R6fIHjrv1eBawPMBaShOOM3w/s1600/323924215_1880352092314042_3491027539276449295_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1009" data-original-width="1600" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCsybVWEK3n159hiE53Ph28VEgq8ZM_Y6J4A85af7hTXFEBuIoXzUry8CbNjMhipMgsxMbRgCYPUaZn6OjpSG0f7uuw3ioQTtOzv8SQZ-n3ySEjXDm_pMkA5mVTk8UXzBT0LYKBFHbp5lWpACqL99437DcwM68Vy5Zc5R6fIHjrv1eBawPMBaShOOM3w/w640-h404/323924215_1880352092314042_3491027539276449295_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwHSTkjK5ZO2UY7ggaBwz-4cr9uLUJ69Met8q-begdmAJqgMfXt9GZ-nf3xpUWicf9LNfSCZgBg7dBDKOH7Mk6UFqqomX-9wMig84FGO8dSslzGvmtV6MSlxgL_lHRhzpJ-Y1O92bxQsHMcybttt6z_jxBTzSvOSIgvbJqg8xVX1P0wZEeB0Ch_eID_g/s1591/323981336_740529744171375_2148942179576723737_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="1591" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwHSTkjK5ZO2UY7ggaBwz-4cr9uLUJ69Met8q-begdmAJqgMfXt9GZ-nf3xpUWicf9LNfSCZgBg7dBDKOH7Mk6UFqqomX-9wMig84FGO8dSslzGvmtV6MSlxgL_lHRhzpJ-Y1O92bxQsHMcybttt6z_jxBTzSvOSIgvbJqg8xVX1P0wZEeB0Ch_eID_g/w640-h168/323981336_740529744171375_2148942179576723737_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_iIf6kt5kZqAHLfEqH4DTdXElj-54RgyTWY3seHb_hErNj1_JH250gzrydaYGv1YsYn0Xq9DKdqm87RVofApaZWz1Lu8sHiWZl5bO9tUO--9RuD6mW4BDvmr1IA1o9soyjRyUD9WqqJVnVtxWveMel-8zWNGLG7BUyH_35PaBmaZuBLFqTp1NO7A6A/s1274/324392850_1541812326315063_8740869627922427950_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">January 28, 2023</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold;">More information about the 2022 and January 2023 high EXCESS DEATH numbers, <br />in the range of 25-30% higher than normal and NOT linked to covid.</div></div></div></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='654' height='545' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxma4LQwgHaql9MtPxVsQ8ynRunZWmyQTGc2KOKsJaT9kvx1nDa6KgENbSAKb-WQMUTdBAlKX72rXu0oNELGg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="900" height="634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuuLMlL3FNB2iJx9c7FdUnNiV1S1GJoaI7uslJQFqIoazg_EMXJr2_RhAIc7-UMdvi-F4FW93mhycF3zHZYeDZpMTJRbopR18u5mqc9fgxigRX29MOtmxJaObFY4VG7XOHRNfvcL1GHZCnUmJHfivIFcIP1NmxHUpwkj0Mt0PCTCZ0tES5jsrvNjD9-Q/w640-h634/FnaixCUaUAAxuNd.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div></div></div></span></div></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">January 30, 2023</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: 400;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold;">Pfizer sees itself forced to <a href="https://www.pfizer.com/news/announcements/pfizer-responds-research-claims" target="_blank">respond</a> to the 'Directed Evolution' (aka Gain of Function) claims made by their top employer Jordon Trishton Walker. Proper corporate attempt at damage control and downplaying his revelations, while at the same time confirming what he said, while also stonewalling Walker's role in all this. </div></div></div></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge79IfXgrxCyZZxIXlBXf0hCgXw8NuZezdBDIh-SoCQlj2JIOeb6Z5m3PNSlKSt4hw2qNkZvLhtWbSKXgEFHuW6G2MF12sxamGY9VsYtQcTzX1w05SkPknagpwRWQU0giTs-jPjFh3EM-W8w2hIlL7eiVQQl5AAGTvIC8N6L2p00BDAdh1JWe-nDa05g/s983/z1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="983" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge79IfXgrxCyZZxIXlBXf0hCgXw8NuZezdBDIh-SoCQlj2JIOeb6Z5m3PNSlKSt4hw2qNkZvLhtWbSKXgEFHuW6G2MF12sxamGY9VsYtQcTzX1w05SkPknagpwRWQU0giTs-jPjFh3EM-W8w2hIlL7eiVQQl5AAGTvIC8N6L2p00BDAdh1JWe-nDa05g/w640-h546/z1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><br /><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">February 3, 2023</span></div><div><div><b><span style="color: #444444;">MORE PROJECT VERITAS FOOTAGE. <br />Just casually talking about how they have no idea what is going on with menstrual cycles. Despite putting this product on the market and pushing it through politicians and the media. They will - perhaps- investigate such side-effects after the fact. No biggie, right?!</span></b></div><div style="color: #444444;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='650' height='540' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyNzftr1WqgHFgJ572pgJDrbyCo5K04hT1hRB6eja0-cc2J-lSC7QzccyCCq-AMyj0cUxs9I46MvbY6pWq5vQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='648' height='539' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzUC0YvUy7o3GEQl3OheBoYKyMKKqY864m5Je-IAOL9AEyXEfXmOc2jf27KHQGOVjcYOHD3r8RKuEP-k6kFrg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-nlxvmrDZcAa-VyJ6VIi-pNpnWUQ3L7KP1PtPjmV30W9jzfYWGyhWdYxeMyVBBV3u7Z5wOKHsBN2RAHWNAltpIPvMcvJpF9sFggvusRbcEmALtYN91USer7UTNQjJEoILGL-021GwvmYUmDe9JbVf6rqfvnwUdXEy0wIWw9tholdnBaLgfsSvHFXaRA/s1396/Fn4aUafWYAE3A8_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86MjGdOYQdRSfeEILRON8OY9lRWTcBRpCeeWMFrLRnhYInr1bL-NfcavRs4qjzqPhLd4Or6LRXFiSDBwFm-_Aifoj021KBrrh7XFd8PDqf05qqBmQWBJ7McQocpa7yYfs0ZgW64ugcUuVkpklgR6HhwzRWZ2tppTh7dRD1sLjdkBimos495p9ASviwA/s1125/FoAcTOeXkAAKPOF.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1125" height="553" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86MjGdOYQdRSfeEILRON8OY9lRWTcBRpCeeWMFrLRnhYInr1bL-NfcavRs4qjzqPhLd4Or6LRXFiSDBwFm-_Aifoj021KBrrh7XFd8PDqf05qqBmQWBJ7McQocpa7yYfs0ZgW64ugcUuVkpklgR6HhwzRWZ2tppTh7dRD1sLjdkBimos495p9ASviwA/w648-h553/FoAcTOeXkAAKPOF.jpg" width="648" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2T4S4IJ-kvSoSD1hudOKOaubW4H6hz-UkvzEivqkeH8IauuYnapOKZXNVoIGHN_OhOGEeofgcRBRH1Md-N7xg4Wug2joacux4pm6xcB2WF_cMVX85b9gF2hKzYdMMNMiCZuNgrE8-YECVjxpZ66fXrDwolImkiqK7lYRDjNQaXA9Qi3TTkfxujAUOkA/s822/Untitled-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1644" data-original-width="1389" height="784" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQ5XzkSl84yddtwF-H5n-P_a9DXfIdsVB63ROEpJ52TnMG7F-l9H6K1JTC5RwhpObvaM-dyc_ssZzRoSohtQLMiKgf9ndMaAVUIg6rP2UKUm9KHgCwjRK_pXDrFe7h4upOhw2LsMW15K6sUZ2XJYiL9YWLptOiFI8xqo2j9NHa8fuIc7cEWGJbUDXNw/w661-h784/Untitled-5.jpg" width="661" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWkUtW1SQcrgkgTZ4oFMWz_FGjpMPnpPYTKMfD6ef1Q5zD_W5hSmKrN3mSaVanFdE6ROC98V40b6ccuGgtb-MwgUCn88F1Hk6f4reIK-KMBneu1BXk89Ra8kJ6t54aEyk1yuKtQRytENFcX7GqErLvbzSWeX_bjL3vyWwmNsbGAcEwO6yme4XT_isbQ/s1618/Untitled-6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1618" data-original-width="1439" height="753" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWkUtW1SQcrgkgTZ4oFMWz_FGjpMPnpPYTKMfD6ef1Q5zD_W5hSmKrN3mSaVanFdE6ROC98V40b6ccuGgtb-MwgUCn88F1Hk6f4reIK-KMBneu1BXk89Ra8kJ6t54aEyk1yuKtQRytENFcX7GqErLvbzSWeX_bjL3vyWwmNsbGAcEwO6yme4XT_isbQ/w670-h753/Untitled-6.jpg" width="670" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqGkrTgDPH8jo1qb6AwXG5IDHvT-SmehYdv9eDm8tqx-whaokMP_s-nN5FY_HGXvK0Y_vpRiBMlrfcrTbZuJqmJldsO2AYrlQP8DOAuKuBXD7LZZi8TcKnQ8fwdgjo8YS5zUQEPc6Y5WuvXXwFbLwZNhfdZAVa8dF2-tdO-JdbYBER-0U7zSV7wDBFcA/s634/what%20life%20felt%20like%20in%202020.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="540" height="771" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqGkrTgDPH8jo1qb6AwXG5IDHvT-SmehYdv9eDm8tqx-whaokMP_s-nN5FY_HGXvK0Y_vpRiBMlrfcrTbZuJqmJldsO2AYrlQP8DOAuKuBXD7LZZi8TcKnQ8fwdgjo8YS5zUQEPc6Y5WuvXXwFbLwZNhfdZAVa8dF2-tdO-JdbYBER-0U7zSV7wDBFcA/w657-h771/what%20life%20felt%20like%20in%202020.jpg" width="657" /></a></div><br /><div style="color: #444444;"><br /></div></div><div style="color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">February 4, 2023</span></div><div style="color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="539" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-FK17NU4_r8" width="648" youtube-src-id="-FK17NU4_r8"></iframe></div><div style="color: #444444;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444;">(Back up low res. version of this video, just in case):</span></b><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='651' height='542' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwhb-am-Zsavu0b_ph_d5cUsTg7LJKVFMN8vT8F3E1HUwPHfA8A0vm9z0JdY-WoPjehDeJHSU69aaeeg3Re2A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='645' height='536' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyWWksJow9XXVJ7d1ccT5Mwq_zhFNB-8epaq88dL1MCTRWWFeniGUpu5tvInXiaFdCK99B1Q-iLoEOChP2iqw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div style="color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">February 5, 2023</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='657' height='546' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxgaT-SsYkPgNKRAfuaqyXLokDT-fzQzfjnTxkdrd4DqL5Dg6wNJSjYuPt1asblR3MO_H14Wm0rgELLhD5EIw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='657' height='546' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwUBtExwWRu3EnyHEhfcmsLT3p-kVbdLZRb2ZCwyqMBPOzRKWo_DWGBaELeNyJZeDUCjJux64dGp71xkxT5LQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">February 5, 2023</span></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444;">How and why India refused a deal with Pfizer and blocked its vaccine in India. Interesting: </span></b></div><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="549" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vGhjYC539J8" width="661" youtube-src-id="vGhjYC539J8"></iframe></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;"><div style="color: #444444; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">February 26, 2023</span></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">The Energy Department has reversed its previous position and has used new research <br />to conclude that the Covid-19 virus most likely leaked from a Chinese research lab.<br /></span></b></span><b style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b></div></span></div><div><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia65CLRdQWDO0v7EkDvveMQDM8Lb4H9Gy5TiHYUvxjcCsR3Eb12W0T6VTOC2YZ0JdNNEgaQbrswxUcEwEXxz7-wttFm8ogCFu9E_gygaEDU7iWjJLcftrnRezqQCo8qRIzehh6QpH_UKuu8O3UQSXvI2yDY8hcBZPAmwCsOZRAinzueNhSg-C04DwgTA/s1362/wuhan0.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1288" data-original-width="1362" height="379" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia65CLRdQWDO0v7EkDvveMQDM8Lb4H9Gy5TiHYUvxjcCsR3Eb12W0T6VTOC2YZ0JdNNEgaQbrswxUcEwEXxz7-wttFm8ogCFu9E_gygaEDU7iWjJLcftrnRezqQCo8qRIzehh6QpH_UKuu8O3UQSXvI2yDY8hcBZPAmwCsOZRAinzueNhSg-C04DwgTA/w400-h379/wuhan0.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKN9IzNB6upM6x9x6rR7RmyMffDVNK6jhaUlRYFgV9fzfcuuZrOPGwDiXUJ4inr0GIWz5zz_ZIoo3TEIPTnPIDsDebjGqh7iu_0WynBHq57eDX9lO0yD2xnLcyNKzEkbDV3D32LcyTbTzDQxgxXWWsVhDDdVJNMhxWikol2LmEAnWB34O_Aa2jk80diA/s865/wuhan.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="865" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKN9IzNB6upM6x9x6rR7RmyMffDVNK6jhaUlRYFgV9fzfcuuZrOPGwDiXUJ4inr0GIWz5zz_ZIoo3TEIPTnPIDsDebjGqh7iu_0WynBHq57eDX9lO0yD2xnLcyNKzEkbDV3D32LcyTbTzDQxgxXWWsVhDDdVJNMhxWikol2LmEAnWB34O_Aa2jk80diA/w400-h266/wuhan.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">The new conclusion was issued in an</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> update to a 2021 document prepared by Director of National</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Intelligence and was recently provided to White House lawmakers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Energy Department has now therefore joined the FBI in saying the virus likely spread from a lab in Wuhan. However, four other agencies are still said to favor the 'natural spillover' theory that the virus escaped via an animal at a nearby meat market. Two agencies, one of which is the CIA, are yet to declare a definitive position. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Energy Department's change of tune is important because the agency is known for its expertise and oversees various US laboratories, some of which carry out biological research. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />The FBI concluded in 2021 that the virus leaked from a lab and said it did so with 'moderate confidence'. US officials told the publication that although both departments are in agreement, they formed their conclusions for different reasons. The FBI also has expertise in disease and virology as it hires microbiologists and immunologists and part of its efforts to protect the country against bioterrorism and weapons. The government officials who revealed the Energy Department's change of stance would not comment on what new intelligence it based its conclusion on. It comes after in January the US Office of Inspector General openly criticized the National Institutes of Health for failing to properly keep up with US-funded virus experiments in China in the run up to the outbreak. The federal audit looked at three taxpayer-funded research grants awarded to EcoHealth Alliance, run by British scientist Peter Daszak, between 2014 and 2021.<br /><br />It found the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and EcoHealth failed to 'understand the nature of the research conducted, identify potential problem areas, and take corrective action'. 'With improved oversight, NIH may have been able to take more timely corrective actions to mitigate the inherent risks associated with this type of research,' the report added. While the lab leak theory was initially dismissed as conspiracy and xenophobic, a growing number of scientists have come around to the idea the virus may have escaped during an accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). The research facility is less than 10 miles from an animal slaughter market where the first series of human cases were clustered. Some experts also claim Covid's unique spike protein, which it uses to infect people, shows hallmarks of engineering.<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzd7i7a8NMu5rKHX_oA0U4BsNMK_XTOdJD0Vy63lrcwIP8nIguGi0NslzK4toCpD_PCitPRKU3VrukVYc9CDq01kYVDZ8CUnw9N4F2JROLCchDxvemcRuS3hdFSPMxO2msCO2Mzn0cCY2EHZDSrPsHf2aI2CqI5d6tUxwLR17BTQzaYRFAR7oUiy5cw/s864/wuha.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="864" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzd7i7a8NMu5rKHX_oA0U4BsNMK_XTOdJD0Vy63lrcwIP8nIguGi0NslzK4toCpD_PCitPRKU3VrukVYc9CDq01kYVDZ8CUnw9N4F2JROLCchDxvemcRuS3hdFSPMxO2msCO2Mzn0cCY2EHZDSrPsHf2aI2CqI5d6tUxwLR17BTQzaYRFAR7oUiy5cw/w200-h134/wuha.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">--- <span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the second major report to come to this conclusion, but will it be reported on the national news? No. Will China face any kind of sanctions and any sort of reparations? Of course not. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, next they will have to acknowledge that Gain of Function research <i>was</i> done and funded with the approval signature of Fauci. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Next crazy thing they may reveal is that masks never worked and 6 feet was just an arbitrary distance and not some magical antiviral barrier. But come on...stick with "The Science" please.</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">February 27, 2023</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">After lies and more lies for years now, about the efficiency of the covid vaccines (going from 90% to 50% to in reality actually barely having <i>any effect</i> on the prevention of catching covid, passing it on or getting sick from it), we now also get the real stats in about just how protective vaccine acquired immunity is compared to illness-acquired immunity. This has been said by several scientists and others for years. But they were cancelled or ridiculed for it. 'Follow the science', after all. Especially the corrupt data which Pfizer gave you. </span></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCJBYqx0NrBIjCNnxtxIBStvKHgSyTyqL3urJcl8LSSwc7uNxQmCYjw2Va05Mkl9GJYLSjQlLGqZg3CbkjllyD0wQtzbAyKcYN815CnX1XudBdW9Bd10X6-gSB4CJUtQUEbHcbbhrBxDerQ7sixsFOqF2sYrxLYoaE8P0sjtBRoNVznqpfsZWPxyrFbQ/s900/FpLiy-wWAAMmycr.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="900" height="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCJBYqx0NrBIjCNnxtxIBStvKHgSyTyqL3urJcl8LSSwc7uNxQmCYjw2Va05Mkl9GJYLSjQlLGqZg3CbkjllyD0wQtzbAyKcYN815CnX1XudBdW9Bd10X6-gSB4CJUtQUEbHcbbhrBxDerQ7sixsFOqF2sYrxLYoaE8P0sjtBRoNVznqpfsZWPxyrFbQ/w640-h564/FpLiy-wWAAMmycr.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;">And let's recall how the complicit <br />media dealt with this in the past:</span></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJuGsrlv88Bzk2F5G_JLp55sSmRFAeRmOneH0yIydxpI3iZdXZJbqpVeJSdKvuLM1giHh2Xd8nFlnGYov8tzgJKSgSfaeq6r8jbAnie9RbeLy1AqpsIaHtv4nZR-Tix1sx_n96BVAsXDa4c21AgUyBJkChDwjIWv5qNOAGFzlIt59mmuKGmwTGywjQQ/s762/331031264_563047725888285_515654421533721716_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="467" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJuGsrlv88Bzk2F5G_JLp55sSmRFAeRmOneH0yIydxpI3iZdXZJbqpVeJSdKvuLM1giHh2Xd8nFlnGYov8tzgJKSgSfaeq6r8jbAnie9RbeLy1AqpsIaHtv4nZR-Tix1sx_n96BVAsXDa4c21AgUyBJkChDwjIWv5qNOAGFzlIt59mmuKGmwTGywjQQ/w244-h396/331031264_563047725888285_515654421533721716_n.png" width="244" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1WgxXt5MrVcXXnCoLgOBqBFYj6c1DJafpfeirq-eW_bU11R8IuAqHIbK87g_GxXae0el4dYggk8YJ-2xnvqHunPpiM4piU3s7eW0cQV7Wu3MjAbFOOsojSbUjxFSuU6X18Z4GsELnAYd3G7HdTenOhLfqMpOoA7QMUD-ZPvjzPZ3l29mZd8fE53yTIQ/s1303/331087165_1308247036401916_342921223529514916_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1303" data-original-width="1179" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1WgxXt5MrVcXXnCoLgOBqBFYj6c1DJafpfeirq-eW_bU11R8IuAqHIbK87g_GxXae0el4dYggk8YJ-2xnvqHunPpiM4piU3s7eW0cQV7Wu3MjAbFOOsojSbUjxFSuU6X18Z4GsELnAYd3G7HdTenOhLfqMpOoA7QMUD-ZPvjzPZ3l29mZd8fE53yTIQ/w359-h395/331087165_1308247036401916_342921223529514916_n.png" width="359" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ad2yFvVnoC3KcQuGh9WsDWs1lQqMJdaYFVrez4hX5FRmzYIDuSWQzaLirg5A3d8p0Bh6_LjkvI9fRCkSkKd9APhhtYSKSvRwO5WZJnIpE-jxt7KX0sOkx6qz2eYK0T2eQuFqRrj2RFmU-ieVibTlffzIdFGW_jshKFkQcp9NO62ykPJX2NvtBPprsQ/s610/331088663_770011910716575_4543755992503139677_n%20(1).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="610" height="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ad2yFvVnoC3KcQuGh9WsDWs1lQqMJdaYFVrez4hX5FRmzYIDuSWQzaLirg5A3d8p0Bh6_LjkvI9fRCkSkKd9APhhtYSKSvRwO5WZJnIpE-jxt7KX0sOkx6qz2eYK0T2eQuFqRrj2RFmU-ieVibTlffzIdFGW_jshKFkQcp9NO62ykPJX2NvtBPprsQ/w640-h570/331088663_770011910716575_4543755992503139677_n%20(1).png" width="640" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;">Meanwhile the excessive deaths (not from covid) are still through the roof. But you won't hear the media about thát<br /></span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibnVjnsilyxVHtrvuCu7hs2YcjmpxFqPnSTfUF8_CmNlgHKpMCwCeL1myEZqpNW1XgxazUE2rzB0Opug3PBrt-YwHiP-kqzczOOP4SKQ8Vz23XZyYr126MZ5MCyztPg06f2KftOl3ue9nxOTSVbiW9YVtsVtdjy02pP2CV_jkT2fRWefd4hBJTAz2y5g/s595/331121677_1400234824126144_8756508010639347394_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="595" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibnVjnsilyxVHtrvuCu7hs2YcjmpxFqPnSTfUF8_CmNlgHKpMCwCeL1myEZqpNW1XgxazUE2rzB0Opug3PBrt-YwHiP-kqzczOOP4SKQ8Vz23XZyYr126MZ5MCyztPg06f2KftOl3ue9nxOTSVbiW9YVtsVtdjy02pP2CV_jkT2fRWefd4hBJTAz2y5g/w330-h281/331121677_1400234824126144_8756508010639347394_n.png" width="330" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA07CiZ7cEu4hLntrVhC_CLlOrSPWSA5sQ4owiX6nxR3kH1LsmM1OmWCkc0XROTBrGw0P45x-bLS10p9_9NCiEn0N-kdMY62zMBMNOLAX7jiMi8VwOn9HF1rTsi-9mi2mK3Zr54ZkyC9pOORXEYsknozEUP_DdpMWsICqFUTh7F_0UQRKp3vcHxLD00A/s822/Untitled-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="801" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA07CiZ7cEu4hLntrVhC_CLlOrSPWSA5sQ4owiX6nxR3kH1LsmM1OmWCkc0XROTBrGw0P45x-bLS10p9_9NCiEn0N-kdMY62zMBMNOLAX7jiMi8VwOn9HF1rTsi-9mi2mK3Zr54ZkyC9pOORXEYsknozEUP_DdpMWsICqFUTh7F_0UQRKp3vcHxLD00A/w273-h280/Untitled-1.jpg" width="273" /></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xyaBjUUvdaFufclNzGDSTjXwR93ti24kCHmiwW7vMUqihBcBTSQn2m9TLm8gzEFafVl7Iyoogz-8WjJGZO2Gk_ruzYxgmiOeZCDnpsyCkfPUj_t0OWtRDAtK6tUzda_jH6vqgvGEuG-qlKGE3t5kn4Y7T7-qe-bHyp0e31dV55gDazCffAPRs4-qow/s842/Fn6uYlWXEAAKzWD1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="791" height="674" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xyaBjUUvdaFufclNzGDSTjXwR93ti24kCHmiwW7vMUqihBcBTSQn2m9TLm8gzEFafVl7Iyoogz-8WjJGZO2Gk_ruzYxgmiOeZCDnpsyCkfPUj_t0OWtRDAtK6tUzda_jH6vqgvGEuG-qlKGE3t5kn4Y7T7-qe-bHyp0e31dV55gDazCffAPRs4-qow/w634-h674/Fn6uYlWXEAAKzWD1.jpg" width="634" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQ29pOmWAEKlRiabFW7mzTQQ2p4Hfg7Zv-601xtGNsLS4Bc17CRJNgNvvGtLBVk7HYLb2zAU7AgCgXy4fHbnepFfgDX0UiK0om4dWvJ2R6WCJBqwjbidRpQRmaUFcM_DeMlWqFLRy50H9AGpyi0dEQI6qeCBnpC0zb1t5cKOsiYACJakdMYKt3Wz14g/s770/excess%20deaths.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="770" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQ29pOmWAEKlRiabFW7mzTQQ2p4Hfg7Zv-601xtGNsLS4Bc17CRJNgNvvGtLBVk7HYLb2zAU7AgCgXy4fHbnepFfgDX0UiK0om4dWvJ2R6WCJBqwjbidRpQRmaUFcM_DeMlWqFLRy50H9AGpyi0dEQI6qeCBnpC0zb1t5cKOsiYACJakdMYKt3Wz14g/w640-h364/excess%20deaths.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH4EWeE4qG-4ap9LFDvQvsZsSvUmHXtlmRvhYepeV6SIUA-QhpZ_fiODsPGdAltNi1wdySXhKLxqfVvp6hVdbE6fNVXSvNyd2HPH3zzkI0Fdm_Lnlmx_FOfE3wgKzDedg_y3LqvNiIK1DbtjvTkavrgfrEsyDCqwKmSo6uqZ5g11mlPa-KnZa73M2tZQ/s789/332808028_761358122180642_7610139013949480872_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="789" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH4EWeE4qG-4ap9LFDvQvsZsSvUmHXtlmRvhYepeV6SIUA-QhpZ_fiODsPGdAltNi1wdySXhKLxqfVvp6hVdbE6fNVXSvNyd2HPH3zzkI0Fdm_Lnlmx_FOfE3wgKzDedg_y3LqvNiIK1DbtjvTkavrgfrEsyDCqwKmSo6uqZ5g11mlPa-KnZa73M2tZQ/w640-h510/332808028_761358122180642_7610139013949480872_n.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">March 2, 2023</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>The real facts are coming out, debunking the 'follow the science' dogma's.. Painful for some of our scientists and policy makers.</b></span></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='588' height='489' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzxgi_JHCz23hJ1G333JU37itZ9MyUokmSgUQQH99VZEoQcDScTJwWHtWpRTljymz79e1bBIeGskWXSmrhcAQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNkAj0u7j2g96stDEczFbIVaLmQojrAb6BHeRdZNYBaLQTr0PrHxqIxouEFSUICO3V6OFjMLuj4RBqpjDUpaYQ3Kat7__GFSkESSmSDBBrxqBPR5qdjpA2izTl2WlPZQdOaiEN9cL7qARPgHUFVWL1O_pOfQlESMB8gPnP8QpuBnXWa1Uo2Mlpfn-5GA/s680/Untitled-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="516" height="776" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNkAj0u7j2g96stDEczFbIVaLmQojrAb6BHeRdZNYBaLQTr0PrHxqIxouEFSUICO3V6OFjMLuj4RBqpjDUpaYQ3Kat7__GFSkESSmSDBBrxqBPR5qdjpA2izTl2WlPZQdOaiEN9cL7qARPgHUFVWL1O_pOfQlESMB8gPnP8QpuBnXWa1Uo2Mlpfn-5GA/w590-h776/Untitled-1.jpg" width="590" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">March 5, 2023</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Leaks from the UK. </b></span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Politicising the pandemic, who would have thought.. And some positively INSANE deliberations about killing all UK's domestic cats in the scientific fight against covid 😲🙀😾🤡</b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkvSx0W8ewvIDWdVHwbjYuupU9ht2KrEzG_8MCoux1R4PBakc9XGAVQxNigse8Wk5go4aACQrhz7Tp_OdyS7SDmStQ7UihnEoglwxXWX8wJFMoAO9aX9SiS22xRcVWK9Wxf-HPygXM6vsl812_v8VuCgKFdS3zRFKByhizGWc98Pa7LxBtKZbd7e1T7A/s680/received_989894758659853.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="680" height="566" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkvSx0W8ewvIDWdVHwbjYuupU9ht2KrEzG_8MCoux1R4PBakc9XGAVQxNigse8Wk5go4aACQrhz7Tp_OdyS7SDmStQ7UihnEoglwxXWX8wJFMoAO9aX9SiS22xRcVWK9Wxf-HPygXM6vsl812_v8VuCgKFdS3zRFKByhizGWc98Pa7LxBtKZbd7e1T7A/w640-h566/received_989894758659853.webp" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqQiSqART8Nd6FAqPZ7gQFx34i17XFIGvDecNAGVcXlCrltZP56Do08q2dB18qkGF30mqwQe8vyufcMkBNFxL-mmdp5NdDwWJE1d9dDPVwoskUOaXwVVI7C2x3WIjSqvGBgoA7lp0L-NQ4EFHt5biqTDIOrhEUxxJVBFgut0JbSOdByo_oq4Ass7BQA/s2184/20230305_125721.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2184" data-original-width="1600" height="873" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqQiSqART8Nd6FAqPZ7gQFx34i17XFIGvDecNAGVcXlCrltZP56Do08q2dB18qkGF30mqwQe8vyufcMkBNFxL-mmdp5NdDwWJE1d9dDPVwoskUOaXwVVI7C2x3WIjSqvGBgoA7lp0L-NQ4EFHt5biqTDIOrhEUxxJVBFgut0JbSOdByo_oq4Ass7BQA/w640-h873/20230305_125721.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">March 10, 2023</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><b>Oops... The House has voted unanimously for the Biden administration to declassify all information related to the origins of COVID. </b><b>The vote passed 419-0 on Friday, with all member of Congress backing the bid to make links to the Wuhan lab and documents on the beginning of the virus public. The Senate also already passed the bill, so we are</b><b> now one step closer to finding out the truth about the start of the virus that sparked widespread lockdowns and restrictions, and the extent China is to blame. Unless Joe Biden refuses to sign the act, of course.... Let's see. </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBoancR1Mp1ndoBweGB03Odm3m98b7D0nSacq0o2zM_y5bJ1FVyqndxNBWMiOqyGe4KCD-RBu-9ZP4Cfn1XoGij5OoEIq0reb_-l-lthM_hmYFJRHmxneAahzU7pUMn-Ucp_Ct8vSNT1RNrkWbkV5z5Oj1x9FqEu2MaILMgVc6dnVUNlsn9QyocuMhg/s1196/oops.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1196" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBoancR1Mp1ndoBweGB03Odm3m98b7D0nSacq0o2zM_y5bJ1FVyqndxNBWMiOqyGe4KCD-RBu-9ZP4Cfn1XoGij5OoEIq0reb_-l-lthM_hmYFJRHmxneAahzU7pUMn-Ucp_Ct8vSNT1RNrkWbkV5z5Oj1x9FqEu2MaILMgVc6dnVUNlsn9QyocuMhg/w640-h308/oops.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRe7iCmbvyKoZIs5N_b7Tn7PouR7JFdjKyG9n4Z3iWMB2Qx78y9hbYGMzHzGLN6JlChMiaW3jWJ83U6NYl2Mlf4xw3kSkFZ26tG-sef8EfUey0TAOpATCgKHvjHxCzNv99fFrLedzYXB01QZ5Qp4BvvGjdweaLXcomiyWC4YtrsGC4912Gp5OnZ9xoQ/s1399/oops2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="1399" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRe7iCmbvyKoZIs5N_b7Tn7PouR7JFdjKyG9n4Z3iWMB2Qx78y9hbYGMzHzGLN6JlChMiaW3jWJ83U6NYl2Mlf4xw3kSkFZ26tG-sef8EfUey0TAOpATCgKHvjHxCzNv99fFrLedzYXB01QZ5Qp4BvvGjdweaLXcomiyWC4YtrsGC4912Gp5OnZ9xoQ/w640-h388/oops2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">March 16, 2023</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Honest and interesting analysis/evaluation of the covid approach:</b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G6ioZDf5QO8" width="320" youtube-src-id="G6ioZDf5QO8"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WVh1oPV5hjc" width="320" youtube-src-id="WVh1oPV5hjc"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">March 22, 2023</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #444444;">Just because I am highlighting the issues with the covid mRNA vaccines, does not mean that the many people suffering from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7x5LcUaUVQ" target="_blank">long covid</a> are any less real. Covid clearly is a real viral disease with real and very long term (often devastating) </b><b>consequences</b><b style="color: #444444;"> for a large group of people. I wonder if the two may be overlapping at times. And I don't think the vaccines in the end managed to protect people by much from catching covid or developing long covid. Despite the initial high hopes and pumped up Pfizer predictions. While at the same time exposing a new group of people to additional potential vaccine side-effects. A whole lot of misery has been dumped on society over these past few years.</b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="497" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7lfGu_UA75A" width="597" youtube-src-id="7lfGu_UA75A"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">March 24, 2023</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><b>Research finds direct correlation between 2021 COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake in Europe and 2022 Excess All-Cause Mortality. NOT linked to delayed treatment and/or detection of diseases (which was the case all over the world, whereas only certain 1st world countries are dealing with ongoing excessive excess deaths: those with the highest vaccination rates). </b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="502" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iyo2UNQcdpQ" width="603" youtube-src-id="iyo2UNQcdpQ"></iframe></div><div style="color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> M</b><b>eanwhile in Japanese government:</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='607' height='505' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwKe9lVAg_lOps3ENJc_0MK58s3ndm7OpRADXruNcZXAOLcytEeYHwEEU5MnlhPSy5Xg9h8BwdDmTEj416Ydg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">March 25, 2023</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>Boom. </b></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>The real Science has now caught up</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='619' height='514' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzgYtjyW1VUy50sVlDesWA9ANCrj9ThqTS7Wu0Xjh-8VztKUh0qJ2LzIJVq3JCSG79NgFZxP_RFC_K72h7I3g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><br /></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfvS_1pB8uSVjhVU1ViG2zd25w5JqjC7FLXiWCuwJYeMQap9_8u-wQeYlkHlw4ZURvk9PbAByGz9_KZxgak8aHt_B4NJL9RKp4je05ET4aw_S6Wg0cfblL59OiGJnZXU-1L9FFoIIquq5fRXHlw3_Pk2W481MRW_fjMs0-HsY1z-5tCnY8tNLp1Q6JvA/s1777/FsBG0-oaQAAw9oI.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1777" data-original-width="1106" height="1073" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfvS_1pB8uSVjhVU1ViG2zd25w5JqjC7FLXiWCuwJYeMQap9_8u-wQeYlkHlw4ZURvk9PbAByGz9_KZxgak8aHt_B4NJL9RKp4je05ET4aw_S6Wg0cfblL59OiGJnZXU-1L9FFoIIquq5fRXHlw3_Pk2W481MRW_fjMs0-HsY1z-5tCnY8tNLp1Q6JvA/w668-h1073/FsBG0-oaQAAw9oI.jpg" width="668" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WVWPXVADZD5enfn6zhyFDMlca0SAzJdnHLGkKbOtUP5Xh-9xzMwm8U88tBik_N6RZxPFTUr-wsF7C0ktls9VA_uB01mtphIVqgB4RGL9b-PGPxJmyE9B0n9U5N9uPpo06K9uZcXPAwtgZ7nFfE19Imxk3M_HRd7MOs4PZKycLPXPstmvYY8w3h3WNw/s2694/Amy%20Sedgwick5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2694" data-original-width="1078" height="1690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WVWPXVADZD5enfn6zhyFDMlca0SAzJdnHLGkKbOtUP5Xh-9xzMwm8U88tBik_N6RZxPFTUr-wsF7C0ktls9VA_uB01mtphIVqgB4RGL9b-PGPxJmyE9B0n9U5N9uPpo06K9uZcXPAwtgZ7nFfE19Imxk3M_HRd7MOs4PZKycLPXPstmvYY8w3h3WNw/w676-h1690/Amy%20Sedgwick5.jpg" width="676" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;"><b>March 26, 2023</b></span><br /><b><span style="color: #444444;">Common sense from Dr. Clare Craig about the excess (cardiovascular) <br />deaths VS vaccines. </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">(Find the full interview <a href="https://www.ntd.com/premiering-mar-7-3-pm-et-dr-clare-craig-to-have-politicians-so-out-of-touch-with-the-general-public-is-really-dangerous-british-thought-leaders_905353.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>)</span></b><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='641' height='532' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxSFrdHztZt2YEli_PMrMLU8t0_gMmsbdvqDyBzuUR5pO4EXR6fBxPo-oBjBNaduERIYN7-OMMpLiPEBUVTVQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAGZbIoUSM7URQ1SI9EipGtenRg5_YjV8M_qHf5_jfrrcsiEsig0uahMqQV6lVhpYM283Z-GHQsD5cbWrVnjLg8jbuJTKlgcQOD6RjE1NOdi15BzLY9qPiKk9hq5MNbZX7XXWH-PJfWei7gEyaWj1hK7U_nv1RcLT77AyTp4DoECcJT_UYkPi9RK33iA/s1225/there%20we%20go.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1225" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAGZbIoUSM7URQ1SI9EipGtenRg5_YjV8M_qHf5_jfrrcsiEsig0uahMqQV6lVhpYM283Z-GHQsD5cbWrVnjLg8jbuJTKlgcQOD6RjE1NOdi15BzLY9qPiKk9hq5MNbZX7XXWH-PJfWei7gEyaWj1hK7U_nv1RcLT77AyTp4DoECcJT_UYkPi9RK33iA/w640-h434/there%20we%20go.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">May 4, 2023</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="509" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kEE5OfiVS7o" width="611" youtube-src-id="kEE5OfiVS7o"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="511" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_TaIsCX37vI" width="615" youtube-src-id="_TaIsCX37vI"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">July 2, 2023</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">Dr. John Campbell analyzes the US Intelligence<br />final report on the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7aJhwW44U2c" width="320" youtube-src-id="7aJhwW44U2c"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwRCbccJmOPsU3aGEpElVEupoxU-aXvwfI0ndwp_FFAZ7h69YBAVcXNfdVo9cuOIIqqxHr9RWPkNHct0tOt7A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">Dr. John Campbell analyzes covid vaccine-induced<br />m</span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><b>yocarditis data from Korea</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CROf3xmGzYI" width="320" youtube-src-id="CROf3xmGzYI"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyKRjUtMu-1DNck6a3E8iu8vlZ1sParFC_0PTFndOuIEy7gaG7MA6d_rqCJrGb4nROc56KkxkNGYnD6WhFazw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">More sad cases</span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwszPRV-6utWG6HqBvalauc3QwCxMFQUSsiWz6QGOrgoKY3m-vWTiu69VEBJ0yUOtJfGI7WaYTAwue7rr8fYb41GNCR1OUKLVE7d8_DiKI_w2bOZCNWpLCXXLZ4-VHINjCj1KMMC0ixX0naa5UNuFY79yRDjVxbWCjmj1MuZvqvsUznLOiKeJh4oB1Abyj/s744/2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="744" height="517" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwszPRV-6utWG6HqBvalauc3QwCxMFQUSsiWz6QGOrgoKY3m-vWTiu69VEBJ0yUOtJfGI7WaYTAwue7rr8fYb41GNCR1OUKLVE7d8_DiKI_w2bOZCNWpLCXXLZ4-VHINjCj1KMMC0ixX0naa5UNuFY79yRDjVxbWCjmj1MuZvqvsUznLOiKeJh4oB1Abyj/w640-h517/2.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFLXEcUGE_rixCqNVbJY8aZy-VR8bUFYYtTkp2MLKO2H2XjlybTPxGiZMdo3-Gg9hXYc_cmzWjkfvwpdZxiJgspsw9o2R1MyWWQf6mIuIZ6AR8pBoQe1Hg4-G_KJ7EWeOk9Q9FDmdEj5YNWQMJwhqlkJEokUyQiyLwXb-5q-t2xJ4WbTAQAeO83CVEl4oJ/s630/3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="253" data-original-width="630" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFLXEcUGE_rixCqNVbJY8aZy-VR8bUFYYtTkp2MLKO2H2XjlybTPxGiZMdo3-Gg9hXYc_cmzWjkfvwpdZxiJgspsw9o2R1MyWWQf6mIuIZ6AR8pBoQe1Hg4-G_KJ7EWeOk9Q9FDmdEj5YNWQMJwhqlkJEokUyQiyLwXb-5q-t2xJ4WbTAQAeO83CVEl4oJ/w640-h258/3.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="682" height="694" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4g7iNewDVkb9stdkLGZ0V8iWs6OCmFxODUbCFzuMoqNS17felmfHd8SbF2TU1qTtxZYEgIFMNOyr2pN-C5NrWydIMNYjIJwNeD1lWxdunXCjGmwCc_QCf7h4D-btPhek37YjSjb8jTQnUFE5Gz055yCtesYGpBhNAi6urAMrEs_u8qq7cLWCEPHrM7lgw/w596-h694/Untitled5.jpg" width="596" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b><span style="color: #660000;">Bodybuilding influencer Jo Lindner dead at 30 from aneurysm</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='640' height='532' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwpt4srVk2oFnZ5U8wgyGWGbzqHkMN9JF0H6n1XLjuqo6GysVe0B33yr5Zhj1pJtPrcdQ9117eKl8ogylEt_g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTRYVCdyuC1huI9uaO_15WH8HvSyChgi09kBHrhx0cs5qIwAea0Vhl3NdBkQg1pL0lCpR8TvGRGoqTLnmptJdAXZVbq0edzK3UNyI3U1XyTnU_Nh4ZXNuPfxaIqX01Bk3W9gOh_Fc_Ao1eVI1A015dCMfBqXKxzXD-ErpkOTDg0OADAXnE5NXVJNBXifb/s680/Fz_oZsKWIAIgyt4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="680" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTRYVCdyuC1huI9uaO_15WH8HvSyChgi09kBHrhx0cs5qIwAea0Vhl3NdBkQg1pL0lCpR8TvGRGoqTLnmptJdAXZVbq0edzK3UNyI3U1XyTnU_Nh4ZXNuPfxaIqX01Bk3W9gOh_Fc_Ao1eVI1A015dCMfBqXKxzXD-ErpkOTDg0OADAXnE5NXVJNBXifb/w640-h360/Fz_oZsKWIAIgyt4.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #990000; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">July 19, 2023</span><br /><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYNSXwaEyBcClyfizouyjo75Dv9p4mgn0c2a3r9mxQBSgAgrrmDEZ2cnWQl4rH03voDZsb7lb_PYANoobgM_c97NB_eeCHqTXQAqaXjMsc0kjGGbMq1q67w-Uk_mctoq62WxiaSOU3cJCgHyySfaQt16fInjjkp0oRxph-RwM8gyjs0TmkL0_FFdNQo7_r/s1829/20230721_192055.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1829" data-original-width="1600" height="713" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYNSXwaEyBcClyfizouyjo75Dv9p4mgn0c2a3r9mxQBSgAgrrmDEZ2cnWQl4rH03voDZsb7lb_PYANoobgM_c97NB_eeCHqTXQAqaXjMsc0kjGGbMq1q67w-Uk_mctoq62WxiaSOU3cJCgHyySfaQt16fInjjkp0oRxph-RwM8gyjs0TmkL0_FFdNQo7_r/w624-h713/20230721_192055.jpg" width="624" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVys5lD7BXjY5aNvDjSUTTTn5OOCSrbau6E4zsSJLX9WPFqStFpRtMZs5096LBfh3_oGfjva_pkEEd0q83UN2524mFYD1Qj9eyTOj8N6Dvj_s5VKqXbN4lu4fBcDEAt9ulZQuDOvfXso6X5xkyrcoMRtur2I_9iqK_Xix4SVEKIP-IL_iGUHDPC1DsPF3/s1678/20230721_192146.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1312" data-original-width="1678" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVys5lD7BXjY5aNvDjSUTTTn5OOCSrbau6E4zsSJLX9WPFqStFpRtMZs5096LBfh3_oGfjva_pkEEd0q83UN2524mFYD1Qj9eyTOj8N6Dvj_s5VKqXbN4lu4fBcDEAt9ulZQuDOvfXso6X5xkyrcoMRtur2I_9iqK_Xix4SVEKIP-IL_iGUHDPC1DsPF3/w640-h500/20230721_192146.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></div></div></div></div></div><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">July 21, 2023</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br />New covid vaccine data coming from Australia.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">Honestly, this is a MUST SEE for everyone<br /></span></b> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B-sknniq4Ls" width="320" youtube-src-id="B-sknniq4Ls"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwpXeDPowrZoPP0vbM5wvH6HRT_HAKYJ_DCx8rwJtBwrXx_mDmjLbmhY0CI8TGPKuQGwuMyoYFXqU485fIqfA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large;">July 26, 2023</b><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;"><b>Reliable new research shows that 1 in 35 people who received a covid mRNA vaccine, developed myocarditis</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br />Reliable new research shows that 1 in 35 people who received a covid19 mRNA vaccine, developed myocarditis. Instead of the previously reported 1 in 100.000... Incredible. These hospital workers mainly found out due to blood work and were instructed not to exercise or strain the heart. How many people did NOT know they had myocarditis and went on their jolly way? What are the long term effects of this inflammation of the heart? What happened when such people took more boosters? We don't know yet. Are the ongoing (massively) increased excess deaths since 2021 anything to go on? Who knows: it isn't investigated at the moment. Dr. Campbell is shocked. </span></b><b style="color: #444444;"><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejhf.2978" target="_blank">Source</a> of the research. The <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37470105/" target="_blank">Pubmed article</a> made in reference.</b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCWUeQJIpnDmcOHLCQzgxKdgd9-31nUzZJFdDNC04uQzCY4Cl8dfdY72CnXNRRgD_vsOQmwk5FN9AT5J7dJ54FL6qcUzNRofgUi0ZmoYMtouinkHseJCLNgj-zQY1dK1SMjU7AwZtcuQlTWvdHEk8GGXZQDogjJiWwuX50ATqzvT2g9dVUcpfxCALg00g/s1369/Swiss%20research%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="906" data-original-width="1369" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCWUeQJIpnDmcOHLCQzgxKdgd9-31nUzZJFdDNC04uQzCY4Cl8dfdY72CnXNRRgD_vsOQmwk5FN9AT5J7dJ54FL6qcUzNRofgUi0ZmoYMtouinkHseJCLNgj-zQY1dK1SMjU7AwZtcuQlTWvdHEk8GGXZQDogjJiWwuX50ATqzvT2g9dVUcpfxCALg00g/w640-h424/Swiss%20research%201.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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color: black;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">July 27, 2023</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444;"><b>Professor Angus Dalgleish: </b><b>"I have no doubt that the vaccines are associated with the current increase in cancers that are being witnessed around the world. </b><b>They suppress the innate and T-cell system, making your body much weaker at defending itself from new viruses, such as Omicron, etc. This also has the additional effect of disturbing T-cell surveillance of dormant cancers. </b><b>The mRNA of the spike protein "binds to genes that normally control cancer". </b><b>It is high time that patients and the medical profession rose against the dreadful imposition of what was essentially mandatory vaccine with no informed consent."</b></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhADUdJlCKuTVks6ZDeAyyzqe6NqVI2-BtpoyoaZSSbzBAWwRL5KWYClbtl8FhVnjstw4Jq3A8JdZwBUa1JRf5raMG_9dDH8UNagqvPKfTOxdnSTj-jh6BW6lef92gPasMDQ6iLKIB6EKW5tw4sXVfDtpJFwthqiNqztd2_Q6DkIBy1uOuRQrevRwTpy4cG/s2226/F2AzWhuaQAAwBSn.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2226" data-original-width="1792" height="769" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhADUdJlCKuTVks6ZDeAyyzqe6NqVI2-BtpoyoaZSSbzBAWwRL5KWYClbtl8FhVnjstw4Jq3A8JdZwBUa1JRf5raMG_9dDH8UNagqvPKfTOxdnSTj-jh6BW6lef92gPasMDQ6iLKIB6EKW5tw4sXVfDtpJFwthqiNqztd2_Q6DkIBy1uOuRQrevRwTpy4cG/w620-h769/F2AzWhuaQAAwBSn.jpg" width="620" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMKG0SW-hgp7SU7-ldBiiFrFF_WMCyZRJlWWsxMGgFknvqCdO1ElZOifI1hTb8pC_KDOaH1-tr7pX7a7SaMYty6ulQ4D3iQ0rLhg2X0nmSBC-AmvHyIpwmqAC0WdLm4x1rPRcknGYBPJj9YHyO3GLLVyXOyN2OYNc7iUyQ_KLaol2KEbCCcbzDZVGKqEN/s1844/FdVfWfSVsAA3BhS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1122" data-original-width="1844" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMKG0SW-hgp7SU7-ldBiiFrFF_WMCyZRJlWWsxMGgFknvqCdO1ElZOifI1hTb8pC_KDOaH1-tr7pX7a7SaMYty6ulQ4D3iQ0rLhg2X0nmSBC-AmvHyIpwmqAC0WdLm4x1rPRcknGYBPJj9YHyO3GLLVyXOyN2OYNc7iUyQ_KLaol2KEbCCcbzDZVGKqEN/w640-h390/FdVfWfSVsAA3BhS.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="516" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BEuNAYIKI1Q" width="621" youtube-src-id="BEuNAYIKI1Q"></iframe></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">After daily covid death tickers on our 8 0'clock news, why do we not hear about this new research? Why are only the fringe media reporting on this? </div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='624' height='519' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzTZnrPnOzQj8UmpV50Jt3PRL5EaL4O7T007gH-S1kIx1WvfIxXL0oNCuTIu1cPWTBIuVx2nA8AMGi-K_JnCA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">July 28, 2023</b></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444;"><div><b>Pharma Insider Blows the Whistle on Bad Batches: That Level of Variability ‘Should Never Happen’. </b><b>Have you wondered why some people seem perfectly fine after the COVID shot, whereas others suffered debilitating injuries? Well, not everyone was getting the same thing. </b><b>Former pharmaceutical executive </b></div><div><b>Sasha Latypova</b><b> details the “extreme” variability among batches:</b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='650' height='540' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwKWBuh_wvg5BNaHul8ikR1HUiQE6yb1p3F1n4Glc3ZryQOACz1sJv8n0gBcAPJW1v078tMe1JR4w5ZnNZmeA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></div></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">August 4, 2023</b></div><div style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444;"><b>More interesting revelations.</b><b style="font-weight: 400;"> </b><b>Pfizer had special vaccine batches, and Pfizer employees were given a *special batch*… different from what was forced into the general population.</b></div><div style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='637' height='530' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxRn48yz4qO5P_8UAQ9mxZp-VMLJYO_PeK9-fsAxGuPDkRQIaMdpdDPc24TVS2AOpkPcAbYjI_fHDU4OsttCw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='369' height='307' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dykkw0wqeo9v0W2w83UHK0fZTzORVCuGL103tFcbW9YC-75PuEtl98fOdiBPqaINClAYypgtd5RYpmGuXbi1w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkL5cSwoKCqdb7ZoDvST5O1uJUDGgBgYqLdTMNPI9iJPr0k9PKyu9XGAaPFkkk2DB7wpLRc2jmJkTmjt0t6V9oANL6_euOsDbLLmGba9PYIrNFsGxrBMRwA5rGJ_Wmtsg4qygzh_Og8CXzEd1dYgEKTbZ5TNMCaoZ7Fbk7eGGFTfnMi-RO1gqlclp4GnTk/s919/F2q9zZga0AEBzUZ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="919" data-original-width="750" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkL5cSwoKCqdb7ZoDvST5O1uJUDGgBgYqLdTMNPI9iJPr0k9PKyu9XGAaPFkkk2DB7wpLRc2jmJkTmjt0t6V9oANL6_euOsDbLLmGba9PYIrNFsGxrBMRwA5rGJ_Wmtsg4qygzh_Og8CXzEd1dYgEKTbZ5TNMCaoZ7Fbk7eGGFTfnMi-RO1gqlclp4GnTk/w252-h309/F2q9zZga0AEBzUZ.jpg" width="252" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzJet-_87RP_2tVPt8u1CQYmL7cO41sXb7whXbNAieFfEjR6sxS_kxcyIExK51jT46J9MNNcjAdqke16wA7Lg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxBhH6V9nZml9zY12zVaySyTG-zT45S1p9w3yfN6gptF5wPBjbB-ci_IQr2Aqkq8f45A8lCOkMuSPjLLX8-jQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">August 5, 2023</b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">MADDENING PFIZER MIND TRICKS</span><br /><span style="color: #444444;">I watched <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/News_and_Events/Watch_Read_Listen/ParlView/video/1585181" target="_blank">the entire hearing</a> in the Australian </span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Senate Committee Proceedings from the Australian Parliament, in which two Pfizer Australia specialists were questioned about the covid vaccine... A</b></span><b><span style="color: #444444;">nd it was beyond frustrating to see the two Pfizer reps go out of their ways to sabotage every single question posed to them. They stuck to a very strict answering format in which they circled around the question, in order to spew as many Pfizer PR lines and numbers as possible. The chairman did NOTHING about it, allowed these shenanigans to continue. In the end they just delayed answering the difficult (hard pressed) questions. I am certain that after several BLUNDERS by Pfizer reps in the past, they were sent there with very strict instructions on how to answer these questions in the most lawyer/diplomatic way possible. Repeating again and again their PR lies about safe and effective and sticking to the 'rules' and giving away almost nothing. It was both frustrating and fascinating to watch these two nervous robots droning their messages</span></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hN4o3lJR0yM" width="320" youtube-src-id="hN4o3lJR0yM"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy7nrxKk-hHGbzmPYKuqcsN-42s-I9gppwXGFhinx6JDEFvfNT34FvP1vxsTliB2e7RrY4R3YqpIbLo3UAXAA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">August 9, 2023</b><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Senator Gerard Rennick tried to get some straight answers out of Moderna reps this time <span>in the Australian </span><span>Senate Committee Proceedings</span>. Good questions were posed and at least the Moderna representative seemed to try to beat less around the bush and answer in a more straight up manner than the weasel robots from Pfizer</b></span></div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='628' height='523' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz9rYKmJKJIwNmrCw62QkLrG6sCRYNiFcCJM9LgHyFP_pTb6IZHUNlddSdt8xEAEGSkxqB168Nx2MhAfT-Krw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span style="color: #444444;">Dr. Peter McCullough MD (see in the video below) has spoken out against the covid vaccines for a very long time, and before you straight up believe the media campaign against him, he is a world-renowned cardiologist and the Chief Scientific Officer of The Wellness Company. A specialist who was highly respected... until he spoke out publicly against the covid vaccines. </span></b></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='632' height='526' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzbCT_4kdBtPVnNI0SY5hzRkiH_cm23r2w994lsHYnjyksMLpUXQetwTQVb4bZ8qpnrNjYngxXCPjB_3nfFGg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">The shift in reader comments</span></b><br /><div><b><span style="color: #444444;">Also interesting: I have closely followed the COMMENT sections of mainstream newspaper such as the (often trashed) Daily Mail in the UK. This newspaper was part of the public and government approved covid panic campaign. It supported the covid vaccines and until this day posts articles such as <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12380463/Row-erupts-study-Covid-vaccines-raise-risk-dying-heart-problems-embarrassing.html" target="_blank">this one</a>. So now medical research findings are offensive to scientists! How come even science has become politicized? Well we all know why that is, I suppose. So in any case, I followed many online newspapers who allowed readers to comment. And during the height of the covid pandemic, the majority of Daily Mail readers supported the covid vaccination campaign, as well as the societal exclusion of those who chose not to get vaccinated. Nowadays the mood has changed radically however. See (a lot of) current readers comments below. How the mood has changed. Not least because so many people have firsthand experiences with covid vaccine side-effects, or witnessed them in some of the people round them. <br /><br />Officials like to blame all the excess deaths and all these peaks in heart attack and blood clot victims (as well as auto-immune disease uptick) on the effects of a covid19 infection itself. But many people report health emergencies within hours or days after vaccination. Besides: the cause of problems during infection is the inflammatory and immune triggering effect of the spike protein of the virus. This SAME spike protein was made by the bodies of vaccinated people after vaccination. Hence it causing similar health problems in some (and probably worse, as the body now creates these spike proteins itself, instead of having to kick them out as part of an invading virus).<br /><br /></span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPX2izM4R6-2i6G7WJyOG2cA_ktZQzdDG4k8Toq-ZA_Ru3A8_Z2d0iESkA1VJlHRDw6rY5YqN_lcXWSU194AK9aJO1P_vgkIJ_qCs58KErLFO0TV9JhY5z6CwrhmvPzBGXRF3oNzARDmzC3vsIsp9zVp0qOBuwm45FMU64eUcDqtEazlK4-GE8dqT_sLT/s599/new%20research32.jpg" style="font-weight: 700; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="599" height="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPX2izM4R6-2i6G7WJyOG2cA_ktZQzdDG4k8Toq-ZA_Ru3A8_Z2d0iESkA1VJlHRDw6rY5YqN_lcXWSU194AK9aJO1P_vgkIJ_qCs58KErLFO0TV9JhY5z6CwrhmvPzBGXRF3oNzARDmzC3vsIsp9zVp0qOBuwm45FMU64eUcDqtEazlK4-GE8dqT_sLT/w640-h564/new%20research32.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9VxB0DlP39jRcnDFUk0WG4M-YuckNvWfHCjeYVNlGqhNBPWRGNZSFLTiUci15iyf8rtt9eGL2-fzSQ-KGZQYXpdNNdkJLhNTXmQOgwWihjlq3m3Cj8VvkZzbmzmuhft-TxhnyAaePUQfVlBM9QgZTkClCV9zesc4bTT6gkqd-RxHTPeun0jH5o7zcDpo/s895/new%20research33.jpg" style="font-weight: 700; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="598" height="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9VxB0DlP39jRcnDFUk0WG4M-YuckNvWfHCjeYVNlGqhNBPWRGNZSFLTiUci15iyf8rtt9eGL2-fzSQ-KGZQYXpdNNdkJLhNTXmQOgwWihjlq3m3Cj8VvkZzbmzmuhft-TxhnyAaePUQfVlBM9QgZTkClCV9zesc4bTT6gkqd-RxHTPeun0jH5o7zcDpo/w641-h960/new%20research33.jpg" width="641" /></a><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">READER COMMENTS:</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQO0xhaVV4bkb9rr8qUho-w1exCzVtLa1QOHYcQTSSJPcUG7Libd5F3U3bBvdaC4fssOpM_wpPDCtylqsxdAbg-kqPdQD-lq2wdBDxALoNCwPOxD_Nbf3nO9J07jNinjqQ-0sD6Y-IDLMXP2YXlcwIR-Qdjrej8gROiTv_HjIqlYKo6HrskdLJGFgCBNU/s736/new%20research31.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="724" height="671" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQO0xhaVV4bkb9rr8qUho-w1exCzVtLa1QOHYcQTSSJPcUG7Libd5F3U3bBvdaC4fssOpM_wpPDCtylqsxdAbg-kqPdQD-lq2wdBDxALoNCwPOxD_Nbf3nO9J07jNinjqQ-0sD6Y-IDLMXP2YXlcwIR-Qdjrej8gROiTv_HjIqlYKo6HrskdLJGFgCBNU/w660-h671/new%20research31.jpg" width="660" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMruRsjqwhRSo86AXyOU5sWphBcNjnAKzJFM-lSZeWR08vWx98bVBUZhoVaP55xzB5LYPQ313SZ0MeTNXZhJ1H-6J9Z41_TVTox3FoLBcBETXbCiOTLPRAUWIA5NotnKrssYb4Jh6PA-qeteDAm6v-vPpH2fHJJxONLWy4tdDRdPz39DWi3M1YfCD1wboH/s809/new%20research30.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="703" height="755" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMruRsjqwhRSo86AXyOU5sWphBcNjnAKzJFM-lSZeWR08vWx98bVBUZhoVaP55xzB5LYPQ313SZ0MeTNXZhJ1H-6J9Z41_TVTox3FoLBcBETXbCiOTLPRAUWIA5NotnKrssYb4Jh6PA-qeteDAm6v-vPpH2fHJJxONLWy4tdDRdPz39DWi3M1YfCD1wboH/w657-h755/new%20research30.jpg" width="657" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large;">August 10, 2023</b><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><b> Recent research findings tell us that these covid vaccines do NOT just <br />'remain near the site of injection and local lymph nodes', as was told initially.</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><b><span style="color: #444444;">The covid mRNA vaccine does NOT just stay in the injection site. The lies are further debunked. </span></b></span><b><span style="color: #444444;">The official narrative from Pfizer and Co is that "the data shows" the injected vaccine largely does stay in the injection site. And that body processes make it disappear within 48 hours. However, more recent research findings tell us that these covid vaccines do NOT just 'remain near the site of injection (the arm muscle) and local lymph nodes', as was told initially. The mRNA vaccine does not 'stay in the injection site muscle – where you get the shot' (<a href="https://www.nebraskamed.com/COVID/where-mrna-vaccines-and-spike-proteins-go" target="_blank">source</a>).</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL7LBDGUtBqBJRdBNMwP0VyE4QOdF-fZPGAX1dPNCJ6AIK7WuXfD8mJB_YwFO7_5KEOskG27YVn0vu6_JZ0leh38ZcOxn9TBa_Bwd8NKkelQ8Tkhw_Zf9LLb_ff5WLe48Wpqx1sVgck9xkA2RzyEjNO4gIjGWY5YeoKSlqnmxky9PoLsvn4d6tj2KsPtpv/s1123/z7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="921" data-original-width="1123" height="566" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL7LBDGUtBqBJRdBNMwP0VyE4QOdF-fZPGAX1dPNCJ6AIK7WuXfD8mJB_YwFO7_5KEOskG27YVn0vu6_JZ0leh38ZcOxn9TBa_Bwd8NKkelQ8Tkhw_Zf9LLb_ff5WLe48Wpqx1sVgck9xkA2RzyEjNO4gIjGWY5YeoKSlqnmxky9PoLsvn4d6tj2KsPtpv/w692-h566/z7.jpg" width="692" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Source: <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9864138/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9864138/</a><br /><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">6.5. Conditional Marketing Authorization for the Pfizer/BioNtech® Vaccine [137] <br /></span></b><span><b style="color: #444444;">"Synthetic mRNAs encapsulated in LNPs can reach many organs, such as the spleen, heart, kidneys, lungs and brain. The mRNAs were found in the ovaries and the testicles in small quantities, during the biodistribution studies of this vaccine after 9 days, which implies that endocytosis is not as rapid as supposed. In rats, it has been shown, by integrating very high concentration radio-labelled mRNAs into liposomes (to observe the contrast), that LNPs are found in all organs and not only in antigen/antibody meeting places, such as the spleen, and are not exclusively endocytosed by dendritic cells. The half-life of LNP in the body is 20-30 days and complete elimination is approximately 4 months." </b><br /><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">And before people start arguing that it is all somehow the fault of some previous, possibly unnoticed covid19 infection, see what Nature <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35456309/#:~:text=Post%20COVID%2D19%20infection%20was,recovering%20from%20COVID%2D19%20infection" target="_blank">published</a> in April of 2022:</span><br /></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPUj09dBhjg-77UOdJ2ZJINuMzBXbgNtCGJvJ0DANoOYp82GrAJicNLS6qSerWCdNBdRdN2QQzFK-rD8VF8PvOhtb2n_c1DK1Kg2xkVO8qZ0kzxHXco9xLyUS1LtiSfEZV2eD6fYacRZsWndZzu40QHR7CXHfJCRQho-LFZek8d930jV9Q2gRzPXGwYLk/s953/Z10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="953" data-original-width="819" height="796" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPUj09dBhjg-77UOdJ2ZJINuMzBXbgNtCGJvJ0DANoOYp82GrAJicNLS6qSerWCdNBdRdN2QQzFK-rD8VF8PvOhtb2n_c1DK1Kg2xkVO8qZ0kzxHXco9xLyUS1LtiSfEZV2eD6fYacRZsWndZzu40QHR7CXHfJCRQho-LFZek8d930jV9Q2gRzPXGwYLk/w684-h796/Z10.jpg" width="684" /></a><br /><br /><b style="color: #444444;">Quote: "Post COVID-19 infection was not associated with either myocarditis (aHR 1.08; 95% CI 0.45 to 2.56) or pericarditis (aHR 0.53; 95% CI 0.25 to 1.13). We did not observe an increased incidence of neither pericarditis nor myocarditis in adult patients recovering from COVID-19 infection."</b><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0SQadExNc1lHN4a9BHj_k9DTCnLkZWJSfv1u1HTg_pEvQwi9kqUtb2Nu5atlxVr_f2CJHjLXehas49zVHTbpX4S5oJG_YUxev73zYVFyhI6x33TDCIofYWDf8O2_JSh6Vzaz0rGShk-qg2awoB-FV19feE75T4kVLOHTcRIjfUlAa2jjbcDjAVfc5QmQ/s969/Z9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="969" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0SQadExNc1lHN4a9BHj_k9DTCnLkZWJSfv1u1HTg_pEvQwi9kqUtb2Nu5atlxVr_f2CJHjLXehas49zVHTbpX4S5oJG_YUxev73zYVFyhI6x33TDCIofYWDf8O2_JSh6Vzaz0rGShk-qg2awoB-FV19feE75T4kVLOHTcRIjfUlAa2jjbcDjAVfc5QmQ/w714-h440/Z9.jpg" width="714" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="color: #444444;">But the covid vaccines did... FOI data from TGA also shows the covid19 mRNA vaccine does not in fact stay only in the injection site (arm muscle), but goes to all organs within 1-4 hours, with the heaviest concentration in Liver, and Reproductive organs. </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;"> - </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">So the vaccine does not stay in the arm muscle, to be dismantled by the body within 48 hours, as initially promised and 'proven' with biased and shoddy Pfizer research. And it also causes inflammation, while circling through the body:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix5pj1tifgYo4nJdNjPTzC3ibh3j3-m3yOzzIqgQQ49oYgnwNdyD9d1jh07F99me9ohjH3wS-Z-6I1fIQaME8VD1135fPJSLelkrhJHvGOpLY1FRBRmB9HfWCqf6nslzd13w5XH60yA6-ZMtPfEheMpASY7q9WXBZ5h3R0z7cZKF2fjAY496csBpwe73MX/s696/z2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="582" height="774" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix5pj1tifgYo4nJdNjPTzC3ibh3j3-m3yOzzIqgQQ49oYgnwNdyD9d1jh07F99me9ohjH3wS-Z-6I1fIQaME8VD1135fPJSLelkrhJHvGOpLY1FRBRmB9HfWCqf6nslzd13w5XH60yA6-ZMtPfEheMpASY7q9WXBZ5h3R0z7cZKF2fjAY496csBpwe73MX/w648-h774/z2.jpg" width="648" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Ql-vP9W8ldUoSDYmkGAKyJEsFx5NViIkMwArNUSD576vh7Uj1C7quh6P7IC1oA2K810qwFPO84OhdKHK9uKTosZ13prR8hb5ZmTRKZFH3tv8475ZI6-uvEyX5qCWsnnVFfMmnSqwG8cxhaMY_s1rMXgPGvlPtqn1U9fWmLE42RDO0-JDfVI64QHAHnyO/s903/Z3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="546" height="1076" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Ql-vP9W8ldUoSDYmkGAKyJEsFx5NViIkMwArNUSD576vh7Uj1C7quh6P7IC1oA2K810qwFPO84OhdKHK9uKTosZ13prR8hb5ZmTRKZFH3tv8475ZI6-uvEyX5qCWsnnVFfMmnSqwG8cxhaMY_s1rMXgPGvlPtqn1U9fWmLE42RDO0-JDfVI64QHAHnyO/w649-h1076/Z3.jpg" width="649" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Of course it does. It uses the same foreign SPIKE protein that causes autoimmune inflammation in virus form. Only now your own body produces them. Of course it can subsequently cause the immune system to attack this foreign spike protein, send white blood cells, cause inflammation and blood clots can form. </b></span></span><b><span style="color: #444444;">The liver does not clear synthetic lipid nanoparticles (LNP). LNP's terminate strands of synthetic mRNA, actually called "modRNA", and cause modRNA to persist in the body (possibly indefinitely), unlike naturally occurring mRNA which decomposes rapidly. These LNP's accumulate in the body.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwES39a9LRlUrSBxQh-szr11HQhC74GCjqDur3DYXv9YNtTd3GlYMd1-71Xjnxj7z57futaNSBr-CldeVWklg-IpXm5XO1kqDQdRNwe1HNuHmUoMKkA4DCyn8WHn1PvcTBXb7DB7vlBD6DiD6ivJLBu2PNvz3N1U1xzt2U353gg0HaxMKxkvCoJtertoD/s939/z4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="939" data-original-width="896" height="680" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwES39a9LRlUrSBxQh-szr11HQhC74GCjqDur3DYXv9YNtTd3GlYMd1-71Xjnxj7z57futaNSBr-CldeVWklg-IpXm5XO1kqDQdRNwe1HNuHmUoMKkA4DCyn8WHn1PvcTBXb7DB7vlBD6DiD6ivJLBu2PNvz3N1U1xzt2U353gg0HaxMKxkvCoJtertoD/w648-h680/z4.jpg" width="648" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0XWbdvGzgr3XcCK8D9okgiLIaNOgJygznr2n7tJgbcdYDsZDW48OE58H-eCW2jSdqTIkGt6ZHHLGYiBeUPK1iNHhq4pWPQyc0Vnh6U92Tf7osaW8JVAR_2g92n2rd4J-Z7MmUPmjnUUlwIbiBuXcekDl8uIju2FjVSFTngttp7IaswhzwiJCGnD11bdAV/s997/Z5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="923" data-original-width="997" height="607" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0XWbdvGzgr3XcCK8D9okgiLIaNOgJygznr2n7tJgbcdYDsZDW48OE58H-eCW2jSdqTIkGt6ZHHLGYiBeUPK1iNHhq4pWPQyc0Vnh6U92Tf7osaW8JVAR_2g92n2rd4J-Z7MmUPmjnUUlwIbiBuXcekDl8uIju2FjVSFTngttp7IaswhzwiJCGnD11bdAV/w656-h607/Z5.jpg" width="656" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5EVxE_hFgQpWER-5J40r2Hqf2At8LRr4t_Guvhc9b0W4KwcVTymRLxoDMjKOh3Ov2NbdOKEYPN6aCVPovK16-ju_Ecr8WheDQUDm7TOQLmbDYhZ2hDTKZr6SirW5dgYoloDdcIdESH0HcqfPD6cFUt0ILW2TsJHkIgfNYFpSlQbelpNIILy9iHFpG3D2f/s1017/z6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="957" data-original-width="1017" height="633" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5EVxE_hFgQpWER-5J40r2Hqf2At8LRr4t_Guvhc9b0W4KwcVTymRLxoDMjKOh3Ov2NbdOKEYPN6aCVPovK16-ju_Ecr8WheDQUDm7TOQLmbDYhZ2hDTKZr6SirW5dgYoloDdcIdESH0HcqfPD6cFUt0ILW2TsJHkIgfNYFpSlQbelpNIILy9iHFpG3D2f/w673-h633/z6.jpg" width="673" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL7LBDGUtBqBJRdBNMwP0VyE4QOdF-fZPGAX1dPNCJ6AIK7WuXfD8mJB_YwFO7_5KEOskG27YVn0vu6_JZ0leh38ZcOxn9TBa_Bwd8NKkelQ8Tkhw_Zf9LLb_ff5WLe48Wpqx1sVgck9xkA2RzyEjNO4gIjGWY5YeoKSlqnmxky9PoLsvn4d6tj2KsPtpv/s1123/z7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="921" data-original-width="1123" height="571" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL7LBDGUtBqBJRdBNMwP0VyE4QOdF-fZPGAX1dPNCJ6AIK7WuXfD8mJB_YwFO7_5KEOskG27YVn0vu6_JZ0leh38ZcOxn9TBa_Bwd8NKkelQ8Tkhw_Zf9LLb_ff5WLe48Wpqx1sVgck9xkA2RzyEjNO4gIjGWY5YeoKSlqnmxky9PoLsvn4d6tj2KsPtpv/w698-h571/z7.jpg" width="698" /></a><br /><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #444444;">A for the clinical harms of covid19 mRNA vaccination? They are only scratching that surface. As early as September 2021 there were <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8417681/" target="_blank">research articles</a> about </span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><b>COVID-19 mRNA vaccination leading to CNS (central nervous system) inflammation. </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyO6NAX_Ny6BGBei9_-p70TGeqVzIOE4AVQV_CiwTdyebbDcmWK5c0S837tZvmhYcNeTaB9vwGoaQoX5POsuxXS-Q8i4x2p3r4R0nyjAMqq3TVb7vUTUit4x06DZwNN-IPsvLS51HQZvpXCz871sjFEO8sbcq-qpjMOjKCSAYEG8aO7AXGzEGRtgkfE8f/s1049/Z22.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1049" height="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyO6NAX_Ny6BGBei9_-p70TGeqVzIOE4AVQV_CiwTdyebbDcmWK5c0S837tZvmhYcNeTaB9vwGoaQoX5POsuxXS-Q8i4x2p3r4R0nyjAMqq3TVb7vUTUit4x06DZwNN-IPsvLS51HQZvpXCz871sjFEO8sbcq-qpjMOjKCSAYEG8aO7AXGzEGRtgkfE8f/w640-h570/Z22.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimtglzy71OaqDWT82Ksv1vtFnRbmauKejCXpeT4i_2CHZNTPJeJzjjjFbAQG4WFQrdY9P7CTroHQWKHUHz_HGNTnoF6DoAOVTenBETl4HM1XAj-RYtGZi7cgJ9EROSUWsAg09f9jt8tcc4gtoXatD12osycXMYyQoni5KQwnYcB0h43dyB5fWsKgwRuApj/s987/Z23.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="951" data-original-width="987" height="616" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimtglzy71OaqDWT82Ksv1vtFnRbmauKejCXpeT4i_2CHZNTPJeJzjjjFbAQG4WFQrdY9P7CTroHQWKHUHz_HGNTnoF6DoAOVTenBETl4HM1XAj-RYtGZi7cgJ9EROSUWsAg09f9jt8tcc4gtoXatD12osycXMYyQoni5KQwnYcB0h43dyB5fWsKgwRuApj/w640-h616/Z23.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><b><br />While <a href="https://www.acc.org/Latest-in-Cardiology/Journal-Scans/2023/01/17/18/00/circulating-spike-protein" target="_blank">this</a> January 2023 medical research showed us already that Spike Protein Detected in Post–COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Myocarditis</b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPaTCqkwDyKNo9LAw6ihVCtoF5Yc7ECWzHBpZ1QeDdm2xT8F0o2NSzuiaF_wP7mSt7I-HPADYdQNfHeKaBcQ7tB02zBBVy9LZSR6LNLJuUnoVT1OLWYGpWQqkf-cNBHpOTI0hfDEI5fsLx1aWLJi5M1dsCrHlZ4MYUztow3VkB00OihT3hcs3RGFu0bXGD/s1029/Z24.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="1029" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPaTCqkwDyKNo9LAw6ihVCtoF5Yc7ECWzHBpZ1QeDdm2xT8F0o2NSzuiaF_wP7mSt7I-HPADYdQNfHeKaBcQ7tB02zBBVy9LZSR6LNLJuUnoVT1OLWYGpWQqkf-cNBHpOTI0hfDEI5fsLx1aWLJi5M1dsCrHlZ4MYUztow3VkB00OihT3hcs3RGFu0bXGD/w640-h596/Z24.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVoOaLBDWlwhuymF7b3xQAWDLktf7SopyoMjUDey0aOucrZbguZyXTmi3-0ewjKnlMcs5Lzxlq2sNyWWF9rFYv0gklX74gXU1SOA0NnGzxeeMUM8HwAWnQHQE8Xt0JXob79TFCC9dRDMHAvFxyICZ06WMquAuzVQzNyEocGacitHcvBtzroM4q3fKzBS0w/s977/Z25.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="977" data-original-width="943" height="655" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVoOaLBDWlwhuymF7b3xQAWDLktf7SopyoMjUDey0aOucrZbguZyXTmi3-0ewjKnlMcs5Lzxlq2sNyWWF9rFYv0gklX74gXU1SOA0NnGzxeeMUM8HwAWnQHQE8Xt0JXob79TFCC9dRDMHAvFxyICZ06WMquAuzVQzNyEocGacitHcvBtzroM4q3fKzBS0w/w632-h655/Z25.jpg" width="632" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><br /></span><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">Now there are recent <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37470105/" target="_blank">Swiss findings</a>: 1 in 35 of their healthcare workers developed myocarditis after covid vaccination. They were told to not exercise and rest, so there were no casualties in this group of hospital professionals. But how people who were vaccinated developed similar heart problems (often without warning symptoms, studies found!) and never were part of any clinical trial? Never being warned about the timebomb in their chest? Going out for those high intensity runs they were used to, therefore? With all possible consequences, because that can turn out to be fatal when suffering from heart inflammation. How many never knew this and died?</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">To be continued.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large;">August 20, 2023</b><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><b>MODERNA rep is getting grilled in US parliament. Very insightful this.</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dvUa-wgPOJs" width="320" youtube-src-id="dvUa-wgPOJs"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxFpmqyzap0X-UPIXRxUnah7Y5MuuKVjOMNCUBQ7sGaeLw5igexDi1_KmUEJMc5LsM1V5wAekgpwLAHtKcWiw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">September 27, 2023</b><br style="text-align: left;" /><span style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">Covid vaccines DO cause unexpected vaginal bleeding in women. This is the new outcome of a scientific <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37738335/" target="_blank">study</a> of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Remember that doctors and people who posted about this a year or two ago, were deplatformed on social media for 'misinformation'. Give it a few more years and the public will start to hear about the detrimental long term covid vaccine injury risks (some of which are now blamed on "long covid"), including blood clots, heart damage and auto-immune diseases. </span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE5I25fgRJ2GkeAY7U_sE3xmAnim59Sw__ArX7XLcLMz8bApHZKT9Hq76D5DIqe_0d9i9aG9lo-7FbLpblHtKXTaEzB9VPBz5lvi5ntHQVHJMmN1UDHMZTtaQAjtwyOE-SZBnuWxwLZtmwfXWVTUvHghPs1sfrN_X-5peQOGGWTnePR7-T5odtXbvZH2mk/s1254/vaccine%20bleeding2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="1254" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE5I25fgRJ2GkeAY7U_sE3xmAnim59Sw__ArX7XLcLMz8bApHZKT9Hq76D5DIqe_0d9i9aG9lo-7FbLpblHtKXTaEzB9VPBz5lvi5ntHQVHJMmN1UDHMZTtaQAjtwyOE-SZBnuWxwLZtmwfXWVTUvHghPs1sfrN_X-5peQOGGWTnePR7-T5odtXbvZH2mk/w640-h458/vaccine%20bleeding2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0ORAy982BWFiuWrHC7mQ3mKfjSkDAPFuGKtIDaoxPG0PO3pQUKaCG_y_KbnzM4xXc8k8RJCHJjEkUeSJ7-_foVz8X38arvf1xsGWSBM9XxYaJ1796ACLYPR--Kq7k_rlKA9NRa41kuotDU4Ij6n1gfi8RICBVMaXT_DxAgj5yNN8bKeN34xnaNcMqnqN/s3074/vaccine%20bleeding.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3074" data-original-width="827" height="2429" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0ORAy982BWFiuWrHC7mQ3mKfjSkDAPFuGKtIDaoxPG0PO3pQUKaCG_y_KbnzM4xXc8k8RJCHJjEkUeSJ7-_foVz8X38arvf1xsGWSBM9XxYaJ1796ACLYPR--Kq7k_rlKA9NRa41kuotDU4Ij6n1gfi8RICBVMaXT_DxAgj5yNN8bKeN34xnaNcMqnqN/w653-h2429/vaccine%20bleeding.jpg" width="653" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; text-align: left;"><b style="font-size: xxx-large;">September 28, 2023</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;"><b>COMPARING DEATH RATES AMONG COVID19 VACCINATED AND UNVACCINATED PEOPLE</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The death rate in unvaccinated English citizens has been <b><a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/deathsbyvaccinationstatusengland" target="_blank">compared</a></b> to the death rate among vaccinated English, over the period of June 2022-Mau 2023. And the figure is worrying. 155.000 more people died in the vaccinated group last year than in the unvaccinated group. </span>The auto immune system's attack against the spike expressing cells becomes more efficient with every shot by the way. The more boosters, the more risk.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #990000; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #990000; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="531" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iyo2UNQcdpQ" width="639" youtube-src-id="iyo2UNQcdpQ"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #990000; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheq2AzKu00fGTr6MQVYDyom90mWGECdoSmNKcnMJqcnGzMMZQJZLYs5QS-LLc0hewUNvI4MKb1egR2FCvzx96f5eIG80zP8iw1kTmbNsQ4nBpDH4_lgaUDdo3ZXEa5pJ-kceWYAl7123qsb6Fa4Zix5FKWa7NcfN94iIgAAh52OwSJxRHL8xMbWaso0Bba/s1115/Untitled-4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1115" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheq2AzKu00fGTr6MQVYDyom90mWGECdoSmNKcnMJqcnGzMMZQJZLYs5QS-LLc0hewUNvI4MKb1egR2FCvzx96f5eIG80zP8iw1kTmbNsQ4nBpDH4_lgaUDdo3ZXEa5pJ-kceWYAl7123qsb6Fa4Zix5FKWa7NcfN94iIgAAh52OwSJxRHL8xMbWaso0Bba/w640-h458/Untitled-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #990000; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #990000;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;"><b>We were lied to from the very beginning.</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 400;"> Let's remember this once more. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">They gave bloated, false info to the vaccinated. Who in turn backed our governments' covid mandates. Supported them coercing and basically forcing people </span>unwilling<span style="font-family: inherit;"> to participate in this medical experiment, or else.. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='515' height='428' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz2bBxM29utEJpOLb-O-gqM3OdY-puoB0fvK9aVB6tHvTeJcFG4F6Ji7gPiHERGuXuNXOQRU_lp5JE23wNLBw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLXwi4ytqEBxro5lrPQn7VhLf30Mmmd4Rg36YpK7kcjvVT1zadMtnr0WIigAAtnWWgdQ_dqT8h1djm4TxPWUcy2JlqOlBpJqGTeZfLgnW4dO9U0D8xF160oLeRdsS6_2e4SLHKXe1uQ12LWlqhod8nYPoCwGKLCuUEOKHGfUqQFL6mfvlehqoKohajRos/s451/F69V1a-XUAA-p-U.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="451" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLXwi4ytqEBxro5lrPQn7VhLf30Mmmd4Rg36YpK7kcjvVT1zadMtnr0WIigAAtnWWgdQ_dqT8h1djm4TxPWUcy2JlqOlBpJqGTeZfLgnW4dO9U0D8xF160oLeRdsS6_2e4SLHKXe1uQ12LWlqhod8nYPoCwGKLCuUEOKHGfUqQFL6mfvlehqoKohajRos/s320/F69V1a-XUAA-p-U.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />Meanwhile<span style="font-family: inherit;"> governments were withholding perfectly safe and long-around treatment and early care regimes that were having good clinical outcomes. (Think monoclonal antibodies, immune building vitamins, nebulizers, hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin). Those were all shot in the wastebasket and censored. Doctors who informed their patients about these treatment modalities were cancelled or had their social media accounts blocked. We were told that the vaccine was our only hope. This was a lie. <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUPuCCx0-BuHUVSq5Bnuf_OnTJoRO_NNOPO-b6pVfwqAwM62oqtQ8ctXY6v-dNtB_o6hwFu5SW-4z6DtdE7P8TisuLwj3KmyXogAbRJj_PJz9sM3VWHVNxZmdtQOMXv-Q0hrpS1Ktripc7of7WC3ZT4xFpRIzSbM0EFHcJvIs6w2UPaSgTwBg5WEydTpL/s1242/F6-c8gdWwAAdB1g.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="1242" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUPuCCx0-BuHUVSq5Bnuf_OnTJoRO_NNOPO-b6pVfwqAwM62oqtQ8ctXY6v-dNtB_o6hwFu5SW-4z6DtdE7P8TisuLwj3KmyXogAbRJj_PJz9sM3VWHVNxZmdtQOMXv-Q0hrpS1Ktripc7of7WC3ZT4xFpRIzSbM0EFHcJvIs6w2UPaSgTwBg5WEydTpL/w320-h219/F6-c8gdWwAAdB1g.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">There is no randomized study that ensures that any of these COVID vaccines are</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> effective in preventing transmission, reducing death, hospitalization or symptoms. All main pharmaceutical studies are biased and only evaluate immunogenicity, which is not equal to efficiency. This alone should have been enough to not go ahead with covid mandates. Where are the RCT safety and efficiency studies on these vaccines? And if the covid 19 'vaccines' didn't stop transmission (which we now know they didn't), then having these covid mandates was not only unnecessary, but also completely unscientific and unethical. Mandates killed jobs, families, friendships, businesses and trust in the public health sector. And if that wasn't enough, we now are learning more and more about the very worrying (and frankly unacceptable) side effects these covid19 'vaccines' are having on a certain percentage of users. Be sure to keep your eyes and ears open when immune diseases, heart defects and neurological diseases - among others - which started thes epast few years, are </span>attributed<span style="font-family: inherit;"> to 'long covid'. Australian doctors have already admitted in public that nearly all their long covid patients were vaccinated. And the symptoms truly do overlap. Only nobody is openly looking at vaccine side-effects, when dealing with 'long covid'. Once the entire iceberg becomes know, this will turn into a big scandal, eventually. </span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; font-weight: 400;"><span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWlroxji51yxu3Opk8hcmtCQRUYT8sSKFZi_ipb3BpJiBp5X_G53-EfMo5YZANggJLcoBiPRFi4JHAoPjpGkjum-Kfc-Keq78SxIulPRT_5tjOYroOW5ZgIYpM4uUohO4UBXeC8Z7s96Xf4c_bjjrd6EUxydQ4jVYOn9Qq4U6nNUoPJZTI1T3K8tRb5gV/s600/F69fu_1a4AA27t8.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWlroxji51yxu3Opk8hcmtCQRUYT8sSKFZi_ipb3BpJiBp5X_G53-EfMo5YZANggJLcoBiPRFi4JHAoPjpGkjum-Kfc-Keq78SxIulPRT_5tjOYroOW5ZgIYpM4uUohO4UBXeC8Z7s96Xf4c_bjjrd6EUxydQ4jVYOn9Qq4U6nNUoPJZTI1T3K8tRb5gV/s320/F69fu_1a4AA27t8.png" width="320" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 400;">It have been very stressful and very depressing times, these first three years of the 2020's. I never got any of the covid19 vaccines, but the pressure to change my mind was very significant. Luckily, here in European most countries governments were incredibly manipulative and forceful but the </span>unvaccinated <span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 400;">could still travel or go to work. It has cost me THOUSANDS of euros in mandatory testing to keep going, but it was possible. In the USA people actually lost their jobs, houses and worse.. Coercion is what it I called. You can take the jab or get fired. <i>Totally voluntary</i>, r<i>ight?</i> And if an American got fired for refusing the covid vaccination, they couldn't even collect unemployment benefits usually. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once we give government the power to make medical decisions for us, we in essence accept that the state owns our bodies. This is dangerous territory and one of my biggest disappointments is not just in the scientists and doctors who bought into this horrific medical experiment, when they should have been the ones to look into the actual, highly flawed </span><i style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 400;">trials</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> conducted by the pharmaceutical industries, torpedoing them towards emergency use </span>allowance<span style="font-family: inherit;">. Without any legal liability.... But I am just as disappointed in the average person out there who cheered about punishments for those using their democratic right not to receive this medical treatment. Freedom over one’s body and medical choices is central to a free society.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6SO5a3a9OsK5qfimqERXs4YqNvwXEsHOvs9Rr_hOV9Zh_Of11QGTHdNV6bhiGDES9wTAN_BZuIAlFZeltwWl9i-oj25sPsveQmbSSPWdtP2m1Ex1jIpndsRfG5GzZqMTiKKUS13Sksin-GY7zgOXs-9YZFOWhCnslE6WN6X212v1fKEkE4JfCwvUn5aZ/s799/Untitled-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="563" height="870" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6SO5a3a9OsK5qfimqERXs4YqNvwXEsHOvs9Rr_hOV9Zh_Of11QGTHdNV6bhiGDES9wTAN_BZuIAlFZeltwWl9i-oj25sPsveQmbSSPWdtP2m1Ex1jIpndsRfG5GzZqMTiKKUS13Sksin-GY7zgOXs-9YZFOWhCnslE6WN6X212v1fKEkE4JfCwvUn5aZ/w612-h870/Untitled-2.jpg" width="612" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9z3rckyZ9a1SJ6aS-GGIqD7opnCFhsaEqJxJImtagwxBM3Ps7hScckjbLA5t5N5cFEJayfgtL-Gzx1YEk2DCdECNApWagKWgm9VsV6tcOOSeKeizS3IO0GWZZ52lXyjCDaM4QebixhyL1JRwGWSZxILvNnx94sjSAhYvdTQEY-AYy_uFWeV8cCpQFuhVR/s758/Untitled-3.5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="758" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9z3rckyZ9a1SJ6aS-GGIqD7opnCFhsaEqJxJImtagwxBM3Ps7hScckjbLA5t5N5cFEJayfgtL-Gzx1YEk2DCdECNApWagKWgm9VsV6tcOOSeKeizS3IO0GWZZ52lXyjCDaM4QebixhyL1JRwGWSZxILvNnx94sjSAhYvdTQEY-AYy_uFWeV8cCpQFuhVR/w611-h319/Untitled-3.5.jpg" width="611" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='623' height='519' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz9aTqGOpvINz2uifniMmswHRJLW_h1C10WWE1xy1Q_BDPR8hiFdntXZZc5_Wb7N00h0iZ6JhPN7U_bYE79DQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><span style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;">The fact that they spent billions on propaganda </span></b></span><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;">was <br />also a really big indication….</span></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='618' height='514' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzE35k-zDMnGS1kTxJ7pwGMo1A0H6bgvTMWcVe0RfYMPGWPfj3i4iVVjJ-KpH2OOfSyY74kavUm_b3U9FcZJA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='628' height='523' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwHmg67eHHvUAJqR1Xf1YjqRFbLlEqi4L1RuBIy-ndKtIVRz_fLSzEyqut5aAx9QBOE2Mvg7iFlOSS9hM7kcQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_oOwug7U5jCL78uzE4-Iuga2Vk6Cx1iUBGlW7dfma8RIadImpNFSxenixGrL1VrwqA7GuuBkv189NfCmOA86UJKaLGKdOyD5q5QcNVlT9bkbGBLOsUUKQcmkgKy-qpxNKhwKRgM_ShhjvqbKY41BaggpqHaBNeLztbVDztK4qY4kvi5NWrpOV2PoSZcdB/s680/F6_P76QaIAAjMG1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="680" height="604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_oOwug7U5jCL78uzE4-Iuga2Vk6Cx1iUBGlW7dfma8RIadImpNFSxenixGrL1VrwqA7GuuBkv189NfCmOA86UJKaLGKdOyD5q5QcNVlT9bkbGBLOsUUKQcmkgKy-qpxNKhwKRgM_ShhjvqbKY41BaggpqHaBNeLztbVDztK4qY4kvi5NWrpOV2PoSZcdB/w640-h604/F6_P76QaIAAjMG1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='632' height='525' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwHg_uH3dhAeMNAzviTngNN4-UPA6AuzHG3aISPrkIBtbIYUepRsAD7jdMurkcRZ3COT7Rzkrwk_p2lD6RAqQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; text-align: left;"><b style="font-size: xxx-large;">December 6, 2023</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzv5A61x_bmOXZVOA0WL5V6kT397Zc0YXZJFXRZNWLVQ-UvSDZ_4hnzYxbIK7eVGGmVF6zs05YAQLgQ-EnIc9i1WSErv_fQiSdgXF5t4BXTsuCf4W2ZIDtWu8rJ4Md2eM2NtU2Fj-dzIkJrBmVM2STYZk28N4Khs6Xg1j8d_CSsSUQC_FDpSU9N_xRW2RL/s675/403612376_894932502281863_408390187627253839_n.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="675" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzv5A61x_bmOXZVOA0WL5V6kT397Zc0YXZJFXRZNWLVQ-UvSDZ_4hnzYxbIK7eVGGmVF6zs05YAQLgQ-EnIc9i1WSErv_fQiSdgXF5t4BXTsuCf4W2ZIDtWu8rJ4Md2eM2NtU2Fj-dzIkJrBmVM2STYZk28N4Khs6Xg1j8d_CSsSUQC_FDpSU9N_xRW2RL/s320/403612376_894932502281863_408390187627253839_n.png" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOTfvJrh6a6Ug8J2PUhw6xU7XlaHV-y-MAtZjituO_5cZEasRcw1sJGsAE9notFNYYrrcNft7UaIoEeShxwdhz5U3N5ffXgFu3vERJZuxcDlzIXJ8Jo8EH8jwjf5dB23f195O9-lTf_qudvaDdRSvvbsNMHq7BXGzw4amBIFm8NHpJvSRQnlJeXa9ZLYWE/s761/370252466_1157387155646732_2586138434262036960_n.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="761" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOTfvJrh6a6Ug8J2PUhw6xU7XlaHV-y-MAtZjituO_5cZEasRcw1sJGsAE9notFNYYrrcNft7UaIoEeShxwdhz5U3N5ffXgFu3vERJZuxcDlzIXJ8Jo8EH8jwjf5dB23f195O9-lTf_qudvaDdRSvvbsNMHq7BXGzw4amBIFm8NHpJvSRQnlJeXa9ZLYWE/s320/370252466_1157387155646732_2586138434262036960_n.png" width="320" /></a>My friend B. linked me to this. New Zealand's major newspaper the New Zealand Herald has published that a man employed by Te Whatu Ora has appeared in court, charged with "dishonestly accessing vaccination data", which was later posted on the internet and spread rapidly. "Barry Young, 56, appeared in the Wellington District Court to a standing ovation from a full public gallery. The data allegedly taken by Young rapidly garnered both local and international attention over the weekend, after initially being shared by conspiracy theorist and former political candidate Liz Gunn. After a police complaint from Te Whatu Ora, Young was arrested yesterday and charged with dishonestly accessing a computer." Notice how it is not disputed that the data is false. Only that it was illegally acquired, before being made public. Instead of explaining why his data is wrong or incorrectly interpreted, they actually arrested the whistleblower. <span style="font-family: inherit;">For those who can watch Rumble, </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://rumble.com/v3ynskd-operation-m.o.a.r-mother-of-all-revelations.html" target="_blank">here</a></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> you can watch a long video about all this. <br /></span><span><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><b>These stats are extraordinary. The top batch had more than 1 in 5 users DIE. Deaths among all age groups. What sort of stats are those? And I bet nobody did a proper autopsy, to link them to those vaccine batches? Those deaths were rarely ever subjected to a professional autopsy. Just blame it on covid19 or the wider effects of the pandemic... And what does this say about the efficacy of the vaccine? </b></span></span>So either THAT many people died of covid, despite being 'protected' by the vaccine, or what I actually suspect; that many people died of effects from the vaccine. We do need to know if they died from blood clots and heart inflammation. But even those are linked to covid itself by scientists. It is a massive web and we will never get to the bottom of things on an individual basis. </div></div></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='600' height='498' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwRi4okiTa8zhbwRJymrI5fJoGC5INwn-exYpsgAVvyFv3NVTO-wcrvv4zImDhnwrGC7YGHLkpTXKuWhLiyqA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><b>Navy Medical Officer reveals Covax Vaccine Related Heart Issues. These numbers are astounding. "Myocarditis up 151%, Ischemic heart disease up 69%, pulmonary heart disease up 62% and Heart Failure is up 973% </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='595' height='494' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzCUno92prCT8E3v7RqhCKSRk2QpMPHyga_W_gzkpY8qXc-nfCtAQ7QX7M2GPk7iqJD01tbPHn02rTF3mtbbQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Chicken or egg: did covid19 cause these spikes? Or the vaccines? The proof is probably in the onset data of these rising numbers. As far as I understand, this was 2021. Not 2020 when the first covid wave roared. Here's a hint:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia25dNWNoA-muyXuaGwPoNIIw1GpcA2IAubG7ljUd1EI86oei_acbILEhlvOrUFUgBw8QthWU1wE4sw_wgqtJE64noIk_hCr2Q8-TaegGg7DZQ1VHOyYkXSUULKnpGUMotznRE7Wv0hOK5822XFY6nX5N9Zj4b9mJ1f8q57mPNxVUVhwAeRC6eVNnAat7z/s658/371480551_1495217164657588_4383954500459612699_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="658" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia25dNWNoA-muyXuaGwPoNIIw1GpcA2IAubG7ljUd1EI86oei_acbILEhlvOrUFUgBw8QthWU1wE4sw_wgqtJE64noIk_hCr2Q8-TaegGg7DZQ1VHOyYkXSUULKnpGUMotznRE7Wv0hOK5822XFY6nX5N9Zj4b9mJ1f8q57mPNxVUVhwAeRC6eVNnAat7z/w586-h448/371480551_1495217164657588_4383954500459612699_n.png" width="586" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">December 15, 2023</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Very sad and also a bit fascinating new numbers and statistics coming from the USA. </span><span style="text-align: center;">FDA saying that life expectancy decline is "catastrophic" and deaths among the 35-45 year old groups having increased by a staggering 26% this year, and among the 25-34 age group 19%. With covid now having the strength of a regular influenza infection and with covid deaths having dropped by 84% since 2021, the pressing question remains: why are all these young people suddenly dying from mostly heart attacks, blood vessel disorders and turbo cancers? I'm sure that with time, more medical specialists will start to speak up. Although many politicians will keep it up that there is nothing to see here and that there is no need for Excess Death Inquiries. Let alone covid vaccine commission investigations. The struggle will be to convince people that the start of the meteoric rise of excess deaths in 2021 was <i>not</i> directly linked to after effects of covid19 infections which people may have had in 2020 or 2021. But is in fact directly linked to the covid vaccine rollout. And countries that pushed the vax are ALL experiencing increases in excess deaths.</span></div><span style="text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='571' height='475' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dydD8KNCnBD4kW4Y5hk-I7PjVVE0xltkLJsIe1HtDs6VMLWzU_u5z_GSBJfjfw1U2FSsOj6vYz7L0LZLZxDdg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large; text-align: left;">December 22, 2023</b></div><br style="text-align: center;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><div style="text-align: left;">Facts are fluid these days it seems, even for scientists. And totally depending on the context and the time of year. This was the man that Joe Rogan interviewed and then offered (big) money to come back on to debate Robert Kennedy Jnr on covid vaccine efficiency and safety. But he refused. Standard for bringing a new drug to market is 10-20 years minimum. This includes agreed on safety guards with regards to the time it takes for new drugs to make it through various testing phases, allowing both short and long term side effects to be studied. That wasn't done here, as we all know. But now scientists like this one see it fit to bullshit about the basics and contradict himself no less than two times within a 2 year timespan. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='609' height='506' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwz9sxvVVFzwnjxbI8xizrlII9KHgELzH0ct2HjH7CwoZIPx9WFG7YPZ3fOLTqsIA4zFxG8i9iTVqedwzZ5nw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div></span></div></div></span></span></div></div></div></div></span></div></div></div></div></div></span></div></span></div></div></span></div></div>Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-31587955631163481082020-10-15T23:30:00.049-07:002024-03-17T19:00:35.671-07:00Rosacea Bulletin Board; Latest news on rosacea treatments<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 50px;"><b>Rosacea Bulletin Board; Latest news on rosacea treatments</b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
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<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHeon98dCrQqefUlXkULGFjJ4nPuEk6OyOdoWekv7vrgndVQf1gRKWQOvy0gQVsh-PbyjWlqOjMamnjxGRaG6rOmusWSw8g_H0POSXnvslQd6NJwyvaz0Obj2ZRwVQDm7MzJxX8b6MEBCzoGtby__uUPD9zf99XxTdoswbTVl2mT2Nv4etMZPkwxjdjgk/s300/0b6b7ab7d01eb5f77f95033a19b43bec.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHeon98dCrQqefUlXkULGFjJ4nPuEk6OyOdoWekv7vrgndVQf1gRKWQOvy0gQVsh-PbyjWlqOjMamnjxGRaG6rOmusWSw8g_H0POSXnvslQd6NJwyvaz0Obj2ZRwVQDm7MzJxX8b6MEBCzoGtby__uUPD9zf99XxTdoswbTVl2mT2Nv4etMZPkwxjdjgk/w395-h395/0b6b7ab7d01eb5f77f95033a19b43bec.jpg" width="395" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhxmJN2Ty-C1RNL5m0wbxgHnwsRfjdtUv3S0bNQos_PvNa0KJcwmUNDjdvlBSQNraCH3zMivwlkqZAHUB2t6mug4fDpmDl5Xg9g02C-safEL_vYwf8su8kULFF2lGTC11_fFjuRfT91V-/s1021/5435_17975.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="1021" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhxmJN2Ty-C1RNL5m0wbxgHnwsRfjdtUv3S0bNQos_PvNa0KJcwmUNDjdvlBSQNraCH3zMivwlkqZAHUB2t6mug4fDpmDl5Xg9g02C-safEL_vYwf8su8kULFF2lGTC11_fFjuRfT91V-/w397-h176/5435_17975.png" width="397" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSwD2ezfAD-z7UTDWH5_9IpTC1fnpTJc2jBbgLtK2Vh-8n0RbvXSu84f1ccz-GY3ejGp4Z9KVNIte4Li-BoOcY4_CDt97wWcvOGnXu_QniWzI8uecUjpIR9a0vwKAnQytouv7-T3XTlaN/s885/Xolair.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="885" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSwD2ezfAD-z7UTDWH5_9IpTC1fnpTJc2jBbgLtK2Vh-8n0RbvXSu84f1ccz-GY3ejGp4Z9KVNIte4Li-BoOcY4_CDt97wWcvOGnXu_QniWzI8uecUjpIR9a0vwKAnQytouv7-T3XTlaN/w397-h273/Xolair.jpg" width="397" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">October 22nd</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020, XOLAIR</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;">My friend from Australia sent me some </span><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.medicaljournals.se/acta/content/html/10.2340/00015555-3168" target="_blank">interesting information</a></span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"> about a drug called </span>Xolair (Omalizumab)<span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"> for the treatment of allergy related skin issues such as Morbihan syndrome or urticaria. </span></span></span></b>Morbihan syndrome is a rare condition that can be a late-stage complication of rosacea. People who have this syndrome suffer from bad swelling of the eyes and the upper cheeks (oedema), as well as redness (erythema) sometimes. They can also have visible blood vessels (telangiectasias) and occasionally papules, pustules and nodules. This issue is related to substances in the body which also play a role in allergies; an abundance of mast cells which make the blood vessels dilate as well as substances which increase inflammation; cathelicidins such as Cath-37, which also seem to play a role in rosacea. Scientists found that Omalizumab can not only help patients with allergy-related asthma and urticaria, but also can help suppress the symptoms of this Morbihan syndrome. It binds the circulating <i>IgE antibodies</i> and may <span><b><span style="color: #444444;">stabilise mast cells</span><span style="color: #444444;">.</span></b></span> There are some similarities between rosacea subtype 1 and Morbihan syndrome and urticaria: the facial flushing which rosacea can give work through the same pathways as the temporary red swellings observed in urticaria and angioedema. Scientists believe that omalizumab helps stabilize mast cells and reduces the temporary swelling, but that it can also help rosacea subtype 1 by reducing blood vessel dilation and potentially also reducing inflammation. Another drug that is linked to suppressing mast cell activity, <b><span style="color: #444444;">ketotifen</span></b>, shows also beneficial outcome in the treatment of rosacea in studies.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">CASE REPORT</span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span>"A 56-year-old woman, with moderate erythematous rosacea, developed persistent and prominent erythematous (red) oedema of the face, lasting for one year. Firm swelling of the eyelids, impairing vision, accompanied oedema of the cheeks and forehead. Neither itching nor scaling was observed. Pronounced swelling was seen after exposure to hot, cold and windy weather, and to a lesser extent to stress, sunlight and spicy food. The patient could not work or participate in the social events, due to her symptoms. She was diagnosed with Morbihan disease after excluding allergies, various connective tissue diseases such as dermatomyositis and superior vena cava syndrome. The patient was tested with a normal skin prick test, tryptase, antinuclear antibodies, thyroid function test, full blood count and X-ray of the lungs and mediastinum. Skin punch biopsy demonstrated non-specific inflammation consistent with rosacea. - MS was treated with lymecycline 300 mg twice daily for 3 months and later isotretinoin 10–20 mg daily for 4 months, but there was no effect on the swelling or erythema. Because of the temporary swelling caused by physical stimuli, in addition to the permanent oedema, we initiated a trial treatment with omalizumab 450 mg subcutaneously. A dramatic reduction in the swelling was seen 1–2 weeks post-treatment (Fig. 1B) and the patient subsequently became tolerant to the physical stimuli. The MS cleared completely after 5 months of monthly omalizumab injections, an initial dose of 450 mg and consecutive doses of 300 mg (Fig. 1C). Maintenance treatment was given for a further two months, every 4–6 weeks, and was then discontinued successfully without clinical relapse, 6 months later. The quality of life was markedly improved after omalizumab injections and the patient was able to resume working, instead of being on sick leave. Her photos show first a pre-treatment photo of prominent and persistent erythematous edema of the face. Firm swelling of the eyelids impairing vision. Then a photo showing the reduction of the edema as observed two weeks after the first subcutaneous injection with the monoclonal antibody - omalizumab 450 mg. The patient tolerated windy and cold weather and noticed less tenderness. Last photo: the patient is in her normal condition after monthly injections of omalizumab for five months. Her quality of life was substantially improved, and she was able resume normal life, including returning to work. A written permission from the patient to publish these photos was obtained." <b><a href="https://www.medicaljournals.se/acta/content/html/10.2340/00015555-3168" target="_blank">Source</a></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>A dermatology specialist wrote <a href="https://henningderm.com/services/medical-dermatology/" target="_blank">here</a>:</b></span> "We offer Xolair as an option to treat chronic hives which don’t respond well to antihistamines. Our office is one of only a handful of dermatologists in New Jersey who use Xolair. Xolair is an injectable prescription medicine used to treat patients with chronic hives that don’t have a known cause and are not controlled by H1 antihistamine treatment. Xolair is given in one or more injections under the skin for four weeks by our doctor."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">More links:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://irosacea.org/forums/topic/6944-pubmed-rss-feed-morbihan-syndrome-successfully-treated-with-omalizumab/" target="_blank">https://irosacea.org/forums/topic/6944-pubmed-rss-feed-morbihan-syndrome-successfully-treated-with-omalizumab/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://irosacea.org/forums/topic/11737-xolair-omalizumab/" target="_blank">https://irosacea.org/forums/topic/11737-xolair-omalizumab/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6024249/" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6024249/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.medicaljournals.se/acta/content/html/10.2340/00015555-3168" target="_blank">https://www.medicaljournals.se/acta/content/html/10.2340/00015555-3168</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/xolair-immunosuppressant-3545766/" target="_blank">https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/xolair-immunosuppressant-3545766/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.xolair.com/important-safety-information.html" target="_blank">https://www.xolair.com/important-safety-information.html</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikYfC4cRnTqDKWwSmoghSpZtr-zthhPat3NHKyuOQBZO3nI5hyy1GVhl8b7nI6eDclA0H-1Ab296hYIxaB29OKuD0FfstylODTCBW1xBzNDlR-rW6VLTMS58dAw6yzqzsZ-3doAWkm9MrRQK0MBTlObc7tVpLbm9AS7M5hqftEWpKe5yyDSRmTMNvVp2yg/s1370/3038ee9c31233662b601bacf0cc519b9.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1370" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikYfC4cRnTqDKWwSmoghSpZtr-zthhPat3NHKyuOQBZO3nI5hyy1GVhl8b7nI6eDclA0H-1Ab296hYIxaB29OKuD0FfstylODTCBW1xBzNDlR-rW6VLTMS58dAw6yzqzsZ-3doAWkm9MrRQK0MBTlObc7tVpLbm9AS7M5hqftEWpKe5yyDSRmTMNvVp2yg/w570-h444/3038ee9c31233662b601bacf0cc519b9.jpg" width="570" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">On The Rosacea Forum, Lookout <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?17347-Non-Sterodial-Anti-inflammatories" target="_blank">wrote</a> on February 6th, 2009 about Xolair (=omalizumab):</span> </span></b>"Xolair..... is used for asthma (allergy based). I would want to try Xolair. I think the research for rosacea needs to include these types of meds since steroids make our condition worse or even brings it on! Xolair. From what I understand would be safe for long term use..... That's why I picked it as my "drug" of choice! LOL. I figured most of us here do have allergies but this med is only used for allergy induced asthma..... But in my mind why not try it on rosacea patients? If it is effective in reducing inflammation then it just may reduce rosacea symptoms...not cure but give us a pill that really address that inflammation! I would have to go back to my ENT.... and get tested and try to sell him on my theory to let me try it and see... I have to do more reading about it... I guess I am feeling frustrated that there is nothing coming out for rosacea and for some reason most still don't recognize that a flare is an inflammatory response IMO... Wish they would do clinical trials with this med for rosacea... Maybe I should write the company about it... like they would listen to me LOL!"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Lamarr <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?17347-Non-Sterodial-Anti-inflammatories" target="_blank">replied</a> on February 7th, 2009: </span></b>"Most anti inflammatories over time well help rosacea, IF they target the correct cytokines/inflammatory pathway. Cyclosporin works very well for rosacea, but like already said has some serious side effects. These drugs can be used in different ways though, Dr Chu has used cyclosporin for rosacea, you just take the drug every other day. Instead of everyday in RA/organ transplant etc. I am using the perfect anti inflammatory for rosacea, an anti milarial."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Lookout <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?17347-Non-Sterodial-Anti-inflammatories" target="_blank">replied</a> on February 6th, 2009: </span></b>"They say you must first be tested to actually have allergies and then the person with asthma may be put on it......lot's of med's are effective for other conditions but it's almost an accident that we find this out many yrs later!"</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Nansa <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36440-Anyone-suffer-from-severe-swelling-or-morbihans&highlight=xolair" target="_blank">replied</a> on February 25th, 2019: </span></b>"I have been on high dose fexofenadine for 2 - 2,5 years most of the time along with montolukast, tranexamic acid and Xolair (omalizumab) to control chronic urticaria (insanely itching and painful) and angiooedema. In it-self fexofenadine had little to no effect on itching, but... It might very well help others. It is a bit complicated as I have chronic idiopathic urticaria and angiooedema (and of course asthma and allergy) - I get xolair injections to modulate the immunesystem (at hospital at the immunology dept). The angiooedema is "different in nature" from time to time - (in the throat, on the jaw, around/on the ears, and at least two types of swelling around the eyes). The dermatologist consulted suggested that at least some of it was morbihans (also because I have suffered from rosacea, incl occular, for years). Whether morbihans is worse than the other angiooedema types I do not know... I do NOT like any of it :-)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">And Laser_cat Nansa <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?39655-Flushing-in-the-evening-medication/page2&highlight=xolair" target="_blank">wrote</a> on April 15th, 2019: </span></b>"In the US - my experience is that most derms will not be able to offer much more than PCP. I began by asking PCP to trial medications mentioned here or in literature (clonidine, beta blockers). Eventually I landed on 2 derms who have an interest in neurovascular rosacea, but even they realize a large part comes down to trial and error per patient. My therapist had an "in" at my local teaching hospital and asked around for doctors who would specialize in flushing (how I found one of my derms). I found my other derm by looking up authors of rosacea publications. What I am able to get from these 2 derms I am not able to get from PCP or myself - how long to trial a given medication before I give up, why I wouldn't be a candidate for laser, how to titrate medications, medications that aren't typically "thought of" (calcium channel blockers, <span style="color: #660000;"><b>Xolair</b></span>, birth control, IVIG, baclofen, ..), pathophysiology behind my symptoms and similar patients. There are derms who are very interested in neurovascular stuff and who realize that flushing conditions can be anywhere from mild to disabling, but these derms are far and few between I think, most derms will try to rx soolantra, antibiotics etc."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUeJLkp_cpIXXI_tzE9Hk9Zva6i4V5pSKZjIytcontozdVLNR3hI4_2be1D6Lc_tl1MPxwuHmAF9gTETUY48CCgiC1PUwBvykTPoMQOstuJ2y02KB4D9Oz-jwBa2jjfhSL58swtn-ip-n8/s1280/casereports-2018-January-2018---F1.large.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="1280" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUeJLkp_cpIXXI_tzE9Hk9Zva6i4V5pSKZjIytcontozdVLNR3hI4_2be1D6Lc_tl1MPxwuHmAF9gTETUY48CCgiC1PUwBvykTPoMQOstuJ2y02KB4D9Oz-jwBa2jjfhSL58swtn-ip-n8/w602-h226/casereports-2018-January-2018---F1.large.jpg" width="602" /></a></div><span><b style="color: black; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">Low-dose naltrexone (LDN)<br /></span></span></b><b><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">A patient with severe postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) received immunotherapy with low-dose naltrexone (LDN) and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) and antibiotic therapy for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). </span></b></span>And <b><a href="https://casereports.bmj.com/content/2018/bcr-2017-221405" target="_blank">this woman</a></b> with crippling POTS that gave her face flushing as well, improved on ultra low dose naltrexone, ivig and sibo treatment. It pretty much reversed eighteen years of crippling pots, mcas, and sibo for this woman. She even had blue hands. Poor woman. Her facial flushing reduced quite quickly.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAPd7ItbbreKvaebEJpkjmS5cKNOed_HTHjUOQRWSTJCDUpY0ye63BBHbw5kv7zji9BewbA1MoqRHoPmMXMORaITDrc46at_rMRWnIUIEBEg1Hsce-Y31eCvoqvERyoyCqHtjiP5GZ5dCbl7d6YQO6qAudkcSVOHV74Qoz9aR_5D1xZNI6Ot0ils1jWyE/s666/af6d43f4f2e0b5a3ce09702d23fb87d6.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="564" height="643" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAPd7ItbbreKvaebEJpkjmS5cKNOed_HTHjUOQRWSTJCDUpY0ye63BBHbw5kv7zji9BewbA1MoqRHoPmMXMORaITDrc46at_rMRWnIUIEBEg1Hsce-Y31eCvoqvERyoyCqHtjiP5GZ5dCbl7d6YQO6qAudkcSVOHV74Qoz9aR_5D1xZNI6Ot0ils1jWyE/w545-h643/af6d43f4f2e0b5a3ce09702d23fb87d6.jpg" width="545" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">July 5</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020, German TV-program about rosacea treatments</span></span></b><br /><br />Thank you to Gunther, who sent me a link to <b><a href="https://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/sendungen/die-ernaehrungsdocs/Rosazea-bessern-mit-entzuendungshemmender-Diaet,ernaehrungsdocs308.html">this German program</a></b> about a woman with rosacea, who gets tips on how diet can help her skin become less red and inflamed. I realize that diet is not a rosacea trigger for <i>everyone</i>. I read often about people who have not identified dietary skin triggers, despite all sorts of elimination diets. This video and info is therefore not necessarily for everybody with rosacea. But I think diet can play a role sometimes in finding improvement. Maybe more so in subtype 2 rosacea, with background redness and skin outbreaks and pimples. But from own experience I can say that even in subtype 1 rosacea, with skin flushing, burning and redness, diet changes can sometimes give some improvement (not a cure for me though, not even close...). I notice a pretty significant improvement in my skin as well, like the woman in this video - although she sees bigger results than me - when I stay clear of sugar, wheat, dairy and any spices. In my case there is also an issue with histamine rich foods, which does include quite a long list of food items. But, when I eat lots of vegetables (except tomatoes, eggplant and a couple of other vegetables high in histamine), and stick to carbs like potatoes, as well as eating organic beef or chicken and foods like olives, unions and fruit, my skin is really less red and less inflamed. It also takes more for me to flush then. Although I still flush very easily, even then. But my skin has a base colour which is a bit more pale then. It is much easier to stay cool. My weaknesses are chocolate, bread and pastries, as well as some sugary things pr pizza. I rarely give in to such foods, but when I do it's a good amount of sinning. Not just one square of chocolate :) The past weeks for instance, I stuck to the healthy diet and had nothing to sin with in the house; no chocolate, no bread, no sugary things. No crisps either. Then came that moment of boredom with the same safe foods day in and day out. I stuck it out some longer but by the time the new weekly shopping had to be done, I bought some chocolate, a chocolate pastry and some almonds covered in chocolate. I purposely bought small quantities, no large bars or anything, because I ate it all today. I guess it's supposed to be a reward for sticking to the low calorie, low carbohydrates, low on fun foods for as long as I did. But the 'reward' came in the shape of a flushed hot red face for most of the day and evening now. Damnit. And the effects are there right away, within half an hour. I always curse myself then and vow to <i>never </i>eat this crappy food again. Until the next time of course. Anyway, I just wanted to share this video with you, again thanks to Gunther for linking me to it. And I took the time to put English subtitles under the German video. To anyone German out there who may view it, please forgive me if I translated 1 or 2 muffled words incorrectly. I was poor at German in school..</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEildMLasMw21VrqAwbEb0FByp6vRejwh4MJXp4_Kd9aHI1sv5K_hjM0xohohe6kI8NTvScJASyGBIOKeZBlEPMvhswIDSLG6oZtHK2k5XQUnS0HlJtlarF1S_LsjswxkFo2N7LAr51g5qiQEKYQhZp2mWB9jZnpQdS6_9UsBvg1cNfZyENDxvR_a4k0LCAw/s695/b229bec6b3174f55a8a9fd30e2a9133d.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="564" height="655" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEildMLasMw21VrqAwbEb0FByp6vRejwh4MJXp4_Kd9aHI1sv5K_hjM0xohohe6kI8NTvScJASyGBIOKeZBlEPMvhswIDSLG6oZtHK2k5XQUnS0HlJtlarF1S_LsjswxkFo2N7LAr51g5qiQEKYQhZp2mWB9jZnpQdS6_9UsBvg1cNfZyENDxvR_a4k0LCAw/w533-h655/b229bec6b3174f55a8a9fd30e2a9133d.jpg" width="533" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">March 1st </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020, Ted Talk about angiogenesis</span></span></b><br />I watched <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjkzfeJz66o" target="_blank">this very interesting Ted Talk</a></b>, from scientist and doctor William Li. He explains how certain foods can increase our chances or developing cancer in life, and others can reduce those chances. Now, he emphasizes that cancer can have different causes and some people have a genetic predisposition. But each and everyone of us endures gene mutations throughout our lives and especially once we are over the age of 40. William Li explains that these cell mutations can remain small clumps of cells and then be cleaned up by the body's immune system, <i>or</i> they can continue dividing and turn into cancerous tumors over time. Now scientists have discovered that certain foods can help speed up this process, or help undo this process. Dairy products for instance contain a substance which promotes it, whereas foods like specific mushrooms and soy beans can help reduce these chances. How? <span>Through new blood vessel mechanisms; <b><span style="color: #783f04;">angiogenesis</span></b>.</span> Cancerous tumors can grow due to the body creating blood vessel systems for them. Without these blood vessels, the tumor cannot grow. <span>And here a link with rosacea emerges. Because for us rosacea patients who have issues with red or flushed cheeks, the angiogenesis mechanisms have gone haywire too. </span>The human body has a certain set of blood vessels, formed in the uterus, and we are set with those vessels through life. But the body can also create extra blood vessels during very specific circumstances, for instance during wound healing of a skin injury, or when a woman is pregnant and has to develop extra vessels in the uterus to form the placenta. After pregnancy, the body reabsorbs those extra blood vessels again and brings things back to the status quo through naturally occurring angiogenesis inhibitors in the body. Regulating the amount of blood vessels through a system of stimulators and inhibitors of blood vessel growth. Or so it should be. And there are other situations where this happens. Dr. Li even shares an image during his Ted Talk where <b><span style="color: #444444;">he mentions rosacea as one of the possible medical conditions of which patients suffer due to angiogenesis going rife</span></b>, and the body not cleaning up the excess blood vessels. Dr. Li then focuses on cancer and how trimming down the bodies ability to grow blood vessels for the tumor is a promising treatment mechanism for early stage tumors. He explains the mechanisms and interesting for us people with rosacea; he names <b><span style="color: #444444;">potent angiogenesis foods and medication</span></b>. Something we blushers and flushers may also benefit from. I cut the 20 minute long video up a bit to show you specifically what dr Li says about these blood vessels, I recommend it as it is extremely interesting I think. <span>First the trimmed video in 2 parts (due to limited size options on blogger), then the full 20-minute video, also including info about cancerous tumors: </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN6l6917d2n9fwXhPn6QqyLmbLXwAbhwTHm4e_tzfkoSsKY4wN_Tg0poZOf35z9dbD_MiOUIX6lF9-kH_tLm1cwPB-F_BIXozMTbPA-Is6DTtAYVy8EC64qDSGUJgpsTqd1JkKO1w57aO8/s1600/angiogenesis.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN6l6917d2n9fwXhPn6QqyLmbLXwAbhwTHm4e_tzfkoSsKY4wN_Tg0poZOf35z9dbD_MiOUIX6lF9-kH_tLm1cwPB-F_BIXozMTbPA-Is6DTtAYVy8EC64qDSGUJgpsTqd1JkKO1w57aO8/w626-h352/angiogenesis.jpg" width="626" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYIRke5UgsHqlb4HNBY-wOiO4WK-xeeS4hkjqFkHuuGjndynkgHQAS9ACwgZe2IqTqOdBCYbZHRUwiI9h0obcY_GraDA42oClVF_wNzjV9PHoidHVa605g7gkSM_s4dFil69WJgqTGyqRy/s1600/Untitled-2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYIRke5UgsHqlb4HNBY-wOiO4WK-xeeS4hkjqFkHuuGjndynkgHQAS9ACwgZe2IqTqOdBCYbZHRUwiI9h0obcY_GraDA42oClVF_wNzjV9PHoidHVa605g7gkSM_s4dFil69WJgqTGyqRy/s400/Untitled-2.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpppqFQZzboJsF6oC8s9B9AAwwTarV6vF118DKQ7A46BlndQKfpStczT6vM5Kz6f_v8T9uaaLaoGP7vyFExPvmqVf-CsPAyUXRmBs46Qvs_F9SeSyeqgV-wBU6g3s51KaMuF3ceuhy-rXD/s1600/anti+angiogenesis+foods.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpppqFQZzboJsF6oC8s9B9AAwwTarV6vF118DKQ7A46BlndQKfpStczT6vM5Kz6f_v8T9uaaLaoGP7vyFExPvmqVf-CsPAyUXRmBs46Qvs_F9SeSyeqgV-wBU6g3s51KaMuF3ceuhy-rXD/s400/anti+angiogenesis+foods.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">So, Dr. Li mentions a number of natural anti-angiogenesis foods, which help the body prune back excess blood vessels.</span></b></div>
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Taking some foods together can cause food synergy and enhance the anti-angiogenesis effects. He mentions: </div>
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-</span><b><span style="color: #444444;">Soy products</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b>such as tofu and tempeh, (which contain the inhibitor "genistein")</div>
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-</span><b><span style="color: #444444;">Agaricus subrufescens mushrooms</span></b></span> (contain the inhibitors sodium pyroglutamate and ergosterol)</div>
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-</span><b><span style="color: #444444;">Black raspberry</span></b></span> (Rubus occidentalis) extract</div>
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-</span><b><span style="color: #444444;">(Green) tea</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b>(catechins)</div>
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-</span><b><span style="color: #444444;">Lingzhi mushrooms and Maitake mushrooms</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b>(via inhibition of VEGF and TGF-beta)</div>
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-<b><span>Trametes versicolor mushrooms</span></b></span> </span>(Polysaccharide-K).</div>
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-<span><b>Parsley</b></span></span></div>
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-<b><span>Turmeric</span></b></span></div>
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-<b><span>Lavender</span></b></span></div>
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-<b><span>Citrus</span></b></span></div>
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-<b><span>Red grapes</span></b></span></div>
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-<b><span>Garlic</span></b></span></div>
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-<b><span>Liquorice</span></b> </span>(glycyrrhizic acid)</div>
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-</span><b><span style="color: #444444;">Red wine</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b>(resveratrol) -> -<span>resveratrol</span> 60% reduces unnatural angiogenesis!</div>
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-<b><span>Royal Jelly</span></b></span> </span>(Queen bee acid)</div>
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-<b><span>Berries </span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Tomatoes</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b><span style="text-align: center;">(lycopene)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; text-align: center;">-<b><span>Vitamin E</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">-</span>Tranexamic acid</div>
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-Ellagic acid (strawberries)</div>
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-<b><span>Bok choy</span></b></span></div>
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-olive oil</div>
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-<b><span>Grape seed oil</span></b></span></div>
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-dark chocolate</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8K3MTk2_DzvLNX6-zWtpIXmuuSuOR-_Cr7tN7AIGjv1uQTXTwxSf10l5SkFBgqwX-5l4fcs3YM36JqRM93G-nbceOh_XCsYmZ5ZnHIDSi0gn8ZOTx73AD53GSTpImYYaVKsdaVDvxsyc/s1600/Paper+5.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="1099" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8K3MTk2_DzvLNX6-zWtpIXmuuSuOR-_Cr7tN7AIGjv1uQTXTwxSf10l5SkFBgqwX-5l4fcs3YM36JqRM93G-nbceOh_XCsYmZ5ZnHIDSi0gn8ZOTx73AD53GSTpImYYaVKsdaVDvxsyc/w400-h309/Paper+5.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwpWdhhGQR7EC0grReWeC0W1gztEBCDlvfMuzq0IfVhRXdK32Zilsm8ovMHXPnITuMUibOBDgg7vUyVEusTeEDIUbRtT6lC4uBGMJdtDjgiCKF0QSuHyTQ_VX-hIGZkHibfizu747hcpsV/s1600/paper+4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="912" data-original-width="1110" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwpWdhhGQR7EC0grReWeC0W1gztEBCDlvfMuzq0IfVhRXdK32Zilsm8ovMHXPnITuMUibOBDgg7vUyVEusTeEDIUbRtT6lC4uBGMJdtDjgiCKF0QSuHyTQ_VX-hIGZkHibfizu747hcpsV/w400-h328/paper+4.jpg" width="400" /></a>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1891166/">this NCBI research </a></span></b></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1891166/">paper</a>, you can read more about the potency of natural health products to reduce angiogenesis</span></b></span></span></div>
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It highlights several supplements which have a proven record for reducing angiogenesis: "The herbs that are traditionally used for anticancer treatment and that are anti-angiogenic through multiple interdependent processes (including effects on gene expression, signal processing, and enzyme activities) include Artemisia annua <span style="color: #444444;">(<span><b>Chinese wormwood</b></span>)</span>, Viscum album <span style="color: #444444;">(<b><span>European mistletoe</span></b>)</span>, Curcuma longa <b><span style="color: #444444;">(<span>curcumin</span>)</span></b>, Scutellaria baicalensis (<b><span style="color: #444444;">Chinese skullcap</span></b>), <span><b><span style="color: #444444;">resveratrol</span></b> </span>and proanthocyanidin (<b><span style="color: #444444;">grape seed extract</span></b>), Magnolia officinalis (<b><span style="color: #444444;">Chinese magnolia tree</span></b>), Camellia sinensis (<b><span style="color: #444444;">green tea</span></b>), <span style="color: #444444;"><span><b><span>Ginkgo biloba, quercetin, Poria cocos</span></b></span>,</span> Zingiber officinalis (<b><span style="color: #444444;">ginger</span></b>), <span>Panax ginseng, Rabdosia rubescens hora (Rabdosia), and Chinese destagnation herbs<b style="color: #783f04;">.</b></span>" The article also mentions western medicine used to reduce angiogenesis, such as bevacizumab (Avastin) and heparin. Interestingly this research paper also mentions <span><b><span style="color: #444444;">Vitamin D</span> </b></span>and<span> <b><span style="color: #444444;">bovine cartilage</span></b></span> as scientifically proven anti-angiogenesis sources. There have been many rosacea patients who improved from increasing their (typically low) vitamin D levels, and drinking bone broth (containing bovine cartilage usually) has also been mentioned often as beneficial by rosaceans.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9WpuL12R3r94j9tzTTFRaGezeHCGbS7iSNjnmdU2d31T9LRoC48ghen1kY0IUZ6z0HQtSyAixXuEFxB5dPfZloaUvL61M1frS8eG0CteuRmqLWgLhGFy-LCqh3zvHcjqz1r5KkNj6fUK/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="256" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9WpuL12R3r94j9tzTTFRaGezeHCGbS7iSNjnmdU2d31T9LRoC48ghen1kY0IUZ6z0HQtSyAixXuEFxB5dPfZloaUvL61M1frS8eG0CteuRmqLWgLhGFy-LCqh3zvHcjqz1r5KkNj6fUK/w400-h308/download.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18071725" target="_blank">This</a> is a study of the pathogenesis of rosacea: how angiogenesis and mast cells may participate in a complex multifactorial process </b></span></div>
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I myself have an issue with mast cells, and in thus study it was established that mast cells together with angiogenesis play a role in rosacea. When a biopsy sample was taken of the skin of rosacea patients, scientists found that the skin samples contained mast cells, as well as statistically important differences in angiogenesis: samples taken from skin with active rosacea (and high vascular density) showed more factors of angiogenesis than skin which clinically showed no rosacea symptoms. Researchers also found serum antibodies against H.pylori in the skin samples of rosacea patients. Also interesting: microvessels density (skin with a lot of extra blood vessels) and total vascular area showed no correlation with the degree of prolonged and excessive sun exposure the skin received, nor with inflammation or with the Demodex density. Which underlines once again that people with rosacea flushing and skin redness (without pimples) often do not suffer from demodex infections which cause the rosacea. The researchers concluded that <i>"<span style="color: #444444;"><b>Angiogenesis seems to play an important role in the pathogenesis especially of the more severe clinical form of Rosacea</b></span>. Mast cell numbers in the skin seem to participate in evolution to disease chronicity by contributing to inflammation, angiogenesis and tissue fibrosis."</i></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30578968" target="_blank">This</a> study proves that tranexamic acid ameliorates rosacea symptoms through regulating immune response and angiogenesis</span></b><br />The 2018 study confirms that rosacea is immune system influenced:<b><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><span style="color: #444444;">"Rosacea is a chronic </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">inflammatory cutaneous disease characterized by immune system anomalies and vascular hyperreactivity."</span></b> Recently, therapy of rosacea has improved substantially with the approval of <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tranexamic_acid" target="_blank">Tranexamic acid </a></b>(TXA), an antifibrinolytic agent. Rosacea-like symptoms including skin erythema and histopathological alterations, as well as the elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNFα) and MMP9 expression were significantly ameliorated by TXA treatment. In addition, TXA reduced the expression levels of innate immune gene (TLR2, KLK5 and Camp) and neutrophils relative gene in rosacea-like lesion. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory effects of TXA were associated with the inhibition of TLR2, pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNFα) and chemokines (CCL10) expression in LL37-activated HaCaT cells. Finally, TXA repressed the angiogenesis by reducing the number of CD31+ cell and downregulating the expression levels of VEGF in rosacea. In conclusion, our finding defines a treatment mechanism by which TXA ameliorates rosacea symptoms by regulating the immune response and angiogenesis." - In other words: <b><span style="color: #783f04;">Tranexamic acid</span></b> is a medication used to treat or prevent excessive blood loss. Side effects are rare and may include changes in color vision, blood clots, and allergic reactions. There is however a small risk that tranexamic acid may cause a clot in another part of the body. <span>This research found that Tranexamic acid ameliorates rosacea symptoms through regulating immune response and angiogenesis.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNUZTuE9zgiGLvGCDX7TrLwkfyEi2XWpy6LvubN3Hhalhq2rsYMhawwHU0ayYxolsrQcvPG0zsBqXU8mL7n0mHnx3G9ScgyjEjC6_p1id210kRpUuo3ilVZroyaZSqWAYF-PVS5o4aB4Y/s1600/1-s2.0-S0753332219310339-gr1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="661" height="538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNUZTuE9zgiGLvGCDX7TrLwkfyEi2XWpy6LvubN3Hhalhq2rsYMhawwHU0ayYxolsrQcvPG0zsBqXU8mL7n0mHnx3G9ScgyjEjC6_p1id210kRpUuo3ilVZroyaZSqWAYF-PVS5o4aB4Y/w406-h538/1-s2.0-S0753332219310339-gr1.jpg" width="406" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332219310339" style="font-weight: bold;">This</a><b> study proves that artemisinin is a potential option to inhibit inflammation and angiogenesis in rosacea</b></span></div>
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Artemisinin, an anti-malaria drug, was reported to have several effects including anti-inflammation and anti-angiogenesis activities. When this drug was tested on rosacea skin, the skin erythema (redness) improved. Elevated pro-inflammatory factors and inflammatory biomarkers were also significantly improved. Artemisinin also reduced rosacea-like inflammation and repressed angiogenesis. In conclusion, artemisinin improved rosacea-like dermatitis by regulating immune response and angiogenesis, indicating that it could represent an effective therapeutic option for patients with rosacea. Artemisinin derivatives are known for their ability to suppress immune reactions such as inflammation. One derivative, SM934, was approved in 2015 by the China Food and Drug Administration for clinical trial as a drug for systemic lupus erythematosus. Experiments in animal models have given good results. It can regulate T cell subsets, inhibit the activation of B cells, block the production of inflammatory cytokines and NF-κB signal transduction pathway.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAp6tWnOCkeQvcGjP7RnrWjK9YdBCM_zLvfZaNo66sgim63TM3u1SvzwlHMCGkmfRNdJ-Q_DrjxLq1LZHCWtn-G4E-Z_fYMSfnUCe26sZLZI4TEH7389JLXmrITGlD9SgsKz7ZkzUeD4khCdMM-SIIno_gnkJc6T5ZE_QR6jZDAknRmtu5PpJbZNof_K0/s564/b6f24eea309ccd10d149efd9f27408c9.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="564" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAp6tWnOCkeQvcGjP7RnrWjK9YdBCM_zLvfZaNo66sgim63TM3u1SvzwlHMCGkmfRNdJ-Q_DrjxLq1LZHCWtn-G4E-Z_fYMSfnUCe26sZLZI4TEH7389JLXmrITGlD9SgsKz7ZkzUeD4khCdMM-SIIno_gnkJc6T5ZE_QR6jZDAknRmtu5PpJbZNof_K0/w585-h472/b6f24eea309ccd10d149efd9f27408c9.jpg" width="585" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">Why women with neuropathic rosacea have a higher risk of developing migraine </span></span></b><br />
<br /><b><span style="color: #444444;">March 13, 2019</span></b><br />Scientific research has confirmed that people with rosacea, and especially neuropathic rosacea with facial flushing and burning, have a higher risk of developing types of headache such as migraine and cluster headaches. Our blood vessels are linked throughout our body and when the blood vessels in the facial skin do not function correctly, dilating too much, then this can also extend to the blood vessels going to our brain. Patients with cluster headaches for instance - which is a very severe type of headache that happens on one side of the head/face - deal with blood vessels in the head which dilate too much and are pressing on the nerve endings in your head, causing severe nerve pain; head aches. Often patients of cluster headaches notice some relief by walking in the cold air. Because just like with facial flushing, cold air makes the blood vessel constrict. And rosacea also involves inflammation of the skin and blood vessels and this inflammation in turn is also involved with migraine. So it is a twofold interaction and overlap thing. It is a two way street, science found that having rosacea increases the risk of developing migraines, and having migraines increases the risk of developing rosacea.<br />
<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSx9Oyl4Zmc7S9i9uwQOhPTAAZjjJxw4_4ZMVfrg4FMk7zr7oAI_JWMjlL_3gGUK3PANPAFv6XYeh0MoSUwJMd37us_f4oZ-uCH5YxBTXRbKzXypeNlwGnmLzMXLa0q2vfJOtLACgL6yBDGeV4RVAuO0CgHf9Qg6e9oqFPbhQojyevvGb18spGjTX5XwIX/s262/download%20(4).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="192" height="457" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSx9Oyl4Zmc7S9i9uwQOhPTAAZjjJxw4_4ZMVfrg4FMk7zr7oAI_JWMjlL_3gGUK3PANPAFv6XYeh0MoSUwJMd37us_f4oZ-uCH5YxBTXRbKzXypeNlwGnmLzMXLa0q2vfJOtLACgL6yBDGeV4RVAuO0CgHf9Qg6e9oqFPbhQojyevvGb18spGjTX5XwIX/w335-h457/download%20(4).jpg" width="335" /></a>In <b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27817869" target="_blank">this research</a></b>, scientists tracked more than 4.3 million individuals in the Danish National Patient Registry, of which roughly 50.000 were diagnosed with rosacea. The study found that rosacea patients were 31 percent more likely to experience migraines than patients who do not suffer from rosacea. Ocular rosacea patients even had a 69 percent increased risk of migraine, while patients with phymatous rosacea (subtype 3 of the nose) showed no increased risk. Female rosacea patients over the age of 50 had the highest increased risk of migraine. These percentages may even be on the low side, as the researchers determined them based on patients who took anti-migraine medication. And therefore all the rosacea patients with headaches who did not take specific medication for this, or who bought over the counter and freely available pain medication, have been overlooked. Which may be a significant amount, theoretically. Dr. Egeberg, who conducted the research, and his team believe that the vascular abnormalities that cause the rosacea symptoms we all know, are also to blame for the migraines. It is also interesting that both vascular rosacea and migraine have comparable triggers, for instance stress and alcohol consumption. <b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23643255" target="_blank">Another study</a></b> on this topic was done in the United Kingdom and it included more than 100,000 migraine patients. This study found that a smaller percentage of women with rosacea had also developed migraines: 22 percent. No association was found for rosacea and migraine in male patients. The association found between rosacea and migraine for female patients increased directly with age. Women over the age of 60 had a 66 percent increased risk of rosacea. The researchers also stated that it is possible that a specific medication group for migraines, <b><a href="https://migraine.com/migraine-treatment/triptans/" target="_blank">triptans</a></b>, can theoretically also help people with vascular and neuropathic rosacea, as they are both anti-inflammatory and vasoconstrictive (so they constrict the blood vessels, something we rosacea patients can benefit from). But that more research is needed for this.</div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVa5JYh2GZ_JoIAYbIGIyF1HM9kaQegUoH2qp0CmXp1Arkg5cUDppDqSlvmsZOHhQ9iWIMvXhjbjf_9gRYk4jt7iQhvUhPBISxJOoorfY8F1KtsaR4yKcOc4ubEE7U2qflIWSXz9ASIfaHq5KmyDwk4EMW9UAIEYkBjzCPiVMyx4f1LT0iUSJ7A9RPiRfT/s1022/8f84c81c25098a655dd5a1c7ed3129f4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1022" data-original-width="458" height="707" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVa5JYh2GZ_JoIAYbIGIyF1HM9kaQegUoH2qp0CmXp1Arkg5cUDppDqSlvmsZOHhQ9iWIMvXhjbjf_9gRYk4jt7iQhvUhPBISxJOoorfY8F1KtsaR4yKcOc4ubEE7U2qflIWSXz9ASIfaHq5KmyDwk4EMW9UAIEYkBjzCPiVMyx4f1LT0iUSJ7A9RPiRfT/w316-h707/8f84c81c25098a655dd5a1c7ed3129f4.jpg" width="316" /></a>
<b><a href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/resource-centers/advances-in-migraine/rosacea-linked-new-onset-migraine/2184" target="_blank">This pubmed article</a> </b>also suggests some more treatment options for vascular and <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/426431" target="_blank"><b>neuropathic rosacea</b></a>: Conclusions and clinical implications: "Based on the findings linking rosacea to diseases involving dysregulation of the immune, vascular, and nervous systems, several new modalities for treating rosacea have been proposed. The success of neurologically focused drugs including <b><span style="color: #783f04;">gabapentin, duloxetine, pregabalin, and tricyclic antidepressants</span></b> in a subset of rosacea patients suggests a neurological component of the disease. [..] The link between rosacea and autoimmune disease has prompted suggestion of <b><span style="color: #783f04;">probiotics</span></b> as a potential therapy for both conditions, which may limit overactive innate immune responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Specific targeting of both innate and adaptive immune responses is justified based on the above correlations, although finding the particular drug targets that will impart benefit in rosacea patients remains a challenge."<br />
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Another treatment that can help both migraines and rosacea are <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/01/botox-for-facial-flushing-and-rosacea.html" target="_blank">botox</a></b> treatments. They are administered differently here than for anti-wrinkle treatment (not in the nerves but in the skin). Some of the most common symptoms of a migraine include throbbing pain, sensitivity to light and sound, nausea and changes in vision. Migraine triggers include:<br />
▪ Hormonal fluctuations.<br />
▪ Certain foods and drinks, including alcohol and caffeine.<br />
▪ Emotional stress.<br />
▪ Changes in the weather.<br />
▪ Some medications.<br />
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">Triptans</span></span></b><br />
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Triptans are a class of medications that bind to serotonin receptors in the brain and diminish the swelling of blood vessels. They therefore constrict blood vessels and are also anti-inflammatory. Triptans are primarily used in the acute treatment of moderate to severe migraine and are fast acting, generally reducing head pain in about 2 hours. Some subtypes are called sumatriptan, naratriptan, rizatriptan, almotriptan and zolmitriptan. Because these drugs narrow the blood vessels, rosaceams who are also heart patients are not a good candidate. Also, from what I understand this class of medication is not meant to be taken long term.. And there is even mentioning of rebound flushing. After all, like <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/12/mirvaso-inventory-of-patient-responses.html" target="_blank">Mirvaso</a></b>, any medication that chemically constricts the blood vessels, comes with the risk of overcompensation by the body and rebound flaring once the medication is stopped... Yeh, not sounding all too great this, does it.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">G. Nase <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8369-Do-Migraine-Medicines-quot-Triptans-quot-help-rosacea" target="_blank">wrote</a> on 12th October 2005:</span></b> "Do Migraine Medicines "Triptans" help rosacea? - Over the years, many have reported significant temporary clearance of rosacea redness and flushing when taking anti-migraine medications like Sumatriptan and the newer "triptans". Injection seems to be the most potent, followed by oral pills. These medications are meant to work on two parts of the migraine:<br />
1. Stop vasomotion -- dilation and constriction ........ and place them into a semi-constricted state<br />
2. An unidentified effect on vasodilator nerves up in the cerebral blood vessels (brain blood vessels).<br />
Often times this has a positive action on facial blood vessels too. My general guesstimate is that 80% find relief while the others do not. This would give physicians working knowledge with a known medication."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Bethanne <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8369-Do-Migraine-Medicines-quot-Triptans-quot-help-rosacea" target="_blank">wrote</a> on October 12th 2005: </span></b>"I have suffered from migraines for over 20 years and have had Rosacea for more than ten years. I just took some Zomig (<span style="color: #444444;"><b>Zolmitriptan</b></span>) this morning. In my case with this medication and those in its class (I took Imitrex years ago) my Rosacea flushing and redness either stays the same or, more frequently, ramps up. Part of this is often influenced by when I get the migraine and whether I am able to sleep it off after taking the meds. If I cannot continue to sleep after taking the medication, I am more likely to become flushy. I don't know if that is truly a mitigating factor or just stress-related. These meds are also known to have a rebound affect on migraines if used too frequently. I wonder if that means that they would also cause a rebound in Rosacea symptoms for those who are helped by them? Interesting post--thank you. Beth"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Irishgenes <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8369-Do-Migraine-Medicines-quot-Triptans-quot-help-rosacea" target="_blank">wrote</a> on October 13th 2005: </span></b>"I don't see how the triptan drugs could be used for rosacea. They are not supposed to be used over twice a week. Any effect on rosacea would be quite temporary."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">G. Nase <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8369-Do-Migraine-Medicines-quot-Triptans-quot-help-rosacea">replied</a> on 14th October 2005:</span></b> "This would never be a long term treatment option for rosacea as you pointed out. It has significant constrictor actions and that is why some experience a rebound. The information that could be pulled out of this medication is how it affects vasodilatory <span>nerves</span> and not the second effect on blood vessels. One potential use down the road, is to use it after unusually bad flares that happen to rosacea sufferers. Sometimes, the one major flare can cause significant progression of the disorder -- so in very select cases, this may be an option for those that are caught in a horrific flare. Just anecdotal, but quite a few do notice transient improvement in rosacea symptoms with one or two shots. Of course there are many things that must be discussed with your doctor about these meds. Sometimes you can learn quite a lot about a disorder by how a medication affects its symptoms.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Bethanne <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8369-Do-Migraine-Medicines-quot-Triptans-quot-help-rosacea" target="_blank">replied</a> on October 14th 2005: </span></b>"Zomig now comes in a nasal spray dispenser. One dispenser administers 5 mg of the drug."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37897-triptans-for-severe-flushing&highlight=triptans" target="_blank">wrote</a> on September 28th 2017: </span></b>"Triptans for severe flushing - Hi, Just wanted to mention that if I ever take an imitrex (<span style="color: #444444;"><b>sumatriptan</b></span>) when I feel a migraine coming on, it greatly helps with my flushing problems as well. You can read about the mechanism of action <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triptan" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. But basically it can help constriction of blood vessels and inhibit CGRP and substance P (which are implicated in sub 1 rosacea). A forum member (probably not here anymore) "Meg" I know used to take Maxalt (<span style="color: #444444;"><b>Rizatriptan</b></span>) sometimes for her flushing/burning, but I am not sure how often she took it. My sense is your body will get used to it if you take it too often. For me any rebound isn't noticeable when the effects wore off. Just in case this helps someone! Lizzy" <span style="color: #444444;">- <b><span>Scroll down in this post to one of the earliest updates, which details this link between flushing and CGRP and Substance P.</span></b></span><br /><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMhcVhYloXuu1Scgvg3UydJz3TcJoB4eYUxA7Gj1qbyRhMta6D5bGKOmBhmoe-MrGmPq88q3sWf8AH-yGKd7twnTZebRQsOkawQTJ1MwMEWF95WhahEMy_wGd3i62AucJp8MrGCpvf97EoTid1T91zwlhEEEGiwHlhyCVBTqUARz-D5uAO9uHojGywysuR/s747/ramc3b3n-casas-i-carbc3b3-parisina-1900-via-colourthysoul-on-tumblr.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="549" height="629" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMhcVhYloXuu1Scgvg3UydJz3TcJoB4eYUxA7Gj1qbyRhMta6D5bGKOmBhmoe-MrGmPq88q3sWf8AH-yGKd7twnTZebRQsOkawQTJ1MwMEWF95WhahEMy_wGd3i62AucJp8MrGCpvf97EoTid1T91zwlhEEEGiwHlhyCVBTqUARz-D5uAO9uHojGywysuR/w462-h629/ramc3b3n-casas-i-carbc3b3-parisina-1900-via-colourthysoul-on-tumblr.jpg" width="462" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">January 31st 2019, </span></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">Immune suppressing anti-inflammatories</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />I am always on the lookout for ways to reduce inflammation, without wanting to take steroids of any type. I took diclofenac (NSAID) for several years but at some point developed heart cramps whenever I exercised and didn't want to keep taking them therefore. I also felt they stopped working and paradoxically might have made me more red eventually. I now heard about <b><span style="color: #783f04;">IVIG (Intravenous immunoglobin)</span></b>, which means that you get intravenously (IV) provided with extra antibodies, which stay in your body for several weeks and help your body fight off a large variety of infections. Unlike steroids, you can do this treatment long term. IVIG has <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2118416/" target="_blank"><b>proven</b></a> to be effective in the treatment of various autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, lowering inflammation in the body. So, considering that rosacea is also an inflammatory disease (and some forms of rosacea quite possibly being an auto-immune related issue), you would think that it could improve rosacea in theory as well. However, apart from being anti-inflammatory, IVIG also boosts your immune system. Which paradoxically can worsen auto-immune related inflammation again. Anyway, the person who tried it for rosacea flushing found IVIG had absolutely no effect on the rosacea. Bummer.. I also read <a href="http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=260354.msg4461361#msg4461361" target="_blank"><b>this account</b></a> from a pregnant woman with rosacea who had a doctor suggest IVIG for her rosacea, and wrote:</div>
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<i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>"My rosacea started to blow up and Dr G did not want to take any risk. He is one of few who thinks the rosacea is an autoimmunological disease. After 16 weeks I got very awful reaction on my face and Dr G suggested me to try IVIg (just because of the facial condition). I did not take IVIg since 5 of the experts in Sweden refused to help me with that and I did not want to take a risk to fly to London in the worse flew-time in Sweden. However with help of a sulphur creme and the time my face become better."</b></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16490849"><b>This</b></a> scientific article also states that: "High-dose intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs) are increasingly used to treat inflammatory and/or autoimmune disorders. In dermatology, they provide therapeutic benefit in Kawasaki disease and certain cases of dermatomyositis." But it goes on to warn for adverse reaction, such as 4 patients who developed severe eczema after IVIG treatment: "<i>We report 4 cases of a characteristic severe extensive eczematous reaction that occurred approximately 10 days after IVIG infusion for polyradiculoneuritis.</i>" The scientists did not understand the exact mechanism behind it but were clear that its onset within days after the IVIG treatment, implied it was a direct reaction to it. Which goes to show that your immune system does get a boost.</div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoegQk-uosLOYdywEopRmueME5vv3Kgkw8yRsnW9Vw-yAAdAH0MIqbOx9k-WE71wJYGf8ddzXJIFM5PCPBf3xyw5eQ6qFuiuLfNVKof9YtU5CtYjAh97S42NVxLVAQbEZIaOOg6WAvjA5hEQSnXTzQ4dRJWHg3Urj8EA9SLhrqhBFzjGSUpylxUrKyj6EN/s677/467ee3e42648dbb21c3777c7d86eb76a.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="564" height="529" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoegQk-uosLOYdywEopRmueME5vv3Kgkw8yRsnW9Vw-yAAdAH0MIqbOx9k-WE71wJYGf8ddzXJIFM5PCPBf3xyw5eQ6qFuiuLfNVKof9YtU5CtYjAh97S42NVxLVAQbEZIaOOg6WAvjA5hEQSnXTzQ4dRJWHg3Urj8EA9SLhrqhBFzjGSUpylxUrKyj6EN/w441-h529/467ee3e42648dbb21c3777c7d86eb76a.jpg" width="441" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px; text-align: center;">However, there are more anti-inflammatory options</b><br style="text-align: center;" /><div><br /></div><div>I was suggesting a couple of other anti-inflammatories in addition to NSAID's and steroids (not suitable for rosacea, can make it worse). <b><span style="color: #444444;">Methotrexate</span></b> is one, which lowers the immune system. I have talked with Professor Tony Chu about this in the past. He recalled several patients with rosacea who had very severe cases and responded well to methotrexate. However, he warned, it is a very serious medication which lowers your immune defenses not only in favour of auto-immune diseases and immune related inflammation, but also makes you much more prone to complications from a simple flu or infection. Flu can turn easily into dangerous pneumonia for instance, infections might not heal properly and the immune system in the long term also helps us clear up cancerous cells, if all goes well. So there you have a heap of potentially very serious side-effects, and thus.. he wouldn't prescribe methotrexate to me. I understood. Some other meds that might be interesting for rosacea inflammation are <b><span style="color: #444444;">CellCept</span></b>, and <b><span style="color: #444444;">azathioprine</span></b>. These are non-steroidal medications that are broadly immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory, BUT have the same downsides as methotrexate; by suppressing the immune system they also increase potential risks of infection and even certain cancers in the long run. But, they are definitely safer for rosacea itself than prednisone (a steroid), which can cause vasodilation, permanent blood vessel damage, flushing, thinning of the skin and worsening of symptoms.</div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i><b>"Never, never, never, ever prescribe steroids for rosacea" Dr.Kligman (Dermatology-University of Philadelphia) & Dr. Pleig (Dermatologische Klinik Und Poliklinik der Universitat Munchen, Germany) state in their 1973 book, entitled Acne & Rosacea, First edition. Likewise, their second edition in 1993 harshly criticizes dermatologists that prescribe steroids for rosacea".</b></i></span></div></div></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>The problem with steroids</b></span> is that they can be super effective for certain other conditions, that can overlap in symptoms with rosacea, or can be misdiagnosed as rosacea. Think for instance of lupus, dermatitis, erythromelalgia and even <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/05/seborrhoeic-dermatitis-seb-derm-in.html" target="_blank"><b>seb derm</b></a> and quite a few <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2014/05/other-conditions-that-cause-facial_29.html" target="_blank"><b>other conditions that can cause flushing</b></a>. Some doctors can determine through the use of steroids that someone in fact has an autoimmune disease, as corticosteroids will lower the immune response and improve your symptoms, as well as inflammation. Doctors are often easily swayed to throw some steroids your way when your symptoms are inflammatory and vague. But one always needs to be cautious with them when it comes to rosacea. Even short term use of a steroid cream can trigger rosacea (as it <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/what-happened-in-last-13-years-sigh.html" target="_blank"><b>did</b></a> in my case). And existing rosacea can worsen due to steroid creams or pills. But some dermatologists prescribe steroids regardless, as they will help initially to make the skin less red and inflamed. I am of the opinions that steroids, both topical or in pill form, should never ever be used as a rosacea treatment.</div><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;"><br /><br /></b><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietPc95ggLhxXuhI9QmMMOCrRONtBVLLwT-Or4hue4ZSg-8D-TsGYJLb8EwZvkNTsjid3nF27La3tgmUO3jPHvMRrciQ8EvEvGvBRlIVrkZpijYPbf5nGrcTg2khz831D5ivxAoavAKFP97vR6j9Q-K0EPA-uODIQCRzq44Faqk6lLajCa1ISSHi_4bvsv/s563/e33ce75973d2e7a1efc99ee5efd2c1bb.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="563" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietPc95ggLhxXuhI9QmMMOCrRONtBVLLwT-Or4hue4ZSg-8D-TsGYJLb8EwZvkNTsjid3nF27La3tgmUO3jPHvMRrciQ8EvEvGvBRlIVrkZpijYPbf5nGrcTg2khz831D5ivxAoavAKFP97vR6j9Q-K0EPA-uODIQCRzq44Faqk6lLajCa1ISSHi_4bvsv/w530-h341/e33ce75973d2e7a1efc99ee5efd2c1bb.jpg" width="530" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IoHGPtH_M5OWfH7-7mvIOI2Lt-6VLjocIjDvzf8t-g_n_p3dti9esjZZ_wLSx4pjLCZ-cz5Y5Wbo3Y0SuvKbA9Qt0BcPmwOpAC1F2Qm9LUrFpzH0vU4BsQEwnVqTo6i3lp1JUXxZ3qTk1xgibTi8IBL9C28lrnY9aZPflVOEshg__J5fgO679yDumSvM/s408/571d4f41c1ccbef01189987be8f37f24.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="408" height="413" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IoHGPtH_M5OWfH7-7mvIOI2Lt-6VLjocIjDvzf8t-g_n_p3dti9esjZZ_wLSx4pjLCZ-cz5Y5Wbo3Y0SuvKbA9Qt0BcPmwOpAC1F2Qm9LUrFpzH0vU4BsQEwnVqTo6i3lp1JUXxZ3qTk1xgibTi8IBL9C28lrnY9aZPflVOEshg__J5fgO679yDumSvM/w531-h413/571d4f41c1ccbef01189987be8f37f24.jpg" width="531" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px; text-align: center;">P</b><span style="color: #990000; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 40px;"><b>almitoylethanolamide (PEA)</b></span></span><br /><br />I was also tipped on the supplement palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) for the treatment of pain, inflammation and even of mast cell instability. I ordered it this week and will give it a try as soon as it comes in. So far I have had bad reports with mostly all supplements however. Only Alpha Lipoic Acid seemed to help slightly, the rest either did nothing (a few) or made my flushing worse (most). But will try it anyway. So what is palmitoylethanolamide (PEA)? It is a fatty acid, produced in the body to combat pain and inflammation, by boosting your natural cannabinoids and protecting the nerves throughout your body. My rosacea is both vascular and neuropathic, meaning it shows itself through constant dilating of the blood vessels - flushing, redness - as well as giving me a lot of nerve pain in the face; my skin always feels tight, burned up and uncomfortable. And when I get massively flushed or more red than usual, it feels on fire, literally like someone threw something hot or acid-like on it. So the nerves in my facial skin have become hypersensitive after twenty years of rosacea flushing, inflammation and swelling. hence, this supplement sounds good so far :) What else? Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) can also be found in soy lecithin, soybeans, egg yolk, peanuts, and alfalfa. However, most of these might not be a suitable option for people with food sensitivities (soy can be a trigger for rosacea as well as the high-histamine peanuts. Eggs can also be a trigger for some). As a supplement, PEA is available in tablet, capsule, and powder form and is considered a strong and safe natural painkiller and anti-inflammatory. More than 30 clinical <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5094513/" target="_blank"><b>trials</b></a> so far have confirmed it can relieve complex pain (but also stated that more large-scale scientific research is needed). <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3500919/" target="_blank"><b>This</b></a> scientific article concluded:</div>
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<i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>"PEA represents a promising addition to our therapeutic armamentarium for neuropathic pain, with potential for good tolerability and a low propensity for side effects."</b></span></i></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;">It is also claimed that PEA can activate the cannabinoid receptors, protect the brain and heart, improve mood, reduce allergies, and may help fight the common cold. PEA also activates the energy-boosting, fat-burning, and anti-inflammatory PPAR alpha. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15465922" target="_blank"><b>This</b></a> research paper states: "<i>Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), the naturally occurring amide of palmitic acid and ethanolamine, reduces pain and inflammation through an as-yet-uncharacterized mechanism. Here, we identify the nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-alpha) as the molecular target responsible for the anti-inflammatory properties of PEA." </i>In an analysis of 12 human studies, PEA supplements reduced chronic and neuropathic pain intensity without any serious adverse effects. It has to be used for at least 2 weeks to achieve pain relief. PEA was typically given over 3-8 weeks at dosages between 300 and 1200 mg/day. Taking it over a longer period of time strengthens its effects without causing tolerance. Normal dose is 300 or 600 mg/day, however: "At least 600 mg/day may be needed to relieve nerve pain, while doses of 1,2 g/day were used for diabetic nerve pain." You can read more favorable research outcomes in<b> <a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/palmitoylethanolamide-pea/" target="_blank">this</a> </b>article. One important benefit of it I like to name here is that PEA is said to reduce gut inflammation. I have a chronic low grade inflammatory condition of the gut (microscopic colitis) and it appears that many people with rosacea have in fact some issue or another with their gut and bowels (you can read my blog post about the link <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/12/rosacea-and-bowel-or-digestive.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>). And depression! I'm of course not sure if this is really the wonder supplement that article makes it out to be :)</div>
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<b><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCGbru_b8W1T5RsQmANj3u1l4DneXhlfvjUKPkZzkKWPtEJlVZBu9_W0xZdUTDh9t0Ex7yqPY1SRCbNGTD5FPG4Uob_cC3Wgtx2ygZeZ2qjDbE6hslm5ER69ojlaXwBVO4v3WIIkAXPUsa96iSnq4-5Lr353FLRSjYm2lRSRshBqR5Zj5vCmPslFCPpy4-/s600/a003338840-001.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="427" height="587" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCGbru_b8W1T5RsQmANj3u1l4DneXhlfvjUKPkZzkKWPtEJlVZBu9_W0xZdUTDh9t0Ex7yqPY1SRCbNGTD5FPG4Uob_cC3Wgtx2ygZeZ2qjDbE6hslm5ER69ojlaXwBVO4v3WIIkAXPUsa96iSnq4-5Lr353FLRSjYm2lRSRshBqR5Zj5vCmPslFCPpy4-/w419-h587/a003338840-001.jpg" width="419" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">PEA Reduces Gut Inflammation</span></b></div></b><div style="text-align: left;">"PEA was successfully used to relieve symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBS) in animals. Mice with chronic gut inflammation have low PEA levels, while PEA supplements normalized bowel movement and prevented damage to the gut lining. In tissues taken by biopsy from people with ulcerative colitis, PEA lowered inflammatory cytokines and the buildup of neutrophils, immune cells that worsen symptoms and contribute to gut damage."</div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">PEA Reduces Depression</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">"In a recent study of 58 people with depression, PEA (1,2 g/day) given over 6 weeks greatly and rapidly improved mood and overall symptoms. PEA was added to antidepressant treatment (citalopram) and lowered symptoms by an impressive 50%. This clinical study was a follow-up on numerous studies in which PEA improved symptoms of depression in animals."</div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">PEA Reduces Histamine and Allergies</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">"PEA is a safe histamine-release blocker. People with allergies, histamine issues, and Th2-dominance will likely benefit from it. In animal and cell-based studies, PEA improved eczema and skin allergies by lowering mast cell activation and blocking the release of histamine. [..] In dogs with eczema, PEA helped soothe symptoms by reducing skin inflammation and itching. PEA reduced inflammatory substances (TNF alpha) and increased endocannabinoids in the skin (2-AG), which altogether strongly diminishes the allergic response." And there is more scientific info for now... Boring boring! But I want to share it anyway.</div>
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<br /><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;"><br /></b><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2f0ovzaJqSC20NRtm9Tv3vvkd_TgnqVL9vO4EWyJW8F2LQp3lKJ3jSpqsy3qBLc_qkZZmnOxnTto4C0R1XXllkU5BCAaCX-4n3YXaX-TWPmbZEhlynkMJSwpWqlD3SZvWR4h6dN89UITal-6Hq-EisAq2EgJ7OfvxEAClfgwTQg1gS4kc5wryhwMRmEIy/s605/e7f61b933e074ac99da27819c8ba4522.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="400" height="618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2f0ovzaJqSC20NRtm9Tv3vvkd_TgnqVL9vO4EWyJW8F2LQp3lKJ3jSpqsy3qBLc_qkZZmnOxnTto4C0R1XXllkU5BCAaCX-4n3YXaX-TWPmbZEhlynkMJSwpWqlD3SZvWR4h6dN89UITal-6Hq-EisAq2EgJ7OfvxEAClfgwTQg1gS4kc5wryhwMRmEIy/w410-h618/e7f61b933e074ac99da27819c8ba4522.jpg" width="410" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px; text-align: center;">Peptide LL-37</b><br /><br />I was also told about research about a possible link between rosacea inflammation and the peptide LL-37. There is quite a bit of research online available on it, so I will write a bit more about it now. Know and realize here, that the true cause of rosacea has not been discovered yet. Doctors and scientists do not know what causes<span><b> <span style="color: #444444;">the different subtypes of rosacea</span></b></span> (subtype 1: flushing and redness, Subtype 2: skin outbreaks and inflammation, Subtype 3: rosacea of the nose; rhinophyma, Subtype 4: ocular rosacea of the eyes and the recently added Subtype 5: neuropathic rosacea with nerve pain and burning). It is likely that these different subtypes may have some different underlying mechanisms. For instance; subtype 2 is often improving from topical ivermectin or Soolantra applications (see entire blog post about this <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/09/ivermectin-or-soolantra-as-rosacea.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>). Indicating that demodex mites can play a role in this subtype. However, for subtype 1 with flushing and burning these creams rarely work well. The flushing is also not improving when using textbook rosacea treatments, such as antibiotic pills or creams. In fact, flushing is one of the most difficult to treat symptoms of all, in rosacea patients. Topicals like <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/12/mirvaso-inventory-of-patient-responses.html" target="_blank"><b>Mirvaso</b></a> (brimonidine) and Rhofade (oxymetazoline) have proven mostly disastrous for rosacea flushers. Large groups of people had their rosacea skin burned or deteriorated, had bad rebound flushing episodes that were often called "hellish" and long lasting. They chemically constrict the blood vessels, only for the body to compensate with abnormal blood vessel dilation rebound flushing) afterwards. It destabilizes the blood vessels in the long run and patients have mentioned their rosacea progressing to areas and severity they never had it before. of course another group states to have success with it, but it's a Russian Roulette drug, just like steroids. Better to reduce the flushing in my opinion are anti-flushing medication, or IPL or laser. (Read all about this <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/03/ipl-or-laser-for-rosacea-flushing-and.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>). And facial flushing goes by different pathways than the spots and outbreaks that subtype 2 patients tend to get. So, one big discovery, of one single cause, might be unlikely. Nevertheless, a (faulty) peptide called LL-37 may play a role in rosacea inflammation according to some research. <span style="text-align: center;">In </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3346901/" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a><span style="text-align: center;"> scientific research, it is stated that:<br /><br /><span style="text-align: left;">"Chronic, common inflammatory skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis</span><span style="text-align: left;"> or rosacea are characterized by dysregulation of cutaneous innate immunity (aka; there is an issue in rosacea skin with the normal functioning of the immune system function). Cathelicidin LL-37 is an important effector molecule of innate immunity in the skin and atopic dermatitis, psoriasis or rosacea show defects in cathelicidin expression, function or processing. *In rosacea, cathelicidin processing is disturbed resulting in peptide fragments causing inflammation, erythema [skin redness] and telangiectasias [small dilated blood vessels at the surface of the skin]. *In atopic dermatitis, cathelicidin induction might be disturbed resulting in defective antimicrobial barrier function [causing infection]. *In contrast, psoriasis is characterized by overexpression of cathelicidin. However to date it is unclear whether pro- or anti-inflammatory functions of cathelicidin predominate in lesional skin in psoriasis. In this review, the current evidence on the role of cathelicidin LL-37 in the pathogenesis of inflammatory skin diseases will be outlined. As cathelicidin LL-37 might also serve as a future treatment target potential novel treatment strategies for those diseases will be discussed." - </span><span style="text-align: left;">So the research article suggests that the skin of people with rosacea has a disturbed functioning of the LL-37 cathelicidin peptide. Does that mean that there are more of these peptides in rosacea skin? or less than normal? Or that there are normal numbers but that the peptides do not work as they should do in rosacea skin? And what is LL-37 peptide?</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH8-UPT93pTQXAVj9jlyYlHrnHuZ8EMy1LYIrXdLXZ2Y1qMpJaLksZUTh0cK-4t7HypmBY7vd2dOIOjvdEORfeG-kjj6OfO2tnerdqHzGiQB9DZwNvQ5IpxPHsHjyG9db7TA2-4nf0sLLkVHHE6uNzTc7y8M4ZKyTOdkUsaBx1tDRKztt5JsG5697pTg-l/s700/ramon-casas-i-carb-montmartre-1351403729_b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="467" height="583" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH8-UPT93pTQXAVj9jlyYlHrnHuZ8EMy1LYIrXdLXZ2Y1qMpJaLksZUTh0cK-4t7HypmBY7vd2dOIOjvdEORfeG-kjj6OfO2tnerdqHzGiQB9DZwNvQ5IpxPHsHjyG9db7TA2-4nf0sLLkVHHE6uNzTc7y8M4ZKyTOdkUsaBx1tDRKztt5JsG5697pTg-l/w388-h583/ramon-casas-i-carb-montmartre-1351403729_b.jpg" width="388" /></a></div></div><div style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">Cathelicidins</b> in the human body play a crucial role in the bodies immune defenses against bacterial infections trying to infect from the outside. Wikipedia <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LL37" target="_blank"><b>states</b></a> that "Patients with rosacea have elevated levels of cathelicidin." And when wiki states that "Excessive production of LL-37 is suspected to be a contributing cause in all subtypes of Rosacea", it cites <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3346901/" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> research paper, which is the same as the earlier quoted research. Its authors, M. Reinholz, T. Ruzicka and J. Schauber published in 2012 their research, stating that normal skin has three ways to protect itself from bacteria's from the outside world, trying to get in. First you have the top layer of the skin, which forms a shield (if the skin barrier functions as it should do!). This outer layer of skin has special cells that work as part of the bodies immune system, signalling when substances enter the skin that do not belong to the body itself, for instance a bacteria. They signal to the other cells of the danger once a bacteria does try to invade the skin. If this happens, the bodies immune system sends specific cells to the surface that are causing inflammation, trying to work out or kill the invading bacteria. One of these specific cells are antimicrobial peptides (AMP's), of which there are to date several hundred different types found. They can kill bacteria by messing with their cell membranes (for instance in case of a skin injury), but also fungi and viruses. So they are part of our skins little army, so to say. Cathelicidins are part of this AMP system. The precise cathelicidin involved in AMP is called Cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (CAMP). And Cathelicidin LL-37 belongs to the CAMP family. It can break up bacteria, fungi and viruses that land on the skin. But they can also give off an "alarm", which brings the skins army into action, causing inflammation to work out or kill the invading substances. They mainly get active and detectable in the skin once there is a skin injury. When all is normal and the skin functions as normal, they are hardly to be found in the upper skin. But Cathelicidin LL-37 can also trigger the immune system. Thus, it plays an important, dual, role in the immune function of the skin. And when this LL-37 peptide does not function as it should, it can in fact have the reverse effect on the skin, and cause <b><span style="color: #444444;">skin inflammation</span></b>. And also allow bacteria to infect the skin. The scientists found that in rosacea skin, cathelicidin LL-37 often does not function as it should, and what is worse, they found that rosacea skin has much higher levels of this LL-37:</div>
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<i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>"Indeed, cathelicidin is strongly increased lesional skin in rosacea compared to the skin of non-affected individuals."</b></span></i></div>
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<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rosacea skin deals with different symptoms, but mostly from chronic inflammatory and vascular response [blood vessels dilating more than they should]. The "alarm" function of LL-37 is off in rosacea skin, meaning it calls for the help troops to come when there is, in fact, no real threat... No invading bacteria to fight off, no fungi and no viruses. And instead, it stimulates inflammation of the (rosacea) skin and dilation of the blood vessels (thanks to the help of nitric oxide and EDHF):</div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><i> <b>"In rosacea increased levels of the vasoactive and inflammatory host-defense peptide LL-37 and its proteolytic peptide fragments are found which can be explained by an abnormal cathelicidin production and pathologic protease activity."</b></i></span></div>
<div><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkE6KecTRZIJYZM77l-TSmwr7pXfK3vpoXq9tsRemXWVwaGZiFMfevfaFBxFJNhdGv5dSXFIhQ5Xz5CsLF3jZE7dOsZkfF8N-PWBEKnveA59DZfZk9gedfSpH-U-0hhmBnWT21GXxdqnEq_fPYDjIo1a2vymm5OjRKxKBUDOq25cJrzs0jigub5fE5a3Hd/s750/portrait-of-julia-peraire_ramon-casas-i-carbo.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="450" height="656" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkE6KecTRZIJYZM77l-TSmwr7pXfK3vpoXq9tsRemXWVwaGZiFMfevfaFBxFJNhdGv5dSXFIhQ5Xz5CsLF3jZE7dOsZkfF8N-PWBEKnveA59DZfZk9gedfSpH-U-0hhmBnWT21GXxdqnEq_fPYDjIo1a2vymm5OjRKxKBUDOq25cJrzs0jigub5fE5a3Hd/w393-h656/portrait-of-julia-peraire_ramon-casas-i-carbo.jpg" width="393" /></a>The scientists got <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17676051/" target="_blank"><b>confirmation</b></a> about all this, when they injected these specific cathelicidins in the normal skin of mice. They all developed rosacea-like skin symptoms then. The problem is now, that scientists do not understand yet WHY rosacea skin has these higher numbers of cathelicidins,a lthough they found 3 different 'portals' so to speak, through which the extra peptides were produced. They were retinoid-, vitamin D- and cytokine-activated. The <span style="color: #783f04;"><b>vitamin D</b></span>-pathway, for instance, could explain why rosacea is only present on the face normally, and not on the rest of the body: the body is usually covered up and it is the face that gets the most sun-exposure and therefore the most vitamin D. And therefore, the more vitamin D is made in the skin, the more Cathelicidin LL-37 (and thus the more disrupting inflammation and vasodilation). But this is only a small part of the puzzle, as many people with rosacea shun the sun and protect their faces from sunlight at all times. Also, many with rosacea have low levels of vitamin D (read more about that in <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-role-of-vitamin-d-in-rosaceafacial.html" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> post). </div></div>
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<div><div style="text-align: left;">But scientists also found that cathelicidins could be triggered by keratinocytes (outer layers of skin cells), which have nothing to do with vitamin D. They found that the outer skin cells themselves can signal the making of more Cathelicidin LL-37 when they are injured, get exposed to UV radiation, or when the outer layer of the skin gets disrupted in any way. Skin Stress, one could call it. Ánd, interestingly: skin stress includes <b><span style="color: #444444;">heat</span></b>. "<i>This again could explain why rosacea patients often report on unspecific triggers (e.g. heat) which would mediate their pro-inflammatory activities through ER stress and cathelicidin induction</i>." So when our rosacea skin gets triggered by heat, for instance you enter a very warm room, then this heat touching the skin will cause stress in the outer layer of the skin, sending of "alarm signals", which stimulate the LL-37 and other peptides to come into action and create.... inflammation. Physical stress can trigger the same response by the way, as well as<span style="color: #444444;"> <span><b>alcohol</b></span></span> consumption: Inflammation.. Just like we see happening in our rosacea faces when dealing with triggers like heat. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Demodex mite infection</span></b> can also trigger the skin to make these inflammation alarm reactions, as demodex mites can cause increased protease activity in rosacea skin, which does the alarm bells of Cathelicidin LL-37 go off again. Which in turn trigger inflammation, redness and blood vessel dilation in the skin. This is probably why oral and topical antibiotics (tetracyclines for instance), azelaic acid and retinoids can work for rosacea: they directly interfere with this pro-inflammatory system and reduce the inflammation or stop it from being formed altogether. So antibiotics can work for rosacea not because of their ability to kill off <i>bacteria</i>, but instead of how they reduce inflammation. And the same goes for <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/09/ivermectin-or-soolantra-as-rosacea.html" target="_blank"><b>anti-demodex treatment</b></a>. which can take away the prime trigger for LL-37-related skin inflammation IF you have a demodex mite infection.</div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;">And avoid sunlight on your face.<span> <b><span style="color: #444444;">Vitamin D from sun is a direct trigger for LL-37-mediated inflammation</span></b> </span>and blood vessel dilation of rosacea skin. You can bronze on the rest of your body, just not your face, if you want to calm down rosacea-inflammation. (And now that I am at it, could this perhaps explain why so many people flare up from vitamin D supplements?? I get beyond beet red from them and never understood why. Maybe here we have it, the explanation). Certain supplements and herbs can also act as anti-inflammatories. Check my (still not fully finished, sigh) blog post about them <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/02/natural-anti-inflammatory-treatment_17.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. Think of supplements like turmeric/curcumin or boswellia for instance. If you want to know even more detailed, microscopic information about how exactly this mechanism works on cellular level, I advise you to go to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3346901/" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> science article and scroll down to the section Rosacea. You can also read more in <a href="http://www.jimmunol.org/content/191/10/4895" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> scientific article. But that is not all, because these LL-37 cathelicidins are not only found in the skin. But also for instance in the bowels. In fact, LL-37 is linking to some other health issues (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3836506/" target="_blank"><b>including</b></a> many auto-immune diseases) that quite a few people with rosacea mention to suffer from, for instance: gut and bowel infections/inflammation, depression and anxiety and cardio vascular disease. Which could explain why this badly functioning, overabundance of LL-37 has different effects on the body, and perhaps (?) why many of us suffer from bowel issues, depression and anxiety on top of our skin problems. In other words: we REALLY need a treatment ASAP to bring these cathelicidins back under control! It might also be yet another way in which immune suppressing drugs, like the ones I discussed at the top of this blog entry, can work. When you suppress the immune function of the body, you also suppress the formation of LL-37 cathelicidin. And thus of inflammation, blood vessel dilation and redness. Wished those meds came with a better side-effect profile :) </div></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHTuNNfyx4v8BFsOj7f2K9f-lVki479uDNWjCrgK1L3ckD48pkLCidPvaG4rQD96FZGnmTkWDzLh-GI6dV_7ViwyyEr7BHI7hyphenhyphenlFRQm70rampqPIjq7cxVmmX4qjpUanlLl7DRZJcK8KLrOolpMmjIYvIP0_TBdN83Ayvy2x7M0Sl2rFeYgdOKFkbnJrNm/s650/73e45f193d71e4d6193ff42955acfc38.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="563" height="631" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHTuNNfyx4v8BFsOj7f2K9f-lVki479uDNWjCrgK1L3ckD48pkLCidPvaG4rQD96FZGnmTkWDzLh-GI6dV_7ViwyyEr7BHI7hyphenhyphenlFRQm70rampqPIjq7cxVmmX4qjpUanlLl7DRZJcK8KLrOolpMmjIYvIP0_TBdN83Ayvy2x7M0Sl2rFeYgdOKFkbnJrNm/w547-h631/73e45f193d71e4d6193ff42955acfc38.jpg" width="547" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">January 26th 2019, </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">H. pylori infection and rosacea</span></span></b></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;">I have been tested for Helicobacter pylori IgG antistoffen. Seen my general practitioner about it some weeks ago and she sent me for a blood test. This because some people on rosacea forums and groups claimed to have "cured" their rosacea after getting treatment for H.Pylori. Now, that is often an antibiotic, and antibiotics are known to help some case of rosacea, regardless of H. Pylori. Also, the symptoms of H. Pylori in rosacea skin are often said to be skin outbreaks and p&p's, which I don't suffer from. (Only severe flushing, redness and burning for me). Research like <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6042414/" target="_blank"><b>this one</b></a> concluded on this topic:</div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">"Epidemiological investigations and experiments have confirmed that H. pylori infection is associated with the development of rosacea. The effect of anti-H. pylori therapy is better than the routine therapy for rosacea. H. pylori can stimulate the immune system to produce a large number of inflammatory mediators, leading to the occurrence and aggravation of rosacea inflammation.</span></b></i></div>
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<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It is suggested that rosacea patients should be tested for H. pylori infection, the H. pylori-positive rosacea patients should be treated with eradication of H. pylori, so as to enhance the therapeutic effect of rosacea." And <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5556181/"><b>this</b></a> research paper states: "Many studies have been performed in order to evaluate the connection between H. pylori infection and rosacea, however there is still controversy around the matter. There is a lack of information regarding the genetic features and the biology of H. pylori. It is proposed that the bacterium produces specific cytotoxins which lead to the release of histamine, prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and cytokines. Inflammatory mediators from an altered innate immune response lead to higher levels of ROS, whereas in treated rosacea the aforementioned level is lower. However, there are no distinct histological features in rosacea patients positive for H. pylori infection." And it goes on to cite different research done on this matter, with different test outcomes. Some researchers did find a link between rosacea and active H.pylori infection, others failed to find such a link. Researchers agreed that H.pylori is more related to subtype 2 rosacea with skin outbreaks (papulopustular rosacea), than it is with subtype 1 rosacea with flushing and redness:</div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><i>Abram et al evaluated the risk factors of the disease. H. pylori rate was lower in flushers and higher in the papulopustular subtype. </i><i>[..] Patients with papulopustular rosacea had a better response [to H. pylori treatment] than those with erythematous (skin redness), which confirmed the results from previous studies.</i></b></span></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaSnKzn5XNTZXZONj5B5ke9-YWD9hl9QHVP9m-Y_3Zl6c6WK28F-DFXo1Dyi9TBmhVCSqWI3k4sEUO3fWazBXaET3-7k2uHoVgQqjcFTBqHiggrpRSGV4kWZg670R4xfEgPxqh60TCSa4haVM8jnK1ZmbPRf30qJSbFFcIu65UjwQE9khRkk6zATrxubYw/s1805/74.-Ram%C3%B3n-Casas.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1805" data-original-width="1213" height="552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaSnKzn5XNTZXZONj5B5ke9-YWD9hl9QHVP9m-Y_3Zl6c6WK28F-DFXo1Dyi9TBmhVCSqWI3k4sEUO3fWazBXaET3-7k2uHoVgQqjcFTBqHiggrpRSGV4kWZg670R4xfEgPxqh60TCSa4haVM8jnK1ZmbPRf30qJSbFFcIu65UjwQE9khRkk6zATrxubYw/w371-h552/74.-Ram%C3%B3n-Casas.jpg" width="371" /></a><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5556181/" target="_blank"><b>This</b></a> summary of various research papers came to a more ambiguous outcome. Some researchers found that anti-H. pylori antibody levels were higher in rosacea patients. Other research found that 67% of rosacea patients tested positive for H. Pylori, and that there was a higher prevalence of H. pylori in patients with rosacea. And some (but not all!) patients who have both rosacea and H. pylori infection can to see their rosacea calm down as well when they treat the H.pylori. Other researchers failed to establish a role of H. pylori in rosacea patients, and some researchers downright concluded that the relationship between rosacea and H. pylori may be a myth. The authors concluded:<i> "Rosacea is a skin disease with an obscure and complicated pathogenesis. Many mechanisms have been described but its etiology remains an enigma. There is not sufficient evidence regarding how determinant the role of H. pylori is. According to some authors, rosacea is correlated with gastrointestinal disorders which justifies further clinical and laboratory examination. Based on the fact that the studies were not extensive, controlled studies are required. Additional research is mandatory in the field of the microbiology of H. pylori as there are subtypes with different levels of virulence. Further studies are warranted to delve into the multifactorial nature of rosacea in order to elucidate the role of each factor in the pathogenesis of the disease."</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But... no harm in testing it or myself! Well I got the results back today and they are negative. No H.Pylori infection.My blood level was 5. The doctor's assistant said that anything under value 50 is considered negative. I looked up the exact values:</div><i></i>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">From To<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Unit <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Comment</span></b><br />
0<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>35<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>U/mL<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>negatief<br />
35<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>50<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>U/mL<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>grenswaarde<br />
50<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>U/mL<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>positief<br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-jeW96uew1PRK1a12LBSqVzRJLa8MNbM9qJ5x0Y3cPfkrxWq8VVma5-M-oZGeeXyD1GBvqZyi5C5J1gKVkSuv4n4dl2KtmSGK8Bi01dMGBYEXBK0sqNSDDjFMAf3NnqypEFQ-3jJNf0OD/s1600/neurovascular-system-of-head-and-neck-medical-images-universal-images-group.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="600" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-jeW96uew1PRK1a12LBSqVzRJLa8MNbM9qJ5x0Y3cPfkrxWq8VVma5-M-oZGeeXyD1GBvqZyi5C5J1gKVkSuv4n4dl2KtmSGK8Bi01dMGBYEXBK0sqNSDDjFMAf3NnqypEFQ-3jJNf0OD/w594-h316/neurovascular-system-of-head-and-neck-medical-images-universal-images-group.jpg" width="594" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 38px;"><b style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">December 12th 2018, </span></b><b>Neurovascular System involved in neurogenic and subtype 1 rosacea</b></span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The National Rosacea Society <a href="https://www.rosacea.org/patients/causes/neurovascularsystem?fbclid=IwAR0hD_fI56DeTgHKyUOwMSlR0KACLmd8bpmfVMjJTZqTlYTbpkOXuoLTsJg" target="_blank"><b>reports</b></a> that NRS-funded researcher (Dr. Martin Steinhoff, director of the Charles Institute of Dermatology at the University College Dublin School of Medicine, and colleagues at the University of California-San Francisco) have found that<b><span style="color: #444444;"><span> </span><span>the nervous system is intimately linked with the vascular system</span></span></b> in producing some typical signs and symptoms of rosacea; flushing of the face and inflammation of rosacea. Our bodies nervous system coordinates its actions by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The article names several typical rosacea triggers for subtype 1 and <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/10/how-to-treat-nerve-pain-and-skin.html" target="_blank"><b>neurogenic rosacea</b></a>: exposure to ultraviolet radiation, changes in temperature, exposure to skin irritants, strong emotions, alcoholic beverages and spicy food. All of these triggers are linked to the sensory nervous system, the researchers said. (The sensory nervous system a part of the nervous system and responsible for processing information we get through our senses, for instance what we see, hear, smell, taste, touch etc. It sends this information from our senses to our brain, which interprets the information).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">This type of research is not giving us any new treatment options unfortunately. But it does show how much mapping of all the underlying mechanisms to rosacea flushing there still is to do. The whole picture needs to be clear before satisfying medication to combat things can - hopefully - be developed. I hope this happens within my lifetime still, sigh..... Been only waiting twenty years for it, after all. </span></b></i></div></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7zbjCapJYXFAxmizmcn4hAvfSti7LR9Q3eHcutuiv59fs5EZb7JjjmeblJlIpx_n2C6qGm9cxvuam26GIAGVMqA5MyKWia782AmZ8N_imrLXpFYXt-ih2KmU3GfsqsdjmJri22EVq4UY/s1600/autonomic-crop.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="300" height="537" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7zbjCapJYXFAxmizmcn4hAvfSti7LR9Q3eHcutuiv59fs5EZb7JjjmeblJlIpx_n2C6qGm9cxvuam26GIAGVMqA5MyKWia782AmZ8N_imrLXpFYXt-ih2KmU3GfsqsdjmJri22EVq4UY/w299-h537/autonomic-crop.jpg" width="299" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">They also highlighted that there is another nervous system disorder, which is called <b><span style="color: #444444;">neurogenic inflammation</span></b>, that shows some similar symptoms to those of rosacea; redness and swelling, as well as activity of cells such as leukocytes at the site of inflammation. Dr. Steinhoff's team found that certain<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span><span style="color: #444444;">sensory nerves</span></b> around blood vessels, which may be linked to the stinging and burning sensations that many of us suffer from, actually increase in numbers when rosacea develops and continues to cause trouble. They also discovered that there is an imbalance and a communication problem in rosacea skin between several <b><span style="color: #444444;">neuropeptides</span></b> — small protein-like molecules used by nerve cells to communicate with each other — and their corresponding receptors. Further research is under way to determine whether this imbalance contributes to the development of the flushing and inflammation of rosacea. The group observed that the lymphatic vessels also may be involved in the initial process of rosacea, which can result in swelling, of the skin of the face (that puffy look so many of us get, especially during a flare up) and noted that neuropeptides affect the function of lymph vessels as well. Dr. Steinhoff thinks that the face is a particularly complex region, with an interaction of both the sympathetic, the parasympathetic and the sensory nervous systems all playing a role and interacting and influencing each other. It is possible that these 3 systems together create a complex cycle of inflammation, which may explain why some cases of rosacea can be resistant to treatment.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWHvP2CFrLCYluPYntwwrSrEHV4beV5aT1Q4q07GDD9EXWnPs2-alBLQsYn9qc751OIUh0jpAuraXupNpIyyb_2j-Lry6cxbO3SbGGphCHBFKFPbez08so7zI5hS1TmkfPrVhAH2o7qCF/s1600/Roadmap-of-the-Ear.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWHvP2CFrLCYluPYntwwrSrEHV4beV5aT1Q4q07GDD9EXWnPs2-alBLQsYn9qc751OIUh0jpAuraXupNpIyyb_2j-Lry6cxbO3SbGGphCHBFKFPbez08so7zI5hS1TmkfPrVhAH2o7qCF/w554-h554/Roadmap-of-the-Ear.jpg" width="554" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Researchers have also <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7361010_ATPgS_Enhances_the_Production_of_Inflammatory_Mediators_by_a_Human_Dermal_Endothelial_Cell_Line_via_Purinergic_Receptor_Signaling" target="_blank">discovered</a> something else that is interesting. </b></span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)</span></b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">a neurotransmitter and carrier of chemical energy throughout the body — and one of the most common and hard-working substances in the body, may be contributing to rosacea in a variety of ways, according to NRS-funded researchers Dr. Richard Granstein and colleagues at Weill Cornell Medical College. When ATP is released into the skin by the nerves, lots of complex biochemical processes may occur in rosacea sufferers that ultimately leads to the bumps and pimples of subtype 2 (papulopustular) rosacea. ATP has many functions in the body, but its role in the development of rosacea may involve its job as a messenger from the nerves. The nervous system regulates blood flow to the skin, using ATP to start the dilation of blood vessels following exposure to rosacea triggers such as sunlight, emotional stress or alcohol. This process may then result in the flushing and redness of subtype 1 (erythematotelangiectatic) rosacea. In addition, endothelial cells — cells that line the blood vessels — respond to ATP with changes in the expression of inflammatory cytokines, which are proteins that act to recruit the inflammatory cells of subtype 1 rosacea. Dr. Granstein’s group is also <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24026137" target="_blank"><b>investigating</b></a> whether production of Th17 cells, a newly discovered class of cells that appears to be involved in a number of inflammatory and immune disorders, may lead to inflammation during this process.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6Zyh6kgQC24vQTu5ncmGFki7_RfkXi7ineo1fDHxTwxb5HkHbfgCkA_rr9OddyzjgA_YN8-LuOAf8AseuNR68fuP8SO4YZmVXQD7UtGFisSKzN63gNrPbNxWTD8m4gdzZmgmmad0JLP7BE2dNWmpPqFyKWmLj6KpVNim3EFSneq6lRboHy44qdTF2caZ/s564/36a8ae4787f678f00abdd736939842be.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="564" height="499" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6Zyh6kgQC24vQTu5ncmGFki7_RfkXi7ineo1fDHxTwxb5HkHbfgCkA_rr9OddyzjgA_YN8-LuOAf8AseuNR68fuP8SO4YZmVXQD7UtGFisSKzN63gNrPbNxWTD8m4gdzZmgmmad0JLP7BE2dNWmpPqFyKWmLj6KpVNim3EFSneq6lRboHy44qdTF2caZ/w545-h499/36a8ae4787f678f00abdd736939842be.jpg" width="545" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">December 10th 2018,<br /> Heat triggers greater nerve blood flow and sweating response in rosacea patients than in those without rosacea</span></b></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;">A <a href="https://www.rosacea.org/rr/2013/spring/article_2.php" target="_blank"><b>study</b></a> funded by the National Rosacea Society (by Dr. Thad Wilson and colleagues at Ohio University), found that <b><span style="color: #444444;">heat</span></b>, a well known rosacea trigger, produces greater nerve, blood flow and sweating responses in people with rosacea than in people without the disorder when exposed to increased heat or stress. This response takes place in the <b><span style="color: #444444;">sympathetic nervous system</span></b>, which for instance controls the “fight or flight” response and other key involuntary functions such as heart rate, digestion, breathing and perspiration. “Heat and stress have long been recognized as rosacea triggers, but it has not been clear what happens in the body to cause these flare-ups to occur, <a href="https://www.rosacea.org/rr/2013/spring/article_2.php"><b>said</b></a> Dr. Thad Wilson, associate professor of physiology at Ohio University. “That’s why we devised innovative ways to replicate these triggers in a controlled manner while studying their effects on facial nerves, skin blood flow and sweating.” "To increase body temperature, the researchers had 10 rosacea patients and 10 healthy control individuals wear a tight-fitting suit lined with tubes carrying water heated to 115°F until their body temperature increased by approximately 2°F. Each person was then precisely measured for supra-orbital nerve activity (a nerve just above the eyebrow that serves the forehead skin), forehead skin blood flow and forehead sweat rate.” The researchers found that rosacea patients had <span style="color: #444444;"><b>higher skin blood flow</b></span> and sweating rates compared to normal subjects, both before and after the heating began, and their skin blood flow and sweating also began to increase more rapidly during heating." 12 rosacea patients and 12 healthy control subjects were also tested during mental and physical tasks, involving fast-paced mental subtraction exercises for two minutes, using hand gestures to indicate answers, and tightly squeezing a handgrip for two minutes. While heart rate and blood pressure were the same between the groups during the hand exercises, skin blood flow was higher during mental arithmetic in the rosacea patients. The rosacea patients also experienced heightened sympathetic nerve activity compared to those without rosacea during both the mental and physical portions of the test.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">This can explain why during intense concentration (making exams for instance), so many of us end up with a hot flushed face. </span></span></i></b></div></div><br />“These results indicate that rosacea symptoms may be in part due to <b><span style="color: #444444;">sympathetic nerve overactivity</span></b>” Dr. Wilson said. “This is an important area that warrants further investigation, as it may lead to improvements in therapy and trigger prevention. [..] The sympathetic nervous system is a part of the body’s autonomic nervous system that controls involuntary functions such as heart rate, digestion, breathing and perspiration. This portion of the autonomic nervous system functions largely below the level of consciousness and has been shown to respond to emotion."</div>
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<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhF9jwuW1u5hvLpJq5ClI1jgBqNVEFo-Dh-amXA5V01a4C1fTmZaYoSScYEEGTFe1JeOlYSQ1H4t4BZ2d8g_3Juzv9daVNf71JJqP1CC4wbgjm35Co8yR0DXVWYC_FwbH_aaU7bZ6qQJqsWaI6HQjMVUt2tC1_IbnoYQ8xzk5cXiApvnT8dOzr7d5Fvisw/s564/c25b37a290f15061ff51aca796b21d02.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="564" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhF9jwuW1u5hvLpJq5ClI1jgBqNVEFo-Dh-amXA5V01a4C1fTmZaYoSScYEEGTFe1JeOlYSQ1H4t4BZ2d8g_3Juzv9daVNf71JJqP1CC4wbgjm35Co8yR0DXVWYC_FwbH_aaU7bZ6qQJqsWaI6HQjMVUt2tC1_IbnoYQ8xzk5cXiApvnT8dOzr7d5Fvisw/w474-h474/c25b37a290f15061ff51aca796b21d02.jpg" width="474" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">August 6th 2018,</span></b><div><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">Anaesthetic injection could ease hot flushes and flushing</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444;">Injecting a local anaesthetic into the neck is associated with a 50% reduction in hot flushes among women with moderate to severe symptoms. They can also help curb facial flushing. </span></b>A shot in the neck may curb extreme hot flushes associated with menopause, a small new study suggests. Injecting a local anaesthetic into an area of the neck that communicates with the brain's temperature regulation zone was associated with <span style="color: #444444;"><b>a 50% reduction in hot flushes</b></span> among women with moderate to severe symptoms, the researchers reported. Since research over the last decade has suggested that taking hormone replacement therapy to control menopausal symptoms may be associated with increased risk for heart disease and cancer, many women have been searching for a safe and effective non-hormonal means of reducing hot flushes. The anesthetic treatment isn't designed for everyone with hot flushes. It's intended for those struggling with truly troubling hot flushes that occur regularly, affecting quality of life, said study author Dr David Walega, chief of the division of pain medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. "This is for people with multiple drenching sweats, women who can't function in the workplace, who have extreme anxiety preceding the hot flash. And when that happens several times a day, we also see anxiety and depression," explained Walega. Some breast cancer patients stop taking their medication – tamoxifen – because it causes hot flushes, he added. I have also read statements from bad flushers who have had this ganglion block recently and who noticed a reduction in facial flushing and nerve pain. </div></div></div></div></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><b></b><b>What are hot flushes? </b></span></div>
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Hot flushes are sudden feelings of heat or warmth starting in the face and extending to the neck and chest area, sometimes accompanied by sweating and flushing of the skin. They are associated with menopause, but can also occur in patients taking oestrogen-blocking medications, typically for breast or prostate cancer. Walega estimated that hot flushes affect more than 80% of menopausal women. To deliver the treatment, the physician uses guided imaging to inject a local anaesthetic into what is called the <b><span style="color: #444444;">stellate ganglion</span></b>, an area between the thyroid gland (around the "voice box") and the carotid artery. "The patient feels a sense of intense pressure from the physician's finger [guiding the needle], and the pain is moderate," said Walega. "In 30 seconds, we're done." The researchers got the idea of attacking extreme hot flushes by treating the stellate ganglion from unintended consequences of a pain study published in The Lancet in 2007. "Patients reported their pain was still there, but their hot flushes were gone." </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDMu8o2iccrgTi7EPgv-ZhySDAbp-oI_aOTNmQPCPS-ivXm2bGzVd06wcCxK6wj4X2mgF5t94l_UugilOlhk8J-TmrXT_39VZ_VK3iKcGkmDnB9ve3fXwonbUV_n6CTw11FoISFcA5x1b8QYtDAhYbTWOfgdGvEEkpzgzV0yVAzR1biUD8Xlx3qhJEUKFK/s257/images%20(3).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="257" data-original-width="196" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDMu8o2iccrgTi7EPgv-ZhySDAbp-oI_aOTNmQPCPS-ivXm2bGzVd06wcCxK6wj4X2mgF5t94l_UugilOlhk8J-TmrXT_39VZ_VK3iKcGkmDnB9ve3fXwonbUV_n6CTw11FoISFcA5x1b8QYtDAhYbTWOfgdGvEEkpzgzV0yVAzR1biUD8Xlx3qhJEUKFK/w345-h452/images%20(3).jpg" width="345" /></a><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">Anaesthetic injection</span></b></div>
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For this study, scheduled for presentation at the American Society of Anaesthesiologists' annual meeting in San Francisco, the researchers recruited 40 women between 35 and 65 years old. All were either in natural or surgically (when the ovaries are removed) induced menopause. Half of the women received a stellate ganglion blockade injection of bupivacaine hydrochloride, a local anaesthetic. The others were given a placebo, an injection of sterile saline. Participants kept track of their hot flushes for two weeks preceding the injection and six months afterward. The researchers found that stellate ganglion blockade reduces the incidence of hot flushes by half, especially in women with moderate or severe hot flushes, and the benefits appear to last for at least six months. Subjects also reported experiencing less depression after getting the bupivacaine injections, and they demonstrated improved verbal recall of spoken words. Walega said the treatment is safe when done by specially trained physicians using X-ray fluoroscopy to guide the injection. The stellate ganglion sits near the carotid artery, the vertebral artery and the spinal cord. "Injecting any of those arteries with anaesthetic could cause a seizure and loss of consciousness, and it could do damage to the spinal cord," he explained. As for the risk of radiation exposure from the fluoroscopy, it is equivalent to that of a chest X-ray, he added.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">Resetting the thermostat</span></b></div>
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Why might these injections work? Walega said he thinks the ganglion may play a role in turning certain nerves on or off. "It's complex and there's so much else we don't know," Walega said. "We might be resetting the thermostat." Walega now plans to do a larger study with more than 200 participants, he noted. Dr Grace Forde, an attending physician and pain management specialist at Syosset Hospital in New York, noted that a large percentage of the patients receiving the placebo also reported an improvement in their hot flushes. "Invasive procedures often have a much stronger placebo effect," she noted. Walega estimated that the treatment, if proven effective in a larger study, would cost between $750 and $1000. Forde, who was not associated with the study, said she thinks the benefits of the treatment probably outweigh the risks. "You can't put a price on quality of life. I personally think it's worth it." Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_PP53Y1bHjiBMLRaBJf5nxedppk8J_6Aqgbn1lxQQjSMX49PfITW_uGe1Rtokp2ztWXsy3CynMefXl689RuhfK-YrAVkSnjyItoIWg4yKyItwLz_-1Qys5no65OMTYui3K3T8HqujiFVP4QFzjMIu6j5-Q0v5EQipFv40AV3UpR3Ky3NkYbuxk9eBsNn/s461/541ffd93c1d98324d0a72d265583429a.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="350" height="675" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_PP53Y1bHjiBMLRaBJf5nxedppk8J_6Aqgbn1lxQQjSMX49PfITW_uGe1Rtokp2ztWXsy3CynMefXl689RuhfK-YrAVkSnjyItoIWg4yKyItwLz_-1Qys5no65OMTYui3K3T8HqujiFVP4QFzjMIu6j5-Q0v5EQipFv40AV3UpR3Ky3NkYbuxk9eBsNn/w513-h675/541ffd93c1d98324d0a72d265583429a.jpg" width="513" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">April 10th 2018,</span></b><div><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 45px;">How does facial flushing happen exactly?</b></div><br />When my skin burns and flares and feels on fire, the most natural urge is to open all the windows and let in cold air. Or to put my head in a bucket of cold water. Or to sit right in front of a powerful air conditioning machine. The colder the better! But according to the <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/Colin-Dah-Rosacea-Warm-Room.pdf" target="_blank"><b>Warm Room Theory</b></a>, this is actually not the best thing to do when you have rosacea. Making your rosacea skin very cold, might cause rebound worsening in the long run. It is normal for anyone with rosacea to get a rush of warmth up the cheeks when entering a warm room. Every person that gets too hot, can rely on their body to deal with the overheating, usually by stimulating the body to sweat (a way to release excess heat from the body) but also by widening the blood vessels in the skin. The wider the vessels are, the more warm blood will be closely exposed to the skin and be able to lose some of its heat that way. When the body signals the blood vessels in our skin that the body is overheating, then the body activates nerves in the skin to dilate the blood vessels in the skin (vasodilation). The way in which the nerves do this, is by releasing certain chemicals, that message to the blood vessels to widen. And to make the effect even stronger; the more blood flows through the blood vessels, the more these blood vessels themselves release chemicals to keep this vasodilation going. This is a normal process; everyone alive experiences this, or else we humans wouldn't be able to regulate our temperature or fight off infections or have proper wound healing, for instance. The problem occurs when our skin has too many of these flushing events. When it becomes very frequent that the skin flares red and hot. This is the moment that the blood vessels are dilated for a longer period over time, and that the vessels give off a signal that make the body create new (and thus more!) blood vessels in the skin (angiogenesis). The bodies way to create more infrastructure for this extra blood flow. This principle is also normal, but in people with healthy skin it is a limited occurrence. For people with rosacea, it is however the mechanism in which our rosacea progresses, slowly over many years, from mild to moderate, to severe. Because when you have more blood vessels and more nerves in your skin, you will have more dilation of blood vessels and more facial flushing, especially when you are in a warm room and your body goes through its normal steps and paces to cool off the body.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNLJaPOclgthkusMLYGPWUkgnrri13BwXPcYnbK_LlXL9KeExAdzisuT5XcqRgSrWEnoaNVbYNKKAONO4Y5GfMBa-i5i-E3fHDjch7oz3QRZzhE8VRwJg7D6ZE3OrU5GTuGN744sxFXpt/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="688" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNLJaPOclgthkusMLYGPWUkgnrri13BwXPcYnbK_LlXL9KeExAdzisuT5XcqRgSrWEnoaNVbYNKKAONO4Y5GfMBa-i5i-E3fHDjch7oz3QRZzhE8VRwJg7D6ZE3OrU5GTuGN744sxFXpt/w282-h326/Untitled-1.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">ROSACEA INFRASTRUCTURE</span></b></div>
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So a person with rosacea will have more blood vessels and nerves in the skin than a person with healthy skin, and they have been made by the body to release heat. They will give a rosacea face often the distinctive red(der) cheeks and sometimes also nose and chin or forehead. The human face and head are special, in that they have more and different blood vessels and nerves than any other area of skin on the body. They have special nerves to dilate blood vessels and special blood vessels to release the heat carried in the blood. The nerves involved in these areas are <span style="color: #444444;"><b>sympathetic nerves</b></span>. They can act to dilate special blood vessels (arteriovenous anastomoses), which open up and shunt blood into the blood vessels of your skin, creating the phenomenon we know as the<span style="color: #f4cccc;"> </span><span style="color: #444444;"><b>flush</b></span>. This also explains why many people have intense flushing confined to certain regions of the face. many people with rosacea flush on their cheeks, some (but far less) also flush in their neck and chest and it is very rare to find rosacea patients who flush on the rest of their body, unless they have other skin conditions that cause skin problems elsewhere. Rosacea, however, is mostly limited to the more densely vascularized face, where our skin is also thinnest, compared to other body parts. Showing the redness in our dilated blood vessels even more!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTU3zloHrqX1tkOvC4SVXb_ijxSCiBN0QhcYgabKA6o38hvBzSbZgZdxPce87qZmWFlqEexSrdpt54rQg00ldfM6FIsFOxvRr3lE6wb7zssjh8iXhvnxTQhXTIsg85b_Xv7_Hxn-Ui6gy-/s1600/11-zgodovina_klimatske_naprave-5eb67737a8c9aa19.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTU3zloHrqX1tkOvC4SVXb_ijxSCiBN0QhcYgabKA6o38hvBzSbZgZdxPce87qZmWFlqEexSrdpt54rQg00ldfM6FIsFOxvRr3lE6wb7zssjh8iXhvnxTQhXTIsg85b_Xv7_Hxn-Ui6gy-/w281-h158/11-zgodovina_klimatske_naprave-5eb67737a8c9aa19.jpg" width="281" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;"><b>More on these nerves in the skin that are involved in skin flushing</b></span></div>
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Another important type of nerve involved in rosacea is the <span>sensory nerve</span>. Unlike sympathetic nerves that are triggered centrally in the brain, <b><span style="color: #444444;">sensory nerves</span></b> are locally handling the blood vessel dilation in the skin. When your face is exposed to sun for instance, or to a skin care product that has irritating ingredients, then it are the sensory nerves that can act immediately and signal to the blood vessels in the skin to dilate and give off a warning signal to us. They play a role in rosacea flushing, as such. When our blood vessels in the skin dilate, after being signaled to do so by the sensory nerves, they not only become wider and let more blood through, but they also <span style="color: #444444;"><b>create local inflammation</b></span>, which in turn makes our nerves in the skin give off a<span style="color: #f4cccc;"> </span><span style="color: #444444;"><b>burning pain feeling</b></span>. For most people with rosacea, a deep flush is therefore painful, feeling hot, sore and like a burn almost. Due to rosacea, more nerves are created along with the new blood vessel infrastructure, but the existing nerves can also become hypersensitive. This can explain why early on, with mild rosacea, facial flushing can be fairly painless, but later on the flushing can create moderate to severe pain and hot burning sensations; the nerves in the skin have become super reactive and sensitive from the long history of being triggered by flushing attacks of the skin. As a result, some people with rosacea have such a sensitive and extensive nerve and blood vessel infrastructure, that even a small increase in blood flow will result in significant flushing episodes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXTZlwdkk6rMW1PBYIfo81VGGMmGyn7zDzdItz0OpiCz8To1xpprR3XICcEt4M_xSmbdFM2jamsHWpoppJSjikrjid00NUKTkoqMiZ46zg22SFOBuSRjALr9eoBv2ver1Qmr7BBfmcNvXC/s1600/932388178c36599c78d9fdada7493191--vintage-advertisements-vintage-ads.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="795" data-original-width="567" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXTZlwdkk6rMW1PBYIfo81VGGMmGyn7zDzdItz0OpiCz8To1xpprR3XICcEt4M_xSmbdFM2jamsHWpoppJSjikrjid00NUKTkoqMiZ46zg22SFOBuSRjALr9eoBv2ver1Qmr7BBfmcNvXC/s320/932388178c36599c78d9fdada7493191--vintage-advertisements-vintage-ads.jpg" width="228" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;"><b>Chemicals involved in facial flushing</b></span><br />
There are hundreds of known chemicals involved with nerves and blood vessels. But there are very specific chemicals released by our nerves and blood vessels, when we have rosacea and suffer from facial flushing, such as <span>neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and growth factors</span>. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Neurotransmitters</span></b> are chemicals that transmit a nerve signal to other nerves as well as other tissues, such as blood vessels. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Neuropeptides</span></b> do the same, but are stronger and act longer. Both can signal blood vessels to dilate or constrict, and nerves to feel pain or to go numb again. There is something special going on with these <span>neuropeptides</span><span style="color: #f4cccc;"><b> </b></span>research showed. More on this soon. <b><span style="color: #783f04;">Growth factors</span></b>, released by skin cells, help to maintain existing blood vessels and nerve structures, and also make it possible for both to grow. They also play a role in the process of our nerves becoming more sensitive and easily triggered to feel burning and pain. When the nerves in our skin are activated (for instance during a flush), this in turn stimulates more growth factor release, like a waterfall-construction. They are all in place to help the body deal with overheating, but with rosacea patients this system of blood vessels and nerves and chemicals are going in overdrive, causing our increasing facial flushing and red faces.</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>In most people facial blushing takes a minute or two for the blush to disappear. However, flushing is a different beast</b></span> and can last much longer, and it usually is more severe than blushing too: more redness, deeper blood vessel dilation, hotter flushes and longer lasting. In some people severe and frequent blushing can become a real hindrance and affect both personal and professional life. Although the vascular –flushing- aspect is one of the most difficult aspects of rosacea to treat, there are several medications available that have proven to help treat facial flushing for a number of patients.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMyzNgpvsnz4NPgOm9wPD6Ss11khPJwRdJ04JtfbU5G6UN1Xvk-q_zGQ7tCB9YU11x_sJHI67RBKKyvXuzQUuikj3bga30wSCcCP4Ipm7D-FgSeUGqWnO75qFhSjUs3a_DsxaOQF3Opm1G5yqCFjs0KAN5JpiV8pkkB1YVsd2rCSXvRKYo4KGmDIZXmD-/s564/a576d12de054e2abc9d28d7d9e289c95.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="564" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMyzNgpvsnz4NPgOm9wPD6Ss11khPJwRdJ04JtfbU5G6UN1Xvk-q_zGQ7tCB9YU11x_sJHI67RBKKyvXuzQUuikj3bga30wSCcCP4Ipm7D-FgSeUGqWnO75qFhSjUs3a_DsxaOQF3Opm1G5yqCFjs0KAN5JpiV8pkkB1YVsd2rCSXvRKYo4KGmDIZXmD-/w590-h478/a576d12de054e2abc9d28d7d9e289c95.jpg" width="590" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"><div><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">April 2nd 2018,</span></b></div><div><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 40px;"><b>Rosacea patients are at increased risk of developing other health conditions</b></span></span></div><br />In<a href="http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2018/03/13/skin-pimples-redness-risk-reflux-cardiovascular-celiac-diabetes-study/" target="_blank"> <b>this article</b></a> from march 2018, specialists warn that people with rosacea are</span><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;"></span></b><span> statistically at a higher risk to develop other health conditions. For instance, rosacea patients have 4 times more chance to develop cardiovascular disease than the average population. Rosacea patients also have a 4 times higher risk to develop g</span>astroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), are 3 times more likely to develop Crohn's disease. Although it is not always clear how exactly rosacea is linked to a higher risk factor, the overlapping theme is inflammation. Rosacea is an inflammatory disease and inflammation is also thought to play a role in cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, neurological and autoimmune diseases. In their cases the inflammation is hidden inside the body, whereas with rosacea the inflammation is visible in and on the skin. Some scientists now say that this visible (rosacea) inflammation is a warning signal for more hidden inflammation inside the body.</div><div style="text-align: left;">*Cardiovascular disease – 4 times higher risk<br />*Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) - 4 times higher<br />*Crohn's disease - almost 3 times<br />*Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) - 2 times<br />*Celiac disease - 2 times<br />*Type 2 diabetes - 2.5 times<br />*Food allergies - 10 times higher risk<br />*Urogenital diseases (affecting the urinary tract or reproductive organs) - 7.5 times higher<br />*Respiratory diseases - 4 times higher risk</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Ez8KAl6OjYeUKnmAcAjeYd7W3fdD-o60hxwx-essMKVNcbSCaQjfASiCRLFNC3_hfTM61lyWFQ4dkPtIeK3fQagU4icz5GoHe59DtjuU3t9FoqGC5Gt2jO8dbGGJZrD3J3cu5NzHt29I2lgecOlWOiSvSVeSAzXy80hhtwqmhxivU1-l7v5U16fIB6Ho/s1370/a292168a8dc2a5dffcc6f05719b10b06.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1370" data-original-width="564" height="787" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Ez8KAl6OjYeUKnmAcAjeYd7W3fdD-o60hxwx-essMKVNcbSCaQjfASiCRLFNC3_hfTM61lyWFQ4dkPtIeK3fQagU4icz5GoHe59DtjuU3t9FoqGC5Gt2jO8dbGGJZrD3J3cu5NzHt29I2lgecOlWOiSvSVeSAzXy80hhtwqmhxivU1-l7v5U16fIB6Ho/w325-h787/a292168a8dc2a5dffcc6f05719b10b06.jpg" width="325" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">The article mentions the following conditions:<br /></b><div>
<b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Psychiatric conditions</span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br />Depression</span></b> is among the most common comorbidities (means an additional health issue that goes with the original disease; in our case rosacea) identified in the research, followed closely by <b><span style="color: #444444;">anxiety</span></b>. Multiple studies have found a higher than average prevalence of depression and anxiety in patients with rosacea. Unfortunately, doctors tend to underestimate the psychological impact of having rosacea, and ignore the level of despair and mental suffering it can bring. Reversing this trend, at least <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bjd.12734" target="_blank"><b>one study</b></a> found no greater risk for rosacea among those who already had clinical depression, but the association may be bidirectional given that stress can trigger rosacea flare-ups. A National Rosacea Society <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19381980.2017.1361574" target="_blank"><b>survey</b></a> of more than 400 rosacea patients found that 75% of them feel low self-esteem, 70% feel embarrassed, and 69% feel frustrated. In those with severe symptoms, 88% cited the disorder as adversely affecting their professional interactions and 51% had missed work because of their condition. Prevalence of anxiety about the condition was present in 41%, and 25% reported having depression related to their disease.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Cardiovascular Disease</span><br /></b></span>
Patients with rosacea have a higher incidence of<b> <span style="color: #444444;">hypertension and dyslipidemia</span></b> (an abnormal amount of lipids (e.g. triglycerides, cholesterol and/or fat phospholipids) in the blood), which increases with severity of rosacea symptoms, than the general population. Rosacea patients also have higher rates of peripheral artery disease, heart failure, diabetes mellitus, and coronary artery disease — the latter even after controlling for hypertension and dyslipidemia. Recent data have suggested the risk for vascular events increases with tetracycline treatment. People with rosacea were <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/rosacea-may-be-a-visible-warning-marker-for-hidden-potentially-serious-diseases-1018648841" target="_blank"><b>found in research</b></a> to have four times the risk for cardiovascular disease and reflux. Although several cardiovascular-related conditions have been very clearly associated with rosacea, existing evidence does not suggest an increased risk for heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular events in patients with rosacea. It is a good idea to check if your family has a general history of heart disease and if so, to mention this to your doctor and have extra screening if suffering from any symptoms related to cardiovascular disease. Having a higher Body Mass Index (BMI - so a high weight) can increase the risk of such conditions. It is also wise to have your blood pressure checked routinely, and doctors also recommend for rosacea patients of 45 years and older to have their blood work done now and then to check fasting lipid panel, fasting glucose, or hemoglobin A1c levels. If you have 2 or more risk factors, doctors recommend taking 81 mg. of aspirin a day, at the least.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Neurological Disorders</span></b><br />Researchers have identified an increased risk for rosacea patients to develop <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Parkinson Disease</b>, <b>dementia</b></span> (particularly Alzheimer disease), and <b><span style="color: #444444;">migraine</span></b>, although risk levels vary. Two <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/2505257" target="_blank"><b>Danish cohort studies</b></a>, for example, revealed a 71% greater risk for Parkinson disease and<b> </b>a 36% greater <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ana.24645" target="_blank"><b>risk</b></a> for dementia. Migraine is more often seen in female patients and involves vascular abnormality, just as rosacea does. Both conditions can also be triggered by stress or alcohol.<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Cancer</b></span><br />The only cancers linked with rosacea are a weak association with thyroid cancer in women and glioma (brain cancer) in men, plus a stronger association with basal cell carcinoma (skin cancer). Skin cancer is the least surprising of the three, given that UV radiation from the sun not only can cause skin cancer, but also worsens rosacea for most patients.<br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDh-xmMLFhHRmfaEu22iQYksr6iNK8R8phAaS0FLQbcK3L_cg8qA2oqY-auEOmuTJNisQ5K5b5UrmiTFGQ7rEMzUChfrVAY7ruA68hF8z-1f2RQ4nwiDXTGHrCvXkKiJ9PJSzLpYlLXqR0q4cW6eDa96zlBwEpjtBTPqG6pSKPhlBlWetLgn0CzsVNZgxq/s535/c04908fc0bd9359f369e709222971543.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="535" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDh-xmMLFhHRmfaEu22iQYksr6iNK8R8phAaS0FLQbcK3L_cg8qA2oqY-auEOmuTJNisQ5K5b5UrmiTFGQ7rEMzUChfrVAY7ruA68hF8z-1f2RQ4nwiDXTGHrCvXkKiJ9PJSzLpYlLXqR0q4cW6eDa96zlBwEpjtBTPqG6pSKPhlBlWetLgn0CzsVNZgxq/w517-h418/c04908fc0bd9359f369e709222971543.jpg" width="517" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Gastrointestinal and Auto-immune disease</span></b><br />The gastrointestinal disorder with the highest prevalence among patients with rosacea is <b><span style="color: #444444;">inflammatory bowel disease</span></b>, which some researchers have suggested may be related to a shared pathogenesis from <b><span style="color: #444444;">Helicobacter pylori</span></b> or small intentional bacterial overgrowth (<b><span style="color: #444444;">SIBO</span></b>), both also more prevalent in rosacea. One small <a href="https://www.minervamedica.it/en/journals/dermatologia-venereologia/article.php?cod=R23Y2017N05A0418" target="_blank"><b>study</b></a> found that 21.6% of patients with rosacea had H. pylori and 25% had small intentional bacterial overgrowth. Evidence also supports an association between rosacea and <span style="color: #444444;"><b>celiac disease</b>, <b>ulcerative colitis</b>, <b>rheumatoid arthritis, and allergies</b></span>. For example, a small case-control study published in 20159 found higher odds of airborne and food allergies, plus other systemic diseases, in patients with rosacea. Although male patients show higher risk for glioma (brain cancer), the associations linking rosacea with rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, migraines, multiple sclerosis, and hormone imbalances are stronger in females. Environmental risk factors that are under investigation currently for shared pathogenesis with rosacea and other comorbidities, are H pylori infections, small intentional bacterial overgrowth, and differences in gut microbiomes, which are also implicated in celiac disease, diabetes, depression, and cardiovascular disease. Other research into possible shared mechanisms compares rosacea with other autoimmune diseases, other genetic biomarkers, and similar inflammatory elements or pathways. The exact connections are complex, remain mostly unclear at this point, and probably involve mechanisms that underlie chronic inflammatory conditions in addition to metabolic, immune and endocrine changes.</div><div><br /></div>
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It is a good idea for your doctor to screen you for these other health conditions, ideally before considering rosacea treatment options. Other health conditions with an overlap of symptoms that can be mixed up with rosacea (and it can turn out you suffer one of these instead of rosacea) are mastocytosis, lupus, carcinoids, thyroid disease, allergies, vasculitis and several other autoimmune-diseases. In this long blog post, I mentioned and described a host of other health conditions (mostly auto-immune ones) that can also cause a red flushed face, and that are not rosacea: "<a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2014/05/other-conditions-that-cause-facial_29.html" target="_blank"><b>Other conditions that cause facial flushing, and mimic rosacea symptoms</b></a>". Scientists do not know yet what the precise link is between having rosacea and having statistically higher risk of developing the above mentioned health conditions. Some scientists think that the explanation must be sought not so much in a genetic predisposition to develop some (or all) of these conditions, but that people who have a certain lifestyle and live in a certain environment, can as a result of this have an increased risk of developing both rosacea and the other mentioned health conditions. A higher risks does not mean that you will develop these conditions however. Being at risk for these conditions does not mean that you will go on to develop any of these disorders. Disease development is different for everyone; family history, personal history, age, gender, environment, lifestyle and other factors all play a role in disease development, yes or no. But scientists want to bring awareness of the possibility of this for you, who suffer most likely from rosacea if you read this. </div>
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The cause of rosacea is still not well understood, and since there are different subtypes and symptoms of rosacea, the cause will most likely prove to be 'the causes', ranging from an auto-immune response to central nervous system disruption to demodex mites overpopulation to actual skin disease. Rosacea patients have shown an increased level of C-reactive protein in their blood upon testing, which is a marker of systematic inflammation in the body. Researchers also found unbalanced oxidative stress mediators, implying that people with rosacea might have unchecked and higher oxidative stress levels in their blood at times. This oxidative modification of proteins and lipids <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2958186/" target="_blank"><b>turned out</b></a> to be another possible trigger of skin inflammation. Because like most autoimmune diseases, rosacea involves dysregulation of the inflammatory response and may share symptoms with other diseases when it comes to the development of the illness. As stated above, scientists found that there is a higher chance for someone with rosacea to also develop other diseases, including cardiovascular, psychiatric, gastrointestinal, autoimmune, and neurological conditions. But just how <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8JK9k4d72heLiTdEnN7y2pMslEi3Qpq6EiHtrMtTlUqIEqMlV_6YtHHNvKhpoUWI3SGE0JmDAa2NFv7xHvV5J4ahP1PoXR6Wh9lA3KHBiRN70jp5ZM8qs5Zw_X_95nXEJNN5RRHv4vVk/s1600/1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8JK9k4d72heLiTdEnN7y2pMslEi3Qpq6EiHtrMtTlUqIEqMlV_6YtHHNvKhpoUWI3SGE0JmDAa2NFv7xHvV5J4ahP1PoXR6Wh9lA3KHBiRN70jp5ZM8qs5Zw_X_95nXEJNN5RRHv4vVk/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>much higher that risk is, and how big a group of patients is involved, <a href="https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(17)32203-X/fulltext?code=ymjd-site" target="_blank"><b>has not been made specifically clear</b></a>. I myself have been diagnosed with rosacea, inflammatory bowel disease (colitis), Raynaud's Syndrome, allergies and arthritis. For people who flush, doctors are looking for proof that there is an interaction taking place between the nervous and immune systems during neuroinflammation (flushing, erythema), the immune response (erythema, papules and pustules), and through fibrosis, as well as adaptive immunity taking place at a cellular level. Because of different subtypes and their overlapping symptoms, no single treatment exists for all patients with rosacea. However, in addition to avoiding triggers and maintaining a consistent skin care routine with sun protection, several topical and systematic therapies have shown benefits. Read more about rosacea treatments in these blog posts of mine:<br />
<b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/update-summary-from-last-years-17-may.html" target="_blank">Do I have rosacea? What to look for</a><br />
<a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html" target="_blank">How to treat rosacea redness, flushing and burning with medication - (The science behind my current medication)</a></b><br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJ6wPmaEHcxfSge-9kmmylzCRZDyDG5otSzICohN1cT7l8psn51tKmB5vn4pFvTzbaPUgwE7o7AmIckp-k5SeRW9al9NSTUJYH2Xedmgfh8E0RX8nZ6QCtNsvUg9xLsHzsOVmVzgi7khE/s1600/main.pdf.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="989" data-original-width="650" height="1016" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJ6wPmaEHcxfSge-9kmmylzCRZDyDG5otSzICohN1cT7l8psn51tKmB5vn4pFvTzbaPUgwE7o7AmIckp-k5SeRW9al9NSTUJYH2Xedmgfh8E0RX8nZ6QCtNsvUg9xLsHzsOVmVzgi7khE/w667-h1016/main.pdf.png" width="667" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR6V3-JXEA1_eZJ5aBfqM-P4Rde3MTYj-Ro2EtJq3W2fTVz11L5G2Q1FUHfvt72bWlYA9qQC3hZl7jx9Dlbb5pYuaaUuuSxh01_TtNJ3gl63pKjXteaEvJ0Or23RdbcDT2RAITjzoJN20c3Ax8k23DM_dd01fYYYk_GW8VoeAuUVbaq2zujJM9iVYha_Nm/s564/cfa57d55d00299b036227fafb6fee9a7.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="564" height="421" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR6V3-JXEA1_eZJ5aBfqM-P4Rde3MTYj-Ro2EtJq3W2fTVz11L5G2Q1FUHfvt72bWlYA9qQC3hZl7jx9Dlbb5pYuaaUuuSxh01_TtNJ3gl63pKjXteaEvJ0Or23RdbcDT2RAITjzoJN20c3Ax8k23DM_dd01fYYYk_GW8VoeAuUVbaq2zujJM9iVYha_Nm/w596-h421/cfa57d55d00299b036227fafb6fee9a7.jpg" width="596" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;"><b style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">April 2nd 2018,<br /></span></b>Did researchers find the trigger for autoimmune disease?</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/we-may-have-found-how-autoimmune-diseases-start" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank"><b>Researchers</b></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></span><span style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><span>might have finally found the trigger for autoimmune disease.</span> </span></b>Given that rosacea has most likely (although not yet proven) an auto-immune element to it, this could be interesting for rosacea patients too. Scientists have identified a chain reaction that explains why our own bodies can turn against our own healthy cells. The reaction, discovered in 2017 after four years of research in mice, has been described as a "runaway train" where one error leads the body to develop a very efficient way of attacking itself. </span>The study focused on<b> <span style="color: #444444;">B cells gone rogue</span></b>. Normally these cells produce antibodies and program our bodies' immune cells to attack unwanted invaders (or foreign substances; think of viruses or bacteria). An autoimmune disease is a chronic inflammatory condition caused by a person’s own immune cells, which mistakenly believes the body is under threat and so responds by attacking the bodies' own healthy cells and tissues. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Scientists found an <span><b><span style="color: #783f04;">'</span><span style="color: #444444;">override switch</span><span style="color: #783f04;">'</span></b><b style="color: #783f04;"><span> </span></b></span>in mouse B cells that messed up this behaviour and caused autoimmune attacks. "Once your body's tolerance for its own tissues is lost, the chain reaction is like a runaway train," said one of the team, Michael Carroll from Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. "The immune response against your own body's proteins, or antigens, looks exactly like it's responding to a foreign pathogen." These B-cells-gone-awry could in turn explain the biological phenomenon known as <span style="color: #444444;"><b>epitope spreading</b></span>, where our bodies start to hunt down different antigens that shouldn't be on the immune system's 'kill list'. Epitope spreading has long been observed in the lab but scientists have been in the dark about how it happens, and why autoimmune diseases evolve over time to target more and more healthy organs and tissues. In this case the research looked at a mouse model of the lupus autoimmune disease, considered an <span style="text-align: center;">archetypal or 'classic' type of autoimmune disease that many others are based on. Lupus is known as 'the great imitator' because the disease can have so many symptoms resembling other common conditions and because it affects many organs. </span>When B cells sense a foreign body – or something healthy that appears to be a foreign body – they swing into action in clusters called germinal centres. Those centres are why your lymph nodes become swollen when you've got a cold coming on, for example. B cell clones actually battle each other inside these centres so the body can determine which antibody is best suited to fight the threat, and in the case of this study that meant one colour of protein winning out against the others. The problem comes when the body incorrectly identifies a normal protein as a threat. When that happens, the B cell selection process produces what are known as <span style="color: #444444;"><b>auto-antibodies</b></span><span style="color: #f4cccc;"><b> </b></span>that prove very effective at harming our own bodies. Over time, the B cells that initially produce the 'winning' autoantibodies begin to recruit other B cells to produce additional damaging autoantibodies – just as ripples spreading out when a single pebble is dropped into water. This has only been examined in mice so far, but the researchers now want to use this confetti model to look at how B cell production of autoantibodies is regulated and gets sped up. Autoreactive B cells are competing inside germinal centres to design an autoantibody, but the immune response then broadens to attack other tissues in the body, leading to epitope spreading at the speed of wildfire. Hence, why people with one auto immune disease so often develop more and different ones over time. Eventually, blocking the germinal centers in some way could put a break on the vicious cycle that autoimmune diseases create. It would effectively block the immune system's short term memory. Unfortunately, as always, that kind of treatment is still a long way off. And there is more new research on autoimmune diseases: <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKjgWSZu-hW5NP8-0lPWGqNylrgpEJWQeWjrxcGJ9nv2Jm5RW3FCCHKlLvyEcBC3EZ8MjeUQhxm9nTQM4Hf9KOI9yhtyc3Wk-gs_kRGz0xcGFUw1Ees2ZFDS2lAk2O5z0Qkqmi4PFalWlc_30c95UG4YqKa9oK-sd4wLym4SxccfQSaOP1vIoCZUjH1RU/s1176/e0de4da33bd24e71da05dd8c30506a13.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1176" data-original-width="564" height="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKjgWSZu-hW5NP8-0lPWGqNylrgpEJWQeWjrxcGJ9nv2Jm5RW3FCCHKlLvyEcBC3EZ8MjeUQhxm9nTQM4Hf9KOI9yhtyc3Wk-gs_kRGz0xcGFUw1Ees2ZFDS2lAk2O5z0Qkqmi4PFalWlc_30c95UG4YqKa9oK-sd4wLym4SxccfQSaOP1vIoCZUjH1RU/w275-h575/e0de4da33bd24e71da05dd8c30506a13.jpg" width="275" /></a><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">A team of researchers from Yale University has linked autoimmune reactions to a bacteria in the gut called Enterococcus gallinarum</span></b></span><br />An autoimmune response, they say, can be triggered when the bacterium spontaneously migrates from the gut to other organs in the body, such as the spleen, liver, and lymph nodes. During the study, the researchers genetically engineered mice to be susceptible to autoimmune diseases. They then analyzed the gut bacteria to identify those that caused inflammation or were involved in the production of antibodies known to promote autoimmune responses. The culprit was Enterococcus gallinarum. The results were confirmed when they compared cultured liver cells of healthy people versus those of people with an autoimmune disease and found traces of Enterococcus gallinarum in the latter group. The researchers weren’t just able to identify the source, they also developed effective ways to reduce autoimmune symptoms. By using antibiotics or a vaccine, the researchers dulled symptoms by suppressing the growth of Enterococcus gallinarum. The vaccine was delivered through injection in muscle to avoid targeting other bacteria that reside in the gut. It is hoped that this research can be developed into successful treatment options with an antibiotic and other approaches such as vaccination for certain autoimmune diseases, including autoimmune liver disease and systemic lupus.</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitce3D56mNdu62_Jx82lQOB_S5slsfq27P6OujRo-fwQ14Ac-Cu99PJmDKyLO0ae1DZN1HHb7id0bZB6rtNN7ZH59_lwcux3AfnzPe2H3E3TxV5UOV5ep4W1MRVnqQ7SyL9Fs72LMuJHMQ-TKRsri5A98U4dDp-xdJwMeyayBZnEAmT_4AELmfpakrxKFo/s569/0ff03779fdff59763077703a2626afc0.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="564" height="542" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitce3D56mNdu62_Jx82lQOB_S5slsfq27P6OujRo-fwQ14Ac-Cu99PJmDKyLO0ae1DZN1HHb7id0bZB6rtNN7ZH59_lwcux3AfnzPe2H3E3TxV5UOV5ep4W1MRVnqQ7SyL9Fs72LMuJHMQ-TKRsri5A98U4dDp-xdJwMeyayBZnEAmT_4AELmfpakrxKFo/w537-h542/0ff03779fdff59763077703a2626afc0.jpg" width="537" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">April 1st 2018,</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">CRISPR</span></b></div><br />I read that after the information revolution, we are now heading towards the revolution of genetic engineering. Scientists are experimenting with<b><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><span style="color: #990000;">CRISPR</span></b>; programming plant- and human- and animal cells and doing DNA surgery. CRISPR allows scientists today already to cut and paste in DNA strands. Like a programmable scissor, that can recognize a certain spot on the genome of an organisms, and modify the genome at will. The technology is based on Dutch research about little parts of DNA in bacteria, called CRISPR. Bacteria suffer from viruses too, like us. When a virus hits them , it releases DNA into the bacteria, in order to create more viruses. But bacteria have their own defense system, CRISPR/cas, which allows them to recognize the DNA from viruses and to find it and then cut to pieces. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB__fJmMq6Jiaais0ktCb1MM1ZUJAchS_en0EEQ2JXB-nQGZH9v6GHDFV5epsyBGkSkOYb_l5FjRludQd-haK5zBqTdfALH9GkuckoTjylxPDggiX67pignNz2ox7kjh8u3YKg7ubhP5a7/s1600/download.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB__fJmMq6Jiaais0ktCb1MM1ZUJAchS_en0EEQ2JXB-nQGZH9v6GHDFV5epsyBGkSkOYb_l5FjRludQd-haK5zBqTdfALH9GkuckoTjylxPDggiX67pignNz2ox7kjh8u3YKg7ubhP5a7/s1600/download.png" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Emmanuella Charpentier came up with a similar system to cut and paste DNA from organisms (CRISPR cas9)</span></b>. DNA consists of 4 substances, given the letters C, G, A and T. The order of these substances dictates the genetic code of a cell. CRISPR can accurately read this info and change it. It allows DNA reprogramming through cutting and pasting in any cell, not just in virus DNA. She and her colleague Jennifer Doudna are up for a Nobel prize apparently, and won a lot of other prizes already for this discovery. They studied evolution, to change evolution. Rewriting our own genetical make-up. Reprogramming viruses, like an app would do; viruses are <span style="text-align: center;">software anyway, like a memory stick, </span><span style="text-align: center;">loaded with specific information, and once it attaches to a physical structure, that allows the virus to load its program onto the cell. That program is nowadays: print more viruses. But viruses </span><span style="text-align: center;">could also be loaded with a different message, one that we as humans find interesting to program into the cell. For instance; make this protein, because it is a good drug for us, or load the program into a cancer cell and program it to die. Viruses can be reprogrammed and are like software; like an app. And viruses today are designed, from scratch, in order to make biological programs with new applications possible. </span>All cancers have different DNA, but some people are already working on viruses that are adjusted to very specific tumour genetics. Special DNA printers can then print that DNA and put it in viruses. Every cancer patient can this way get a personalized cancer drug. Digital synthetic virus designs and it's already tested on dogs with cancer. An epi-pen for all of us, uploaded by the doctor and auto-inject. Personalized medicine. It's going to happen eventually. A medical netflix subscription with which you keep your body healthy. Soon we can print medication and change ourselves genetically (I can't wait for that, hopefully before my old age they can cut out my genetic illnesses, ruthlessly!). People are trying to write programs now that eradicate cancer cells. Science students could soon have opportunities that today only pharmaceutical companies have. </div>
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Hopefully the technology can repair genetic diseases, now that so many illnesses have been mapped DNA-wise in the past decade. But between a discovery in the lab, and using that discovery to develop a new technology and usable medication, there are usually around 20 years... It is also very expensive, so scientists are told to only go after the largest diseases and disease groups. But hopefully soon all the DNA errors that switches on genetic diseases can be identified and put into switch blocks and be eradicated or changed. And to build new biological constructions with them. Some people are already making and selling CRISPR-kits, for geeks to use at home; bio hackers (instead of computer hackers). Genetic engineering, in order to experiment, for instance with trying to make muscle mass grow. Changing your skin- or hair colour, growing more or less hair. Or attempting to have humans grow wings. Ultimately all the knowledge should be shared and people should be able to create the same stuff as pharmaceutical companies, but at a much better price. There is already genetic experimenting done on human embryo's now.. At a very early age when they are just a couple of cells. The worry is that technology will be used to make designer babies. Of course you could wait for the moment that there are fights erupting about the patenting of (parts of) this CRISPR technology, which is going on right now. And many companies have started working on the technique and on the treatment of certain diseases, but out of fear that someone will steal their inventions or know-how, they do not share any of with with other companies or scientists. Which holds back the entire development pace. Not just a few companies (Editas, Caribou and Crispr therapeutics), but also especially big universities in the USA can gather enough money (hundreds of millions of dollars with each round) to have teams of hundreds of the best people around working on this technique now. Editas, Caribou and Crispr therapeutics can become the new Google and Apple of the future if the CRISPR technology turns out to be effective and profitable. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9iTkoM1hkhvyJ8DmHTs6efrxBFI8wAN3LPs7Xzu9_VjkIXTwniTerH6VFLc2UW13gb-oaA4ikSlhHZG7-nL7K6OzDozIrG4aNuAplIipgFHwdmM-rTWXDpvEiBuZIYs57w_PXg-XZColS2hGjjHvi2IhZOJbqyRoJYE2tVn-KsZqbai-TJXuLgmNeqZuI/s755/at-the-bath-ramon-casas-i-carb-1340184271_b.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="600" height="659" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9iTkoM1hkhvyJ8DmHTs6efrxBFI8wAN3LPs7Xzu9_VjkIXTwniTerH6VFLc2UW13gb-oaA4ikSlhHZG7-nL7K6OzDozIrG4aNuAplIipgFHwdmM-rTWXDpvEiBuZIYs57w_PXg-XZColS2hGjjHvi2IhZOJbqyRoJYE2tVn-KsZqbai-TJXuLgmNeqZuI/w523-h659/at-the-bath-ramon-casas-i-carb-1340184271_b.jpg" width="523" /></a><div><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">April 1st 2018,<br /></span></b><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px; text-align: center;">Researchers discover why bacteria only cause acne in some people</b></div><br /><a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/researchers-think-they-ve-finally-figured-out-why-bacteria-only-causes-acne-in-some-people" target="_blank"><b>Researchers</b></a> under guidance of Richard Gallo from the University of California, San Diego, might have figured out <b><span style="color: #444444;"><span>why bacteria only causes acne in some people</span>, </span></b>and how to stop it. Pretty much all of our skin is covered in bacteria always, as a skin defense system against germs. Usually there is a balance and symbioses going on, and we don't get acne from it, but some people are more prone to such infections. Gallo and his colleagues showed that a usually harmless bacterium that lives on our skin starts triggering inflammation and breakouts when it finds itself trapped in <b>airless, oily conditions</b>, such as hair follicles. Everyone has hair follicles in their skin, but not all hair follicles are the same and created equal. Dr. Gallo and researchers now suspect that some people might have hair follicles that are more "suffocating" than others. The researchers specifically looked at a type of bacterium known as Propionibacterium acnes, which can cause acne breakouts. "Most of us have P. acnes on our face all the time, but it doesn't always cause breakouts. So the team tested the bacteria under a range of conditions on the skin of mice to try and figure out what was going on. They showed that when trapped in airless environments alongside hair and skin cells, P. acnes turned sebum - the oil found on our skin - into fatty acids that activate inflammation in nearby skin cells. Usually this inflammation is switched off by enzymes called histone deacetylases, but the fatty acids produced by the bacteria deactivated that brake, so inflammation continued unchecked - going on to cause red, itchy breakouts. So far, the research has only been done on mice, but the team is now looking to replicate their results in humans, and they're hopeful that the inflammation pathway involved will be the same."</div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMmie-oMiNMZeWTP60-KqJsWBIVXlLhA_-7cWrsJopbFo4K6XF1Mbtn7H1QpCntkCqZ22p-Ct49yF5lZ-TAezpXbrzneX44MR3t4Y-xhj1t2e4iucmWK6UlwrNr_3ERy-I8ny95v76PFzweXMz8ANX0CY7spkimthPRjbcIMNVT_kHuoll3z68f6z4Yrw9/s259/images%20(2).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="194" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMmie-oMiNMZeWTP60-KqJsWBIVXlLhA_-7cWrsJopbFo4K6XF1Mbtn7H1QpCntkCqZ22p-Ct49yF5lZ-TAezpXbrzneX44MR3t4Y-xhj1t2e4iucmWK6UlwrNr_3ERy-I8ny95v76PFzweXMz8ANX0CY7spkimthPRjbcIMNVT_kHuoll3z68f6z4Yrw9/w316-h422/images%20(2).jpg" width="316" /></a>"For the first time, it shows how fatty acids derived from P. acnes act on skin cells to induce inflammation," Holger Brüggemann, an expert on skin bacterium from Aarhus University in Denmark, explained. New findings could also explain why teenagers are so prone to breakouts, because their sex hormones during puberty put their sebum production into overdrive, giving P. acnes more fuel. The bad news is that cleaning your face regularly isn't the answer, because the team showed that the bacteria clump together to form structures called biofilms, which effectively locks them onto your skin. And, when this type of bacterium isn't causing havoc inside suffocating hair follicles, P. acnes is actually beneficial to skin health, which explains why antibiotic treatments don't work for many people - and in some cases, can actually make things worse. But now that the team understands the root cause of the inflammation, they're confident they'll be able to come up with new treatments for acne. "We can either inhibit these fatty acids, or block their impact on the skin," Gallo told New Scientist. "We're working on how to do this ... If we get lucky, it could lead to new medications in two to five years."</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The researchers now want to investigate what it is specifically that makes some people's faces more susceptible to acne. In addition to having particularly suffocating hair follicles, they might also be genetically disposed to being more vulnerable to the inflammation triggered by P. acnes fatty acids. Or maybe the strains of bacteria they have on their skin make excessive amounts of fatty acids compared to other people's strains. "I think all of these aspects probably play a role," said Gallo. Once they've figured this out, they'll be a step closer to not only treating, but potentially preventing acne in the first place. Right now, doctors treat severe acne with either antibiotics, hormone regulators (such as the contraceptive pill), or isotretinoin - better known as Roaccutane. All of these come with side effects (some more severe than others), and worst of all, most of them don't offer long-term relief, or in some cases, they don't work at all.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlUmft_e7zAO4grbX7jlLFmLJqt-PxrIg4JJMac-3lx3U2JoR2H4OiU1EmU0tiOjr2lFYP_0L5MReeNyUIwPenLnXU3Fe8kmU8gFqc6ftod6-Jo5q6W92EnIXvNzNHdm2ACTVGjtDkz6NAfJ877sXbrVxDLBHdcZqLn5DZtN-PpoHYDTj1_8DszFhJl_B7/s717/f3d5d8f0c8058b45818ec00730c9c0af.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="563" height="672" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlUmft_e7zAO4grbX7jlLFmLJqt-PxrIg4JJMac-3lx3U2JoR2H4OiU1EmU0tiOjr2lFYP_0L5MReeNyUIwPenLnXU3Fe8kmU8gFqc6ftod6-Jo5q6W92EnIXvNzNHdm2ACTVGjtDkz6NAfJ877sXbrVxDLBHdcZqLn5DZtN-PpoHYDTj1_8DszFhJl_B7/w528-h672/f3d5d8f0c8058b45818ec00730c9c0af.jpg" width="528" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">March 15th 2018,</span></b></div>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b>New class of menopause drugs reduces severity of hot flushes in three days</b></div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br />A <a href="http://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/185248/new-class-menopause-drugs-reduces-severity/" target="_blank"><b>new class</b></a> of experimental drugs reduces hot flushes in menopausal women by almost three-quarters in just three days. The treatment, tested by scientists at Imperial College London, also <b><span style="color: #444444;">reduces the severity of hot flushes by over a third within three days of taking it</span><span style="color: #783f04;">. </span></b>The research, funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), is a new in-depth analysis of data collected from a clinical trial initially published last year. This class of new drugs may provide women with a much-needed alternative to HRT, but it could also be an interesting new treatment on the horizon for people with vascular rosacea and facial flushing. Other medication aimed at reducing the severity of hot flashes (for instance clonidine, mirtazapine, other SSRI-antidepressants and certain beta blockers) all are prescribed by various dermatologists to try to curb facial flushing, a difficult to treat rosacea symptom. The original drug trial, which was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, involved 37 menopausal women aged between 40 and 62 years old – and <span>who experienced seven or more hot flashes a day. </span>Participants were randomly chosen to first receive either an 80mg daily dose of the drug, <span style="color: #444444;"><b>called MLE4901</b></span> (which was previously developed as a drug for schizophrenia) or a placebo over the course of a four-week period. They then switched to receive the other tablet for an additional four weeks. This ensured the women acted as their own controls during the study, and the effects of the drug were clear. The researchers found that the <b><span style="color: #444444;">compound MLE4901</span></b> significantly reduced the average total number of flushes during the four-week treatment period, as well as their severity, compared to when the patients received the placebo for four weeks.</div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCY2xSeu3DBYTnjbFwMl_KXl3JtJYippJWrR3iu0a75TCvuS1hSDzDX_Qt7zTry_YWKsx9Cwg64VgbmAwKEKrbRBhQFBWdsaWSB7QWk1okQuxfoJappYiiEiMab2fYHrBkVinyLLmwz4m5j-OUWzebXyTE-JwC_pwh0kV6u-A8tX2Jst_tulGFgkTtwL3/s225/images%20(5)%20(1).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="225" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCY2xSeu3DBYTnjbFwMl_KXl3JtJYippJWrR3iu0a75TCvuS1hSDzDX_Qt7zTry_YWKsx9Cwg64VgbmAwKEKrbRBhQFBWdsaWSB7QWk1okQuxfoJappYiiEiMab2fYHrBkVinyLLmwz4m5j-OUWzebXyTE-JwC_pwh0kV6u-A8tX2Jst_tulGFgkTtwL3/w389-h388/images%20(5)%20(1).jpg" width="389" /></a>The new experimental compounds are thought to work by blocking the action of a brain chemical called neurokinin B (NKB). Previous animal and human trials have shown increased levels of NKB may trigger hot flushes. The drug compound is thought to prevent NKB activating temperature control areas within the brain – which appears to halt hot flushes. The new data also revealed that the drug was as effective at improving daytime flush symptoms as it was at improving night time symptoms. Furthermore, the women reported a 82 percent decrease in the amount their hot flushes interrupted their sleep, and a 77 percent reduction in interruption to their concentration. Dr Julia Prague, first author of the study, explained: “As NKB has many targets of action within the brain the potential for this drug class to really improve many of the symptoms of the menopause, such as hot flushes, difficulty sleeping, weight gain, and poor concentration, is huge. To see the lives of our participants change so dramatically and so quickly was so exciting, and suggests great promise for the future of this new type of treatment.” The new analysis shows the compound has a significant effect within just three days explains Professor Waljit Dhillo, an NIHR Research Professor from the Department of Medicine at Imperial: “We already knew this compound could be a game-changer for menopausal women, and get rid of three-quarters of their hot flushes in four weeks. But this new analysis confirms the beneficial effect is obtained very quickly – within just three days.” Professor Dhillo explains this specific compound will not be taken further in trials, due to side effects that may affect liver function. However, two very similar drugs, which also block NKB but do not appear to carry these side effects have entered larger patient trials, with one such trial launched in the US last year. The research was funded by the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research. The study was supported by the Imperial NIHR/Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility. <span>(</span><a href="http://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/185248/new-class-menopause-drugs-reduces-severity/" target="_blank"><b>source</b></a><span>)</span></div></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Update</span></b>: due to side effects the research of this anti hot flash drug seems to have currently stalled, sadly enough... <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavinetant" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavinetant</a></b></div></div>
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<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14pN00b0odrYQCMzDcsfKLCqNBftUh4uHXpwlYBJedcjFnBMRaOahIfmkfR7WBqDhzH0eKbv0EURFLYNN4mLr2B3wSXOnO6nNGXyaAT7buHDZALunL7clciWBa45-sJML-yxyJmz8Fzar0hgC6POu6IVNf4nlLSqZAz6qCdTDGMrPdQHjSgs77HNGzBzS/s259/images%20(13).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14pN00b0odrYQCMzDcsfKLCqNBftUh4uHXpwlYBJedcjFnBMRaOahIfmkfR7WBqDhzH0eKbv0EURFLYNN4mLr2B3wSXOnO6nNGXyaAT7buHDZALunL7clciWBa45-sJML-yxyJmz8Fzar0hgC6POu6IVNf4nlLSqZAz6qCdTDGMrPdQHjSgs77HNGzBzS/w515-h385/images%20(13).jpg" width="515" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">March 12th 2018,</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">scientists summarize the treatment options for neurogenic rosacea</span></b></div></div>
<span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><b><span>In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3692271/">this good research paper</a>, scientists summarized the treatment options for neurogenic rosacea; rosacea subtype 1 with skin redness (erythema), skin burning and flushing.</span></b><span> </span></span>It states that this rosacea subtype requires a unique approach of management. In the paper, typical symptoms and triggers are mentioned for people with this type of rosacea, based on 14 test persons:</div></span>
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<i><span>"Prominent symptoms included burning or stinging pain (100% [14 of 14]), erythema (skin redness) (100% [14 of 14]), and flushing (93% [13 of 14]), sometimes accompanied by facial edema (skin swelling) (50% [7 of 14]), telangiectasias (visible blood vessels in the skin) (50% [7 of 14]), pruritus (43% [6 of 14]), and papules (36% [5 of 14]). </span></i><i><span>Important symptom triggers included heat (93% [13 of 14]), sunlight (93%[13 of 14]), hot showers (79% [11 of 14]), stress (71% [10 of 14]), exercise (64% [9 of 14]), and alcohol consumption (57% [8 of 14]). Use of makeup (50% [7 of 14]), eating spicy foods (43% [6 of 14]), touching skin (36% [5 of 14]), drinking hot beverages (29% [4 of 14]), cold weather (21% [3 of 13]), and humidity (14% [2 of 13]) were less reliable triggers. Notably, 71% of patients experienced relief from cooling via fans or cold compresses or ice applied to the face or held in the mouth (10 of 14).</span></i> </div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb042TJpWZ1KpVXXJhyVExuoP4g_dEl_zHNhuJsiv_qWqwg1-bCzOM7RfQJluXMD2PAruNVpNG9yJuEQiykp1pBj6Ac804vdEXW5vqcnl-xSDJMdqdBvQ2Wfti1b3GL3OJDZyAMExxF0pD/s1600/nihms479644f1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="530" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb042TJpWZ1KpVXXJhyVExuoP4g_dEl_zHNhuJsiv_qWqwg1-bCzOM7RfQJluXMD2PAruNVpNG9yJuEQiykp1pBj6Ac804vdEXW5vqcnl-xSDJMdqdBvQ2Wfti1b3GL3OJDZyAMExxF0pD/s320/nihms479644f1.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Facial erythema is seen in most patients at baseline and uniformly during flares. Inflammatory papules and pustules and rhinophymatous change are unusual in this subset of patients.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /> In the paper it is written that of the examined patients with neurogenic rosacea, a high percentage had neurologic (43% [6 of 14]) or neuropsychiatric (50% [7 of 14]) conditions, including complex regional pain syndrome, essential tremor, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Neurovascular disorders, including headaches (71% [10 of 14]) and Raynaud phenomenon (29% [4 of 14]), as well as rheumatologic disorders (36% [5 of 14]), including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, mixed connective tissue disease, and psoriatic arthritis, were also common. Many patients had tried the following treatments with limited success:</div>
<span><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">*Topical metronidazole (0 of 12 were helped)</span></b></div>
<b><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">*Topical steroids (1 of 8)</span></b></div></b><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">*Oral antibiotics, usually tetracyclines (4 of 8). </span></b></div>
</span><div style="text-align: left;">Most patients benefited from treatments that tried to calm the burning pain down, for instance gabapentin (5 out of 11), duloxetine (4 of 6), pregabalin (1 of 4), tricyclic antidepressants (2 of 3), and memantine (2 of 2). Topically creams were only occasionally effective, for instance doxepin, glycopyrrolate, amitriptyline, capsaicin, and ketamine.</div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><b>Effective were:</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span>*Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) (3 of 5)</span></b><br />
<b><span>*Beta blockers</span></b><br />
<b><span>*Clonidine</span></b></span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: left;">The researchers also added that this group of patients with strikingly prominent neurologic (nerve pain) symptoms, are an underrecognized subgroup of rosacea. By highlighting and formally naming this subgroup, they hope to increase awareness and recognition of these patients and aid the practicing dermatologist in their therapeutic management. The cause of rosacea is complex, poorly understood, and likely multiple causes and factors, including bad functioning blood vessels in the facial skin and with most likely an auto-immune aspect to it. Also the nerves in the skin are no longer functioning as they should with this rosacea type. There is an element of abnormal response to heat and an increase of inflammation in the skin. And the injury of the nerves in the skin of rosacea patients with this subtype 1, also leads to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysesthesia" target="_blank"><b><span>dysesthesias</span></b></a>: an abnormal sensation in the skin, of pain, skin burning, wetness, itching, electric shock, and pins and needles. It is sometimes described as feeling like<span><span><b style="color: #783f04;"> </b><b><span style="color: #444444;">acid under the skin</span></b></span><b><span style="color: #444444;">.<br /><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<i><span>"Patients with prominent vasomotor symptoms, defined clinically by flushing and telangiectasias, may respond to vasoactive medications, including β-blockers, alpha-1 adrenergic blockers, and calcium channel blockers. In addition, laser- and light-based therapies seem to be more effective in this subset of patients. </span></i><i><span>Patients with inflammatory features such as papules, pustules, or edema may respond, if symptoms are mild, to traditional topical therapies such as metronidazole, azelaic acid, or sulfur. Systemic antibiotics and antimalarial agents used for their anti-inflammatory effect may be useful for nonresponders. </span></i><i><span>Finally, patients with dysesthesia out of proportion to flushing or inflammation can be difficult to treat and require a unique approach first used to treat disorders such as complex regional pain syndrome and neuropathic itch. In our experience, neuroleptic agents (eg, gab-apentin, pregabalin), tricyclic antidepressants, and pain-modifying antidepressants (eg, duloxetine) are the most effective. N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor antagonists (eg, memantine), systemic antibiotics, and other topically formulated medications (eg, ketamine, glycopyrrolate, capsaicin) may be helpful in certain cases. Because of the associated heightened sensitivity to heat and sunlight, laser- and light-based interventions should be used with caution. </span></i><i><span>Because our understanding of this enigmatic subclass of rosacea is extremely limited, further research is clearly needed to better describe the underlying patho-physiologic characteristics and to identify additional effective treatment methods."</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikf22yeCvzxkLYBImjUWUDL0eQ520xYNcywGEcK1WF-VNoPveODo_7DIXQCoQB0g7SWRRILMLpS1RAICAvN4CujrKXJMmP4tfmQCKU5c4icUcmXFJLTU-J6DxpbHqyOMUH4OHwjMfAl5yk/s1600/1c9789430015a6ec63a8ed06a9d602d7.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpze1gACsHX2XxINao52qT82EGiPJa5_jviykWbICPPrEVnw628AXS9o6I82DvmqvKlZoThUf6D0VtabynASxeBgJ_zjXXNF0AMKBEAoWbX9RVcoMMhKlmeLKNDkHO9_8f9vmZ61LZsixLCqSMF4LqzcOp8exAcqUeI9tbGMBnIa6jB3-zlJjDCpbn7Yhr/s276/images%20(14).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="183" height="641" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpze1gACsHX2XxINao52qT82EGiPJa5_jviykWbICPPrEVnw628AXS9o6I82DvmqvKlZoThUf6D0VtabynASxeBgJ_zjXXNF0AMKBEAoWbX9RVcoMMhKlmeLKNDkHO9_8f9vmZ61LZsixLCqSMF4LqzcOp8exAcqUeI9tbGMBnIa6jB3-zlJjDCpbn7Yhr/w425-h641/images%20(14).jpg" width="425" /></a><br /><br /><div><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">September 12th 2017,</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Secukinumab for rosacea</span></b></div><br />Stanford University has started <a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03079531?cond=Rosacea&cntry1=NA%3AUS&state1=NA%3AUS%3ACA&draw=3&rank=7&fref=gc&dti=160146571042765" target="_blank"><b>clinical trials</b></a> for<span><b> <span style="color: #444444;">Secukinumab</span></b></span>, used to treat rosacea. It is an open label study to assess the effect of Secukinumab in moderate to severe papulopustular rosacea. However hopes are that it will also address rosacea redness and inflammation. Test participants receive injections of secukinumab. First impressions from one rosacea patient who is undergoing these tests were: "Redness was almost completely gone by Saturday afternoon. [one day post injection]. The doctor says full results are shown anywhere from 12 to 16 weeks."</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>Update from this rosacea patient, September 29th 2017: </b></span><br />
"Secukinumab update:<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i><b>So this thing has really worked immensely. My redness is gone and I'm going back to Stanford medical center to get my 5th dosage. I'd recommend everyone in this group if you can get there, to do so. So you can finally rid yourself of this disease."</b></i></span></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;">Secukinumab is a "human IgG1κ monoclonal antibody" that binds to the protein <b>interleukin </b><b>(IL)-17A</b>. It is injected once weekly for four weeks (or around 5 booster shots) and then once a month for 5 months. It works a bit like <span style="color: #990000;"><b>methotrexate</b></span>; suppressing the immune response and inflammation. Secukinumab lowers the bodies immune response and is used to treat auto immune diseases like psoriasis and related inflammation in the joints (artritis psoriatica). In psoriasis the bodies immune system goes in overdrive, and multiplies the skin cells too quickly, causing plaques of skin, inflammation and scaling and ultimately a lot of skin cell shedding. By lowering the immune system response, the skin symptoms can be calmed down too. Rosacea does not have an issue usually with increased skin cell formation, but some scientists do think that rosacea can be an auto immune disease as well, having the bodies own immune system attacking normal tissue and as such creating inflammation and redness. I know of some severe rosacea sufferers who were given methotrexate and who had their skin issues (redness, flushing) calm down significantly. Side effects can be significant however, increased risk of infections (viral infections, nose and throat infections, sinus infections and other infections) and it even <a href="https://www.verywell.com/drug-methotrexate-cancer-risk-3975004" target="_blank"><b>raises the risk</b></a> of certain cancers. That is generally the downside of methotrexate. Luckily Secukinumab <a href="http://www.the-dermatologist.com/content/overview-secukinumab-psoriasis" target="_blank"><b>does not seem to come with an increased risk of cancer</b></a>. Several <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27545070" target="_blank"><b>studies show</b></a> that secukinumab demonstrates "<i>a highly favorable safety profile, especially compared with commonly used psoriasis treatments such as methotrexate and TNF-α blockers. More specifically, secukinumab carries no increased risks for end-organ toxicities, serious infection, multiple sclerosis, reactivation of latent tuberculosis or hepatitis B, leukemia/lymphoma, and nonmelanoma skin cancer.</i>"</div>
<div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9eQo7aJs6pYxV565xuS0_Ey_aIhOFfh62_fasNI6lKoYhpdCuMCC8X4k9zZ9JD1wdO4c8DmAoRXfyuy8bokGJzmYYAyMDSrQaaVpdmPz8uSCWHZWB3lKI6zXgVdEx1EJkroFv0ZO3_UokZ3oj0rqrAHVj_XCisZkL97-qV3zd-HRBsI4fzYodrraxxgN3/s225/images.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9eQo7aJs6pYxV565xuS0_Ey_aIhOFfh62_fasNI6lKoYhpdCuMCC8X4k9zZ9JD1wdO4c8DmAoRXfyuy8bokGJzmYYAyMDSrQaaVpdmPz8uSCWHZWB3lKI6zXgVdEx1EJkroFv0ZO3_UokZ3oj0rqrAHVj_XCisZkL97-qV3zd-HRBsI4fzYodrraxxgN3/w317-h317/images.jpg" width="317" /></a>So despite of secukinumab being somewhat comparable to methotrexate, a drug that lowers (auto)immune response and inflammation as well, it comes with far less severe side effect risks. On January 21, 2015, the FDA announced that it had approved secukinumab to treat adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, followed later with the approval for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriatic arthritis. A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27142710" target="_blank"><b>2016 study</b></a> also showed that secukinumab seems to be effective in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. I am a bit hopeful for this new trial! I know that my dermatologist treated some very severe rosacea patients with methotrexate for a little while, and their skin really cleared up (also through suppressed immune response and inflammation), but that the increased risk of infections was too tricky. Since secukinumab does not have that side effect profile as much, it seems a great alternative.</div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 18px; white-space: nowrap;">Open Label Study to Assess the Effect of Secukinumab in Moderate to Severe </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 18px; white-space: nowrap;">Papulopustular Rosacea</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 18px; white-space: nowrap;"> </span><br />
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This study is currently recruiting participants.<br />
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<div class="status-details" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 9px;" title="The verification date is the most recent date the responsible party verified the study information is correct. The last updated date is the most recent date the record changed in any way. The two dates may be different.">
Verified July 2017 by Anne Chang, Stanford University</div>
<div class="info-title" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4em; margin-top: 12px;">
Sponsor:</div>
<div class="info-text" id="sponsor" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px;">
Anne Chang</div>
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Information provided by (Responsible Party):</div>
<div class="info-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px;">
Anne Chang, Stanford University</div>
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:</div>
<div class="identifier" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 9px;">
NCT03079531</div>
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First received: March 9, 2017</div>
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Last updated: July 11, 2017</div>
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Last verified: July 2017</div>
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<span class="header2" face="sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: small; font-weight: bolder;">Purpose</span></div>
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This is a study to determine whether secukinumab is a potential therapy for those with papulopustular rosacea. We will observe whether this drug decreases the size and/or amount and severity of the pustules of those who suffer from rosacea.</div>
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<tr align="left" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><th class="header3 pale_banner_color" style="background-color: #edeeff; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: bolder; padding: 6px 9px;"><a class="study-link" href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/help/conditions_desc" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a3d85; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s;" title="Help on Conditions field">Condition</a></th><th class="header3 pale_banner_color" style="background-color: #edeeff; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: bolder; padding: 6px 9px;"><a class="study-link" href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/help/interventions_desc" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a3d85; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s;" title="Help on Interventions field">Intervention</a></th><th class="header3 pale_banner_color" style="background-color: #edeeff; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: bolder; padding: 6px 9px;"><a class="study-link" href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/help/phase_desc" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a3d85; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s;" title="Help on Phase field">Phase</a></th></tr>
<tr align="left" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;" valign="top"><td class="body3" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 6px 9px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; margin-bottom: 1ex;">Papulopustular Rosacea</span></td><td class="body3" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 6px 9px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; margin-bottom: 1ex;">Drug: Secukinumab</span></td><td class="body3" nowrap="" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 6px 9px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; margin-bottom: 1ex;">Phase 1</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; margin-bottom: 1ex;">Phase 2</span></td></tr>
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout_table" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 2ex;" summary="Layout table for study information"><thead style="box-sizing: border-box;">
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<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;" valign="top"><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;">Study Type:</td><td style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding-left: 1em;">Interventional</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;" valign="top"><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;">Study Design:</td><td style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding-left: 1em;">Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment<br />
Masking: None (Open Label)<br />
Primary Purpose: Treatment</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;" valign="top"><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding-top: 2ex;">Official Title:</td><td style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding-left: 1em; padding-top: 2ex;">An Open Label Phase 1b Study of Secukinumab in Patients With Moderate to Severe Papulopustular Rosacea</td></tr>
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Further study details as provided by Anne Chang, Stanford University:</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Primary Outcome Measures:</span><br />
<ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1ex; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 1ex; padding-left: 24px;">
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, "Nimbus Sans L", sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 0.7ex;"><span style="font-size: large;">number of papules/pustules on rosacea patients at week 16 vs 0 [ Time Frame: 16 weeks ]</span><div class="indent2" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-top: 1ex;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Comparison of number of papules/pustules at 16 weeks compared to 0 weeks</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="body3" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Secondary Outcome Measures:</span><br />
<ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1ex; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 1ex; padding-left: 24px;">
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, "Nimbus Sans L", sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 0.7ex;"><span style="font-size: large;">reduction in the number of papules and/or pustules in moderate to severe papulopustular rosacea at week 12 vs 0 [ Time Frame: 12 weeks ]</span><div class="indent2" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-top: 1ex;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Compare number of papules/pustules at 12 weeks compared to 0 weeks</span></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, "Nimbus Sans L", sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 0.7ex;"><span style="font-size: large;">reduction of the overall severity of rosacea by global assessment [ Time Frame: 16 weeks ]</span><div class="indent2" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-top: 1ex;">
<span style="font-size: large;">comparing week 16 and 0, includes clinical and patient reported symptoms</span></div>
</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, "Nimbus Sans L", sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 0.7ex;"><span style="font-size: large;">reduction of erythema in patients with moderate to severe papulopustular rosacea [ Time Frame: 16 weeks ]</span><div class="indent2" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-top: 1ex;">
<span style="font-size: large;">comparing week 16 to 0</span></div>
</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, "Nimbus Sans L", sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 0.7ex;"><span style="font-size: large;">improved quality of life measures in patients with moderate to severe papulopustular rosacea [ Time Frame: 16 weeks ]</span><div class="indent2" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-top: 1ex;">
<span style="font-size: large;">by patient questionnaire</span></div>
</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, "Nimbus Sans L", sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 0.7ex;"><span style="font-size: large;">assess adverse events ≥ grade 3 in patients taking secukinumab for moderate to severe papulopustular rosacea [ Time Frame: 16 weeks ]</span><div class="indent2" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-top: 1ex;">
<span style="font-size: large;">frequency and severity of adverse events will be recorded throughout the study by CTCAE version 4.0</span></div>
</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, "Nimbus Sans L", sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 0.7ex;"><span style="font-size: large;">changes in immune infiltrate in papulopustular rosacea lesions after secukinumab use [ Time Frame: 16 weeks ]</span><div class="indent2" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-top: 1ex;">
<span style="font-size: large;">assess by immunohistochemistry at 16 weeks versus 0 weeks</span></div>
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</ul>
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout_table" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 3ex;" summary="Layout table for enrollment information"><thead style="box-sizing: border-box;">
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</thead><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;">
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;" valign="top"><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><span style="font-size: large;">Estimated Enrollment:</span></td><td style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;">24</span></td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;" valign="top"><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><span style="font-size: large;">Anticipated Study Start Date:</span></td><td style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;">July 14, 2017</span></td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;" valign="top"><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><span style="font-size: large;">Estimated Study Completion Date:</span></td><td style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;">January 1, 2019</span></td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;" valign="top"><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><span style="font-size: large;">Estimated Primary Completion Date:</span></td><td style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;">July 1, 2018 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)</span></td></tr>
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<tr align="left" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><th class="header3 pale_banner_color" style="background-color: #edeeff; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: bolder; padding: 6px 9px;"><a class="study-link" href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/help/arm_group_desc" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a3d85; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s;" title="Help on Arm Group field">Arms</a></th><th class="header3 pale_banner_color" style="background-color: #edeeff; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: bolder; padding: 6px 9px;"><a class="study-link" href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/help/interventions_desc" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a3d85; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s;" title="Help on Interventions field">Assigned Interventions</a></th></tr>
<tr align="left" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;" valign="top"><td class="body3" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 6px 9px;">Experimental: secukinumab arm<br />
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This is an open label study without placebo and it is a single arm study</div>
</td><td class="body3" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 6px 9px;">Drug: Secukinumab<br />
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We will be giving secukinumab to patients with papulopustular rosacea</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="desc" name="desc" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(17, 46, 81); box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a3d85; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s;"></a><span class="header3" face="sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: x-small; font-weight: bolder;">Detailed Description:</span></div>
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Rosacea is a common inflammatory skin disease affecting up to 10% of adults. Despite this, the etiology of rosacea is unclear, although there may be a genetic predisposition (Chang et al., 2015). Currently, there is no cure. Rosacea can lead to scarring, itching, burning, and is associated with anxiety and depression (Moustafa et al., 2015), significantly affecting quality of life.</div>
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Secukinumab is an antibody that binds to a protein (interleukin (IL)-17A) that is involved in inflammation. When IL-17A is bound to secukinumab, it cannot bind to its receptor, thereby inhibiting its ability to feed the inflammatory response. In clinical trials, secukinumab has been effective for moderate to severe psoriasis (Blauvelt et al., 2015). Recently, human data from all types of rosacea have shown Th1/Th17 polarization profile of the T-cell response, suggesting that anti-IL-17 therapy may be beneficial for rosacea (Buhl et al., 2015). Hence, secukinumab could be effective against rosacea. This proposal is a proof-of-concept study to use secukinumab in open label design for moderate to severe papulopustular rosacea.</div>
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<span class="header2" face="sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: small; font-weight: bolder;">Eligibility</span><br />
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<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;">Ages Eligible for Study: </td><td style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding-left: 1em;">18 Years and older (Adult, Senior)</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;">Sexes Eligible for Study: </td><td style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding-left: 1em;">All</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;">Accepts Healthy Volunteers: </td><td style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding-left: 1em;">No</td></tr>
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Criteria</div>
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Inclusion Criteria:</div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 0.7ex;">1) moderate to severe papulopustular rosacea defined clinically using the grading system of Wilkin et al. (2004) as having at least ten lesions (either papules or pustules) on face at time of enrollment 2) age 18 years or greater willing and able to understand and sign informed consent form</li>
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Exclusion Criteria:</div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 0.7ex;">1) known hypersensitivity to secukinumab 2) topical or oral anti-rosacea medication usage for 28 days prior to enrollment 3) active Crohn's disease, as secukinumab may exacerbate this disease 4) active infection including tuberculosis, hepatitis B or C, human immunodeficiency virus 5) participants with latent tuberculosis will need to have treatment initiated prior to starting study drug 6) pregnant or lactating 7) active and/or uncontrolled medical conditions that may interfere with study procedures or obscure rosacea assessment such as cutaneous lupus 8) use of retinoids within past 3 months of enrollment 9) use of antibiotics within 4 weeks of enrollment 10) use of light based or laser treatment to face within 8 weeks of enrollment 11) use of topical or systemic steroids within 4 weeks of enrollment 12) acne conglobate, acne fulminans, chloracne, severe acne requiring systemic treatment</li>
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<span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: small; font-weight: bolder;">Contacts and Locations</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="contacts" name="contacts" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(17, 46, 81); box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a3d85; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s;"></a></div>
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Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below. For general information, see <a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/about-studies/learn" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(17, 46, 81); box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a3d85; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s;" target="def_win" title="Learn About Clinical Studies - opens new window"><u style="box-sizing: border-box;">Learn About Clinical Studies.</u></a></div>
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Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03079531</div>
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Contacts</div>
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout_table indent2" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both;" summary="Layout table for location contacts"><thead style="box-sizing: border-box;">
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<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 1ex 1em 0px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Contact: Anne S Chang, MD</span></td><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 1ex 1em 0px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">650 721-7151</span></td><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 1ex 1em 0px 0px;"><a href="mailto:alschang%40stanford.edu?subject=NCT03079531,%20e-protocol%2038599,%20Open%20Label%20Study%20to%20Assess%20the%20Effect%20of%20Secukinumab%20in%20Moderate%20to%20Severe%20Papulopustular%20Rosacea" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(17, 46, 81); box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a3d85; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">alschang@stanford.edu</span></a></td><td style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"></td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 1ex 1em 0px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Contact: Michaella Montana, BS</span></td><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 1ex 1em 0px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">650 721 7195</span></td><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 1ex 1em 0px 0px;"><a href="mailto:mmontana%40stanford.edu?subject=NCT03079531,%20e-protocol%2038599,%20Open%20Label%20Study%20to%20Assess%20the%20Effect%20of%20Secukinumab%20in%20Moderate%20to%20Severe%20Papulopustular%20Rosacea" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(17, 46, 81); box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a3d85; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">mmontana@stanford.edu</span></a></td><td style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"></td></tr>
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Locations</div>
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<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"></tr>
</thead><tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;">
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><td class="header3" colspan="2" nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.4em; padding-top: 2ex;">United States, California</td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 1ex 1em 0px 2em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Stanford Dermatology</span></td><td class="header3" nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: bolder; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 1ex 0px 0px 2em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Recruiting</span></td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><td colspan="2" nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding-left: 4em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Redwood City, <span class="hit_inf" style="background-color: #ffffdd; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;">California</span>, <span class="hit_inf" style="background-color: #ffffdd; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;">United States</span>, 94603</span></td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><td colspan="2" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding-left: 4em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Contact: Anne Chang, MD 650-721-7151 <a href="mailto:alschang%40stanford.edu?subject=NCT03079531,%20e-protocol%2038599,%20Open%20Label%20Study%20to%20Assess%20the%20Effect%20of%20Secukinumab%20in%20Moderate%20to%20Severe%20Papulopustular%20Rosacea" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(17, 46, 81); box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a3d85; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s;">alschang@stanford.edu</a> </span></td></tr>
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><td colspan="2" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding-left: 4em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Contact: Michaella Montana, BS 650 721 7159 <a href="mailto:mmontana%40stanford.edu?subject=NCT03079531,%20e-protocol%2038599,%20Open%20Label%20Study%20to%20Assess%20the%20Effect%20of%20Secukinumab%20in%20Moderate%20to%20Severe%20Papulopustular%20Rosacea" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(17, 46, 81); box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a3d85; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s;">mmontana@stanford.edu</a> </span></td></tr>
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Sponsors and Collaborators</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Anne Chang</span></div>
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Investigators</div>
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<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"></tr>
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<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 1ex 1em 0px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Principal Investigator:</span></td><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 1ex 1em 0px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Anne Chang, MD</span></td><td nowrap="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 1ex 1em 0px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Stanford University</span></td></tr>
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Additional relevant MeSH terms:<br />
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<tr style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;" valign="top"><td style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;" width="50%">Rosacea<br />
Skin Diseases<br />
Antibodies, Monoclonal<br />
Immunologic Factors<br />
Physiological Effects of Drugs</td><td style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em;"></td></tr>
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<span class="body3" face="sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 11, 2017</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZvFfSvWcBSu6_jQB4wCw7YkNPmSqUv4zwnkdrNENPaf3aTVhMq5VNkfvQs9HADR2dLqADdVANHlSD8J35xcKE3bV6SmUd18JamAOD1pbqlbTMYYr_5jXFzUt1H0wv1SbduXxdSnAIBeYrhyA7AB4Q4jJBPVk4TOr-CGq30WHc2OG7JuA4SbDzKIoQ4qSp/s262/images%20(18).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="192" height="671" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZvFfSvWcBSu6_jQB4wCw7YkNPmSqUv4zwnkdrNENPaf3aTVhMq5VNkfvQs9HADR2dLqADdVANHlSD8J35xcKE3bV6SmUd18JamAOD1pbqlbTMYYr_5jXFzUt1H0wv1SbduXxdSnAIBeYrhyA7AB4Q4jJBPVk4TOr-CGq30WHc2OG7JuA4SbDzKIoQ4qSp/w491-h671/images%20(18).jpg" width="491" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">Anti-CGRP migraine drugs for rosacea treatment </span></b><br /><br />I've read recently that several companies are busy with clinical trials for a new migraine treatment with anti CGRP drugs, with positive results. These drugs are geared for migraine, but the way in which they work (their aim is to constrict blood vessels), makes them also exciting and possible future treatment options for rosacea. <span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">From<b> </b></span><a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/feature-will-antibodies-finally-put-end-migraines" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><b>Science magazine</b></a><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">:<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">"Four pharmaceutical companies are racing to complete advanced clinical trials of antibodies that either neutralize CGRP by binding to it, or block its receptor. So far, the data suggest the drugs work faster, for longer, and better than anything currently available. Most striking, is a subset of “superresponders,” whose attacks appear to cease entirely for 6 months after a single injection of a CGRP-blocking antibody."</span></b></i></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;">CGRP is a 37–amino acid (neuro)peptide that is released by the nervous system and is a very potent blood vessel dilator. When released from the trigeminovascular nerves, CGRP is a powerful vasodilator of the blood vessels of the brain. Medication that was designed to block CGRP’s receptor turned out to have too many side effects. Then researchers focused on antibodies to block CGRP, because they can last a long time in the body and can be exceptionally specific, reducing the frequency with which people need injections. many colleagues didn't think it was worth a shot, because antibodies are generally too large to pass through the blood-brain barrier, and it was thought to be necessary for migraine meds to target migraines actually in the brain. However, to their surprise, the CGRP peptide-blocking antibody "TEV-48125" managed to just do this; treating migraines from outside the brain, by blocking CGRP only in the peripheral nervous system. Trials show significant reductions in number of headache days over placebo, even for the most severe cases. This type of drug also lowers the risk of the side effects often provoked by drugs that act in the brain. Although there are still worries too, because of CGRP’s natural role in dilating arteries and maintaining blood supply to the heart and brain. “Theoretically, if you block CGRP you could translate a minor stroke or cardiac ischemia … into a full blown stroke or heart attack.” So far, the companies say they haven’t seen that or other significant side effects in the several thousand people who have completed phase I and II trials, but the drugs have only been administered for up to 6 months—not long enough to judge long-term effects. CGRP-blocking drugs are also tested now for fibromyalgia, a condition that is somewhat overlapping in some symptoms with rosacea. And scientists have also discovered that CGRP plays a role in rosacea flushing and skin redness. Interestingly, migraine medication has so far been helping some people with rosacea. Drugs like propranolol, imitrex/sumatriptan and even botox have all been helpful for rosacea. Someone on the Rosacea Forum is successfully using the migraine med Maxalt/Rizatriptan for her severe type 1 rosacea/erythromelalgia.</div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3lAGztX0gnS3MAhSHU4_wDE72F-RMIeZM5BI27r7TpktTttzPZidNLpypUMedIErjmccINFM2e2a0HmVneVWKqCVeyK7ULqbDZJw4gS1KOxBXdp6YNhN1qptTVXR6f3N7e9aRigXUw5mG-4CjahL_7W1r0IbbAFCkGmJENZj6DhKeJ0cMxmaLSi4YYeFe/s250/ramon-casas-carbo-poster-with-woman-in-vintage-automobile-holding-up-sherry-glass_u-L-PNMVOY0.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="175" height="605" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3lAGztX0gnS3MAhSHU4_wDE72F-RMIeZM5BI27r7TpktTttzPZidNLpypUMedIErjmccINFM2e2a0HmVneVWKqCVeyK7ULqbDZJw4gS1KOxBXdp6YNhN1qptTVXR6f3N7e9aRigXUw5mG-4CjahL_7W1r0IbbAFCkGmJENZj6DhKeJ0cMxmaLSi4YYeFe/w424-h605/ramon-casas-carbo-poster-with-woman-in-vintage-automobile-holding-up-sherry-glass_u-L-PNMVOY0.jpg" width="424" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px; text-align: center;">Stress, rosacea flares and CGRP</b><br />CGRP is also part of the puzzle as to why stress can make rosacea flare so badly. Apart from stress raising blood pressure and inflammatory substances, experiments in rats now showed that corticotropin-releasing hormone, which the body releases in response to stress, also increases neuronal production of CGRP. More CGRP means much more blood vessel dilation, which causes our rosacea flares (for those with burning, flushing and redness). Strikingly, many migraine medications also boost CGRP in animal models, possibly explaining why people who use drugs like triptans too frequently end up with more severe migraines.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">CGRP antagonistic treatment options for Rosacea</span></b><div style="text-align: left;">I hope that we can soon benefit from<b> <span style="color: #444444;">injections</span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><b> of this CGRP peptide-blocking antibody "TEV-48125"</b></span>. Those medications are in the making now, from what I read, so it might take a bit more time before they come on the market. In the meantime, scientists are also working on a topical cream that works in a similar way, blocking CGRP. A <a href="http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6509014.html" target="_blank"><b>patent</b></a> is created for a special cream for rosacea patients to do just that. 'Therapeutic/cosmetic compositions comprising CGRP antagonists for treating skin redness/rosacea/discreet erythema.' But they are not just focusing on a CGRP blocker: "Skin redness, rosacea and/or discreet erythema afflicting a mammalian, notably human patient, are therapeutically treated by administrating to such patient a therapeutically/cosmetically effective amount of at least one <span>CGRP antagonist</span>, advantageously in combinatory immixture with at least one antagonist of a neuropeptide other than CGRP, e.g., a <span>substance P antagonist</span>, and/or at least one<span style="color: #444444;"> </span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><b>inflammation mediator antagonist</b></span><span style="color: #783f04;">.</span></span>"</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">So this patent for a new cream will focus on three things;</span></b><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span><b><span style="color: #444444;">*blocking CGRP</span> </b></span>(and thus blocking one factor that leads to blood vessel dilation in our faces)</div>
<span style="color: #444444;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span>*blocking P antagonist</span></b></div>
<span><div style="text-align: left;"><b>*blocking an inflammation mediator in the skin</b></div></span></span><div style="text-align: left;">CGRP is a polypeptide chemical species that is produced and released by nerve endings. CGRP dilates blood vessels and is involved in lung issues and inflammatory diseases, in allergic diseases and in certain skin diseases such as eczema and prurigo. It is a new concept to treat <b><span style="color: #444444;">skin redness</span> </b>with a CGRP antagonist. But developers now think that CGRP blocking substances can not only treat skin redness, but also prevent it from occurring. Blocking CGRP in the skin of our faces, through a cream, should help combat skin redness and flushing. This will be tested on test persons with rosacea, by first inducing a flush (with a substance called capsaicin), and then applying the cream and seeing if the redness can be toned down by it. They will test if the levels of CGRP that is released (and that cause blood vessel dilation), will be reduced upon measuring. Secondly, P antagonist will have to be another type of antagonist of a neuropeptide used, reinforcing the CGRP antagonist. A third ingredient will have to reduce inflammation in the skin (and they will select it from a group consisting of histamine antagonists, interleukin 1 antagonists, and tumor necrosis factor alpha antagonists, and the inflammation mediator antagonist is supposed to be a diethylenediamine, aminopropane or phenothiazine compound, selected from a group consisting of cinnarizine, cyclizine, dexchlorpheniramine, triprolidine, alimemazine, promethazine, auranofin, lisophyline, A802715, sulfasalazine, cetirizine hydrochloride, loratadine, ebastine, and setastine hydrochloride).<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqEXi95mBYSpO0GNefA2iPpNnOILcxHCtwqlP4dxCSe8-1PXCIv13i77Txz44A_SKPOaCMk9aThE130QgE4o9Q2Iqx0Pj-8DMsncLnkkH0A3MavWA8nR1ib40r4eXzvIhj_A_ZT6nmkF7xNSziaqVk0x-IK1a6lGma41ciqETbZqGx6uOc0LLYQBLGaWIy/s258/images%20(6).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="195" height="571" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqEXi95mBYSpO0GNefA2iPpNnOILcxHCtwqlP4dxCSe8-1PXCIv13i77Txz44A_SKPOaCMk9aThE130QgE4o9Q2Iqx0Pj-8DMsncLnkkH0A3MavWA8nR1ib40r4eXzvIhj_A_ZT6nmkF7xNSziaqVk0x-IK1a6lGma41ciqETbZqGx6uOc0LLYQBLGaWIy/w432-h571/images%20(6).jpg" width="432" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">The patent described rosacea as follows:</span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 38px;"> </span></b><br />"Rosacea is a skin affliction characterized by erythema (redness) of the face, predominantly on the cheeks, the forehead and the nose, hyper seborrhoea (thickened skin) of the face on the forehead, the nose and the cheeks, and an infectious component manifesting acneiform pustules (skin outbreaks and bumps). Moreover, these indications are associated with a neurogenic component, namely, a cutaneous hyperreactivity of the skin of the face and of the neck (nerve burning), characterized by the appearance of redness and subjective sensations of the itching or pruritus type (skin itching), sensations of burning or of heating, sensations of stinging, tingling, discomfort, tightness, etc. These signs of hyperreactivity may be triggered by very varied factors such as the intake of food or of hot or alcoholic drinks, by rapid temperature variations, by heat and in particular exposure to ultraviolet or to infrared irradiation, by a low relative humidity (dry air), by exposure of the skin to strong winds or to currents of air (conditioned air, fans and blowing machines), by the application of surfactants (soaps, washing detergents), irritant dermatological topical agents (retinoids, benzoyl peroxide, alpha-hydroxy acids, etc.), or the use of certain cosmetics, even when these are themselves not recognized as being particularly irritating. - Hitherto, the mechanism for triggering these indications was <b><span style="color: #444444;">very poorly understood</span></b> and rosacea was treated with active agents such as anti-seborrhoeic agents and anti-infection agents, for example benzoyl peroxide, retinoic acid, metronidazole or cyclins, which act on infection and hyper seborrhoea but do not permit the neurogenic component of this affliction, and in particular hyperreactivity of the skin and redness, to be treated. Similarly, hitherto no treatment existed for the redness which develops in discreet erythema. This latter affliction occurs at times of emotion and is characterized by redness of the face and neckline, which possibly may be accompanied by pruritus (itching). This condition is very irritating for individuals suffering therefrom, and to date it could only be treated by beta-blockers, powerful drugs used for treating hypertension and exhibiting many contraindications. Thus, serious need continues to exist in this art for an effective treatment of skin redness and of the state of hyperreactivity of skin affected by rosacea or discreet erythema." The patent acknowledges that their invention does not necessarily have to be applied through a cream on top of the skin: it is also possible to inject the CGRP antagonist into the skin, or even to take pills to achieve the same effect. They aim for a acceptable cream carrier, but the problem with most creams is that they contain alcohols (they help the active ingredient to penetrate deeper into the skin) and preservatives (parabens for instance, which are skin irritants). And some companies even put propylene glycol and plastic elements into their creams, which make them pretty much unusable for those with hyper reactive, intolerant rosacea skin. In the examples for cream ingredients that are mentioned in the patent itself, the list seems fairly OK to be honest, the only ingredients I wouldn't tolerate myself (but my skin is sickly reactive) are sunflower oil (12%), stearic acid, fragrance (if they are smart they leave that one out!) and preservatives.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">CGRP and Rosacea</span></b><div style="text-align: left;">Rosacea is a common skin disorder that is not yet fully understood. It has been suggested that it is linked to interactions between nerves and blood vessels, which release inflammatory substances, but also specific neuropeptides, which cause the blood vessels in our skin to dilate. This is probably especially the case in rosacea subtype 1, with flushing, redness of the skin and burning (and less in subtype 2 with pimples and skin outbreaks). These specific neurotransmitters are easily triggered to be released, for instance by stress, ultra-violet light or microbial antigens. And when they are released, they trigger flushing and redness for us. When you flush from heat or temperature changes, it are primary sensory neurons that stimulate the blood vessels to dilate and to release inflammatory neuropeptides. These neuropeptides play a very important role in rosacea. For example, flushing has been <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022202X15526912" target="_blank"><b>suggested</b></a> to be controlled by two vasodilatory mechanisms including humoral substances and neuronal stimuli (Wilkin, 1988), but the exact mechanism of action is unknown. Although scientists learn increasingly more over time about how sensory nerve endings are activated to release<b> <span style="color: #444444;">vasoactive</span><span style="color: #783f04;"> </span><span style="color: #444444;">neuropeptides</span></b> during flushing, which also triggers the inflammatory process in different stages of rosacea. Specific<span style="color: #444444;"> <b><span>TRP Channels</span></b> </span>are involved in this.</div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIg2QDUHLn-HDKN4ZIfTqAGXBxya8T5NY3HTbeEK8ldhQ-MpSRyZ5nogCqkXVdwfty0zd5Q1BLA9o1k3-qSXORbLXlt6HE5K8AqpER-3gV-0josIflvpGLZsLrh2i1pbMA3ozactp78GJp/s1600/1-s2.0-S0022202X15526912-gr1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="291" data-original-width="299" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIg2QDUHLn-HDKN4ZIfTqAGXBxya8T5NY3HTbeEK8ldhQ-MpSRyZ5nogCqkXVdwfty0zd5Q1BLA9o1k3-qSXORbLXlt6HE5K8AqpER-3gV-0josIflvpGLZsLrh2i1pbMA3ozactp78GJp/w339-h330/1-s2.0-S0022202X15526912-gr1.jpg" width="339" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">Capsaicin receptor</span></b><br style="text-align: center;" /><div>This newly discovered TRP channel receptor family is currently composed of 28 channels with seven subfamilies. They sit on neuronal and non-neuronal tissues all over the body. One in particular is interesting for rosacea, as it is singe handedly capable to cause a lot of blood vessel dilation. It is called vanilloid 1 (<b><span style="color: #444444;">TRPV1</span></b>), also known as the “<b><span style="color: #444444;">capsaicin receptor</span></b>”. It has many functions, including as a censor in cells, signalling pain sensations and inflammation. This receptor responds to a lot of triggers, including heat, cold temperatures, touch and changes in the cell membrane. The image left shows the structure and activators "<b><span style="color: #444444;">capsaicin receptor</span></b>" (<u>TRPV1</u>), as well as <b><span style="color: #444444;">ankyrin 1</span> </b>(<u>TRPA1</u>) receptors in primary sensory neurons with a link to rosacea. Both receptors have a similar structure and can be activated by temperature increases or for instance by spicy food. <span><b><span style="color: #444444;">TRPA1</span></b><span style="color: #783f04;"> </span></span>can be activated by reactive oxygen species (ROS; they are chemically reactive chemical species containing oxygen. They are formed as a natural byproduct of the normal metabolism of oxygen and have important roles in cells. But during times of environmental stress, for instance when exposed to UV radiation or heat, ROS levels can increase dramatically). And when activated,<b> </b>TRPA1 will signal for signal blood vessel widening. When this happens, mediators, such as proteases, are released, and they create inflammation. It is thought that these two, TRPV1 and TRPA1, have an interaction with each other, that regulates their activity.</div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7s8m0B5-BZ3PunlDOnglgtA3orD-g3NrZ-vfDAy54hYWrrenu-xX60w8mMfWC2wKOwyq9FFY_QOEjUpFQ9F1J0uJgkXcgkiRcYUm0k3A544FpQurQECBwOv33l-9RbBCgkOjKe18_WsF-AncwEES_OsCxzQoJ9TrRIKweOdnc6KaPe6Gfe5cbzCRjY1Ee/s1259/862d5f2272d7fabba50887e860563b81.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1259" data-original-width="564" height="752" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7s8m0B5-BZ3PunlDOnglgtA3orD-g3NrZ-vfDAy54hYWrrenu-xX60w8mMfWC2wKOwyq9FFY_QOEjUpFQ9F1J0uJgkXcgkiRcYUm0k3A544FpQurQECBwOv33l-9RbBCgkOjKe18_WsF-AncwEES_OsCxzQoJ9TrRIKweOdnc6KaPe6Gfe5cbzCRjY1Ee/w336-h752/862d5f2272d7fabba50887e860563b81.jpg" width="336" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">TRP Channels as Thermosensors in Rosacea?</span></b><br />Both <b><span style="color: #444444;">TRPA1</span></b> and <b><span style="color: #444444;">TRPV1</span> </b>channels are triggered by heat and temperature increase. It is no surprise probably that 53% of rosacea patients stated in polls that hot and cold weather are triggers for their rosacea. Very cold temperatures can also directly activate TRPA1 channels. Perhaps TRPA1 is a “cold sensor” channel. Another<b> <span style="color: #444444;">TRP channel</span><span style="color: #783f04;"> </span></b>(melastin) TRPM8 is also activated at temperatures below ∼23 °C. So when you are hypersensitive for the cold, it is most likely this TRPA1 channel deep in your body cells, that is responsible! (Just so you know how to blame haha). Anyway, the cold can also cause inflammation in rosacea skin. But heat is just as much a trigger for rosacea. Heat, sun, hot baths; they all dilate out blood vessels as our body temperature rises. And rosacea skin already is a little bit warmer than 'normal' skin temperature. When the temperature rises quickly, even in healthy people, our cells produce TRPV1. Therefore TRPV1 channels have an essential role in temperature hypersensitivity when it comes to inflammation. And on top of all this, rosacea facial skin has shown to have a significantly lower heat pain threshold compared to the rest of our skin. Our faces notice heat quicker and develop painful skin much quicker (tingling, burning, prickling, blushing, pain) when we are in a warm surrounding than the rest of our bodies skin. I think everyone had detected that for him or herself already anyway :) And again, our little friend TRPV1 seems to be involved in this. The same goes for flushing after eating spices TRPV1 is dubbed the "<b><span style="color: #444444;">capsaicin receptor</span></b>", because it is directly activated when someone eats capsaicin, which is the chemical that makes chilli peppers so hot. The same happened in trials with mice; capsaicin also stimulates an increase in mouse skin blood flow, which shows that this blood flow increase is triggered ultimately by TRPA1 stimulation. TRPA1 is triggered by cinnamaldehyde, the main ingredient of cinnamon, which also leads to intense and acute painful burning sensation. This is even the case by those who do not have rosacea, and the burning they can feel from this is probably similar to that observed in rosacea. These findings highlight that TRPA1 and TRPV1 may be activated by the triggers of rosacea, such as cold or hot temperatures and spices, to mediate flushing or burning sensation episodes of rosacea.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTB4fTe_xEuzPjOE3UUG0FJxjFXD6-NVHshrMuj4Wq1StaiYxowjUB0grPmPS35mJIJQKuE83jfyZ6txhU9itDYq9rIXNxUiB6NE0dLkyzmszy5mPGeM3LivYt9iy_B7VsM8_YIsvRdupJ/s1600/1-s2.0-S0022202X15526912-gr2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="501" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTB4fTe_xEuzPjOE3UUG0FJxjFXD6-NVHshrMuj4Wq1StaiYxowjUB0grPmPS35mJIJQKuE83jfyZ6txhU9itDYq9rIXNxUiB6NE0dLkyzmszy5mPGeM3LivYt9iy_B7VsM8_YIsvRdupJ/s320/1-s2.0-S0022202X15526912-gr2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Another aspect that makes rosacea skin burn and flush, is<b><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><span style="color: #444444;">blood flow</span></b>. Flushing longer than 10 minutes is indicative for rosacea (and therefore 'not normal' for normal skin). The smallest systems of blood vessels in our body are dilated in rosacea patients. TRPA1 is also here a factor. It sits in the basal layer of the epidermis, in the dermis, and in the epithelium of the hair follicle, so basically all throughout our skin. And when this TRPA1 is activated (for instance through heat, cold, stress, spices), a substance called <b><span style="color: #783f04;">"</span><span style="color: #444444;">proinflammatory cytokine IL-1</span><span style="color: #783f04;">"</span></b> is released, which is a key contributor to skin inflammation. Our skin actually recovers from such a TRPA1 triggered rosacea attack, by exposing our skin to cold air. Apart from more blood flow in the skin, rosacea patients in <a href="https://www.rosacea.org/rr/2013/spring/article_2.php" target="_blank"><b>studies</b></a> also showed heightened sympathetic nerve activity compared to those without rosacea. The sympathetic nervous system is a part of the body’s autonomic nervous system that controls involuntary functions such as heart rate, digestion, breathing and perspiration. This portion of the autonomic nervous system functions largely below the level of consciousness and has been shown to respond to emotion.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">Substance P and CGRP in Rosacea</span></b><br /><div style="text-align: left;">So, studies have shown that activation of TRPV1 (by capsaicin) and TRPA1 (by mustard oil) caused the release of neuropeptides. Normal human skin that was rubbed in with a cream containing capsaicin, showed a big red flare. But, this flare could then controlled again by a specific <span>TRPV1 antagonist</span>, SB705498. And there is also a new oral CGRP antagonist, <span>telcagepant</span>, which also managed to bring down a capsaicin-induced flushed skin reaction. Ultimately, what makes our skin flare, is not TRPV1, but another chemical, that is triggered by TRPV1: called<span><span style="color: #783f04;"> </span><b><span style="color: #444444;">CGRP</span></b></span>. CGRP is one of the strongest blood vessel dilators in the skin. And to make matters worse, it makes sure that your skin also has increased inflammatory substances as a result of all this extra blood flow going around. The Neuropeptide<span><b><span><span style="color: #444444;"> SP</span></span></b></span> is elevated in rosacea skin. They linger around the dilated blood vessels. Research showed that laser treatment reduced facial sensitivity, sensory nerve marker, and SP-positive nerve fibers in the skin of 31 rosacea patients. And there is also evidence that<span> </span><span>SP</span> can also induce skin redness. When rosacea patients have an inflammatory flare, and biopsies are taken from their skin, scientists tend to find widely dilated blood vessels in the skin. SP might play a role in all this, as <span>SP can stimulate mast cells to release histamine and 5-hydroxy-tryptamine</span>. These mediators bind to histamine H1 receptors and serotonin 5-hydroxy- tryptamine-1 receptors, and as such they cause blood vessel dilation through the nerves of the skin. CGRP can <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21804480" target="_blank"><b>make matters worse</b></a> then, by forming skin redness. It is therefore a whole cluster of substances that work together to fire up a flare for us: CGRP creates blood vessel dilation and SP triggers skin redness, histamine release and inflammation, and they even strengthen each others powers by blocking degradation of each other by the body.</div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj223QheMKzElSKlWbErYiifJliOeLD6DRizDZQODbZhzktPYDWQlsS2HNol-_XEKJlfptX8ryTscdsc1M7jU0ZMcMIJVlhl1uJlsVclIhESHRW1NcU5IIxWsx5DeGHRs9GfyKLvlKuF02jes5L1bowJi0l7BycR0YhWCyf4Km6S1obwe2SDc2n37h9JL_5/s640/feffbe86a6de46d9b3d1fc5c7ffb1dfc.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="503" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj223QheMKzElSKlWbErYiifJliOeLD6DRizDZQODbZhzktPYDWQlsS2HNol-_XEKJlfptX8ryTscdsc1M7jU0ZMcMIJVlhl1uJlsVclIhESHRW1NcU5IIxWsx5DeGHRs9GfyKLvlKuF02jes5L1bowJi0l7BycR0YhWCyf4Km6S1obwe2SDc2n37h9JL_5/w345-h438/feffbe86a6de46d9b3d1fc5c7ffb1dfc.jpg" width="345" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px; text-align: center;">Proteases in Rosacea</b><br />It is also known that protease activity is higher in the facial skin of rosacea patients, and that antibiotics such as tetracyclines can indirectly inhibit (control) these proteases. Proteases also degrade elastin and collagen, which means your skin becomes less firm and strong and is not beneficial for the lymphatic system in your skin. They also indirectly increase inflammation in the skin, by stimulating the release of SP and CGRP. And in the last place, there is <span style="color: #444444;"><span><b>Reactive Oxygen </b></span><span><b>Species (ROS)</b></span></span>, which also seems to play a role in rosacea. Substance P can cause their release. There is evidence in the literature suggesting that inflammation in the early stage of rosacea may be linked with ROS such as superoxide anions, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals, which are released by inflammatory cells such as neutrophils. The level of ROS was significantly higher in the facial skin of patients with rosacea compared with healthy control subjects, OR of the same rosacea patients after being treated with the antibiotic azithromycin. ROS is involved in microbicidal activity.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><i>Studies have shown that cathelicidin, a potent inflammatory peptide, is upregulated in rosacea.</i></span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;">Cathelicidin can stimulate ROS, which plays a role in inflammation. And ROS is in turn again linked to TRPV1 receptor activation, which dilates our blood vessels and increases blood flow in the skin. It is a rosacea avalanche, in other words, when all working and activating each other together. And this is another reason why rosacea should be treated as soon as possible and controlled.</div>
<br /><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;"><b>So in summary</b></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;">TRPV1 and TRPA1 may contribute to the development of rosacea. The high skin reactivity of rosacea skin can be blamed on TRPA1 and TRPV1 receptors. When they are activated, they create blood vessel dilating substances such as CGRP and SP, as well as inflammation, which may further aggravate the symptoms of rosacea. They work together and strengthen each others actions. All the more reason to be very excited about this new treatment option; blocking of the neuropeptide-driven inflammatory processes resulting from activation of TRPV1 and TRPA1 receptors. This could become a completely new therapeutic approach to treating rosacea.</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkZI5Ep5BrQdZ_POmsgE5rXbpZSuXNqiG7wfShq0q7Td3rx344gawL_ObOHwcAGgUiqzN_C77mjsabXKFk_bhQo6EVUrgctEOueIw9TpT5Mc7AdaHNEuE6aHZm918zHuYTBjgqXsHy7jgo7eRWTapeWj6IT3D1TlQQiOCZVVWcf-a20EG6WtLM6-mNIab/s564/eb27ce0224104665abe6346b2932de2c.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="564" height="429" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkZI5Ep5BrQdZ_POmsgE5rXbpZSuXNqiG7wfShq0q7Td3rx344gawL_ObOHwcAGgUiqzN_C77mjsabXKFk_bhQo6EVUrgctEOueIw9TpT5Mc7AdaHNEuE6aHZm918zHuYTBjgqXsHy7jgo7eRWTapeWj6IT3D1TlQQiOCZVVWcf-a20EG6WtLM6-mNIab/w563-h429/eb27ce0224104665abe6346b2932de2c.jpg" width="563" /></a><b style="font-size: 40px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;">August 2017<br />0,5% ketamine with 1% amitriptyline cream for rosacea skin</span></b><br /><br />My dermatologist told about a cream that really seems promising for rosacea skin. Some patients reported very good success with a mix of <span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">0,5% ketamine with 1%</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"> amitriptyline in a cream base. </span>You use it topically and it apparently pales the skin. It also helps (more officially) with erythromelalgia, a health condition that also involves a deep red flushing and burned red skin of the legs, arms, chest etc. The cream has to be made by a compounding pharmacist. My doctor is looking for one right now, willing to make it, as it's not a commercial cream yet. Here is some more information on this cream:<br /><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><b>
-<a href="http://www.neuropathie.nu/research-development/amitriptyline-creme-topically-for-neuropathic.html" target="_blank">Amitriptyline cream in INP base for neuropathic pain</a></b></div>
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-<a href="http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/403191" target="_blank">Combination Gel of 1% Amitriptyline and 0.5% Ketamine to Treat Refractory Erythromelalgia Pain</a></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><b>
-<a href="https://irosacea.org/forums/topic/3074-ketamine-05-and-amitriptyline-1-for-rosacea/" target="_blank">Ketamine 0.5% and Amitriptyline 1% for Rosacea?</a></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><b>
-<a href="http://anesthesiology.pubs.asahq.org/article.aspx?articleid=1942137" target="_blank">Topical 2% Amitriptyline and 1% Ketamine in Neuropathic Pain Syndromes</a></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><b>
-<a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00471445" target="_blank">Topical Amitriptyline and Ketamine Cream in Treating Peripheral Neuropathy Caused by Chemotherapy in Cancer Patients</a></b></div>
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<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiEPXsRWoNqWJP_3Qi15Yu09jFCrIN29uhph6stjQTTHl3syUso4MRlCsqBJ81aaNK5KZ5QDb5aw8PPA3l62cvfFcGR_gW2nSz6BBOL7Mkn84h7Tsr5utsPcGkCW1e2tokVyT8BycLWZ0x/s1600/dce50008t1.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="712" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiEPXsRWoNqWJP_3Qi15Yu09jFCrIN29uhph6stjQTTHl3syUso4MRlCsqBJ81aaNK5KZ5QDb5aw8PPA3l62cvfFcGR_gW2nSz6BBOL7Mkn84h7Tsr5utsPcGkCW1e2tokVyT8BycLWZ0x/w459-h302/dce50008t1.png" width="459" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6h_fwrmAoZQxlLCSV93UoIa0KSZwIh7JEw9iLcYcOTXWDfiD20KcLKvhQ9V4W8-BgzALJw_EupMoQiDAFvoLbc9apGBrov8TuJlKPG2FW5IEiMyMoDMqo6RovWpyWd8253Qs2a8f-sQZ1/s1600/Diabetic%252BNeuropathy%252BKetamine%252B15%2525%252C%252BAmitriptyline%252B2-5%2525%252C%252BClonidine%252B0.1-0.3%2525%2525%252C%252BNifedipine%252B2-10%2525%252C%252B%25EF%2582%25B1%252BDiclofenac%252B2-4%2525.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6h_fwrmAoZQxlLCSV93UoIa0KSZwIh7JEw9iLcYcOTXWDfiD20KcLKvhQ9V4W8-BgzALJw_EupMoQiDAFvoLbc9apGBrov8TuJlKPG2FW5IEiMyMoDMqo6RovWpyWd8253Qs2a8f-sQZ1/w401-h303/Diabetic%252BNeuropathy%252BKetamine%252B15%2525%252C%252BAmitriptyline%252B2-5%2525%252C%252BClonidine%252B0.1-0.3%2525%2525%252C%252BNifedipine%252B2-10%2525%252C%252B%25EF%2582%25B1%252BDiclofenac%252B2-4%2525.jpg" width="401" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6h_fwrmAoZQxlLCSV93UoIa0KSZwIh7JEw9iLcYcOTXWDfiD20KcLKvhQ9V4W8-BgzALJw_EupMoQiDAFvoLbc9apGBrov8TuJlKPG2FW5IEiMyMoDMqo6RovWpyWd8253Qs2a8f-sQZ1/s1600/Diabetic%252BNeuropathy%252BKetamine%252B15%2525%252C%252BAmitriptyline%252B2-5%2525%252C%252BClonidine%252B0.1-0.3%2525%2525%252C%252BNifedipine%252B2-10%2525%252C%252B%25EF%2582%25B1%252BDiclofenac%252B2-4%2525.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTDxoi8zT6oaUiEqJFF_5ZGBcu3JPO6n0J6JGl0Et_7PkKbYF7v5WE4qqDg7dlnYcrogW2ovQe8cZH6oUElfVu8Dm6jeGvo8_NidtnvkQe7lLm8-KIFBki-CohNyg1KOI3OhINNATHqKjRvsFOjSFT2Yl1WxlwteAn8uId8ajsHsgolzBEzS3ibX734IT/s757/ee19ae1cdf0e57f390448b1b1b5d6cb0.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="757" data-original-width="564" height="653" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTDxoi8zT6oaUiEqJFF_5ZGBcu3JPO6n0J6JGl0Et_7PkKbYF7v5WE4qqDg7dlnYcrogW2ovQe8cZH6oUElfVu8Dm6jeGvo8_NidtnvkQe7lLm8-KIFBki-CohNyg1KOI3OhINNATHqKjRvsFOjSFT2Yl1WxlwteAn8uId8ajsHsgolzBEzS3ibX734IT/w485-h653/ee19ae1cdf0e57f390448b1b1b5d6cb0.jpg" width="485" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Deansm <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)&highlight=Soolantra" target="_blank">wrote</a> on December 2nd, 2016</span></b>: "Cleared up my type 1 Rosacea (flushing red nose). I have had flushing and swelling (caused by the flushing) on my nose for around 7 years (no pustules or pustules). Tried antibiotics, Soolantra, metrogel etc, nothing worked, every treatment has had absolutely zero effect. Two months ago the GP I am seeing prescribed me an ointment containing <span style="color: #444444;"><span><b>Ketamine 0.5% and Amitriptyline 1%. Within 3 days of using it twice a day the flushing disappeared and my skin is white</b></span>,</span> the same as it was before Rosacea. It has been the same ever since for the last two months. I can eat, exercise, go out in the sun and nothing will bring on a flush. If anyone has this subtype and nothing has worked have a look into this, I have no side affects (the GP said it is very safe as the amount of active ingredients is too low and it's not absorbed systemically). I am not sure which or if both of the ingredients are working. I have since learned that topical Ketamine behaves as an anti-inflammatory by acting on Toll-like receptor (TLRs), which leads to down regulation of pro-inflammatory gene expression." [..] "The packaging has no branding, it was made in a compounding pharmacy. He said he has found it helpful going back years for patients with Erythromelalgia and it was worth trying for my Rosacea as nothing else worked."</div></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><div style="text-align: left;"><span><b style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: #990000;">Hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)&highlight=Soolantra" target="_blank">wrote</a> on December 3rd, 2016:</span></b> </span>"This is really interesting, Dean. I googled and found reference to a study about this topical for erythromelalgia. The ointment seems to be for the pain (versus redness). I have type 1 rosacea, too. Flushing and permanent redness. Dean, you mentioned that your skin color is back to normal (pre-rosacea). So did you also have permanent redness? Or just the redness that comes on temporarily when you flushed? I guess I'm wondering if the ointment returned your vessels to normal - constricted them back. I wonder if the ingredients work because they address nerve pain. Nerves can stimulate our flushing. Eg, nerves release acetylcholine, a chemical that tells our vessels to dialate."<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Deansm <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)&highlight=Soolantra" target="_blank">wrote</a> on December 3rd, 2016:</b></span><span style="color: #990000;"><b> </b></span>"I'm from Wales, I don't see any reason why it could not be prescribed in the other UK countries (The only problem I can think of is Scotland/Wales/England having separate devolved NHS bodies and rules etc). It probably is completely up to the GP, how many treatments you have already tried etc.He told me the ointment reduced redness and flushing on patients with Erythromelalgia(no idea what this was). I never expected this to work as every other treatment he prescribed (Soolantra, Antibiotics, Metrogel) has either done nothing or even made my Rosacea worse. [..] My Rosacea started (I was 24) as a sudden huge flareup (huge flushing episode) on my nose when I went to bed one night. I had never blushed or flushed on my nose before that first flareup. Ever since every night without fail I would have a flareup when I went to bed. Through the day I had one or two flareups and my nose was sensitive to flushing but not as bad as in the night. After each flare up it would take around 2-3 hours for my skin to return normalish in colour but there was always a slight pink hue on my nose. The worse symptom of all is the nose swelling for around 7 hours when I sleep and waking up every morning with a swollen nose. The flushing has stopped now and that stopped the swelling. My nose still looks a bit swollen but it's slowly going down now(2 months so far)."</div></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Fiugs <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page2&highlight=Soolantra" target="_blank">wrote</a> on December 4th, 2016:</span></b> </span>"There is a topical with the brand name Epicept, although I think the compound's percentages are different than you describe,Deansm. <a href="https://www3.rcsb.org/ligand/NP1">https://www3.rcsb.org/ligand/NP1</a>. Did your GP indicate if s/he thought this would be a short or long term solution? Just wondering because I got the impression that some topical analgesics lose their effectiveness after a while.... I say that only based on what my local pharmacist told me in relation to a lidocaine based gel I was inquiring about; he said it would stop working after a while. I will certainly ask my GP about this! Thanks Deansm and all the best. I also found this article, referring to a compound using the same percentages as Deansm has been given <b><a href="http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/403191" target="_blank">http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/403191</a></b></div>
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<b style="color: #990000;">Deansm <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)&highlight=Soolantra" target="_blank">wrote</a> on December 4th, 2016:</b><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;"> </b>"From looking at the link EpiCept Cream is much stronger (2% ketamine / 4% amitriptyline), The cream I am on is 1%ami and 0.5%ket and it stops the flushing (the lower dose it works the better). Since my doctor said he had success with the ointment on patients with Erythromelalgia I have been reading a lot on Erythromelalgia forums about the safety of this cream (it seems very safe at low dose). I am not sure which ingredient (or a combination of both) is stopping the flushing, but <a href="https://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/treatments/pharmacological/non-opioids/topical-ketamine-ready-prime-time" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> is something I found about topical ketamine.. Also from reading various Erythromelalgia forum posts,<span> <b><span><span style="color: #444444;">the vasodilation, flushing, redness are very similar to Rosacea, only it happens on the feet and hands and sometimes the face in Erythromelalgia.</span><span style="color: #783f04;"> </span></span></b></span>The only real difference over type 1 Rosacea as far as symptoms is the addition of more pain, stinging. It is interesting hearing about the other treatments they use on those forums to stop flushing that might also work for flushing on people with Rosacea."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhdoN9CeQdev9ZwV13LJNKOt95JVBJMMjWqBsQHn0-w9XbV43Irh5LkYfv7jsyXLs_49uqNQ7PDRR2z73nho1Awx5wIeRZdGbm-FI2XJVO2VJBQN8oB4VvmK7O4AH8B9HuHCpnIKCMCEhvlJ4rOB4wtZGgjsI9YQ9jHeMPyHYAuaPEzCZP4nxSeBuFhy1/s500/fa27e365351de809c5e77001cf350d3d.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="411" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhdoN9CeQdev9ZwV13LJNKOt95JVBJMMjWqBsQHn0-w9XbV43Irh5LkYfv7jsyXLs_49uqNQ7PDRR2z73nho1Awx5wIeRZdGbm-FI2XJVO2VJBQN8oB4VvmK7O4AH8B9HuHCpnIKCMCEhvlJ4rOB4wtZGgjsI9YQ9jHeMPyHYAuaPEzCZP4nxSeBuFhy1/w375-h456/fa27e365351de809c5e77001cf350d3d.jpg" width="375" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Brady Barrows <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page2&highlight=Soolantra" target="_blank">wrote</a> on December 4th, 2016:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"What a wonderful find to substantiate this thread. Note what the article says:<i> "Erythromelalgia is a clinical syndrome characterized by attacks in which the affected limbs become bright red, hot, and excruciatingly painful. The common trigger is heat exposure induced by exercise or increased ambient temperature. As the condition progresses, the limbs become permanently red, hot, and painful. </i><i>The pain of erythromelalgia, commonly described as hot and burning in quality, is frequently disabling, and patients obtain relief by lowering skin temperature, for example, by applying cold objects to the affected area, exposing the affected extremities to cold surfaces, immersing the limb in ice water, or by elevating the affected extremity. Frequently, these measures damage the skin, further exacerbating the pain, and occasionally cause maceration. </i><i>Pain associated with erythromelalgia may be difficult to treat. Because erythromelalgia is not a single disease but a syndrome, the response to various treatments may differ depending on the underlying condition and pathophysiology. Furthermore, treatment of the pain symptoms may have little if any effect on the other manifestations (ie, the redness and increased temperature of the affected limbs). </i><i>According to various theories, erythromelalgia is a vascular disorder or neuropathic condition. In previous studies, we have shown that both systems are involved, but we do not know which one is affected first. It is plausible that the vascular and neuropathic components differ in each subject depending on the underlying cause." </i>Hopefully in the future we will know more if this treatment for erythromelalgia will be a standard treatment for rosacea."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Arsenalista <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page3&highlight=Soolantra" target="_blank">wrote</a> on December 5th, 2016: </span></b>"Looks like another guy has also great results with <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/5ggpha/beforeafter_dealing_with_rosaceaerythromelalgia/" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> stuff.. I was read about Erythromelalgia (first time hear about it) and it looks like something very similar to rosacea but more painful. One of my worst symptoms is a chronic burning feeling at all my face. Damn, have to get the prescription." </div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">I <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page3&highlight=Soolantra" target="_blank">wrote</a> on December 6th, 2016:</span></b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span>"A very interesting find! I'm very curious if more people with facial (rosacea) flushing and burning will find relief from this cream. It's also a big bonus if your pharmacist can just add the powdered medication to your regular moisturizer. It's a fascinating distinction between facial erythromelalgia and rosacea. I'm not completely sure how you can detect one from the other, (apart from EM typically at the least affecting the hands and feet - but people with rosacea can get Raynauds (me too), which mimic these symptoms a lot), as <a href="http://www.erythromelalgia.org/Portals/0/Facial%20Erythromelalgia%20-%20A%20rare%20entity%20to%20consider%20in%20the%20differential%20diagnosis%20of%20connective%20tissue%20disorders.pdf" target="_blank"><b>these cases mentioned here</b></a> look and sound pretty much like rosacea.</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><b><span>"A 53-year-old man presented to an outside dermatologist with an erythematous </span></b></i><i><b><span>facial eruption of 4 years' duration. The eruption was associated with burning and swelling, </span></b></i><i><b><span>which the patient reported worsened with sun exposure. These symptoms were debilitating, </span></b></i><i><b><span>preventing the patient from working and maintaining daily activities. Initially, the eruption was </span></b></i><i><b><span>thought to be rosacea and actinic damage; however, it was unresponsive to standard therapies." </span></b></i></span><i style="color: #444444;"><b><span>"Upon further questioning, the patient reported skin burning not only with sun exposure, but also </span></b></i><i style="color: #444444;"><b><span>with heat exposure. Furthermore, he reported attempting cooling measures, such as the frequent </span></b></i><i style="color: #444444;"><b><span>use of ice packs, to relieve his symptoms. With these additional details, a clinical diagnosis of facial </span></b></i><b style="color: #444444;"><span><i>and auricular erythromelalgia was established. Further workup excluded potential causes of secondary </i><i>erythromelalgia. Given that erythromelalgia is thought to involve both small fiber neuropathy as </i><i>well as vasculopathy, we initiated therapy with aspirin, pentoxifylline, and </i></span></b><i style="color: #444444;"><b><span>gabapentin. Subsequently, nifedipine was added to this treatment regimen. At 5 months' follow-</span></b></i><i style="color: #444444;"><b><span>up, the patient reported 80% improvement (Fig 2, B) and was able to return to work and enjoy </span></b></i><i style="color: #444444;"><b><span>normal daily activities</span></b></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggzNgHO0u6uJiBRV3KvXlCH998F_ezRoHntunkYS2oYgLWV7ElM0qbexBPghTG0q00Ur0be4d2TsmWS2WAL58TewjQBUbGKO0c9itHW9FaWjWiJg20usgzzapd11f-FBnap7ZRmjI4EOF/s1600/gr2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="562" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggzNgHO0u6uJiBRV3KvXlCH998F_ezRoHntunkYS2oYgLWV7ElM0qbexBPghTG0q00Ur0be4d2TsmWS2WAL58TewjQBUbGKO0c9itHW9FaWjWiJg20usgzzapd11f-FBnap7ZRmjI4EOF/w640-h285/gr2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5CPGzpps9MOx8FEj4HTbiDSsjDZdyj2JVdNwQAkPov_O2BkAj1SS_8FYJIZ4sFWZLDbwFDnIzoUjqorBcboovyITVqEBEzb2Ug9egBj4YWEmBuHd9q2O24MV4Y3rMI7H1XLMUVY06Iax/s657/fibromyalgia.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="600" height="517" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5CPGzpps9MOx8FEj4HTbiDSsjDZdyj2JVdNwQAkPov_O2BkAj1SS_8FYJIZ4sFWZLDbwFDnIzoUjqorBcboovyITVqEBEzb2Ug9egBj4YWEmBuHd9q2O24MV4Y3rMI7H1XLMUVY06Iax/w471-h517/fibromyalgia.jpg" width="471" /></a><span style="font-size: 40px;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">People with FIBROMYALGIA also <a href="http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/forums/fibromyalgia_support_groups/beside_having_fibromyalgia_who_here_has_rosacea_/" target="_blank">mention</a> rosacea symptoms more often</span> </b></span><br />Someone with fibro emailed me that her rosacea disappeared once she started to take <b><span style="color: #444444;">guaifenesin tablets</span></b> (a decongestant). Anyway, shows how complex these skin conditions are, there might be a lot of overlap and different factors at play. So curious to hear who else here might have benefit from this cream that is suggested." <br /><span><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><b>RaymondS </b></span><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page24&highlight=Soolantra" style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">wrote</a><span style="color: #990000;"><b> on April 18th, 2017:</b></span></span><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;"> </span>"Didn't harm me but didn't help either. And it was a hell of a process to get the stuff. Just proves what works for one doesn't always work for another. I will keep it and just use in one area to make sure that over time it works or doesn't. But unfortunately it did not cure me."</div>
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<span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Fiugs <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page25&highlight=Soolantra" target="_blank">replied</a> on April 18th, 2017:</span></b> </span>"Sorry to hear it didn't work for you either. I gave up on mine quite some time ago as it really aggravated my skin. It seems that only one person on our forum - the original poster - got marked results with this. It's truly weird, isn't it, that our skins are all so different! Every day I grow more of the opinion that there is no such single condition as Rosacea, but rather it's a blanket term for a red, irritated and sensitive flushy face, that may or may not include P&Ps, the unique cure of which is probably only going to be determined by the cause(s)."</div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Vice <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page22&highlight=Soolantra" target="_blank">wrote</a> on February 23rd, 2017: </b></span>"Nobody should be worried about ketmamine having an effect. I take ketamine in powedered form recreationally and in my eyes 'medicinally'. It has an anti depressant effect and is currently being reviewed and researched as a breakthrough anti depressant for treatment resistant patients. It's a wonder drug really. The hallucinations are more distortions and only occur with high doses. - I personally love them myself. I am also trying to get the cream ointment and am in the middle of the process to getting it in uk now but it's difficult. Obviously I know it won't have any effect on my mind but it's still crazy that a drug I used systemically to get high might also be a good treatment for Rosacea! Who'd have thought!"</div>
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Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-53156939640322713792020-10-15T11:47:00.015-07:002024-01-31T05:35:14.406-08:00Ongoing post, Update day to day life XVIII, February 26th 2022 - March 1st 2022<div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLXOLyEBs_KP94KLhP6jnX_K-qtELaVbB40JE5xv7iRc6o6JhNRgboNy4Ulr2kH2Boh8HwJ93vRNas77CAvfMxmgSzhL91oVeKGE-9fifWHPVpVIbgGXvyYMlxDc7MTQR-gZqMXydwOUD/s1600/freegifmaker.me_2de8g.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBtK7tNncaCn5VGG76UaWfuf3lZprOx3tUbGKW_cApfmfXliZ151eu0Vsn9JwREPjJRqxXqZupN01GCpync2eKjfMY2yv5dwrnBAlvXlhIQOYC6ClwO2qY8W7MmelfEDhRVYNIyCDaYRpfox7YhzUm-DIrg_YK4khMnfkts-OWAmVkxBRbnd6NgS5yNg=s450" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="450" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBtK7tNncaCn5VGG76UaWfuf3lZprOx3tUbGKW_cApfmfXliZ151eu0Vsn9JwREPjJRqxXqZupN01GCpync2eKjfMY2yv5dwrnBAlvXlhIQOYC6ClwO2qY8W7MmelfEDhRVYNIyCDaYRpfox7YhzUm-DIrg_YK4khMnfkts-OWAmVkxBRbnd6NgS5yNg=w390-h390" width="390" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>I try to give an insight in my own life and dealings with rosacea. I also try to gather information that might be useful for everyone with rosacea, especially subtype 1 with burning, flushing and skin redness. I happen to be a bit unfortunate in that I have this condition for a long time already, and unlike many others, I haven't been able to get it into remission. I know it is more uplifting to read about someone who has beaten rosacea, but I like to write about the struggles that come for those who haven't achieved this. I also blabber about other everyday life topics here.</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLzO9PhhN2u32yvay19dVfaWSmciUjxJ82p__f9uzvWq4jaSTbpGFseFvBkJHkSeoGtQ-BAeYJVhAVaY6J083micN4Xj1GVLnlyd1uF21MDxi6YiQWFYmaZsh7aWt1RtIOJl7msYVjwte1/s1126/E-6DlqxXMAEMORp.jpg" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="1126" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLzO9PhhN2u32yvay19dVfaWSmciUjxJ82p__f9uzvWq4jaSTbpGFseFvBkJHkSeoGtQ-BAeYJVhAVaY6J083micN4Xj1GVLnlyd1uF21MDxi6YiQWFYmaZsh7aWt1RtIOJl7msYVjwte1/w640-h302/E-6DlqxXMAEMORp.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div both="" center="" class="separator" clear:="" text-align:=""><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">February 26th</span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2022</span></span></b></div></b><div both="" center="" class="separator" clear:="" text-align:=""><br /></div><div both="" center="" class="separator" clear:="" text-align:=""><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKsxM3HBGAuTrcxvi7aUjTiy8tlZccIhfYZqql0RRmZuJ_v5jzQDuogmDnWnjd8DATqTdyG-rOi8tJRiwwEevIZT9H9pqbTI2tHh6RbwglvtCrg86jjL0HaY368d3ePJcKLu5P1XyS853CswPZ89RTC_EcXhZk_PVqVM1vPBENODg8nvTOJYCogDOYYg=s1000" style="clear: left; 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float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1024" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhJobh7CFqPTE_NuBzxJu4hy1wyy1Eca96nXD6K9xFGwTV5Wu-MLl08uH-gohdHD24jaZ8s0DqTD5Q7WKlKwd_XaZeDqR2jMvAf2kwek0iJguKEeaupq8CrQsMMa0Rfd4767gFWBLeE-KtxnF448oX3GmTQGWdd7S1hzA9MXn8R8wlLL9Z-ho9RH-tKA=w400-h316" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">War in Europe</span></b></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Russia has invaded Ukraine and it has shocked and surprised almost everyone :( US intelligence aside. Because in our enlightened modern western minds, the rules were set in stone. We all agreed that in the 21st century, the borders of Europe cannot be redrawn with force, that international law is the rule and that people and nations can make their own decisions about their future. Unfortunately this week has shown once again that you can intellectually draw out such a world, and diplomatically agree on such a world, but that in history agreements are there to be broken. </div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We probably should have expected this, going by Putin's latest antics, but almost nobody in the West could imagine that this would actually happen. Because we love reason and eloquent debate and verbal compromises. In 2022 the European Union, led by our own<i> Roi Soleil</i>, French president Emmanuel 'Jupiter' Macron, still thought that Putin had given Jupiter a promise while he kept a good 10 meters distance from him at that famously long table. Jupiter was smug as always when he assured the world that he personally made sure that Putin had pledged the promise <i>not to</i> invade Ukraine. Ah, yes... France's brilliant president met Putin three weeks ago and proudly said: "<i>I've obtained no escalation from Putin"</i>. To our English friends: sorry about this muppet. Hopefully he's gone in a month. Anyway, we in Europe have been sorely humiliated by this tragedy. Although the people who are truly hurt the most are the people in Ukraine of course.</div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But nobody in the Free West could believe that Putin would sling us back in a regressive war from a past era. A western civilisation so decadent, that for the past decade we could afford ourselves to divide our people over the right to utter a different opinion from the cultural norm. Over the use of pronouns and safe spaces at universities. In a world that officially is proud of its culture, enlightenment, freedom and free speech. The hypocrisy has been noteworthy. And while woke topics may appear extremely earth shatteringly important to us now (and some of them truly are), this war between Russia and Ukraine makes some of those antics seem like navel-gazing in a way. We need to keep an open perspective and realise that if we do not also continue to focus on the protection of our basic freedoms (or agree on what those are), we may one day soon not even be able to take them for granted anymore. Understandably, this shock war has pushed the topic of covid very far to the background. Overnight there is not a word anymore about covid, whether in the newspapers or on TV sets... This Friday the Netherlands had almost all of their covid rules and restrictions lifted, including the dreaded QR entrance code. It was a historic day, after nearly two years of covid misery. But it was understandably completely overshadowed by the situation in Ukraine. Covid freedom day was only mentioned at the end of the extra long news broadcast, almost as an afterthought. And military specialists have instantly replaced doctors. I don't complain. </div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So why are we all so shocked? Not only because it is a brutal act of war against a sovereign country. But also, I think, because we in the West have been exposed by Putin, who is an old fashioned thug and strategist. We have been made painfully aware that all our fancy norms and agreements, made in ancient palaces and with a lot of ceremony and blabla, can actually mean nothing in the big scheme of things. The European dream has been since the 1990's, to keep peace in Europe and to achieve it through talks, agreements, verbal threats and at the very worst, sanctions. Now we see that decades of ignoring the military and decades of all attention on diplomacy, have not actually given us the certainty we so badly crave. All the blame can be shifted to Putin now, but it is probably also interesting to look at the full picture. After the Cold War we in the West woke up in a new world we thought, where international law and diplomacy would be victorious at all times. But meanwhile Putin has been preparing for this invasion for well over a year. Putting his millions, perhaps billions aside in a safe spot, preparing his military, setting out the strategic lines. Lulling us all to sleep with his promises. We have been completely blindsided and the invasion of Ukraine three days ago can be called a Blitzkrieg therefore. I think that Trump was right when he told Germany and the EU as a whole, that we are too reliant on Russian gas and oil, and that we are also too reliant on the UN for our defence. We did not want to listen, because well, Trump is a clown, or so the media tells us. Well voila, now we all acknowledge it in talk shows and political interviews. A bit late, unfortunately.</div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Dependence on Russia</span></b></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And we should probably have invested more in independence when it comes to fossil fuels and such. But all the climate agreements and goals are making this difficult. France has its nuclear reactors and nuclear energy, but not many other EU countries do. The Netherlands have their own gas fields in the north, but years of earthquakes have made the government finally decide to start the shutting down of these pits. I am from the north so agree with that. But it does leave behind the problem of where to get our gas from now, if not from Russia.. We are so heavily reliant on Russia for our energy supply, that Germany ALREADY now stated that it will continue to trade with Russia, despite its act of war.</div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">No European army</span></b></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHhWY3GX0fwilGcLBJ8z9VdJed2ih57vQP-cLM_4vzanZWxB-0KDUr2cMovZryp0LuJgd5KOaY5LyofYmj7iS6WYzuquLIpR8BQpQPNecCD0U_yeiO4DyYTlLP8hUWDyWhCTcCuqN7f6yEtrCVIZCSVetYaW01AsBg0Z_pmRYlCEnLtPGKqx6Clwe7-A=s704" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="704" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHhWY3GX0fwilGcLBJ8z9VdJed2ih57vQP-cLM_4vzanZWxB-0KDUr2cMovZryp0LuJgd5KOaY5LyofYmj7iS6WYzuquLIpR8BQpQPNecCD0U_yeiO4DyYTlLP8hUWDyWhCTcCuqN7f6yEtrCVIZCSVetYaW01AsBg0Z_pmRYlCEnLtPGKqx6Clwe7-A=w400-h225" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhLNDL63Pp3_Kwhjx6N2rfFlg8AXLWOuFWVpHJ1suaqTIX0ctj05cyc5LhwC_K8SY8CEqpcycJpFr-dqmBgUbmAey2KpEaUNlYKR1OAjEcvWxamsJY6V7BVo_UVjG1MTTXyP44xa_jiaSoMk86kl7Vw-ttk_SkMaGbABz0yD-GjL7uZxp06Py_0YR_xg=s1319" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="1319" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhLNDL63Pp3_Kwhjx6N2rfFlg8AXLWOuFWVpHJ1suaqTIX0ctj05cyc5LhwC_K8SY8CEqpcycJpFr-dqmBgUbmAey2KpEaUNlYKR1OAjEcvWxamsJY6V7BVo_UVjG1MTTXyP44xa_jiaSoMk86kl7Vw-ttk_SkMaGbABz0yD-GjL7uZxp06Py_0YR_xg=w400-h272" width="400" /></a>We should have probably invested many millions, billions, in an EU military. Putin is much more susceptible to military troops at the border, than to halfhearted symbolic threats of economic sanctions. We have no military to speak of, no European army, something which quite a few people have complained about for decades now. We are entirely relying on the willingness of the Americans to do our wars for us, despite the multiple dirty wars they started themselves in the past. And Ukraine is not on their list currently. And thus Europe can do absolutely nothing, other than endless discussions, meetings and attempts to find a consensus about economic restrictions on Russia and its oligarchs. Which Putin probably saw a mile coming and prepared for already. We are also very good in the west in uttering online support for the Ukrainians; colouring our buildings blue and yellow. Uttering hollow phrases and virtue signalling on our social media. Burning candles and holding vigils. The usual. Oh and banishing Russia from the Eurovision Song Festival. Add to this that the EU is a collection of often very different thinking nations, tied through diplomacy and trade deals. As a result, decision making in every situation takes time. Three days into the war and the EU countries can't yet agree on the sanctions at the moment, as there are many financial interests involved. Italy for instance wants no Russian ban on luxury products, as it has too much export in that respect. Yes that's right:<i> Russian oligarchs are spared sanctions on Gucci loafers and designer handbags</i>. Outrage is one thing, but it ideally should not touch personal financial interests. Perhaps Italy will offer a 15% product discount code to all Ukrainians in support though. Germany has for now also vetoed the proposed sanction to kick Russia out of the Swift network (that forms the bedrock of international trade). Germany is reliant on Russian gas and will likely lose its energy deals if severe banking sanctions are imposed. So Germany is mega-funding Russia right now as well, and refusing to stop. Germany and Italy on the wrong side of the conflict once again - what a surprise. Although we must admit that Germany did send some helmets to Ukraine with spikes on the top... While Ukrainians beg for help and their men (who were just like us used to music festivals, social media and traveling until a few days ago), without hesitation say goodbye to their loved ones and pick up the guns to fight guerilla wars in the streets of Ukraine. Very brave civilians, unwilling to let their country down, even though the West is letting <i>them</i> down militarily speaking. Because armed Forces Minister James Heappey insists NATO troops will <b><span style="color: #444444;">not</span></b> be sent to Ukraine. <i>'Will we declare war on Russia? No' </i>The EU won't intervene either, as Ukraine is not a member state (even though it belongs to Europe). So they have to fight their own battle against Goliath :( Unfortunately, it's always the same story; the big guys pull the strings and the people suffer the cruel and deadly consequences.</div></div></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">What does Putin want?</span></b></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSu_-Brrc4dJ71H_sFCKmAdPNn6ivUzUwr8iEBh_1zet8DQTGv7UA2lH_OVsne83ZvtNJau-3UB2bdV5hPE22FQvarulhhn13SN9TV1Wng2pTopnrMezdXNUSzRMMZzGBPPll7Dv-q1_zX_UZPFeOlG2O9IXCqpbtM9BgPyKwNIEwTLECDCQ9GcyEpKw=s920" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="779" data-original-width="920" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSu_-Brrc4dJ71H_sFCKmAdPNn6ivUzUwr8iEBh_1zet8DQTGv7UA2lH_OVsne83ZvtNJau-3UB2bdV5hPE22FQvarulhhn13SN9TV1Wng2pTopnrMezdXNUSzRMMZzGBPPll7Dv-q1_zX_UZPFeOlG2O9IXCqpbtM9BgPyKwNIEwTLECDCQ9GcyEpKw=w400-h339" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHVihGbUhp5PC4iS8uyzXu_BVKo2Ijo0vsKNzIpxdVBOvyGY46KF99Jlwu0QrsGN_cqdGVwqSB_8tFQgyOPZm31BJHWbNF5xivf2yFAWOb5iOnOqeEiCrpueH_WcPN9fqKHjtmTyTg0MLrawGgB8U2zWye-NsrXqrwtBmI6_E0nJxCWgqqteZWLK-8Qg=s897" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="897" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHVihGbUhp5PC4iS8uyzXu_BVKo2Ijo0vsKNzIpxdVBOvyGY46KF99Jlwu0QrsGN_cqdGVwqSB_8tFQgyOPZm31BJHWbNF5xivf2yFAWOb5iOnOqeEiCrpueH_WcPN9fqKHjtmTyTg0MLrawGgB8U2zWye-NsrXqrwtBmI6_E0nJxCWgqqteZWLK-8Qg=w400-h398" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAsa100ZKT-OgnJ9JnqlnzsZVP6pyYURm2Cc46z_BuJwumhU-x9bKxd2VjZojUgRMY9G5ofqB3B3UdWQt5D_5QkrE8aA81EmPX_FgB5JgMsEcWgznjS9XMpy1RltpOWWtwnUuO5MpoQvX_RY-dvQLyhjzKORPRBYNzQpFsYsb4GWg1uGGCRyrxIIgYeg=s906" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="906" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAsa100ZKT-OgnJ9JnqlnzsZVP6pyYURm2Cc46z_BuJwumhU-x9bKxd2VjZojUgRMY9G5ofqB3B3UdWQt5D_5QkrE8aA81EmPX_FgB5JgMsEcWgznjS9XMpy1RltpOWWtwnUuO5MpoQvX_RY-dvQLyhjzKORPRBYNzQpFsYsb4GWg1uGGCRyrxIIgYeg=w400-h346" width="400" /></a>If we knew this, we wouldn't have been surprised by him like we just were. But there are some possible explanations to bring up.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">A neutral Ukraine</span></b><br />Ukraine acts geographically as a buffer state between Russia and the West. Vladimir Putin is widely believed to have attacked Ukraine after western nations mooted the idea of the country joining the EU and NATO in the future, and over fears that Russia could end up with a US military presence on its doorstep. One could theorize that if the shoe was on the other foot, the US would probably also attack if Russia (theoretically) seized Mexico, and placed it's military and material right near the northern Mexican border with the US. Imagine a battery of Russian missiles installed in Mexico and directed towards the USA. In Russia's (poor) defense, one could say that Biden would be as delighted as Putin is, surrounded by countries armed by the USA. So Ukrainian leaders making it known that they want to join NATO, can be seen as a huge trigger point.<br /><br />Wikipedia <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO#Enlargement" target="_blank">says</a></b> about this: "Ukraine's relationship with NATO and Europe has been politically controversial Ukraine is one of eight countries in Eastern Europe with an Individual Partnership Action Plan. IPAPs began in 2002, and are open to countries that have the political will and ability to deepen their relationship with NATO. On 21 February 2019, the Constitution of Ukraine was amended, the norms on the strategic course of Ukraine for membership in the European Union and NATO are enshrined in the preamble of the Basic Law, three articles and transitional provisions. At the June 2021 Brussels Summit, NATO leaders reiterated the decision taken at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance with the Membership Action Plan (MAP) as an integral part of the process and Ukraine's right to determine its own future and foreign policy, of course without outside interference. <b><span style="color: #444444;">On 30 November 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that an expansion of NATO's presence in Ukraine, especially the deployment of any long-range missiles capable of striking Russian cities or missile defence systems similar to those in Romania and Poland, would be a "red line" issue for Russia. </span></b>Putin asked U.S. President Joe Biden for legal guarantees that NATO would not expand eastward or put "weapons systems that threaten us in close vicinity to Russian territory." However, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was completely unimpressed and has staunchly replied that <i>"It's only Ukraine and 30 NATO allies that decide when Ukraine is ready to join NATO. Russia has no veto, Russia has no say, and Russia has no right to establish a sphere of influence to try to control their neighbors." </i><b><a href="https://www.nato.int/cps/fr/natohq/opinions_192399.htm" target="_blank">And:</a></b> "<i>As we support Ukraine in their aspirations to further integrate with Euro-Atlantic community and also aspirations for membership. Then it is for Ukraine to decide whether they would like to belong to NATO, and then it is for the 30 Allies to decide on the question of membership when Ukraine is ready to join. That is our right to decide. Russia has not the right to attack, to use violence, use their armed forces to invade an independent sovereign nation regardless of what they think about NATO membership, because that is not an excuse whatsoever, to use military force against a neighbor." </i><br /><br />So, Putin wanted an agreement and the certainty that Ukraine will not become part of NATO and in effect, that NATO will not place military equipment alongside Ukraine's nearly 2000 kilometre long border with Russia. The need for this guarantee has been stressed by Russia for a long time now. Below you can see explain Putin this demand again to a western journalist. And Russia did not get that promise. I personally do not understand why the West and NATO are pushing the boundaries this way. Especially in light of the original agreements in the 1990's, about which you can read in a minute. But all this could very well be behind the current invasion of Ukraine. In that case, Putin wants to control Ukraine again and establish a puppet government named and installed by himself. He will have wanted to do so now, before Ukraine ever becomes part of NATO, because right now Ukraine has to fend for itself still. And to make Ukraine and Belarus Russia's "pre-square", with the possibility of stationing Russian troops there. If years, decades of peaceful talks and negotiations did not give Putin this result, his patience has dried up now I think, and he takes it by force. Putin also sees Ukraine as an extension of the West, infiltrated with American spies and intel services. Biden and his son's corrupt ties with Ukraine will not have helped there. The West is currently playing the saint in all this, but when you look at the bigger context, they are not innocent and have pushed and pushed despite clear warnings of the consequences. Now they cry wolf and sacrificed the lives of Ukrainians. I bet the USA would love to have Ukraine under its (NATO-)power, if only due to its strategic position. And in the below video, Putin basically says that he was trying to work closely with the USA on reforming Russia, only to find out that, behind his back, the USA were stoking the rebellion in Chechniya. It's all a right mess, as usual and I really hope that Europe gets is independent army as soon as possible, and won't be further dragged into America and Russia's never-ending dirty feuds. <b><span style="color: #444444;">(Below Russian President Vladimir Putin answers the pivotal Ukraine/NATO question from Sky News' Diana Magnay. It was uploaded on December 23, 2021. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Cugn8JZfk" target="_blank">This</a> is the video original, but it is only visible in the USA I believe).</span></b></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="464" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Zi8V5aT6bn4" width="558" youtube-src-id="Zi8V5aT6bn4"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKfoGf0OivvNe2_nIBN-Lf7RwNXJjYjbFZNPXM6vE3dgZxG-THuydistvVehAwU_9WTbejiE8x8-MX95vhfQWGoSlXiwqOSnNG4oVezikJVW74lj5XS66DTJBWfhvUrBoVkbclt1KWxuTy-1oS6D3eBKixGOnqKWKlaD_pNXUpPqGd6-9MD4M_WFc8Kw=s1200" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKfoGf0OivvNe2_nIBN-Lf7RwNXJjYjbFZNPXM6vE3dgZxG-THuydistvVehAwU_9WTbejiE8x8-MX95vhfQWGoSlXiwqOSnNG4oVezikJVW74lj5XS66DTJBWfhvUrBoVkbclt1KWxuTy-1oS6D3eBKixGOnqKWKlaD_pNXUpPqGd6-9MD4M_WFc8Kw=w400-h266" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDl0G35kiWMwpMjwdtoMZGeS5V7BVb_1zhuxNc37m9Z8nWTt93IvGS_PSbQyfL8Ml7DMTH6b9QhwKMw5ZZpDBd0Ivfo_uAacZfkzgLxPHHaShArGaV5gEo2nJGLhhmO7DosJkdXnnfxgfLc4s8Wiw8HX7Tt8hF5Em0iioIURD-VvgLOJOJ0_wRsIWJKA=s600" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="600" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDl0G35kiWMwpMjwdtoMZGeS5V7BVb_1zhuxNc37m9Z8nWTt93IvGS_PSbQyfL8Ml7DMTH6b9QhwKMw5ZZpDBd0Ivfo_uAacZfkzgLxPHHaShArGaV5gEo2nJGLhhmO7DosJkdXnnfxgfLc4s8Wiw8HX7Tt8hF5Em0iioIURD-VvgLOJOJ0_wRsIWJKA=w400-h226" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">The Holy Russia</span></b><br />But another theory is that Putin has a long standing ideology of the Holy Russia. Seeing himself as a leader who stands above history; the saviour of the holy Russian nation and the Slavic people. And his mission is to bring all the slavic people together, and the heart of this slavic folk is Kiev. Ukraine's territory has long belonged to Russia in the past (both to the Russian Empire and to the Soviet Union), and in the mind of Putin it still belongs to 'historic Russia'. Putin loves statues of Tsars who played an important role in all this, such as Tsar Alexander II. After Russia humiliatingly lost the Crimea war in 1853-56, Alexander II has built Russia back up again, and led his people to a Crimea victory in 1873. A statue of this Tsar was not coincidentally facing Emmanuel Macron during the last meeting of the two, alongside that ridiculously long separating table. So perhaps the almost 70-year old Putin sees this as his last mission, acting as a tsar of sorts who regains slavic territory to create a Russian Empire again. I know, pretty megalomaniac. But he has ruled for 22 years now and has high aspirations clearly. Many Russian leaders developed a mental illness over time, paired with paranoia. Putin's covid-induced isolation of the past two years won't have helped, in that respect. And if this theory is true, Putin may not only want a buffer in between Russia and the West, in the shape of Ukraine and Belarus. But he may even aim for the Baltic states to be regained next and even Eastern European countries, in theory. Tsar Alexander II also took over Poland and Finland.. Let's hope this is just an insane theory. But already Russia has <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10553723/Putin-turns-attention-Finland-Sweden-Kremlin-official-warns-nations.html" target="_blank">threatened</a></b> its close Arctic neighbours Sweden <i>and</i> Finland with 'military consequences' if they join NATO.<i> 'Finland and Sweden should not base their security on damaging the security of other countries and their accession to NATO can have detrimental consequences and face some military and political consequences,' </i>foreign affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a news briefing.<i> 'Finland's accession to NATO would have serious military and political repercussions.' - </i>The man has pride and no doubt wants to go out with a bang, being acknowledged as a big player on the world stage, revenging the humiliation imposed on him by the USA and the NATO too in a way. He considers it a failure and a mistake that the former Soviet states have been granted independence. And clearly now wants to control Ukraine and prevent it from sliding further down to the West, or ever become an EU member. He wants a legacy for sure, and once Russia has Ukraine back, they may not stop. For all we know he wants Hungary and other Eastern European countries back as well <span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif">and then what... World War 3? </span>They may nuke us all into oblivion then. But first Putin will want to take Ukraine, destroy its defences and install a 'puppet government' in Kyiv. Then he may want to make Russia great again and in 50 or 100 years he wants to be remembered as a great ruler of Russia. Reestablishing Russian Orthodox Christendom. </div></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">What does the West want?</span></b></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Putin wants Ukraine in any case because it is a buffer state between Russia and the West. And the West wants it for these same reasons. It wants Ukraine to be more European, while Putin absolutely does not want Ukraine to ever join the European Union. Because that would allow the enemy to place war machinery right at Russia's border. The United States has always had interest in Ukraine as a strategic place. It sought treaties with Ukraine already in the 1990's, and in 2004 the government of Ukraine, 'one of the largest contributors of foreign troops to Iraq', pledged its commitment to the American Iraq mission.</div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiArKH8C-86XRUVW8CWTOjf7ybS1c8MzovluDMEzpbzFMovVTMihLTae9no2CjEtESYGdoQHTrDEl49s27R6KCEQ9C7sod-_wfaMRDev8TA6x3C0DgS1MSGYD5STrrSU76dfMDftkUcDHrKWUJlyC97JrZaWZc7yHqIanIxRSW4OruXVohHg3x-2AHNdw=s661" style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="661" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiArKH8C-86XRUVW8CWTOjf7ybS1c8MzovluDMEzpbzFMovVTMihLTae9no2CjEtESYGdoQHTrDEl49s27R6KCEQ9C7sod-_wfaMRDev8TA6x3C0DgS1MSGYD5STrrSU76dfMDftkUcDHrKWUJlyC97JrZaWZc7yHqIanIxRSW4OruXVohHg3x-2AHNdw=s320" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOlttyiONkTarUOu1StN9EjYT6jwV22LyIsZsgAU3yVUMsL0VrhgaYk--2RaUSP7XwNn0kDNwB6YjMQ80boS_Rv_XR_GntboR9ftXRG1Saj01ZcXeG-JDNz5FCLQ-YiOOTof0sdH9ESt1xBh4-zugWPcYjPoQqPel5h-9l53q0-Z-IE-YLV5cWSJkKtw=s3000" style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="3000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOlttyiONkTarUOu1StN9EjYT6jwV22LyIsZsgAU3yVUMsL0VrhgaYk--2RaUSP7XwNn0kDNwB6YjMQ80boS_Rv_XR_GntboR9ftXRG1Saj01ZcXeG-JDNz5FCLQ-YiOOTof0sdH9ESt1xBh4-zugWPcYjPoQqPel5h-9l53q0-Z-IE-YLV5cWSJkKtw=s320" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8cYMdXBHjEoJXmOSVGmIqgo8XXznYyxwGbNJvf4mYzd5viDMUtsAB3eSfYGCQcpAq82_Wni4tnW56LV843fGOEMA8oEPzzwv_hN3xrMYP9tOegZ_UholxwxO086wmBD33BYhD61i73m1VwuzVfzLtyS-HdUFZxa9EFRHPI5YlMOZfMUn5oBvV2lL6qg=s760" style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="760" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8cYMdXBHjEoJXmOSVGmIqgo8XXznYyxwGbNJvf4mYzd5viDMUtsAB3eSfYGCQcpAq82_Wni4tnW56LV843fGOEMA8oEPzzwv_hN3xrMYP9tOegZ_UholxwxO086wmBD33BYhD61i73m1VwuzVfzLtyS-HdUFZxa9EFRHPI5YlMOZfMUn5oBvV2lL6qg=s320" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinIocMXMhXSSTo7DOABgKOymAMBbEwyfzRoUZLlCzVt8lz8AeNBS8SR2LytFjZMEoxTctWkrpHCg_sju4yFKsJZocSRnpv1xZa-EQQM67nxM9fxFJtdGJCinLgAtS80NY6yX8bZBWmgWCPDNdKUWw4e3RyDLXPQmyHjaCghgjaZ8Jjp_KZ7EBvT7scGA=s624" style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="624" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinIocMXMhXSSTo7DOABgKOymAMBbEwyfzRoUZLlCzVt8lz8AeNBS8SR2LytFjZMEoxTctWkrpHCg_sju4yFKsJZocSRnpv1xZa-EQQM67nxM9fxFJtdGJCinLgAtS80NY6yX8bZBWmgWCPDNdKUWw4e3RyDLXPQmyHjaCghgjaZ8Jjp_KZ7EBvT7scGA=s320" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Does Russia have reasons to be angry about the NATO situation?<br /></span></b>At the end of the Cold War, the United States promised Russia that NATO, the post-World War II anti-Soviet military alliance that has been the bedrock of Western security, wouldn’t expand <i>“one inch eastward” </i>of Germany. The U.S. by now denies that such a deal was ever struck, arguing there was never an explicit promise. However, hundreds of memos, meeting minutes and transcripts from U.S. archives supposedly <b><a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-shifrinson-russia-us-nato-deal--20160530-snap-story.html?fbclid=IwAR3wDM1S-8O77BRF4g1mMmDXh8PJ6Ea84WoIXZwVaddsQy6QRh0uNzoav94" target="_blank">indicate otherwise</a></b>. After the Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989, it was a vital question for Europe whether a reunified Germany would be aligned with the United States (and NATO), the Soviet Union (and the Warsaw Pact) or neither. George Bush and his administration decided that NATO <i>should</i> include the reconstituted German republic. In early February 1990, U.S. leaders made the Soviets an offer. According to transcripts of meetings in Moscow on Feb. 9, then-Secretary of State James Baker suggested that in exchange for cooperation on Germany, the U.S. could make <i><u>“iron-clad guarantees”</u></i> that NATO would not expand “one inch eastward.” Less than a week later, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to begin reunification talks. No formal deal was struck, but from all the evidence, the quid pro quo was clear: Gorbachev acceded to Germany’s western alignment and the U.S. would limit NATO’s expansion.<br /><br />In light of this, there is something to be said about the indignation from Russia about what has happened since. Internal memorandums and notes from that time show that U.S. policymakers soon realised that ruling out NATO’s expansion might not be in the best interests of the United States after all. NATO has since enlarged considerably, expanding to the east after all. Eastern-European and former Soviet (Warsaw Pact) countries like Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia, as the former Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania <u>are now all NATO members.</u> Which grants them collective protection in the event of an attack by an external actor (in particular by Russia). And most of these countries have also become members of the European Union in the meantime. Russia watched unhappily as its once vast sphere of influence dwindled. And how a by now disputed major agreement was broken by the West. Basically, since the end of the Cold War, NATO expanded so much towards the East, that the strategic buffer that Russia had <b><a href="https://youtu.be/cNtO8NH_qmw?t=166" target="_blank">reduced from more than 2000 km's to less than a 1000</a></b>. Russia blames the United States in particular for this, <i>'putting its frontline forces on our borders'</i>, <b><a href="https://youtu.be/cNtO8NH_qmw?t=195" target="_blank">according</a></b> to Putin in 2007. I can see his point. Nato continues to deny everything... Ukraine for a long time stayed kind of neutral in all this (aside from far eastern rebels, wanting to belong to Russia), and was led by corrupt politicians and oligarchs. Until 2004, when re-elections after the orange-revolution ensured a break, allowing opposition leader Viktor Yuschenko to win. Yuschenko survived an assassination attempt even in late 2004, during his election campaign, when he was poisoned with a potent dioxin and suffered bad facial disfigurement as a result. After this, Ukraine and Georgia were invited to become part of NATO. This did not happen as the next president broke the discussions off to veer more towards Russia again, resulting in a Ukrainian revolution in protest. Massive protests followed, ultimately leading to the ouster of the government of President Viktor Yanukovych. Russia was royally pissed off by these revolutions and flirting with the West. When Ukraine made an <i>association agreement</i> with the EU, Russia tried to influence the Ukrainian government and to persuade them to suspend the signing of the agreement. They are not (yet) EU members, but really aim to be. That agreement would have ultimately resulted in a free-trade deal between the EU and Ukraine, meaning Ukraine would have moved away from its largest trading partner, Russia.</div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="523" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cNtO8NH_qmw" width="629" youtube-src-id="cNtO8NH_qmw"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgENqS6v8bZExfB6cKdutKeRDluEx4GoTxlIHvAqywG4vskAPhIqrPrRYuY3nfdjVfMG6wBd86cIB1rFw6HJO8XvRc0zmUWFYPSms7HTDktL4YeoZQ3n8g4XaVSHpLUIUo5DwhW5XRzhG4gZKLpUKAstsdELFIXnfHu_mQIDEygoktTxytBWOwt-dwdPw=s1298" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1298" data-original-width="974" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgENqS6v8bZExfB6cKdutKeRDluEx4GoTxlIHvAqywG4vskAPhIqrPrRYuY3nfdjVfMG6wBd86cIB1rFw6HJO8XvRc0zmUWFYPSms7HTDktL4YeoZQ3n8g4XaVSHpLUIUo5DwhW5XRzhG4gZKLpUKAstsdELFIXnfHu_mQIDEygoktTxytBWOwt-dwdPw=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Months later, <b><span style="color: #444444;">Russia invaded Crimea</span></b>. Many Russians maintain Crimea was never Ukrainian in the first place. It was, they say, a historically Russian region that was given away in 1954 by former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to a fellow Soviet republic, who likely believed, as most people at the time did, that the Soviet Union would live forever. And because Russia held an unofficial referendum under the predominantly Russia-favouring inhabitants of the Crimea, Russia believes it was a democratic decision. Following the invasion, Russia also leans on the Crimean port of Sevastopol, which is Russia's main seawater port. Russia went on to lend military support to pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine, sparking a conflict that continues to this day. Putin was more or less allowed to annex the Crimea terrain in 2014, in the south-east of Ukraine. Barack Obama stated at the time that he wanted no cold war over Crimea and he insisted that a military solution was not an option, saying pressure and diplomacy are the way forward in the Crimea dispute. <i>"This is not another cold war that we're entering into. The United States and Nato do not seek any conflict with Russia,"</i> Obama <b><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/26/obama-no-cold-war-crimea" target="_blank">said</a></b>. <i>"Now is not the time for bluster … There are no easy answers, no military solution." </i>What the West had hoped at the time, was to resort to the same measures they try to use today: the hope to achieve to increasingly isolate Russia internationally and expose them to a spiralling trade war with the west. In short: <b><span style="color: #444444;">economic sanctions</span></b>. Again. It did not work back in 2014 either. Of course, what was not taken enough into account there, was the heavy dependency of Europe on Russian oil, gas and such. What the United States likes, is to have access to Ukraine for strategic military positions, and while a major policy shift will take time to become effective, a transatlantic resolve was hardening to break European dependence on Russian energy supplies, with Obama for the first time stating that America's shale gas bonanza could be part of the solution for Europe's vulnerabilities**. On September 1st of 2017, this association agreement with the EU came into full force, much to Putin's chagrin. Western sanctions for Russia, in the aftermath of the Ukraine disputes, have also deteriorated relations for some years now. And current Ukrainian president Zelensky angered Russia even more, by passing a controversial law, isolating Russian speakers in the country, removing the Russian language from the media, education and from businesses. It also cut off water to the Crimea region. Western countries have supplied weapons and militaria material to Ukraine in recent years, worrying Russia.<b style="color: #444444;"> **Update March 26th</b>: and yes, our countries in Europe DID go off Russian gas and switched to American Liquefied natural gas just this week. $$$$$ for America... Somehow they always seem to get better from their wars, fought abroad. </div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Back to NATO. Russia claims that the United States has failed to uphold a promise that NATO would not expand into Eastern Europe, and that Russia therefore is being forced to forestall NATO’s eastward march as a matter of self-defense. And Russia already complained about the broken promises back in 1990, right when it all went haywire. At the time, Americans were still trying to convince the Russians that their concerns about NATO would be respected. Baker pledged in Moscow on May 18, 1990, that the United States would cooperate with the Soviet Union in the “development of a new Europe.” And in June, per talking points prepared by the NSC, Bush was telling Soviet leaders that the United States sought “a new, inclusive Europe.” It’s therefore not surprising that Russia was incensed when Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Baltic states and others were ushered into NATO membership starting in the mid-1990s. Boris Yeltsin, Dmitry Medvedev and Gorbachev himself protested through both public and private channels that U.S. leaders had violated the non-expansion arrangement. As NATO began looking even further eastward, to Ukraine and Georgia, protests turned to outright aggression and saber-rattling. <span style="color: #444444; font-weight: 700;">I personally think that guarantees should have been given that Ukraine will </span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: 700;">never</i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: 700;"> join NATO. As </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfk-qaqP2Ws" style="font-weight: 700;" target="_blank">this man so aptly says</a><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: 700;">: it </span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: 700;">would have been</i><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: 700;"> in everyone's best interests in the end, if Ukraine had stayed neutral. And Putin also has </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Cugn8JZfk" style="font-weight: 700;" target="_blank">demanded</a><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: 700;"> this for a long time. NATO has pushed it's quest eastwards too far I believe. </span><b style="color: #444444; text-align: center;">Some other people also think that for Ukraine, <i>not</i> being drawn into this entire geo-political mess would have been far safer and wiser:</b></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></b></div></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lfk-qaqP2Ws" width="320" youtube-src-id="lfk-qaqP2Ws"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyRGqilrmZVgNY33dr3ItNJIgc_SBIG_2dWv1-yMdN_JzFaU2ht_4wUa6dYHYm173Ys7qWtJ0CLr67MYDaD8g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1EX3d4cbJuMdX0ji_JoGtxnhqt_YWw0WQVR_B49F_QBJRDGV66lbZWa8E8Gv7H0YmV7-tfRS7eVA0qqx_9EIOaeHBCQVNGYNW0vh7TKzIcDyyqO65Oa019vFx6vXfrkNeAtmKEehtlndWTqOnH0ri_kX8vuHU9AdPjBeL3kNJnKnATDg40VUtGD1RYQ=s1024" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1EX3d4cbJuMdX0ji_JoGtxnhqt_YWw0WQVR_B49F_QBJRDGV66lbZWa8E8Gv7H0YmV7-tfRS7eVA0qqx_9EIOaeHBCQVNGYNW0vh7TKzIcDyyqO65Oa019vFx6vXfrkNeAtmKEehtlndWTqOnH0ri_kX8vuHU9AdPjBeL3kNJnKnATDg40VUtGD1RYQ=w400-h225" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcBrIj7sIrQe-lQu-Y4yZR4Ozu9Z5zi8ZKQJSih_vaeuDrZ_Ac_hDHsH7I5QmdlWy76DXQAhYk3IU7CSWikLXXT_Vrvm-r_3MB7dWtqknCuSoZgKYBVelY-kLyBHDpLR-wWJfIY1SU7h1RCeZ1eDdpVBcueRjLMg3xvr5UUD4c99UFJmHSJ-L1ajfikw=s1280" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcBrIj7sIrQe-lQu-Y4yZR4Ozu9Z5zi8ZKQJSih_vaeuDrZ_Ac_hDHsH7I5QmdlWy76DXQAhYk3IU7CSWikLXXT_Vrvm-r_3MB7dWtqknCuSoZgKYBVelY-kLyBHDpLR-wWJfIY1SU7h1RCeZ1eDdpVBcueRjLMg3xvr5UUD4c99UFJmHSJ-L1ajfikw=w400-h225" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">The USA plays open cards and turns a blind eye</span></b></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The USA has told Putin exactly what their plans were, including Biden telling Putin already in december of 2021 that <i>if</i> Russia would invade Ukraine, the US would not send military troops over. Which is like putting a gun to someone's head to make a threat, and at the same time tell them not to worry because there are no bullets in the gun chamber. Why say this? Why not just say nothing? How is that considered strategic? Perhaps Biden is more preoccupied with his approval ratings in the States. Or perhaps this is to avoid a nuclear war? Eisenhower never wanted to use nuclear power either but he made it believe without saying it, that he would be ready to use it. When one is a leader, one must know how to be a poker player. The general drop in defense spending in Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall was a prodigious folly that should probably be corrected. It is infinitely probable that without the US, we could not do much to effectively defend Ukraine. It is a bit shameful really, for a continent as rich as Europe and a union as powerful (you would assume) as the European Union, has never firmly put an EU army on the agenda. And on the payroll. Biden keeps saying he will never help Ukraine. And the Minister of Defense keeps repeating: <i>“Everyone must measure the consequences of starting a war with Russia”</i>! <i>'Will we declare war on Russia? No'</i>, armed Forces Minister James Heappey insisted. Uplifting. President Zelensky has now refused an offer from the USA to evacuate him:</div></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">"I need ammunition, NOT a ride!"</span></b></i></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #444444;">"I need ammunition, NOT a ride!"</span> Zelensky today <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10550561/Live-updates-Ukrainian-military-battles-Russian-forces.html" target="_blank">blasts</a></b> Biden for offering to "evacuate him from Kyiv". I really hope he won't be killed by the Russians... Evacuate, that's where Biden's good at, just look at the scramble in Afghanistan. You could even say that last year, Biden abandoned the people of Afghanistan to the Taliban. This year it is the turn of the people of Ukraine. Zelensky shows what a true leader does; he leads from the front. You just can't compare Basement Biden and Frontline fighter Zelensky. Ukraine is showing the world what they're made of. Young men, civilians, stay put and pick up their weapons to defend their country. Huge respect. A Goliath task, but all the Ukrainians who now fight in the streets may even have a chance. Strategists in the media are saying that for now, Vladimir Putin's war with Ukraine is not going to plan due to Kremlin 'overconfidence', poor tactical planning and 'shock' at the fierce resistance put up by brave Ukrainians fighting for national survival. Estonia's former defence chief Riho Terras claims that Russia is fast running out of money and weapons and will have to enter negotiations with Volodymyr Zelensky's government if Kyiv holds off the Russians for 10 days. Time will tell.. - Ukraine is not a member of NATO, but it is very painful nevertheless to sit by and watch a European country being invaded and innocent people being killed. Let's remind ourselves that NATO <i>díd</i> operate during (US-led) military campaigns in Iraq, Libya and other places. The problem with NATO is that it was created to defend but not attack. But that all changed in 1999 when NATO bombed Serbia, and then went on to Iraq and Afghanistan. Kuwait aren't NATO members but look what happened when they were invaded. 1991: Desert storm. American interests are ultimately at the heart of NATO and this has the ability to destabilize things all over the world. Some evil voices whisper that the position of the Americans is sewn with white thread, and that by putting an end to the Nord Stream II gas pipeline, will allow the US to sell their own liquefied natural gas to Europe instead. Business tends to carry their international political line, after all. Just like for the Germans, their top priority for decades has been the competitiveness of their industry. We are the losers in this game with Russia: Russia will recover its resources but will have China to sell them to. And we will be obliged to buy our gas from the US and the Wahhabites (<i>while fighting against terrorism and global warming</i>)... And the United States should also understand that by letting Putin do this, they are encouraging Beijing to do the same vis-à-vis with Taiwan, undermining the influence of the United States in the Pacific zone. - One could also say that under Western promises (and Ukraine's understandable quest for more independence and EU membership), Ukraine sang to NATO's tune and went against their neighbour, poking the Russian Bear for some time now. The extensive <b><a href=" https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/9/what-is-the-minsk-agreement-and-why-is-it-relevant-now" target="_blank">Minsk II agreement</a></b> was also never fully implemented. It sought to halt the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, but years on, there has been no full political settlement by either Ukraine or Russia. So after having initially been promised no eastward expansion of NATO, the Russian view is now that they don't want NATO on their doorstep, period. That could create a new iron curtain.</div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzxJ8IzUPdM0UGLQn3rBhyI1nqGwtOeWfRqGIKTiG5M_Z7IJvRi32TBIJ44-jirlCx3I_FWsBFe6A2pHoxdaQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxdv0W1m4om99jlmpikw2eJCvueu81ekDGjFGL1Qll5hxhvgkdlVKaNmsHAs85kg383cgf6gpeZSF1ZWvof0w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVU2JRjyKXVpK3HZJVB2nUWP_ANipitUuqwA_nXKCuSva7pqyzEre9oJs4bvsm9_Sk4_oWfIcUYOaXqFpIM1viTHo824sfFjFgL_EF2zGLjGqyM0XHGR8dKNmkIhXD_WuWOkAiZgf5n5_1Pe-vk1rDu1n9jCYNgqZyUFlL7Ar7GvflDa2noKJYXvd5Kg=s976" style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVU2JRjyKXVpK3HZJVB2nUWP_ANipitUuqwA_nXKCuSva7pqyzEre9oJs4bvsm9_Sk4_oWfIcUYOaXqFpIM1viTHo824sfFjFgL_EF2zGLjGqyM0XHGR8dKNmkIhXD_WuWOkAiZgf5n5_1Pe-vk1rDu1n9jCYNgqZyUFlL7Ar7GvflDa2noKJYXvd5Kg=w400-h225" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkzcvmWn_nL6k7oE2tX4cFUW1-j7smPeQ9NDNOb50-QKknqQ6LQXOGka49qpLZq_CdhM4sYKbdveLv3Vw8Mlb7y7foElXCO7gzcjjNCE_EWimUY0w-hNV1Y7_jvJTDKnMFijPaA2KnfW4MEUglTyyx4yPulHA19CAePzSyWLUKrbfCzSNEATU8EcjpZA=s1305" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="863" data-original-width="1305" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkzcvmWn_nL6k7oE2tX4cFUW1-j7smPeQ9NDNOb50-QKknqQ6LQXOGka49qpLZq_CdhM4sYKbdveLv3Vw8Mlb7y7foElXCO7gzcjjNCE_EWimUY0w-hNV1Y7_jvJTDKnMFijPaA2KnfW4MEUglTyyx4yPulHA19CAePzSyWLUKrbfCzSNEATU8EcjpZA=w400-h265" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Now what?</span></b> </span><br />The main reason to be very cautious and careful in our western response, is most likely because everyone fears that Putin could go all mad and press the red button. He covedly threatened, by association, with a nuclear war. Nobody is certain if Putin is still fully rational by now (I think he is), but rationally speaking, nuclear response would only be on the table when there is a full scale war with another nuclear power. Right now Putin is at a conventional war with Ukraine, which gave up its nuclear arsenal to Russia in exchange for Russia's promise that it would honor Ukraine's territorial integrity... But for a nuclear powered country to declare war on Russia, that could mark the end of the modern world, and most people fear this. So for now the EU and UN and NATO are taking a cautious stance. And with Russia's nuclear force, that is perhaps the most sensible decision in the end. My grievance is with there not being a choice. As we have no powerful army, or any military power that could have detracted Putin in the first place. So we for now resort to economic and diplomatic sanctions. Hoping that it will put so much pressure on Putin, that he will come to his senses, spare Ukraine and not pursue another 'freedom operation' towards the west. Or maybe his generals will eventually have enough and overthrow Putin. Military coups are of all times, after all.</div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"> </span></i></b></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Changing the Putin regime through democratic means cannot happen; change can come exclusively through revolution - either revolution from above or revolution from below</i></b></span></span></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif">Maybe Putin is still worried about the support of his own people? </span>Russian Communist Party MP Mikhail Matveev has spoken out against Putin's invasion of Ukraine saying: <i>'I think that the war should be stopped immediately.' 'When I voted for the recognition of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), I voted for peace, not for war.</i>' Russians have also risked their safety and freedom to protest in the streets of Russia. And some have subsequently been arrested, as was to be expected. Does Putin not fear a revolution? Clearly not. I heard on our news that only 1/3 of the Russian people support Putin's political party and that most are against war with Ukraine. But we don't know how correct this information is. You'd think that Putin would fear pissing off his own people, with all the revolutions in Russia's past. But realistically speaking, Putin doesn't fear his own people. It's not like he needs them to be re-elected. He's made sure he'll be in power until he dies or fleas. He also has control over the Russian media. And even more importantly; he has control over the top elite of Russian billionaires... In the UK there live many Russian oligarchs dubbed the <b><span style="color: #444444;">Oligarchs in Londongrad. </span></b>After the financial crisis in 2008, the UK opened its arms for the big oligarchs, promising them a visum if they invested enough (a million pounds) into British stocks and companies. Allowing such people to then become a British citizen. No further questions asked, neither about where all those millions or billions exactly came from. Hundreds of very rich Russians used this system. There are about 600 Russian oligarchs close to Putin. They possess 99,8% of the total Russian capital. This is almost unbelievable. Only 0,2% of the total capital is said to be divided over the other 140 million Russian citizens. So by all means, this small clique is extremely rich and powerful. All assets are divided among themselves. They are also used to standing above the law. In Londongrad they could comfortably live under the radar with their enormous wealth. People like Roman Abramovich, Lubov Chernukhin and Igor Shuvalov have insane wealth and power and are all close to Putin. The idea of the West is now to freeze the assets of these top Russian elites and of Russian banks. So they cannot trade, and they cannot help finance this Ukraine war. But actually only 8 of them have so far been put on a British sanction list, meaning they are no longer allowed to enter Great Britain. And they may find ways to work around it, like the rich elite do with most obstacles. They will always know ways to park their money somewhere else. Plus they have bought political protection over the years, with mega donations. So it may come down to symbolism politics from the EU. But they hope that punishing these oligarchs will hurt Putin. They may even turn on him.. But that is most likely another fata morgana. The oligarchs thank Putin for their wealth & power, and not the other way around. I don't see them assassinating him any time soon. </div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The West has now agreed to cut Russian banks from Swift payments system to try to further isolate Russia and cripple Putin's war machine. I hope this will soon be done by more than just <i>some</i> banks, and that it will also involve Deutsche Bank, which has been the intermediary to SBERBANK (used by authorities in the Donbas and Crimea). But it is a good result, because let's face it; getting all EU countries to agree to the same thing must be like herding cats.. But heavy economic sanctions are by now agreed on, slowly but surely. It will hurt Russia and its rich fatcats. Some cargo ships on route to Russia have also been seized. Bank accounts are frozen. Russian billionaires are prodded and their life made a little bit more difficult. It looks like the hacker group "Anonymous" has currently gotten into Russia's IT systems and that cyberattackers have just taken down the Kremlin's official website (not sure for how long). And some Russian TV channels 'are hacked to broadcast Ukrainian songs' (but Ukrainian government and banks were also hit by Russian cyber attacks). Western sportspeople are also taking a stance and refuse to play in Russia or against Russian teams. Events in Russia are cancelled. Maybe a next move could be to ban Russian flights from the airspace over all EU countries and the US and to withdraw our ambassadors. And withdraw ALL Russian sponsors from the West and its culture and sports. Send more weapons, ammunition and supplies to Ukraine? The EU and US seem likely to impose the sanctions that cost themselves the least, and therefore hurt Putin the least. We will still buy their oil and gas. But Ukraine itself sounds more united and in arms than ever. Russia never won the war in Afghanistan in the past and knows that fighting a guerilla war with patriotic, dedicated locals is far from ideal and does not guarantee victory easily, not even when the oppressor has ten or a hundred times more weapons. Like mostly everyone out there, I am worried for the outcome though. - Oh and France is going to send 500 soldiers to Romania (in 2023...) and 300 soldiers to Estonia. Heavy! At the same time, jokes aside: Putins nuclear threats are very worrying. It is reminiscent of the game of alliances. Europe supports Ukraine with economic sanctions and military ease. Which makes them their allies. So it is therefore logical that Russia also declares itself at war against Europe. Especially since if the sanctions are too strong, Russia will feel even more attacked. Now what to do to stop this runaway which is more and more likely to get out of hand? Let Russia do its thing and pretend (still) to be weak? Or respond even more to the bellicose intentions of Russia? Hard dilemma's, primarily for Europeans. </div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWc9sA-tfU9FBfoxFMUSIXSiKQ6RYyUruFVcP1RXz7Fv41sFZ26J7rAqEpOkgtLcWpHVURlmK5SitNUkAZynIrjNQ-Jq-rIZ7Ww0_limxFYtAsFXfA4lRiXbkp0H6Lmrp57ARJ64dy3Tx_keQ4qdwwhymJGZiBvh7KvS6uECiJUCPVUeETRqNCb9WnoQ=s854" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWc9sA-tfU9FBfoxFMUSIXSiKQ6RYyUruFVcP1RXz7Fv41sFZ26J7rAqEpOkgtLcWpHVURlmK5SitNUkAZynIrjNQ-Jq-rIZ7Ww0_limxFYtAsFXfA4lRiXbkp0H6Lmrp57ARJ64dy3Tx_keQ4qdwwhymJGZiBvh7KvS6uECiJUCPVUeETRqNCb9WnoQ=w282-h400" width="282" /></a>When you want peace, prepare for war. </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">But the right type of war</span></b></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibQ1z4yjnDwFvPaYKtrOeg_JrZfFRER0uRnBcK0ST7YryqImdb9Ueh-7PN8dQArwL9RWp6HGq3l1w3yZEI0cbo3KsCVKrkWODqGY5Wmz9a1C_aNxlHiMG4sfHvJjMEjkeUE3M-TEi-azbZncuUmj93vdJ7bI6Y8-KAbHYrWbMaDXAdEpXdeyxIhhGWuQ=s1563" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1563" data-original-width="1078" height="407" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibQ1z4yjnDwFvPaYKtrOeg_JrZfFRER0uRnBcK0ST7YryqImdb9Ueh-7PN8dQArwL9RWp6HGq3l1w3yZEI0cbo3KsCVKrkWODqGY5Wmz9a1C_aNxlHiMG4sfHvJjMEjkeUE3M-TEi-azbZncuUmj93vdJ7bI6Y8-KAbHYrWbMaDXAdEpXdeyxIhhGWuQ=w282-h407" width="282" /></a>With the US unwilling to fight our wars by now (and frighteningly ruled by a rambling puppet with dementia), soon it will be the turn of Europe with its inhabitants with an average age of 50 years old. Nuclear war threat or not, the reality is this: Europe can not or will not afford an EU army. The French army for instance is the only one that holds the road in Europe and it has only 8 days worth of ammunition for a high intensity war. France will therefore not send its soldiers on a suicide mission. We do not have the means for our ambitions. When you want peace, prepare for war, they say. An adage totally forgotten by our leaders for a long time now. No division of NATO would currently stand against the 900,000 Russian soldiers, supported by thousands of armored vehicles and aircrafts. And Russia has the largest ground military on earth. If Ukraine falls in the next few days, I am sure it will test NATO, especially the Baltic countries that are easy to cross and have a small population. If we are satisfied with our 378 soldiers, 85 rifles and 3 helicopters, it will quickly be settled. On the other hand, it is perhaps for the best that we in Europe simply cannot start another world war. The escalation would never end, with the addition that the nuclear bomb is now part of the equation. Russia has enough of them to turn Europe into a parking lot. But if we don't stop Putin by blocking his credit cards, then it is clear that the law of the strongest will prevail. For 70 years we have been pondering ways to guarantee peace; it may be time to show that Europe is indeed a reliable tool for stopping wars.</div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Politically and military, the west was simply not prepared for this. Not military, not geo-politically, not economically. Putin was, and he is also prepared for the Western sanctions and will certainly have discussed it in advance with China. The West and Europe in particular has been whipped into the defence and Putin knows we are too weak, too weary, too unprepared and too diplomatic to make any real military fist. The best we can do now is formulate economic sanctions after <i>days</i> of internal negotiations, while Ukraine is burning. Maybe this will be a very painful lesson to tell us here that there are <i>real</i> wars to prepare for. And we are also humiliated to discover ourselves naked in other ways: masks, vaccines, spare parts, resources, manufactured products, energy... wheat! We depend on other countries for all of it. Many European countries are still bogged down by the coercive measures of a virus that has dwindled entirely in force. We are not even sure of the info we're being fed. But Western society hás been busy tearing itself apart about what toilet to use, about mandatory safe spaces in universities. About hysterically cancelling someone like J. K. Rowling over a menstruation comment. Cancelling perfectly good people, because they do not get included in the other's concept of freedom of opinion. Chasing constant victimhood status and forcing the rest of society to change accordingly. It is almost as though Russia and China were promoting such woke crises in order to weaken the west from within. Total division and a breaking down of our cultural and historical shared values, in the name of new justice. A justice that has spun out of control if you ask me. Or has it started a society on the slide? Wait until America strikes back with their modern arsenal of pronouns! I wonder if Biden is still going to continue kicking the unvaxxed out of the Army, Air Force and Marines if it ever comes to war? Looking at the war fought by everyday people in Ukraine now, overnight, unexpectedly, reduces the western world of yesterday almost to a playground full of bickering, distracted 30-somethings who never became adults. But what we see in the news these days is (also) the real world unfortunately. And we seem not even a little bit prepared for it, not anymore. Putin saw the weakness and acted accordingly. </div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_KAxxep8hbI" width="320" youtube-src-id="_KAxxep8hbI"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxMtf-bgeOAwp9jSSPCr5U4mxr8g4NjPGfQ7nCFVqTOkaxXzVmquM9TkOp7jMdbrKpN6I12pRsrvoTq8H9y4w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghPgNJvcvdvKeiWEQ7rrOkLRjj7UDUlLvJKEkf7OvovCElLCbIQmbL8qw1-Z9PufUl4JHMAIvhcEyRtpYLAj6C3z1AhUgtZWCAQran_GA2gmOJ_T0jdpovadOwTn_8vVS6xOBpIqb73B_FGstB95CfYuYmWniBuId5roydXkkw9UlGTbcSmyWvkRJ18Q=s600" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="221" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghPgNJvcvdvKeiWEQ7rrOkLRjj7UDUlLvJKEkf7OvovCElLCbIQmbL8qw1-Z9PufUl4JHMAIvhcEyRtpYLAj6C3z1AhUgtZWCAQran_GA2gmOJ_T0jdpovadOwTn_8vVS6xOBpIqb73B_FGstB95CfYuYmWniBuId5roydXkkw9UlGTbcSmyWvkRJ18Q=w652-h240" width="652" /></a></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Update:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='532' height='442' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy1qk2G6InmA591h_zWw9isy0LTQkJ6FA0Jq49NpMlp1K6EOLtD0ohSWbWfNUqGvJwn5AlGytgCpx8TrjFNQw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Two articles below, which I just read and think are interesting:</b></span><br /><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Playfair Display;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Why John Mearsheimer Blames the U.S. for the Crisis in Ukraine</span><br /><br /></b></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: medium;"><b>The New Yorker<br /></b><b>March 1, 2022</b></span></div></div><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3yukfEC2rgx8jhSOBkpO2jJLTMf4cQv9qMrc82F3cQoFzGyG5B0K_QaVCamuMB9N5mzV812DsrMbDi-m0U2Jhqj65nJqpB1O-kcFALkWpc9gNP63ZaCdbVBdEZ4EZ8M-rn65oV1PmIKNKGu4EqR0gHt_yH60pBHBOLP4kkIovdNsWizYbS5WeNrsfOw=s2653" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2653" data-original-width="1448" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3yukfEC2rgx8jhSOBkpO2jJLTMf4cQv9qMrc82F3cQoFzGyG5B0K_QaVCamuMB9N5mzV812DsrMbDi-m0U2Jhqj65nJqpB1O-kcFALkWpc9gNP63ZaCdbVBdEZ4EZ8M-rn65oV1PmIKNKGu4EqR0gHt_yH60pBHBOLP4kkIovdNsWizYbS5WeNrsfOw=w280-h512" width="280" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCl73dXcFRsPNoBSzeGlLzhh2pde7qQRdPbXxNM5SoIVuqyJnYReWXYrcEqEf__cHSS7Z-JpPvp03Je9PMFvmlylfKSTg8yuXeZpV1xgENHvUZ3A6nPtRbfxHvGjNL-LKn_mYzpoq4Mye-f6PXUAbiSUO8Tj2rZ5r4FnPCtQWcMTkepoqRGE6_B84ifg=s3020" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3020" data-original-width="1408" height="581" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCl73dXcFRsPNoBSzeGlLzhh2pde7qQRdPbXxNM5SoIVuqyJnYReWXYrcEqEf__cHSS7Z-JpPvp03Je9PMFvmlylfKSTg8yuXeZpV1xgENHvUZ3A6nPtRbfxHvGjNL-LKn_mYzpoq4Mye-f6PXUAbiSUO8Tj2rZ5r4FnPCtQWcMTkepoqRGE6_B84ifg=w271-h581" width="271" /></a><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">[<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/why-john-mearsheimer-blames-the-us-for-the-crisis-in-ukraine" target="_blank">Link</a>] The political scientist John Mearsheimer has been one of the</span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> most famous critics of</span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";"> American foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. Perhaps best known for the book he wrote with Stephen Walt, “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,” Mearsheimer is a proponent of great-power politics—a school of realist international relations that assumes that, in a self-interested attempt to preserve national security, states will preëmptively act in anticipation of adversaries. For years, Mearsheimer has argued that the U.S., in pushing to expand nato eastward and establishing friendly relations with Ukraine, has increased the likelihood of war between nuclear-armed powers and laid the groundwork for Vladimir Putin’s aggressive position toward Ukraine. Indeed, in 2014, after Russia annexed Crimea, Mearsheimer wrote that “the United States and its European allies share most of the responsibility for this crisis.” [Excerpts below, full article can be found </span><b style="font-family: "Playfair Display";"><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/why-john-mearsheimer-blames-the-us-for-the-crisis-in-ukraine" target="_blank">here</a></b><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";">]. The current invasion of Ukraine has renewed several long-standing debates about the relationship between the U.S. and Russia. Although many critics of Putin have argued that he would pursue an aggressive foreign policy in former Soviet Republics regardless of Western involvement, Mearsheimer maintains his position that the U.S. is at fault for provoking him. I recently spoke with Mearsheimer by phone. During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, we discussed whether the current war could have been prevented, whether it makes sense to think of Russia as an imperial power, and Putin’s ultimate plans for Ukraine.</span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /><i><b><span style="color: #444444;">"I think all the trouble in this case really started in April, 2008, at the nato Summit in Bucharest, where afterward nato issued a statement that said Ukraine and Georgia would become part of nato.</span><span style="color: #660000;"> </span></b>The Russians made it unequivocally clear at the time that they viewed this as an existential threat, and they drew a line in the sand. Nevertheless, what has happened with the passage of time is that <b><span style="color: #444444;">we have moved forward to include Ukraine in the West to make Ukraine a Western bulwark on Russia’s border.</span></b> Of course, this includes more than just nato expansion. nato expansion is the heart of the strategy, but it includes E.U. expansion as well, and it includes turning Ukraine into a pro-American liberal democracy, and, from a Russian perspective, this is an existential threat."</i><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">-You said that it’s about “turning Ukraine into a pro-American liberal democracy.” I don’t put much trust or much faith in America “turning” places into liberal democracies. What if Ukraine, the people of Ukraine, want to live in a pro-American liberal democracy?</span><br /><i><b><span style="color: #444444;">"If Ukraine becomes a pro-American liberal democracy, and a member of nato, and a member of the E.U., the Russians will consider that categorically unacceptable.</span></b> If there were no nato expansion and no E.U. expansion, and Ukraine just became a liberal democracy and was friendly with the United States and the West more generally, it could probably get away with that. You want to understand that there is a three-prong strategy at play here: <span style="color: #444444;"><b>E.U. expansion</b></span>, <b><span style="color: #444444;">nato expansion</span></b>, and <span style="color: #444444;"><b>turning Ukraine into a pro-American liberal democracy</b></span>."<br /></i><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">-You keep saying “turning Ukraine into a liberal democracy,” and it seems like that’s an issue for the Ukrainians to decide. Nato can decide whom it admits, but we saw in 2014 that it appeared as if many Ukrainians wanted to be considered part of Europe. It would seem like almost some sort of imperialism to tell them that they can’t be a liberal democracy.</span><br /><i>"It’s not imperialism;<b><span style="color: #444444;"> this is great-power politics</span></b>. When you’re a country like Ukraine and you live next door to a great power like Russia, you have to pay careful attention to what the Russians think, because if you take a stick and you poke them in the eye, they’re going to retaliate. <b><span style="color: #444444;">States in the Western hemisphere understand this full well with regard to the United States</span></b>."<br /></i><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">-The Monroe Doctrine, essentially.</span><br /><i>"Of course. There’s no country in the Western hemisphere that we will allow to invite a distant, great power to bring military forces into that country."<br /></i><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">-But that is imperialism, right? We’re essentially saying that we have some sort of say over how democratic countries run their business.<br /></span><i>"We do have that say, and, in fact, we overthrew democratically elected leaders in the Western hemisphere during the Cold War because we were unhappy with their policies. This is the way great powers behave."<br /></i></span><br /><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: medium;">-Of course we did, but I’m wondering if we should be behaving that way?</span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><b style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #444444;">"That’s not the way the world works.</span></b><i> When you try to create a world that looks like that, you end up with the disastrous policies that the United States pursued during the unipolar moment. We went around the world trying to create liberal democracies. Our main focus, of course, was in the greater Middle East, and you know how well that worked out. Not very well."</i><br /><br /><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-I think it would be difficult to say that America’s policy in the Middle East in the past seventy-five years since the end of the Second World War, or in the past thirty years since the end of the Cold War, has been to create liberal democracies in the Middle East.</span></div><div dir="ltr"><i>"I think that’s what the Bush Doctrine was about during the unipolar moment."</i><br /><br /><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-In Iraq. But not in the Palestinian territories, or Saudi Arabia, or Egypt, or anywhere else, right?</span></div><div dir="ltr"><i>"No—well, not in Saudi Arabia and not in Egypt. To start with, the Bush Doctrine basically said that if we could create a liberal democracy in Iraq, it would have a domino effect, and countries such as Syria, Iran, and eventually Saudi Arabia and Egypt would turn into democracies. That was the basic philosophy behind the Bush Doctrine. The Bush Doctrine was not just designed to turn Iraq into a democracy. We had a much grander scheme in mind."</i><br /><br /><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-My sense was that there was not a lot of actual enthusiasm about turning Saudi Arabia into a democracy.</span></div><div dir="ltr"><i>"Well, I think focussing on Saudi Arabia is taking the easy case from your perspective. That was the most difficult case from America’s perspective, because Saudi Arabia has so much leverage over us because of oil, and it’s certainly not a democracy. But the Bush Doctrine, if you go look at what we said at the time, was predicated on the belief that we could democratize the greater Middle East. It might not happen overnight, but it would eventually happen."</i><br /><br /><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-I guess my point would be actions speak louder than words, and, whatever Bush’s flowery speeches said, I don’t feel like the policy of the United States at any point in its recent history has been to try and insure liberal democracies around the world.</span></div><div dir="ltr"><i>"There’s a big difference between how the United States behaved during the unipolar moment and how it’s behaved in the course of its history. I agree with you when you talk about American foreign policy in the course of its broader history, but the unipolar moment was a very special time. I believe that during the unipolar moment, we were deeply committed to spreading democracy. With Ukraine, it’s very important to understand that, </i><b style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #444444;">up until 2014, we did not envision nato expansion and E.U. expansion as a policy that was aimed at containing Russia.</span></b><i> Nobody seriously thought that Russia was a threat before February 22, 2014. nato expansion, E.U. expansion, and turning Ukraine and Georgia and other countries into liberal democracies were all about creating a giant zone of peace that spread all over Europe and included Eastern Europe and Western Europe. It was not aimed at containing Russia. </i><b style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #444444;">What happened is that this major crisis broke out, and we had to assign blame, and of course we were never going to blame ourselves. </span></b><i>We were going to blame the Russians. So we invented this story that Russia was bent on aggression in Eastern Europe. Putin is interested in creating a greater Russia, or maybe even re-creating the Soviet Union."</i><br /><br /><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-Let’s turn to that time and the annexation of Crimea. I was reading an old article where you wrote, “According to the prevailing wisdom in the West, the Ukraine Crisis can be blamed almost entirely on Russian aggression. Russian president Vladimir Putin, the argument goes, annexed Crimea out of a longstanding desire to resuscitate the Soviet Empire, and he may eventually go after the rest of Ukraine as well as other countries in Eastern Europe.” And then you say, “But this account is wrong.” Does anything that’s happened in the last couple weeks make you think that account was closer to the truth than you might have thought?</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-style: italic;">"Oh, I think I was right. I think the evidence is clear that we did not think he was an aggressor before February 22, 2014. This is a story that we invented so that we could blame him. <b><span style="color: #444444;">My argument is that the West, especially the United States, is principally responsible for this disaster.</span></b> But no American policymaker, and hardly anywhere in the American foreign-policy establishment, is going to want to acknowledge that line of argument, and they will say that the Russians are responsible."<br /><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-You mean because the Russians did the annexation and the invasion?</span></div><div dir="ltr"><i>"Yes."</i><br /><br /><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-I was interested in that article because you say the idea that Putin may eventually go after the rest of Ukraine, as well as other countries in Eastern Europe, is wrong. Given that he seems to be going after the rest of Ukraine now, do you think in hindsight that that argument is perhaps more true, even if we didn’t know it at the time?</span></div><div dir="ltr"><i>"It’s hard to say whether he’s going to go after the rest of Ukraine because—I don’t mean to nitpick here but—that implies that he wants to conquer all of Ukraine, and then he will turn to the Baltic states, and his aim is to create a greater Russia or the reincarnation of the Soviet Union. I don’t see evidence at this point that that is true. It’s difficult to tell, looking at the maps of the ongoing conflict, exactly what he’s up to. </i><span style="color: #444444; font-style: italic;"><b>It seems quite clear to me that he is going to take the Donbass and that the Donbass is going to be either two independent states or one big independent state, but beyond that it’s not clear what he’s going to do. </b></span><i>I mean, it does seem apparent that he’s not touching western Ukraine."</i><br /><div dir="ltr"><i><br /></i></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-His bombs are touching it, right?</span></div><div dir="ltr"><i>"But that’s not the key issue. The key issue is: What territory do you conquer, and what territory do you hold onto? I was talking to somebody the other day about what’s going to happen with these forces that are coming out of Crimea, and the person told me that he thought they would turn west and take Odessa. I was talking to somebody else more recently who said that that’s not going to happen. Do I know what’s going to happen? No, none of us know what’s going to happen. [..] I think he’s interested in taking at least the Donbass, and maybe some more territory and eastern Ukraine, and, number two, <b><span style="color: #444444;">he wants to install in Kyiv a pro-Russian government, a government that is attuned to Moscow’s interests.</span></b> He’s interested in taking Kyiv for the purpose of regime change. [..] This is great-power politics, and what the Russians want is a regime in Kyiv that is attuned to Russian interests. It may be ultimately that the Russians would be willing to live with a neutral Ukraine, and that it won’t be necessary for Moscow to have any meaningful control over the government in Kyiv. It may be that they just want a regime that is neutral and not pro-American."<br /><br /></i></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-When you said that no one’s talking about this as imperialism, in Putin’s speeches he specifically refers to the “territory of the former Russian Empire,” which he laments losing. So it seems like he’s talking about it.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-style: italic;">"I think that’s wrong, because I think you’re quoting the first half of the sentence, as most people in the West do. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Putin said, “Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart.” And then he said, “Whoever wants it back has no brain.”<br /><br /></span></b></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-He’s also saying that Ukraine is essentially a made-up nation, while he seems to be invading it, no?</span></div><div dir="ltr"><i>"O.K., but put those two things together and tell me what that means. I’m just not too sure. He does believe it’s a made-up nation. I would note to him, all nations are made up. Any student of nationalism can tell you that. We invent these concepts of national identity. They’re filled with all sorts of myths. So he’s correct about Ukraine, just like he’s correct about the United States or Germany. The much more important point is: he understands that he cannot conquer Ukraine and integrate it into a greater Russia or into a reincarnation of the former Soviet Union. He can’t do that. What he’s doing in Ukraine is fundamentally different. He is obviously lopping off some territory. </i><b style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #444444;">He’s going to take some territory away from Ukraine, in addition to what happened with Crimea, in 2014. Furthermore, he is definitely interested in regime change.</span></b><i> Beyond that, it’s hard to say exactly what this will all lead to, except for the fact that he is not going to conquer all of Ukraine. It would be a blunder of colossal proportions to try to do that."</i><br /><br /><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-I assume that you think if he were to try to do that, that would change your analysis of what we’ve witnessed.</span></div><div dir="ltr"><i>"Absolutely. My argument is that he’s not going to re-create the Soviet Union or try to build a greater Russia, that he’s not interested in conquering and integrating Ukraine into Russia. </i><b style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #444444;">It’s very important to understand that we invented this story that Putin is highly aggressive and he’s principally responsible for this crisis in Ukraine.</span></b><i> The argument that the foreign-policy establishment in the United States, and in the West more generally, has invented revolves around the claim that he is interested in creating a greater Russia or a reincarnation of the former Soviet Union. There are people who believe that when he is finished conquering Ukraine, he will turn to the Baltic states. He’s not going to turn to the Baltic states. First of all, the Baltic states are members of nato. They have an Article 5 guarantee. Furthermore, he’s never shown any evidence that he’s interested in conquering the Baltic states. Indeed, he’s never shown any evidence that he’s interested in conquering Ukraine."</i><br /><br /><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-It seems to me that if he wants to bring back anything, it’s the Russian Empire that predates the Soviet Union. He seems very critical of the Soviet Union, correct?</span></div><div dir="ltr"><i>"Well, I don’t know if he’s critical."</i><br /><br /><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-He said it in his big essay that he wrote last year, and he said in a recent speech that he essentially blames Soviet policies for allowing a degree of autonomy for Soviet Republics, such as Ukraine.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-style: italic;">"But he also said, as I read to you before, “Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart.” That’s somewhat at odds with what you just said. I mean, he’s in effect saying that he misses the Soviet Union, right? That’s what he’s saying. What we’re talking about here is his foreign policy. The question you have to ask yourself is whether or not you think that this is a country that has the capability to do that. You realize that this is a country that has a G.N.P. that’s smaller than Texas. [..] I’m talking about the raw-power potential of Russia—the amount of economic might it has. Military might is built on economic might. You need an economic foundation to build a really powerful military. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>To go out and conquer countries like Ukraine and the Baltic states and to re-create the former Soviet Union or re-create the former Soviet Empire in Eastern Europe would require a massive army, and that would require an economic foundation that contemporary Russia does not come close to having.</b></span> There is no reason to fear that Russia is going to be a regional hegemony in Europe. Russia is not a serious threat to the United States. We do face a serious threat in the international system. We face a peer competitor. And that’s <b><span style="color: #444444;">China.</span></b> Our policy in Eastern Europe is undermining our ability to deal with the most dangerous threat that we face today."<br /><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-What do you think our policy should be in Ukraine right now, and what do you worry that we’re doing that’s going to undermine our China policy?</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-style: italic;">"We should be pivoting out of Europe to deal with China in a laser-like fashion, number one. And, number two, <b><span style="color: #444444;">we should be working overtime to create friendly relations with the Russians. The Russians are part of our balancing coalition against China. </span></b>If you live in a world where there are three great powers—China, Russia, and the United States—and one of those great powers, China, is a peer competitor, what you want to do if you’re the United States is have Russia on your side of the ledger. Instead, what we have done with our foolish policies in Eastern Europe is drive the Russians into the arms of the Chinese. This is a violation of Balance of Power Politics 101."<br /><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-I’m curious what you think, if any, of the moral dimension to what’s going on in Ukraine right now.</span></div><div dir="ltr"><i>"I think there is a strategic and a moral dimension involved with almost every issue in international politics. I think that sometimes those moral and strategic dimensions line up with each other. In other words, if you’re fighting against Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1945, you know the rest of the story. There are other occasions where those arrows point in opposite directions, where doing what is strategically right is morally wrong. I think if you join an alliance with the Soviet Union to fight against Nazi Germany, it is a strategically wise policy, but it is a morally wrong policy. But you do it because you have no choice for strategic reasons. In other words, what I’m saying to you, Isaac, is that </i><b style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #444444;">when push comes to shove, strategic considerations overwhelm moral considerations.</span></b><i> In an ideal world, it would be wonderful if the Ukrainians were free to choose their own political system and to choose their own foreign policy. But in the real world, that is not feasible. The Ukrainians have a vested interest in paying serious attention to what the Russians want from them. They run a grave risk if they alienate the Russians in a fundamental way. If Russia thinks that Ukraine presents an existential threat to Russia because it is aligning with the United States and its West European allies, this is going to cause an enormous amount of damage to Ukraine. That of course is exactly what’s happening now. So my argument is: </i><b style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #444444;">the strategically wise strategy for Ukraine is to break off its close relations with the West, especially with the United States, and try to accommodate the Russians.</span></b><i> If there had been no decision to move nato eastward to include Ukraine, Crimea and the Donbass would be part of Ukraine today, and there would be no war in Ukraine."</i><br /><br /><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-That advice seems a bit implausible now. Is there still time, despite what we’re seeing from the ground, for Ukraine to appease Russia somehow?</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-style: italic;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">"I think there’s a serious possibility that the Ukrainians can work out some sort of modus vivendi with the Russians. </span></b>And the reason is that the Russians are now discovering that occupying Ukraine and trying to run Ukraine’s politics is asking for big trouble."<br /><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: medium;">-So you are saying occupying Ukraine is going to be a tough slog?</span></div><div dir="ltr"><i>"Absolutely, and that’s why I said to you that I did not think the Russians would occupy Ukraine in the long term. But, just to be very clear, I did say they’re going to take at least the Donbass, and hopefully not more of the easternmost part of Ukraine. I think the Russians are too smart to get involved in an occupation of Ukraine."</i><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="477" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JrMiSQAGOS4" width="574" youtube-src-id="JrMiSQAGOS4"></iframe></div><br /><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">NATO’s membership rules invite conflict — and benefit Putin. </span></b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>When an independent state proposes entering a powerful alliance, enemy states often choose to strike</b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></span></div></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Playfair Display";"><b><br />WASHINGTON POST<br /></b><b>February 22, 2022</b></span><br style="font-family: "Playfair Display";" /><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2up-gXzV8BwrWnp6CQHZ0blWndnYs9Qj2DZbStKJlwiAlpfQ-4m3FNicpQAwfpMyBbErf08LjN82ksQI_gTRpsk2H5kDIBkXu4PeozYilJZ0Jwzf2BY0yA-30mfhYr17xMkrQ7QUOC7kr6UyF5Ox_IHngv_kZWlmvsJ6EJ2xohRw8NSzlAu_JeKf0ew=s2445" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2445" data-original-width="1443" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2up-gXzV8BwrWnp6CQHZ0blWndnYs9Qj2DZbStKJlwiAlpfQ-4m3FNicpQAwfpMyBbErf08LjN82ksQI_gTRpsk2H5kDIBkXu4PeozYilJZ0Jwzf2BY0yA-30mfhYr17xMkrQ7QUOC7kr6UyF5Ox_IHngv_kZWlmvsJ6EJ2xohRw8NSzlAu_JeKf0ew=w287-h486" width="287" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEe_Wj3n8UleKF28FTiSCWkrdw54x5hSHLw0d7pnxNUSPk6vvmogVU4LltiMq5tBGXClcjDJx5P8wuABw_pYTXJ3OIXVg7KBsKJ0cRuorA8eH52Jssw9l4I3WADI45JDhVMGGamjvYGFqO06I2pa238GKM-vYv3I0RkQeZ_MIQyVbHvpt0smar2zLMxw=s1245" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1245" data-original-width="1014" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEe_Wj3n8UleKF28FTiSCWkrdw54x5hSHLw0d7pnxNUSPk6vvmogVU4LltiMq5tBGXClcjDJx5P8wuABw_pYTXJ3OIXVg7KBsKJ0cRuorA8eH52Jssw9l4I3WADI45JDhVMGGamjvYGFqO06I2pa238GKM-vYv3I0RkQeZ_MIQyVbHvpt0smar2zLMxw=w255-h313" width="255" /></a><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">[<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/02/22/natos-membership-rules-invite-conflict-benefit-putin/" target="_blank">Source</a>] In analyzing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,</span><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"> many commentators have focused on</span><span style="font-family: "Playfair Display";"> factors specific to the actors in this case: President Vladimir Putin’s hatred of democracy, his desire to show that post-Soviet Russia remains a global power or Russians’ view that Ukraine is historically part of their state, to name a few examples. Putin has made his territorial ambitions in Ukraine abundantly clear — he seeks autonomy, at least, for the breakaway regions — and his motives are clearly nefarious. War, however, is not the obvious approach for achieving these goals. Why would Putin opt for a full-scale invasion instead of a diplomatic solution to the question of the disputed territories? What makes war attractive in this case is the fact that one country (Ukraine) has been positioning itself to join an alliance (NATO) meant to counter the other (Russia).</span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">International-affairs scholars know that, throughout history, <b><span style="color: #444444;">few moments are more ripe for war than when the enemy of one country makes a bid to join forces with other adversaries.</span></b> <b><span style="color: #444444;">Such alliances can utterly transform the balance of power between two countries</span></b>, and therefore, when a potential alliance is signaled but not yet consummated, the nation that will be put at a disadvantage faces a huge incentive to strike. Ukraine’s membership in NATO was hardly imminent, but Russia felt threatened enough by the possibility that it was willing to launch a war to prevent it (in addition to other nationalist goals Putin thinks he is achieving). Recognizing the dynamic at play is the first step toward understanding the conflict — <b><span style="color: #444444;">and recognizing how NATO’s membership process may unintentionally invite this kind of crisis</span></b>.<br /><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><div dir="ltr">The relationship between alliance formation — imminent partnerships, especially — and war is a close one. In 1939, for instance, Britain made a commitment to defend Poland but was not able to make good on the pledge right away. Germany attacked Poland before Britain and France could get into position. In 1954, the Chinese communists attacked islands held by the Chinese nationalists in a failed attempt to block an alliance between the United States and Taiwan. And in a situation with marked parallels, albeit on a smaller scale, to the current crisis in Ukraine, <b><span style="color: #444444;">Russia attacked Georgia in 2008 after NATO membership for that country was proposed. Perhaps not coincidentally, Georgia is still not a NATO member</span></b>. Alliances — even “defensive” ones such as NATO — bring about significant power shifts, creating a new strategic landscape. When a country stands to benefit from a future power shift caused by joining an alliance, then it knows its hand will be strengthened in future negotiations. After the power shift, it may be strong enough to flout agreements reached today. Its rival knows this as well. As a result, negotiations in the present — such as those that had been underway between Ukraine and Russia over the status of two breakaway regions in Ukraine’s east — lack staying power.<br /><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">Political scientists refer to this phenomenon as a “commitment problem” — and commitment problems lead to crises and even war. Our research suggests that <b><span style="color: #444444;">impending alliances are particularly dangerous </span></b>when certain conditions apply: when the alliance explicitly or implicitly <i>targets another country</i>; when the anticipated <i>power shift</i> from the alliance is large; when <i>it takes time for the alliance to be fully implemented</i> (opening a window for attack); and when <i>an attack is likely to block</i> the alliance. Ukraine potentially joining NATO checks those boxes. NATO is a military juggernaut, and Ukraine’s situation would be utterly transformed if its 30 members were pledged to defend it. <b><span style="color: #444444;">NATO also “targets” Russia, in the sense that its raison d’etre, at its founding, was to counter the Soviet Union.</span></b> In Putin’s mind, war today may lead to a better outcome than negotiating with Ukraine in the future, when it could be backed by the combined strength of NATO countries.<br /><br /><div dir="ltr">In principle, Ukraine and NATO might have defused the situation by committing to Ukraine being barred from NATO. But the underlying commitment problem, as well as other factors, made this approach unrealistic from the beginning. The NATO powers understandably didn’t want to reward Putin for his aggressive stance, which included massing troops on the border, and Ukraine wants badly to be under NATO’s umbrella. What’s more, it’s not clear that NATO’s rules permit such a concession: NATO’s “open door” policy, based on Article 10 of its founding treaty, holds out <b><span style="color: #444444;">the promise of membership to any European country able to fulfill specific obligations of membership</span></b> (civilian control of the military, a democratic government and so on). Why would Putin believe a commitment to rule out membership for Ukraine if it <b><span style="color: #444444;">seems on track for meeting membership requirements</span></b>? Potential new alliances can often provoke hostility, but <b><span style="color: #444444;">the path NATO lays out for potential members all but invites armed conflict</span></b> — however inadvertently. To join NATO, countries must first be offered a membership action plan, which includes a formal invitation and a tailored road map for future membership. To obtain such a plan, prospective members must first peacefully resolve outstanding international, ethnic and territorial disputes. The problem this poses is obvious: Putin can sabotage a state’s NATO bid by starting a conflict.<br /><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">He’s done it before. In 2004, new Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili made accession to NATO a priority. Four years later at a NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, President George W. Bush pushed for a membership action plan to be offered to Georgia. However, separatist movements in the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions served as a roadblock. Other NATO members, including France and Germany, were reluctant to extend a membership action plan under these conditions. Seeing an opportunity, Russia invaded in August 2008. (In 2011, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev boasted that Georgia would have already become a NATO member had Russia chosen not to attack.) Putin may have invaded the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, grabbing it from Ukraine, for similar reasons. By now, using force to thwart NATO bids is a standard play for Russia. A better approach for defending Ukraine than the prospect of NATO membership might have used<b><span style="color: #444444;"> the United States’ commitment to Taiwan as a model</span></b>. That commitment is deliberately ambiguous — and therefore sidesteps the problem of creating a dangerous implementation window on the way to a formal mutual defense pact. Certainly, the United States’ stance on Taiwan does not create a road map for China to use armed conflict to prevent a U.S.-Taiwan alliance, as the NATO membership rules do.<br /><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">The invasion of Ukraine points to an underlying systemic problem. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Telegraphing the possibility of a military commitment can trigger a dangerous race between efforts to implement and to block the alliance. </span></b>NATO is likely to face these crises again, because its transparent and drawn-out membership processes exacerbate the dangers caused by potential alliances. Not every conflict will be as cataclysmic as the Ukraine invasion, but the negative incentive remains. <b><span style="color: #444444;">As the United States and its allies punish Russia with sanctions, and otherwise pressure Putin to withdraw from Ukraine, they should be thinking about how to change these structural flaws.</span></b> In particular, the alliance might consider replacing its road map for future members with a more opaque, private, deliberative process, so that adversaries aren’t encouraged to preempt membership by instigating fights.</div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><i>Feb. 24: This article has been updated.</i></div></div></div></div></div></span></div></div></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><b></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"><b>Pfizer gives up on 1,3 bln clients, as it refuses independent India cross-checks of its vaccine</b></span></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvxDRq9jCjAqGm5M_-aTerRwEF9536tb_ynmUoNPOm0D4WDGVHoiJb2_PcB0zp7ApUtaZMVnFvHu7k2YiF_JqRRBxQZ67F1Byw4ouLWJtq1IFyDNxRmd7QpgGxj39x6Jd86-paqj3NdAjXGr4xWeR6hciStJTSa9JNWXkAqbmdKkVEpU0zzp7ft3m4fw=s1920" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvxDRq9jCjAqGm5M_-aTerRwEF9536tb_ynmUoNPOm0D4WDGVHoiJb2_PcB0zp7ApUtaZMVnFvHu7k2YiF_JqRRBxQZ67F1Byw4ouLWJtq1IFyDNxRmd7QpgGxj39x6Jd86-paqj3NdAjXGr4xWeR6hciStJTSa9JNWXkAqbmdKkVEpU0zzp7ft3m4fw=w400-h225" width="400" /></a>Feb 5 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said on Friday it had withdrawn an application for emergency-use authorisation of its COVID-19 vaccine in India, after failing to meet the drug regulator's demand for a local safety and immunogenicity study. The decision means the vaccine will not be available for sale in the world's two most populous countries, India and China, in the near future. Both countries are running their immunisation campaigns using other products. Unlike other companies conducting small studies in India for foreign-developed vaccines, Pfizer had sought an exception citing approvals it had received elsewhere based on trials done in countries such as the United States and Germany. Indian health officials say they generally ask for so-called bridging trials to determine if a vaccine is safe and generates an immune response in its citizens. The U.S. company, which was the first drugmaker to seek emergency approval in India for its vaccine developed with Germany's BioNTech (22UAy.DE), made the withdrawal decision after a meeting with India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on Wednesday. The drug regulator said on its website its experts did not recommend the vaccine because of side effects reported abroad were still being investigated. It also said Pfizer had not proposed any plan to generate safety and immunogenicity data in India. - <b><span style="color: #444444;">What an odd decision by Pfizer... You'd almost think they have something to worry about, once independent scientists do a second opinion on the data. Don't Indians deserve reliable information so they can come to an informed decision about their health?</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="462" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ONmwjRkcouU" width="555" youtube-src-id="ONmwjRkcouU"></iframe></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">And this just shows the unacceptable ways in which even physicians </span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">are terrorized with the vaccine mandates. Just outrageous</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='515' height='428' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw0CQ_nxAxyOFYbRANCCUvoruSmk04voN8aS1RyCdJYAFDj9CDlqeTiba8MRF7dmnLBvK2ZQAQJe1xuePbQYA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br style="text-align: center;" /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">February 9th</span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2022</span></span></b><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgL75ux5zx5UxWZwh9Zix5eBRmPUZPsIBwI1Rh2p-Ui-GveP6mmi8g2otA84iROBtfkH0kFeJz9ULQ2PuJlYhUkmUkuDxQ_PP6V2ssdpEvXZhzIi-dSoqUJPY64LzD93Ej9ZnhAc_SYq4tVa_IKQZ8uBKsyIrnWk6BpxkYFjsAfbO2OH_mGkf3wACsMFA=s907" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="907" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgL75ux5zx5UxWZwh9Zix5eBRmPUZPsIBwI1Rh2p-Ui-GveP6mmi8g2otA84iROBtfkH0kFeJz9ULQ2PuJlYhUkmUkuDxQ_PP6V2ssdpEvXZhzIi-dSoqUJPY64LzD93Ej9ZnhAc_SYq4tVa_IKQZ8uBKsyIrnWk6BpxkYFjsAfbO2OH_mGkf3wACsMFA=w476-h281" width="476" /></a>I've been doing so so.. Bit low in mood, bit tired. My face is flushing quite a bit. I try to go out for long walks every day though and to keep up with friends and family and work, and not dwell too much on it. I think I may have some early hormonal hot flashes now and then. I am used, unfortunately, to my face heating up and burning, on and off. But lately I have these full body heat flares, which do not last that long, whereas a rosacea flush can last hours usually. Other than that no changes in menstrual cycles, so it may just be one of those things.. And I don't feel like getting my hormones checked again, as I did a deacde ago. Not as long as cycles are so regular and there is nothing I can do about hormonal changes anyway, other than HRH, hormonal replacement therapy, which is more of a last resort thing for me. Well, that's what I say now, at least haha, maybe in five or ten years from now I am screaming-demanding it from my GP :) I just keep taking my anti-flushing meds for now, and trying to eat healthy and go for walks outside for 1-2 hours a day; usually at the end of the afternoon, when the sun is low. And with a neck ventilator in my bag, in case I get flushed. But am nevertheless feeling a bit low in general. Let's hope it is season related perhaps. Although there are so many factors to these moods, and despite having a lot to be grateful for and not having to deal with all this alone, I also sometimes dwell on the things I do not have. I miss my middle sister, who passed away almost twenty years ago already. I sometimes miss having kids, even though I made that decision already ten years ago, as i just have too much on my plate, in several ways. But it is still something you miss now and then, especially as a good friend of mine with similar health struggles is having her firstborn. Luckily I have a bunch of children around when needed, and my lovely quirky cats also. But this constant rosacea burning and flaring and need for ventilators and medication and all these adjustments, it is getting draining sometimes. My father always said, back when I had the worst year of rosacea and depression, back in 2005, that you have to focus on the good things in your day, the moments where you really enjoy something, and take it from there. Not expect to feel happy all the time, even when everyone around you seems to be happy non-stop. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4e2Q3SSE6d7WN4BUHR4GDSrhioJO_gYEs8OQqFym7gNsVERnmGHlHVmw3dPiyjAwQm3ZTngxliPH6Pi71hM0QLD2hghhN1eyJhUSvixatTa5RoyhnrhGUuZ_ivBdIOaH7bzkP0IkLMCclS8yyPu1HQtTUCVdh-oJkdb0SQnEogfvujU8pY6a-cmoi0Q=s540" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="397" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4e2Q3SSE6d7WN4BUHR4GDSrhioJO_gYEs8OQqFym7gNsVERnmGHlHVmw3dPiyjAwQm3ZTngxliPH6Pi71hM0QLD2hghhN1eyJhUSvixatTa5RoyhnrhGUuZ_ivBdIOaH7bzkP0IkLMCclS8yyPu1HQtTUCVdh-oJkdb0SQnEogfvujU8pY6a-cmoi0Q=w293-h400" width="293" /></a>And of course the world outside and the news never stops, so I'll continue yapping about covid again, as usual :/ I hope I will stop doing that very soon from now, probably so, as luckily the Netherlands is heading towards a more normal society again. The 3G check for public spaces will soon be a thing of the past. By February 28th in fact, the country will go back to normal: 3G abolished, free access again for everyone (except for big festivals with over 5000 people, the 1G testing for everyone). Face masks are a thing of the past as well then, except for in public transport. Discotheques will be open again as usual, as well as the culture and sport sector and everything else. People with fragile health are asked to remain cautious themselves. And for the future, the Government wants to start working with a pre-written and predictable, logical script; 'when there are X patients in hospital as a result of a viral pandemic, then the government will do X'. I am relieved about all this. It is a massive, positive surprise. Covid is still here, it may not go away anymore, but the Netherlands have decided that it is no longer proportionate to keep the entire country and society in a headlock. And the possibility to install a 2G system (only access for vaccinated or recovered persons) was also already rejected by Dutch Parliament altogether. Great. The new system will include 1G for large events, like concerts. Common sense! That is the only way to be more certain that the people attending are not covid positive. Even though there is always the risk of fraud (but the same goes for 3G, which is ludicrous during a pandemic as we all know for a fact now that vaccinated and boostered people still catch covid and pass it on). My sister and her family - all vaccinated and boostered except for the youngest child - all caught covid this week and are recovering now. There is a broader tendency now in many European countries, to relax the covid measures, letting go of the worst covid restrictions. And it echoes what tens of thousands of medical practitioners and scientists have proposed since 2020 in the Great Barrington Declaration, which calls for an alternative approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. Focusing on those most at risk and seeking to avoid or minimize the societal harm of COVID-19 lockdowns. <br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOCmdXRYSmAb3SOeOAL9gJFDV83KsfUWQOq3ZdsJ0M8J4y5EDLRN8ZX1ElPsEwOUGm-K9G3KOT-Z9SVk82xgeWEvpalGxWmxv-4aax2dikY9QxODR-VEPQxe3pS-AM9XUfbY7aBd65-PmSe2EVnMQtvP050wWpbZRUc8OmgSslyDQzaBj0oHomEq8tKg=s850" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="850" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOCmdXRYSmAb3SOeOAL9gJFDV83KsfUWQOq3ZdsJ0M8J4y5EDLRN8ZX1ElPsEwOUGm-K9G3KOT-Z9SVk82xgeWEvpalGxWmxv-4aax2dikY9QxODR-VEPQxe3pS-AM9XUfbY7aBd65-PmSe2EVnMQtvP050wWpbZRUc8OmgSslyDQzaBj0oHomEq8tKg=w400-h283" width="400" /></a></div>And it should probably be accepted widespread now that 3G and vaccination passports are a complete failure when it comes to preventing the spread of covid. The lockdowns seem to do very little at all. A recent Johns Hopkins University study <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10466995/New-study-says-lockdowns-reduced-COVID-mortality-2-percent.html" target="_blank">revealed</a></b> that Lockdowns, school closures <i>and</i> limiting gatherings only reduced COVID mortality by 0.2% at 'enormous economic and social costs'. The UK and Denmark are heading to the same exit door, planning to drop all their covid measurements. Same for Sweden. Denmark is even <b><a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/covid-19-pourquoi-le-danemark-s-apprete-a-renoncer-a-la-vaccination-20220214" target="_blank">aiming</a></b> to suspend its entire vaccination program, and wants to no longer booster its people from March onward. Germany also plans to remove most covid restrictions next month. On the other hand, there is France. France has installed a <i>vaccination passport</i> recently (in France people like me cannot go to any restaurant, bar, cinema, concert or anything fun in the public space, EVEN when testing negative. While my covid-positive friend can go anywhere, sick and all, because he got his booster. Madness). Still no vaccination pass needed in the French assembly, or in the senate, in the courts and during political meetings though. Catalonia, Denmark, Great Britain: back to normal life, France: ever more restrictions! (And let's not even start about draconian countries like Canada and Austria). France is<span style="text-align: center;"> doing incredibly well in their covid fight, counting over 300,000 covid cases each and every day. That is why, instead of realizing that the system is fraud and useless (since vaccinated people still catch covid and pass it on), France has gone overboard, cranking the restrictions up even more. Restrictions for the non-vaccinated people. And this group is bigger than ever now, as not even two vaccinations renders someone 'vaccinated'. In France, they threw out the Pfizer advise to leave 6 months between boosters, and instead demand less than 4 months in between jabs. Just.. because they can. But they also leave some space for those people who have built up natural antibodies from a covid infection. But the formula is becoming ever more complicated. </span>From now on, “one injection = one infection”, announced the Health minister, Olivier Véran. “To benefit from the vaccination pass, your immune system must have been stimulated three times”, justified Véran. And a 'stimulation' can be a vaccine injection <i>or</i> an infection. But, at the same time you need to have been vaccinated at least once and your last vaccination/ booster only lasts 16 weeks. Then you need to be jabbed again. My head is spinning.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">**When you have never received a vaccination, you will need to have one administered to benefit from a valid vaccination pass, even if you have been triple infected with covid.<br />**When you had a single vaccine injection and went through a single natural covid infection, you will also now need a booster dose 'within four months'. - Why make it simple when you can also make it complicated? <br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiXIEACtyhfEu3fv8AiW5-P93HaYtzAL4YbFe8ioldMQRHKJYlXY2VPyylbmXXYUGPv69ZO-ZsyxJGmkUQDLGTNVHCAh9iuC9KQUijdXXFILRk0pSrijzu_w-Da4S9vhrJq7NOB9kQGHyE4w3ThTeJ5BU8Huxv9z4j2WN9Tex85PY0mjr-aVbcv5k9O5Q=s1149" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1149" data-original-width="850" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiXIEACtyhfEu3fv8AiW5-P93HaYtzAL4YbFe8ioldMQRHKJYlXY2VPyylbmXXYUGPv69ZO-ZsyxJGmkUQDLGTNVHCAh9iuC9KQUijdXXFILRk0pSrijzu_w-Da4S9vhrJq7NOB9kQGHyE4w3ThTeJ5BU8Huxv9z4j2WN9Tex85PY0mjr-aVbcv5k9O5Q=w214-h288" width="214" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhA4w7ENclio-h_7Kku1r-OGJFWQNkU6BDU6gXQaCMi8W-lDAYEYiEMNDn87E0Cf-G_Nrq-UTolBgVZbMnbpOFO-Hc0Nk_QG9RvO8aCGQzeXmlqbkoTX1RJvAnwXxfgj8TtWEFccGXsof1dqXFqma5PdkXjcDPhig_kYWrqGqCpVHJjoV25Lk1b_naXeQ=s850" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="649" data-original-width="850" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhA4w7ENclio-h_7Kku1r-OGJFWQNkU6BDU6gXQaCMi8W-lDAYEYiEMNDn87E0Cf-G_Nrq-UTolBgVZbMnbpOFO-Hc0Nk_QG9RvO8aCGQzeXmlqbkoTX1RJvAnwXxfgj8TtWEFccGXsof1dqXFqma5PdkXjcDPhig_kYWrqGqCpVHJjoV25Lk1b_naXeQ=w377-h288" width="377" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPAKDC1vuG7X3iHxeX-14ob39pma2t2VdIKfA8DJ5Ig-LUP7OX-lqcIz5R0-yebYH_nI9wFiP63SYIs40r5k4RFX54DgcN4aSIcS2jxhv78s1CPSTtW6A0nVvouP2lnY8ljtrzub4vLVm36c_cNBC0nf7Ck-MID9GQi98sTOaQAndxUfSmMXhn1RwSfw=s850" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="592" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPAKDC1vuG7X3iHxeX-14ob39pma2t2VdIKfA8DJ5Ig-LUP7OX-lqcIz5R0-yebYH_nI9wFiP63SYIs40r5k4RFX54DgcN4aSIcS2jxhv78s1CPSTtW6A0nVvouP2lnY8ljtrzub4vLVm36c_cNBC0nf7Ck-MID9GQi98sTOaQAndxUfSmMXhn1RwSfw=w293-h420" width="293" /></a>Science telling us that natural antibodies from a covid infection last years, well... that does not fit Macron's political agenda, so that science is thrown out the window, together with the minimum amount of time required between boosters. <i>"Immunologically, it is not justified to repeat ad vitam the booster vaccinations"</i>, says also Professor Jean-Daniel Lelièvre, head of the clinical immunology department at the CHU Henri-Mondor in Créteil. The amateurism of this government is mind-blowing.. Switzerland has established that the duration of the covid recovery certificate lasts 12 months, but France reduced its validity period from 6 to 4 months. Welcome to the world of junkies. And in case their Russian roulette gamble with jabs every 16 weeks now backfires, you can be assured; the French tax payer will cough up the compensation, if you are lucky and able to prove the cause and effect connection. Because it has been verified now that Pfizer and Moderna and others negotiated top notch agreements with the European Union, and will only cash in on the profits of their (subsidized, only 2,5 months tested and emergency only) vaccines, but are not held responsible financially or legally when things go wrong and people die as a result of the vaccines or develop debilitating side-effects. But don't worry, this only happens to <b><a href="https://t.me/s/covidvaccineinjuries" target="_blank"><i>other</i> people</a></b>. So while Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna are making $1,000 profit every <i>second</i> (!!) from their vaccines; despite Pfizer forecasting a $36 billion vaccine revenue for 2021; despite these pharmaceutical companies having received public funding of over $8 billion for the vaccine development: they can't set aside some millions or even billions for the inevitable vaccine injuries. They take all the profit, while the taxpayer can cough up the money for injury compensation. This isn't fake news; this is the sad truth of the matter. Where are the liberals when you need them? Probably too preoccupied with boycotting Joe Rogan and debating why the Holocaust was really not about race... I feel that media and politicians have played a successful game, in terms of demonizing everyone who is hesitant about the vaccine, who mentions that it is still in the experimental phase and should perhaps be reserved only for those at high(er) risk of covid; but when you say that, you are usually right away cast in the 'dumb, illiterate, conspiracy theorist, deplorables' camp. Pfizer meanwhile advises that children below 5 years old really should get vaccinated now. And the French government would still like to force-vaccinate young and perfectly healthy people. Obsessed with the vaccine and the vaccine mandate. One almost understands that people become conspiratorial with such absurd decisions. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqw77STf-Z3wSnf47I9yfpdXEbrOkvYZS9Cs_OJ_l2F1msYgq7WYyew-8zk825eA-OkklhZkr11vJ-lS5vOsImaPDMzzxpzeh2KrmSjWkrH-8q2sLTlVuYM-TUEDJj5wBNemfdFhc-_6XR3eQ-0xcN20LyhTWxtkDkHFX3N1dJ2m7Ivkysb1rLcCPPKg=s1156" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1156" data-original-width="850" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqw77STf-Z3wSnf47I9yfpdXEbrOkvYZS9Cs_OJ_l2F1msYgq7WYyew-8zk825eA-OkklhZkr11vJ-lS5vOsImaPDMzzxpzeh2KrmSjWkrH-8q2sLTlVuYM-TUEDJj5wBNemfdFhc-_6XR3eQ-0xcN20LyhTWxtkDkHFX3N1dJ2m7Ivkysb1rLcCPPKg=w294-h400" width="294" /></a>But even Jupiter must start to scratch his head about the statistics. More daily covid infections than ever in his France (the daily <b><a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2022/01/25/covid-19-la-france-depasse-les-500-000-cas-de-contamination-depistes-en-vingt-quatre-heures_6110960_3244.html" target="_blank">500.000 mark</a></b> was even crossed), despite all the draconian measures, which only prove one thing: vaccination does not help in bringing this pandemic to a stop. In fact, "The rate of infection in vaccinated people is higher than in unvaccinated people." And France long ago ran out of unvaccinated paupers to blame for all this. And Omicron gives such relatively mild symptoms, that patients without underlying health issues barely end up in hospital anyway, vaccinated or not vaccinated. As I mentioned in my last blog post; the countries with the highest vaccination rates are currently mostly all experiencing the highest covid infection rates as well as the highest covid hospitalizations. Maybe it will also be interesting to see in the future how this is exactly possible and the exact mechanisms behind this. Although specialists and scientists like for instance professor Sucharit Bhakdi have predicted and explained the mechanisms behind this already a year ago. Remember that a vaccine is supposed to protect against the disease. If you still need a booster after being fully vaxxed and still need to wear a mask after being fully vaxxed and can still be hospitalised after being fully vaxxed, can still transmit the virus or be infected after being fully vaxxed, then it's probably high time people admitted they've been fully conned :( If we just take a little step back, we realize that we are in a situation where we are going to ask people to get vaccinated if they want to partake in the outdoor world when, statistically speaking, we know that tens of millions of people have just caught this virus and came out 99% unscathed. With very longstanding natural antibodies. Just to realize the complete delirium in which we (still) are. Recent studies from the Pasteur institute and an English survey showed that these people carry anti-spike IgG antibodies for at least 24 months after infection. An excerpt from the study: "Among participants who seroconverted, anti-spike IgG antibodies remained above the threshold for positivity for an average of -380 to 590 days for 20 year olds, -410 to 649 days for 40 year olds. years, - 441 to 703 days for 60 year olds and - 471 to 755 days for octogenarians." An Italian report has just come out and notes that the ex-patients are still immunized after 18 months.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_fGjuLXSumXqcSwtRA7fLVHi6jDtt_hQIK_te5wEwXDXHqzuugyMqgJZonSkLKcJHz2WUQqP86UF03sjCuMdDDXoRgADb9db-UcHaG7bsTm9VX0sx3uUWKTyOF6Wvzj1Ygqqt6WlV-cI1Z_820HRNlRhao7OfcRp6zHKwroYJY5oIkdQSe-W3YZr6aA=s320" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="229" data-original-width="320" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_fGjuLXSumXqcSwtRA7fLVHi6jDtt_hQIK_te5wEwXDXHqzuugyMqgJZonSkLKcJHz2WUQqP86UF03sjCuMdDDXoRgADb9db-UcHaG7bsTm9VX0sx3uUWKTyOF6Wvzj1Ygqqt6WlV-cI1Z_820HRNlRhao7OfcRp6zHKwroYJY5oIkdQSe-W3YZr6aA=w410-h293" width="410" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZAIjG253bSl-tissAu7juMVwNepTiLqx1Z52ZcM0Dj-m6gLmAKP5AeuEJSGB8VGasbk_GsiHgZcW42ME6J74WSFPhnfPVqFSt4fZ5uIBdHHJ1sn9Quk3wFqEVq2Yih4PmVDew140rhniqxtq_L7Bo7dUh-Bz-4cbTVAEeKVFtSmlwX-BpDSXga1E5jw=s673" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="408" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZAIjG253bSl-tissAu7juMVwNepTiLqx1Z52ZcM0Dj-m6gLmAKP5AeuEJSGB8VGasbk_GsiHgZcW42ME6J74WSFPhnfPVqFSt4fZ5uIBdHHJ1sn9Quk3wFqEVq2Yih4PmVDew140rhniqxtq_L7Bo7dUh-Bz-4cbTVAEeKVFtSmlwX-BpDSXga1E5jw=w177-h292" width="177" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator" div="" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZ-R3qfQR94S6AIJf3DO5bgyrjWtsW6SG2u7YLyKh49dtnQu558WkSDAZUnKwvsa2SQzPYH4F6bji_RKJ-PElwvhVdms61wmdPhK6dZV_aQ6ANsHRKKH2XxVJzTMGtkPglvsZrPGhabmRDEfNQhpm-qJuqyOp2ZKtkHoLehAU7Zqwe9pAXFrQNb3hmvw=s850" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="850" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZ-R3qfQR94S6AIJf3DO5bgyrjWtsW6SG2u7YLyKh49dtnQu558WkSDAZUnKwvsa2SQzPYH4F6bji_RKJ-PElwvhVdms61wmdPhK6dZV_aQ6ANsHRKKH2XxVJzTMGtkPglvsZrPGhabmRDEfNQhpm-qJuqyOp2ZKtkHoLehAU7Zqwe9pAXFrQNb3hmvw=w376-h318" width="376" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnS9NqIqwHOTr6XoWLPTW3ZI2gGuqsgmPMdOw3KI5yR4cMj6LBhJQih_w7pu8h50ISXLXV38Z4R2a6d-ggSamoYb2AlZP5rjvHl3G49c_N3ZJZTZ2fk1DWE4ts5AmXJrL5dRrpV12dwPuiJXc_MU2sdSMm-bFsEot9vqFMHYSsyiRcHtKg5vpZEr6ixA=s850" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="850" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnS9NqIqwHOTr6XoWLPTW3ZI2gGuqsgmPMdOw3KI5yR4cMj6LBhJQih_w7pu8h50ISXLXV38Z4R2a6d-ggSamoYb2AlZP5rjvHl3G49c_N3ZJZTZ2fk1DWE4ts5AmXJrL5dRrpV12dwPuiJXc_MU2sdSMm-bFsEot9vqFMHYSsyiRcHtKg5vpZEr6ixA=w376-h266" width="376" /></a>But France has a Minister of health, Véran, who has decided that <b><a href="https://twitter.com/DrLoupis/status/1500447953328435202?s=20&t=eAzFyA6K938NaCvGX0scYg&fbclid=IwAR1Uut5k-DupufjDSOVhBwVmKtQ9NSbQxMRIDiWDmiPyYZDmgJWvFl0aap0" target="_blank">natural immunity</a></b> lasts only 4 months.. Véran, Castex and Macron are the greatest virologists and epidemiologists in the world. Like Ceaușescu at one time. Basically Véran follows the science when it suits him but ignores it otherwise. When the management of COVID19 is barely based on clinical data, but mainly on administrative ones... I don't even understand how there aren't millions of people in the streets screaming they are fed up. That whole government seems to be suffering from hyperpower syndrome. They are in a rocket that has taken off and the people will soon lose sight of them, unless the rocket explodes in mid-flight. The French look paralyzed.<br /><br />But luckily France's leaders are themselves now planning on loosening the reigns. Around April 1st. Who knows for how long. But in any case, right in time for the presidential elections. Just a coincidence of course. Maybe Véran realizes the impasse into which France has manoeuvred itself, with a pass that is useless and a broader European tendency to in fact abolish most covid rules and restrictions. France now comes next in line to a deranged looking country like Austria, where the unvaccinated risk fines up to 15.000 euro a year, if they do not show up for their planned and entirely mandatory vaccination invitations. It won't look good in the history books, not good at all. And then to imagine this: to the question <i>"Does repeated booster doses not risk the collapsing of the immune system?",</i> asked by a journalist from Le Figaro to Bourla, the chief executive officer of Pfizer, he replied: <i>"I don't think so.."</i>. We are no longer in the realms of science, but in those of beliefs and feelings. Just as we have been for some years now under the general woke regime. I wonder sometimes if articles dealing with covid should not be classified in the "Religion" section of newspapers by now. For a long time already we have been drenched in dogma and no longer purely in science... And marketing authorizations have been authorized to promote these vaccines on the market with incorrect claims, long before long-term data on efficacy and safety are available. And it is still (falsely) trumpeted on all the TV channels: <i>"All vaccinated, all protected"</i>. [We can now say; <i>"all contaminated"</i>]. Like some ritual. Aren't there normally fines involved when it comes to false advertisement? <i>"Pfizer vaccine effective for 10 weeks (!) after the booster"</i>... We have already gone from 5 months of protection to 4, to under 3 months now. When will we be told clearly that these vaccines no longer work? When immunity will be reduced finally to lasting one week? What if we started to get out of this religion of complete and repeated vaccination and think a little? In Israel, the Jerusalem hospital, a Pr Aviv asks the question: Should RNA vaccines be stopped? </div><div class="separator" div="" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" div="" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhaSzFgUqEq_AvU_UEf34O8y_MHRU_TUKkIpyEyQsnx9DMLW6qQoNQfCSa1__14iPm7W_dCyh-UgTEgvY_Myd1u_cwA0zGgpAOfC4KESkPneygsR2lsOquc4_-lmSgUSbkC13pxCuhdjkoSdKB-jgG99J0NYrvGM75SCrRr1RIXiAt5U57E_zysDtHXJA=s3264" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="379" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhaSzFgUqEq_AvU_UEf34O8y_MHRU_TUKkIpyEyQsnx9DMLW6qQoNQfCSa1__14iPm7W_dCyh-UgTEgvY_Myd1u_cwA0zGgpAOfC4KESkPneygsR2lsOquc4_-lmSgUSbkC13pxCuhdjkoSdKB-jgG99J0NYrvGM75SCrRr1RIXiAt5U57E_zysDtHXJA=w284-h379" width="284" /></a></div>Safe vaccination by mRNA was initially based on three pillars, guaranteeing safety. But these three pillars have by now all fallen. The First Pillar: Spike proteins produced by muscle cells remain localized at the point of injection. This turned out to be <b><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34015087/" target="_blank">false</a></b>. In at least one in four people, the vaccine enters the bloodflow and does not stay localized in the muscle. Research has shown consistently that there is circulating SARS-CoV-2 vaccine antigen detected in the plasma of mRNA vaccine recipients. This means that the spike proteins which your body is triggered to make, also do not stay localized in the arm muscle for a short period of time, but are produced and transported to different organs through the blood. Bad news, and this is partially why there are so many serious side-effects for this mRNA vaccine, like blood clots, strokes and heart inflammation. (And let's not even touch upon the issue with vaccine-induced suppression of certain T-cells and its suggested effect on for instance dormant cancer cells). The Second Pillar: The spike protein stays in the cytosol and never re-enters the nucleus. This has also proven to be <b><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34696485/" target="_blank">false</a></b>. The Third Pillar: the RNA of the virus cannot modify or integrate with our DNA. Also <b><a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/21/e2105968118" target="_blank">false</a></b>. Scientists found that reverse-transcribed SARS-CoV-2 RNA can in fact integrate into the genome of cultured human cells and can be expressed in patient-derived tissues. Does this mean that the vaccines pose danger for everyone? No. Only for some unlucky ones. But, for people who have already contracted Covid 19, this is the best natural immunity there is, if you are otherwise not immunocompromised. The antibodies that your body makes following the disease process itself, are aimed at ALL the proteins of the virus. They not only destroy the virus, but also store all virus components in its memory. Whereas the covid vaccines and boosters (which are exactly the same thing as the 1st and 2nd vaccine shot, just with a different name; the Dutch renamed it a 'refreshment shot'), these will only create a memory for the exact spike protein component of the sars-cov-2 virus. A spike protein which changes with every major mutation. And a spike protein which is the most toxic component of the entire sars-cov-2 virus, responsible for the blood clots. Now your body can produce these spike proteins themselves! Genius... The common-sense approach should have been to be to aim for traditional vaccines, which use an inactivated whole virus, and not by mRNA vaccination. But this is not easy when it comes to viruses which, like the flu, mutate at a huge rate.</div><div class="separator" div="" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" div="" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjbtketp_gGLuQG2jKo36A9XuRs52IrJJJXEWB54AgwK7-o_YbIhA89ZYoh_Em0v_WPzyA2eVsP7egXOlDiMvJyLGNmw6CavjWYHfHeoNO6Dps_RG8vX20Wl3bYfk9vtnuDyAMs7KPxeYx4XfGxJWVZNyN1VYmPFdrnTZF555wD7htiHOU0zYn9iFUvQ=s1024" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="703" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjbtketp_gGLuQG2jKo36A9XuRs52IrJJJXEWB54AgwK7-o_YbIhA89ZYoh_Em0v_WPzyA2eVsP7egXOlDiMvJyLGNmw6CavjWYHfHeoNO6Dps_RG8vX20Wl3bYfk9vtnuDyAMs7KPxeYx4XfGxJWVZNyN1VYmPFdrnTZF555wD7htiHOU0zYn9iFUvQ=w322-h468" width="322" /></a></div>Back to the official government propaganda boards. Don't expect updates from the governments about side-effects from the 3rd shot either. Of the 4 vaccines presented at the start of the year as highly secure and highly protective, it is understood that now only 2 are selected for the 3rd dose: Pfizer and Moderna. Their protection only lasts a few months. Exit for Astra Zeneca and the Jansen. For people under the age of 30, the Moderna vaccine is now prohibited in countries like France, as well as in several Scandinavian countries. Isn't this the perfect example of the usefulness of phase 3 testing? Nobody waited for it with the covid vaccines, but this phase 3 testing is normally deemed necessary for a reason: to assess the long term risks and effectivity. Now we see it all play out live, in real time, with the world population as test persons. Unpaid, unprotected when things go wrong. One day we will have to admit that these vaccines were ephemeral and not very effective, and that the hospitals have been out of breath, not primarily because of the unvaccinated but because our successive rulers wrung the care sector out and closed beds and IC units for the past decade. Thank to the market workings and managers with profit aims, that infiltrated the care sector. But what did we get instead of such honesty? Hyperbolic media loving politicians, doctors and viologists who flat out promised a return to normal life for those vaccinated, an end of the need to wear masks and an eradication of the virus, as well as herd immunity, thanks to these highly protective and insanely safe vaccines. No hard scientific evidence allowed them to justify these promises. <i>'Don't be an uninformed outcast!'</i> Actual data was ignored and the lack of safety testing as well. But it's all forgiven, as it was an emergency situation... But people in countries like France, Austria and Canada are still forced to keep vaccinating themselves, despite all this. Or else... Lose your job, be banned from entering any social place. In a country like France, with 300,000 official contaminations per day and probably more than 500,000 in reality, this vaccination pass makes absolutely zero sense from a medical point of view. If the government's objective was to limit the circulation of the virus in specific places, a negative test for everyone before entry would be much more effective than proof of vaccination, since neither two, nor three, nor four vaccine doses prevent contamination and contagiousness. The vaccination pass even turned out to be counterproductive, as it has given people a false sense of secutiry and protection, encouraging them to abandon barrier gestures and caution. It is high time that governments start focusing on the protection of the weakest in society, and stop the draconian and fairly useless mandates. To start focusing on the psychological effects of all this, during the past two years. The high levels of depression, suicides, psychological distress, young people who's social lives have been completely forced to a stand still (while many did rake up lifelong debts for their university or college courses, followed through zoom nowadays). The missed cancers, the lack of attention for much else than covid patients. Meanwhile, following the science, this coronavirus has followed the natural path of all coronaviruses and mutated to become more infectious but far less lethal over time. Nothing to do with the vaccines. But hundreds of thousands of people have since died from vaccine-induced blood clots, heart issues or are struggling with vaccine side-effects, for which the media has developed a coordinated blind spot. Nearly everyone I know who is vaccinated and boostered has developed covid, whereas myself and unvaccinated friends have never had covid yet.<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPr6-1wdr01AKDEOYQ3iGXjmJRIPMSofU-71iLacGRVRaPivgSwi6JeMruPdPVqCSNHQcw2FVoIfyI0gQ4DIrWaN-08_6rnMXQ5IuqmLmyR9hc7fnP1LEcyhXE0JCe7METQxdvh6ZA95xqpQqh_G4dzQtLUZkrgAz8dylBNsgaVWkBpJZJCAe7DdmT8Q=s850" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="850" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPr6-1wdr01AKDEOYQ3iGXjmJRIPMSofU-71iLacGRVRaPivgSwi6JeMruPdPVqCSNHQcw2FVoIfyI0gQ4DIrWaN-08_6rnMXQ5IuqmLmyR9hc7fnP1LEcyhXE0JCe7METQxdvh6ZA95xqpQqh_G4dzQtLUZkrgAz8dylBNsgaVWkBpJZJCAe7DdmT8Q=w400-h285" width="400" /></a></div><div><b><span style="color: #990000;">Lucky there are also voices of reason to be heard. Gérald Kierzek, an emergency doctor and health columnist and the medical director of Doctissimo <a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/vox/societe/fin-des-mesures-sanitaires-je-crains-une-generation-spontanee-d-hypocondriaques-20220215" target="_blank">said</a> for instance:</span></b> <i>"From a medical point of view, there is no longer any reason to keep covid measures whose effectiveness is doubtful or not formally demonstrated, a fortiori in an epidemic context which should no longer worry us. Our European neighbours, but also the United States, are withdrawing the obligation to wear the mask. The epidemic peak is behind us and, once again, we are facing a respiratory virus. Its evolution, with a rapid rise in positive cases, then the decline, follows the natural history of respiratory viruses without human interventions such as masks - or standing or sitting coffee - ultimately having little to do with it. As for the vaccination pass, it suggests that the vaccine protects against transmission-contamination; the latest “wave” in mostly vaccinated people demonstrates the opposite. This is more of a political mantra than a scientific rationale." "The vaccination pass is political. The vaccine was a medical necessity to protect the most fragile, but its generalization and its quasi-obligation via the past was a political measure. </i><i>Omicron had flooded the country, relatively without gravity; only the contamination figures (therefore positive cases with little or no illness) increased, without dramatic consequences on hospital pressure. Abroad (South Africa, UK, Denmark) proved that the variant was benign. However, countries, including France, have nevertheless pushed their vaccination pass strategy, without proportionality with reality. The vaccine protects - individually, and not collectively - the most fragile patients with comorbidities. These are the patients that had to be targeted. The vaccination pass, by casting opprobrium on the non-vaccinated, not only obscures the real reasons for the crisis (lack of hospital resources, failure of prevention in the population, etc.), but creates a deplorable precedent, contrary to our values of solidarity and humanity."<br /></i><i><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">"For the first time ever, the French had every evening a number of deaths displayed on all the media, a morbid and deeply anxiety-provoking counter and above all out of context. No reference, no information about the people who died from Covid (the median age of death has always been 85), no perspective on the number of cured and contaminated (the mortality rate is less than 0.1%). A sort of tyranny of emotion"</span></b></i></div><br />The crisis has led to extreme alarmism, not to say delusional, wishing for zero virus and refusing death. For the first time, the French had every evening a number of deaths displayed on all the media, a morbid and deeply anxiety-provoking counter and above all out of context. No previous reference (in France, there are 1,700 deaths per day), no information on people who died from Covid (the median age of death has always been 85), no perspective on the number of cured and contaminated (the mortality rate is less than 0.1%). A sort of tyranny of emotion, immense of course when it comes to death, always unacceptable. Perhaps the anxiety-inducing communication, the drastic measures and precautions and the medical hygienist discourse could be justified in the first months of the epidemic, but they became counterproductive or even dangerous thereafter. The crisis has thus plunged us into deep anguish: anguish of the other, anguish of death, anguish of microbes (which we call nosophobia). I fear a spontaneous generation of hypochondriacs. And what about the psychological trauma inflicted on children, accused in addition to being responsible for the contamination... I hope that the end of the crisis will allow a necessary appeasement in the medical world and in society."</i></div><div><br />All in all, it has been difficult for me also I suppose, on a selfish level. Because aside from all these severe rosacea restrictions I already experience for so long in my life and this need for keeping things calm, I really did feel the effects of the lockdowns and the loss of social events. Even if it was having a drink outside on a terrace with friends; it has become very difficult for me to do these past years, due to all the rules and restrictions. It makes me feel like kicking against things even more, metaphorically. Despite having 3G for nearly a year now. - By the way, some people have now started to share outcomes from the vaccine tests, which show that more people died in the test group than in the control group. But the problem here is that Pfizer and the others did such small scale testing, that 21 deaths in the test group vs 17 in the control group can just be cast aside as non-significant. They should have tested these vaccines on tens of thousands of people, hundreds of thousands, and also not only on the healthiest people out there. Now they purposely left out the people in the highest covid risk groups, for obvious reasons. Just like there are now tests done with ivermectin (dubious who subsidizes them exactly), but they specifically give it to people who are already hospitalized with covid. To purposely skew the outcome, as it is well known that ivermectin mainly helps when you give it early, as soon after infection as possible. Because it helps prevent the virus from multiplying. By the time someone is sick enough to be hospitalized, viral inhibitors are often useless. But the mainstream media are eagerly running with such headlines and lack of further detail explanations anyway.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYGt1qHpIe9Y-48APvoukJp9idm_25ygOhZ_BATzqWC7Kbthsxq_RKkloX_RgQyuz_chpFMQg2rHmHOQTdGQgyG5Nn2vunhO8FvLaX9DCBlAhPhkDkCS9BQG5mM4p1duvG1U0rTFZ4wkRmSX7l_U6yawzZnSoegr-p2DowupGETRLGnKOYxEpb-RwRuQ=s475" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="475" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYGt1qHpIe9Y-48APvoukJp9idm_25ygOhZ_BATzqWC7Kbthsxq_RKkloX_RgQyuz_chpFMQg2rHmHOQTdGQgyG5Nn2vunhO8FvLaX9DCBlAhPhkDkCS9BQG5mM4p1duvG1U0rTFZ4wkRmSX7l_U6yawzZnSoegr-p2DowupGETRLGnKOYxEpb-RwRuQ=w363-h331" width="363" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWvUZ0-eZLZZ_OxUWcXMIGwsq9tazwcS0swJeH3g3q1ZUdvu-UldKmda6XKCbNvrvwbUPZKF5O0RH2rOzP1ZPCDf8FcnqhvRAU9ZzPAzOqOkbac1q0HG87UYFsLMKyBV1BefsLdF50mBURDGMlWBPhsFF1qu8CLHFx2bvy9puzMhnq55TnNb2_UeZ8HQ=s735" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="500" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWvUZ0-eZLZZ_OxUWcXMIGwsq9tazwcS0swJeH3g3q1ZUdvu-UldKmda6XKCbNvrvwbUPZKF5O0RH2rOzP1ZPCDf8FcnqhvRAU9ZzPAzOqOkbac1q0HG87UYFsLMKyBV1BefsLdF50mBURDGMlWBPhsFF1qu8CLHFx2bvy9puzMhnq55TnNb2_UeZ8HQ=w226-h332" width="226" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Trudeau, the villain of our times? </span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="503" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qt4BVTmYwjw" width="606" youtube-src-id="qt4BVTmYwjw"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Songs of the day </span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/llA04Vghu3U" width="320" youtube-src-id="llA04Vghu3U"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s6ljOKaWl6I" width="320" youtube-src-id="s6ljOKaWl6I"></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">January 31st</span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2022</span></span></b></div></span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="Ar Au Ao" id=":17h"><div aria-label="Message Body" aria-multiline="true" class="Am Al editable LW-avf tS-tW tS-tY" g_editable="true" hidefocus="true" id=":17l" itacorner="6,7:1,1,0,0" role="textbox" spellcheck="false" style="clear: left; direction: ltr; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; min-height: 270px;" tabindex="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="350" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikC_txVUXKjimwKcIv3Z2F1Pch7MtqgIsJ6zLyrAluP7QX6DxM1d6DRsEsbVxiGRyFKTJQevC6btu6pGeMuqTQ3dQJNlEp-UM8WZZEMjQRbzLI6CnsL0Hj7X3i1mwY9hfqKNI8zOH43c4Un1p0nkzbsCsdP5LGZ-gLYziEk1tmsYwgzB4tIny8-q0GnA=w353-h454" width="353" /></div></div></div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHHj9cUD2-5jZTXlmhfpAOTXoTZpqNpqTfC9IjLIxtlFOE5l9q9axp8kDwPeGytOeZPjPi2jyUeMmMc7gaWh5CKqnmc8Cb7SqvJTyqhDdhEfjw6Qp0npeMqseY4fDKfBbeTqxJYnfp23BPTrk7t5hZXzW-AkGbpS6XLX2-yoqOMPT85g_4yPvbVVXlcQ=s914" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>2022 has been rough so far for me, rosacea wise. I managed to control the cold urticaria 'hives' on my face until now, but no longer. Four on one cheek, three on the other and they make my cheeks feel on fire and glowing and tense. I probably slept in too cold a bedroom the past two nights, darn. We usually think of summer and heat as the most stressful times for people with subtype 1 rosacea, but for me, winter is perhaps even more daunting. Winter means increased redness, increased flushing from the big temperature differences between indoors and outdoors. And for me winter also means cold urticaria now. I read that in most people, these hives last a few hours, but mine come up and stay for about a week (!). I only get them on my cheeks, and they do not look too horrible (<b><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRH0s0OkiBUOaQ_ZzmniQljuWsn4GeO-L4snw&usqp=CAU" target="_blank">like typical hives</a></b>), but because they are hot to the touch, the involved histamine response makes my entire cheek swell and glow. Which triggers the rosacea flushing again. It is a bit of a nightmare lately, to be honest. I have this rosacea problem for 23 years already, so well more than half my life, but it is only since the past years that my skin breaks out in heat rash during summer and cold urticaria during winter, to make matters more difficult. It must all be linked to a disrupted skin barrier function and allergy issues, but the times where I could blast the airconditioning to control the rosacea flushing is gone. It is a cnstant balance game now of not making my skin too hot or too cold. When I have things in check, I feel OK, but when they are off balance and my face glows from hives, I lose my optimism very easily. It's just a never ending skin circus here. Skin care, creams, moisturizers; everything makes my face flare up and burn dramatically. I simply use nothing on it, aside from some diluted jojoba oil around my mouth and on the forehead, and have done so since 2006. Luckily no wrinkle issues yet, which I mainly credit my zero sun regime for, to be honest. But even skin barrier comprised skin like mine, does ultimately create its own sebum once you stop using moisturizing creams for long enough. Still, it is a nightmare to avoid direct un on your face and UV radiation, working with large hats and the shade all the time. I feel a complete freak. So well, summer and winter are a pain in the backside. Spring is better, but has the complicating factor for me of</span> increased flushing and burning from my pollen allergies. And fall is my favourite season of the year. No worries about much, in terms of UV, heat, pollen or brutal cold. Wished it lasted longer. And now with the pandemic, there is the need for face mask wearing. Different countries in the world are having different rules in place now, and luckily the covid19 virus 'appears' to go down in severity and is treated in quite a few countries already as a strain of flu. But in other countries, restrictions are still extremely high. The face mask, I have no problem wearing it, as a principle. They may help a little bit when it comes to protection against the virus (while <span style="color: #444444;"><b>the lockdowns</b></span> seem to do very little at all. A recent Johns Hopkins University study revealed that Lockdowns, school closures and limiting gatherings <i>only reduced COVID mortality by 0.2% at 'enormous economic and social costs'.</i> And yet they still continue in some countries). I never caught covid, despite traveling and being out and about over the past two years. Perhaps the mask helped prevent it. So I personally don't mind wearing one in supermarkets, in public transport and in shops. Outside in the open air, I no longer comply and do not wear the face mask. Its effect on my rosacea is not always the same. In summer, with high temperatures and humidity, I had a tough time with heat rash on my face and burning of my skin. In the fall it was far less of a problem. Mainly when I have to wear it for hours and hours and hours on end, while traveling, because the rubbing of the mask makes my rosacea skin feel raw. In winter, the mask can even help to prevent cold wind from irritating my skin. I use an N95 mask with a valve and have sown soft flannel fabric around the edges, where it touches my skin. I hang it outside to air, instead of throwing it away and replacing it all the time. So far so good. (Photos are me unflushed, just normal base redness).</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYUi6XqTuezaqllBgjbhaTyhtHgwDV1A0Ps8BQj0a46pwUVC5P6cCtRAcD7SoO5wIa6-6dKqOWWsxtRn9rlqSpqgzOHNEKshUQODWf1qy-fNI4g2B2FTthQjjhv0Z54PZRS9v1FO0g3wDftGod4GXDg8TP1RlcIls7I77KK1m2nT55iGO7DUFBjh3vmg=s323" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="204" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYUi6XqTuezaqllBgjbhaTyhtHgwDV1A0Ps8BQj0a46pwUVC5P6cCtRAcD7SoO5wIa6-6dKqOWWsxtRn9rlqSpqgzOHNEKshUQODWf1qy-fNI4g2B2FTthQjjhv0Z54PZRS9v1FO0g3wDftGod4GXDg8TP1RlcIls7I77KK1m2nT55iGO7DUFBjh3vmg=w253-h400" width="253" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguCcIihEG1heSkOb4A9rMemfiNUJfD1_KK4t9yP4xA2qs83XW1tV1a0waSchSn2E6MiWUFwRplW-6xrgWP3nICyGZZxCc8VS2iROs2dVF2uTei8txJhjkpglewdUICjl0Nhe5FDeYIzHXJQU1suHJlvomxG6kxCjr0e8jG_EUkyKGqS5-xdLYRxfQM5w=s327" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="224" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguCcIihEG1heSkOb4A9rMemfiNUJfD1_KK4t9yP4xA2qs83XW1tV1a0waSchSn2E6MiWUFwRplW-6xrgWP3nICyGZZxCc8VS2iROs2dVF2uTei8txJhjkpglewdUICjl0Nhe5FDeYIzHXJQU1suHJlvomxG6kxCjr0e8jG_EUkyKGqS5-xdLYRxfQM5w=w274-h400" width="274" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmnzYZDX3rKh3zbso4v6XT6ttAqijokUQ1VlEhXb7Ij6f42F08A7xP_ULJK2hLhIFf2274zvqf5tjXRboEixSd-b438rqtt0UjDND6w-JRvbicpTF4SiwrSiDQljkekb4RCOegrIS6bmrWBsouEp8JyFJNL6NSm0fZQnfiqTx1iF6xo8OrjIP_MYkUZQ=s1024" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="932" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmnzYZDX3rKh3zbso4v6XT6ttAqijokUQ1VlEhXb7Ij6f42F08A7xP_ULJK2hLhIFf2274zvqf5tjXRboEixSd-b438rqtt0UjDND6w-JRvbicpTF4SiwrSiDQljkekb4RCOegrIS6bmrWBsouEp8JyFJNL6NSm0fZQnfiqTx1iF6xo8OrjIP_MYkUZQ=w364-h400" width="364" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Sad</span><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">But I had a very unpleasant situation with a friend, some weeks ago. I will try to condense the situation and will say that I have a lot of understanding and patience with mostly everyone in life, dealing with the current pandemic, but also with the onslaught of contradicting information and uncertainty. I have my own reasons for opting to not get vaccinated. It is hard to explain to people who don't have the type of absurd reactivity that I have to deal with (allergic even to dental fillings, bad allergy reactions to the perfume worn by someone in the vicinity, ton of food allergies, skin rashes from wearing even the highest quality jewelry, to name a few insanities). I have so far been OK, despite traveling regularly and not holing up in the house constantly. Not yet caught covid, fingers crossed and let's hope it stays that way. But a few weeks ago I was very close by. Or so it felt. This friend asked for a favour. Friend had spent 5 weeks abroad in a country in Central America, and upon returning, asked to be picked up and stay over one night, before traveling on. No problem. Friend is double vaccinated plus received a 3rd booster before departure to the Latin Americas. Back at home I asked if friend could perhaps do a self (antigen)test, which I had in the house. I had asked this already some days prior by mail, as a preparation question (maybe I expected some unwillingness and therefore asked it in advance). It seemed no problem. Test was... positive. <i>"Impossible! I had my 3 shots and feel fine"</i>. Another test, also positive. Friend now got angry. It could not be! I tried to stay calm (but felt a bit anxious, to be frank). Said that these things happen but that I hoped for understanding that we would have to change the plan now. That I could serve dinner outside on the terrace or in his room. The first option was accepted disgruntledly. I knew that friend had been through a stressful 24 hours already at that point, as there had been issues with the arrval QR code at the customs. And now this. There had been hopes for warm indoors and stress-free meal sharing. But I just did not want to risk any of that. I may be grumpy in general about the vaccine mandates, but I don't think that covid is a laughing stock. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmGYz8_JubJ3x0R6Hcqr_-z_PP6Gwnnl3bcyXgThGDkFf4kw2fIvOLSiiNMmSg_oNNFvDaODzt-08w-Wj9TnzqEj_9zYzVXMV1nm9YoyA_7rShpIgN3PJitXm5Yy-F2bkqIIm_Tv_Y6l1pe0EhSJWAh3b_9nyXF1FqZnvWur7xivw9didnwqgPPfmBKw=s2048" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1322" height="517" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmGYz8_JubJ3x0R6Hcqr_-z_PP6Gwnnl3bcyXgThGDkFf4kw2fIvOLSiiNMmSg_oNNFvDaODzt-08w-Wj9TnzqEj_9zYzVXMV1nm9YoyA_7rShpIgN3PJitXm5Yy-F2bkqIIm_Tv_Y6l1pe0EhSJWAh3b_9nyXF1FqZnvWur7xivw9didnwqgPPfmBKw=w335-h517" width="335" /></a>So I tried to keep the atmosphere friendly and just sat outside with friend, trying to chat about the travels while having dinner. But all frustration and the shock of this surprise test result were now aimed at me, it felt. I was told in clear language, that I had been blunt and rude by asking friend to do this test. (So this was áfter the positive tests). Being boostered up, there had really been no need for any covid test. I said that I understood that feeling, but that on the other hand vaccinated people can literally step into planes going to the other side of the world and back again, without the need for a single covid test. Which puts everyone around them at risk, in a way. 'No, it was rude to ask a friend to test, just because I wasn't vaccinated'. I explained that over the past years, I never before asked this friend or anyone else to do a test for me. 'Aha, see? So it is rude ánd hypocritical, and inconsistent'. Tried to explain that I just felt like asking this time. Maybe a feeling, maybe coupled with the current super-infectuous Omicron variant and this recent long travel. 'Nah, it was not on.' I tried to stay calm, as I understood that the friend also felt bad about it all. Known friend for fifteen years, and the soup is never eaten as hot with friend as it is served, as we say here. So I just allowed the unpleasantries to come out now. But all those emotions were channeled into attacks. People like me are the reason why the pandemic is still ongoing, I was told. People like Friend are the responsible ones, who take personal risks with all those vaccines to get society back on track. But the small group where I am in, we sabotage it all! We make up pretty much all the hospitalizations (no longer true, but who cares about up to date statistics). If I hadn't asked for that antigen test, we wouldn't have sat outside in the cold now! And then friend wouldn't have faced 5 days of quarantine next, at home. And if I had been vaccinated, we could also have sat inside now, care-free, and have dinner there! It was unpleasant and I was getting a bit angry myself, but tried to appear calm. Said that everyone I personally knew to have had covid, were people vaccinated, and also that plenty of vaccinated (and boostered) people would álso still try to prevent catching covid, nonetheless, if their friend showed up covid positive. That most would not risk anything with an inside candle lit dinner either then. But it was still all wrong. It was basically my fault that friend now felt bad. My risk had now become friends risk, the evening could have been better if only... etc etc. And even the look on my face, once I saw that the test was positive, had been insulting to Friend. I had looked like I had stared death in the face! It must have not been nice for Friend to witness that, although I don't think it was that bad at all. But I really was a little bit worried indeed when I saw that positive test. I have tested for over a year, and as a non-vaccinated person I self-test regularly. Also before seeing my parents, as they are nearly 70 and over 70 years old. I have never before seen a positive test. So my eyes must have become big this time. Then the next problem was that it was not fair that Friend had accepted three jabs by now, and still caught covid, while I have had none and go out and about but have so far never caught covid. And then I was asked to justify why I had not accepted a vaccine yet? Of course, my explanations all were underwhelming to Friend. So... it was an evening from hell. I was proud of myself though, for staying calm and reasonable. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgb5fGFDtIJMRVnyq60KxClqYYJWMZd9AvLulXiN6QsgeTFxlBh3Cf4hIs_Gm52qM8fl6E4fjnD04_vS6I6Ob1r0Plb0Oqojk1szXewZRGeTqagVTcw6V8A_a_xhqRn5QH-fHF0CrARbDdptyXGoBiVRWGoYUKls4W069sUyytVWA1fywEGarj0hgyZzA=s1600" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1469" data-original-width="1600" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgb5fGFDtIJMRVnyq60KxClqYYJWMZd9AvLulXiN6QsgeTFxlBh3Cf4hIs_Gm52qM8fl6E4fjnD04_vS6I6Ob1r0Plb0Oqojk1szXewZRGeTqagVTcw6V8A_a_xhqRn5QH-fHF0CrARbDdptyXGoBiVRWGoYUKls4W069sUyytVWA1fywEGarj0hgyZzA=w400-h368" width="400" /></a>In the past I would have probably exploded and caused a big argument, but now I just thought about the upcoming week of daily testing and wondering whether or not the start with ivermectin for prophylaxis or not. So I decided that I did not need additional stress from an argument with a friend who was out on a rampage and who I was never going to see eye to eye with over this topic. I also knew that once Friend would settle down again at home, the mood would settle again also. But at the same time, it would have been nice to feel some more understanding and just some kindness, with regards to also putting <i>me</i> in this stressful position. Friend could have also thought about doing a self test at the airport, before being picked up, to name something. Or perhaps show empathy now for the difficult position I was in. But I cannot imagine going berserk towards friends who <i>are</i> vaccinated. Blaming them for viral mutations, blaming them for the divide in society, or for me not being able to go to restaurants. This entire pandemic shows the truly ugly side of things. The unwillingness of some people to see the nuances, to deal with those who have different opinions and who make different choices. I fight against that myself all the time. But why do vaccinated people at times act superior? Is that the effect of political slogans and media influence? What is this thing, that divides us from the inside out? - Anyway, I ended up not using some ivermectin pills I have in the house in advance, and decided to just test every other day. I never tested positive or developed covid, luckily. <br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqfzyWYoXCb4kON_HAfF5EQ1rhtL_DfUA5ABwIZqzxFDNiWXSVge1vxLTV8ciHYXH8ObXYjaMfOK_tZTilxA8ap-eeV3_WuoAGfhg9UZOxacy0DNAdfWOaNle_chkZbB-6CgjeikPoHnAZWnsYwG3cwez_qwFw4aNB17G8agfJLs_iREi-Ed93Bjzo-w=s1920" style="background-color: transparent; clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1525" data-original-width="1920" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqfzyWYoXCb4kON_HAfF5EQ1rhtL_DfUA5ABwIZqzxFDNiWXSVge1vxLTV8ciHYXH8ObXYjaMfOK_tZTilxA8ap-eeV3_WuoAGfhg9UZOxacy0DNAdfWOaNle_chkZbB-6CgjeikPoHnAZWnsYwG3cwez_qwFw4aNB17G8agfJLs_iREi-Ed93Bjzo-w=w400-h318" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Reflection</span></b><br />Some vaccinated people will feel entitled to question you at any time about your vaccine status and motivations, and debate you over it in a tone filled with anger and accusations. Me on the other hand.. well I write about my thoughts and irrations here, for maybe a handful of people, which is fine. It is just a way to document these times for myself and to express how I think and feel about things. I sometimes write about my rosacea, but since things are pretty repetitive with my seasonal symptom flare-ups, I just use this blog also as a diary of sorts. Covid wise, I always try to understand the people around me. Most are vaccinated and that is fine. I never accuse any of my friends or family of anything, not even of ignorance when they drag out year-old, wildly incorrect statistics again. Just because I have the interest and free time here and there to read up on these topics and do my own research also, does not mean that everybody else has this time or interest. They rely on the 8 o'clock news and their newspaper. That should do. Normally it also does do. Just, these are strange times and it pains me to see a big chunk of the media acting more like propaganda machines than like independent journalists sometimes. The agitating and rabble-rousing of some journalists, have a distinct effect on societies. Everyone is free in my view to do whatever they want. If people want 6 boosters then they should do so and I won't complain about 'vaccine shedding' or stuff like that. I won't attack them for the underwhelming levels of vaccine protection, or berate them about making the "wrong" choice when they develop vaccine side effects, at times. But unfortunately such a climate has been created, that it does happen the other way around. Even if the vaccinated comes round covid-positive and risks infecting his host. Even if the vaccinated do the absolute bare minimum of background research and just smugly bleat-repeat the lies that ivermectin is only a horse dewormer, for instance. I'm also still interested to see if Pfizer will finally share its raw vaccine study data. I'd like to know what peers think of the studies.<br /><br /></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg898GJWCc9yIjO1glDVBrX6dDSwPGeT5D293diOzXusZ3zfxV4tQEdvWG6GfUSP7bXKCW7PcXr9jP7gA2eKlewOhDPwxQKqK8FH_ak20SCB_7JDU13Lk29Z4cXCDZT_cSHqxJ9oYmfZYPo_OtfSZd11fC6YIT2zN3bGf3qR2dgAhO73Lgqrcu8mejLKg=s703" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="474" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg898GJWCc9yIjO1glDVBrX6dDSwPGeT5D293diOzXusZ3zfxV4tQEdvWG6GfUSP7bXKCW7PcXr9jP7gA2eKlewOhDPwxQKqK8FH_ak20SCB_7JDU13Lk29Z4cXCDZT_cSHqxJ9oYmfZYPo_OtfSZd11fC6YIT2zN3bGf3qR2dgAhO73Lgqrcu8mejLKg=w306-h454" width="306" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Lessons learnt</span></b> <br />It is truly so that vaccinated/boostered people can move around freely with barely any test requirements, even if they have covid. That they can fly across the world, holiday, go out, drink in bars, go to restaurants infected, without a single test requirement. And then fly back again, while covid positive. It is within human nature to always point around oneself for blame, towards the others. The media/political divide and conquer strategy is working very well in many households, families and groups of friends. Some consider themselves the superiors, for following the guidelines and believing that if everyone had done the same, 'we wouldn't have been in this mess'. This mess is therefore not a mix of errors, based on underwhelming vaccines, wishy-washy illogical government policies and free range for the vaccinated. No, it is all the fault of the unvaccinated, supposedly. Even for asking for a test and for bringing the superior person in a delicate situation of conscience. But when you have over 300,000 positive covid cases each day every day now here, you quickly run out of unvaccinated numbers within society to blame. It should be common logic that when vaccinated people are proven to still get covid and pass it on, the leak lies also in the total freedom for the vaccinated. But you apparently cannot take away the carrot from the donkey, once you offered it to them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqobdp_4c--0jLaZpPWOr4O-BT83DhlAVOHvZnnYBXgm0q1aPeaNOLs6VXY46dcGb2_Q_Fpa_79pMMr55fc6tJCoD3o0LzFiKHdK5uHdeQF4oRKdE7WxqUtBJBlS5jPcHlvY_yk-wyzhpvO9pxN6rA1H0lcLgaqQXb7Sn6uP1g9LWktYSGzQhJyAaaNw=s680" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="680" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqobdp_4c--0jLaZpPWOr4O-BT83DhlAVOHvZnnYBXgm0q1aPeaNOLs6VXY46dcGb2_Q_Fpa_79pMMr55fc6tJCoD3o0LzFiKHdK5uHdeQF4oRKdE7WxqUtBJBlS5jPcHlvY_yk-wyzhpvO9pxN6rA1H0lcLgaqQXb7Sn6uP1g9LWktYSGzQhJyAaaNw=w306-h305" width="306" /></a></div><div>I know that some media and some hardliners out there are eager to call someone like me an 'anti-vaxxer', but this is not the case. I had all my childhood vaccinations and even a hepatitis A vaccination later in life. It is this particular mRNA vaccine that I am weary of. I also am not 'anti-pharma' and in fact save my life to prescription medication, to put it a little bit dramatically. I have written heaps here about <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html" target="_blank">which medication helps me</a></b> get through the day. But the people who are unfortunate in this tombola and who <b><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vaccinedeath?src=hashtag_click" target="_blank">died</a></b> or who suffer side-effects from the new vaccines <b><a href="https://twitter.com/Storiesofinjury" target="_blank">are real</a></b> and they suffer. VAERS shows just the situation in the USA, and only the top of the iceberg, as mostly all scientists agree at least on the fact that side-effects are always underreported. Some say only 1 in 20 cases makes it into the official registers. In France for instance, there have been officially 110,000 covid vaccine side-effects reported, including 28,000 serious ones, so 25% The real numbers are much higher though, as many physicians are afraid of being scolded by the council of the order of doctors, when they ring the bell about this. But it is just not fair and not right, to hide their stories, or declare them untrue. Just because not everyone had these bad reactions. When a prescription drug causes these quantities and levels of severity in side-effects, we <i>also</i> highlight them and bring them to people's attention, so that everyone can hopefully make an informed decision. I probably naturally veer towards the minority group in general, and in particular the minority group who suffers from medical issues. I felt the same way about the <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/12/mirvaso-inventory-of-patient-responses.html" target="_blank">Mirvaso victims</a></b>. Because I know how it feels to not be taken seriously. To be told that I am exaggerating my facial pain, that I just have ruddy cheeks and nothing more. That it is 'all in your head'. Well, people around me could keep that narrative up during the first years of my rosacea, but nobody says that anymore these days. Now I am sometimes told by friends and family that I look so sore, or that my face turns all purple from a flushing attack. Now it is uncomfortable for thém to look at. But the pain was already there when my flushing wasn't so clear to see for the outside world. So I know just how it feels to not be believed, or to be told in hospitals that I am the 'worst rosacea patient they ever had', which I doubt to be honest, as I am probably not the worst out there, not by a mile. But all but two derms could do anything for me, throughout the years. 'Just learn to live with it', I was often told. As if living behind a ventilator with the windows open or a cold pack pressed to your cheeks is a way to live. So my stance usually comes from the point of view of the minority group. Trying to put myself in other people's shoes, people who do not have it as easy as the 'normal people' out there, who often have an opinion on everything, even the things they have no personal experience with whatsoever. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='442' height='367' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyrLO1alz7Ue9HenYRC3Aw_Y6Wi-ahJ717Rd-c5BsTNbeVPxuPu6Vf3tGWnPVqnVnlcvNPHC9RUshk08_EELg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjb4qKhXj4NkiuY8Ks1q3mHYDTQNBFHKAvvAYO1X2oeWsh46zje_Ii5MNg7HFW4lDBILUDVyNqwkyk6vaEosHrWG9RUWVaWwspiAbFe9CAbqBsmUzGfPpi9fMJbqDDJ5PP_wJDiSDD5TMij2aWA8FIzy7nozw1KucPuQMCk2EfEvFnZppUa690w8Zm34Q=s502" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="350" height="527" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjb4qKhXj4NkiuY8Ks1q3mHYDTQNBFHKAvvAYO1X2oeWsh46zje_Ii5MNg7HFW4lDBILUDVyNqwkyk6vaEosHrWG9RUWVaWwspiAbFe9CAbqBsmUzGfPpi9fMJbqDDJ5PP_wJDiSDD5TMij2aWA8FIzy7nozw1KucPuQMCk2EfEvFnZppUa690w8Zm34Q=w367-h527" width="367" /></a>So I may be more susceptible to these stories of people unlucky enough to suffer from (bad) side-effects. I know that my parents for instance like to remind me that out of the 'billions of people' who had their covid vaccine by now, only a small group died or had bad side-effects. But statistics in the end cover real people with real lives broken. And they are plentiful. <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/disastrous-ipl-in-2005.html" target="_blank">I had an IPL treatment</a></b>, of which the doctor at the time. Mervyn Patterson of Woodford Medical in Danbury, assured me that <i>it either worked or would do nothing.</i> Told me that with my level of flushing, his IPL treatment was 'the only option left for me'. Assured me that I would not need test patches. Well, I ended up with a badly damaged face that flushed at the drop of a hat ever since, all over. I have lived behind a ventilator since 2005. And when I returned a month later, purple in the face from flushing, he shook his head, said it was all my own fault from stressing, and helped me out the door. 'Good luck with the rest of your life!'. It is a god-awful feeling to see your young life ruined, with no outlook of improvement, through the hands of a doctor who took your money, made you sign a contract and who you thought you could trust. So I have eternal sympathy for anyone else who was harmed by doctors or medical procedures. Even though it mostly goes well. This does not mean that all doctors are bad, or that pharmaceutical companies as a whole should be demonized. It just mean that you need to do your research before embarking on something. In this particular covid-era, I find it unbelievable that large pharmaceutical companies got away with subpar side-effect testing, rushed procedures and as the cherry on the pudding they also were granted no legal responsibility for any side-effects. That is near-criminal in my book. But the people who were unfortunate enough to put their trust in things, as is the normal thing to do; they are both not taken seriously now and they have nobody to sue over this. Not even doctors sometimes believe them. But these people <b><a href="https://twitter.com/Storiesofinjury" target="_blank">testify of their experiences</a></b> online <b><a href="https://www.covidvaccineinjuries.com/covid-vaccine-stories/category/adverse-reactions/" target="_blank">nevertheless</a></b>. Even if only half of <b><a href="https://t.me/s/covidvaccineinjuries" target="_blank">their stories</a></b> are true, it is still a very sad situation. When people with severe tinnitus after their covid vaccination go to their doctor now for instance (and I know two such people personally), they are mostly told that 'it cannot have come from the vaccine'. Or they don't know how long it will last (of course they don't know that, as the pharmaceutical companies haven't even wrapped up their basic test phases, let alone test on long term side effects). So my sympathy lies here, with trusting people who were healthy before the jab, and who are now no longer healthy as a result of the jab. Or <b><a href="https://www.covidvaccineinjuries.com/covid-vaccine-stories/category/deaths/" target="_blank">who died</a></b> as a result. To the question: "Does repeating booster doses not risk the collapsing of the immune system?", asked by a journalist from Le Figaro to Albert Bourla, the chief executive officer of Pfizer, Bourla replied: "I don't think so..". We are now no longer in the realms of science, but in those of beliefs and feelings.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">"Taking part was voluntary, but those animals that didn't had their rations reduced by half" </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">-George Orwell, Animal Farm</span></span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div><p></p><div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXyTP5mCn4_ETINK9Zges0lhE3By179t1jPnA3SbGvobxC8u59Qh6uAcniOCc2anw_Ji_7bA_hAWBavnChsSoNyHNIHBZq6zFmmS2RUfEisk1-sl2OpwOWXScOyawJhrk2qbdpM0oZ5XytE1SKpZqL9ASh8BGyg_w3jV-wziC7RX8sv9wrn-pHkDPlug=s2947" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2947" data-original-width="1363" height="641" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXyTP5mCn4_ETINK9Zges0lhE3By179t1jPnA3SbGvobxC8u59Qh6uAcniOCc2anw_Ji_7bA_hAWBavnChsSoNyHNIHBZq6zFmmS2RUfEisk1-sl2OpwOWXScOyawJhrk2qbdpM0oZ5XytE1SKpZqL9ASh8BGyg_w3jV-wziC7RX8sv9wrn-pHkDPlug=w297-h641" width="297" /></a></div><span>There are thousands and thousands of serious adverse recations reported</span>, and unfortunately there is no clear, reliable database of all the vaccine deaths, but going by the VAERS system and social media posts, they run in the hundreds of thousands already. But these numbers are generally denied, ignored or downplayed by doctors and in the media. <span>Whereas the covid death numbers, on the other hand, seem to always be inflated</span>. The UK press recently talked about hundreds of thousands of covid deaths in England alone. But when you check the official government data, then 'only' 9000 people died of covid only in 2020 in England (so patients with no underlying seriois health conditions). Out of those, 8,000 people were over 65 years old. You can check on ONS, the actual published figures on the gov website. Even lower numbers are mentioned elsewhere: FOI/2021/3368 states that from 1/2/2020 to 31/12/2021 the total number of deaths solely due to COVID in England and Wales was 6183. With 4994 being over the age of 65. And this was pretty much over a 2 year period. And next question - how many of these ppl were admitted to hospital because of covid? If some were admitted for other reasons (e.g. injures), you'll end up with even a smaller number of covid deaths. - Now see how many vaccine deaths there are... And yet people are lining up to vaccinate their tiny children.. because Pfizer says so. A drug that is still in the experimental phase and of which the known side-effects aren't even evaluated properly yet. Mind you; 60,000 medical practitioners and scientists signed the Great Barrington Declaration which opposes the official narrative. I feel that media and politicians have played a successful game, in terms of demonizing everyone who is hesitant about the vaccine, and casting them in the 'dumb, illiterate, conspiracy theorist, deplorables' camp. <b><span style="color: #444444;">I had to end my New York Times subscription some time ago</span></b>, as I cannot stand any more biased, unscientific hysterics, both from its journalists and in the comment sections (which in a far past were aways very interesting to read, but has turned into a deafening one-sided, intolerant, liberal echo chamber unfortunately). Sick of the self-righteous extreme left, who even deem experts telling the truth to be 'controversial'. As I said before: I'm still interested to see if Pfizer will finally share its raw vaccine study data. I'd like to know what peers think of the studies.. Why the hesitancy, when it comes to releasing their Covid-19 vaccine data from the freedom of information court mandate? A society that doesn't ask questions about itself or the government, is a very unhealthy one as far as I'm concerned. - Meanwhile the countries with the highest vaccination rates are currently experiencing the highest covid infection rates (-tsunami). Maybe it will also be interesting to see in the future how this is exactly possible. In contrast with the low covid incidence in some of the countries with the lowest vaccination rates. <p></p></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5sIWb9GTbbE" width="320" youtube-src-id="5sIWb9GTbbE"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwNUnAFcjVT7I_wNv7k2UPe0ufVSkCnhOB3RvDonnZVoU0FzlxY6FL2hDR6N4vSzT-_tWVFIRIx0zlBZDxpig' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi616Ta0DSJHgm7-KJWLv34-KeJ-JSSaFt3mOddpoUFfwzHAFg5VSiLMp6bcqKkCTggIE0CYLlY0Cq6ru0RU0n0SAiutIcAGYeyAOJgniyy-01SS1d9seacqA2H5UBaACrytlhXM0QAC05o0ShquBQTL2h0cShAAWdeDBklIhKRTGiMVQqXqj5a7pAokw=s1160" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="444" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUDAJc62QCuORRHTfR0p-kNquEd39dfRFyTvWM_F6BbtD1UaqU6DkpeTJGAMwQNuooNC1wn4z-zIHTQiGDQDEVrJK7ZwcXm76I3rc1zsaY2bdPMXcBMRYH5EE-V8FOStHxjd4fIE6crEhT7yB5OGnfT8s6xOfLc-4mIfIh5cdPRBZKFraEu6Gct1GvFA=w345-h466" width="345" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi15YbvTjvZHXWHoj5jOJLqoFgiaba6SdTLoWj9uGLwmM7krrk9_0uqYdHQB0heTz-v58OX7KECO3fGn7tF9dso2dzUDAyqqqI0u63rzSoA3JArofDRe7TMfrocDSF_EogjfYiIvLUoZJZaSmPcCcs_lpSHHdYaDcTJvK5uBBUPGB3jaecGjBz-3YKe6A=s1136" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="640" height="467" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi15YbvTjvZHXWHoj5jOJLqoFgiaba6SdTLoWj9uGLwmM7krrk9_0uqYdHQB0heTz-v58OX7KECO3fGn7tF9dso2dzUDAyqqqI0u63rzSoA3JArofDRe7TMfrocDSF_EogjfYiIvLUoZJZaSmPcCcs_lpSHHdYaDcTJvK5uBBUPGB3jaecGjBz-3YKe6A=w263-h467" width="263" /></a></div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div><br /></div><div center="" class="separator" text-align:=""><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thank you Jordan Peterson for adding some sanity to the debate</span></span></b></div><b><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></b></div><div center="" class="separator" style="text-align: center;" text-align:=""><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="452" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nk9jvETVwNw" width="544" youtube-src-id="nk9jvETVwNw"></iframe></div><div :="" both="" center="" class="separator" text-align:=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1medZijCcVRe5ghkujpsS-Adv1XglODN0GVmt_ODSmUa4q9e8H7XjEp4v1MZyHwzcyrW7239in46Y47nWRfiLq_s70n-1fCp3vQuTlNFIZFIVJrGyWoQsvvqo4Pk4At0oIt-hiMKeYLjJ4N_0ccYKqQUoU6PCyvDnR_OrMlBXZvmPBsHaS8MEYk4IRw=s749" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="749" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1medZijCcVRe5ghkujpsS-Adv1XglODN0GVmt_ODSmUa4q9e8H7XjEp4v1MZyHwzcyrW7239in46Y47nWRfiLq_s70n-1fCp3vQuTlNFIZFIVJrGyWoQsvvqo4Pk4At0oIt-hiMKeYLjJ4N_0ccYKqQUoU6PCyvDnR_OrMlBXZvmPBsHaS8MEYk4IRw=w640-h348" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="https://odysee.com/@FreeNZ:d/ashleigh-wilson:a?fbclid=IwAR3a4n2RvHyD57pO41J_72dXXu98QKTg5KyMz9kYi3Mu9XNtmqPgxPVEpns" target="_blank">HERE</a> you can watch another very sad case of a <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/127140667/unexpected-death-of-cool-kiwi-bloke-rory-nairn-under-investigation" target="_blank">young man</a> dying from myocarditis, soon after vaccination. </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/667349569?h=bdb5490efa" width="640"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Songs of the day </span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/no3tNgZXIvE" width="320" youtube-src-id="no3tNgZXIvE"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bi5rg-llLx0" width="320" youtube-src-id="Bi5rg-llLx0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-UoDUl5HC18" width="320" youtube-src-id="-UoDUl5HC18"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3DOqhBZdmpY" width="320" youtube-src-id="3DOqhBZdmpY"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpAn8duz8OeuKgVcZ93eb-spwkP6IstF4LSVe7GXZ-lA9GT_t4LXW5IwblTdihrfmM48AowIe8c3piFW71-pf-NuFCBf_cyQvzEhKiS92J9i-FsV8wcfPBjygiUoTKqk_DjRydqAeLC47SBMk5X1ZUa3A0ZJrfnDyqmBQLvIe4hOzBY7MCXLEEXHa1XQ=s680" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="672" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpAn8duz8OeuKgVcZ93eb-spwkP6IstF4LSVe7GXZ-lA9GT_t4LXW5IwblTdihrfmM48AowIe8c3piFW71-pf-NuFCBf_cyQvzEhKiS92J9i-FsV8wcfPBjygiUoTKqk_DjRydqAeLC47SBMk5X1ZUa3A0ZJrfnDyqmBQLvIe4hOzBY7MCXLEEXHa1XQ=w395-h400" width="395" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">Can't believe it myself either, but the roles are reversing. As much as I always hated the Right, it is impossible to further deny that conservatism has become the counter-culture by now, promoting (more often than not) free speech, independence, anti-government tyranny, true liberalness of privacy and individual rights. </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Like Reagan said, 'I didn't leave the Democrat Party, the Party left me.' That applies to the old Left for me, unfortunately. </b></span><br /><br /></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="262" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/720IZhRU-Jw" width="315" youtube-src-id="720IZhRU-Jw"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="262" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DtUJpWYtGWM" width="314" youtube-src-id="DtUJpWYtGWM"></iframe><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 34px;"><b>Interesting 2-part docu series on </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 34px;"><b>happiness </b></span><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 34px;">in life and greed</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PudZNM276CY" width="320" youtube-src-id="PudZNM276CY"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qLSt4VtmT5M" width="320" youtube-src-id="qLSt4VtmT5M"></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">January 15th</span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2022</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="640" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/666294578?h=a296e618db" title="vimeo-player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Own song of the day <br />(and a cooler version)</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="487" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ysuHPVcb93Y" width="586" youtube-src-id="ysuHPVcb93Y"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="488" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SP-CrFGI8KM" width="587" youtube-src-id="SP-CrFGI8KM"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><span style="color: #444444;">The other day in the quality (center-left) newspaper de Volkskrant (I added English translation). A well known <a href="http://www.sigmund.nl/strips/sig220110.gif" target="_blank">cartoon</a> named 'Sigmund'. I struggle to understand if this is supposed to be funny or not? In any case, it has become normal to think like this and m</span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><b>edia are still reminding us every day that people who disagree with the Ministry of Truth are all idiots </b></span><b><span style="color: #444444;">:( </span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0UlCpXJrG0jrdqEaYlwyQSnmGAALVmIW-ONC2Om8huq5S3c-_Jckcqy4AoUzz0gPQc6u5ppCfnFoZxm9yJk6j9Z_-d5XMkII79YBvYOx4st2e31KnFa-IHeTSNktknDEuLBz0Jo3gFDgJk17fPoLkeRQATJXtPCA10kdQcyu4G7L1gkNy3PHb8nBt9g=s873" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="526" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0UlCpXJrG0jrdqEaYlwyQSnmGAALVmIW-ONC2Om8huq5S3c-_Jckcqy4AoUzz0gPQc6u5ppCfnFoZxm9yJk6j9Z_-d5XMkII79YBvYOx4st2e31KnFa-IHeTSNktknDEuLBz0Jo3gFDgJk17fPoLkeRQATJXtPCA10kdQcyu4G7L1gkNy3PHb8nBt9g=w218-h361" width="218" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRQpZKykBltpujltVbb5W243IludCmiElzwf_tyrbJOm0nZBPYAatZtZX-65jz2EFzYzT48Hk9gt85sl_g6JRsYUr_0EB-VRjCkBIwPv-ytZTH3JKv3J9fWtVvbHaYm1-5jXWhHVxvwztuPHbdn3Rr1S6R8PXqc3aZwXsGev1VP24kUC1McGsFhpAaMw=s1088" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1007" data-original-width="1088" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRQpZKykBltpujltVbb5W243IludCmiElzwf_tyrbJOm0nZBPYAatZtZX-65jz2EFzYzT48Hk9gt85sl_g6JRsYUr_0EB-VRjCkBIwPv-ytZTH3JKv3J9fWtVvbHaYm1-5jXWhHVxvwztuPHbdn3Rr1S6R8PXqc3aZwXsGev1VP24kUC1McGsFhpAaMw=w384-h356" width="384" /></a> </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div><div><div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqTxgjfpO5jj_2hh2ahY3ETEI3N0GJuuZ8hG1AKj1S0hWxZQ7Mr8ytZ2M1kvmSFTlGCuYxzXKIoweJVWpzaQN-RF6TsGqvLmDf79l7lr4dKH85ljEp6aYkbSiuxkKWdoIXqOZxOobrOQpzG67YK2pANgqKw_AFK7rHcLPPDvP-aP6eEOwxRaEBFx34qQ=s1024" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqTxgjfpO5jj_2hh2ahY3ETEI3N0GJuuZ8hG1AKj1S0hWxZQ7Mr8ytZ2M1kvmSFTlGCuYxzXKIoweJVWpzaQN-RF6TsGqvLmDf79l7lr4dKH85ljEp6aYkbSiuxkKWdoIXqOZxOobrOQpzG67YK2pANgqKw_AFK7rHcLPPDvP-aP6eEOwxRaEBFx34qQ=w400-h225" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDwtVo_f5eCISfuRrqteTRNBBdGPnN3TUftKIJNMuzrqpbZ_8PQZ5RqAqrSlm2fOGZG3p_YbwLx7ozTK74HpLTCn-iB096ffcRdZJXrqft3fPhj8AWCQGSgPVITVEg5YlBRAAWkdkxLJoI1cDO-_x2B4SOHpAcODRwmTiGFlhSA7g1cNEpGdJm1_kk6A=s2000" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1436" data-original-width="2000" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDwtVo_f5eCISfuRrqteTRNBBdGPnN3TUftKIJNMuzrqpbZ_8PQZ5RqAqrSlm2fOGZG3p_YbwLx7ozTK74HpLTCn-iB096ffcRdZJXrqft3fPhj8AWCQGSgPVITVEg5YlBRAAWkdkxLJoI1cDO-_x2B4SOHpAcODRwmTiGFlhSA7g1cNEpGdJm1_kk6A=w400-h288" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">March 6th, 2022</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />Horrible developments in Ukraine. So much suffering of innocent people and animals. Russia killing fleeing civilians, bombing <b><a href="https://twitter.com/Naturewatch_org/status/1500113172782632966" target="_blank">animal shelters</a></b> even, it is unbearable. With regards to our fears of a big scale war: </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't think a nuclear war is necessarily imminent, but both the Russians and Ukrainians are bombing and shooting also near nuclear power plants. Accidents can happen, especially with non-trained civilians, handling brand new weapons from the west. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It looks like, from Putin 's point of view, the invasion of Ukraine is not going very well. He launched an unlawful war of aggression, public opinion is against him and he may have also underestimated the unity of the West, as well as the extent of the western sanctions which were imposed on him. In the current situation, the most favorable scenario for Putin is that of a victory after a long and bloody conflict. And even then, the situation would remain complex: the Russians would find themselves occupying a largely destroyed country, whose population would be for the most part hostile to them. And this is the best case scenario. I fear that if Putin has his back to the wall and considers his situation hopeless, he may even resort to the use of "tactical" nuclear weapons in the Ukrainian theatre to break the strategic impasse. And t</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">o terrify everyone and force Ukraine to properly negotiate. It would put the United States, which he considers at least as important as NATO, in a very delicate position. Washington would be faced with poor choices, such as getting directly involved in the conflict or washing its hands of it. (Although Joe Biden does not seem to have all his cognitive senses too sharp anymore, on most days. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">'But don't you worry, uncle Joe's on the case" - Jokes).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br style="text-align: left;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwWGZg95mhCYIVrJcnVuUygLD3N0D0DN6dQm139VRI_v-XDZ2wFwkul3eYoAw2p-OZqcM7JxKyvUPu62-mbCw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RHNflREF-sQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="RHNflREF-sQ"></iframe> </div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh29Px-JHuVvxE3YZRvIaVEQNE2qO32X8u8bC8utWw8a4u08Y1uK3z1XNEvltoazoMeFhTgfMPRqtKfmudJXTytHl9kntmXSPLcQXoU685mzITB0HQXv9lzFZXA-XrPCXJ4Z_kygDRQ3wDxh5mLC6O_eio_eqCNLdcaFgPXDdl0KuYiAsV3gNz0MwrEXw=s678" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="678" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh29Px-JHuVvxE3YZRvIaVEQNE2qO32X8u8bC8utWw8a4u08Y1uK3z1XNEvltoazoMeFhTgfMPRqtKfmudJXTytHl9kntmXSPLcQXoU685mzITB0HQXv9lzFZXA-XrPCXJ4Z_kygDRQ3wDxh5mLC6O_eio_eqCNLdcaFgPXDdl0KuYiAsV3gNz0MwrEXw=s320" width="320" /></a></div>Either way, it would be a difficult and uncomfortable decision for the United States. Putin would not take such a decision lightly. But if he feels directly threatened, it is not impossible for him to resort to it. But </span><span style="color: black;">NATO and the United States are not directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict, which reduces the risks. But despite being morally on the right side in our own beliefs, I think western leaders and politicians have to be careful what they say and do. </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Statements such as senator Lindsey Graham's call to have Putin assassinated are downright dangerous. The same goes for s</span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">tatements such as that of the French Minister of Economy, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Bruno Le Maire's declaration of economic war on Russia, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">explaining that the objective of the West is "<i>to destroy the Russian economy".</i> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Or Jean-Yves Le Drian's threat of nuclear war. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Macron hasn't made a mistake so far and he's keeping the dialogue going. But the weakness of his government has been a concern since the start of his five-year term.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Their hasty statements are irresponsible. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">If Putin imagines that it is his power that is directly aimed at and threatened, he risks bec</span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">oming even more dangerous. This kind of statement is very reckless I think, politically. - </span>It is only natural for us to sympathise with the oppressed and call for vengeance. To look at this as a moral conflict. The killings of civilians is brutal and makes us all angry. But unfortunately, it is in everyone's best interest ultimately to deescalate and use a diplomatic approach. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">The accumulation of sanctions and the "rash statements of certain Western officials", but also of the media storm against Russia which has been unleashed since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine... Westerners are trying to destabilise the government in place in Moscow by targeting, through an information war and very heavy sanctions, both the oligarchs and the Russian population as a whole. It gives us a sense of justice, but I fear that things could be pushed too far perhaps. </span><span style="color: black;">The goal is not to piss off Putin. You have to give time to time. No immediate pressure will change Putin's immediate opinion. Eventually, when his soldiers or his economists suggest a path to him, he may take it. Or maybe not. </span><span style="color: black;">But we have to create a way out. </span></span></div><div><p style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguT6cD1ybtgPZhspMZIDu5aHfX2_pK4bqwBYH03e-jySeNXcSUpwHYhAyjG5OklTjuzOHCIzDXaK8we-q3Bk6JIToTpzkAmx8fRaqfYjsKLZfmikGueTXgfG2f57S0byoympVGU0xnOrc1bTEyXbWEIIXm0MgCVIT0yIotNFu1biBwn2HhIVuS7mRrIQ=s976" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguT6cD1ybtgPZhspMZIDu5aHfX2_pK4bqwBYH03e-jySeNXcSUpwHYhAyjG5OklTjuzOHCIzDXaK8we-q3Bk6JIToTpzkAmx8fRaqfYjsKLZfmikGueTXgfG2f57S0byoympVGU0xnOrc1bTEyXbWEIIXm0MgCVIT0yIotNFu1biBwn2HhIVuS7mRrIQ=w400-h225" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUmTRZcJ4zn8ihm_BZk17YOyIuHLlaXRo8FX1QrT3DF8Ur4i19zcwkbCx0EhdxrC2yIQN-bO4DmIhXdLnBnSfgpoodKCR7CbcPcXAx3F1PNgf8nEv0ThJOPys2PZDApx0s9nzuXBM6HXCTMXNI9uGvqsxBuuqEYmTI6A6s6l35OauA-1E1qHmG09EGXA=s2048" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1278" data-original-width="2048" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUmTRZcJ4zn8ihm_BZk17YOyIuHLlaXRo8FX1QrT3DF8Ur4i19zcwkbCx0EhdxrC2yIQN-bO4DmIhXdLnBnSfgpoodKCR7CbcPcXAx3F1PNgf8nEv0ThJOPys2PZDApx0s9nzuXBM6HXCTMXNI9uGvqsxBuuqEYmTI6A6s6l35OauA-1E1qHmG09EGXA=w400-h250" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Diplomatically speaking, in order to solve this war</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> without it escalating into something (even) much</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> worse for the world, Putin needs to be given at all times a path to deescalation. We must always bear in mind the risk of escalation if Putin feels cornered, and be sure to offer him a way out. Make it very clear that sanctions can be lifted in the event of a ceasefire. </span>Or that if he gives up his operation in Ukraine, the sanctions <i>will</i> be automatically lifted. <span style="font-family: inherit;">Private companies can trade with whomever they want, in principle. But it makes me nervous that sanctions are also targeting the Russian Central Bank, for instance. Let's hope Putin does not take it as a direct declaration of war, through the overthrow of his regime. Ideally, Ukrainians also moderate their demands. Realpolitik is the only possible outcome.. Only the balance of power can work. A negotiation can only succeed if everyone makes concessions and in this area it is not the weakest who must give in but the most intelligent. And the immediately lifting the sanctions in the event of a withdrawal from Ukraine should be accepted without hesitation.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><i>“I don’t know what weapons might be used in World War III. But there isn’t any doubt what weapons will be used in World War IV: Stone spears.” </i>- Einstein<i>.</i></span></b><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite thinking that eastern Ukraine will go to Russia in the end, including its harbours, which are strategically essential for Putin's army and marines; perhaps the final solution lies in the Finlandization of Ukraine? Not fair, but Finland agreed on this as well and as you can read a few blog posts earlier, in an article I included called "</span><i>Why John Mearsheimer Blames the U.S. for the Crisis in Ukraine</i>", that unfortunately there are geo-political and strategical downsides to living right next to a superpower such as Russia. The same applies for the neighbouring countries of the United States (remember the Cuba crisis?) or even China. So, t<span style="font-family: inherit;">he Russians want to be surrounded by a protective glacis and will never tolerate NATO right at their doorstep. It is certain that the American manoeuvres made since the fall of the USSR to attract certain Eastern countries or certain former Soviet republics to the Western camp, have greatly worried Putin, who said to himself that the Americans would try to do the same in Russia. The Western-approved Maidan putsch worried him also greatly. </span></span></span></span>Maybe he figured he was next on the list. <span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">By now I am starting to feel to be honest that Zelensky - no matter how heroic his battle - is himself also dangerous in a way for his country, because he seems ready to maintain his claims until his/its destruction. </span></span></span></span>Now Zelensky is starting to say that every dead Ukrainian can be blamed on the West. For not giving him a no-fly zone over Ukraine, dragging NATO and most of the world in effect into WW3. Is he also becoming barking mad? <span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">All this, despite NATO's initial achievement of very discreetly and strategically retreating Canadian and American troops who were present </span></span></span></span>in Kiev, sending them to Germany. Making it clear that NATO itself is not at war. NATO is not at war with Russia, but in a way Zelensky also tries to push us all into war, to hell with the consequences for the rest of the world. We help most right now, harsh as <span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">it sounds, by remaining politically in the background, asking for the fighting to stop, the withdrawal of troops and the start of negotiations. And by continuing to support Ukraine financially and through arms and military equipment, which are no doubt smuggled into the country on a constant basis. It is a very sad reality for Ukrainians, but </span></span></span></span>Ukraine is not a part of NATO, and NATO only comes to the defence of its own members. Minus jets and actual soldiers, NATO has literally provided everything they can by now, including crippling their own economies for Ukraine (the sanctions are hurting Europe more than Russia) and that's still not enough. Besides: NATO is a bit of a toothless creature presently anyway, owing to the fact that most member countries have severely depleted their military forces over the last decades. The Americans were also irresponsible in giving Ukraine a semi commitment of NATO support and membership, in an attempt to put pressure on Russia through the 2014 elections. As it looks now, Russia has absolutely no interest in occupying Ukraine long term, They will hang on to Crimea and Eastern Ukraine to protect its naval interests and Russian population there, but everything else is geared towards preventing Ukraine from joining NATO in the future. Russia is wrecking the country until Ukraine negotiates and agrees to these demands and remains a buffer zone :(</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: inherit;"><b>But things could escalate very quickly and very soon from now, unfortunately. As the United States may<i> also</i> be out for war, again. Pushing things a little bit too far, can already trigger WW3. We don't want it! We don't want war here in Europe! But we're all sitting on our hands, staring at the daily news to see if the USA<i> please</i> don't do anything in retaliation to provoke <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PC7DzTRS7A" target="_blank">total war</a>. </b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwM6nyGYeXJdXNmOi_omQSb6oFR4POBspeVnZW27ql3UPNAbo-yc0zZe7zhhN9WNkvftZHdSiSTuLjeXmTHJw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwX1IqGYtDRiIuJjs0wN7ZvyoOzlD8EXGheii4GKuQ-nfG5dn9H58yzgCkMpfU4y-y71cf5AbESVs5jYaQFHQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqG3o5bc0SIaCGaSB3Ygscmuvz3mahQ4smJDEKkjWviOMHxfV29XEV6Gy6u88kpScpxCakwfXJbm-tW4HAALdVT3ojkU9ctuuy-lGjWXUYCtPoHU-CAusKJbkSuaBUvUmpRLZNOUlXEeyKJj0LAxJvYclcBeIGfp3tOzBbt1afojo5210wzqUNzMyNtg=s960" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="690" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqG3o5bc0SIaCGaSB3Ygscmuvz3mahQ4smJDEKkjWviOMHxfV29XEV6Gy6u88kpScpxCakwfXJbm-tW4HAALdVT3ojkU9ctuuy-lGjWXUYCtPoHU-CAusKJbkSuaBUvUmpRLZNOUlXEeyKJj0LAxJvYclcBeIGfp3tOzBbt1afojo5210wzqUNzMyNtg=w302-h420" width="302" /></a></div></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRNLdfiI7I3y80CYWP7xtvx_FY5vgeZMJmWg0SSimkCGqiouTDDODOXTm2grv2g16uV67AHZN_Ti_09XGkWkV679eq_-r6DqwRCxiFMTsKKCzdaVlnWzDVWvIfJxGEcerzSyzeWzwTDtSId_XkljUf0zqwniztKPXVEUjzkEXk0ef8x6_4XWqwNUI3ug=s1200" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRNLdfiI7I3y80CYWP7xtvx_FY5vgeZMJmWg0SSimkCGqiouTDDODOXTm2grv2g16uV67AHZN_Ti_09XGkWkV679eq_-r6DqwRCxiFMTsKKCzdaVlnWzDVWvIfJxGEcerzSyzeWzwTDtSId_XkljUf0zqwniztKPXVEUjzkEXk0ef8x6_4XWqwNUI3ug=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></span><span style="text-align: center;">It is heresy to say that I suppose, but the colonel makes a point in that second above video clip; neutrality is what Putin is after right now and Zelensky could have given in a week ago already. I fear that western military intervention will cause an even bigger war with even bigger human suffering and casualties. I'm sure better informed people may know a way out of this mess, but I just don't see how us getting involved military will solve this conflict peacefully.. The only way out that does not cause many more lives, would be an immediate ceasefire and that would mean concessions.. Numerology is looking ominous in that respect! <br /></span><br />Summarising - and this is not 'victim shaming' but trying to get to the core of where this all went wrong, aside from the obvious horrors of Putin's army invading another sovereign country. But looking at the buildup of this conflict, to begin with, we should have resisted Ukraine's and NATO's 2008 pledge to integrate Ukraine into NATO.. Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel also demanded refusal of this proposition. But this did not happen and instead of protecting Ukraine, it endangered Ukraine in fact. Even Kamala Harris said right before the Ukraine invasion by Russia, that Ukraine should join NATO. <i>No</i> it should not! In addition, President Zelensky himself now said he is open to discuss a "neutral status" for his country. In hindsight, we should also have ensured the implementation of the Minsk agreements, which provided for free elections and constitutional reforms for the Russian-speaking regions of Donetsket and Luhansk. Finally, we should have been alert to the signals (military investment, financial precautions) that indicated that Russia was preparing for a war. And we should have done everything we could to bind Russia to Europe on an economic, cultural and academic level. We did the opposite. These observations are no excuse for Putin, but the situation is dire now. For Ukraine, of course, but also for Europe, which is punished also severely by the sanctions. But what's even worse, is that all this is driving Russia and China into each others arms, and that we are witnessing the birth of a Sino-Russian military monster. Russia is already diverting fuel, energy and vital raw materials away from Europe to other markets as we speak (such as China and the Middle East). Western Oil and energy traders are making things worse. The West meanwhile has decommissioned most of their coal and nuclear facilities, in order to reduce global warming, and have become energy dependent. They either have to deal with Russia or with Saudi's or Venezuelans for instance. <span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">Image: </span></b></span></span></span><b><span style="color: #444444;">One million people have been forced to flee their homes in Ukraine. Among them 7 year old Violeta who made the 4 day journey from Odessa with her cat Richard. We see so many people who dump their pets for trivial reasons. This 7 year old girl can teach them a thing or two about personal responsibility and commitment. - And memes never stop (so not to be taken<i> </i></span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><b><i>au sérieux</i>)</b></span><b><span style="color: #444444;">. </span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #990000;">Update:</span></b> Oh and as for the misinformation that's going on on both sides of the conflict; today (March 9th) it was published in Dutch quality newspaper <i>De Volkskrant</i>, that our prime minister, Mark Rutte, had to actively 'correct' some of Zelensky's statements. After speaking with Zelensky, the Ukrainian president tweeted his gratitude for the support of our Mark Rutte for the Russian sanctions, and for <i>"the Netherlands' support for the Ukrainian joining of the EU"</i>. Rutte was quick to correct this; 'I only said that I can well understand the <i>desire</i> of Ukraine to join the EU." So there you go, this bending of the truth (or was it just a misunderstanding?) can further fuel the war and the potential for a much bigger war. Not cool, mister Z. And the biggest risk of war comes from the senile and clearly psychiatrically wobbly American president in my view. Gaffe's galore, and I lost count how many times the White House already had to backtrack on 'off script' comments from Sleepy Joe. <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10656033/Experts-slam-Biden-unprecedented-call-regime-change-Russia.html" target="_blank">Calling for regime change</a></b> in Russia and other war-starting idiocies, such as promises to fight in Ukraine. Wars have started over lesser issues. Muzzle the guy and God bless not just the United States, but also us Europeans, with this senile goat at the helm. My friend B. linked me to <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_h70Q1qA2c" target="_blank">this video</a></b>, which I still have to watch, but it claims to better explain the links between Ukraine and the USA and Biden in particular. Interesting. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiu9GbpJCvKc0csbkMRHRGM35EaBm-3jsOis7xqjPg-ahFSBapxr6Q7DNewE67CanUJWPz-6pk3sdvnYSm6FQQSH9C9PLFKSGEsj7XGCRCZ964vtMpvj3uX5Km4XiPLJ0Or0e7zQJYjtpqSzOobJ8cckXW8T_4qYalGUK8WTF5q5JkQqnwBnz8Bs9gPLw=s976" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="976" data-original-width="750" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiu9GbpJCvKc0csbkMRHRGM35EaBm-3jsOis7xqjPg-ahFSBapxr6Q7DNewE67CanUJWPz-6pk3sdvnYSm6FQQSH9C9PLFKSGEsj7XGCRCZ964vtMpvj3uX5Km4XiPLJ0Or0e7zQJYjtpqSzOobJ8cckXW8T_4qYalGUK8WTF5q5JkQqnwBnz8Bs9gPLw=w276-h358" width="276" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitVyVC0jDIoZ1u8zUBpAwEh-ooX3p6sxviWw5Z_8chiIXiY-aNlymv52yz17Pxx0ALWNZlNYkQQSE7oxmEsb8sSoUrG9nBZQTzFF9am0YY7Vjx8UDBi745vVyNSTSdtRJW0qFlYkrogtnF0vVeqUPUeQBpwVNCaDpmpPv_X5LsHr6D-tfSo-JpE3neEw=s838" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="750" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitVyVC0jDIoZ1u8zUBpAwEh-ooX3p6sxviWw5Z_8chiIXiY-aNlymv52yz17Pxx0ALWNZlNYkQQSE7oxmEsb8sSoUrG9nBZQTzFF9am0YY7Vjx8UDBi745vVyNSTSdtRJW0qFlYkrogtnF0vVeqUPUeQBpwVNCaDpmpPv_X5LsHr6D-tfSo-JpE3neEw=w321-h359" width="321" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFjXYlKuxMaFLZa08pFpv51W1aL06oqRMP-cyeDsIQv4ZOkHrscpaf49PhdJ7WnaDD0IHUvYSgmxkmqfQnFV1jNfS7M8YrRO5fXozNN7NNJ7BG32V0y5eoy5QpNymBeh2dXZFaolq-m558XGltL31ZFYo-NLaqYJjYBBI-IL4cfnGISeupA9JxlUfeOg=s1448" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1448" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFjXYlKuxMaFLZa08pFpv51W1aL06oqRMP-cyeDsIQv4ZOkHrscpaf49PhdJ7WnaDD0IHUvYSgmxkmqfQnFV1jNfS7M8YrRO5fXozNN7NNJ7BG32V0y5eoy5QpNymBeh2dXZFaolq-m558XGltL31ZFYo-NLaqYJjYBBI-IL4cfnGISeupA9JxlUfeOg=w379-h251" width="379" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiI_CHbkq25PvIlP7zmL-fPG2ct_WyccEWmesvvk-nlSiT-4EM2UOzG0McXO0ozPCFrWhoedLHO0K-Qj67A6Upsr9oT-UXZY59FuTF4gYdydAeKV0zsNT0doU1La-Ya4VyfYgmmQjSIcs-6AV2zrX8okDcb5KaUh4-XFgnhRMJuVUayksAFGvkKiB_kQw=s960" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="815" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiI_CHbkq25PvIlP7zmL-fPG2ct_WyccEWmesvvk-nlSiT-4EM2UOzG0McXO0ozPCFrWhoedLHO0K-Qj67A6Upsr9oT-UXZY59FuTF4gYdydAeKV0zsNT0doU1La-Ya4VyfYgmmQjSIcs-6AV2zrX8okDcb5KaUh4-XFgnhRMJuVUayksAFGvkKiB_kQw=w224-h263" width="224" /></a></div><p style="color: black; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrgUJ7VpkpIszqJEZpwRz8x2hWzRq_8zdl4cYfwbn09pe36LZyIezlqbGUi1FfKVhdDE8MfGYw3kN3IkJgkhoBuTc4apTX78S53UsHaEbX9XcmyIpCBDYLRx3NEPYQedfN_WfrVZjcUhwfSUvZxKd6WBWrus9ZCdocNqY39xbXmBnRWyOSNjHGJhljCw=s595" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="595" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrgUJ7VpkpIszqJEZpwRz8x2hWzRq_8zdl4cYfwbn09pe36LZyIezlqbGUi1FfKVhdDE8MfGYw3kN3IkJgkhoBuTc4apTX78S53UsHaEbX9XcmyIpCBDYLRx3NEPYQedfN_WfrVZjcUhwfSUvZxKd6WBWrus9ZCdocNqY39xbXmBnRWyOSNjHGJhljCw=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></span></p><p style="color: black; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="539" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p5SND-9-16o" width="647" youtube-src-id="p5SND-9-16o"></iframe></p></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1o-2gd57EXxolHxX6u0z83Cfk8VNQR8OJc_y1JfXh1KOHyLXSmebKGrcm2YdBu2NSCuy5AqaSX-gur_bG8eGGwX9ODtFHLyHb1V-reysbvOsw72ZqfTw-bFzfNXNEl39IPV_5rXe26VTilg0oGMinhd7Xlyx6AtuivDbalxsHDv6lpm_ramN8MAJOxA=s822" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="734" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1o-2gd57EXxolHxX6u0z83Cfk8VNQR8OJc_y1JfXh1KOHyLXSmebKGrcm2YdBu2NSCuy5AqaSX-gur_bG8eGGwX9ODtFHLyHb1V-reysbvOsw72ZqfTw-bFzfNXNEl39IPV_5rXe26VTilg0oGMinhd7Xlyx6AtuivDbalxsHDv6lpm_ramN8MAJOxA=w286-h320" width="286" /></a></div>And the outcome of another <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971221009887?fbclid=IwAR3vKyWj0W36Cd7qqau-HX2OM4Mg5YaeCrdoKPtGMy2PmoNWrtfNCKnsJCs" target="_blank">ivermectin study</a>:</span></b><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">"Conclusion: Ivermectin use was associated with decreased mortality in patients with COVID-19 compared to remdesivir. To our knowledge, this is the largest association study of patients with COVID-19, mortality and ivermectin. Further double-blinded placebo-controlled RCTs with large samples are required for definite conclusion. In the future, if more publications are published with the similar result to the current analyses, the certainty of evidence will increase."</span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='506' height='421' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxNK7F2rHoX2NlfUTpTuH9wWq308Qm7wnwRWmHXx66b1NNTRLoSUhUcDDCGgmhXUlW3y8QjJVdplZZMWQr9xg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Update: natural immunity protects around 90% against covid, as compared to 56% vaccine efficacy, says a Johnson & Johnson study (so the pharmaceutical company)</span></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="404" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LBw1csl4tk4" width="486" youtube-src-id="LBw1csl4tk4"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br style="text-align: center;" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbw7mpWkuHO-UbF2owwpZfYvFy_Dy_u7pntNgMOeixZr4RCeVvzchJ0xL8k5cAOBeciZ1C4xbt47nZEpJAc_WiAH7tt_JXR6LJm2a9NyMZfsx9WmKW85PcwLhJIOBK-SPfcSp6yPUISVdJPJcZSU2XKjx8mryp2QkVJO4hqkr2_ahwm-lVRi4q_kGfeg=s1319" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="1319" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbw7mpWkuHO-UbF2owwpZfYvFy_Dy_u7pntNgMOeixZr4RCeVvzchJ0xL8k5cAOBeciZ1C4xbt47nZEpJAc_WiAH7tt_JXR6LJm2a9NyMZfsx9WmKW85PcwLhJIOBK-SPfcSp6yPUISVdJPJcZSU2XKjx8mryp2QkVJO4hqkr2_ahwm-lVRi4q_kGfeg=w503-h269" width="503" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgS4TLc3tIrkRg7aSklFDqVPuTFKedZhUwK94-6OCqOmg-7VjUnSqlDhAJ8oEj_7Vbk7eBi_Lp2ADtg9hS9DY2PmOPalfrPsiVpxV2ryphRf0yh4V77Rw6jDe6sd4Tz_sRgoxHiRhV50vFlQqCssDQ6ogXOLbUKuLth47HwXKBNOWmiq7k-gxlltI7czQ=s622" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="622" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgS4TLc3tIrkRg7aSklFDqVPuTFKedZhUwK94-6OCqOmg-7VjUnSqlDhAJ8oEj_7Vbk7eBi_Lp2ADtg9hS9DY2PmOPalfrPsiVpxV2ryphRf0yh4V77Rw6jDe6sd4Tz_sRgoxHiRhV50vFlQqCssDQ6ogXOLbUKuLth47HwXKBNOWmiq7k-gxlltI7czQ=w504-h266" width="504" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">March 1st, 2022<br /></span></b><span>I am extremely worried about the war situation in Ukraine. Belarus is already joining Putin, as was expected. And as if things aren't bad enough now; <i>if</i> the two will enter a NATO country in the near future, it will probably spark total war with Europe, </span><span>because Europe and NATO are expected to strike back instantly then. </span><span .="" :="" a="" and="" as="" be="" but="" don="" fear="" for="" hyper="" i="" in="" involved="" is="" it="" just="" ll="" make="" maybe="" missiles="" modern="" nbsp="" now.="" now="" nuclear="" of="" one="" out="" piece.="" span="" t="" that="" the="" then.="" think="" usa="" war="" we="" weapons="" well="" will="" with=""><span>I hope that Putin may settle or even withdraw eventually, or that a diplomatic agreement can be made, as the western sanctions are unprecedented and Russia's economy is tanking as a result. Which must be extremely difficult for Russian civilians. There seems very little understanding however right now, between the West and Putin. Here in the west, media and politicians assume that Putin has surrounding himself with yes-nodders and is in some sort of echo chamber of his own. Some say he has a mystery illness, cancer even (which is unverified), and that would make him willing to risk so much to overtake Ukraine. In any case, he cannot be a rational, sane leader. The shootings of civilians in Ukraine and bombings of cities and civilians targets is making my heart bleed. It's all so horrible and brutal. I am also worried about Putin</span></span><span .="" :="" a="" and="" as="" be="" but="" don="" fear="" for="" hyper="" i="" in="" involved="" is="" it="" just="" ll="" make="" maybe="" missiles="" modern="" nbsp="" now.="" now="" nuclear="" of="" one="" out="" piece.="" span="" t="" that="" the="" then.="" think="" usa="" war="" we="" weapons="" well="" will="" with=""><span> threatening with nuclear war, or either his or the Ukrainian army severely damaging one of the nuclear reactors in the country.. Let's hope he purely threatens with nuclear destruction to remind NATO to stay the hell out of this conflict. So far it is working, if you overlook the massive economic sanctions and full force <i>cancel-culture </i>that Russia has been hit with. A new phenomenon in wars. </span></span>Over here there is outrage. Constant news on the media channels, anti-Russia, pro-Ukraine. There is a sudden cohesive feeling, countries in the EU are starting to realise that we have indeed not invested enough in our own armies (or even in NATO). Germany announced the other day that its government will invest 100 billion (!) euro's in its army henceforth. Hopefully we will create our own European Army, and remove ourselves from the American influence and warmongering. But that is of no use right now. That is for the future.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitwbIsjsRGOirvUMvCu0aN5SPGIytQCTVagfM1ECuEEXYTWGaffij9RNIqwwGpZWpOpK65tH_CjIiTAT47lFfZrWcZeK_rwOUmYMgEzPSg6FeKVsFz2j5NyGRc6Qzxb1zUMTocg0K4VpCsbazCepuYCa1BWE_Ne2srkBsF-br6nZEo25tr2WWss9b5sQ=s666" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="666" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitwbIsjsRGOirvUMvCu0aN5SPGIytQCTVagfM1ECuEEXYTWGaffij9RNIqwwGpZWpOpK65tH_CjIiTAT47lFfZrWcZeK_rwOUmYMgEzPSg6FeKVsFz2j5NyGRc6Qzxb1zUMTocg0K4VpCsbazCepuYCa1BWE_Ne2srkBsF-br6nZEo25tr2WWss9b5sQ=w400-h213" width="400" /></a>Europe has many centuries of war behind it. There was literally almost always some war somewhere in Europe throughout history, until after WW2 basically. I think it is a good thing that the EU countries have all these trade deals and agreements, because it finally allows Europe to band together and stop spending over half its income on stupid wars. The amount of years Germany and France fought over the Elzas region, which was then again German, then again French, and back again (currently French), is ridiculous. The rich EU countries are also helping the poorer countries to grow and overcome their financial ruin. Ireland was a mess of inflation and poverty twenty years ago, and thrived after massive money injections from Brussels. Same for a country like Spain. But during all this, there was barely any money for Defense. Very little money for upholding the various national armies, and no decision to forge a large European Army. I think it may be linked to the wish to finally keep peace within the EU. Nobody trusts Germany lol, and so Germany tried to keep everyone calm by NOT investing in their military. That is all changing now, due to this Russia Ukraine conflict. But after the great wars, Europe was probably happy enough to cruise along on the tail of the USA. Who is a superpower with an envious army. But unfortunately the USA also have their own agenda and have destabilised the world far too long, especially in the cold war days and their Middle eastern interferences. It is about time we cut ourselves loose form the USA and its private interests everywhere.</div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAIXcSc6I4v8w2e2McAHDkFImCpouJjcjiQFkOG2gqpxTiIrPLxHi4rRqWJzWZxeKofxCW1fARVeg6NYDdKcxkS4OMJuPOVousYG4Wmc_cIAhsHW6nxMs3CxUqojvsc9lY7cPoxE3YfZVB-8R7C-UyBFj_-IdMHl6DnCGMI2wbkOBC5zMrTIxVvCjnYA=s1400" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="921" data-original-width="1400" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAIXcSc6I4v8w2e2McAHDkFImCpouJjcjiQFkOG2gqpxTiIrPLxHi4rRqWJzWZxeKofxCW1fARVeg6NYDdKcxkS4OMJuPOVousYG4Wmc_cIAhsHW6nxMs3CxUqojvsc9lY7cPoxE3YfZVB-8R7C-UyBFj_-IdMHl6DnCGMI2wbkOBC5zMrTIxVvCjnYA=w400-h264" width="400" /></a>On the one hand it is fascinating to see this new type of warfare taking place. The old wars were fought physically on the battlefield or strategically with armies cutting cities off. But in the 21st century, we are now seeing the stranglehold of massive western international economic sanctions. Of hackers and media wars. I must say that some of these sanctions are seemingly extreme. There is no doubt that Russia's economy is severely hit by them. But there is also a witchhunt of sorts starting to take place of anything Russian. Ballet groups fire their Russian dancers, music companies fire their Russian conductors, clothing companies and Ikea close all their Russian based stores. Russian vodka has to be replaced by Ukrainian vodka. No more music from Tchaikovsky an Rachmaninoff performed in the operas and music halls. Medvedev must openly denounce Putin, or he is banned from Wimbledon. Like, c'mon now... People who have (or had) nothing to do with this war are chased like in the dark McCarthy days, and ousted. Formula 1 team Haas fired their driver Nikita Mazepin, purely because he is Russian. Witchhunt? Poor Russian sporters who trained to compete in the Paralympic Games were banned from coming over; what do they have to do with the war in Ukraine? Guilty by association? Even <b><a href="https://youtu.be/KvWgmTshDJc" target="_blank">Russian cat breeds are banned</a></b> now from cat competitions, I wished that was a made up story. Hysteria. But of course, politics does seep through in every day life, and in our economies. It is the consequences I suppose, of a brutal war on a sovereign (European) nation. Cancel culture playing out on the world stage. And even when you stress that you support the main principle of respect for the national sovereignty and the self-determination of other countries, it seems not done to also publicly mention or question the role of NATO in this entire mess and the potential part of Ukraine (for instance that Ukraine had an opportunity to prevent this by implementing the Minsk agreement). You are with them or you are against them. The Super Hero's vs the Super Villains (and it depends of course on which party you ask, who is hero or villain.<br /><br /></div></div><div both="" class="separator" clear:=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhc-7ncdo2Qa-q82trvhQujyoGTTHNU1ImGl9OdyBeLMFb59z6IlK7FicCJTkYtabpjjTVbrbnDFgCs31r0dWBYm4CrYmRCzOS3vqyTk_msKkFCuHjy4k8dHmFwKgM1TGg-sj__Lg6RSdG5Ijg6HT7bFbuVpXczOh2bPLWP98UTGIpK0CHNCdhJzl3Ruw=s911" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="911" data-original-width="900" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhc-7ncdo2Qa-q82trvhQujyoGTTHNU1ImGl9OdyBeLMFb59z6IlK7FicCJTkYtabpjjTVbrbnDFgCs31r0dWBYm4CrYmRCzOS3vqyTk_msKkFCuHjy4k8dHmFwKgM1TGg-sj__Lg6RSdG5Ijg6HT7bFbuVpXczOh2bPLWP98UTGIpK0CHNCdhJzl3Ruw=w392-h397" width="392" /></a></div><span style="background-color: transparent;">Hard economic sanctions aren't like rockets and bullets; they usually take some time to work and the most effective sanctions slowly but surely cut off the air supply of the economy, strangling it to death. Western trade with Russia is starting to come to a halt now. This is of course also very hard for everyday Russians I reckon, who for the most part are stuck with propaganda talking heads on the news, telling that Ukrainians bomb their own cities and civilians (<i>right</i>...) and that this is all the West's fault. </span>I hope that a compromise is reached soon with a ceasefire and that things will not further escalate into WW3 and <i style="background-color: transparent;">Den Totalen Krieg</i>. But with someone like Putin, anything can happen. He already raved and ranted that if the EU will help arm Ukraine in any way (which we already do), the EU should be very worried and will be met with unprecedented repercussions. <span style="background-color: transparent;">A spokesman for Russia's foreign ministry said the steps the EU bloc has taken against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, which include sanctions, will</span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><i style="background-color: transparent;">'not go unanswered</i><span style="background-color: transparent;">'. '</span><i style="background-color: transparent;">EU citizens and structures</i><span style="background-color: transparent;">' involved in sending weapons to Ukraine would be '</span><i style="background-color: transparent;">responsible for any consequences'.</i><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><i style="background-color: transparent;">'They cannot fail to understand the degree of danger of the consequences</i><span style="background-color: transparent;">'. </span><span style="background-color: transparent;">I don't think Putin means (potentially) using nuclear weapons on Ukraine. I think he means to use it on NATO countries. Since the West will not intervene military in Ukraine.</span></div><div both="" class="separator" clear:=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhG1v8sZhJtPdubZoeKAXSUbOYiFf-dUQ3ACMzerY2rT--RGPzB6WCiCsOisl2zFp7A1cxWM7mglThutJo2kCKFtjXwXpFxAT8B1e2TL_WyH5jDAM8LhDm7j0ZW_z0uesUsm-1zWhYH6FBRQyn9QHa7_5Sb9073vUHUBhZKG4FJDGu1GjXrBuLTNEAEGA=s650" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="650" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhG1v8sZhJtPdubZoeKAXSUbOYiFf-dUQ3ACMzerY2rT--RGPzB6WCiCsOisl2zFp7A1cxWM7mglThutJo2kCKFtjXwXpFxAT8B1e2TL_WyH5jDAM8LhDm7j0ZW_z0uesUsm-1zWhYH6FBRQyn9QHa7_5Sb9073vUHUBhZKG4FJDGu1GjXrBuLTNEAEGA=w389-h292" width="389" /></a></div>I am very worried. These past few years have been absolutely bonkers. It's like we went through the Plague and now a massive war, right at the tail of it. It is historic, but not in a good way.. We have to be careful, I think, to not let overboiling and warranted emotions and feelings of anger, indignation and sympathy take over clear tactical analysis. Zelensky, the new war hero of the west, calls for all sorts of things now, which from a Ukrainian perspective are entirely logical. He wants Ukraine to become a NATO member. He wants a no-fly zone over Ukraine. But what would the consequences of that be? Ukraine of course wants to be a NATO member, but considering its geographical and strategic location, combined with the early agreements made about keeping a buffer between Russia and the West, this could evoke a complete war with Russia and its allies. Is that going to be in the best interest of the West, of the world and ultimately therefore also of Ukraine itself? Not if it means a World War :( Awful as it is. The same applies to Zelensky's pleas for a no-fly zone over Ukraine. This may sound sympathetic, but it effectively means that the American army would shoot down Russian jets and take out radar installations, once they enter Ukrainian airspace. Which would in itself be an act of war. That also sounds like a recipe for WW3. So despite the media onslaught about the horrors of this current war (which everyone with a smartphone in Ukraine can document), the sympathetic Ukrainian leader and the western media bias, I do hope the world leaders will be very careful here. And it looks like they are. There is more at stake than just the independence of the country of Ukraine. Our western tendencies to go for instant justice, could bring us in a very dangerous situation here. We cannot risk full nuclear war. Back in the 1914's, just over a century ago, European lads were trampling with excitement and anticipation for a good brawl. They got a lot more than they bargained for, with millions of deaths, trench wars and mustard gas. We cannot make that mistake again. So we all want to do the moral thing. But we have to balance the risk. Putin may be simply blackmailing and threatening with his nuclear talk, but we have to assume that he could stick to his guns and means what he says. It breaks my heart to follow the news about the horrors in Ukraine, every day. They deserve to be helped with more than military equipment and social media flags. But I really worry that both sides are trying to draw in the West. Zelensky understandably because he is desperate to defend Ukraine's freedom, future and citizens. But Putin seems to do so because he may want an excuse to have things escalate into an all out war with the west. And we can't say that <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi8V5aT6bn4" target="_blank">we weren't warned</a></b> by him. Zelensky can say <i>"Help us or you're next!"</i>, but he surely knows that if NATO gets involved, Ukraine will not survive either. Just like millions of other people will die too then. Russia will launch at 30 countries then, and they will fire back. The world as we know it would never be the same again. A true WW3 with nuclear weapons will wipe out civilisation and most people on the planet. Either directly, or indirectly from severe burns, radiation, cancer or a nuclear winter. The entire eco system will collapse. Dramatic as it sounds but that is ultimately at stake, when the West kept crossing boundaries and when a certain president is willing to use his nuclear weapons - as he keeps telling the world for days on end now. We can assume that he is bluffing, but it is probably best to remind ourselves of that possible scenario anyway. Proper 'World War' is now synonymous with Armageddon. And imo, both Russia and the Ukraine are flirting with this. We're at a dangerous crossroad.</div><div both="" class="separator" clear:="" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div both="" class="separator" clear:="" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sfArW6zppYw" width="319" youtube-src-id="sfArW6zppYw"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QnevpbkFrPE" width="320" youtube-src-id="QnevpbkFrPE"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a 1em="" center="" clear:="" float:="" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjk6j9F_lsN9XelnoCmXZzHwK9VNAqMfI-RaXeUSfpj8N1hzScA3hSg42a6UnndyPSfPlvE5ODK0V5YQEgxYvklu5QKVjHikkg8HlSHdU6NH7oos2bDj4sk6i-BVh8g1UngsMCURQeDoJmV9XNLQMA-0FK0jorqx9sfn4tCvVXD4betgLNzHCc83mRKDA=s1024" left="" margin-bottom:="" margin-right:="" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" text-align:=""><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjk6j9F_lsN9XelnoCmXZzHwK9VNAqMfI-RaXeUSfpj8N1hzScA3hSg42a6UnndyPSfPlvE5ODK0V5YQEgxYvklu5QKVjHikkg8HlSHdU6NH7oos2bDj4sk6i-BVh8g1UngsMCURQeDoJmV9XNLQMA-0FK0jorqx9sfn4tCvVXD4betgLNzHCc83mRKDA=w494-h278" width="494" /></a><b><span style="color: #660000;">Basically; westerners are being nuclear blackmailed right now.</span></b> Will they give in or not? According to the West, it's 1939 happening all over again, with a new nationalist who wants to conquer Europe (but with <i>nuclear</i> weapons instead of infantry weapons). I don't think that is necessarily Putin's aim, he has made it clear before that he will not tolerate NATO at its doorstep. Putin said Finland and Sweden will be next if they try to join NATO. Grand. Of course, with the fuhrer back in 1939, he also said he was just reclaiming German land from WW1, which appeasers thought was sort of reasonable, or at least understandable. Then he invaded Poland, the Czech republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, etc after that... I once saw an interview with Putin about the 40% loss of territory after the Soviet breakup, and he said it did not sit well with him. Which could of course just be an innocent comment. But maybe Putin will want Georgia and Moldova next for his USSR 2.0.? (Although he also said that nobody should want to go back to the USSR days). Assumptions, for now. And Putin will struggle to control Ukraine's major cities in the time to come, because they will be subject to street wars and guerilla tactics. This war is also very different to WW2 of course in that we now have not only modern warfare but also social media, allowing everyone to see the horror unfolding before our eyes. (Although we are sometimes <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/carlo.verschoren.75/videos/3738417306488997" target="_blank">being fooled</a></b> as well by this same social media). Putin is said to have already left the Kremlin to settle in a nuclear bunker in Siberia. This is the procedure when Russia triggers the nuclear alert. Let's hope it is all bluff and fake news, to show NATO that he means business. I don't think Putin has gone mad, but he may have gone into a very extreme line of reasoning in his head, that depends first and foremost on the survival of his regime. Let's face it: dictators all live in a permanent state of fear. Fear of being overthrown and ending up like Sadam Hussein, Ceausescu or Kadhafi. Or perhaps Putin simply had enough of NATO lies and weighed the opportunities and risks and decided on war. This is not the first time that a dictator after many years in power, resorts to this. Even if it is often the beginning of his end. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">Leaders used to need years of war to make another continent surrender; </span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">now they only need to blow up a nuclear powerplant or two, to destroy it</span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I rather think that Putin simply underestimated the threats of firstly the Ukrainian resistance becoming legendary within a few days (although Russia disputes this of course ands we only see one side of the reporting here), secondly the firmness and unification of the West; thirdly how Russia would become a pariah state so soon and fourthly he may have underestimated the harmful and lasting economic effects of the sanctions. Or perhaps he did predict it and accepted those risks? We just don't know. What also isn't helping is that the media on most sides of the spectrum are not always sticking to the facts. There is so much fake news being spread; fake images, old footage repurposed for propaganda means. After the covid hype and hysteria, fueled by an often headline-searching media, what would have been the chances that journalists would suddenly go back to earnest, solemn, facts-over-feelings reporting? We've gone from 24/7 COVID coverage straight to 24/7 war coverage. We see truthful news combined with rabble-rousing, and it is increasingly more difficult to separate one from the other. Although I do believe our western news is a hell of a lot more truthful than the Russian state TV. But I would have liked commentators here in the west to explain the whole NATO topic, and how promises have been broken in regards to its eastwards movement. But nobody in the TV shows and news programmes I watch, seems to touch upon that fairly important aspect, probably the <i>main reason</i> for Putin's attack now. I need to find out about it through the internet. Speaking of which: biased and selective search engines do not help either (just pick a politically sensitive topic and see what google shows, compared to duckduckgo). Unfortunately, this can all aggravate matters only further. Just like there is no mention anywhere here in my European place of the possible complaints Russia *could* have had with the way NATO was going. Not that it warrants this literal overkill war response, but I just worry about the world we created, which is experienced by many as a black and white marvel video, with the Good guys vs the Bad guys. Just know that in other countries such as Russia, WE are seen as the villains. Don't blindly believe all the Western media either. They let us down with hysterical and non-critical covid coverage for nearly two years, and already I read pseudo-professionals write articles in national newspapers now about why Putin has 'gone mad' (we don't know that), 'has no strategy' (he very likely does), suffers set-back after set-back (this is an assumption when you don't know the strategy for a fact) and we also see clear, sympathy-driven exaggerations of the amount of Russian soldiers killed by Ukrainians so far. Combined with warmongering rabble-rousing from some who have their heart in the right place, but seem to be willing to overnight start a potential nuclear WW3 over supporting Ukraine with military actions. Everyone now seemingly knows what's wrong with him, after the fact, but nobody read the room when it mattered, which indirectly helped us lead to this catastrophe. Luckily 79-year old Joe Biden knows exactly what he is talking about <a href="https://twitter.com/mjavinod/status/1498891793248575488" target="_blank"><b>when he said last night</b></a> during the State of the Union: <i>"Putin may circle Kiev with tanks, but he'll never gain the hearts and souls of the Iranian people."</i> Let's hope Iran now won't take offense! God bless the planet, with these two old hampering relics leading two nuclear world powers...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxFwd9gQ7EQfr19Dyluxz1YKfi9ZlL4j2X7nVy6KyDoCsOsh-ZGGM6DyXonV7QZvosfgXYJ9kkwiPTINgKduQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwZoOAF4dTDZzKdx-C9S-mowW_Ll9_1A7gCw4BYS5Q0hRTUTgyrfkh_YJPJpVW5UVqoNZu8Cg34s40erNmKyA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='665' height='554' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyYOz9vTOLtDj78JeDik-7qxb_IJUrbTi_urkxiSDPp1F8Iz8tS9rwVdCLCGVgCq__bhxy6Vw4C66CjFdhXXA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgY94_NdFGex8AgFvR1ZSuCROobeK7wK1yNYO2661N072v7KwogobUmmEarBO7DUxK3dnS-duYLlCq_1Oqqxibc1R__rN9gexQYXDKj_NSxIA_LBfzqWYysSzwMllhQvxjP65Xl525HkcR5p_NoMx62LXlqCkK0aqtbsqJ8AcrBTPwV44AjibdYalIUxQ=s621" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="621" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgY94_NdFGex8AgFvR1ZSuCROobeK7wK1yNYO2661N072v7KwogobUmmEarBO7DUxK3dnS-duYLlCq_1Oqqxibc1R__rN9gexQYXDKj_NSxIA_LBfzqWYysSzwMllhQvxjP65Xl525HkcR5p_NoMx62LXlqCkK0aqtbsqJ8AcrBTPwV44AjibdYalIUxQ=w400-h303" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Oil and gas</span></b><br />What makes matters more muddy, is the entire oil and gas situation. Most of Europe still relies on Russian energy and continues to buy it from Putin. Overall, Russia provides 40% of Europe's natural gas and 50% of Germany's oil I read. Green energy (wind, solar etc) is great in theory, but the energy it nowadays provides comes not even close to being sufficient for a country like Germany, for instance. We impose economic sanctions on Russia at the moment, but continue to buy their oil and gas. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>It was revealed today that the West is still paying Russia more than $1billion-a-day for oil and gas</b></span> that Putin can use to subsidise his $15billion-a-day invasion of Ukraine. So this seems pretty counterproductive. Energy reforms in the west of course come too late now. In Europe we have been preoccupied with climate change, reaching greenhouse goals and dismantling all polluting ways of getting our energy. That is great, but right now we have a problem, relying on a newfound enemy for our daily energy, needed to keep our own industries going (and subsidising the Russia war, indirectly). This is such a complex issue and despite all the good intentions of someone like Greta Thunberg for instance, I can't help feeling frustrated at times about the simplistic thinking that has seeped through into the public debate. I never heard her come up with realistic short-term solutions, which respect and understand the incredibly complex politics in the world, forged through historic conflict, geopolitics, economics, strategic war balance and the rest of it. Just all 'blah blah blah' in the eyes of the youngest generation, with the attention span of ... your usual tiktok user. So the media blew it up and we have all wanted to do our bit and go green; put a stop to nuclear power plants, invest in solar and wind energy. Of course that is not enough right now, combined with our modern, energy-guzzling lifestyle. So the west also invested massively in Russian oil and gas. Did Greta ever consider or advised us about what could happen when the west all moved to green energy like that, depending on a thug state like Russia to up it up? Did she ever take into account what weakness and dependence the West has shown? And how bad wars of this scale are for the environment, in a world of candyfloss and unicorns? Not saying that meeting climate goals isn't very important, it is incredibly important. But other things are also important, such as protecting our union, our countries, our western freedoms; defending the freedoms of others and trying to prevent a nuclear war that will destroy everything... And this is all intertwined currently. I think that deep down, we know it. And that's partly why there had been so much shock, horror and absolute bewilderment here about what is happening now. This may very well be another turning point in our western history. Like 9/11 was.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEho5BtUZyK6S6bMIRLxH6V5CLeZ4QYDPq4txl9XX8ImrZ_-C6E9M-Li6yl0R5nG8U_yRC6NxBUlL_pIsp5quzLlU_Gzk1KActXYWo41zXSQkfT63Bqcz8lTLrlFaz5BZOwpuSx2COBtsOXrI4KBHpRhoI0H_44HONaN5fktKVlth3G8PcA8s6Hreay6rQ=s1032" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1032" data-original-width="850" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEho5BtUZyK6S6bMIRLxH6V5CLeZ4QYDPq4txl9XX8ImrZ_-C6E9M-Li6yl0R5nG8U_yRC6NxBUlL_pIsp5quzLlU_Gzk1KActXYWo41zXSQkfT63Bqcz8lTLrlFaz5BZOwpuSx2COBtsOXrI4KBHpRhoI0H_44HONaN5fktKVlth3G8PcA8s6Hreay6rQ=w330-h400" width="330" /></a>The USA has the same issue and it all took a surprising turn when Joe Biden, right after being elected, put a stop to Trump's national Keystone pipeline building project. Biden also overnight stopped many permits for oil and gas discovery, just as the USA were hitting energy efficiency for the first time in 75 years. I'm sure Biden had both environmental and political reasons for this, but in light of the current war situation, these decisions did not age well. America is talking tough on sanctions but notice how there is no ban on Russian oil and gas. Biden even overturned Trump's ban on Russia having its own pipeline. Only 4 weeks ago, Biden ended up more or less begging Russia and China to release more oil, because of 40-year inflation highs in the USA. That request did not show the USA as a strong independent state, in Putin's eyes. There will be dire effects on all of us in the West once the oil prices will inevitably rise, as a result of this military conflict in Ukraine. More stress on the people, who already had two years of stress and financial and medical hardship after the covid pandemic, which isn't even over yet in many countries. Will it ever end? EU and Western countries have been working hard to become 'green' and to bring down emissions and such. Germany very publicly gave up their nuclear energy a decade ago, but have now come round and have plans to build new nuclear reactors in the near future. Of course, with a high tech, high living style which inhabitants in a country such as Germany enjoy, that green energy is not even slightly sufficient. We have Germany on the one hand declaring that it will invest <i>100 billion</i> Euro's into its army now, but at the same time they continue to pay Russia for its oil and gas. You hear all about the sanctions, but nothing about there being<i> no</i> sanctions on buying Russian gas and oil. And all this while a few weeks ago, former German Chancellor <b><a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/outrage-germany-ex-chancellor-schroder-gazprom-board-nomination/" target="_blank">Gerhard Schröder</a></b> has been nominated to join the board of directors at Gazprom, the state-owned Russian energy company behind the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. - I hope that this conflict will be ended as soon as possible. The West is energy independent, so eventually Russia *may* be dealt with diplomatically. If so, the sanctions will eventually be lifted again. This energy dependency and the absolute fear of WW3 and of an unpredictable president who makes it seem like he is eager to use nuclear weapons, will probably keep us very hesitant to intervene with NATO. I have nightmares about what will happen if Russia and its guarddog Belarus will actually invade a NATO country, and this will escalate even further... <span>Whatever happens next, PESCO needs to be ramped up tenfold in any case, and all EU member states have to increase military spending.</span><span> I also personally think that guarantees should have been given that Ukraine will <i>never</i> join NATO. As <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfk-qaqP2Ws" target="_blank"><b>this man so aptly says</b></a>: it <i>would have been</i> in everyone's best interests in the end, if Ukraine had stayed neutral. And Putin has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Cugn8JZfk" target="_blank"><b>demanded</b></a> this for a long time, as I wrote a lot more in detail about in my below blog post from February 26th. NATO has pushed it's quest eastwards too far I believe. The interests of the West should not have overruled the stability of the region. We have seen the United States shake and destroy regional stability before, in places like Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Chile, Vietnam and so forth. In my below blog post I tried to also look at the Russian side of this conflict. Things are never black and white, no matter how reprehensible a war with civilian casualties is. I am still petrified about this war and Russian aggression and hope no nuclear reactors get bombed, sending us back to the Chernobyl days here in Europe. It is all quite horrible, not least for the people in Ukraine.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSwZvwyR_I6dKGDPZ_qb9j2jv_PlJ0R509miPsqFdVtLXVi4qQ6JkNy_GkPOOmCcNMjFF0Eyf1X7PseXPmTXJoHoADs6c_VSX8xAyXwgugHM3y9AXHm-FHT0hBpl2Ht65u4PehDtKZLCl5qTr6oY5wpKoMAkF6c2tpFh_UH5wYvmzQU8GpMWJrEWNGQ/s300/download.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSwZvwyR_I6dKGDPZ_qb9j2jv_PlJ0R509miPsqFdVtLXVi4qQ6JkNy_GkPOOmCcNMjFF0Eyf1X7PseXPmTXJoHoADs6c_VSX8xAyXwgugHM3y9AXHm-FHT0hBpl2Ht65u4PehDtKZLCl5qTr6oY5wpKoMAkF6c2tpFh_UH5wYvmzQU8GpMWJrEWNGQ/w640-h358/download.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Songs of the day </span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wrrl-2RQZsA" width="320" youtube-src-id="wrrl-2RQZsA"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2DTznCvV4V8" width="320" youtube-src-id="2DTznCvV4V8"></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Read more of my updates on day to day life <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/11/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-vii.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> and <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/10/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-xvi.html">HERE</a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJP-RuTz3v56LTrisV6xs2Lsxdgue_28eGFbMO-4Wv6MBrcXYc78JqQL58zophUaXc7RqfY5Vru2dTewXIk1FhMPbsrrikZ3K0eKpde7wm0gQ0mNCVnxi-3OpAud3vPmyOPuDtRNCqKzu/s1600/ZZZ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJP-RuTz3v56LTrisV6xs2Lsxdgue_28eGFbMO-4Wv6MBrcXYc78JqQL58zophUaXc7RqfY5Vru2dTewXIk1FhMPbsrrikZ3K0eKpde7wm0gQ0mNCVnxi-3OpAud3vPmyOPuDtRNCqKzu/w640-h480/ZZZ.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div>Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-18171101714833729192020-10-15T11:45:00.007-07:002024-01-31T05:45:24.273-08:00Ongoing post, Update day to day life XVII, January 6th 2022 - October 2nd 2021<p><br /></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguoz5iHk4DTFVAVCMShVja5DMcFnKEri7LfTHqrK1Wqwjth6w6LngVF-HKA54oSsiq8LAyRu4a3qqhq7w4rm8zVteFA1D9RbIWL7mYHq_P7m4E6nx9PP8Zd8m3diBCCYp2uwvxzT1vMFHl0j0PEEOOktrPfzI7FmBW5l6uk7k8y9RD12Gcg6xA6IjDMQ/s640/vintage.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: small; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="640" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguoz5iHk4DTFVAVCMShVja5DMcFnKEri7LfTHqrK1Wqwjth6w6LngVF-HKA54oSsiq8LAyRu4a3qqhq7w4rm8zVteFA1D9RbIWL7mYHq_P7m4E6nx9PP8Zd8m3diBCCYp2uwvxzT1vMFHl0j0PEEOOktrPfzI7FmBW5l6uk7k8y9RD12Gcg6xA6IjDMQ/w460-h329/vintage.gif" width="460" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>I try to give an insight in my own life and dealings with rosacea. I also try to gather information that might be useful for everyone with rosacea, especially subtype 1 with burning, flushing and skin redness. I happen to be a bit unfortunate in that I have this condition for a long time already, and unlike many others, I haven't been able to get it into remission. I know it is more uplifting to read about someone who has beaten rosacea, but I like to write about the struggles that come for those who haven't achieved this. I also blabber here about everyday life topics.<br /><br /></b></span></span></div></div><br /><p><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"><br />January 6th</span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2022</span></span></b></p><p><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: 42px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="200" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0mrGyWFOq_8KDpLv8gm9Fsc86jevmp7laLvCJPrIjRIc1phYUpaQ3G-WZ8fCht9EuIfwP1yG7HvmeUiPEiBqvJShuXEl93MPLBKzRCd8G89wXTZel_krL3sZzhQ6cIb-NF1hPG71tR013konVtz1sVkZ5NCcYXcDeDJTiwyJx73V425LB6zgPGntf3A=w295-h372" style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;" width="295" /></span><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"></span></b>It has been 2022 for some days now, and things got off to a great start. French president Macron has told newspaper <b><a href="https://www.leparisien.fr/politique/emmerder-les-non-vaccines-les-debats-sur-le-passe-vaccinal-suspendus-apres-notre-interview-de-macron-05-01-2022-3NX2DW2JJBGHXNBPVXMQDSQEHM.php" target="_blank">Le Parisien</a></b> that he wants to 'emmerder' the non-vaccinated French ' till the end'. 'That's the strategy'. Emmerder is literally to shit on them, or in English: to piss them off. It is considered "very informal" language by French dictionary Larousse: a rude, vulgar term, used to offend and antagonize. It is the opposite of what George Pompidou said in 1966: STOP pissing off the French (<i>"Mais arrêtez donc d'emmerder les Français!"</i>). Politicians transforming history as they see fit. The purpose of Pompidou's remarks was precisely to protect the French against increasingly restrictive actions, at the initiative of politicians. Today it is the other way around. From a term which wanted to be protective, Macron now molds a violently accusing term. Vulgarity does not replace arguments, but it creates a buzz to hide the weakness of the argument. This is coming from the same man who <b><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_gens_qui_r%C3%A9ussissent_et_les_gens_qui_ne_sont_rien" target="_blank">said</a></b> in 2017: "Look in the hall of a station, there are <i>people who are nothing</i> and others who have succeeded". The elected representatives of the opposition did not support the words of Emmanuel Macron at the Palais Bourbon didn't either. When Olivier Véran, the Minister of Health, took the microphone, he was met with loud boos and finally cut off by the chairman, deeming the situation untenable. Macron's words were called "premeditated, of a childish cynicism". "Emmanuel Macron is unworthy of his office." What struck me personally more than the word emmerder, was that 'Jupiter' then stated that unvaccinated French citizens are no longer 'citizens' in his view. It's like Hillary calling part of the population deplorables. What is the next step ? The loss of civil rights for the unvaccinated? Macron follows the Jacobin and authoritarian approach. He passes extreme and then more extreme laws and fines or penalties. Vaccination is not compulsory so in no case should we stigmatize people who respect the law. It seems abject to me to ostracize people who have chosen to exercise legally the freedom which has been granted to them by a State of law, whose duty is precisely to guarantee this freedom of choice. How to create a diversion by focusing attention on very useful scapegoats. It is slightly reminiscent of the government of France 80 years ago. We see every day in the figures the ineffectiveness of vaccines to curb the epidemic. There is no solid scientific justification for the health / vaccination pass. We must target fragile audiences who are most at risk of being admitted in hospital, and leave the others (the vast majority) alone. But instead, Macron prefers to create a diversion. And to think that for decades people feared that the Le Pen or other FN politicians would install an authoritarian state, disrespectful of human rights. But it finally happened with Emmanuel Macron. Poor French, who have no choice but between plague and cholera.... Macron is an autocrat and the opposition is infinitely hypocritical. And he does not attack those who blithely violate the actual laws of the Republic. Those causing havoc in the suburbs for instance. He appoints ministers accused of rape (another violation of the French law), or politicians who have tried to evade the tax authorities or even were indicted. Instead he attacks French people who respect the law, but ignore his pleas. France is overall a particularly well vaccinated country. Many European countries are adopting less restrictive, less coercive strategies, even with lower vaccination rates, and with much better results than France currently. The agitations of Veran, Castex and Macron in recent days on the subject and this clear desire to make 9% of the over 12's responsible for the abuses of a health system in the hands of the gopé is particularly pitiful. The tone of these young French wolves who all have the same profile (Véran, Attal, Macron), and the systematic infantilization and guilt shaming of citizens, seem (unfortunately) trademarks of these times. By not making vaccination mandatory by law, Macron in effect says that he isn't prepared to take responsibility and pay for the <b><a href="https://twitter.com/Storiesofinjury" target="_blank">potential side effects</a></b> of the vaccine. Even European Parliament calls for the creation of a European compensation fund for "victims of COVID19 vaccines" after having listed more than 1 million side effects including "75,000 serious neurological effects after Pfizer vaccine" and "5,000 deaths" In Australia , the <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYFUHQJXjdo" target="_blank">compensation fund</a></b> is already in place. Instead he just takes away all rights of a social life of any kind for those opposing his vaccination requests. And all this at a time when even the CEO of Pfizer says the current vaccines have little effect on Omicron. The blind faith of politicians in the vaccine, is perhaps the best example of cognitive dissonance you could want. Or maybe it is also about something else for them.<br /><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLux7yPXpy2iixZcJuktQMFXpMtkTO4HX3Ucm8loBNGtYiO6-Ppifu08iTJWo9ezfBAwSJ9xHBn6HNHMkEpvXVi4j467p9poX31MO1U6JO5t8qxEwjLvVWpKz_ohbcXutiDqYuJdRKKNQ2V2W4cvw7EYfIeO9fPFuUVyN-9oJ6rWquTfq3D0d7XeYJtQ=s598" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="598" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLux7yPXpy2iixZcJuktQMFXpMtkTO4HX3Ucm8loBNGtYiO6-Ppifu08iTJWo9ezfBAwSJ9xHBn6HNHMkEpvXVi4j467p9poX31MO1U6JO5t8qxEwjLvVWpKz_ohbcXutiDqYuJdRKKNQ2V2W4cvw7EYfIeO9fPFuUVyN-9oJ6rWquTfq3D0d7XeYJtQ=w399-h399" width="399" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjK7RlmlRzo6N7hpEibEj5jXlEoW92NKAwYplZCSxS9kwM1-HPny7bn5NgFAT60i2vfFvZ0xStnmRkZknP7dbXPffvsryaNKrK9Fe2Ma8m1s_aaFmBLa_IvU4uyrUq0dg7POuar3d99ri0pm2EVz2wzBxPWD2mNQs3CCYpAcXCoGouQetVp0VHTs77DGw=s1310" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1261" data-original-width="1310" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjK7RlmlRzo6N7hpEibEj5jXlEoW92NKAwYplZCSxS9kwM1-HPny7bn5NgFAT60i2vfFvZ0xStnmRkZknP7dbXPffvsryaNKrK9Fe2Ma8m1s_aaFmBLa_IvU4uyrUq0dg7POuar3d99ri0pm2EVz2wzBxPWD2mNQs3CCYpAcXCoGouQetVp0VHTs77DGw=w400-h385" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6gMCyyKfSALOyJ0PBcY4USX9rTkKZwx4QPl1Dq-xlgHQAWlpt1ipzooofXx7Y09ljajH4I9Exi5gbet8KBImkGMNZ9EDeYwJ3JsEOfaGfrECz7sjrY9vuhRiGkmvn2myI4MOHh_7cmVYMRlB-Kbrn51BF9qTfCQvxywhxCYxkKBLxMtZXAwj6n6SSug=s858" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="589" height="583" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6gMCyyKfSALOyJ0PBcY4USX9rTkKZwx4QPl1Dq-xlgHQAWlpt1ipzooofXx7Y09ljajH4I9Exi5gbet8KBImkGMNZ9EDeYwJ3JsEOfaGfrECz7sjrY9vuhRiGkmvn2myI4MOHh_7cmVYMRlB-Kbrn51BF9qTfCQvxywhxCYxkKBLxMtZXAwj6n6SSug=w400-h583" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Novax Djokovic</span></b><br />And in said Australia, tennis number one ranking Novak Djokovic was invited to come defend his title in the Australian Open, only to be stopped at the border controls at Melbourne airport and to be detained all night and then thrown into a quarantine hotel, reportedly about to be 'deported from Australia'. Not because he has covid, but because he isn't vaccinated. He had covid in the past, he is healthy now, he lives in a tennis bubble, he was granted an exemption by the Australian Open organizers reportedly, but well... 'computer says no'. The Victorian government gave him an exemption, which he was entitled to trust. He wouldn't have flown to Australia otherwise. (<u>Update</u>: a later leaked letter <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10378173/Novak-Djokovic-Details-tennis-stars-botched-Australian-visa-revealed.html" target="_blank">proves</a></b> indeed that Tennis Australia caused Novak Djokovic's visa debacle, by telling unvaccinated players they could enter the country and that a prior Covid infection would get them across the border. And in court documents published on Saturday January 8th, Djokovic's lawyers claim he received written clearance from Australia's immigration department (Department of Home Affairs) also, with a medical exemption from its vaccination rules) - I know that people in Aus have been put through hell with the countries' covid rules. But that is not Novak's fault. Nevertheless, the entire country seems in arms, because an 'elite' would have been granted special exemption. Always interesting to see how some people try to steer the discussion towards 'privilege' only when it suits their narrative. Never mind that this has happened throughout the pandemic with rugby league players and other sportsmen and celebrities. My friend B. is from there and tells me that there was no outrage when Cricket teams toured around while the rest of the country was locked in their respective states, or when the NRL and AFL seasons had special concessions to play. Olympians were also allowed to travel abroad and back home and were given special concessions. Australia also let India tour there with cricket last year, giving them special concessions. So why after 2 years of giving sports people concessions, is Novak considered an **** for wanting to play tennis there, áfter the government originally allowed him to? Politicians simply noticed the massive backlash and then in a panic revoked his visa. What a shambles. <i>"But.... Rules are rules!!",</i> some people shout. Why are Australian politicians, their staff, senior police and other flunkies exempt from the jab then? And no one asked for extensive details of Rebel Wilson's exemption from quarantine when she flew in from US and was allowed to roam free instantly; she was supposed to spend 72 hours in home isolation, as per the rules at that time, but instead waltzed straight into a celebrity event. But she's vaccinated. Sporters and celebs in Australia have received exemptions even before vaccination started and when the borders were shut for everyone else. So what has <i>"after what Victorians have been through"</i> got to do with it? Novak wasn't the one who locked you up at home and sent your business broke. Now I hope he will play after all and wins, and rubs it in all the hater's faces, especially those in the stadium.</p><p>I joked with another of my Aussie friends about Djokovic deserving to be shot at dawn for entering Australia unvaccinated. I was cynical, but he really wants the geezer to suffer over this. Gulag camp will also do, as long as he gets humiliated there long and publicly enough, I learnt. I find it amazing how people defend the totalitarianism they are now happy to live under. Instead of attacking the governments with their over-the-top rules, they attack the sportsman trying to play a game of tennis. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Stockholm Syndrome in action? </span></b>Queensland senator Matt Canavan on the other hand said that letting Djokovic play in the first grand slam of the year posed 'little risk', because the tennis star had contracted Covid-19 before.<i> 'Natural immunity by multiple studies is much, much stronger than the immunity you get from having a vaccination,'</i> Mr Canavan said on the Today show on Wednesday.<i> 'So there's little risk here in letting Novak Djokovic in.'</i> The senator said on a 'practical ground' the player was unlikely to cripple Victoria's health system after the state recorded 14,000 cases and 516 people in hospital. <i>'Yes, some of us would love to see rules apply literally and constantly. But I think some of these rules are temporary,'</i> Mr Canavan said. <i>'We've got to get back to a sensible world here and move on with life and thankfully, with the seemingly less lethal Omicron variant, I think we're very close to that, and here perhaps is just another small step to ending the pandemic and returning, as I say, to the land of commonsense.</i>' But Canavan's pacifistic words were all in vain, as the public opinion and media outrage probably sealed Djokovic' fate. A single ticket back to Serbia is on the cards now. They should perhaps consider renaming the Australian Open, because this is no open welcome. The Australian Closed or Close-minded? And although I would love Medvedev to win the tournament, I also hope that Australian officials will quickly come to their senses. The humiliation. Not for him, but for Australia. Victimised for a medical decision, but the world is so full of hate now; this is the new normal. We tell our kids 'you be you' 'you go your own way', and then turn around and mock people who don't conform, based on their personal medical situation (as if it makes them all instant superspreaders and fellow citizen killers automatically). The West that we once knew, a haven of freedom and responsibility, has for the moment disappeared. We are back in the days of millennial fears and scapegoats. 'First time in history that the ineffectiveness of a medicine is being blamed on those who haven't taken it', says Robert Malone, MD and pioneer of mRNA gene therapy. I can't wait to see how Wimbledon will deal with this in the summer. <i><span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #444444;">(Go Nole, hope you can defend your title and will get booed by the Aussie crowd so bad that it will make you even more determined and win your 21st grand slam). The only good part about this saga are the inevitable memes. </span><span style="color: #660000;">Edit</span><span style="color: #444444;">; Nole dóes seem to have worked himself into real trouble with his applications and traveling around before landing in Australia..</span></span></span></i></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjWJTGQ3_HMLg3s7-m6zgcwY62TlvUlNmyJMh5jBb8gtPOHZwnG_X69J8pyrL5bi_PzUUA58oOwumq-oB-WTxk08Q28Fe9h0lV9NmgDmnikO96zpo4jCKZKG-eYD6XVb_TLobE4n7dY8tmAsRJLDRDo2CPWgRQhwjRPxokqbWPsLsZPdchkhqtM9DK9Q=s1170" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="1170" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjWJTGQ3_HMLg3s7-m6zgcwY62TlvUlNmyJMh5jBb8gtPOHZwnG_X69J8pyrL5bi_PzUUA58oOwumq-oB-WTxk08Q28Fe9h0lV9NmgDmnikO96zpo4jCKZKG-eYD6XVb_TLobE4n7dY8tmAsRJLDRDo2CPWgRQhwjRPxokqbWPsLsZPdchkhqtM9DK9Q=w640-h408" width="640" /></a></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtnAqIxuAYbhiNNMZDzzLkq10a55bXOt8pdNWwnEunC7XnNuuDHRvnGv6OdcohndbOPu0hisd_qa1D7TwyptflvPtFxNAADY09EeIvVJLUGN7E3z9slqbNgkzSNF8WMW7Q8t_eMWwx4mbbNh0vMaZj-AqxKqSBbJAloL60MPww1wDvEmQ0aACY1hzPjA=s853" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="529" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtnAqIxuAYbhiNNMZDzzLkq10a55bXOt8pdNWwnEunC7XnNuuDHRvnGv6OdcohndbOPu0hisd_qa1D7TwyptflvPtFxNAADY09EeIvVJLUGN7E3z9slqbNgkzSNF8WMW7Q8t_eMWwx4mbbNh0vMaZj-AqxKqSBbJAloL60MPww1wDvEmQ0aACY1hzPjA=w213-h344" width="213" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCcn0BI8x_PJKwC9W2Us5ITL9izFBmW6POe_ssy3sO7jkxCWHOLVyfo7Ko961QX6KEmwf3AK-EaHudmJlT3mMcVhXGkd0yHG9MIQA1nBNTtA_C7Ui9VzZhVaWkwPysHKsnzSd2YYydIJQ_JyD8Xkp1KqZIeRSJoXt7uZKCRg-EfUno4aKMxLtDr8x4cg=s750" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="750" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCcn0BI8x_PJKwC9W2Us5ITL9izFBmW6POe_ssy3sO7jkxCWHOLVyfo7Ko961QX6KEmwf3AK-EaHudmJlT3mMcVhXGkd0yHG9MIQA1nBNTtA_C7Ui9VzZhVaWkwPysHKsnzSd2YYydIJQ_JyD8Xkp1KqZIeRSJoXt7uZKCRg-EfUno4aKMxLtDr8x4cg=w386-h315" width="386" /></a></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></i></div></div><p></p><p><a 1em="" center="" float:="" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiaDzF1PxRi9PdvmYU-JVyJBhLBJE-0mCYDFNxPay4Ws56AmQsAVE5bG5BHxBNmSNzt37HM0G_-d8ln826d6fJo0yyKTLVNwjLNCrj1wYThArx--5OKCjJLT921ybV7tyCl7hz5A0G-egDRdKbiGlmTuEvgHpnUi-aHBEb9U9kHJoFO1J3Y5nuDeSTVGg=s857" left="" margin-bottom:="" margin-right:="" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" text-align:=""><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="857" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiaDzF1PxRi9PdvmYU-JVyJBhLBJE-0mCYDFNxPay4Ws56AmQsAVE5bG5BHxBNmSNzt37HM0G_-d8ln826d6fJo0yyKTLVNwjLNCrj1wYThArx--5OKCjJLT921ybV7tyCl7hz5A0G-egDRdKbiGlmTuEvgHpnUi-aHBEb9U9kHJoFO1J3Y5nuDeSTVGg=w400-h263" width="400" /></a><a 1em="" center="" clear:="" float:="" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsGlfGg1zQce7zcQls82ogfoA7vGZevgQU4aDUcSHLJ0uTxYpPfY2CIgJ2-SB6V5oZIo61izSy-q1GuXZ3M7j-4ZTbckLegidxV_m7a8-ZaC5d8R8r7BYJyXvejtClVCK1FWzYS_DwaYj_eend5ZmfbW4zyfeg_QD5fNRqs2Spy1M-tXapbIBDBZeO0w=s1314" left="" margin-bottom:="" margin-right:="" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" text-align:=""><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1314" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsGlfGg1zQce7zcQls82ogfoA7vGZevgQU4aDUcSHLJ0uTxYpPfY2CIgJ2-SB6V5oZIo61izSy-q1GuXZ3M7j-4ZTbckLegidxV_m7a8-ZaC5d8R8r7BYJyXvejtClVCK1FWzYS_DwaYj_eend5ZmfbW4zyfeg_QD5fNRqs2Spy1M-tXapbIBDBZeO0w=w400-h255" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Less hospitalizations</span></b><br />Meanwhile Omicron shows more and more how very disappointing the vaccinations and their boosters are. Cases are higher than they ever were. Nearly 300,000 positive covid tests per day in France, where 90% of the population is fully vaccinated. Over 12.000 infections per day in Israel, one of the most vaccinated and boostered countries in the world. The Netherlands has record numbers of 25.000 confirmed covid cases per day. 90% vaccinated in Australia, yet case numbers are going through the roof - let's face it, the vaccinated can be just as contagious as the unvaccinated. Hospitalization numbers are only going down because Omicron is such a mild version of covid. It is shown in South Africa too, with a very low vaccination rate among the population. You would think that there would be some optimism now that Omicron seems to indeed have the characterisation of the much hoped for variant that spreads faster but makes you less sick. Everything is pointing in that direction right now. Good news, and with some luck society has built up natural immunity in months now and the end of the pandemic could be in sight. But governments nevertheless install more restrictive legislation in record time. 2G rule in the Netherlands is on the table, Macron in France pushes through a 2G vaccination pass which further 'pisses off' the 4 or so million unvaccinated French into isolation. Mind you, they were already housebound for the most part in the past year, as entrance testing is necessary for mostly everything and very expensive. The French government is locked in dogmatic choices which they do not know how to get out of. The "modern" method is a long way off. Or is it? It is also a shame that only the infection statistics are made public by now, but they leave out the stats on how many of those people are (un)vaccinated. It could bring some clarity in this myth (?) that the unvaccinated are to blame for everything. Although going by mathematics, with these skyhigh infection rates we must have far exceeded the total unvaccinated numbers over time. Véran claimed last summer that when 90% of the population would be vaccinated, there would be only a few hundred covid cases per day.. Véran must be careful, by dint of announcing record numbers of "cases" every day, he will soon end up having declared more cases in aggregate than the size of the population. At this rate, of 1 million cases in a week, the 5 million unvaccinated will have acquired provisional immunity in 1.5 months and, with the 60 million vaccinated, France will be close to collective immunity. But you won't hear about that. Just like we are never shown the statistics of how many unvaccinated people have simply gotten through a covid infection without any problem. General stats tell us that over 99% of them did just that. Only a small percentage of these people will have a serious illness requiring hospitalization, yet a smaller percentage will go to intensive care. Don't get me wrong; that is horrible. For these people themselves, as well as their families. But the media mostly highlights one or two poor souls who died unvaccinated. Rarely covid casualties who were fully vaccinated. (Just like you need to go to non-mainstream channels to read about the odd young person(s) dying right after their vaccinations). It's of course a smokescreen, since the vaccine does not prevent transmission. We all know it, science knows it, but we're still going to pretend that we don't. <br /><br /><b><span style="color: #444444;"><i></i></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwpYpTyCHiAw2dPXafMekhd7WiIFs5uEeYnGBT1PdkxWqXS-BHVwAHyMoNFhtz9wCu74swtmH9vW6DOtjbgrYVy8cHBGADJTmWM_5RwW6gNUkFlhQImPW9wZsyR_K7-rYqAoBkiyLTnkjCUjmhMf1bA5tIitPa9qMZl-EYYATKgejSOw_0Udls2boFXw=s1057" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="1057" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwpYpTyCHiAw2dPXafMekhd7WiIFs5uEeYnGBT1PdkxWqXS-BHVwAHyMoNFhtz9wCu74swtmH9vW6DOtjbgrYVy8cHBGADJTmWM_5RwW6gNUkFlhQImPW9wZsyR_K7-rYqAoBkiyLTnkjCUjmhMf1bA5tIitPa9qMZl-EYYATKgejSOw_0Udls2boFXw=s320" width="320" /></a></i></span></b></div><b><span style="color: #990000;">Updated views on boosters:</span></b> <b><span style="color: #444444;">The WHO has now also finally confirmed it and has</span><span style="color: #444444;"> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/12/repeated-covid-boosters-not-viable-strategy-against-new-variants-who-experts-warn?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2SYLKGZRG08AZPTVWn-07rkoHmokCAn183NHMdpHcA82SvOKKCYaiZuVU#Echobox=1641973375" target="_blank">declared</a>: </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;"><i>"Repeated Covid boosters not viable strategy against new variants, WHO experts warn". "Experts urge development of new vaccines that protect against transmission of the virus in the first place". </i></span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">And o</span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><b>n the same day, during a press briefing, Marco Cavaleri, head of vaccine strategy at the European Medicines Agency, <a href="https://brandnewtube.com/watch/european-medicines-agency-admits-that-vax-and-boosters-will-and-do-cause-acquired-imuno-deficiency_KS7McDMf6BBkhpC.html" target="_blank">said</a>: <i>“Although the use of additional boosters may be part of emergency plans, repeated vaccinations at short intervals would not represent a sustainable long-term strategy”</i>. </b></span><b><span style="color: #444444;">The head of the EMA even mentioned the risk of a strategy of ongoing boosters every four months, which could in particular </span><i><span style="color: #444444;">"</span><span style="color: #660000;">overload the immune system of vaccinated people"</span></i><span style="color: #444444;">, Reuters reports. <a href="https://brandnewtube.com/watch/european-medicines-agency-admits-that-vax-and-boosters-will-and-do-cause-acquired-imuno-deficiency_KS7McDMf6BBkhpC.html" target="_blank">Here you can view the video</a> where these comments were made. </span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Professor Jean-Daniel Lelièvre, head of the infectious diseases department of Henri-Mondor hospital in Créteil, and specialist in vaccines <a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/combattre-la-pandemie-a-coups-de-doses-de-rappel-est-il-viable-20220113" target="_blank">stated</a>: <i>"Since the vaccines have little or no impact on transmission, there is no point in increasing the booster doses for this purpose”.</i> <i>"A fourth dose generalized for the entire population would therefore have no impact. If there was to be a fourth dose in the future, it should be absolutely targeted at immunocompromised and older people, for whom there is a loss of efficacy of the vaccine.”</i> </b></span><b><span style="color: #444444;">Director in charge of infectious risk management at the WHO, Dr Sylvie Briand, also confirmed a few days ago: </span><i><span style="color: #444444;">"The vaccines that we currently have, have very little influence on the circulation of the virus. We really have to ask ourselves the question: what do we want with vaccination? We cannot eliminate this disease”</span></i><span style="color: #444444;">. Other scientists say that ongoing covid booster vaccination in fact weakens the natural, protective, immune-related antibodies. <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/" target="_blank">Notice</a> how the countries with the least vaccination are doing better at the moment than those with the highest vaccination rates. And do not forget that quite a few e</span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">minent experts in virology and molecular geneticists have predicted/warned about this for months, if not a year. But they were demonized. T</span></b><b style="color: #444444;">he WHO has also advised governments to abolish the health pass, as quickly as possible and no later than October 2021. Did they listen? NEVERTHELESS politicians sternly continue their booster mandates, at pain of removing people's freedom of movement if they refuse a 3rd booster... But politicians *may* now at least refrain from enforcing a fourth booster on the general population. </b><div style="text-align: left;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzdVfxAy-Eq_xeQZQxxG9sd51zA8WI7PTHw-_VCFuWoaqsTJdylmqCt1vR90KQteMvPbbnv-so45eHjYGWNpQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dznz_3TKuPP5WLcVNiyx0lCH03zQW8QiB5jMBOZcgiVDG6KJ8rbsBfqmYdTs-lxu7KGQso9Ey5B1fUiLKYxng' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p><a 1em="" center="" float:="" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbLNe1wVLRPYvTtjstH7N3w8Q1i23lI0bnxQMmln-ELdaLqL2eMbQKANX03qTgbHCl9O4c5j6SxTU2IcWRXFo-sgSo8YJAuA_kXDONaJIyJlHHVh5e3LUdg0Itz3tz718C7hJulwYjAoLHkZotAwwkutjp9NyqX5zl2vl31Ql00GTD_eNqtoN_Wj3aIA=s800" margin-bottom:="" margin-left:="" right="" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" text-align:=""><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="800" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbLNe1wVLRPYvTtjstH7N3w8Q1i23lI0bnxQMmln-ELdaLqL2eMbQKANX03qTgbHCl9O4c5j6SxTU2IcWRXFo-sgSo8YJAuA_kXDONaJIyJlHHVh5e3LUdg0Itz3tz718C7hJulwYjAoLHkZotAwwkutjp9NyqX5zl2vl31Ql00GTD_eNqtoN_Wj3aIA=w400-h338" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Common sense from Oxford</span></b><br />Vaccine efficacy is collapsing. The real vaccine efficacy is close to 20 or 30% and new data made it clear that within 10 weeks the vaccine-induced antibodies are down again. But you wouldn't know about it if you go by media headlines only. We say that vaccines protect against deadly forms, but even this protection quickly disappears over time. So will we have to keep boostering people all over the world (sorry, in the First world countries) at an increasing rate? If it is up to leading Oxford vaccine expert professor Sir Andrew Pollard, <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10366875/Leading-Oxford-vaccine-expert-warns-giving-regular-boosters-not-sustainable.html" target="_blank">we will not</a></b>. While Israel has already announced a fourth booster, Sir Andrew Pollard, chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) — which advises No10, said administering booster vaccines to everyone every six months was <i>'not sustainable</i>'. '<i>We know people have strong antibodies for a few months after their third vaccine —but more data are needed to assess whether, when and how often those who are vulnerable will need additional doses</i>.' Professor Pollard says that Britain shouldn't start rolling out fourth Covid vaccines until there is more evidence they are even needed. He said future immunisation drives should target the most vulnerable, rather than all adults. <b><span style="color: #444444;"><i>'We can't vaccinate the planet every four-six months. The future must be focusing on the vulnerable and making boosters or treatments available to them to protect them'</i>.</span></b> - Statistics show the same pattern: covid deaths predominantly take place in people that are (well) older than 60 years or with comorbidity. Update: The CDC director just <b><a href="https://twitter.com/claytravis/status/1480542490897887235?s=21&fbclid=IwAR1vntGkfZpvKbIouUdx8A7YbeIn4VO_SHUXfmWiepfhbw5pEKW_i_WJLG0" target="_blank">confirmed</a></b> that over 75% of “covid deaths” occurred in people with at least four comorbidities. This even happened among the vaccinated. Protect people with comorbidities and the elderly. The rest of society probably needs to function normally again sooner rather than later, in order to prevent the economic and societal adverse impacts and irreparable harm being done to children also. Of course different countries in the world has used different tactics during these past years. Some with better results than others. <br /><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1B0hy_Z-YCEkTqSx6HqyatD-UMEXrqrZVdXSkBCqa8bBDSAeBtmF6F_BlA9z3fWKuN3pwVH-qE5rB4hc4NPLCz-YLdJqxibmXQanZlFc8wgQ-nexLpT8aQHv6TkECu2olcmG94eckPcjr6ejvJhog-PTkQe3SRD5FpqX6HNHExgOQ-qrlmyVYrBV3Rw=s263" style="background-color: white; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="191" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1B0hy_Z-YCEkTqSx6HqyatD-UMEXrqrZVdXSkBCqa8bBDSAeBtmF6F_BlA9z3fWKuN3pwVH-qE5rB4hc4NPLCz-YLdJqxibmXQanZlFc8wgQ-nexLpT8aQHv6TkECu2olcmG94eckPcjr6ejvJhog-PTkQe3SRD5FpqX6HNHExgOQ-qrlmyVYrBV3Rw=w290-h400" width="290" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Global</span></b><br />The vaccines mainly stop susceptible people getting very ill from the virus and reduce symptoms. They don't stop people getting it in the first place or transmitting it. Rafael Nadal just said for instance that he just recovered from covid. Then said he was fully vaccinated. And that has become an acceptable thing to say now: that you just suffered from the illness you've been vaccinated for. They just won't utter the conclusion that the vaccines are not doing what we were promised they would do, and moved the goalpost towards them protecting now against death (which was not just primarily what the companies initially promised and were given emergency treatment use for - aside from covid not being deadly for over 99% of the unvaccinated population either). Then again, everyone can decide for themselves if they want boosters or not. Statistics are one thing of course, but everything changes when it is your own family or loved ones that perished due to this virus... But some criticism is probably warranted in retrospect, when looking at the choices made by different governments. </p><p><b><span style="color: #990000;">Alexandre Jardin <a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/vox/societe/alexandre-jardin-deux-ans-en-absurdistan-20211229" target="_blank">wrote</a> on one of the last days of 2021, in a non-exhaustive summary of the mistakes of the French government: "Two years in 'Absurdistan'!" </span></b><i>"Real madness starts when you normalize it. [..] As a teenager, I would never have imagined that in two dazzling years we would see the tricolor state without laughing inventing self-authorizations, signed by oneself to circulate in time of confinement. That the mask would first be deemed useless by a minister who, without warning, would then decide to verbalize any recalcitrant at the port. That local elected officials would be for real prevented by the State from providing masks to their fellow citizens. That pharmacies would first be fined if they were sneaky enough to sell masks to the French, before they were asked to become vaccination centers! That our mastodon large-scale distribution - with very efficient purchasing systems in Asia - would first of all be banned from importing masks by the genius egg skulls of Bercy on the grounds that "the affair was regal given its seriousness”! That more than 5,700 full hospital beds would be closed in 2020 by our talented mini-Colbert </i>[= Macron, also dubbed Jupiter for cynical reasons]<i>, just to scorn the pandemic by following a majestic plan to reduce hospital capacity. That smart bureaucrats would imagine ski slopes without ski lifts. That in the midst of a shortage of medical personnel, our techno prodigies would have the rich idea of outright prohibiting unvaccinated medical personnel from treating people, even after producing negative tests, preferring to reserve these jobs for vaccinated persons who are partly carriers of the virus. That the French state, once controlled by book lovers, would take the dazzling initiative to close bookstores when the people were locked up, by having (for real) covers over the books in Monoprix. That a very strange hatred of small traders would incite - without compensation - the State to frankly favor Amazon! And that a general confinement affecting our finances - unintended by serious and thoughtful public plans anticipating disasters - would be decided on a corner of the table in a quarter of an hour, without strategic reflection. That no indisputable meta-analysis would then come to confirm that this gregarious dementia would have had a certain effectiveness in protecting the population, since the confinements have probably destroyed more years of life than they have spared, because all impoverishment shortens the life expectancy of the most fragile. That the government of France, once stupid enough to care for its children, would make the top modern choice to favor the oldest who vote, rather than the fate of its young people who do not vote. That our glorious ARS would prove capable of refusing help from competent veterinary labs, of refusing antiseptic gels produced by viscerally civic non-pharmaceutical industries."</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"> I never imagined that the head of our government would appear on TV one evening to inform us that the popcorn in the movies and the Snickers in the TGV are over. </span></i></b></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgyEoWlGYwuRwTtpxzSW7isIy3Br-FXNbmLfop3AKcEyQ54yOoI68a-MUxZWxAnRwDV261W0OYgADsq6RBiRXv7x8oBt7anvWTIB4iauHQg2xdJH_hgIPrONVv0PXQcbm3SlksknlrS4M26zEzWsn88bWOVOxo6oP9y5WegVHAyrSOtKKnbGjk-rdJKOw=s4000" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1732" data-original-width="4000" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgyEoWlGYwuRwTtpxzSW7isIy3Br-FXNbmLfop3AKcEyQ54yOoI68a-MUxZWxAnRwDV261W0OYgADsq6RBiRXv7x8oBt7anvWTIB4iauHQg2xdJH_hgIPrONVv0PXQcbm3SlksknlrS4M26zEzWsn88bWOVOxo6oP9y5WegVHAyrSOtKKnbGjk-rdJKOw=w535-h232" width="535" /></a><i>"That the State would take with exciting lightness the decision to indebt the next four generations on</i><i> the</i><i> grounds that "the money is free" (as if the rates were not going to go up one day or another!). That the same very fruitful government team would have the idea of getting a part of the nation out of the habit of working hard, so that many key sectors of our economy will no longer be able, and for a long time to come, to find staff! </i><i>That the State, in the hands of rather burlesque beings, would have the joyful frivolity of letting citizens believe that magic money is available, you just have to want it: yes we can! That dumbfounded citizens would see France settle down in a cool way in an exceptional regime, suspending traditional democratic mechanisms in favor of the reigning technocracy. That our egg skulls, selected as it should be and tirelessly imaginative, would take it into their heads to invent a sub-category of punished citizens, demoted in their rights - the unvaccinated, that villainous vermin. I would never have seriously dreamed that bizarre figures would be brandished night and morning on the news channels in order to destroy the morale of the nation, in the event that very uncivil citizens still had the completely inappropriate idea of wanting to be confident, happy and positive. And then that the head of our government would appear on TV one evening in his most beautiful livery, to inform us about the popcorn in the cinema and the Snickers in the TGV: it's over with eating that. Without anyone in his cabinet of intelligent patented having whispered to him: <span style="color: #444444;"><b>"The popcorn and the Snickers, and the ban on drinking a coffee while standing in a bar, since the virus spares the citizens sitting down, that's not going to do it ... we will pass for baltringues [incompetent fools]!" </b></span>And then the inconceivable happened: the same inspired team, guarantor of an unbeatable bureaucratic statist vertical system, expert in the normalization of madness, had the exhilarating idea of offering the French to continue the adventure! The show must go on! You can't change a dream team that has achieved such a score in two short years. Too strong! In twenty-four amazing months, my family's dementias have been completely beaten. Only the French bureaucracy and its GOs were capable of it. Geniuses!"</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzOZmAV_ZiIL_Mh4bwZQXD5ffxccy5ESd_cU_9qaqVQuBPVNbdnFtjWUX4NBTeHA4aHdYpQRXX26EWlUA5ClJBwDEnuAbNRGteE5A4W69nzXYkWFeR6MCpwLBmXR35qp7p3VdECfeJEJcSWYWWCzUL9iNY4hlU3yHH0N7WonRR8TSSkvM9sDLXEpI0xA=s680" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="680" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzOZmAV_ZiIL_Mh4bwZQXD5ffxccy5ESd_cU_9qaqVQuBPVNbdnFtjWUX4NBTeHA4aHdYpQRXX26EWlUA5ClJBwDEnuAbNRGteE5A4W69nzXYkWFeR6MCpwLBmXR35qp7p3VdECfeJEJcSWYWWCzUL9iNY4hlU3yHH0N7WonRR8TSSkvM9sDLXEpI0xA=w396-h311" width="396" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGGVxEcqOQ6_T3D5AX6QwK725sJCzLH9V0QB45XNGMez5FNbYehPBF6JzFP3Gwi_VKnVHzCWj1i_VU8Xb7ALAjx7S9nxAK2R0NShgbGXNcI4E_tyL99MGrrNz0cdGmtEYDw-94aSucyF2ZdmiDP8sDujjRBl72s3bJwoUY6oEgjvzYPwYCjh1KvWcViQ=s1280" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="852" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGGVxEcqOQ6_T3D5AX6QwK725sJCzLH9V0QB45XNGMez5FNbYehPBF6JzFP3Gwi_VKnVHzCWj1i_VU8Xb7ALAjx7S9nxAK2R0NShgbGXNcI4E_tyL99MGrrNz0cdGmtEYDw-94aSucyF2ZdmiDP8sDujjRBl72s3bJwoUY6oEgjvzYPwYCjh1KvWcViQ=w207-h312" width="207" /></a><br /><br /><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilkxJGxPGGlFLTq5Zl_M1HajRIo-LJD0x6dPGtzLJh2YeuheLAMvM2jAmDCua01JVzV_fjwsUU4WW67Gd4XiHx7sLM5DgA1GFHLtoNIlVW-_OjyfQ6aajpzznynaMwnBDHGmUq-TjyRDoeLjjLaGv6Guv8obA0jy8Sht5ZIgqeLS-NBJD6u9lGPxpHhg=s235" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="235" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilkxJGxPGGlFLTq5Zl_M1HajRIo-LJD0x6dPGtzLJh2YeuheLAMvM2jAmDCua01JVzV_fjwsUU4WW67Gd4XiHx7sLM5DgA1GFHLtoNIlVW-_OjyfQ6aajpzznynaMwnBDHGmUq-TjyRDoeLjjLaGv6Guv8obA0jy8Sht5ZIgqeLS-NBJD6u9lGPxpHhg=w400-h364" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">New reality</span></b><br />In 2020, France for all its freedom limiting management of the pandemic, globally only ranked 78th out of 110 countries in terms of effectivity. Nevertheless the vaccine passport is still considered the holy grail of sorts in some countries. But vaccination passes deny access to normal life and they also in effect train us to be discriminatory. And to scapegoat. They create a "papers please" society. They criminalise otherwise normal activity. They reflect a propaganda-fed and cowed society. Do any of us want to live like this? Clearly a lot of people do. I guess it also depends on how many virus victims are allowed at all. Some people say that we cannot lock down entire societies to prevent <i>any</i> death; that death is part of living and that we also never locked down entire economies and personal lives during ferocious flu winters in the past (with at times at least as many deaths among the oldest and weakest in society..). But this pandemic was new for mostly everyone and countries over the world chose different tactics and set different expectations. I personally do not understand why 4 vaccine injections in the space of one year is considered acceptable to the point of forcing other people to join in that. I wonder if with time, public opinion will turn or not. Perhaps by the (potential) 10th booster round? Maybe after the majority out there will have accepted being injected with a vaccine passport microchip, like 6000 Swedes have already done? Don't get me wrong: everyone can vaccinate and booster themselves as long and often as they like. But these vaccines are under clinical trials until 2023. Thats why they could only be licensed for emergency use, to be given to the vulnerable who are exhibiting serious medical symptoms of an infection. And if you question their use, or that one needs four doses of them in the space of 12 months, while not statistically stopping transmission of the virus (that now has the same IFR as the flu), then the media and the rule by mob declare you an 'anti vaxxer' and enemy. That doesn't seem right to me. But who am I? I just wished more people would speak out against that. Instead of cheering the same thing: <i>Just comply to the rules</i> (or else no access, no job, no health care, no housing, no benefits, no identity card; where could it all end with this reasoning?). Anyway, let's hope it will never get that bad. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOSjQzPqOiwOU3h2pC15ak_lqCb5ld1X2YexjgDTf2nqwhLd6WBV-0AqVAP1n2j_iWNp7pw8t3tzSHBtcTbPPKCrfTBEXzA9aRcr9PsB5v3qm0zXWIa6XuchH8v8nhX1CD8WQJkxsJQ0pL1yt2v-_ZFo0u5_9L_kh1uItd3VV-I54iCg_lyDcp0oGVaQ=s1143" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="843" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOSjQzPqOiwOU3h2pC15ak_lqCb5ld1X2YexjgDTf2nqwhLd6WBV-0AqVAP1n2j_iWNp7pw8t3tzSHBtcTbPPKCrfTBEXzA9aRcr9PsB5v3qm0zXWIa6XuchH8v8nhX1CD8WQJkxsJQ0pL1yt2v-_ZFo0u5_9L_kh1uItd3VV-I54iCg_lyDcp0oGVaQ=w295-h400" width="295" /></a>But I honestly believe that leaders like Macron's biggest achievements are that by spreading fear, they managed to create an army of spiteful, hateful monsters among the general population. And in the process, some of the most eminent (but skeptical) scientists have been sidelined and ridiculed from the start of the epidemic. Science seems to have been replaced by scientism more often than not: an appearance only of science, with its subjective "models" and patients by "cases" of which we never quite see the exact criteria. (Average age of people in intensive care here: 79 years). Did politicians sacrifice youth? Different people will have different opinions about this. Of course, the parliamentarians are not subjected to the vaccination pass. So far the majority of Dutch politicians are not yet convinced that a 2G system will really curb the pandemic in our country, and consider it a very 'liberty destroying' measure. Especially with the more contagious Omicron variant, testing seems much more reliable than 2G. Only the two main Right wing parties VVD and D66 are dead-set on 2G still. And our own Hugo de Jonge from the CDA threatens the non-vaccinated that the government knows all their post codes and house addresses and will come round to personally get them jabbed (<i>"district by district, door by door, arm by arm"</i>). Nice. When UK politics announced such a threat, the general public responded in comment sections that the government official in question would need plastic surgery then. But overall, European countries are setting a more and more chilling example to each other. Austria and Germany at the forefront ('no other alternative'). For me it has to do with <b><span style="color: #444444;">proportionality</span></b>. Quebec wants to charge the unvaccinated a special tax, to help fund the hospital costs. To me, that sort of discrimination can still be seen as proportional. But what Austria does, fining the unvaccinated up to 15000 euro per year or throwing them in jail; that is unacceptable really. Of course leaders had it really tough these past years. Accused of having blood on their hands; having one portion of society screeching for tougher rules and the other part for less restrictions.. None of them had real experience probably with a global pandemic situation. But we can still look back and cast a verdict about their policies I think. My biggest beef is with politicians like macron and the Austrians right now, while so much data is available and we all know that the vaccines are underwhelming in many respects. Yet they <i>still</i> go full steam ahead with the mandates and the camps and all that sh*t. That's what gets me much more than the early lockdowns; everyone was afraid then and nobody knew what they were doing. And as my friend B. summarized it perfectly: "What annoys you and me are the lies by governments. You and I have known for quite some time that if you get the virus, you have natural antibodies. What annoys us is that Novak has natural immunity and more antibodies than the vaxxed. It is the lying and ignorance of these facts that outrage us. Most Australians don't know this because the media and governments lie or omit the truth. It's the combination of these lies that have infuriated us. We know the vaccine has hurt some people but they are lying. They lied about the efficacy of the vaccine for the past 7 months. And they have banned people for telling the truth". Meanwhile some people think you (as in: me) are a nutcase for talking to them about Israeli studies, first indicating that indeed, vaccines do not prevent infection or infectiousness. Or that the vaccines only really prevent for a few months at most. And once this information becomes mainstream (read: their favourite news channel or newspaper reports on it), they act as if they knew that all along and rarely ever come back to you (as in: me) to say something along the line of: 'you were right about that'. Like CNN now being late to the 'party'. CNN who were one of the worst with their covid bullshit the past years, have done a 180 and are now "outraged" What a joke. Probably they are now having the fingerspitzengefühl that the tide is changing and off they are, onto a next bandwagon. This could have been a Southpark topic:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhprmIB97V3dtHd42P6UwnOFl2eSqyJgtBXVIHYWzHyd_5b3-3D5QVwGK4IWhpYOLEKwYgY_dibgZqWfTOsfJ4nshaj3jUfFgIEN2-PDKL9K3iPVDc77ZFwUvuHev0jGeLd_jSL77PoyOzpvbyqoDABKE2Z2pd1ZU_jor2huqv3oGfI7As7nvNQWv1M_g=s774" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="749" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhprmIB97V3dtHd42P6UwnOFl2eSqyJgtBXVIHYWzHyd_5b3-3D5QVwGK4IWhpYOLEKwYgY_dibgZqWfTOsfJ4nshaj3jUfFgIEN2-PDKL9K3iPVDc77ZFwUvuHev0jGeLd_jSL77PoyOzpvbyqoDABKE2Z2pd1ZU_jor2huqv3oGfI7As7nvNQWv1M_g=w295-h305" width="295" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4aOSU8xcKpdJEMe-s5b_bq_SiogSJ6jL4En2i16OJEEoVedFcO7qzGZHQYVVc7cjbsp1aSmhYVXuqVS1BwjL-ZDtV7rswvcRgu33dLIw7-ecuuFVNg5bcmcsRl_7zXiRJKNZmPHCT8OPcWrJgf0ceGjS8U_7PiHSoX349IBXREOEGNggUw011Q1N98Q=s1159" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1159" data-original-width="1125" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4aOSU8xcKpdJEMe-s5b_bq_SiogSJ6jL4En2i16OJEEoVedFcO7qzGZHQYVVc7cjbsp1aSmhYVXuqVS1BwjL-ZDtV7rswvcRgu33dLIw7-ecuuFVNg5bcmcsRl_7zXiRJKNZmPHCT8OPcWrJgf0ceGjS8U_7PiHSoX349IBXREOEGNggUw011Q1N98Q=w295-h304" width="295" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgSzKjYpY3cAP7I5N-CKO_Hb7WzPXhQNc0-1hr-nloxPoufBKgdTWFc2r0K7_qSI_k90y_pvXwZBWVyehpyiWovS74-kJp_iwYfVPYYWwt1fndyOwqG-u-V3z_enAwlgA96m4mAHOXtZ-Y3zv1L54rCm1C2FHRyo77XMPjv_9vF4Dzp1AZvmlya_Bx6zA=s750" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="750" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgSzKjYpY3cAP7I5N-CKO_Hb7WzPXhQNc0-1hr-nloxPoufBKgdTWFc2r0K7_qSI_k90y_pvXwZBWVyehpyiWovS74-kJp_iwYfVPYYWwt1fndyOwqG-u-V3z_enAwlgA96m4mAHOXtZ-Y3zv1L54rCm1C2FHRyo77XMPjv_9vF4Dzp1AZvmlya_Bx6zA=s320" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqQuSUhiYLCuRVNhRLg2PLOuu8O0J9Nf8nbmcbfBNg47TynY7y52OE9H-zdJ4Tit_j9xvv6wFoDaFC6ujuTaJE-KFiVy_L1X4MnD1mfT3qf41p1s6bxkDqmN60m4TIpP_LEQRCR24DPvueLrj-8hKjfEGjE3C6r1MKXYdDerQNeMeqTxr06nUwmVhghw=s236" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="236" data-original-width="236" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqQuSUhiYLCuRVNhRLg2PLOuu8O0J9Nf8nbmcbfBNg47TynY7y52OE9H-zdJ4Tit_j9xvv6wFoDaFC6ujuTaJE-KFiVy_L1X4MnD1mfT3qf41p1s6bxkDqmN60m4TIpP_LEQRCR24DPvueLrj-8hKjfEGjE3C6r1MKXYdDerQNeMeqTxr06nUwmVhghw=w320-h320" width="320" /></a>Anyway... Let's hope my parents are right, and this is all temporary and self-limiting. Let's hope this doesn't all end with a social credit system (the environment!), digital money only (your safety!) and complete digital ID data of all citizens. Let's hope I just read too many science fiction books. Today not having a covid vaccination leaves you out of the normalcy loop (or ultimately in jail, in Austria); tomorrow - if we're not careful - smoking, being obese, flying too much or having dissident opinions gets you barred from normal life. Because there are radicals now who promote the notion that unvaccinated people should not receive medical care at all. Alcohol and tobacco kill 120,000 French people a year and cost the Nation 240 billion. Next thing smokers won't be treated by doctors. Is that the type of society people want to go move towards? I hope not. As doctor Alice Desbiolles <b><a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/vaccins-une-partie-du-corps-medical-a-quitte-la-deontologie-et-l-ethique-pour-sombrer-dans-la-morale-20220105" target="_blank">says</a></b> today in a newspaper: <i>"As a doctor, I apply the Hippocratic Oath and the code of medical ethics. It is sad to note that for the 20 years of the Kouchner law of 2002, which has a famous article on the free and informed consent of individuals to receive a treatment or an examination, we come to stigmatize people who refuse prophylaxis. I regret that we end up pitting citizens against others, and even doctors against patients! The terms of the debate are not correct. It is not the unvaccinated who clog hospitals and who cause operations to be postponed, beds removed or patients not to come in case of positive tests. The real problem is structural: the hospital is undersized and unattractive for caregivers, in terms of salaries, working conditions, loss of meaning for its profession. Beds however available at the AP-HP are not open due to the departure of caregivers.</i>" </div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">“Whether they are unvaccinated, smokers, overweight, in traffic accidents, it is not the patients who are the source of the problem. We have an undersized and unattractive hospital ”.</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div></div><i>“We approve or condemn, reward or punish behavior. We are far from the ethical approach which invites us to take into account all the issues, health, economic, democratic. Medicine is not intended to divide, but to appease, relieve, create society." </i>Exactly. The situation has been tense in hospitals for more than 20 years in many European countries. Elimination of 100,000 beds in France (including 17,000 under this five-year term of Macron) and nursing posts. In 2019, caregivers were on the streets for the same reasons, since the situation has worsened. In the Netherlands a similar situation, with axing of IC beds because hospital managers deemed them too costly. (Hospital management where there are more bureaucrats than caregivers nowadays). Some governments are primarily responsible for saturating the hospitals now during this pandemic, with their planned policy of destroying beds. And who are made into the scapegoats instead? The unvaccinated imo are not always wrong to be careful with the vaccine. The risk benefit is not the same for everyone. This is what centrists always have difficulty understanding. There is no one-size-fits-all solution without sacrificing the freedom to be different. Even the WHO <b><a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/340841" target="_blank">warned against</a></b> mandatory vaccination.<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjuOFWBNn5Yfxi4rV_r4pleroVjG8smXkFgDJeIOYHIGPdtTeOq9r33HI4a2I74rZVvNhXzcWrcRMBX5rDFNgoFEg3WrpYXSujP-Oihn0pldqqijE9bZ18yXWPfwQAZEIX3kBA2FFC-4peuc4PwZd9eNYXX86Iz3vVKAt8Sk06cA50YCvGX2Pv2cDhXCQ=s220" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="220" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjuOFWBNn5Yfxi4rV_r4pleroVjG8smXkFgDJeIOYHIGPdtTeOq9r33HI4a2I74rZVvNhXzcWrcRMBX5rDFNgoFEg3WrpYXSujP-Oihn0pldqqijE9bZ18yXWPfwQAZEIX3kBA2FFC-4peuc4PwZd9eNYXX86Iz3vVKAt8Sk06cA50YCvGX2Pv2cDhXCQ=w400-h331" width="400" /></a></div>And when are we finally going to talk about the people who are afraid of catching covid, but who cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons? I'm tired of the amalgamation made on the unvaccinated. - But I still don't fully get the argument of people saying: <i>'you took all the other vaccines and you didn't know what was in them either'</i>. Because all those 'other' vaccines were researched for <b><a href="https://www.ifpma.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/IFPMA-ComplexJourney-2019_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">10-15 years</a></b> and were fully licensed, while the covid (mRNA) vaccines won't be fully trialed until the end of 2023. The mRNA technique in itself has been studied for 30 years, but researchers never before managed to work around problematic side-effects or get it licenced to test on people during all those years. Until now, because of the pandemic, and it is still not fully licenced; only as an emergency vaccine, of which the long term effects are still largely unclear. Maybe journalists who label people fighting for pro-choice as 'anti vaxxers' should speak a little bit more nuanced about the matter? Instead of fueling hate against people who sometimes simply want to have an option when it comes to what medicine they take. Just like the law allows them, in most ountries. Some media unfortunately seem more interested in ratings:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="359" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/663934980?h=8b28eec64c" title="vimeo-player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Dans les poulaillers d'acajou,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Les belles basses-cours à bijoux,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>On entend la conversation</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>De la volaille qui fait l'opinion.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">song by Souchon</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>In the mahogany henhouses,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The beautiful jewelry backyards,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>We hear the conversation</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Of the poultry which makes the opinion.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;">Luckily I had a lovely holiday period with friends and their kids, walks in nature, fun and games and <i>no</i> TV news and internet. Until yesterday, that is haha, Now I am catching up and pissed again :) My rosacea has unfortunately also been flaring up lately.</div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiaxNCR33auKs6YVAGFvjHZ8khGxZJOQ6XyR4THveLEX_eWh9mBvz2db-GUBP2G9_mP-sUSX3UZ9s3b1H8Q6Uag7mBiuitr-f1a9WDs5IbwgTwnhl_LvroNY6DvjWOCPI0EIXqFWeSF0rxJbDPrqIKUUehkn12DFnSkxAaAYnlN0lAMD1Lyt7quPnkKeA=s2696" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2696" data-original-width="2516" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiaxNCR33auKs6YVAGFvjHZ8khGxZJOQ6XyR4THveLEX_eWh9mBvz2db-GUBP2G9_mP-sUSX3UZ9s3b1H8Q6Uag7mBiuitr-f1a9WDs5IbwgTwnhl_LvroNY6DvjWOCPI0EIXqFWeSF0rxJbDPrqIKUUehkn12DFnSkxAaAYnlN0lAMD1Lyt7quPnkKeA=w398-h426" width="398" /></a><br /></div></div></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Songs of the day </span><br /><br /></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2x7tU8toCos" width="320" youtube-src-id="2x7tU8toCos"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jp44IRShKZQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="Jp44IRShKZQ"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">January 3rd</span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2022</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span>Let's see which dance 2022 will resemble :)<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/662112179?h=0f3a6cd2a7" title="vimeo-player" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7kOCDJTsdU4VpKKnfOvcTS_s9AU0DbjFIOYijaM-33Xejy1rk7DWu1sm1PNl4Ev792XmAN3wzPPYNnK_Kp5t87xllYPZIzLj0w683LlupghljOF6KyfLBADVnLOPRe5nW91WXImPGr-gg0Y5kVJv1GIUBJXweGxlCVIf813dbHzGxz31rnIxC5tcH_g=s1600" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7kOCDJTsdU4VpKKnfOvcTS_s9AU0DbjFIOYijaM-33Xejy1rk7DWu1sm1PNl4Ev792XmAN3wzPPYNnK_Kp5t87xllYPZIzLj0w683LlupghljOF6KyfLBADVnLOPRe5nW91WXImPGr-gg0Y5kVJv1GIUBJXweGxlCVIf813dbHzGxz31rnIxC5tcH_g=w176-h265" width="176" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Human behaviour; artwork or social experiment?</span></b><br />I have always liked the performance art of Marina Abramovic, and luckily saw quite a few expositions of her work over the years. This is a very important performance she once did. her work always has to do with endurance, overcoming pain and your own boundaries. But in this piece, she allowed the public to do whatever it wanted basically. To me, it shows the danger of group function; once one person oversteps a certain boundary, you see others following. Further and further. She did more performances in which the audience plays a role, and the outcome is always similar to here. It reminded me of a 2000 performance piece at the Trapholt Art Museum Denmark. Artist Marco Evaristti allowed visitors to decide over the fate of 10 goldfish, swimming in 10 water-filled blenders. <b><a href="https://apnews.com/article/9b8577525a7b4041f805ad35cbc3a726" target="_blank">Police</a></b> ordered a power cut in the museum, after two fish were killed at the opening night. Animal rights activists had filed a complaint. I doubt the other 8 fish would have made it till the end of the exhibit. Aren't humans wonderful :)</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/400130505?h=da56a38255" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Happy Christmas thoughts</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="434" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/doPR-6X9h7c" width="522" youtube-src-id="doPR-6X9h7c"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Armistice</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Beautiful coloured-in footage taken right after the Battle of the Lys and the Escaut; the third and last phase of the Second Battle of Belgium (French: 2ème Bataille de Belgique) or the Ypres-Lys Offensive, which took place between 20 October and 11 November 1918. Armistice came into force at 11:00 a.m. Paris time on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a defeat for Germany. On this last day of the war, a last number of 2,738 men died. This is footage of a German young soldier who survived. It was recently restored and colorized. I am not sure if this lad realized at the time how lucky he was to make it out of that war alive. It touches me I suppose. Also how mesmerized and giddy and uncomfortable some people were in the presence of a camera. Whereas nowadays everyone seems to grow up with them. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjX0VVrkMMk4LiJev1U82rem8ijDJE1NxYdc2I42QsMNjXE-9Kx_K29rloSlCTRtb6NAHRpej_s_2OCar6cJLi6ARBCMNav2_EzKhghSVLxGTewh19QE4xjyjmHN8EUiqCK0L-zrbRTxufqOIuybIWNL75zeGv4sRNMTUQb4vXP5_JXk1a9XbhdFUuyfQ=s600" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="600" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjX0VVrkMMk4LiJev1U82rem8ijDJE1NxYdc2I42QsMNjXE-9Kx_K29rloSlCTRtb6NAHRpej_s_2OCar6cJLi6ARBCMNav2_EzKhghSVLxGTewh19QE4xjyjmHN8EUiqCK0L-zrbRTxufqOIuybIWNL75zeGv4sRNMTUQb4vXP5_JXk1a9XbhdFUuyfQ=w530-h296" width="530" /></a></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Happy and healthy 2022</i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #222222;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgu344ZK55m5QMkEwTvvp_BioXpO-P8Vk1rhNiY8a0N06BkmRXKkLBKXM7YxDkHhsn9NdhQqOb0EhEGmtzDKa2qTgloI1oqLxrC-dLJIyjaM2_gZW6ITAixsb9pcv0p_BiyWobVFty2bd3jO2q8iCqexVymMe2MUIYdv4ozJpNpLP_62pBsIbDKNRrz7g=s3264" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgu344ZK55m5QMkEwTvvp_BioXpO-P8Vk1rhNiY8a0N06BkmRXKkLBKXM7YxDkHhsn9NdhQqOb0EhEGmtzDKa2qTgloI1oqLxrC-dLJIyjaM2_gZW6ITAixsb9pcv0p_BiyWobVFty2bd3jO2q8iCqexVymMe2MUIYdv4ozJpNpLP_62pBsIbDKNRrz7g=w531-h399" width="531" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #222222;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><i><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">And me and our Dutch leaders and their crisis management </span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><i><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">doctors hope you also had a merry Christmas :)</span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='537' height='446' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxF7UKS74QvjM56Yx41xe2K__YvfEJZsu3nayYINOvMTH_z8T77yyAJNnkrU2utdyPgkgj7XzTvlAcVeFAW5A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #222222;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #222222;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSqRdIwPBCrTe0CvUar5HrDm-Ze_pPwj7m5nutL3rpYZstB5oRRHVJ2d-eRTSHtenEJSPHQPbUFaHy5w6CdEzz-O5-6X_HTa3NjXIiErXSLNKH7u588_DirFLEvUOVY4L0JdS0Le299HJBp1EM_48WgjoLdblUtHdKABot6QbTL1iUIZbH3Vs2WW7b7A=s1066" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="739" height="573" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSqRdIwPBCrTe0CvUar5HrDm-Ze_pPwj7m5nutL3rpYZstB5oRRHVJ2d-eRTSHtenEJSPHQPbUFaHy5w6CdEzz-O5-6X_HTa3NjXIiErXSLNKH7u588_DirFLEvUOVY4L0JdS0Le299HJBp1EM_48WgjoLdblUtHdKABot6QbTL1iUIZbH3Vs2WW7b7A=w397-h573" width="397" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">Dec. 27th 2021. These times of groupthink and collective hysteria will soon be modern history and studied in bewilderment</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />I'm not sure how many people think alike in this regard, but I can only imagine how - once sanity has returned - the mass hysteria and storm of (some) bad government decisions of today will be studied for decades to come. What drove masses of people to run around like headless chickens, casting aside common sense and hard statistics, in favour of demagogy from state leaders and the media? To let themselves be forced into using medical treatments which have barely been reliably studied and of which no long-term safety data exist; vaccines whose side-effect manual is literally empty when you fold it out. </span>It is easy speaking for me, without the weight of responsibility on my shoulders which state leaders clearly do feel. I don't think they're all corporate shills or psychopaths. But there is a sense of being shellshocked now, compared to the way life was before the pandemic hit. Some decisions made in the wake of it appear extreme, also compared to all the freedom and joy a lot of people had in the 2010's-2019. Maybe this is partly at play when we see <span style="font-family: inherit;">government who approved the vaccines in a great hurry (and panic) as "emergency treatment"; because they wanted things to go back to normal asap. And why most people surrendered to the call: because they also wanted to go back asap to visiting restaurants and cinemas, like they were used to normally. </span>Today in the <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10344567/Door-door-Covid-jab-teams-sent-homes-five-million-unvaccinated-Britons.html" target="_blank">news</a></b>: <i>"Door-to-door Covid jab teams to be sent to homes of unvaccinated Britons in plans to reach five million yet to be inoculated."</i> (So much for private and confidentiality regarding our medical records if this is true; then random volunteers will be given private data, basically announcing people's vaccine status to the whole street). It does sound a bit sinister. In a<span style="font-family: inherit;"> time in which covid modellers openly admit that governments expect them to model the worst-case scenarios. Worst case theories which subsequently have been used to </span><span>smash tottering businesses, or bring further despair and isolation to the lonely and old, as well as the young and the students. Worst case predictions which more often than not proved to be incorrect so far. But at least the vaccinated can go to restaurants. The fact that perfectly healthy people without covid symptoms (and even with a negative test) are left out in the cold and are banned from normalcy.. that is the sort of stuff I would have expected all people to object to. Riot over. Stick together over. During WW2, the Danish king told the Nazi's that if Danish Jews had to wear a yellow badge, he would do so too. And his ministers would do as well. Everyone would do so. This is why the Nazi plans didn't work over there. Solidarity. But you can forget about that today. People just turn the tables and call the sceptics the traitors and the cause that their vaccines are failing to a degree. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieA4QFfri6uAzobpYNykj74D7-n-3vhnRxsTKG_nxzhicdfw5MZgxZEGkPjHnLRGZGqIcdywO8Lq9SgXsN_is5PjNlPzm7pN3RUjnTw3sBtS7EPO51KzI8MExizJBYk1aaAvIOXxVy6L5nk2SEiixY-C3kL_Tl58NTDvigvugdyH5XuUj2nAuI6-x3Jw=s2048" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1988" data-original-width="2048" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieA4QFfri6uAzobpYNykj74D7-n-3vhnRxsTKG_nxzhicdfw5MZgxZEGkPjHnLRGZGqIcdywO8Lq9SgXsN_is5PjNlPzm7pN3RUjnTw3sBtS7EPO51KzI8MExizJBYk1aaAvIOXxVy6L5nk2SEiixY-C3kL_Tl58NTDvigvugdyH5XuUj2nAuI6-x3Jw=w321-h312" width="321" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Perfect prelude</span></b><br />So perhaps the past decade has been a perfect prelude for all this. Many people have grown increasingly materialistic and focused on their own pleasures in a life, without the promise of an afterlife. Social media has slowly but surely enforced censorship on those not going along with the main narrative, whether it is about woke topics, liberal opinions or things that otherwise go against the grain. Nobody blinks an eye anymore about cancelled celebrities and deactivated social media accounts for the new age online dissidents. As long as people themselves can continue to do what they like to do, who cares about people falling by the wayside? I am a liberal voter in the Netherlands, a socialist, but hate this whole ongoing censorship and wokeness, presented as some magical wonderful progressive thing. No, it is highly conservative and restrictive in the way it is used now, censoring anything that doesn't fit the mould. Even as a student at university I was surprised with this similar attitude. The time of mass protests was long gone. It was all about individualized needs and wants. And it has become so normal that naysayers are banned and silenced online, that governments and their media have a field day by now. Dragging up "The doctor, who wished to remain anonymous...." to state wrong or old statistics to induce fear (instead of the actual weekly reports of public health services). In a time of online information, of which my father raves, suppressing unwanted information seems to have never been easier. The biggest achievement of all may be, that those who are believing all official narratives have been successfully convinced that <i>they</i> in fact are always the sensible intelligent ones, and the doubters are at all times the misinformed lunatics. More chance of converting a cult member than to convince the 'righteous and informed' of this though.. People as a whole can be bombarded with propaganda more easily than ever nowadays, as we're (mostly) all more online than offline. Mainstream media is for the most part in the hands of about a dozen different owners. Some are dictated from the top down where the line is. It was a bit of a surprise therefore when on Thursday, a prominent BBC presenter wondered out loud whether a 'Covid hospitalisation' actually meant that the person involved was in hospital <i>for</i> Covid rather than something else (but also tested positive while in hospital). Who knows? This is not specified by the statesmen. Just like governments make sure to keep it ultra vague whether or not people died 'of covid' or 'with covid'. Autopsies are rare, and so vaccination deaths are also not often proven. What doesn't get investigated, stays in the dark. Perhaps it is a conspiracy hype, but how will we know if it isn't properly investigated? Articles that promote falsehoods are just as easily dumped on the internet by online papers, as they're taken off again. Poof, gone from history. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_V3WGkiuoPpgB3lKRoivbnFKwq0_QLDaIbbyqyhT_U3m_yqWkaIq4ejqP-kAOcWvbVrgNtApJ5n5i5o7gHXIaw4D4DdjEeohOwaT2NPmqstPoefEUvf3iR5dgOgNgAX-deYXqBk57-dknCje2pBCM-AdQAm1qtOzrRHCYGxJEpFg4Xp_FSej6IQOBtw=s300" style="clear: right; color: #222222; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_V3WGkiuoPpgB3lKRoivbnFKwq0_QLDaIbbyqyhT_U3m_yqWkaIq4ejqP-kAOcWvbVrgNtApJ5n5i5o7gHXIaw4D4DdjEeohOwaT2NPmqstPoefEUvf3iR5dgOgNgAX-deYXqBk57-dknCje2pBCM-AdQAm1qtOzrRHCYGxJEpFg4Xp_FSej6IQOBtw=w480-h269" width="480" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Groupthink</span></b><br />I've always been interested in topics like world wars and group thinking mechanisms. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">People say that we need 'distance' to analyse what is going on today; to oversee the "mass psychosis" which we have witnessed these past years, and counting. But plenty of people are already speaking out about what they think is going on. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I saw a fantastic </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N814IP5ZjH0" target="_blank">interview</a></b> the other day with a Belgian clinical psychologist, Mattias Desmet, who explained very aptly how mass formation works. He basically explains that one needs a perfect storm for the ultimate mass formation; fear, a common threat, unhappiness and something to project it all on... In mass group functioning, you often have a core group of 30% he says, who actually gets high on the feeling of being in the majority group. And then there are 40% within this majority group who just follow them. And then a minority group remains, who say something along the lines of <i>"Hey, hold on here, what the heck are you promoting there?</i>" They are usually made into the common enemy. History is full of such examples. He said there were two countries standing up to the Nazi's at the time, and basically refusing to go along; Bulgaria and Denmark. They were not susceptible to the mass formation. In Denmark the king said that he himself would also wear a yellow star, just like the Jews had to if this rule was implemented. And that his ministers would too, and then his officers would too. So that in the end, nobody would stand out as Jew anymore. And so the whole yellow star business never came off the ground there. Same thing happened in Bulgaria. So sometimes someone does step up to put a halt to it all (with the risks that come with that). But now in this corona era you see basically a lot of news channels and journalists (who are often afraid themselves) and even scientists fall in the same traps, making the same thinking errors. What makes matters even more difficult is that nowadays, society is super connected. The media can literally reach mostly everyone who doesn't live under a rock. (Whereas it was a real challenge for people like Goebbels in the past to continuously reach everyone with his propaganda). The good Germans could be reached, but it became a lot more difficult with foreigners in other parts of the newly built Reich. But nowadays most people are glued to their phone or tablet half the time. In Europe, leaders of most countries look at each other and some mimic each other's (harsher and harsher) rules. </span>Why do we always imitate other people's bad ideas? <span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps i</span>t would be good if we stopped looking at each other in Europe. The media never tell us about Florida, Texas and other US Republican states that do not experience such restrictions and do not have a record worse than ours. Let us look at the side of the free countries and not of an adrift EU. <b><span style="color: #444444;">I provided English subtitles to this short clip which answers some of my ongoing questions about human behaviour during this pandemic. If you like psychology, then this is a bit of a 'must see' I would say. Human solidarity and mass functioning in the face of crisis and fear. Listen and shiver:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="465" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4vIDh5KrLBo" width="559" youtube-src-id="4vIDh5KrLBo"></iframe></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrSWGFeELs1y7YTG9WoRg97xEoZkQ0qFo0YrlCa3h8wnOJAZgFzW2CkYSYM-zU_gXWjT126oaako6qz-ZHGO1X7Uh4yau4vJ6ZqySqQW6WZktvGOh82KHUHpBv-XNNXBLaDPLOU_Gyc3Idrz1pPTNSZknAxs6jBdmshXeHTsfszHNvDSTrYsjmtw-RRQ=s800" style="clear: left; color: #222222; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrSWGFeELs1y7YTG9WoRg97xEoZkQ0qFo0YrlCa3h8wnOJAZgFzW2CkYSYM-zU_gXWjT126oaako6qz-ZHGO1X7Uh4yau4vJ6ZqySqQW6WZktvGOh82KHUHpBv-XNNXBLaDPLOU_Gyc3Idrz1pPTNSZknAxs6jBdmshXeHTsfszHNvDSTrYsjmtw-RRQ=w320-h400" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Black and white thinking</span></b><br />It feels sad and also a bit lonely to hear so few people speak out about what is going on all around us. It makes me upset that so many fall for certain media rhetoric and automatically cast 'the others' aside as conspiracy idiots, 'covid denialists' and brainwashed idiots. Or worse; accusing them of not caring about human lives. Doing exactly as most of the media tells them to do, </span>propagating a false dichotomy between harsh authoritarian measures or mass death. Even religious leaders seem to have switched to peddling vaccinations instead of the afterlife. <span style="font-family: inherit;">But I shouldn't be surprised, because that sort of black and white thinking and intolerance for nuance of opinion is something we have seen showcased in the past years as well (and I complained about it here for all those years already). But now I am sometimes feeling a bit bitter about just how many people I know who shrug their shoulders and pay no more attention to the 'others', because <i>they</i> are vaccinated and can carry on much more like normal. This is a good German interview with a respected doctor/scientist, who basically speaks out a similar bewilderment and disgust even with the mentality of the majority, when their fellow (<i>unvaccinated</i>) countrymen are banned from even going to church any longer, or from purchasing some roasted almonds from a street vendor in the open air. Exactly this disinterest in the injustice that befalls others, the minority, is what worries him, and he says it is not something he expected Germans to ever make such grave mistakes over again. See the video itself here. Also a video of hope: </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4Z7SfvRdQeU" width="320" youtube-src-id="4Z7SfvRdQeU"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw089pKTxRChvoCe1QK4k7tYbmYuaESgBu6oNtqFglXy3siWkkdkhoZKJ7mIK1ijxEfR_UY7lFdhY8FuGRY1g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCGkOSqUFY-GaTTlmNwrajeByw0G2teG-IHi1WKvjDFQS0GpyEavMPgg4fp5cazO_iHXtYzphzvsrozOI5ULh10l388RgX34zyVxm_1qR6rpEfX4t9XkupMw-NuZY9sVpWuDlecWdo6AzmsBTtTtVZZNNgQHrPkbG4p3CBqF19nrpRnA12nnYZDQVJoA=s1280" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCGkOSqUFY-GaTTlmNwrajeByw0G2teG-IHi1WKvjDFQS0GpyEavMPgg4fp5cazO_iHXtYzphzvsrozOI5ULh10l388RgX34zyVxm_1qR6rpEfX4t9XkupMw-NuZY9sVpWuDlecWdo6AzmsBTtTtVZZNNgQHrPkbG4p3CBqF19nrpRnA12nnYZDQVJoA=w493-h278" width="493" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">My worries</span></b><br />You would think that this new milder Omicron variant would relax matters. But no, the rules are only screwed up more and more. France for instance is now also facing <b><span style="color: #444444;">mandatory vaccination </span></b>for anyone who wants to do anything that makes life worth living. It is an unfair and frighteningly move. I wonder when the time will come that I, as someone who is not vaccinated and has medical doctor's letters advising against vaccination in my personal (autoimmune, hyper allergy) health case, will not only be seen as a badly informed nutcase, but will perhaps also no longer be allowed to go or travel anywhere at all. It feels lonely in a way, to be in that (minority) position. But how can I give 'informed consent' when there have not even been trials yet on autoimmune people, or people taking certain medication? It isn't just about people like me though, who have medical reasons; <i>everyone</i> has as a principle a right to object to this experimental medical treatment. But the general response can be very predictable by now:<span style="color: #444444;"> </span><i><span>'Well, I am vaccinated so whatever'.</span></i><span style="color: #444444;"> </span>If it doesn't involve someone's personal rights, people can drop dead all around us, and we tend to no longer care. It is like standing in the middle of a war zone and having your friends shrug it off as no biggy, because their houses and PlayStations have been spared and Wi-Fi is still working. In quite a few minds, the freedom of vaccinated people to resume a normal life trumps the basic human rights of the minority group. It is disappointing and I don't care how many friends disagree with me. It is distressing to have the rules of society and the places you are still allowed to go cut off, and especially for the rules to change constantly, despite not being sick and being willing to prove so. If they want to keep people on their toes with anxiety, then it is working. I know that everyone had it tough these past years, every one of us alike. Some had to let go of loved ones without even the chance to attend their funeral, others were isolated for long times, or fell ill, or deal with long covid. Some people had <b><a href="https://www.vaxtestimonies.org/en" target="_blank">vaccine side-effects</a></b> and died or can no longer walk or function properly, that is also a terrible thing to have happened and not something to deny or ignore. In France some vaccinated people are now getting restless and suddenly want to protest, because the government now plans to request vaccination proof and <i>also</i> a negative PCR test for some social outings. <i>Halt! That wasn't the deal!</i>, they shout. To that I'd like to say: 'Aha, revolt at the end of the occupation?' Yes, the deals are changing all the time for the rest of us. But that sort of bullying didn't bother you, until it now also concerns yourself. It was at the beginning that you had to rebel. The more I see and the more I hear Macron and others, the more I understand what Sartre meant by "Hell is other people ..." </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCMG4W5_5Kc0Ul3qBizkGdIwMwJjiL0JyYkqjnTwQlAZ5H905CTuFBCQERIOMUYsKTgfz1rohuHZaN81P3fNgohLzQT3yEJfgV5Z2mYWqzNT80JylQWhq48PYKV58eUZryS_WesL970Q5AHMcgVCb3cHvOVllmLnrZGdmZ-opQpvBfpxv1cO_MlFmZ4g=s386" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="319" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCMG4W5_5Kc0Ul3qBizkGdIwMwJjiL0JyYkqjnTwQlAZ5H905CTuFBCQERIOMUYsKTgfz1rohuHZaN81P3fNgohLzQT3yEJfgV5Z2mYWqzNT80JylQWhq48PYKV58eUZryS_WesL970Q5AHMcgVCb3cHvOVllmLnrZGdmZ-opQpvBfpxv1cO_MlFmZ4g=w330-h400" width="330" /></a><br />For me personally, the weight of the constant put downs and propaganda weighs heavily on me at times, as well as the sense of injustice and constant worries about where this all will end. If I will be unable to go anywhere in the future, despite being willing to test myself for everything, basically. Treated and seen as some unwashed, despite never having had covid and always testing negative and being careful. Assumed to be uninformed about anything or too dumb to understand the official narrative, which is what a lot of media is consistently baiting their readers and viewers with. Never mind that a lot of vaccinated people forgot all about barrier gestures and facemasks, because they deemed themselves untouchable, and infect one another in droves; because their leaders and their media consistently ensured them; <i>"all vaccinated, all protected"</i>. Meanwhile, wearing a mask is becoming compulsory again in Italy, including for the vaccinated. More indications of the fallacies of the vaccine, in a country where almost everything is submitted to a covid passport, including the workplace. The mandates and vaccines do not work as was promised. But of course the face masks <i>are </i>completely logical measures if we take into account the fact that the vaccinated can transmit the virus. Clearly, a family reunion where everyone is vaccinated can end badly for grandpa or grandma anyway, therefore. But still I hear people claim that it is all somehow the fault of the unvaccinated. I wonder if this is the first time in history that the ineffectiveness of a medicine is blamed on those who’ve not taken it. I'm worried about how extreme all this will become in the near future, and if governments will eventually resort to cutting people off from all social services or threaten with fines or even jail sentences, like in Austria. I am worried about being seen or being treated as some sort of Untermensch, for lack of a better word. Sad about the disinterest of One group into the motivations and experiences of the Others (and this includes one of my own parents). Worried because barely anyone of the One group stands up for the Other side. Sad about feeling pitted against good friends and family in this vaccine respect, egged on by the media. Sad about how few people even bother to inform how things must be for the Others, myself included. The division in society is also tangible and makes me melancholic. It isn't nice to be in a minority group and to feel stigmatized and misunderstood. In my view, anything seems possible now as there is very little to no mass opposition to the ever-changing rules, and this frightens me a lot. It baffles me a bit that for some, the mere promise to be allowed to frequent the perfectly dispensable cafés, restaurants, cinemas and other places of this type, is enough to accept the bribe. Being accountable to a coffee maker, a restaurateur, a cinema cashier, etc., for your state of health has become completely normal today, despite the state of the world around us indicating clearly that the vaccines aren't functioning as promised. Just so that they can go have a pastis at the local bar. If Franz Kafka came back to Earth today, he would think that his vision of the absurdity of human society fell far short of reality. <i>"Let us express the despair of the man in front of the absurdity of existence"</i>. In most countries here, covid infected but vaccinated caregivers will be able to come and work to make up for the shortage of staff, but unvaccinated caregivers who <i>test negative</i> are fired. We are swimming in the midst of absurdity and many seem to find it all perfectly normal. This really affects me and my state of mind at the moment. I can only hope that if history is anything to have respect for, it will not look back kindly on this collective hysteria and mass abandoning of personal freedoms and privacy, in exchange for an underperforming, untested vaccine and the ability to keep going to preferred restaurant. Ah, but perhaps I am just confused. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Man eats snack in a plane, woman goes mental. Spot the hypocrisy in the clip. The new normal.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='518' height='431' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxtePsX9fxVECvYLSWZVn7OdPiLAslwUNst7z913R7r5aRj5-oGa5kEYMCzPUVttVIJ1htXB0ukxXXqCy1SHw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">What to probably do instead</span></b><br />One of the few countries which to my knowledge has handled things cool, calm and collectively is Sweden, and the media here have since stopped reporting on Sweden (like they did in the beginning in true Schadenfreude fashion, hoping for a massive downfall) as they do significantly better than us, without mass lockdowns and mass hysteria. Most people already went through covid there and so the country overall has built up decent immunity. As I said before, to me the sensible way forward seems to protect the vulnerable; people over 60, maybe over 70 years or with significant risk factors. The rest of the population should ideally get on as normal and governments should refocus from sole emphasis on these emergency vaccines, which have a certain <b><a href="https://www.vaxtestimonies.org/en" target="_blank">side-effect risk</a></b>, and also focus on <i>treating the sick early</i>. Plenty of information and studies by now that a host of existing medication works fine as long as you start giving it EARLY. Offer plenty of testing opportunity and when people aren't restricted in their daily life 24/7, even when they are not sick and do everything by the book, there will also be a much higher percentage of people willing to stay home when they have actual symptoms. That's how it goes in countries like Sweden and Denmark, where the people trust their governments and stick to the guidelines. Because they aren't locked up unnecessary and unjustly for almost two years now. And by allowing the large majority of people who aren't in the heavy risk group to build up immunity (which is based on all the components of the coronavirus, and not just the ever evolving spike protein, thus cause much better, more elaborate and long term immune protection), there is a much better outlook on it all than by forcing the population to go through booster after booster after booster and locking everyone and the economy down all the time. Of course it was all new and uncertain back in 2020 and we have seen countries all over the world struggling with the choices of how to approach this threat. Totally understandible. But I hope that with reflection and time now, better choices can be made. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">July studies have shown that many people already have encountered other human coronaviruses in their lifetime and already built up some T-cell immunity to it. And Omicron seems much better suited for this approach, as it already causes a reduction of hospitalization in patients of 70%. Instead of mixing vaccines and continuing the booster people after 6 months, then 5 months, then 4 months, again and again, we maybe need to let this virus run around in a controlled fashion, stop all the lockdowns and vaccination mandates which are symbolism politics and just get on with it. Those at increased risk of developing severe covid can still be asked to get vaccinated, or protect themselves as well as possible while another wave is rolling over. <i>Not fun</i>, no, for those at high risk. But it is also <i>not fun</i> now for perfectly healthy people who do not want a 3rd or 4th booster for a virus they are at low risk for anyway, and who are locked up and fired at the moment (and have been for nearly two years actually), to protect the old and the frail. That is not fair either, and does not even makes scientific sense. Governments should provide <b><span style="color: #444444;">early phase treatment</span></b>, just like they do successfully already in countries like India, Japan and Mexico. As soon as someone tests positive for covid, you preventively treat for a week with existing, proven, tested and safe medication (HCQ, AZI, Ivermectin, fluvoxamine etc). There are scientists who speak out about this and try to steer things away from mass vaccination and ongoing boosters, and towards early symptom treatment with such drugs. For instance people like Dr. Paul Alexander, Dr. Byram Bridle, Dr. Geert Vanden Bossche, Prof. Dolores Cahill, and Drs. Sucharit Bhakdi, Ryan Cole, Richard Fleming, Robert W. Malone, Peter McCullough, Mark Trozzi, Michael Yeadon, Wolfgang Wodarg, and Vladimir Zelenko. Even </span>Johns Hopkins University (ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world) made the logical decision to incorporate fluvoxamine into their treatment recommendations. <i>"Fluvoxamine shows a high likelihood of preventing hospitalization in ambulatory patients with COVID-19. (..) Fluvoxamine could be recommended as a treatment option."</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEp1Ju4PsdhtP-qZflgczHPd3KdwksyH9KehDpsoKdicNd769ofajHuQewkOHLrUskNgGbe8VuqtLItB-1ZZnWarT52ZcDDZYdMwWC3h3bFkKu1wRJXnrzYB741yCkvjbsuBttevEVBZ6i3CR8tc_47w1iTMt0W_J9S3ht3P3MVpzj4wDyR6MQXM9J2w=s850" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="850" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEp1Ju4PsdhtP-qZflgczHPd3KdwksyH9KehDpsoKdicNd769ofajHuQewkOHLrUskNgGbe8VuqtLItB-1ZZnWarT52ZcDDZYdMwWC3h3bFkKu1wRJXnrzYB741yCkvjbsuBttevEVBZ6i3CR8tc_47w1iTMt0W_J9S3ht3P3MVpzj4wDyR6MQXM9J2w=w400-h264" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-mTrslGmH1yjlJ_dQ5vYi2XY8vXCY5mWj-kep5WRl_6oftzjDWAD23OWP5E1xvlAQSeOYM4dkyZU0sEI5qFWZ1E8qnv_7r3YYFbemb51OgYsmdebcuB87pD9dI0JlgRSzpxzpTb-VT2Rath97lfz_4R7-YjhC5WlsGzpKuikUeLLhfMEOi_1qZytT7A=s1200" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="797" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-mTrslGmH1yjlJ_dQ5vYi2XY8vXCY5mWj-kep5WRl_6oftzjDWAD23OWP5E1xvlAQSeOYM4dkyZU0sEI5qFWZ1E8qnv_7r3YYFbemb51OgYsmdebcuB87pD9dI0JlgRSzpxzpTb-VT2Rath97lfz_4R7-YjhC5WlsGzpKuikUeLLhfMEOi_1qZytT7A=w400-h266" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">The problems with the vaccines and power</span></b><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Omicron is officially 70% less likely to</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> hospitalize people, and vaccines are a failure by now when it comes to curbing the spread of the virus (even the official stats <b><a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/conjoncture/covid-19-est-il-vrai-que-63-des-deces-dans-les-hopitaux-concernent-des-personnes-vaccinees-20211223" target="_blank">show</a></b> that in France for instance, 63% of hospitalized covid patients are fully vaccinated, with the real numbers probably being even higher). The UKHSA in its latest reports shows that over 83% of UK covid fatalities are among vaccinated patients. Even my sister, who's best friend is an IC nurse, has made a bit of a u-turn and told me that it is true that fully vaccinated people now also end up in hospital. The friend even advised against vaccinating children. But if you listen to world leaders, you may as well believe the total opposite. As our </span>state leaders, in positions of great power, continue to carry on doing things which have not worked, in the hope that it will be different the next time. Despite having about 90% of French adults fully vaccinated, as well as over three-quarters of children aged 12 to 17 according to health ministry data, France is now facing <b><span style="color: #444444;">mandatory vaccination </span></b>for anyone who wants to do anything that makes life worth living. From going to a bar or a sports club to taking the TGV train; everything will be banned for those who are not vaccinated if Macron and his ministers get their way (the senate will soon be voting on the proposal and are expected to agree). A total two-tier society, which excludes not only all those people who don't want to be vaccinated at all, but also those who don't want a 3rd or soon 4th booster shot. And then a 5th. In France you lose all your privileges if you refuse your booster (despite having agreed on the first and the second shot in the past). This is the classic way of blackmailing: something is demanded by blackmail, then more is demanded, and more. since the victims are already at their mercy. In France the original narrative and promise was that <i>the government would never install a health pass</i>. Then the promise was altered in true Orwellian Animal Farm fashion into <i>'we will never install a health pass for everyday activities'.</i> When this happened anyway, they said that it would not last beyond the month of November. The latest promise, only last month, was that vaccination will not become compulsory. Fast-forward to this week, and Véran is gloating that <i>yes, the new proposition is a covered vaccination obligation.</i> Barely anyone flinches anymore by now, when faced with the continuous lies or inconsistensies of states people. But when we start to give in to blackmail, that is always what happens: we no longer see the end, and the demands are more and more onerous. How can people go along with this? Knowing that any potentially significant side-effects they <i>may</i> encounter from this mandatory vaccine - if unlucky (because it is all down to luck, let's be clear about that) - will catapult them into No Man's Land in terms of responsibility. Side-effects like strokes, heart attacks (<b><a href="https://stevekirsch.substack.com/p/athlete-collapsesdeaths-following?fbclid=IwAR1PGK_k1NcOyCsK5z1hKZgUrfs9EvjDVBSB2zSIYyNQHCq04YDuf0Cbr7g" target="_blank">also among young fit sportspeople</a></b>) and blood clots from the spike protein production do take place, although luckily only with a small group of people. But if it happens to you, you won't be able to sue anyone over it. When governments go as far as making emergency use vaccinations mandatory, it would be chic when our governments also accept legal and financial responsibility for the risks and unforeseen side-effects of this vaccination. <b><span style="color: #444444;">NHS GP Dr Renee Hoenderkamp about mandatory vaccination. short and slightly longer clip;</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='318' height='265' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx1HGj7WRZsfw7lVeposUbuh1UJIUTOEBsOHE79xvDa8gMN6Gl5WB32Scny_SlHiXi863YQevSOWmD6jNTzCQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yJjLKfcKql0" width="320" youtube-src-id="yJjLKfcKql0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Countries like France follow the example of other radical countries. Austria already bans non-vaccinated people from entering the country altogether, and has a lockdown in place for the unvaccinated only. From February 2022 onward, they will be heavily fined (and who would be surprised if Austria with its glittering past will even imprison the traitors if they don't pay). In Germany the non-vaccinated already can't go into most stores unless they have been vaccinated. Contaminated but vaccinated caregivers will be able to come and work to make up for the shortage of staff, but <i>not </i>unvaccinated caregivers who test negative. They can't work. Mandatory vaccination, while the reality of the day is that we're already facing a 3rd dose within one year; while we have as many deaths today as in December 2020 when nobody was vaccinated yet. A time in which not even a 90% vaccination rate in countries like France and the Netherlands have made the difference (and in a time when a virus mutation is dominant which is already <b><a href="https://www.euronews.com/2021/12/23/omicron-cases-70-less-likely-to-be-hospitalised-uk-health-agency-report-suggests" target="_blank">70% less likely</a></b> to get people hospitalized). If the vaccines truly did what they promised to do, we would have seen a pronounced effect even at a population vaccination of 50% But alas. Where is open and honest science here, which should have jumped in already by now? All this is abuse of power, at a time when the vaccinated also get covid, pass covid on and end up in hospital (they make up the absolute majority in most hospitalized covid cases in Europe by now). And it all seems so strange, considering that the health pass obtained through a very recent negative test is actually much more safe/reliable than the vaccination pass. And it is even stranger to enforce vaccination, when every virologist knows (Darwin) that mass vaccination in the midst of a viral pandemic can in fact enable more troublesome viral mutations (circumventing the antibodies created by the vaccine) and even viral resistance. <b><a href="https://www.blckbx.tv/videos/vandenbossche" target="_blank">Some virologists</a></b> even believe that this mass vaccination of today, with booster after booster, in fact prolongs the pandemic unnecessary. - They said 70% would be enough for herd immunity. But the problem is that the vaccines never functioned as promised. Not even during the Delta wave. And so people need boosters every 6 or 5 months and not even 90% vaccination rate is enough. Covid numbers and hospitalizations are higher than ever now. And it isn't solely down the a small group of unvaccinated people, or the latest virus variant, but also because the vaccines do not do what they promised they'd do. - <b><span style="color: #444444;">Funny detail from the Netherlands; every year we pick a 'word of the year', and this year over 80% of people voted the word 'prikspijt': <i><a href="https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2021/12/vaccination-regret-prikspijt-makes-dutch-word-of-the-year/" target="_blank">'vaccination regret'</a></i>. Whatever the reason for this. </span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjc8-det2EK5yoIbom8v3tOxDxbfvmnmGhDRjhLT9U9nbKKu9gWprqWGuN0uaMu0iB71CuCSvniY2CHg_tCjjr4yj_UPmdfts7kcJCD6MJatjaGL4xl8UxHDovQmMlLdemGk8Gbc3B7iV6oFnaVKR8B7V7_mocH4JRBX2ZtAa8M7J6IxHH1BZ6NbZNZXA=s903" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="893" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjc8-det2EK5yoIbom8v3tOxDxbfvmnmGhDRjhLT9U9nbKKu9gWprqWGuN0uaMu0iB71CuCSvniY2CHg_tCjjr4yj_UPmdfts7kcJCD6MJatjaGL4xl8UxHDovQmMlLdemGk8Gbc3B7iV6oFnaVKR8B7V7_mocH4JRBX2ZtAa8M7J6IxHH1BZ6NbZNZXA=w395-h400" width="395" /></a></div>The vaccines were promised initially to be 95% effective against <i>getting more severe covid symptoms**</i>. That's the basis on which they were granted emergency use approval (despite all still being stuck in test phase 3). This 95% was a statistical aberration, because pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and others looked intentionally at <i>relative ris</i>k, and not at <i>absolute risk</i>. The absolute risk of the people in both test groups of catching covid was under 1%. For both groups. And the vaccines were only aimed at preventing severe covid symptoms (at which they failed, as for months now the total absolute majority or covid patients in hospitals are fully vaccinated): the vaccines were not even aimed at <i>providing immunity, or protecting you from infection</i>. Which they also, indeed, don't do in reality. There has also been no studies from Pfizer and co in long term effects or issues like immune (antibody-)dependent enhancement among the vaccinated. These basics.. most people I talked to aren't even aware of this. They're talking about a 4th booster, a 4th vaccine of the same substance, in countries like Israel, the UK and EU countries. A 4th jab within a year, while the hospitals are full with an overall majority of vaccinated patients. British health Agency now <b><a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/omicron-l-efficacite-d-une-troisieme-dose-pfizer-declinerait-a-45-des-dix-semaines-selon-l-agence-sanitaire-britannique-20211227" target="_blank">published</a></b> the following data: <span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">"Omicron renders the Pfizer vaccine only 45% effective within TEN WEEKS". </i>Notice the surprise in the headline. </span>The long-term protection duration of these vaccines was unknown from the start of the roll out, because the small-scale, short-term tests were aimed at the amount of antibodies generated soon after vaccination. Which means that the rest of the effects of these products are just as unknown. Of course the vaccine fallacy is currently blamed on Omicron and the unvaccinated, but these vaccines already functioned poorly within months of being rolled out however. That can happen of course, and this is an emergency situation. That is all understood. But why isn't there more transparency about all this by now? This obstinacy of Western leaders in promoting only the ongoing vaccine boosters (wich at this point are more like <i>immune boosters</i> based on an already mutated spike protein), against all odds, despite the alarm signals warning us that this can not be the only solution, is not only irresponsible, but deleterious, and will lead to a number of deaths which could have been avoided with an ounce of common sense. This may even one day prove to be a health scandal. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span>All these mandates are based on only one flawed trial result</span></b>:</span> they only tested both test groups of 20.000 people for about 12 weeks, and looked how many positive covid tests they got in the test group and how many in the vaccine group. In both groups, less than 1% of people got covid. The difference was 0,8 to 0,1%. This is statistically insignificant, especially since the researchers were not looking for people with severe symptoms; no, they were only looking at people with a positive PCR test. They should have looked for the vaccines ability to actually <i>protect against severe covid illness and death.</i> But they did not do that. Therefore, these experimental vaccines may have been authorized by governments, but they most certainly should not be made mandatory anywhere. Maybe that is why the FDA is smuggling the data away in a safe, like they did with the JFK files. Have they possibly been handpicking the data they chose to include in their trials, to ensure they passed approval? People are more or less pressurized into entrusting a brand new type of vaccination (or else... Just look at all the hoops I have to jump through to do the most basic of things out in life), <b><span style="color: #444444;">but we're finding it normal that the FDA now actually <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/wait-what-fda-wants-55-years-process-foia-request-over-vaccine-data-2021-11-18/" target="_blank">wants to lock away</a> Pfizer vaccine data from the public for over half a century.</span></b> While the voices of those <b><a href="https://twitter.com/Storiesofinjury" target="_blank">injured</a></b> by the vaccines are silenced. There has also has been a coordinated effort according to some specialists, to demonize existing medication, which studies show to be effective in the early treatment of covid19. Had this been accepted by the FDA and European health authorities, then vaccine makers would have also been unable to claim that their barely tested products were valid emergency use treatments since there were <i>no other treatments available</i>. As has been successfully claimed now. It beats me why the gvt is not <i>also</i> interested in alternative treatments with established and proven drugs in light of all this. But even wondering about that makes one an 'anti-vaxxer' apparently. (I had all my childhood vaccinations and a later hepatitis one too). Everything that is happening is bewildering really, when you take a step back and overlook things. Decisions seem primarily being made now by medical technocrats. We can only hope for eventual disillusionment of the majority group, the vaccinated, upon their Xth booster obligation.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">**Notice how world leaders including Joe Biden told the world in July 2021 that: <i>"You're not going to get COVID if you have these vaccinations,"</i> and "<i>If you're vaccinated, you're not going to be hospitalized, you're not going to be in the ICU unit, and you're not going to die."</i> He lied. His health secretary Rochelle Walensky stated on 30th March, 2021 that: <i>"Fully vaccinated people dont get sick and do not carry the virus. Our data from the CDC today suggest that vaccinated people do not carry the virus</i>." She lied. Nine months ago, the CDC said <i>fully vaccinated people do not carry the virus and dont get sick</i>, they were wrong' ~ Shore News Network ~ 14th December, 2021. Instead of openly correcting their false promises, they silently changed the goalposts and adjusted their own defintions. You will surely all have noticed this in the news over the past year. Not getting covid or carrying the virus was changed into not dying from covid, and people like Fauci - who barely provides research data to back himself up - over time added other softening terms, such as 'not significantly'. See Biden, Fauci and Gates make these early vaccine promises on camera <b><a href="https://twitter.com/Cernovich/status/1474946202714079236" target="_blank">HERE</a></b>. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">How it all began and how hydroxychloroquine was blocked as a covid treatment early on</span></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/659395520?h=f366e6b877" width="640"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">How ivermectin became the next target<br /></span></b><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/659413343?h=a6b1a4864a" width="640"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>A decent metaphor in the 1st video</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/omrVpA14FpY" width="320" youtube-src-id="omrVpA14FpY"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N-VDi8WJtBI" width="320" youtube-src-id="N-VDi8WJtBI"></iframe></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOG3Y3TiqfOasQgOAcRuTrdIrjrTRYBDTyl81jvWf4psn3H_JMCWDJme66v-wnNfFmmWO1GxqvJh_kYpiKlrX7qqP1nnoY8MNgD4S59GWcUbgSQKncwGJrrxXcnANEIlQEqM4RAShKQmwPk_d-JqgnJeP8GUssNXGGR3J-bISzu03z1hTeISS1iGVf0w=s960" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="945" data-original-width="960" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOG3Y3TiqfOasQgOAcRuTrdIrjrTRYBDTyl81jvWf4psn3H_JMCWDJme66v-wnNfFmmWO1GxqvJh_kYpiKlrX7qqP1nnoY8MNgD4S59GWcUbgSQKncwGJrrxXcnANEIlQEqM4RAShKQmwPk_d-JqgnJeP8GUssNXGGR3J-bISzu03z1hTeISS1iGVf0w=w260-h256" width="260" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4EKLms4qktlYAfu9Errw73SNseZPnhmQNAYSy_S1v1HISfqcSjpYxEKEqEnOdTbL3Q6275us8To3T3Jgs50H8Bor48Pa-Ay9MjqqZhrQwx7w_zh5uz8TsiJBuU1vO3gZPXD_pFHBbXMZpXITJVjw2ysE7-X77MDnrMpfUa8jb8KPDFT6lIj7qa-cWow=s705" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="705" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4EKLms4qktlYAfu9Errw73SNseZPnhmQNAYSy_S1v1HISfqcSjpYxEKEqEnOdTbL3Q6275us8To3T3Jgs50H8Bor48Pa-Ay9MjqqZhrQwx7w_zh5uz8TsiJBuU1vO3gZPXD_pFHBbXMZpXITJVjw2ysE7-X77MDnrMpfUa8jb8KPDFT6lIj7qa-cWow=w341-h255" width="341" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">And on a more positive note: I thoroughly enjoyed watching the series Alice in Borderland. Here is the trailer</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="444" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/49_44FFKZ1M" width="534" youtube-src-id="49_44FFKZ1M"></iframe></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">I also love the videos of the Bros of Decay,</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">in which they explore abandoned castles and mansions</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="443" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/whSpQdULluk" width="533" youtube-src-id="whSpQdULluk"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Songs of the day </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nu0QI57PYPs" width="320" youtube-src-id="nu0QI57PYPs"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X4yzglXbh-I" width="320" youtube-src-id="X4yzglXbh-I"></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 33px;">The ultimate Formula One '21 intro:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="492" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SLHLt6iGVyM" width="592" youtube-src-id="SLHLt6iGVyM"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='576' height='479' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxTtASOLa2UTaVwP-_zPp88i9d2ge6htlmrCMXjehofpe7zlPKpa4MzYn6okT8yTU84ZieBilohXtm8JUCMCA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">December 16th</span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2021, Max Verstappen is world champion</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNUkQI5zFWGgHiWin2QnkzB24bCzuSYTPLiSm9PWpW8mhoPaERQpSSNljbYyQUdzSr6Fxakx8Re2nkacGZprsFfZ_NAUMAq1kQt2WNSuT5DOjnOCGf1TPclxvw0WJFibF3Y-4030KHD8fDebMrHf6TX91N5h0DC1Cy0IzNVmxek9vCLG27qDhmEvgAMg=s634" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="634" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNUkQI5zFWGgHiWin2QnkzB24bCzuSYTPLiSm9PWpW8mhoPaERQpSSNljbYyQUdzSr6Fxakx8Re2nkacGZprsFfZ_NAUMAq1kQt2WNSuT5DOjnOCGf1TPclxvw0WJFibF3Y-4030KHD8fDebMrHf6TX91N5h0DC1Cy0IzNVmxek9vCLG27qDhmEvgAMg=w400-h276" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisjAn9i6xyfRaLwfWPGimQC70lZaCEspR3xW1ymytA0ASBtWuVZPfKym2JRk1yg9TES1Tb6kAwqyoX1NntH7uB8FTigGGxx9NygUvnphoatITQ4ydQF_wOeulTTVAgCAl2Rw9i_01j7th3cqb339jaDaNnXDjnR_Iu5qK-twfhpQMH55ya4-RVyVPQVg=s750" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="750" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisjAn9i6xyfRaLwfWPGimQC70lZaCEspR3xW1ymytA0ASBtWuVZPfKym2JRk1yg9TES1Tb6kAwqyoX1NntH7uB8FTigGGxx9NygUvnphoatITQ4ydQF_wOeulTTVAgCAl2Rw9i_01j7th3cqb339jaDaNnXDjnR_Iu5qK-twfhpQMH55ya4-RVyVPQVg=w400-h268" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihcaudRGEfsRDTrZNYhRtArzGozMwrw8j4eJYzNZI-r2kbdd9L80CalzBfQwx5Er0hRGJxO729GMrxojk_RfeOp_SOy5vr1xegC44iRu6DX_Pbx9KDHICNzHwsWCyX0Jbd5p0ovvmYmn5rCKd_rIGS328ZGc1CXbxyJEumQm0u18bkT6nhpcalySWrgQ=s1100" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="1100" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihcaudRGEfsRDTrZNYhRtArzGozMwrw8j4eJYzNZI-r2kbdd9L80CalzBfQwx5Er0hRGJxO729GMrxojk_RfeOp_SOy5vr1xegC44iRu6DX_Pbx9KDHICNzHwsWCyX0Jbd5p0ovvmYmn5rCKd_rIGS328ZGc1CXbxyJEumQm0u18bkT6nhpcalySWrgQ=w400-h225" width="400" /></a>Mercedes and its team boss Toto Wolff have finally dropped their appeals against FIA actions in last Sunday's Formula 1 race. The fact that they do not continue to litigate has mostly to do with money. A major Mercedes lender was "not amused" at how Toto reacted to the loss and threatened to pull out, not wanting to be associated with this. This party has washed Toto's ears. My feeling is that Toto Wolff would prefer to continue to litigate, while Mercedes is trying to avoid further reputation damage. Toto Wolff has stakes and shares everywhere in Formula 1, and is without a doubt more powerful than Bernie Ecclestone ever was. But Toto is still angry, according to the latest reports :D And he and his team clearly still haven't accepted things, as they will not show up tonight at the FIA gala, where Max Verstappen will be crowned world champion and where all teams and their cars traditionally will pose for a group photo. Here we have a global powerbrand, Mercedes-Benz, who won the last SEVEN years in a row. Who have been given more than the benefit of the doubt by FIA for years. Countless examples where Red Bull and Verstappen had serious disadvantage of FIA decisions, while Mercedes benefitted, sometimes completely willy-nilly. They have gotten away with almost everything this year as well. And now that FIA's Massi made one decision - which was completely within the allowed and common racing regulations - which did not benefit Hamilton and Mercedes, and they act like toddlers. After dominating F1 for 7 years, they lost the drivers title for 1 year and they instantly refuse to participate in the FIA gala. That is unbelievable. Toto said in the media that the reputation of <i>F1</i> was hurt by this; but I think that the brand of <i>Mercedes-Benz</i> was in fact damaged by this unsportsmanlike tantrum of Toto, dragging Mercedes down in the process. This vocal exaggerated protest was probably also partly to try to cover up their own disastrous tactical choices, having Hamilton continue on at least 34 round old tyres, because they feared Max would overtake otherwise. (But Red Bull were in a similar position and France and did opt to make a pit stop under Virtual Security Car, handing back the lead to Hamilton; because they opted to take the risk and catch them to the end; it <i>is</i> an option). They were basically afraid to lose the world title in the pit lane. Instead they lost the title on the track, as it should be (and not while chugging behind a Safety Car, as Toto now demanded*). Mercedes had exactly the same chances as RD, only Mercedes opted for track position instead of a set of new tyres. Toto has become a hot-tempered man under the stress. There is really no good sportsmanship about deciding to bring your lawyer to the race. And a true champion would have shown up at that gala tonight and led the toast to the winner. *Mind you, after the Spa Grand Prix, Mercedes pushed for a meeting where they advocated that it should from then on be avoided at all times to finish a race under a yellow flag, and all teams agreed on this. This is not formally written in the rules and legislations, but is an agreement nonetheless. Now it worked in their disadvantage. Lewis - "It's unbelievable man" - Hamilton knew it as soon as the safety car came out and he heard that Verstappen had pitted and received new soft tyres, while he himself was still driving on his old tyres. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So well. Very petty indeed.. When people behave like this after a season where they have always been lucky and after the aftermath of that crash at Silverstone for instance, they should be ashamed of themselves (and what happened in the last lap also happened in Bakou, in favour of Hamilton). Talk about Sportsmanship.. Mercedes recently protested a legal rear wing, which made their direct competitor (and smaller teams) have to invest in a new design, whilst all teams had agreed the costs in F1 should decrease. Mercedes misused the rules (aimed at cutting costs for smaller teams) to put in fresh engines in the car, so that they can nullify the penalty deficit of losing grid positions at the start. Mercedes have been trying to influence the race director during this finale not to bring out the safety car, because that would be to their own tactical disadvantage. Toto Wolff in fact has been whining to the race director over the intercom about every decision he didn't agree with, trying to lobby his way to preferential treatment. Mercedes had an E-mail at hand with an unofficial document - which was by then already a few years old - to 'prove' their driver was not to blame for taking out his direct competitor. Now Mercedes prevents the Formula-E team to travel to the FIA Gala out of protest, whilst it is a totally different championship and takes away<i> their </i>moment of glory. And of course they also refused to give the lead back to Max at the start of the final race. But the miracle took place anyway. A seemingly hopeless race in a slower car was turned into a World Championship. Not through theft, but by clever strategics and superior driving. Based on both this last race and the rest of the season, Max is the rightful winner and luckily many people (most I would say) outside of Ham-mad England agree with this. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">This was the Formula One battle of the decade for me, personally. Chills:</span></b></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="519" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z3zUcAwOs1A" width="623" youtube-src-id="Z3zUcAwOs1A"></iframe><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='622' height='517' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy-Hsc8MPni9XUCrZJnWerc6D_c7sPOQS9tuyAk7zSQeqg9UjtnHiPqfb_CBq0bOtnlTWlDHLSyAw4ymdXsGA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBzCed4ilPQkizwrt7sfmbZ0osJE__cLYpJ2vL4ju1JK7R1X3USN_oU9FuRR7zFYDpr50WI34Tnzh-ns3mpKJngaNmmsWzyiaqL4vSj80vNZZEikOlUPkrQylFVHzaQB-I5ShMaGss64xWGyU3Wtzy87YUm3aAnEPW5x03lj5flw0BkHSeNflnVp4YSQ=s889" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="889" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBzCed4ilPQkizwrt7sfmbZ0osJE__cLYpJ2vL4ju1JK7R1X3USN_oU9FuRR7zFYDpr50WI34Tnzh-ns3mpKJngaNmmsWzyiaqL4vSj80vNZZEikOlUPkrQylFVHzaQB-I5ShMaGss64xWGyU3Wtzy87YUm3aAnEPW5x03lj5flw0BkHSeNflnVp4YSQ=w552-h402" width="552" /></a>The only positive that has come from this, is that FIA will evaluate things and analyze the rules. And hopefully will come up with transparent and clearly defined new rules for 2022. Mercedes may get more than they bargained for with this, as it will hopefully prevent the sort of favoritism and pandering to the big donors which we've seen this season and previous seasons, almost always in favor of Mercedes. When an independent commission weighs in on the rules now, care must be taken that Mercedes cannot and should not be able to manipulate, push and bribe them any longer. We can hear on live radio now how Toto mid-race tries to change decisions of the stewards and pushes his weight around. Racing cannot become a jury sport, where the likes of Toto can bargain and lobby their way to victory. As good as they can party at Mercedes after a win, as poorly can they handle their losses. But they say they respect Verstappen. Oh what respect they have, so much respect that both Wolff and Hamilton are not present at the FIA gala. I've never seen such a bunch of whiners. Mercedes is really not a nice place anymore. Speaking of Former Formula1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone; he has said in <b><a href="https://www.ad.nl/formule-1/formule-1-icoon-ecclestone-roemt-max-verstappen-en-lacht-om-mercedes-ze-zetten-krassen-in-hun-eigen-ster~a2200858/" target="_blank">an interview</a></b> this week that Max Verstappen is the deserved world champion. Quote: <i>“At a very young age, he has already been able to compete with Lewis Hamilton, one of the best drivers ever. Not just on the track, but also off it.” </i>Despite Mercedes having the best car and having done everything to pester and destabilize Max in the weeks leading up to the last race, he believes. Mercedes' attitude in the aftermath of it all has been unbelievable for Ecclestone. <i>“They probably build the best cars in the world. But with this attitude, they put scratches on their own star. That is very unwise.” ,,Their team bosses try to influence decisions of the race management even during the race. The sport suffers as a result. Pure competition should come first. The drivers have provided great sport. It's a disgrace it's overshadowed in this way." <br /></i><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWOiuyzENr5ryI2mu5165hD4mpGykiZsbKcRn84E8HU-RsdoGrprwJcR7eaewSHX8F09JY9lob5gkm91ITLE15ZKDyrbvZuhGuViYwAL1O1FokYnlKOZ9ehE6dP6fevd9wB3hiQwnnuf70quJMr_qHAvfz6uxHB1Ry2zXZzRV0xEshejkcWgtqcTMTcA=s1640" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1035" data-original-width="1640" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWOiuyzENr5ryI2mu5165hD4mpGykiZsbKcRn84E8HU-RsdoGrprwJcR7eaewSHX8F09JY9lob5gkm91ITLE15ZKDyrbvZuhGuViYwAL1O1FokYnlKOZ9ehE6dP6fevd9wB3hiQwnnuf70quJMr_qHAvfz6uxHB1Ry2zXZzRV0xEshejkcWgtqcTMTcA=s320" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfO1hSW_Dsz5Cmqq-RlTTxuXtDEOkgkrI7-e0OSOEtexmSq9lI0-lxs58jMnrsg0fhp_eEovxnLroegHs45ysz6qcfYynJ4sqUxZkw23vz3u8aZnfV0LwWH9x2jc5qUZWnOmITY80CouunP-9GnjR6swsE___DWjb0oHzzxB-6_HV2_Q3O2Knzg3iz7Q=s1868" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="1868" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfO1hSW_Dsz5Cmqq-RlTTxuXtDEOkgkrI7-e0OSOEtexmSq9lI0-lxs58jMnrsg0fhp_eEovxnLroegHs45ysz6qcfYynJ4sqUxZkw23vz3u8aZnfV0LwWH9x2jc5qUZWnOmITY80CouunP-9GnjR6swsE___DWjb0oHzzxB-6_HV2_Q3O2Knzg3iz7Q=s320" width="320" /></a>Yes, Max <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJO3AhXhiXE" target="_blank">drives aggressive</a></b> at times, but he drives fair too and right within the boundaries of the F1 rules. This aggressive and skilled driving is what we love about him and racing. Max gives Senna Schumacher vibes, but without their evil attempt to take other drivers completely out of the race. When competing against another aggressive driver like Hamilton, you either act aggressive or get used to following him around every day. The big issue here is that both Hamilton and Verstappen drive entirely different type of cars. Red Bull's car is superior in corners (faster and more flexible in the bends), while Mercedes' car has a longer chassis and is faster on the long straight parts. That's why Max tries to overtake in the corners most of the time. And why Lewis Hamilton doesn't often dare to try to overtake Max in a low speed corner, but instead waits for the long straights or wide corners to do so. If that corner element would be removed from F1, then it would come down to a boring drag race. It really was a bit of a snoozefest a few years ago, with Hamilton just driving his rounds unchallenged. In F1 the teams build their own cars, and it is this difference of car design philosophy that makes the sport interesting and dynamic. As Ayrton Senna said: “If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver” Maybe FIA will further refine the racing rules and then we will see a different F1 in years to come. </div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="359" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/657821995?h=8eaf0758d3" title="vimeo-player" width="640"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="530" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EJVxGTTGF28" width="638" youtube-src-id="EJVxGTTGF28"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 33px;">The highlights!!</span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwuCcUkdPB0VT6z2IqBVgaYsaGL7B3ykHya4wb5b0zZ1EsRc2PL4LNpjwJhAlhXytmX65hy7uQ7p3f2xpeq8w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HNvBdyocYFo" width="320" youtube-src-id="HNvBdyocYFo"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14XULzI_0ztti35oj1vzz_Lbnfp2BgbuCG9EJsVCYE1X7LjVvnvdSUe2JhwOPE509uN5eci7w3xfzvmA4d1k7vDfXPJ6lhAYK1yz418Dn9i7--F9EaCnCqM_WE0lw4CtATCyEN-RCzM2Z7OopzTg_YpsRy89NLgFnfvlQAIvjM1b8HGJALVOf_3DSig/s1080/No%20michael.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1080" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14XULzI_0ztti35oj1vzz_Lbnfp2BgbuCG9EJsVCYE1X7LjVvnvdSUe2JhwOPE509uN5eci7w3xfzvmA4d1k7vDfXPJ6lhAYK1yz418Dn9i7--F9EaCnCqM_WE0lw4CtATCyEN-RCzM2Z7OopzTg_YpsRy89NLgFnfvlQAIvjM1b8HGJALVOf_3DSig/w640-h532/No%20michael.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="534" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8AYy-BcjRXg" width="642" youtube-src-id="8AYy-BcjRXg"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Censorship</span><br />This decision was sponsored by Gillette, CNN, Joe Biden's press manager and all bad movie trailer producers.</span></b> <span><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Another democratic (free opinion) tool removed by pandering social media bosses. </span>As usual the decision is wrapped in lies and gaslighting. This video is spot on. F*ck these times.</span> And so much for youtube being a free speech platform of the people. (Move to rumble, bitchute and other platforms). Imagine buying a product on a site where the owner decided you could only see anonymous glowing 5 star reviews, and not the complaints? Removing the means to discuss or show dissatisfaction from the public is not good and those who have paid attention know that it is another small step towards authoritarianism and censorship. Wait for it, they will permanently disable the comment section for the plebs too in the near future, or censor every voice of dissent out of it. Nothing new, for those who followed their history classes. But liberal content makers who have been downvoted in droves will love it. Moving from YOUtube to WEtube. <span>Below a direct video link on youtube and the uploaded version, in case ytbe removes it. </span><i>"If you liked our video, give it a thumbs up. If you don't like it, well.......your opinion no longer matters." </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/f1Izh3-c88Y" width="320" youtube-src-id="f1Izh3-c88Y"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwNaUwf9H8lNV8Y-r00hp0c-vbLz2ga4l_Ah7xhNiGrjaL1Xu-3rLSYvwtBMdjb2VvlJZgAd6gN-rbrKqBGVg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><br /><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqSlaC92yffi6Vqxn_EyO8Vuq3yRh_fpoqkJxacNGoo-qlY-SVOKHywRHfay8a5-kCr47xHdIQav-UXKxgNMitSxCGlHop4nWX06Ztsk25ig-s93pSWzZjwcQ3whlNZ--oVf1ANuKND93WTSWpBz2N9z9E5E0THTTzel9kKFRAZVxiGqWImjME6tghqQ=s944" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="944" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqSlaC92yffi6Vqxn_EyO8Vuq3yRh_fpoqkJxacNGoo-qlY-SVOKHywRHfay8a5-kCr47xHdIQav-UXKxgNMitSxCGlHop4nWX06Ztsk25ig-s93pSWzZjwcQ3whlNZ--oVf1ANuKND93WTSWpBz2N9z9E5E0THTTzel9kKFRAZVxiGqWImjME6tghqQ=s320" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2M8hdIn_ON-MMYZYR_UJfNeGqcag7DQJ5pp04SqiOkgLX8WqlUfzqizMKow4dztPilyWGL6JNHyAkoEQtmgBb5G1aNymkeaGId9ro80zquoo69OM-Spz4GOjPb-h6StGyaCIibf-HN8G1E2MqOKMN5QQziymQ7SxL0uSofNAP8x9_Cl2zLUeovpp-lw=s727" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="727" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2M8hdIn_ON-MMYZYR_UJfNeGqcag7DQJ5pp04SqiOkgLX8WqlUfzqizMKow4dztPilyWGL6JNHyAkoEQtmgBb5G1aNymkeaGId9ro80zquoo69OM-Spz4GOjPb-h6StGyaCIibf-HN8G1E2MqOKMN5QQziymQ7SxL0uSofNAP8x9_Cl2zLUeovpp-lw=s320" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Paxlovid versus</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"> Ivermectin</span></b></div><div>Meanwhile Pfizer has a new anti-covid drug on the market called <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMfjtgli55Y" target="_blank">"Paxlovid"</a></b>. It has just been approved for emergency use in Europe. (I do wonder: Are they liable for these ones? Or is it us that pay for potential risks again?) As I have stated before in older blog posts here, the central mechanisms of action are not much different to <b><span style="color: #444444;">ivermectin</span></b>'s mode of action. Despite Pfizer having created a completely new molecule (which can be patented for 20 years to come therefore), <i>both</i> "Paxlovid" and (super cheap) ivermectin act as <b><span style="color: #444444;">protease inhibitors</span></b> (blocking the ability from the virus to duplicate and build new viruses from proteins). In fact, ivermectin works on <i>multiple</i> biochemical pathways to do so, while Pfizer's new drug only does it through a <i>single</i> pathway (making ivermectin again more interesting and Pfizer's drug more at risk of potential viral drug resistancy). Forget about all the anti-ivermectin propaganda (the pills, not the vet injections); <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufy2AweXRkc" target="_blank">here</a></b> a doctor explains the similarities between Paxlovid and ivermectin in a comprehensive way. When you take ivermectin soon enough after catching covid - SARS-CoV-2 - you will prevent the virus from duplicating and thus from spreading through your body, and you basically prevent becoming very sick from covid, normally. In this video the doctor works through several reputable scientific papers, proving that ivermectin is in fact able to impressively block over 80% of the viral replication. As such it was tested to be the most effective safe covid treatment of all the drugs tested and ivermectin is also far more effective of inhibiting covid from progressing than even hydroxychloroquine for instance, which is effective mainly when given it early on to patients and works in several ways to slow down a covid infection. Or <b><span style="color: #444444;">remdesivir</span></b>, which is very expensive and has been used a lot the past 1,5 years by hospitals for critically ill covid patients, despite remdesivir now deemed <i>to do very little</i> at all by the time the average patient gets it (>14 weeks after contracting covid, while in hospital). It also has a higher toxicitity level. Certain <b><a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/common-antidepressant-may-reduce-covid-19-death-risk#Reduced-mortality" target="_blank">antidepressants</a></b> have also <b><a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2786136" target="_blank">been found to be effective</a></b> in covid treatment by the way. <b><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-021-01021-4" target="_blank">Including mirtazapine</a></b>, which I have been using since 2006. But when it comes to the use of generic (existing) medication, there is <b><a href="https://thefederalist.com/2021/12/16/studies-proving-generic-drugs-can-fight-covid-are-being-suppressed/" target="_blank">little incentive overall to study them</a></b>, unfortunately. The fact that Pfizers new drug has been approved over here is further proof that protease inhibitors like ivermectin are of importance in the battle against covid. I was very glad to read this tbh and I hope that covid drugs will combat the vaccine dominance and vaccine mandates in the near future. As you may know I take medication every day to help control my flushing, and I'm not "anti big pharma" an sich. "<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvevJePdNEk" target="_blank">Big pharma</a></b>", a term so many people seem deadly allergic to nowadays, to the point of wanting to censor you as soon as you even utter the slightest criticism towards pharmaceutical industries (of which some, let's face it, have acted like complete gangsters and corrupt cowboys in the past - just check the amount of penalties some have been given by courts). Add to this the fact that the FDA want to lock away for the next 50 or more years the science on which they based the vaccine approval... it <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etPXtIRV-II" target="_blank">warrants critical questions</a></b>. Anyway, I'm glad to have ivermectin pills in the house, for when needed perhaps. Let's see how long youtube will allow this video to stay up.. By the way: Unfortunately Oxford's official ivermectin study has been paused. You won't believe why, <b><a href="https://www.bitchute.com/video/xAyWWS0V8SRf/" target="_blank">see it explained here</a></b> by the inventor of the mRNA technique himself. <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="412" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ufy2AweXRkc" width="496" youtube-src-id="ufy2AweXRkc"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjG-RpWxGxYh8WhSqhYIrnjBt_R6VTATA-atU05cxSIHdAtl94KbXo3Nyw6REKhuLG4BiySZF5b2G5xyWnaSSJlB8BU_46svGRv2mBmIN7DcBxxm796X8rLmRUhDxwbqcmkepKEc4qdwzJnQAd-uIv2txg1mhBteRkDN4etFug4A4K0vAVrKKgpJfy6iA=s959" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="959" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjG-RpWxGxYh8WhSqhYIrnjBt_R6VTATA-atU05cxSIHdAtl94KbXo3Nyw6REKhuLG4BiySZF5b2G5xyWnaSSJlB8BU_46svGRv2mBmIN7DcBxxm796X8rLmRUhDxwbqcmkepKEc4qdwzJnQAd-uIv2txg1mhBteRkDN4etFug4A4K0vAVrKKgpJfy6iA=w263-h176" width="263" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgigUyNndR4e8oopPL5dDQmXfUIB05mu7t_USERT_UKQmoR84uL7lYz1ITBSuDxR3OuK1x1oJHThDLUhVodgbbXPxegQQk_xU5sT1RUnhbyy7BoEc6KphlKoZn0FTcGK99mWsorJo8R47Rs8KXZopX2fd_o4mtJmk0UCG1WV4gdaVWpqfU8u5UpvdTkvA=s916" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="916" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgigUyNndR4e8oopPL5dDQmXfUIB05mu7t_USERT_UKQmoR84uL7lYz1ITBSuDxR3OuK1x1oJHThDLUhVodgbbXPxegQQk_xU5sT1RUnhbyy7BoEc6KphlKoZn0FTcGK99mWsorJo8R47Rs8KXZopX2fd_o4mtJmk0UCG1WV4gdaVWpqfU8u5UpvdTkvA=w319-h175" width="319" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9tEmLkFjLHBcIgkfVbM922LpgJAS0LNeNnrtm1hhJMiALdRj-kDiKohbUfx_vJw--2GaBIUYJTWNlHDDS3Yf81QvhBTaAbjWOJLi5Bwl3WwXfa_PZx_X1O7X6UsGByiOpbV1b0j0n9EyjvaG_QDArT6uluAvUlNhAeBTctBYB3crDtvRQHGLqq_X3Tg=s597" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="470" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9tEmLkFjLHBcIgkfVbM922LpgJAS0LNeNnrtm1hhJMiALdRj-kDiKohbUfx_vJw--2GaBIUYJTWNlHDDS3Yf81QvhBTaAbjWOJLi5Bwl3WwXfa_PZx_X1O7X6UsGByiOpbV1b0j0n9EyjvaG_QDArT6uluAvUlNhAeBTctBYB3crDtvRQHGLqq_X3Tg=s320" width="252" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRLxY3AAEksYodUjcpu1EVU3BA6KPPOdm55Ximw2V-WSt2jy3WoYrsI6zcb9Jxx_c2kUyxi1v1XvF5vaxMhFuFI5R9tHwuqCa5BPcLQ1DLyDeAeNCOtUpAhmZvChMwNbnbpE20J4uDg21u_j7HeHf-t7H7IaPE9lz1CdHYEEr91vQLdoRlJewsv0uLHg=s600" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="600" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRLxY3AAEksYodUjcpu1EVU3BA6KPPOdm55Ximw2V-WSt2jy3WoYrsI6zcb9Jxx_c2kUyxi1v1XvF5vaxMhFuFI5R9tHwuqCa5BPcLQ1DLyDeAeNCOtUpAhmZvChMwNbnbpE20J4uDg21u_j7HeHf-t7H7IaPE9lz1CdHYEEr91vQLdoRlJewsv0uLHg=w252-h242" width="252" /></a><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">How existing drugs </span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">(and some sincere scientists) were demonized during this pandemic</span></span></b><br /><br />This is also a stunning interview with a top doctor. Media tried to smear him, but just listen to his words for yourself and forget about Joe Rogan who interviews him; this is a professional who is sincere in his criticism and backs it up with research references (something I mostly miss with people like Fauci or the youtube 'fact checking' doctors). This pandemic is really exposing how flawed our medical system is. My eyes have really been opened wide to the fact that there are so many gatekeepers within the medical community, who can dictate things without any academic debate or having to prove it with hard science. And I do not mean a very small scale and highly flawed quicky study, which then is referenced to for months, years to come, unchallenged. The way in which doctors have been dictated from higher up - and sometimes against their better judgement and conscience - to follow a 'party line' of sorts, is pretty shocking when it turns out their party line deviated from the scientific findings that are actually out there. But it is a hierarchic world and you just have to trust them and roll up your sleeve without being difficult. If things do go wrong afterwards, god forbid, and you are among the tiny minority injured from it, then you signed your waiver and doctors will tell you to go to a shrink, as it is all in your head and you probably are just suffering from anxiety. Not making this up. I selected some parts of it below, but <b><a href="https://rumble.com/vquadu-joe-rogan-1747.-peter-mccullough-dec-13-2021-covid.html" target="_blank">you can watch the full 2+ hour interview here</a></b>. <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Honest analysis of covid vaccine side-effects and potential risks and how they work</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/659518629" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">How it all began and how hydroxychloroquine was blocked as a covid treatment early on</span></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/659395520?h=f366e6b877" width="640"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">How ivermectin became the next target<br /></span></b><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/659413343?h=a6b1a4864a" width="640"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGKHw2dYA4xpbUZuejE0am3dMNe-R1AFMWZ_mUa5AfBf_E0YRh3AxMIGMs6YeBWLVJ8g8QjEwYXk3Ll1jlkm1kzovMf1eK4fyUxYuBoNSsEtJFKMnIdhHkZjZzY9SXwcJsomiMuPSeWNAh3s6MpgsaJcoMXcIVAlpSyl-i9uASfpQL4b2XUVBwAtP5tA=s997" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="997" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGKHw2dYA4xpbUZuejE0am3dMNe-R1AFMWZ_mUa5AfBf_E0YRh3AxMIGMs6YeBWLVJ8g8QjEwYXk3Ll1jlkm1kzovMf1eK4fyUxYuBoNSsEtJFKMnIdhHkZjZzY9SXwcJsomiMuPSeWNAh3s6MpgsaJcoMXcIVAlpSyl-i9uASfpQL4b2XUVBwAtP5tA=s320" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbJldh3R4Vwn44E2JX1JeaDKj3lxyTRxEYM7S8rWgpH4iu5oNGoHi2q9Mwz1ELnuW64PCCE8qwWWd-EHDODbKV93nsYE0_bDwLpWrQjcBAFAcpohVXLamzHMWFiu6rLHS4wE-YwR9SNeszmO6XvTndK_OGKzNmSQ3hIq-GhM2_OLizE8L4SFUrSDbg4Q=s1800" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbJldh3R4Vwn44E2JX1JeaDKj3lxyTRxEYM7S8rWgpH4iu5oNGoHi2q9Mwz1ELnuW64PCCE8qwWWd-EHDODbKV93nsYE0_bDwLpWrQjcBAFAcpohVXLamzHMWFiu6rLHS4wE-YwR9SNeszmO6XvTndK_OGKzNmSQ3hIq-GhM2_OLizE8L4SFUrSDbg4Q=s320" width="320" /></a><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px; font-weight: bold;">December</span></span></span><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px; font-weight: bold;"> 16th</span></span></span><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2021</span></span></b></p><p>This is so extreme that I can hardly believe it is true: young woman thrown into a Covid internment Camp in Australia for two weeks because she was a close contact of a positive covid patient. The police came to her house after seeing<i> footage of her</i> near someone infected, <i>using her license plate to find her</i>… like a criminal. No positive test for her, just covid prison. Ad when she did test negative for covid at the location... she had to stay incarcerated for fourteen days anyway. Unbelievable... I’m at a loss for words for how completely surreal and terrifying this is. Needless to say that unless things normalize in the future, I will not set foot there again, despite loving previous trips to Australia. They completely and utterly lost the plot, over a virus that barely touches people in the young adults age group. What's even more chilling, is that a majority of the people there seem to just accept this sort of completely unfounded abuse of power and madness, or even approve of it. Terrifying what the virus has done to the minds of some. Or maybe it only required a virus - or a war for that matter - to show people's true colours and to show the true face of those in power. How about locking up the people who actually make up over 90% of hospitalizations? The 70+ of age and those with underlying diabetes and obesity? That wouldn't be "fair", but this is? If people still not start to scratch their heads by now about the over-the-top rules and violations of privacy and more then.. well.. Staggering. <i>“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” </i>- George Orwell, 1984. Isn't it crazy that all these 1984 references aren’t even hyperbolic anymore in these times. Or as Russell Brand said in <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBHkd3sXxT8" target="_blank">a youtube video of his own</a></b>: <i>Is THIS the future?</i> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="425" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mGFdWcJU7-0" width="511" youtube-src-id="mGFdWcJU7-0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="425" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tBHkd3sXxT8" width="512" youtube-src-id="tBHkd3sXxT8"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOgYhlIl5DBc5RiSXQuJ2xp6pVwO2GcRbRU1jpqCy7Wg2a8XiAWQPCS69i4rdTc1_9lyO-0mu3BpPWG8pLR322cnqjzILL_aUIXX6niHQ58k6kuH2vH9AJjTvsZzZ5nizwLBpWIkbb_i765yk2YacJtTTdj0F3GIFBvKm5xU_KHOA_BSaxmC7FTaqJkA=s414" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="414" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOgYhlIl5DBc5RiSXQuJ2xp6pVwO2GcRbRU1jpqCy7Wg2a8XiAWQPCS69i4rdTc1_9lyO-0mu3BpPWG8pLR322cnqjzILL_aUIXX6niHQ58k6kuH2vH9AJjTvsZzZ5nizwLBpWIkbb_i765yk2YacJtTTdj0F3GIFBvKm5xU_KHOA_BSaxmC7FTaqJkA=w400-h372" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">SKIN</span></b><br />Skin wise I was asked by someone how my rosacea has been doing before that <b><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/disastrous-ipl-in-2005.html" target="_blank">2005 IPL treatment</a></b> that made things so bad, and after I started taking <b><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html" target="_blank">anti flushing medication</a></b>. And how things are by now. thanks for your message. So sorry to read that you suffer from similar severe burning and flushing. I wonder what treatment caused this, and what your skin was like before that terrible incident? For me, I had pale delicate skin in my teens that would blotch up a bit perhaps in warm rooms and when drinking alcohol, but that would only give me the slightest of skin redness in the face, nothing bothersome really. And no flushing or burning either. I do remember holidaying with one of my best friends and she had some acne problems back then (we were 15/16) and I wore foundation during the day. And when cleaning our faces before bedtime, she exclaimed: "Oh but you have skin blemishes too!" I wasn't even aware of that myself. She had only now noticed it after I took off my make-up. - So things got bad back in 1999, after I used a cortisone cream on my face; only around my mouth and some inner cheeks and only for a few days! Perhaps stress also played a role there and I had also stopped taking the contraceptive pill around that time, fearing it had something to do with the mild eczema I had developed around my mouth. It is often very difficult to be sure what the exact cause of rosacea onset is, but it may have been a perfect mix for me. Although I myself believe that the cortisone cream in particular set it all off, as the eczema and stress had been there for some time already, but within days of starting the use of that cortisone cream my face exploded with redness, flushing and burning. Seemingly overnight.</p><p>Then the IPL treatment in 2005 made it all a hundred times worse. Back then, after that IPL, I was also at a point where I'd battle constant flushing and burning and a fire-engine red face for 16 hours a day. Sometimes 24/7. It was a very difficult, depressing and desperate year, because doctors I asked for help all didn't know what they were dealing with, and relied on the textbook rosacea treatments, which were at the time antibiotic pills and creams - both I had already tried extensively and both made my rosacea worse. The 3 month long, high dose doxycycline course also caused me chronic bowel issues. But nobody knew anything about the face flushing and burning, ir how to stop it. Suicide was on my mind in 2005, I kept it in the back of my mind as a final escape from it all, but I really didn't want to be dead, if that makes sense. It was just despair of being told every time by doctors that they couldn't do anything for me and didn't know what to do, while I was in so much pain and cooling my face all day every day with cold packs and ventilators. I am glad that I have been hanging on that year and am grateful for the doctor who helped me get anti flushing medication at the start of 2006, to cut down on the worst of it. F<span>or me it is clonidine which does most. I am religious with taking clonidine, but can often forget </span><span>to take propranolol and it makes not that much difference with my skin. Taking propranolol helps a bit though, </span><span>but the big game changer for my rosacea was clonidine and low dose mirtazapine. </span>Since, I have kind of measured everything up in comparison to that year of hell in 2005. So although I still have a restricted life in some ways, and do miss out on some things my friends enjoy in their lives, I try to look at the stuff I have gained since and find comfort in every hour of the day where my rosacea is not bothering me with heat and pain.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAXzgOJGRsXjuTehfUMLnSlXOzK_qxq4mtNCZLZjnAbizc1mrT92OkTWJfYINVSugk8apm8WcqpGuiwsI2S0iZRtfKY2tMzhCqqhkAD-Ie8tj_KLgyw0rRH4AivOhGsI3sZO7jF79L_OI7sp2NMZjiZoHxnZqY5KWoSRgy1LGlJkFvmCCB77bD5UkGIw=s529" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="323" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAXzgOJGRsXjuTehfUMLnSlXOzK_qxq4mtNCZLZjnAbizc1mrT92OkTWJfYINVSugk8apm8WcqpGuiwsI2S0iZRtfKY2tMzhCqqhkAD-Ie8tj_KLgyw0rRH4AivOhGsI3sZO7jF79L_OI7sp2NMZjiZoHxnZqY5KWoSRgy1LGlJkFvmCCB77bD5UkGIw=w228-h375" width="228" /></a>Wanting to have at least some control over my rosacea and have peace, so to speak, in my safe zone, in my house has become the aim now. Before I wanted to find a cure. I have since accepted that this isn't going to happen in my lifetime. So as long as I do not trigger things with certain foods or by getting (too) upset or cry or anything (all big flushing triggers for me), I can keep my face from flushing most of the day now. I do have a ventilator blowing at the lowest speed most of the time, unless I am walking or cycling outside for instance. I can go without a fan for hours when I'm active or shopping or any of that. But sitting down to work or watch something or sleep, those are moments where I need one to keep me from flushing and burning up. On top of the anti-flushing medication. But with this regime, with this system if you like, I can go days and nights without flushing, or maybe one hour after dinner or after a long shower. But I can bring such a flush down fairly quickly these days. But there are days or periods even, when the control is gone again. Certain days of my cycle are horrible. And when it is bitterly cold outside/inside for instance, I get way more base redness and rough skin that burns and flares up very easily. Same with indoor heating and if it gets too hot. Then I get super red, flushed and my skin burns terribly. So the anti-flushing medication helps, but not 100%. Indoors, for me 17 degrees, maybe 18 degrees Celsius is the maximum temp. that feels comfortable with my skin. And when I sleep, I like the bedroom to be around 14-15 degrees. The use of a ventilator can easily make the air feel too cold and then I get cold urticaria and so much skin inflammation, that I can't control my flushing anymore either. Same with heat; I get heat rash all over my face then and inflammation as well, cranking up the flushing. It is a claustrophobic balance thing. But by now I have lived longer <i>with</i> rosacea than without it. And compared to the horror year of 2005, I think things have improved and stabilized to some extent. I have one friend in particular in Australia who had the same thing happen after lasering of his rosacea, and he more or less lives like me. Uses a ventilator a lot to keep his skin pain free; has adjusted his life, avoids the sun and the heat. It is depressing but then again, we both are grateful for the internet era when so much information and social interaction and work opportunities can be found through/on the internet. It's not ideal, but it must have been even more isolating to have lived through this sh*t a few centuries ago, locked away from the world and without electricity.. </p><p><br /></p></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Song of the day </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="424" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QhDfOYn0118" width="510" youtube-src-id="QhDfOYn0118"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhc1M_PjPxVdManKnAEFhgtVTOgYmM2ZufHbEXuL9y0o4zBtnuQ3UCXQDu6gwwZIO8pa_SVjHIdU4hQ97VLmTt6Q1VKMn735AMgJJzDocTvFd-iKPIGm52snRvm8gLZwPilrDMIoxdiVt8Ajhp7TEaqoTbNwHCGpetWs2AaBXfj-W8AG9s5xbXqll-0eA=s1199" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1199" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhc1M_PjPxVdManKnAEFhgtVTOgYmM2ZufHbEXuL9y0o4zBtnuQ3UCXQDu6gwwZIO8pa_SVjHIdU4hQ97VLmTt6Q1VKMn735AMgJJzDocTvFd-iKPIGm52snRvm8gLZwPilrDMIoxdiVt8Ajhp7TEaqoTbNwHCGpetWs2AaBXfj-W8AG9s5xbXqll-0eA=s320" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZIpSuOh8wKe3vZPb8t5SC15W5rrSrgd_8n7e4JsF88tMGJV0uXoWeXUCNHMzMnU1PnvsTmACTXs2jqXKBctaJE3idYKannQdgBGOzHKZCqg8fCvG5AP7Igc1GzqOJESYNQxZqKrtd_fUT0xUyKLeCdchc0fLfW6Ikqrct0StA3nD4V8-zAQ_iDi7JDA=s1191" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="1191" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZIpSuOh8wKe3vZPb8t5SC15W5rrSrgd_8n7e4JsF88tMGJV0uXoWeXUCNHMzMnU1PnvsTmACTXs2jqXKBctaJE3idYKannQdgBGOzHKZCqg8fCvG5AP7Igc1GzqOJESYNQxZqKrtd_fUT0xUyKLeCdchc0fLfW6Ikqrct0StA3nD4V8-zAQ_iDi7JDA=s320" width="320" /></a><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">December</span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> 13th</span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2021</span></span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br />The Miracle of Abu Dhabi. </span></b>Watched the Formula 1 finale today with my mum and family, as our national (Dutch) treasure <b><a href="https://twitter.com/Max33Verstappen" target="_blank">Max Verstappen</a></b> had a chance to beat (7 times) titleholder Lewis Hamilton. The entire 2021 season has been fantastic and full of highlights and drama, but this final race of the season in Abu Dhabi was going to decide whether Lewis or Max - starting with the exactly the same number of points - was going to win the World Title. My family is all sports mad, my mum, dad, sister, in laws, they're all mad for almost any Dutch sportsperson doing well. So they had been waiting for this Sunday afternoon and I cycled through the rain and wind to watch the race with them. It is fairly Dutch to go a little crazy when a sportsperson of our tiny country does very well internationally, and thousands of orange wearing fans had bought the expensive tickets to go to Abu Dhabi in person. A friend of mine living in Curaçao was up at 8 AM to watch the race with a lot of fellow Dutchies in the city center on big screens, for instance. Out of 17 million inhabitants, five million households watched the final on the TV. Well this is the race summary - make sure to set it to HD quality:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/655964112?h=13dc1c1aec" title="vimeo-player" width="640"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6Qo0PndroMRZWeaF5BsddZza71SRdcc7VNHQE7MJGnHQ-8jOeAmfJwwubKurfMQ7Cyp9Osx5T-_7EkSQ6KPKXVE1DE58OFplwgbG930kVrGSD2_8aH3EGJutAV3qAn8Fl8Zg4aPd9kyP-47X72M9Op51_aUKrmPs6eWvUsu3jQR24R9E4pUoEdVPiCw=s1240" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1240" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6Qo0PndroMRZWeaF5BsddZza71SRdcc7VNHQE7MJGnHQ-8jOeAmfJwwubKurfMQ7Cyp9Osx5T-_7EkSQ6KPKXVE1DE58OFplwgbG930kVrGSD2_8aH3EGJutAV3qAn8Fl8Zg4aPd9kyP-47X72M9Op51_aUKrmPs6eWvUsu3jQR24R9E4pUoEdVPiCw=w400-h261" width="400" /></a>Max started in pole position after winning yesterday's qualifying race, but had a bad star. Lewis Hamilton took the lead instantly. From the first laps, his Mercedes car looked faster, just like it had done in the previous races. Hamilton has the superior motor, Max the superior drivership. As you could see in the above summary, early on the FIA made a curious decision not to investigate Hamilton's action on the first lap, when he cut off a significant corner. For a nearly identical but reversed situation this season in Brazil, FIA díd penalize Max Verstappen. Stewards had ordered all drivers also before this race to stay within the lines at all cost. We all expected the stewards to tell Hamilton to give Max his lead back, but nope.. Hamilton had significant advantage of the massive cut off and now took a decent lead. Two seconds grew into an eight seconds lead. Over half an hour into the race, Red Bull racer Sergio Pérez started to duel with Hamilton. He defended his place like a lion, creating a great driving battle, aimed at slowing Hamilton down and allowing teammate Max to catch up. That worked out beautifully. Because Pérez kept slowing the Silver Arrow in the corners, Verstappen was the smiling third and able to make up for some of the loss of time. After Hamilton was finally able to pass him, Pérez fell back to give Verstappen the opportunity to deploy his DRS. The Dutchman came back right behind Hamilton again and thanked the Mexican: "Checo is an absolute legend" Verstappen said on the on-board radio. Gianpiero Lambiase answered "absolute animal". Hamilton was less impressed and complained about 'dangerous driving' by Perez (wrong: it was smart driving). I think you could truly see the passion Pérez had for his teammate in order to go past his limit, to give Max the advantage. This chapter later turned out very important for Max' win. Helping Max to get close to Hamilton was (along with the VSC) what allowed Max to put on the second set of new tyres in lap 36. There was a lot of strategic thinking in pit stops yes or no, tyre changes yes or no. Mercedes gambled on no pit stop for leading Mamilton, which cost them dearly in the end. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZbLFfRdwTFV8aeEIHmQG3HWga-41mRri3b6KDMu43ETAuZ2XtOsqBOoBqUVICTV_WP7AFzEzsuKbB0rYx_W75KG_k9jtcflHFBvymBiDNheQNQW3fAEuiq_kNClmyx_W8gu4VTQUyTob83-38T0PKdXqJuyAYc8Jy1zYo_RzTZ9yilE7jP-P3UsV8OQ=s980" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="980" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZbLFfRdwTFV8aeEIHmQG3HWga-41mRri3b6KDMu43ETAuZ2XtOsqBOoBqUVICTV_WP7AFzEzsuKbB0rYx_W75KG_k9jtcflHFBvymBiDNheQNQW3fAEuiq_kNClmyx_W8gu4VTQUyTob83-38T0PKdXqJuyAYc8Jy1zYo_RzTZ9yilE7jP-P3UsV8OQ=w400-h270" width="400" /></a>One hour into the race the Alfa Romeo car from Antonio Giovinazzi had problems. It was parked in an unfortunate spot next to the track. The race management set up a Virtual Safety Car. When this happens, cars can make a pit stop with relatively little loss of time. Hamilton had changed his tyres only once so far and at an early time. But now he ignored the pitlane however, while Verstappen did get a new set of hard tyres. This gave Verstappen an advantage in the rest of the race. The time difference between Verstappen and Hamilton was by now 17 seconds. The Dutchman gave full throttle in pursuit, as he didn't have to save his tyres as much anymore. As Max was closing in, Hamilton said on the radio that he couldn't keep his speed up until the end. Both racers needed to go past slower cars by then, which slowed them down a bit. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner sounded a bit resigned and stated that it would take 'a miracle' to bring Verstappen the victory. "The Mercedes is just too fast."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">At 15:54, nearly two hours into the race, the miracle took place. Williams driver Latifi crashed his car in a wall. When yellow flags were waved, Verstappen took the opportunity to make another pit stop and get red, fast tyres. It would enable him to make an ultimate attempt to overtake Hamilton on fresh tyres. By now it got very exciting. If the Safety Car wouldn't be gone before the finish, Hamilton would win. Because under the Safety Car (SC) no driver is allowed to overtake. A Safety Car freezes the position of the drivers on the track. It was in Verstappens interest that the SC would be removed at least one lap before the finish. In that case, he would actually benefit from the crash, as the SC brings the field back together and completely nullifies the 11-second lead that Hamilton had over Verstappen. Hamilton would only be allowed the starting advantage then, as verstappen could not start before Hamilton then. At this point they had 4 laps left. On the radio Hamilton sounded panicked when he asked if Verstappen had already switched to soft tyres (yes...). By now the question not only was when the SC would be removed, but also whether or not the five cars in between Hamilton and Verstappen (laggards, being a round behind) would be ordered to get out of the way or not.. If not, then Verstappen would have to overtake a lot of cars before he'd get to Hamilton, reducing his winning chances to near zero. Initially the race management decided that the laggards could keep their position until the race restarted, which was bad news for Max and also not strictly the norm, as normally the laggards are allowed to overtake the race leader before the race is started again. But a short time later they changed their mind. For the last, deciding round, Hamilton and Verstappen started all over again, with Hamilton getting the first start. This is something they have implemented for some years now: it doesn't matter if you've spent the whole race mid field, if you're near the front for the restart, you've got just as much chance of winning as anyone else if you get a good run and push. SO... one more lap to decide the world title. Max' father Jos Verstappen is also a veteran Formula 1 driver and later said about this moment: 'Max would either beyond Lewis, or over him. He kind of got that from his father.” That's when one of the most dramatic and spectacular decisive F1 final rounds was driven, with 'Mad Max' brilliantly and mercilessly taking over the lead. Here you can see it again, from the perspective of Lewis Hamilton. Didn't know what hit him, comes to mind.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/655963838?h=ee3b889547" title="vimeo-player" width="640"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGUkdcVhqtw0WUtXrOGBloN3lw_XiArN5aWwH6MRYGuZbrfva0rZDDv_r-Xg9lnLshuj0qsaaU7gxBQzvVhEsgF5d8JPJg_pBbCGqcCWZG2FoB3282vq0fAggi1iJQYntoo2xX9Gem2JerHmXL-zqAyqV3VAhVawxAOZhP42_MP3XRJxrnVmCSZHVK_w=s1240" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1240" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGUkdcVhqtw0WUtXrOGBloN3lw_XiArN5aWwH6MRYGuZbrfva0rZDDv_r-Xg9lnLshuj0qsaaU7gxBQzvVhEsgF5d8JPJg_pBbCGqcCWZG2FoB3282vq0fAggi1iJQYntoo2xX9Gem2JerHmXL-zqAyqV3VAhVawxAOZhP42_MP3XRJxrnVmCSZHVK_w=w400-h290" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibYkn7A4G5vyQYKzaPnqIFkNDoqiXtM3t-eqBup2Rhy57Rlecaa9QkR7wW1BskaC1-ElD-jP5ANZJDePjaXzlfpF3kwcphPA39fpM3NWATE7n-tprUbj8eSQj-j6vyxPoToHKTsPKiUvdGurCk8gPTYM6mZQORLnhD764ryAK7xmwAJMk1hI-UFbLNtg=s640" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="640" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibYkn7A4G5vyQYKzaPnqIFkNDoqiXtM3t-eqBup2Rhy57Rlecaa9QkR7wW1BskaC1-ElD-jP5ANZJDePjaXzlfpF3kwcphPA39fpM3NWATE7n-tprUbj8eSQj-j6vyxPoToHKTsPKiUvdGurCk8gPTYM6mZQORLnhD764ryAK7xmwAJMk1hI-UFbLNtg=w400-h251" width="400" /></a>In a phenomenal one-lap denouement, Max left Lewis in the dust. When this happened, we were all screaming, jumping and being hysterical :) I kept saying that Hamiltons tyres were worn out and what a big (failed) risk Mercedes' Toto had taken by not having Hamilton do a last pit stop earlier to change him to faster, new tyres. <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWG782-XZ1E" target="_blank">Here you can hear</a></b> Hamilton discuss the situation with his team over the radio, before the safety Car was removed. Just <b><a href="https://youtu.be/QWG782-XZ1E?t=79" target="_blank">hear how worried Lewis sounds</a> </b>when he realises Max had a pit stop and new tyres, while he hasn't. I think it is what cost them the race to be honest, as you could see how much faster and more grip Max' car had at this point. Max could pull away much quicker due to his high grip 'soft tyres', while Hamilton struggled to turn. It was glorious. Max won the race and his first world title, aged 24. It was in many ways a fitting end to one of the biggest and most controversial seasons in the history of Formula 1 I dare say (and I watched it already in the Michael Schumacher heydays). Let's hope that after seven years, Mercedes' dominance is finally coming to an end - and Michael Schumacher's record has still not been broken. I think Max deserved it after a brilliant season, in which he and Lewis Hamilton really pushed each other to greatness. Hamilton's disappointment was enormous, while Mercedes was furious and filed official complaints, which have since been rejected by FIA. Which is probably fair, or karma if you like, because all season it was Hamilton and Mercedes who were favored by FIA in clashes. I mean, if Mercedes are going to split hairs about the past, then Lewis needs his Silverstone result disqualified for ramming Max off the track, to name one such incident. Or even for that odd decision during this race not to punish Hamilton for going off track in the first lap, after he had messed up and left a gap for Verstappen to squeeze through. Even all the ex-world champion drivers on Sky TV agreed that Hamilton should have been punished there and made to hand his place back. If the steward's decision had been fair for that incident, Verstappen would have had a 12 sec lead and would still have been world champion now. Toto and Mercedes have got to have some front to suggest that with a straight face. Max won on driving class, against the faster car. And Toto made a strategic error. Lewis had the chance to pit during the safety car and the team chose not to. If he had pitted, even if it meant he was then behind Max, Lewis would have probably blasted past Max at the end of the safety car. Hamilton actually radioed base to ask why he had not been brought in for new tyres. Hamilton had all the same opportunities to pit for fresh tyres (Hamilton was driving on his old ones for about 40 laps by then and they do wear down and lose grip then) but Toto gambled that the race would finish under a yellow flag (slowly creeping over the finish behind a SC) and Lewis wouldn't need them - at risk of giving Red Bull and Max Verstappen too much space to catch up. I felt that Mercedes was simply not going to change their strategy under any circumstances... as shown before by them. Toto put his money on the wrong color (and tyres) and lost. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Oh and the latest is that Mercedes launched a second appeal... Pffffff. Mercedes seems to think anytime they lose, there is something wrong with the result. What happened to Mercedes bragging that they wanted to win this championship on track? How about you just focus on next year and show better sportsmanship? Lewis was given the advantage at the start of the race when he took a massive shortcut, when he should have been penalized and forced to give the lead back to Max, I didn't hear Red Bull threatening with lawyers then. That's when Hamilton was allowed to speed away to try to gain time for a time penalty that everyone expected but that never came. Mercedes didn't order Hamilton to return to his position behind Verstappen then, so it's pure hypocrisy to complain about losing. And after driving Verstappen off Silverstone, a handy red flag made sure Lewis could get his car repaired and get 25pnts for the win, while is opponent was in hospital. Didn't hear Toto complain then either. A season of dirty tricks and dubious biased penalty decisions, always with the maximum penalty for Max, and the minimum for Lewis. In fact, <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B25cx5TchZo" target="_blank">Max was better over the whole season</a></b> but got „robbed“ in Baku, Hungary and Silverstone, resulting in around 40-50 points he lost there, without being at fault. And at Imola earlier in the season, the penny dropped again in his favour when a safety car saved Hamilton's skin and enabled him to score points. But now Toto was trying to manipulate Masi not to bring in a safety car ("Mikey please do not give us a a safety car") - clearly was more important for him to win than to prevent any marshals from getting run over while clearing debris. Nice guy... In the final race it simply came down to tyres and tactics. But nobody likes sore losers. Anyway: both drivers did a fabulous job all year, but Red Bull played what they were dealt and it worked for them in the end. Congratulations Max, what a season. Thank you for making grown adults scream like children 😅 The young talent won from the old guard: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='585' height='486' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxmE2da28c7VsbfFiA3GIwtRCDBTm6y8iskLW025XQnRsUTFwClFKZsPIVrs5M77u1z-9TObr6aX8scfE0SZw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="492" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K7-_tXKWZ9M" width="592" youtube-src-id="K7-_tXKWZ9M"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNUkQI5zFWGgHiWin2QnkzB24bCzuSYTPLiSm9PWpW8mhoPaERQpSSNljbYyQUdzSr6Fxakx8Re2nkacGZprsFfZ_NAUMAq1kQt2WNSuT5DOjnOCGf1TPclxvw0WJFibF3Y-4030KHD8fDebMrHf6TX91N5h0DC1Cy0IzNVmxek9vCLG27qDhmEvgAMg=s634" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></a></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Songs of the day </span><br /><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GuDyBYYfxSg" width="320" youtube-src-id="GuDyBYYfxSg"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-6G6AW7oApA" width="320" youtube-src-id="-6G6AW7oApA"></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="535" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mZ67ZLEmKaE" width="643" youtube-src-id="mZ67ZLEmKaE"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/663029164?h=5ab864fbbf" title="vimeo-player" width="640"></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuE6FHp_tuCNAY7DKCzkPp6Xv-FAzVEMF2CNSqXBq586x9jNshDuBCgLjmZK0k3mrAk-wW37Odfoz2OXocfXyjwaNkg0CKhaSy1QDwSx8RxJbGAyo0s9vNb-fEVTASO_UXDq6Qa86vxd3h4nAoHgQnfzaEnIuDn_lPsvHCgWa6TKvwznicCDedmpL7Ew=s960" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="678" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuE6FHp_tuCNAY7DKCzkPp6Xv-FAzVEMF2CNSqXBq586x9jNshDuBCgLjmZK0k3mrAk-wW37Odfoz2OXocfXyjwaNkg0CKhaSy1QDwSx8RxJbGAyo0s9vNb-fEVTASO_UXDq6Qa86vxd3h4nAoHgQnfzaEnIuDn_lPsvHCgWa6TKvwznicCDedmpL7Ew=w365-h516" width="365" /></a><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">November 21st</span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2021</span></span></b><br /><br />I've been doing so so. The weather has become a lot colder and unfortunately the first cold urticaria has appeared on my cheeks.. Every year I try to avoid exposing my face to very cold temperatures, but just being on the bicycle out and about in the cold wind for an hour or two, can be enough to make one or two show up. They also stay for many days in my case. I can't have it too warm inside either, as that worsens my skin flushing and burning. Basically, there are the spring and fall time for me, with stable temperatures that are not too warm or cold. Summer is dread and winter is possibly even worse for my rosacea, as it makes my entire face ruddy, red and raw looking (on top of the cold urticaria).<br /><br />I am sorry for dragging the corona virus into this blog in every single day-to-day-life update, but it is a huge sword over my head. And things change every week or month at best, which makes me very restless and even anxious by now. Here in Europe, it only takes one European country to come with another dubious measure, for the rest (except Sweden) to contemplate to follow suit. Currently Austria has gone completely insane in my view, as they have not only installed a nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated inhabitants only, but they also declared that from February 1st of 2022 onward, vaccination will be <b><a href="https://www.dw.com/de/impfpflicht-und-lockdown-in-ganz-%C3%B6sterreich/a-59874810" target="_blank">mandatory</a></b> for everyone in the country. At pain of huge fines and imprisonment. And Germany just announced it is thinking of the same move; the German government has also deleted the sentence "There will be no compulsory vaccination" from its website on November 21st of 2021. This while chancellor Angela Merkel has declared in July that “there will be no compulsory vaccination”. But how many promises have been broken all-round? It is absolutely outrageous, both in a human rights and a scientific respect. Currently in the Netherlands, more than 60% of the hospitalized covid patients are doubly vaccinated. In hospitals in the south of the country, <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-kPNFzhZXg" target="_blank">8 out of 10</a></b> hospitalized covid patients are vaccinated. In other countries the same developments are taking place. What is particularly worrying to me, is that some specific and at times even selected scientists, who often are the official advisors of the government, manipulate the national leaders by appearing in talking shows, in the press, to promote their own beliefs and suggestions. At a time when the representatives of the people in parliament haven't even voted yet for such measurements. [At the moment you see such people appear on TV a lot to give their free advise in favour of mandatory vaccination for instance, grrrrr]. This is a crossing of the scientific line I feel and a way to manipulate the political arena, as it will be even more difficult for politicians to put these not always equally scientific 'recommendations' aside, afterwards. And critical scientists get no say in the matter and have to resort to <b><a href="https://www.blckbx.tv/" target="_blank">dissident channels</a></b> to get heard. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='406' height='337' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy9VLQsw6FvnuJcehbWUhnQQkqaGbvjt3mMN7pNT-82DhkTkGYNEhD-WfpwlLMKyXcth_bmXYA2DvkZQ6JCMA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">These are the figures at the moment in Wales and the UK, both have a relatively high vaccination rate; in Wales 72,1% of the population is vaccinated and in overall UK 68,8%. <b><a href="https://www2.nphs.wales.nhs.uk/CommunitySurveillanceDocs.nsf/61c1e930f9121fd080256f2a004937ed/a4f536f72da3962b8025875a0031b3c8/$FILE/Survey%20of%20vaccine%20status%20in%20cases%20and%20hospital%20inpatients.pdf" target="_blank">Stats</a></b> for Wales show that among the <u>hospitalized covid patients</u> these past weeks, 12,8% of patients were unvaccinated overall and 83,6% of patients were double vaccinated (!). From the people who received a <u>positive covid test</u>, 16,5 % of patients were unvaccinated overall, and 59,6% of patients was doubly vaccinated, whereas 6,8% of patients had only received its first vaccine dose. In the UK it is the <b><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1036047/Vaccine_surveillance_report_-_week_47.pdf" target="_blank">same story</a></b>. Especially in patients over the age of 40, (many) more vaccinated than unvaccinated patients ended up in hospital with covid these latest weeks. Many more vaccinated than unvaccinated patients also died from covid in absolute numbers. Statistically the unvaccinated may run more risk, but my point is that the vaccines were promised to have a 95% effectivity in keeping people covid free and out of hospital (and away from death), once these vaccines were rolled out. But that reality shows a different picture however, no matter how many excuses are dug up. And yet, politicians play ostrich and keep acting and declaring new rules, as if the vaccines do what they promised they would do. <b><a href="https://www2.nphs.wales.nhs.uk/CommunitySurveillanceDocs.nsf/61c1e930f9121fd080256f2a004937ed/a4f536f72da3962b8025875a0031b3c8/$FILE/Survey%20of%20vaccine%20status%20in%20cases%20and%20hospital%20inpatients.pdf" target="_blank">Wales stats</a></b> vs <b><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1036047/Vaccine_surveillance_report_-_week_47.pdf" target="_blank">UK stats</a></b>:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisXR4oL2c0O1fjf53eayaEz2VLqbbop2RrvtkO1mwvS6bKNC3-1-0k7IJS_1oTsjw6JNqHGD0ofVZ9pbs5EEGYUfHI_ehJDeSzRggU5hQ68cNDo90zIU6VpuEDjqRcd3AANhPSppCm64f-Hc-0EZjFS_h0mMcFijrmi1FQf6EGa_t6CUD-xanywGlIEQ=s839" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="839" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisXR4oL2c0O1fjf53eayaEz2VLqbbop2RrvtkO1mwvS6bKNC3-1-0k7IJS_1oTsjw6JNqHGD0ofVZ9pbs5EEGYUfHI_ehJDeSzRggU5hQ68cNDo90zIU6VpuEDjqRcd3AANhPSppCm64f-Hc-0EZjFS_h0mMcFijrmi1FQf6EGa_t6CUD-xanywGlIEQ=w217-h183" width="217" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSec4fiJWHmPQHKMHnyqlSBx7mNbJ5ChODVydlwJOXHIxCFJRfSBqH5PabkFMRTHAboBoBc7zG_Hhbgtj2td71P8qGK6BXVguatpfD0LMChpZfusoL-BQmuOYtby_Rp6QhiBSxcN0e-IlZpkpQ1Xp9E7sBxOD2SUNy43AhzYRuvAeGHwUESTaw0nppKA=s1880" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1880" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSec4fiJWHmPQHKMHnyqlSBx7mNbJ5ChODVydlwJOXHIxCFJRfSBqH5PabkFMRTHAboBoBc7zG_Hhbgtj2td71P8qGK6BXVguatpfD0LMChpZfusoL-BQmuOYtby_Rp6QhiBSxcN0e-IlZpkpQ1Xp9E7sBxOD2SUNy43AhzYRuvAeGHwUESTaw0nppKA=w380-h182" width="380" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZBmzkqpEQDPF0oQZCY35NAw4Y7o78TvModlgF-szqyk_OFmG9sG0bgygKx9I7uvx4zTZeFPZbzE_x6v-rOL2_euD3tcsjSB2nRM04-2lfbq-k371qXWQ_tttBuA1K6cr_pPhNTI8PJQiz_hN_4ddhgwv9UKuQwSHIdy5mzF94WCks2eEKv2nTuQe3ZA=s1850" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1850" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZBmzkqpEQDPF0oQZCY35NAw4Y7o78TvModlgF-szqyk_OFmG9sG0bgygKx9I7uvx4zTZeFPZbzE_x6v-rOL2_euD3tcsjSB2nRM04-2lfbq-k371qXWQ_tttBuA1K6cr_pPhNTI8PJQiz_hN_4ddhgwv9UKuQwSHIdy5mzF94WCks2eEKv2nTuQe3ZA=w297-h144" width="297" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8Lp5WSR94deEXiHAxCOkhdGd_bLJWkEr-lCaFdQMzDDldSkc9TmzFLfV9TxzjLXVtp03OONSsxVqxaPggq_zwm8uArxI7KUvTVF3F7QkRZqJY7Bk8n9JBRYRQDfrFcRxG0Zp-YISrOkiB8FKUb3I3tMHFd4bJBjsuVTFpTALgBaLWgpdGbKSiC_vXsw=s1839" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="1839" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8Lp5WSR94deEXiHAxCOkhdGd_bLJWkEr-lCaFdQMzDDldSkc9TmzFLfV9TxzjLXVtp03OONSsxVqxaPggq_zwm8uArxI7KUvTVF3F7QkRZqJY7Bk8n9JBRYRQDfrFcRxG0Zp-YISrOkiB8FKUb3I3tMHFd4bJBjsuVTFpTALgBaLWgpdGbKSiC_vXsw=w297-h143" width="297" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsN2-K1xMxQMteN7GkiEPT0b6iSJzBdB7py3iOwkKmIxQZ9nDhdOLKstlGfYBx9KQwh3bHs0r9FdMHRQd4oo_gZJZaCHelRq7DiS4SqFMjNDk5sUtFtbyPYTTi6v1W1enwRcFaiFZZ5D8bzI0wpWoOq9W7zSYlZ6Pz8Mmxq4NarLSNwEUj8mwu5Y7pfA=s908" style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsN2-K1xMxQMteN7GkiEPT0b6iSJzBdB7py3iOwkKmIxQZ9nDhdOLKstlGfYBx9KQwh3bHs0r9FdMHRQd4oo_gZJZaCHelRq7DiS4SqFMjNDk5sUtFtbyPYTTi6v1W1enwRcFaiFZZ5D8bzI0wpWoOq9W7zSYlZ6Pz8Mmxq4NarLSNwEUj8mwu5Y7pfA=w242-h400" width="242" /></a>Vaccinated people are by now just as likely and according to some research even more likely to carry covid and pass it on than the unvaccinated. Over here we also have higher infection numbers and higher numbers of hospitalized covid patients overall right now than a year ago at this same time, when nobody was vaccinated yet. Newspapers are quick to highlight that the vaccines work very well, because with over 80% of people vaccinated now, we are bound to see more people in hospital be also vaccinated. <i>'If 100% of people are vaccinated, then every patient in hospital will automatically be vaccinated'</i>. But that argument is only used to bypass the original promises made, based on scientific testing (flawed, as has been proven by now, especially in the case of Pfizer who did their testing not by the book), that the vaccines would be 95% effective in preventing people from developing covid, passing it on and being hospitalized with covid. All untrue, we now know. Protection goes down quickly in the vaccinated, according to Nature magazine it drops already after three months in fact, rendering people as (un)protected as unvaccinated people within 5 months. And as for hospitalization; the hospitals are full with vaccinated people here, as was the case a few months ago already in Israel (The Times of Israel mentioned yesterday that they are already looking there at a 4th vaccination round, a 4th 'booster'). We can grind the figures all we want, we can also see that in countries like France and the Netherlands alone, there are thousands of vaccinated people who end up in the hospital at the moment and hundreds in critical care. Gibraltar, 'the most vaccinated place in the world' where nearly everyone is vaccinated, now has a covid peak again and its government has <b><a href="https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2021/11/19/gibraltar-denies-that-christmas-is-cancelled-but-warns-caution-is-needed-as-infections-rise/" target="_blank">urged people</a></b> to be careful in the light of this 'exponential increase of the number of cases'. The same <b><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/portugal-reimposes-covid-19-restrictions-cases-rise-2021-11-25/" target="_blank">in Portugal</a></b>, which according to Reuters <i>"has one of the world's highest rates of vaccination against COVID-19, announced it would reimpose restrictions to stop a surge in cases". </i>They are back under restriction rules too now, as the cases exploded again. But nobody seems to question the vaccine efficiency on mainstream media channels.. Odd. </div><p>In another European country with covid passports, France, a symbolic milestone has been crossed as well: in France there are now also <b><a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/covid-19-cinq-raisons-pour-lesquelles-l-epidemie-s-aggrave-et-les-solutions-pour-y-remedier-20211125" target="_blank">more vaccinated</a></b> people admitted every day to both conventional hospitalization and to intensive care for a severe form of Covid than unvaccinated. These figures are not the invention of some conspiracy theorists. These are the <b><a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/covid-19-est-il-normal-qu-il-y-ait-desormais-plus-de-vaccines-que-de-non-vaccines-a-l-hopital-20211117" target="_blank">official data</a></b> from the “statistics” service of the Ministry of Health. In the Pays de la Loire region there are now 11 times more vaccinated than unvaccinated people in hospital. And in the UK in every age group above 30, there are now more vaccinated people infected with covid than unvaccinated.<br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieRpKpeNd6-8LNNqvOkXo0QPXIbuCqqBc_i9vZJWCZ4Co9A_A55GcbFaAHE_-gakkotZdcUq0wxaySbQF3zidEmjg1cfCFzKfqikOmDU_gielIapLrbwi179bm6xFUf_Mp_4wie6T7Fp-CT_tL2WBXMSDFqzHEes7nNzy8-rbeF0XoBS2YRFzd29iBFQ=s1766"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="1766" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieRpKpeNd6-8LNNqvOkXo0QPXIbuCqqBc_i9vZJWCZ4Co9A_A55GcbFaAHE_-gakkotZdcUq0wxaySbQF3zidEmjg1cfCFzKfqikOmDU_gielIapLrbwi179bm6xFUf_Mp_4wie6T7Fp-CT_tL2WBXMSDFqzHEes7nNzy8-rbeF0XoBS2YRFzd29iBFQ=w640-h337" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjODql7RBgJW87nkA2wrbPkcPnOio0Gjns0n6FOFfnVnh347x311uBFT6F8UiEhBNMVF92766IHeYJke2z_8OyaYAZBSE0P0JkrZO9YddiLpJUwrlQJuFX_LPrl5TyM8NV6zaf9iTqt-z1-I21RFUaJnmDQ7GuwUPGI3IvE_ElX6ki8OFcI1VdMzbnJBg=s1789" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="926" data-original-width="1789" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjODql7RBgJW87nkA2wrbPkcPnOio0Gjns0n6FOFfnVnh347x311uBFT6F8UiEhBNMVF92766IHeYJke2z_8OyaYAZBSE0P0JkrZO9YddiLpJUwrlQJuFX_LPrl5TyM8NV6zaf9iTqt-z1-I21RFUaJnmDQ7GuwUPGI3IvE_ElX6ki8OFcI1VdMzbnJBg=w640-h332" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzCzMdzFws8c7goPWziEEV84cbBIO240g7cfq4anikcOF06wff35XjJUNU4lie3vgLbTSnw8afgc1Yd_Yto57iyxznbdWk0cM8OdRy7bxUD9SjVVO-k5CpP7dCJW0LEVd2BWOl8FP8ooJsUKd1S3KMXPwODLvnf33fJAuq0sh7oqu1Md0gFZX_tBf9hQ=s1920"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzCzMdzFws8c7goPWziEEV84cbBIO240g7cfq4anikcOF06wff35XjJUNU4lie3vgLbTSnw8afgc1Yd_Yto57iyxznbdWk0cM8OdRy7bxUD9SjVVO-k5CpP7dCJW0LEVd2BWOl8FP8ooJsUKd1S3KMXPwODLvnf33fJAuq0sh7oqu1Md0gFZX_tBf9hQ=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAyIWUPaj3rCSQd3aYyen9kUBr_w01N-A5aKIiNp2k0pp0FRtpYvi59jo1Z5IbFMRhx5K2_LTFWTsojdkUZ-NELqoDXakonO5RGC_OVZNRlCyPP4jwENwarw7Th4qk6jGH2B-K8yymdfy/s1704/20211010_001327+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="1280" height="501" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAyIWUPaj3rCSQd3aYyen9kUBr_w01N-A5aKIiNp2k0pp0FRtpYvi59jo1Z5IbFMRhx5K2_LTFWTsojdkUZ-NELqoDXakonO5RGC_OVZNRlCyPP4jwENwarw7Th4qk6jGH2B-K8yymdfy/w376-h501/20211010_001327+%25281%2529.jpg" width="376" /></a>I'm not against vaccination, not at all. But in light of things, you would think that these type of stats would keep politicians reasonable when it comes to the treatment of unvaccinated citizens. But the baffling thing we're seeing, is that they in fact go in an even higher gear towards them now. In overdrive I would say. The rational consequence of all this should be to remind everyone that vaccination is one strategy to approach this virus, but only one out of several tactics. And that vaccination does not protect people for 95% against getting covid, passing covid on or even ending up in hospital, as was initially said. In my opinion the vaccinated are not safe to mass congregate without testing. As they make the virus circulate worse and they also don't all stay out of hospitals. In fact, they make up the majority of hospital patients in quite a few European countries at the moment. So the vaccine passports are wonky, not to say fraud as this promised free all go all. Politicians would seem more trustworthy and fair if they openly acknowledged and discussed this. But politicians here keep making the same mistakes and keep zooming in on the small group of unvaccinated only. Cutting them even more from public life. The 2G rule is just around the corner and has already been announced in the Netherlands. I can no longer sit outside on a terrace in the open air anymore to drink a cup of tea, despite having no covid and being tested negatively. While vaccinated people who officially test positive for covid, can KEEP their green QR code and are only 'advised' to stay home for a week. In reality, a lot of people in the under 60 age group who only have mild symptoms from covid just keep going to their work, to bars and cafes. As they keep their green QR code, despite having covid; because they are vaccinated. I don't make this up by the way, this is really reality over here. A lot of vaccinated people don't even test at all (as there is no incentive) and are potential super spreaders. It is madness. The unpopular but logical thing to do would not be to ban all the healthy unvaccinated who tested negative from places, but to ask the demographical group who make up the majority of hospital patients, the 70+ of age, those with underlying illness, immune deficiencies and obesity, to protect themselves and the hospitals during this new wave and stay inside. Test every day (provide free cheap self-tests as government). Avoid large crowds, wear a mask, also when visiting family or perhaps abstain from doing so at all for a month or two, until the worst of the wave is over again. But these things aren't even mentioned in the political arena. While they would make most logical and statistical sense. Instead, the very small percental group of unvaccinated (of which many are only in their 20's, age wise) bear the brunt of it all, regardless of hospitalization numbers showing a different picture. Because it is politically safe to blame them, discriminate them and cut them out of public life, and with this to pander to a large group of disgruntled vaccinated citizens who are also sick of the ongoing crisis. Scapegoats are of all times. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKBtZZF_6tBA8rdo3j1CYCHtU7_zwvzJs7B3ZsvMKVBdN_Kp8qd8X6-ZHRVBAlIITXknu5hSJs2sV1bwMEAlT-wtlJgih4w8-6Tdao4rzFX37XyVcu0ZMV3s3DnI3KssDw5rSfU6IOf7zGdI9uymQdadpUr2qYk0I2a6_O2KA0dY2-OjY5DvOWWGvBhA=s640" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKBtZZF_6tBA8rdo3j1CYCHtU7_zwvzJs7B3ZsvMKVBdN_Kp8qd8X6-ZHRVBAlIITXknu5hSJs2sV1bwMEAlT-wtlJgih4w8-6Tdao4rzFX37XyVcu0ZMV3s3DnI3KssDw5rSfU6IOf7zGdI9uymQdadpUr2qYk0I2a6_O2KA0dY2-OjY5DvOWWGvBhA=w434-h244" width="434" /></a></div>With the massive majority of the general population vaccinated, the pandemic was expected to decrease. Instead we now have HIGHER covid numbers and hospital numbers than in 2020 at the same time this year, when nobody was vaccinated yet. I know what excuse is used there for the underperforming vaccinates; <i>Delta</i>. Delta is predictably thrown out there to make everyone feel at ease again, in a very worrisome situation we're now in.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">But if Delta and mutations - also of the spike protein - are the real reason why the vaccines underperform so badly, then why aren't large labs like Pfizer upgrading their vaccine? I'm sure they will do so soon, but meanwhile people are getting boosters of the exact same original vaccine, which used the characteristics of the virus' original spike protein, which isn't even circulating anymore. No booster = no QR health pass code. So if Delta is such a game changing mutation, why even bother with the boosters (= original vaccines of the first hour)? Why not get back to the drawing board and wait for updates of these vaccines? </span></i></b></div><br />There are by now so many covid variants circulating worldwide with so many mutations in these spike proteins (and counting, as a new 'Omicron covid strain' with yet another spike protein mutation has now been discovered), that the time for one effective generalized vaccine based on this spike protein may be long gone. I think that people should face reality; the vaccines by themselves are not going to make us stop the pandemic, and a couple of highly established and prominent scientists who have warned for this exact thing over the past year, were right. Vaccinated people can in fact become more susceptible to catch covid and pass it on as soon as the virus mutates even a little bit. As their immune system is only primed to fight the specific spike protein that was used for these vaccines when it was developed while the original covid strain was still virulent. The loosening of restrictions like mask wearing and social distancing recently here have also not helped. And there is a 5th wave now even in countries with 80+% of people over the age of 12 vaccinated, because contrary to what we have initially continuously been told, the vaccine does not prevent vaccinated people from contracting the virus and transmitting it. This was the original message of anyone, from Fauci to the virologists in the 1st world to the leaders. Later it was slowly but surely altered into being protective of hospitalization (and the vaccines aren't even doing that reliably). Nevertheless, many countries find themselves now tied down with a permanent, QR code-based coping system, which everyone feels will not disappear anytime soon. - And I start to worry that in time, politicians will also drag this tried system out to deal with a virulent <i>winter flu </i>from now on. <i>'Or do you want granny to DIE?!</i>' But do not forget that the flu and death of the weakest has always been at the core of humanity and evolution, and that we modern humans have to be careful imposing an authoritarian state system on society, in order to gain as much control as possible on everyday illnesses. </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijK7o-gdjAidg6YA4oTZc_mGujoL5Hm5gqx3yYCSjEWWzOSwQJJThaXktUYsK_1A3YcWK4TrEECGr_q83IJCaBYkPNrvqslN6ltLyaripSLcxvN5zl-8xvmlU1Nz8F28QqWN_Q74V5QWzlSkj-nv7Krcx6D2-hJrzQsUvJyXphXI7F0O3cORLtg50mNw=s530" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="471" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijK7o-gdjAidg6YA4oTZc_mGujoL5Hm5gqx3yYCSjEWWzOSwQJJThaXktUYsK_1A3YcWK4TrEECGr_q83IJCaBYkPNrvqslN6ltLyaripSLcxvN5zl-8xvmlU1Nz8F28QqWN_Q74V5QWzlSkj-nv7Krcx6D2-hJrzQsUvJyXphXI7F0O3cORLtg50mNw=w309-h348" width="309" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4m2x-DOnUi98iWaMrNCMak1DjT0CQNI5MVtqSQ8aPV35128T7Qp4o6yg1teBNSxxlMEp-lZsnz5RNTh6SHOaYxob3PaXPFBCSCgHDzAyvsbq2iLD4o9uCcH3jyEN72uCYLabJWjJBQlyKC1LuKNXd2Jn6Pudri0yVfWO2ssVpDLfi4GHrdc_YNzjjUQ=s902" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="748" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4m2x-DOnUi98iWaMrNCMak1DjT0CQNI5MVtqSQ8aPV35128T7Qp4o6yg1teBNSxxlMEp-lZsnz5RNTh6SHOaYxob3PaXPFBCSCgHDzAyvsbq2iLD4o9uCcH3jyEN72uCYLabJWjJBQlyKC1LuKNXd2Jn6Pudri0yVfWO2ssVpDLfi4GHrdc_YNzjjUQ=w308-h373" width="308" /></a>I am personally worried that instead of accepting that everybody should just be tested before going to big events or even discotheques (hire private organizations to do this!), people like myself will slowly but surely be pushed even more out of everyday life. I already cannot go to a cafe or restaurant or any outside event without cycling all around town every day for a test that takes many hours all in all to have a result from. But with the upcoming 2G rule, I will be excluded 100% from all of these everyday life events, despite me being the safest person out there, with my negative test. The vaccinated people deem themselves safe and unfortunately more often than not superior, while not testing themselves and despite everyone now knowing that vaccinated people carry covid as often if not more often than unvaccinated people, and being at least as infectious. They also do not stay out of hospitals, so you'd think that this was all the evidence we need to let go of this unscientific, symbolic (shambolic?) health pass. Nope. Not at all, quite the opposite in fact. It makes me feel really anxious and upset to be honest. I can already hear people hissing and lisping: <i>"Well, just get vaccinated then!"<br /></i><span><span><i><br /></i><b style="color: #660000;">*Update</b></span>:</span><span> just to illustrate this madness; out of just two flights that arrived in Amsterdam from South Africa the other day, <b><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/passengers-south-africa-face-wait-covid-19-testing-amsterdam-2021-11-26/" target="_blank">61 people tested positive for covid</a>. </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">So roughly 30 people per flight. 90% of these 61 people said to have been </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="https://www.nu.nl/facebooklinks/6170931/90-procent-van-besmette-klm-passagiers-uit-zuid-afrika-is-gevaccineerd.html?redirect=1&fbclid=IwAR2Ylbi8rbquCvibHH3ke6IQr1G53OjUZcRHtjxq3qVEWjWpoWoeJzaXvXk" target="_blank">doubly vaccinated</a>. </span></b>The authorities inspect now if these people carry a new strain or not, but for most flights there are no such test done afterwards. And now you may ask: <i>How is that possible? Don't people test before embarking? </i>No. This is my point. Only the unvaccinated test and are safe on board; everyone with a vaccination passport (so the large majority, roughly 90% of those on board) do not have to test at all. I checked it with <a href="https://www.traveldoc.aero/" target="_blank">TravelDoc</a>. </span><span>They can just show their vaccine proof and board - and infect people like myself, and one another. Don't be mistaken; 30 out of 300 passengers means that 10% of the passengers in these planes</span><span>, or 1 in 10 on board</span><span> (and in many planes probably) are covid positives. But the only people having to test beforehand are the 10% of unvaccinated clients. Madness. Just have international travelers all to a covid test and/or check their temperature easily and painlessly before boarding, and let go of this deceptive and ineffective vaccine passport.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br />I talked to my dad about it last night and things were so dire for me back in 2005 and even before then, so horrible with 24/7 flushing after that dreaded IPL treatment, that everything now is about keeping control of my skin. I have these extreme reactions to things, somehow. Going into someone's house who just used paint in there makes me red and flushed and swollen and suffering badly for up to a week. Dental fillings had me blown up burning red for weeks until I said; take the filling + molar out. I flare up from wearing jewelry, from using skin care products, from smelling perfume. I don't respond by the book to certain things and it is really difficult to live with. A hepatitis B vaccination (a completely normal one, no mNRA) triggered my rosacea from mild to moderate sixteen years ago and I saw doctors for a long time in the years after to try to calm things down again. I have been told so many times: <i>"We don't know", "We have never seen such a form of rosacea before", "You have tried all the textbook treatments, now learn to live with it</i>", that I have become extremely cautious about changing my controlled state of skin, so to speak. I have to live such a freak lifestyle still to keep the flushing and burning at bay. This new vaccine is not tested long enough and well enough in my view and I just don't want to take the risk because once it's in, it can't come out again. I don't want covid either obviously, although so far so good: I don't exactly hide in my house and I reckon that I either already had covid in March of 2020 when I was sick with fever, nausea and a sore throat for 3 weeks, or my immune system has fought the virus off successfully, so far.. But I can at least influence that risk by my own comings and goings and not kiss people, wash my hands more often and keep some distance. It is just a highly stressful situation, highly stressful. Not even the stress of potentially catching covid (I think/hope I'll be fine, I test and temperature when needed and have <b><a href="https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/health/dying-covid-19-patient-recovers-after-court-orders-ivermectin-treatment?fbclid=IwAR0nTpK2RL8oQysKlaLaaL1flUAA-LOENS8zIwh319fPbBeXiNarqtjXZqw" target="_blank">ivermectin</a></b> pills, just in case). But the stress of these ever changing, ever worsening covid rules. Because in a way, they are slowly but surely forcing us all to get vaccinated. Despite saying there is no vaccine obligation (yet). Wished things were easier but when it all goes wrong, I will be back to square one and I know my immune system reacts extremely to certain triggers. My immunologist even advised against the use of simple multivitamins, as they trigger and boost my warped immune system. I don't know in advance what will be a trigger. Before covid it was allll about minority groups and their rights, but now that everyone is scrambling for themselves.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFFY1DoXyxZk2o5fXObcP80Leu4lxjm0U52dME9zVyrOuX-IXq8G6Xysk8Z1fB1tK0odVmoTLCU4PS_RQyEaXu1SJ-2sdEEdVss8ONrBqcp13878wMvxgzP4nalMIAF25za-zeaCJZ_ofmY0C-8_qcg-jzUIrIPfO9smBcagSRAqXH_YapgcvjotwKag=s900" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="813" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFFY1DoXyxZk2o5fXObcP80Leu4lxjm0U52dME9zVyrOuX-IXq8G6Xysk8Z1fB1tK0odVmoTLCU4PS_RQyEaXu1SJ-2sdEEdVss8ONrBqcp13878wMvxgzP4nalMIAF25za-zeaCJZ_ofmY0C-8_qcg-jzUIrIPfO9smBcagSRAqXH_YapgcvjotwKag=w321-h355" width="321" /></a></div>I saw a docu series on Dutch tv about the conflict between the vaccinated and the non-vaccinated and it was incredibly depressing. The vaccinated make up the majority obviously, and there were cases where adult children were no longer welcome in their parents' houses. As the parents were too worried about them becoming infected then. There were stories of people who lost more than half of their friendships. Because they choose not to get vaccinated. A couple living in a communal living setting were treated like pariah's, with the other residents avoiding being in the same space as them. This is just a terrible feeling, to be treated like that and not because they are actually sick. No, just out of fear and precautions, fueled by the media who honestly are weeks behind with the statistics and who underplay or completely ignore the real statistics which could have brought some well-needed balance into this whole thing. While these vaccinated people keep their green QR code even when they test positive for covid and go out and about to spread the virus. It is all about feelings though. I am glad that I can still visit my parents and that they feel safe around me. But these times, it is just so sad. I can say that I have in the past been stared at or had comments made to me about my red skin. Or youth would make cowboy sounds when I cycled by with a hat on, even when there was no sun shining. It is never nice to feel singled out based on the way you look. I wouldn't go as far as calling it discrimination or racism as it clearly isn't. But right now I feel discriminated and it feels absolutely rotten. You don't know what it's like until you experienced it firsthand. To walk by a terrace with happy folks sitting outside in the fresh air with a nice lunch, and the entrance of every place being plastered with warning signs that YOU are not allowed in, it is a terrible feeling. "Well, surely not as bad as being on life support in hospital", some will say or think. But two wrongs don't make one right. Especially not when the reality of the day is that the vaccination privileges do <i>not</i> curb the infections or the pandemic. - People in general do not want to belong to a minority group; they do not want to feel excluded. So they give in. They also call it the <b><span style="color: #444444;">frenzy or the intoxication of the masses</span></b>, who feel high because they belong to this majority subgroup, and as such (as history has shown countless times) are capable of marching right down the abyss and accepting things they would before never even have contemplated. Who can show an absolute lack of <i>empathy</i> for those who fall outside of the group.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">When there is a crisis and fear, and people are so drawn by a certain logic (!) that one can no longer relativize this logic in any way, then this is the perfect storm for a situation where people start to think: those who cannot follow MY logic are totally 'irrational' and thus one does not have to take these people into account anymore. This is the core of totalitarianism. And right now it can be seen all around us, whether it is in regards to vaccination obligation, vaccination privileges or taking the freedoms of the minority group.</span></i></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Respectful discussions and learning from the other's point of view are no longer possible then. Right of self-determination and freedom of opinion are torn at. A majority who is OK with segregation of a minority group is a dangerous development and it makes me honestly sad, disappointed and worried to see so many people around me (as well as the dominant <i>media</i>!) being in agreement with this whole shift. Because they belong to the majority group and have their own principles. Even though right now, something like a vaccine passport QR system in public spaces makes no sense from a scientific point of view, especially now that the vaccine effectivity is dwindling so strongly. But nobody wants to be that person left standing outside, unable to get in with the rest. And at the same time politicians want to pander to this majority group. For the minority - who they often stereotype as if they are one and the same group, instead of people with all sorts of different reasons and motivations not to get vaccinated - politicians insist that vaccination is a free choice. Yes, free, but how is it a free choice if you risk losing your job or freedoms if you do not comply? Leaders are pushing with every evolving 'motivational measurements'. First 70% vaccination would be wonderful they said. Then we had 80% vaccinated and it was not enough suddenly (because, because.. 'Delta'). And now with 88% vaccinated here, the remaining 12% are still not tolerated and are forced out even more from society. It never seems to stop or just be enough. It is just incredible, given the statistics regarding vaccinated people and their infection and hospitalization rate. </div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTV-qjJdP1HsMIiwjA5yA-idK4xJbcAh8-HFnBVawhaTt3IZ7rLolGay-fPJDZ07p_bkNZeUGF6rAGwrR2s7JMow9GmIHNii7AnL5hDf2dkLFZ72-nIe9-GX0hkNdyK1qvqT4rEUZ0zKyPzP4FwHyyj5NEmYR4jPoslhKJXQPhdB5f8NHAilmInD-Jlw=s1000" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="1000" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTV-qjJdP1HsMIiwjA5yA-idK4xJbcAh8-HFnBVawhaTt3IZ7rLolGay-fPJDZ07p_bkNZeUGF6rAGwrR2s7JMow9GmIHNii7AnL5hDf2dkLFZ72-nIe9-GX0hkNdyK1qvqT4rEUZ0zKyPzP4FwHyyj5NEmYR4jPoslhKJXQPhdB5f8NHAilmInD-Jlw=s320" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghLXAt39ihIMcsC_Z8X7iKiHx_XLb_tWqG7T7ycZOrJXahLxxPzPomqj3vyvzoUEZz1iV3UXObK2zF6nyRSWQ_5cJGpZDw0plkYL7dz0UctAbrdomNdHymeBRwgenU3EpK_Pg2dkD4cQPeVQGR26nlIT2IQ8bGWfrpK_4UHcEzDuE3gscUFtwb-sYqTA=s1016" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1016" data-original-width="660" height="493" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghLXAt39ihIMcsC_Z8X7iKiHx_XLb_tWqG7T7ycZOrJXahLxxPzPomqj3vyvzoUEZz1iV3UXObK2zF6nyRSWQ_5cJGpZDw0plkYL7dz0UctAbrdomNdHymeBRwgenU3EpK_Pg2dkD4cQPeVQGR26nlIT2IQ8bGWfrpK_4UHcEzDuE3gscUFtwb-sYqTA=w320-h493" width="320" /></a>Something new, my parents and some friends emailed me about it right away. Now there will be a possibility in the Netherlands for people to get a special exemption; for those who can't have the vaccine due to a medical condition, BUT, your own medical specialist can not determine this. There will be some medical tribunal which you have to attend, and these independent specialists, like the corporate doctors who will decide if you are fit to work again when you fall sick as an employee, they will decide if you are truly allergic to this vaccine or in danger of your life if you take it... or that you just happen to think you do. I have a medical letter saying I should stay clear of vaccines but I know already how such a meeting will go: <i>"So which exact medical disease do you say you have? Is there medical literature available that proves that you would have a truly dangerous reaction to this vaccine? No? Well then you will probably be fine and should just take it. Next!"</i> Even people who had heart issues or severe allergic reactions to the first jab have been told to get the second one anyway, under medical surveillance, as they may not react as bad the second time around. (May..). This is partly a legal thing the government installed, so that it can be said that exemptions are possible now that the restrictions are getting more severe for the non-vaccinated. But I know from France that there are only a handful of specific conditions and illnesses accepted here, attributed to less than 1% of the population. Depressing and it makes me also anxious. <br /><br />Ultimately, the lockdowns are primarily there because the hospitals struggle to care for these numbers of people. In many countries, it is down to a very limited amount of IC beds, due to years of managers remediating and cutting any extra costs for beds that were at the time left empty. Even before covid, many hospitals here functioned at 85% capacity in winters. It only had to take something relatively small to have the hospitals overwhelmed. Because the managers took over and hospitals have to be profitable now. And an IC bed requires a lot of material ánd staff. Having excess IC beds was therefore bad for the profit margins. It is a simplified analysis but certainly played a big part in this. <b><span style="color: #444444;">We're now 1,5 years into this covid crisis, and there have still not been any governmental financial injections to double the amount of IC beds and specialized IC staff. </span></b>Which would have been the logical thing to do. I believe that in light of all this it is wrong on every level to force someone to have a medical treatment against their will, with a substance that is still in its trial period (fact) and with unknown long-term implications. These mRNA injections were originally sold to us as protective against any severe form of COVID. However, they are in reality and over time of no or very little effectiveness. This is the essential information. Moreover, more and more voices are raised to report <b><span style="color: #444444;">serious side effects, for which the vaccine makers can't be held responsible</span></b> [Despite the fact that traditionally only 1-10% of all side effects are reported to authorities, in Australia alone around 10,000 Australians are now already demanding compensation from the government after suffering significant side effects from the anti-Covid vaccine. The bill could amount to several million Australian dollars, reports the “Sydney Morning Herald”. And <b><a href="https://www.thecardiologyadvisor.com/home/topics/acs/acute-coronary-syndrome-acs-biomarkers-mrna-covid19-vaccine/" target="_blank">this study </a></b>concluded a few days ago, that “mRNA [vaccines] dramatically increase inflammation on the endothelium and T cell infiltration of cardiac muscle and may account for the observations of increased thrombosis, cardiomyopathy, and other vascular events following vaccination.”]. But <b><span style="color: #444444;">the only numbers and statistics we ever see in the everyday media, are those of covid infections and hospitalizations and deaths</span></b>. Never the statistics of the negative effects of the lockdowns; of the side-effects of the vaccines; of the percentage of victims who had major underlying health issues. When an 85-year old with heart disease and cancer dies while being treated for covid, the patient counts as a covid death in most countries. The infamous 'died with covid'. But does this give a representative overall image, when you have a lot of such victims? None of these things are now discussed or even highlighted. All we ever hear are bare doom statistics, of which we also do not always know how these stats came about exactly. The Netherlands for instance are a truly magical country right now, with most countries around it - who publish these statistical details - dealing with well over 50% of covid patients in hospitals and IC's being doubly vaccinated. Only the Netherlands continue to broadcast that we on the other hand have 75% of unvaccinated in hospitals, despite having comparable overall vaccination levels. But nobody points to the situation around us or asks interesting questions about this discrepancy. All we ever get on the news are the bare doom statistics of positive tests, hospitalizations and deaths. And therefore people are much more prone to accepting even more rigorous freedom curtailing measurements when they are afraid. Luckily in this globalized, digital day and age, there will be many other countries doing the research, I trust. India has a different government push than the Netherlands, than Brazil, than the USA and science does not sit still. So I have trust that with time, even the staunchest pro-vaccine believers will have to come to terms with a more balanced overview of the pro's and con's and the side-effects in<i> every</i> aspect.</div><div><br />Back to the disappointing vaccine efficiency. Some statistics take refuge behind the theory of the law of large numbers to justify the lack of effectiveness of these "revolutionary" vaccines. The argument "the vaccine protects severe forms" is politico-media manipulation, because even Pfizer in its report to the FDA specified that its vaccine only prevents mild to moderate forms. The laboratory never mentioned serious forms in its communication. There are today, in intensive care, more vaccinated than unvaccinated patients. I believe that it is not only because of the lifting of common-sense restrictions (mask wearing, social distancing) that things are so dire again here, but also due to the health pass allowing large groups of untested people who feel carefree to mingle, unmasked, that the virus is now again spreading. We betted everything on a vaccine developed on the basis of the first strain which is no longer circulating anywhere. "Take your two doses in order to get back to a normal life", they said. In fact, the covid incidence rate was even lower without vaccines around. And within six months, you are no longer really protected from the jab, regardless of your age. So the health pass must be looked at more critically again. But most people do not care. They only want to keep doing what they like to do in their everyday life (cafe's, restaurants, cinema etc) and to point their finger at 'the other ones', the unvaccinated, without even checking the pandemic basics. Cast them carelessly and often baselessly aside as lunatics and tinfoil hatters. The unvaccinated (including the healthy who are assumed to be sick and who have to actively demonstrate the opposite) just have to pay the health costs. Even if it's unfair.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0xyIIZgN1n1xqJUSm1wiZb53OKhHfaaD2tMVM2u9FuujfgdjsU0S7ArRZJqUsspM3t3OPPXdqmxQpM7vlWaQDwbgdg6BAbL0FrycO7SiMgNup5LAiminGI06a51u5qcsOQXlApQuWWSygDSJVtLhbW-C9IMiNq_MFac9PJTnDezL0KciXhUXsJyxp5Q=s814" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="814" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0xyIIZgN1n1xqJUSm1wiZb53OKhHfaaD2tMVM2u9FuujfgdjsU0S7ArRZJqUsspM3t3OPPXdqmxQpM7vlWaQDwbgdg6BAbL0FrycO7SiMgNup5LAiminGI06a51u5qcsOQXlApQuWWSygDSJVtLhbW-C9IMiNq_MFac9PJTnDezL0KciXhUXsJyxp5Q=s320" width="320" /></a></div>In fact, it's a total mess! Vaccinated, not vaccinated, confined or not, forced to be vaccinated ultimately and what is next? Take away all the basic human rights of the unvaccinated? Stop their welfare, kick them out of their jobs and rental houses? What has disappointed me most is the self-righteousness and vigor with which some vaccinated people have justified this entire mess, and will support the madness ahead. "<i>Yes but I am vaccinated!</i>". As long as it does not apply to them or curtail their personal freedoms. Have people not learnt anything from history? In times of crisis there is always an enemy and a scapegoat pointed out. And in this entire covid discussion, all that is ever discussed are the numbers and the risk statistics, but barely ever the ethical, moral and philosophical aspects of all these restrictions and one-sided discrimination. We are allowing the majority now to vote on what will happen to the minority. That's like having two wolves and one deer vote about what to have for lunch. How is that fair? Things are now coming down to force. A small group is made into scapegoats and their life keeps being restrained more and more. Liberal values and freedom for a minority has become subordinate to the statistics, and <i>only the freedom of the majority</i> is protected now. There is no philosophical discussion about this and the people deciding on all this are in the majority camp. Everyone carried the covid burden in the first year, to protect the old and the weakest. Now the minority who won't or can't get vaccinated are treated exactly in the opposite manner (<i>while the people who actually make up the majority of hospital patients, the old, the frail and the obese, are spared even from the basic debate, let alone from any restrictions</i>). This sometimes even includes before applauded health care workers. The mental and physical integrity of a certain group of citizens is violated and 90% of the people shrug their shoulders about it. Because it doesn't affect thém. It all makes me very sad. Also about the very few people I can talk with about this who understand or agree. Everything seems polarized :( The media is brainwashing people all the same, on both sides of the spectrum, and making those who think differently out as conspiracy theorists, Trumpists, 'wappies' as they're called here. It is so unfair because a lot of us know a hell of a lot more about these vaccines and their statistics and even possible side-effects than the ones who only watch the 8 0'clock mainstream news. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgS4etbDd9UoXfqKODdn8Eq6VcoShuOvXcdCU8XDdJBBxk7iaODwScyQLA2-Eb4AZE5DvU75F9ahXh092EyK0WnT2T359qsdaqQBkhxIXuSqCok2PYdk4VfIHvhmELltfGBPGcy_TRF9vIA_AQf2Vkg3hQUEecvxcf8Xyleuytvb7DMJjHJIciwUeoXg=s600" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="420" height="489" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgS4etbDd9UoXfqKODdn8Eq6VcoShuOvXcdCU8XDdJBBxk7iaODwScyQLA2-Eb4AZE5DvU75F9ahXh092EyK0WnT2T359qsdaqQBkhxIXuSqCok2PYdk4VfIHvhmELltfGBPGcy_TRF9vIA_AQf2Vkg3hQUEecvxcf8Xyleuytvb7DMJjHJIciwUeoXg=w342-h489" width="342" /></a>Again: I gladly cycle for 40 minutes to the only designated testing location in town, to test and to get a QR code in order to be allowed into a clothing shop, while wearing a face mask and keeping 1,5 meters distance from everyone else. But the vaccinated majority never test anymore and still catch covid and pass it on... yet, they can move freely. It starts to feel terribly claustrophobic, illogical, polarized and the end isn't in sight. Right now, here the specialists on TV are very slow to catch up with the disastrous vaccination-hospital statistics. They seem to try to bury it for as long as possible, but the cat is already out of the bag in that respect. I follow it all, sometimes the virologists are corrected on live TV by a guest who has the latest statistics ready. They grovel then to correct themselves and are quick to emphasize that the vaccines work, period. Logic is replaced by mantra's sometimes, which I find disappointing. To say that the vaccines protect 12x more against covid contamination has proven to be a lie, as well as saying that they protect up to 90%. The situation is now worse in terms of infections and hospitalizations than when nobody was vaccinated. The vaccine <i>is</i> a weapon against the pandemic, especially in the first few months after vaccination, but not as much as we were told. I remember at the start of 2021, people said that as soon as we would have the vaccines, we'd all be able to take our masks off, 'Dance with Johnson' (get a Johnson jab and safely go out dancing that same night!); light was supposedly visible at the end of the tunnel... But those who followed the situation in Israel, where they <b><a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2114228" target="_blank">first started</a></b> the vaccination campaign, they knew. It wasn't going to be the success which some scientists still today want to claim it is. Now, nearing 2022, it's only a matter of time before we have another mass lockdown. I'm sorry to say this, but mass (reimbursed!) testing, mandatory isolation when found positive and social distancing remain ultimately the most reliable tools. And focus on protecting the weakest and increasing general health, immune strength and so. Focus, in terms of vaccines, mostly on vaccinating and boostering people of 70 years and older, as they run the most risk of covid infections and the least risk of vaccine side-effects.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmEucSuPjsXM8mu2kCnm2thZwPUz696CQphzIHk1yFHhxL9n7WXrMxmPnlKWHUIZM-v2ak-0xFVerTLRLKh4oag9RGtZ9ZXU1Fz-6q7JmebDIUc4ZeSIArjFYhWFOxSxpPO9sSgkOtObdAzL3nrl1ysCy-W6Z-yqSrUVvw8VUCZj-lFUWhZYzRBALAgg=s1383" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="923" data-original-width="1383" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmEucSuPjsXM8mu2kCnm2thZwPUz696CQphzIHk1yFHhxL9n7WXrMxmPnlKWHUIZM-v2ak-0xFVerTLRLKh4oag9RGtZ9ZXU1Fz-6q7JmebDIUc4ZeSIArjFYhWFOxSxpPO9sSgkOtObdAzL3nrl1ysCy-W6Z-yqSrUVvw8VUCZj-lFUWhZYzRBALAgg=s320" width="320" /></a></div>When we see that the vaccinated carriers can continue to access restaurants (maskless) while a negative unvaccinated person must stay at home, it is not medical, it is political. They punish those who have the right to refuse the vaccine. We supposedly live in times of science and statistics, but never before have I seen such juggling with the numbers. No effective solution has stopped the pandemic for 20 months. A drug developed by the Merck lab is planned to hit the market in December; we will have to rely on these new treatments and stop preventing people from living normally. I hope medical treatments/drugs will prove to be the solution. Will help us withdraw health passes, compulsory masks outside in the open air and whatnot that have proven to have little effect on the spread of the virus. In the crisis phase of covid I can see why we had to restrict movement and have lockdowns, as everything had to be organized still. But now 1,5 years in, we still don't have special covid hospitals or more/better healthcare in that respect. Unfortunately<span style="font-family: inherit;"> a few hundred extra IC patients in a country of 17,5 million, already causes part of the care-industry to grind to a halt. I read in the newspapers that 4 extra IC patients per hospital (simultaneously in every hospital in the Netherlands) already cause this 'code red'.<b><span style="color: #444444;"> It is baffling that the IC capacity hasn't been at least doubled in the past year and a half and that IC staff hasn't been offered way better wages, so they stay and so that more people feel attracted to the job.</span></b> Structural changes that lie at the core of the problem, so to speak. They are coming together to ask for these changes themselves at the moment, but also say that the Dutch government has mainly invested in 'new equipment' and not in the extra staff that is needed to run an IC unit, or in better work conditions for them. Of course, that costs a lot of money... Better to aim at vaccination, even though that comes with individual risks..</span> And leaders continue to act as though the risk is the same for everyone, which it isn't. And that natural acquired immunity is not as good as immunisation, which simply isn't true. Anyone who throws up any question about the effectiveness of the vaccination approach is labelled anti-vax, when they're not. We may need a more targeted and personalised approach. Young people with little risk should be allowed to just get the virus (or not) and recover from it. Their immunity lasts a lot longer also than the vaccine-induced (and very specific spike protein-related) immunity. For everyone else we need a personal risk assessment and those most at risk of severe covid and hospitalization (the elderly, the immuno-comprised) should get priority with vaccination and should be more protected also (masks, social distancing and avoiding high risk locations during a bad covid wave). Vaccination has its place within the mix, but it cannot be promoted as the only answer. It simply isn't, that should be clear to see for all by now. Unfortunately,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">those </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">in power will always be able to find someone who will support their authoritarian, "do as I say or else", attitudes and policies. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">- <b><span style="color: #444444;">I really enjoyed watching Squid Game recently and will try to write something about that next time, something not covid-related :)</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">Thank you so much Z. for sending me this:</span></b><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='477' height='397' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwHKTZQanxAWfbSQRaPQ8kUD2oezPd170fLXKNFsmO4dTPgpnRX_5QmqvvWQVUgxLVcTQKeHgvU2z-EvmJ-yw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><b><a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/circ.144.suppl_1.10712?fbclid=IwAR19S7XvXdRBmu3JvlsRzi8UJFNdiTojxtfAlGlYBJxEN2H3ZqmIaYHBS_w" target="_blank"> Mrna COVID Vaccines Dramatically Increase Endothelial Inflammatory Markers and ACS Risk as Measured by the PULS Cardiac Test: a Warning</a><br /><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/10/2056?fbclid=IwAR2bELSKGm4McORcMDM1WPme_2Td5g9tpGjPNmPVi_V0vQrJmOXGn6RDKM0" target="_blank"> The SARS–CoV–2 spike protein significantly inhibits DNA damage repair, which is required for effective V(D)J recombination in adaptive immunity.</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitpvLOTxeUm3YXwYPNnycH4yX-jDjxN1IYIj0_w3GGPH6mVbPSsrBXlaNUiGcOvoGLEmPVH6MbnTnnWh3ES8SOIa-EzgcQmuGg2jqZ6TgWKw3VIdLghD2JZjsdLwjGnELP29yud0gWP_5NAqPk5NSMVifZ4htIjHjDjH0Ipy3BtREdSnf9tfOtsUoUTA=s1800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1800" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitpvLOTxeUm3YXwYPNnycH4yX-jDjxN1IYIj0_w3GGPH6mVbPSsrBXlaNUiGcOvoGLEmPVH6MbnTnnWh3ES8SOIa-EzgcQmuGg2jqZ6TgWKw3VIdLghD2JZjsdLwjGnELP29yud0gWP_5NAqPk5NSMVifZ4htIjHjDjH0Ipy3BtREdSnf9tfOtsUoUTA=w640-h374" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVfe2siPEekMzjrMQL39yCbzrX0TVwXORcRjDYwbwtuZthyV4uX0AMX-ZRkytBsH5cftnZ7kOgwO8osDFQiluyq2w3o2RKH5ez_GPrWEyMjX4OhHKlEo_CTktAE7vqCTG8tIygHOdf9GnrGRnpH53LyQEsaJpvEw-z6K6ftDHO_Jd3ldxOTjOtheb-MQ=s1862" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="1862" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVfe2siPEekMzjrMQL39yCbzrX0TVwXORcRjDYwbwtuZthyV4uX0AMX-ZRkytBsH5cftnZ7kOgwO8osDFQiluyq2w3o2RKH5ez_GPrWEyMjX4OhHKlEo_CTktAE7vqCTG8tIygHOdf9GnrGRnpH53LyQEsaJpvEw-z6K6ftDHO_Jd3ldxOTjOtheb-MQ=w640-h244" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-MCaboA4Wwp1loNRsX3YkK7gszrtq4JlUyKpP8vdYhwa3Feudxc2adZx2CTNGTyRi1Gtz5ArjXpqELj4j3qYHzybJL9R_yGstrwbbOczqp-n8GuBYvzZdXCCCM-nAfbg8llt2-DlhOaKwM35322aIYdoqLleqwAAsSEX-QUFsTqyPKBnCDaeWvX8V_A=s1784" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="1784" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-MCaboA4Wwp1loNRsX3YkK7gszrtq4JlUyKpP8vdYhwa3Feudxc2adZx2CTNGTyRi1Gtz5ArjXpqELj4j3qYHzybJL9R_yGstrwbbOczqp-n8GuBYvzZdXCCCM-nAfbg8llt2-DlhOaKwM35322aIYdoqLleqwAAsSEX-QUFsTqyPKBnCDaeWvX8V_A=w640-h266" width="640" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Animal lovers go berserk at airport when <br />Rabbit Alfredo is banned from KLM flight</b></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="408" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8WpvM_oQfAY" width="491" youtube-src-id="8WpvM_oQfAY"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">November</span></span></b></span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> 4th,</span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span><span style="font-size: 42px;">2021</span><br /><br /></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlA2DhUSfie2r172uyHG47FvL0YbM0xrhv_ODEkqVX0YLELi_BvW3uxz4cCEeLR7td2yiNrSPRkfa8zP97VTv37hwitOTdAyzEWi-M0__5hSgqIi29r5vFxi20nUcX7FFBusadlJ4VZkQRBQcRBI4zsDECmpKiZ5exqCYudf4UrNcQH94t1OT3adKXYw=s2048" style="clear: right; float: right; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlA2DhUSfie2r172uyHG47FvL0YbM0xrhv_ODEkqVX0YLELi_BvW3uxz4cCEeLR7td2yiNrSPRkfa8zP97VTv37hwitOTdAyzEWi-M0__5hSgqIi29r5vFxi20nUcX7FFBusadlJ4VZkQRBQcRBI4zsDECmpKiZ5exqCYudf4UrNcQH94t1OT3adKXYw=w300-h400" width="300" /></a>The other night there was a press conference in the NL from the political leaders with new covid measurements. Face masks back on, need for testing to even sit outside on a terrace and many more new restrictions. All fine. But what isn't fine is that they flat out lied about the scientific data, such as the percentage of vaccinated people in the hospitals right now. Leaders said that over 90% in there is non-vaccinated. But the next day already, both the national news and a popular primetime opinion program corrected the leaders; in fact, 44% of people in hospital right now are doubly vaccinated. Not that these type of selective number pickings/ fabrications have any further consequences, or can even expect some critical questions by journalists. Everyone else ignored the topic. The minister of public health also talked straight into the camera to the unvaccinated 13% at home, telling them more lies. That the vaccinated barely catch covid and aren't contagious when they do. To support my claim that they are lying, I added a recent Nature article below, with the latest scientific findings, and they paint a very different picture. Also, in Germany the rate of symptomatic Covid-19 among the fully vaccinated (“breakthrough infections”) has been reported weekly since July 21, 2021, and it was 16.9% at that time among patients of 60 years and older. But this proportion is increasing week by week and <b><a href="https://brownstone.org/articles/this-is-not-a-pandemic-of-the-unvaccinated/" target="_blank">was</a></b> 57.0% on October 20th of 2021, providing clear evidence of the increasing relevance of the fully vaccinated as a possible source of transmission. Similar findings on the number of Covid-19 cases among the fully vaccinated were reported from the UK. But apparently politicians can juggle with numbers all they want, and not even the journalists who are present and are allowed to ask questions will challenge it. But don't they say in English that the proof is in the numbers? Or something like that? It has also been disproven for months now, even by Fauci and the CDC who have admitted it (see some older blog posts of mine where I cover that). It seems that none of the journalists in the crowd knew their numbers or read the scientific info. It was a full-on attack on the non-vaccinated, who are by now blamed for everything in the NL. It is abundantly clear that the vaccinations do not work as well as they should do, in terms of preventing that you catch covid and pass it on. They do seem to reduce the risk of being admitted to hospital, but frankly, for healthy people under 70 years old, that risk was already very, very low. And with nearly half of the hospitalized patients being doubly vaccinated, I wouldn't call that a victory either. In some national hospitals they are open to the media that over 80% of their covid patients are by now doubly vaccinated. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBalANpuYbCcfL0CCB_-2nhXAVsbWuieb-ltQ9pGVfFHOgkCm06je1V_8yqPK_FSbd_3zCRp8bZVg-RxWnpUMameEiszHPZVi_a4uCyH42HsWBeDX1xCmrgrnJCqQwtm4xmYhVreFkgZOGrr4NGV2gt124MqBURcM4-qcHunF9rKxeI8hx8y5e24yqrw=s1920" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBalANpuYbCcfL0CCB_-2nhXAVsbWuieb-ltQ9pGVfFHOgkCm06je1V_8yqPK_FSbd_3zCRp8bZVg-RxWnpUMameEiszHPZVi_a4uCyH42HsWBeDX1xCmrgrnJCqQwtm4xmYhVreFkgZOGrr4NGV2gt124MqBURcM4-qcHunF9rKxeI8hx8y5e24yqrw=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5xzGV2vpYqAiwXJtMpeELx8tN4-xgElS3VRlpaAGi-sSyer7EhYtMi9Lm-vogPUit1JB5LLKMt3jJuFvTgXZcEr_oUc5fw2216do2MgZbedQGqMP74RDqTeKSOdcxCPYmxXRoB-hjg_f2lhJUhYrob_pFbGIBiavmXaLAUOuGD322oquZDM8qxPYujg=s1080" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5xzGV2vpYqAiwXJtMpeELx8tN4-xgElS3VRlpaAGi-sSyer7EhYtMi9Lm-vogPUit1JB5LLKMt3jJuFvTgXZcEr_oUc5fw2216do2MgZbedQGqMP74RDqTeKSOdcxCPYmxXRoB-hjg_f2lhJUhYrob_pFbGIBiavmXaLAUOuGD322oquZDM8qxPYujg=w640-h320" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfN1SjMW60tLqQC7ENYireiWStWp-d2speSjwmLHGUkhPtwiTqJeMPA03m4kpRK5T9u0UUgaKUkO-EurQLbkHSU7dBIDZznOGPAuuF7YUkolCD6dDVTEvGqucGRfK5CO5OEe-H4OLZwabEFpBOOpSeHtx6siJOQbrAlaPaNTsoraYqTH4mubSO1s6uAw=s523" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="413" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfN1SjMW60tLqQC7ENYireiWStWp-d2speSjwmLHGUkhPtwiTqJeMPA03m4kpRK5T9u0UUgaKUkO-EurQLbkHSU7dBIDZznOGPAuuF7YUkolCD6dDVTEvGqucGRfK5CO5OEe-H4OLZwabEFpBOOpSeHtx6siJOQbrAlaPaNTsoraYqTH4mubSO1s6uAw=w316-h400" width="316" /></a>What really strikes me is how in the Netherlands, vaccinated people have a green QR mark and can go anywhere, without the need to ever test for covid. And here comes the most absurd part of it all: they KEEP their green mark, éven when they officially test positive for covid. There is no such thing as an automatic disabling of your green QR code then, until you are officially deemed healthy again. No, instead politicians appeal to people's own responsibility to not go out in case of an infection. But they can technically enter any bar, restaurant and concert hall with their green QR code and infect everybody else (yes, even the other vaccinated people around them can then catch covid and pass it on again). They are among the super spreaders who feel entirely superior and invincible, thanks to all this politically motivated talk about vaccinated people being as good as immune. While the scapegoats are the non-vaccinated. We don't talk so negatively about obese people who take up hospital beds for urgent care or weight loss surgery and neither do we stigmatize smokers who take up oncology places in hospital. On top of things, a lot of people make no distinctions either: people who have allergies or underlying illnesses that prevent them from getting vaccinated, are cast on the same pile as people who think you'll grow a third eye when you get a vaccine. The stigmatisation is very real. And now they debate the possibility of making the QR code mandatory in the work place they say. And that means for the non-vaccinated that they need to do a corona test in an official test spot every 24 hour. Which is impossible to keep up. It is the ultimate attempt to force people into vaccination. By threatening their livelihood. They also think about special restrictions only for the non vaccinated, and 2G rules where only the vaccinated or those who recovered from covid can get access somewhere. Full on authoritarianism that no longer follows the science or common sense. I sit next to people on a plane who have an obvious cold, or symptoms similar to covid, yet they don't even need to do a test to get on board. The safest in there is me, freshly negatively tested! But I can predict already that by winter, when the hospitalization of vaccinated covid patients will go through the roof here, they will consider the need again to have vaccinated people tested as well. But not until they forced and pushed every last 'non vaxxer' into the vaccination boot.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day </span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eCyMh-mZ1B0" width="320" youtube-src-id="eCyMh-mZ1B0"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HWd_N-9n7NM" width="320" youtube-src-id="HWd_N-9n7NM"></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5r68ixgh_5OAG-hTfaTO2kqMucrXJw4RN7rbwsxRw6KDDm8dn4Ml6_hItIRWiwYYBzUklG4ZySTT1or0BxEHyNhglQmwYtHka62EJmdg-OrY3Uq7e7Oh4Z3KvMOgGumuDFvhCUttGB30kxzyBnxfybJWku5ha8O1nt_wIxvJnRcOwMa2BVvSZqMxFwQ=s814" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="814" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5r68ixgh_5OAG-hTfaTO2kqMucrXJw4RN7rbwsxRw6KDDm8dn4Ml6_hItIRWiwYYBzUklG4ZySTT1or0BxEHyNhglQmwYtHka62EJmdg-OrY3Uq7e7Oh4Z3KvMOgGumuDFvhCUttGB30kxzyBnxfybJWku5ha8O1nt_wIxvJnRcOwMa2BVvSZqMxFwQ=w257-h251" width="257" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Update: Two prominent German virologists <a href="https://www.thelocal.de/20211106/national-2g-rules-would-be-mistake-top-german-virologists-warn/" target="_blank">agree</a> on this testing importance: </span></b>"Two prominent virologists said on Saturday that Germany should reintroduce free testing for all rather than restrict access to venues to only vaccinated people. Allowing only vaccinated and recovered people to enter venues, a system known as 2G, would give people a “false sense of security,” Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit, a virologist at Hamburg University, told Deutschlandfunk radio on Saturday. He said that vaccinated people could become infected and transmit the virus, even if the probability was lower than with unvaccinated people. Schmidt-Chanasit said that the only secure option is a 1G system – that is to test everyone, whether vaccinated, unvaccinated or recovered. He warned the government against abandoning testing, saying that Germany instead needed a “test offensive.” He also criticized the fact that free rapid testing had been abolished in mid-October. “The vaccinated have the feeling they are no longer part of the pandemic and behave accordingly,” Streeck said. “The second problem is the unvaccinated, who will be excluded and are thus even less likely to get tested.” “If unvaccinated people are not allowed to participate in social life, they may organize parties at home. Then, chains of infection can no longer be controlled at all,” he warned. Streeck also called for the reintroduction of free Corona tests. Saxony became the first German state to announce on Friday that it would introduce 2G rules for venues such as restaurants and bars. Meanwhile, Austria decided on Friday to introduce a nationwide 2G rule. People without vaccination or proof of recovery will no longer be allowed to visit pubs, hairdressers and events from Monday. Several politicians and heads of medical organisations have called for nationwide 2G rules in Germany."<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwMOvq3IiuwX7hG9RM8IIZfQTB38JFJcNpdqOpfcb_bx2uEt1YLfA-4nDaA10AVvJHb4yiPD8vzXZVZ_JTPuZhppGbXMhzCcye_UnAwFC06HTop6DpB5Gf8l2RoN4pORbKY5v0JlgpooxjeDn3mcEVdlXQVhcSXPqhoEep5tTBcn5iDeHge3HGxOop=s1200" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwMOvq3IiuwX7hG9RM8IIZfQTB38JFJcNpdqOpfcb_bx2uEt1YLfA-4nDaA10AVvJHb4yiPD8vzXZVZ_JTPuZhppGbXMhzCcye_UnAwFC06HTop6DpB5Gf8l2RoN4pORbKY5v0JlgpooxjeDn3mcEVdlXQVhcSXPqhoEep5tTBcn5iDeHge3HGxOop=w285-h214" width="285" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">One of the silliest new <a href="https://www.ad.nl/politiek/minister-grapperhaus-qr-code-in-kleedkamer-is-niet-te-veel-gevraagd~af083974/" target="_blank">rules</a></span></b> is that amateur sportspeople cannot be forced to show their green QR code (vaccinated, recovered from covid or negatively tested in the past 24 hours) because parliament has blocked that government rule, BUT, sporters and audience alike wíll be checked for their QR code when they go to the toilet inside, go to the dressing room or go into the cantina for a minute. I am not making this up. Doesn't this border on bullying and pestering? What are football players supposed to do in half-time, hang around outside? Pee in the bushes? Dress outside on the pitch? Clown world. Just make them do a self test before leaving home on the day of the match and stop the madness and bullying, in order to obstruct the normal lives of a very small group of non-vaccinated people. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">I can't speak for every country, but over here politicians have dismantled the care sector for over a decade.</span></b> The amount of IC beds has been cut in half by the managers of privatization and we're left with about 1200 IC beds in total, for a population of nearly 17,5 million, and counting. Because hospital staff is for the most part severely underpaid, many have left the profession. And the corona pandemic hasn't helped with that, as nurses and other hospital staff are overworked and overstressed now, as wéll as underpaid. And next thing around the corner - also here - will be that they are forced to be vaccinated, or else. This may not only result in a walkout of unvaccinated health professionals, but in some cases also of those who have had the vaccine but are anti mandate and who are quitting out of solidarity. Some people in the media dare to ask out loud to what extent societies, businesses, livelihoods need to be destroyed for an infection that 99.7% of people fully recover from? For the most part outside of hospitals. It still beats me why, with all the easily accessible and very cheap self-tests around, employers aren't allowed to simply ask every coworker to do a quick nose test in the morning, before starting work. It's painless, they are overall between 70-99% <b><a href="https://www.cochrane.org/CD013705/INFECTN_how-accurate-are-rapid-tests-diagnosing-covid-19" target="_blank">reliable</a></b> and they give a very quick result. That way you create a safe working space for everyone, as the vaccinated cannot be trusted to be covid-free, just because they had the vaccine, as statistics show time and time again. And if the vaccine doesn't reliably stop you catching or spreading covid, how would it make the country immune? Its main function relates to its claim to reduce the risk of getting severely ill from covid. But as the Nature publication below proves, this effect is waning very quickly after vaccination (they say within <i>three months</i>). The large percentage of vaccinated covid patients in hospitals underlines this. Meanwhile people who decided that they cannot or don't want to risk having the vaccine, have been losing their jobs. </div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6KclM9iyzg88UoTGcT7m7O54Kfhx9qVFVTzV6bGfyfuBh_nTfgTkziBiWr7ee3bwcedPSX5fpUhj2nAZaFeAb_arGtMMnH9nklxTjgdhXmz61WvPqkclgqd0e9BRDEpeyw3EY9Kum73U7gN77zlHWkDa0LHGPgpqfIYdh_sBJxf1y7EX_OHXQoPtvMw=s1776" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1776" data-original-width="1771" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6KclM9iyzg88UoTGcT7m7O54Kfhx9qVFVTzV6bGfyfuBh_nTfgTkziBiWr7ee3bwcedPSX5fpUhj2nAZaFeAb_arGtMMnH9nklxTjgdhXmz61WvPqkclgqd0e9BRDEpeyw3EY9Kum73U7gN77zlHWkDa0LHGPgpqfIYdh_sBJxf1y7EX_OHXQoPtvMw=w276-h277" width="276" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhy1DcF2VarlQC1dOexZYaH6A7ULIYsfgpC9rMDZTC2Apid95cma-3ZsPEcxEtFZam4J0pD3JgqP8d1Kzt_PZxpXhSf5RxwIt_S-wh67VtgQdWSOgTR8gnGi6Xr92zpITfIjnAXHaqby8Dj4a-2TzpLi1kZuJ2AmvBYXsA348A1IgiWjsqLsN9iSxZL0Q=s1747" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1747" data-original-width="1747" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhy1DcF2VarlQC1dOexZYaH6A7ULIYsfgpC9rMDZTC2Apid95cma-3ZsPEcxEtFZam4J0pD3JgqP8d1Kzt_PZxpXhSf5RxwIt_S-wh67VtgQdWSOgTR8gnGi6Xr92zpITfIjnAXHaqby8Dj4a-2TzpLi1kZuJ2AmvBYXsA348A1IgiWjsqLsN9iSxZL0Q=w276-h276" width="276" /></a></div><br style="text-align: left;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBC9JoIB7H37jYNHcb3nXoL9BlYppaqrGl87rZGh_dEkUa502J_VFkOhRKdykY4RG854u69LRKs0vDIBvlwdc3uBPRJm9cxKBIG8ew8WvL7fSZEXlUpilbk8q2zGVZ49VR7GrfOdPVC30UTbeW4ETrOS0rcVflVaWRYFgefIu8GwZCo5vlii6O79W88A=s932" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="932" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBC9JoIB7H37jYNHcb3nXoL9BlYppaqrGl87rZGh_dEkUa502J_VFkOhRKdykY4RG854u69LRKs0vDIBvlwdc3uBPRJm9cxKBIG8ew8WvL7fSZEXlUpilbk8q2zGVZ49VR7GrfOdPVC30UTbeW4ETrOS0rcVflVaWRYFgefIu8GwZCo5vlii6O79W88A=s320" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVWQVu3m5GOVREjRiMSS7Ewm1CNqlK4GKSQnZNMnBY4cuPpGPxRGNDeExwHZ-7c9SR-PkaEBZIRnYmJ6YzTNBqbpuZ4Sun7cErOnP8gTYtdSSE25ePR4JbV08rnvU451AuWrMNwZPdga0iQV7aKNZBVbpP0OgDN4yn4oRa6yBU1iNOLjfNKcSXClfreA=s956" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="956" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVWQVu3m5GOVREjRiMSS7Ewm1CNqlK4GKSQnZNMnBY4cuPpGPxRGNDeExwHZ-7c9SR-PkaEBZIRnYmJ6YzTNBqbpuZ4Sun7cErOnP8gTYtdSSE25ePR4JbV08rnvU451AuWrMNwZPdga0iQV7aKNZBVbpP0OgDN4yn4oRa6yBU1iNOLjfNKcSXClfreA=s320" width="320" /></a><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">The world's leading multidisciplinary science journal, 'Nature', <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02689-y" target="_blank">published</a> in October of 2021 that:</span></b> </span>"</span><span style="text-align: center;">The study shows that people who become infected with the Delta variant are less likely to pass the virus to their close contacts if they have already had a COVID-19 vaccine than if they haven’t. But <span style="color: #444444;"><b>that protective effect is relatively small, and dwindles alarmingly at three months after the receipt of the second shot</b></span>. </span><span style="text-align: center;">Previous studies have found that people infected with Delta have roughly the same levels of viral genetic materials in their noses regardless of whether they’d previously been vaccinated, suggesting that <b><span style="color: #444444;">vaccinated and unvaccinated people might be equally infectious</span></b>."</span></div><span style="text-align: center;"><br />Nevertheless, vaccinated people are said to be overall less likely to spread the virus if they subsequently catch Delta, as their levels of nasal virus drop faster than do those of unvaccinated infected people. The study also passes the blame for the underwhelming vaccine results to the new delta variant (same spike protein, right? So why are the vaccines so poor, overall, in preventing illness or infectiousness?). <i>"</i></span><span style="text-align: center;"><i>A person who was fully vaccinated and then had a ‘breakthrough’ Delta infection was almost twice as likely to pass on the virus as someone who was infected with Alpha. And that was on top of the higher risk of having a breakthrough infection caused by Delta than one caused by Alpha."</i><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">And then the knock out end verdict:</span></b> "</span><span style="text-align: center;">Unfortunately, the vaccine’s beneficial effect on Delta transmission waned to almost negligible levels over time. In people infected 2 weeks after receiving the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, both in the UK, the chance that an unvaccinated close contact would test positive was 57%, <b><span style="color: #444444;">but 3 months later, that chance rose to 67%. The latter figure is on par with the likelihood that an unvaccinated person will spread the virus. </span></b></span>A reduction was also observed in people vaccinated with the jab made by US company Pfizer and German firm BioNTech.<span style="text-align: center;">" </span>The results “possibly explain why we’ve seen so much onward transmission of Delta despite widespread vaccination”. Boosters are suggested as a possible solution (booster is a great marketing term, but it is in effect simply a third vaccination). We all knew we were heading for 6 monthly boosters anyway. I am curious if the rest of the world will follow Israels example, and decide that in time, the people who received two vaccines will be rendered 'unvaccinated' if they don't get their third jab ('booster'). It's clear by now that the efficiency of the covid vaccines last about 4 to 6 months, at most. Nature says three months. So people may be looking at once or twice yearly 'booster' shots for quite some time to come. We may even see the installment of a vaccine loyalty card :)<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgo8oLuYtNZsMr_3U_Q0IwrowsxD1_o5Kc_fUhhPu6m1UmgCpMbtgJrjUaTOIOoHvEZ4VN5YHQZR3JIGU8mIk3spf67KzWNlYa6h3tezjeGSEThn5NIYXDwzKLHEZnDGKM6Yl71K_ZIimLnzAhhdjZTV8I4ZphAOuYBfCXm7MJ2CVDRjbA7X44tiJF8w=s1558" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="1558" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgo8oLuYtNZsMr_3U_Q0IwrowsxD1_o5Kc_fUhhPu6m1UmgCpMbtgJrjUaTOIOoHvEZ4VN5YHQZR3JIGU8mIk3spf67KzWNlYa6h3tezjeGSEThn5NIYXDwzKLHEZnDGKM6Yl71K_ZIimLnzAhhdjZTV8I4ZphAOuYBfCXm7MJ2CVDRjbA7X44tiJF8w=w487-h180" width="487" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b style="color: black;"><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34117878/" target="_blank">This pubmed article</a></b><span style="color: black;"> also concluded that "Fully vaccinated persons with a Covid-19 infection were still</span><span style="color: black;"> able to excrete infectious SARS-CoV-2 six to seven days after the onset of symptoms in half of the cases." The CDC also </span><b style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/delta-variant.html" target="_blank">reported</a></b><span style="color: black;"> that the delta variant appears to produce the same high levels of virus in both unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals. I am highlighting this stuff, because of the ongoing new legislation, instigated by well-meaning politicians, which ignores this science and gives a total free pass to the vaccinated (their rewards), while severely discriminating unvaccinated people, even when they are not sick and have a medical exemption. All basic human rights are flung out the window at the moment (where are all the human right advocates and why aren't they rallying?), and not based on the full and complete science. [N.B. Not that you can blindly </span><b style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/covid-19-un-laboratoire-accuse-d-avoir-mal-mene-des-essais-sur-le-vaccin-pfizer-20211103" target="_blank">trust the science</a></b><span><span style="color: black;"> anymore anyway]. Instead politicians are nitpicking, choosing favourable research papers over more accurate or reputable ones based on their political aims, and politicians also cause polarization in society by favouring those who are vaccinated and scapegoating the non-vaccinated. All the while entirely ignoring that the root cause of all the lockdowns are their own failed capitalist policies, which saw the hospitals be dismantled of carers and beds. The vast majority of the IC patients with covid are over 80 years old, with underlying health issues. Society cannot cope because there are not enough hospital beds and that's primarily why there are lockdowns. But instead they blame the unvaccinated, which in the Netherlands make up a small minority of not even 13%. 87% of the population is vaccinated and this would have been considered a victory at the start of this year. But now politicians want it all and aim for the 100%.</span><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikLpxMjlG2jft_lC0aXXzoeVcjY6PYpkSdL3HGwHb7KaWlyq60HSXzDhZ4n3nbJpECazXI3IVoyUI8y5kTFWY_ZiVrMwBQgFg2kXUqKvTL8OQsVLy_FYU33Bad49VIlBPbeL6aQCLJ6GVHET8GSESEINgoTUaPnz7S0hWPjb6yneCtuxxfrG4AosnBWg=s1246" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1246" data-original-width="1125" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikLpxMjlG2jft_lC0aXXzoeVcjY6PYpkSdL3HGwHb7KaWlyq60HSXzDhZ4n3nbJpECazXI3IVoyUI8y5kTFWY_ZiVrMwBQgFg2kXUqKvTL8OQsVLy_FYU33Bad49VIlBPbeL6aQCLJ6GVHET8GSESEINgoTUaPnz7S0hWPjb6yneCtuxxfrG4AosnBWg=w181-h200" width="181" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Meanwhile Pfizer has been going full steam ahead with its Pfizermectin drug</b><span style="color: black;"> (oh no they call it</span></span><span style="color: #990000;"><span><span style="color: black;"> 'Paxlovid'), which as predicted earlier does about </span><b style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10168993/Pfizer-says-antiviral-pill-cuts-risk-severe-COVID-19-89.html" target="_blank">the same</a></b><span style="color: black;"> as ivermectin: "</span><i style="color: black;">Pfizer's drug, part of a class known as protease inhibitors, is designed to block an enzyme the coronavirus needs in order to multiply.</i><span style="color: black;">" Ivermectin's </span><b style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8203399/" target="_blank">mode of action</a></b><span style="color: black;">: </span><i style="color: black;">"Ivermectin binds to this enzyme and disrupts it. </i></span></span><i>It inhibits and disrupts binding of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein at the ACE-2 receptors.</i><span style="color: #990000;"><span><i style="color: black;">" </i><span style="color: black;">After a five-day, small-scale test of 1219 patients, Pfizer called it a day and declared the study a success, </span></span></span>claiming publicly that its Covid pill "cuts the risk of patients dying by up to 90 per cent". Let's see how much more their version of ivermectin, combined with an antiviral drug, is going to cost the tax payers. I predict it will be at least 100 times more expensive than patent-free ivermectin (no, not the horse paste; the pill), which has a good, reliable track record in scientific testing when it comes to treating mild to moderate covid but you can buy it for pennies in many countries. Still am happy that more effort is put into covid treatment options. </div></div></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='324' height='269' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxyVcLIBk7p4cashydkIKYbSUxH5pGjiko8_mSTOzUV7PMH74Xx9CvZJHW-PTIMeQ243dzKloejRaPfF8_Gxg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='328' height='273' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwF7qztv2i5gs5aMIU6OdCUh6o_zYW8pJ3cSfBn8bmDPALRBkQtSy4N9dxCqS4w5ugR9GRi3_ijWM7Jb_xbSQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpVksdAkyvxmdKZ0Tu_Mbdo4aLHEOdigabezfyEum2xwP3zHnGHnrnMNTEiA32OBxd9Anm5delttQrwnNHSEMoN_qLMnMiarrVxghLcTv986oR8CwUcgsRBHDfxt-byKZ2n3D7JneHMQDETOD-TEY_xOtMj4c778w1Yufr51IzNdIjMIje6q_sg2icqQ=w295-h394" width="295" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="436" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W85oD8FEF78" width="524" youtube-src-id="W85oD8FEF78"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi09tcIdG0UhPFoNF5hI-sAa-LS6Kg1tDC72z0ob2Us1shZYm9B2jHeT2LEbxJIBpCHvaO8E3igZIC_-yd8pKX-q37Ga82JgiQzt1uFwX1qM_SAvbPWiXmn0PrZ8lYnrodDhLmk-so5D8ODc3sFjHTsGc5mylyNJ3J_UawBXWbGI1SgnhRCr0SsJdtTVQ=s827" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="827" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi09tcIdG0UhPFoNF5hI-sAa-LS6Kg1tDC72z0ob2Us1shZYm9B2jHeT2LEbxJIBpCHvaO8E3igZIC_-yd8pKX-q37Ga82JgiQzt1uFwX1qM_SAvbPWiXmn0PrZ8lYnrodDhLmk-so5D8ODc3sFjHTsGc5mylyNJ3J_UawBXWbGI1SgnhRCr0SsJdtTVQ=w400-h304" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">SIDE EFFECT</span></b><br />I realize that millions of people have died from (or with...) covid or had lasting side-effects from it. However, there is also a minority group who died after vaccination or who developed long lasting or life-changing injuries from them. Some can be found reported on <b><a href="https://t.me/s/covidvaccineinjuries" target="_blank">here</a></b>. Every medicine has side-effects and some people are more prone to them than others. But what bugs me is that overall, you do not hear or read about these people in the media. There are daily media updates here about new covid patients; someone in hospital with covid who says; 'OH I so wished I had been vaccinated!' The same story every day, but different faces. That's fine, but why are the (often younger) people with bad side-effects from these vaccines not reported on? Google doesn't even allow you to find their stories. If you search for 'telegram covid vaccine injuries' on duckduckgo, it is the very first site suggestion in the list. But when I look for that same search term on google, I find it somewhere on page 5. Don't these poor unfortunate people deserve to be acknowledged as well? So that everyone can weigh the risks for themselves and come to informed decisions? VAERS has way, way more covid vaccine deaths and side-effects registered than all the other vaccines do combined. But people who have been unfortunate in that sense, feel ignored and marginalized. It just makes me sad about the media most of all. It's obvious that politicians nitpick when it comes to what they want to emphasize, according to their policy. It isn't helping with pushing the remaining minority to get vaccinated, when you talk about all the people who died right after vaccination or who developed serious side-effects, life changing ones. But the mainstream media should have told some of their stories. Don't forget that before this endemic, there was a lot of media attention aimed at minorities and victims of all sorts. People with rare diseases, people with unusual disabilities or who were otherwise unlucky. Now we have a minority victim group who feel completely ignored, despite doing what they were told to do, and suddenly they are no longer worthy of a news article or interview. I can't help but feel indignant about it, and about the people who instantly discredit their experience and think only in a polarized manner. Just like some people will call me a 'wappie' or a lunatic for even posting this. Oh well. None of us probably know what's all going on, why this pandemic started and what is the right way out of it. Some make this choice and others the other. We never know for certain what the consequences are and that's what makes these times so anxiety-inducing. I know what it is like to have some freak medical condition, which most people do not understand. Having to use a ventilator in winter, having a red burning face, walking around with a neck fan (even at times when wearing a mask...). Getting bright red because someone else is wearing strong perfume. It is all the stuff of a freak nightmare. I know what it's like to have some statistically impossible side-effect from IPL/laser treatment and how society isn't all that interested in people like me with an uncomfortable skin condition. So I can't help sympathizing with the black sheep within this endemic, who were healthy one day and sick the next, through no fault of their own. Society has become even harder than before I think. Even more polarized than before. I hate it. If you don't fully agree with someone, they more often than not have no interest in any debate or disagreement and move on. The Cancel Culture phenomenon I so deeply hate. Luckily I have some friends who are on the same page and also friends who do not agree with me but who are mature and nice enough to respect my decisions and point of view and to stay interested and understanding. Even if half of these reported cases are true, it is already deeply tragic. </p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B5_gpJW7Euo" width="320" youtube-src-id="B5_gpJW7Euo"></iframe></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcKYJiXaqhS4F6jcpYhZXIYv8GNdqndlhvBY9Jw6lbfCfVD1f7DCnuqCs_xj0d5-DHKkM8Aopd8ySxTFQXC2XfXkPtvm0PTJQ2SFAbwEOouInVHd1SzK_y2l4UxeN-nEu5Lf9BWAl-upc3sgmwE9aACze9MC312GJzUSUHnYdVe8KzfS1KxgHkD3yDWA=s816" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="812" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcKYJiXaqhS4F6jcpYhZXIYv8GNdqndlhvBY9Jw6lbfCfVD1f7DCnuqCs_xj0d5-DHKkM8Aopd8ySxTFQXC2XfXkPtvm0PTJQ2SFAbwEOouInVHd1SzK_y2l4UxeN-nEu5Lf9BWAl-upc3sgmwE9aACze9MC312GJzUSUHnYdVe8KzfS1KxgHkD3yDWA=w186-h187" width="186" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBQUYvYJmDhAshGIUI_3eEv1iRl8aPtua72Z6eELB8LWuvqKZA7ykfhRJwcio6MzAb1JNf6eNgkS-3FDDMyqMR3kf4x8ENJKtBnoz2KTjMG8Hhst42PXp_iOH0WwHusCeXVoHYYhaXetu40Ixr_Cmx1KfIbxZrglt_QVfmfG3sQZdPH0w6mjdToUudlQ=s826" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="821" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikoD7UJY_nTw4p2HiH9Cm9WaZK5htPz-hJU1Q0RXI9eWOw5jUEBT5FhhTKMiYO2t-wyLvg0y4wGQAQVDofjJKz5biyTGVTWp2hUMj6bhfnFzYeIPFU2zNKQH-uGVbBrQ6fmamBbtXY1x-32bXjI9jP3cx-l4GBjTFcsTY_BaZCc6PDez6s2n1X72ORnA=w189-h188" width="189" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgty-qX6xktSSe2yDsojrirQhaysNdWsyx2CPmUihmPycGCB-9KZhFm8xPDWKu2-2f_CYzrc95AuG7m-gnhuHBMtJlGsLRof_6uN5NdlSf8rSBC-IPrBvtY1a1HRs6_tlAcKl6RRAwbX8CPTLyZ7hExynmw_9Xjk2YYbsKq-Td4pqpeNxk1uPQqqFebRw=s820" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="817" data-original-width="820" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgty-qX6xktSSe2yDsojrirQhaysNdWsyx2CPmUihmPycGCB-9KZhFm8xPDWKu2-2f_CYzrc95AuG7m-gnhuHBMtJlGsLRof_6uN5NdlSf8rSBC-IPrBvtY1a1HRs6_tlAcKl6RRAwbX8CPTLyZ7hExynmw_9Xjk2YYbsKq-Td4pqpeNxk1uPQqqFebRw=w189-h188" width="189" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNCKms48v2IX4yt1xzxZ8eY2pIhJvTUsIeJutwLgew2_bDfYLCEAi23SNM2ajZQ3k36GilLN7uoQvcZiJOBqmO38nuoXo-rrwVUqgYKqzhIrGMoEyImTJxI3wcV7kIG8NPQRNEUL47BgiPOYrZ5jBLJu1WePqmA5cg6I-ClsACKjS7kTzAa22mSid-RA=s827" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="827" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNCKms48v2IX4yt1xzxZ8eY2pIhJvTUsIeJutwLgew2_bDfYLCEAi23SNM2ajZQ3k36GilLN7uoQvcZiJOBqmO38nuoXo-rrwVUqgYKqzhIrGMoEyImTJxI3wcV7kIG8NPQRNEUL47BgiPOYrZ5jBLJu1WePqmA5cg6I-ClsACKjS7kTzAa22mSid-RA=w272-h244" width="272" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoJt4h5jr4wGTPkQSLnk9bUtMoHCQz6A8n_rZgXlTEtmg1qdKp-Zs1dyyif7I01fglMZw3zkHL-u-zfCTxXk1KBuf6F8MSnxZ9tQNImWlYof4dn2_L0XccauThY_-NJnmzrysnOBUNopnLguCeq2EfKmPsUnY57e69WSCjt4foYyzfKzT-Kokx5BYDog=s972" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="737" data-original-width="972" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoJt4h5jr4wGTPkQSLnk9bUtMoHCQz6A8n_rZgXlTEtmg1qdKp-Zs1dyyif7I01fglMZw3zkHL-u-zfCTxXk1KBuf6F8MSnxZ9tQNImWlYof4dn2_L0XccauThY_-NJnmzrysnOBUNopnLguCeq2EfKmPsUnY57e69WSCjt4foYyzfKzT-Kokx5BYDog=w320-h243" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">October</span></span></b></span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> 25th,</span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2021</span></span></b></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Good speech from some European Parliament members: <br /><br /></div></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div><span><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 42px; font-weight: bold;"><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="373" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KAJy9ySToPU" width="449" youtube-src-id="KAJy9ySToPU"></iframe></div></div></div><div><span><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 42px; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 42px; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #990000;">October</span></span></span></span></span></span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> 2nd,</span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2021</span></span></b></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGTvrOqB0ZdIargJW8GMpu3O0jdc1LrtgDmVLFBU8fJJNjitQGUYBUnLEy_R6LCfuv8AMw3kZZ3TWIKoe35uqoJNL89M0tP9lEXAvTr7DsKEGFvCor7XO1_Mcq8Olzd70rhgu2NtkvDjSD/s595/1-jan-viva_varga_01.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: small; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="433" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGTvrOqB0ZdIargJW8GMpu3O0jdc1LrtgDmVLFBU8fJJNjitQGUYBUnLEy_R6LCfuv8AMw3kZZ3TWIKoe35uqoJNL89M0tP9lEXAvTr7DsKEGFvCor7XO1_Mcq8Olzd70rhgu2NtkvDjSD/s320/1-jan-viva_varga_01.jpg" width="233" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfPTLmobkXy_36j-ycsq_ig2SqdmxYNrAm-uEBV-8QPyISG9jndWJh8isMSQip8TTSPKSRjMeOh2-AWQvtMjeGCjz7yQzv0NTTeEfhoOh0GO_KYnrm9INoKtRTAXZZ9rkczNjdhsw48Tk4XnrFJPxOO7g9kKNj8mvzA-7S5YKeO5t439NdaQns7HJ--g=s1238" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: 42px; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1238" data-original-width="789" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfPTLmobkXy_36j-ycsq_ig2SqdmxYNrAm-uEBV-8QPyISG9jndWJh8isMSQip8TTSPKSRjMeOh2-AWQvtMjeGCjz7yQzv0NTTeEfhoOh0GO_KYnrm9INoKtRTAXZZ9rkczNjdhsw48Tk4XnrFJPxOO7g9kKNj8mvzA-7S5YKeO5t439NdaQns7HJ--g=w231-h362" width="231" /></a>A friend sent me this (Dutch) doctor's schedule of how they nowadays treat rosacea in the GP's office practice. Thanks so much! It made me a bit sad that there is literally nothing they really suggest or can offer for the treatment of rosacea-induced flushing and burning, other than IPL and laser. Their ivermectin cream doesn't usually work for us and there is (still) no mention at all of <b><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html" target="_blank">anti-flushing medication</a></b>. While we know that there are therapeutics out there. They just won't look into it. I suspect because drugs like clonidine are not registered officially for the treatment of rosacea or flushing. Mind you, ivermectin has been demonized and ridiculed for YEARS, if not decades by people in the rosacea and health fields. Even my own dermatologist in the past snarled at the notion that demodex mites could be involved in rosacea. Well, that turned out to be correct after all (mostly in subtype 2 rosacea) and here we are; ivermectin is an official line of treatment now. That is great news for many people with rosacea. You can see <b><span style="color: #783f04;">ivermectin cream</span></b> (the generic version of Soolantra) being mentioned in the below schedule as a treatment for literally every subtype of rosacea now. It advises the use of ivermectin cream for <b><span style="color: #783f04;">erythema</span></b> (redness of the skin due to blood vessel dilation) as well as for papulas and skin outbreaks. It also advises the use of brimonidine for flushing and skin redness... Oh no. With the sinking of the <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/12/mirvaso-inventory-of-patient-responses.html" target="_blank">Mirvaso</a></b> ship and the amounts of negative <b><a href="https://www.webmd.com/drugs/drugreview-164982-mirvaso-topical?drugid=164982&drugname=Mirvaso%2Btop&pageIndex=0&sortby=3&conditionFilter=-500" target="_blank">reviews</a></b> of it, little brother <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-brimonidine-trial-it-was-not-what-i.html" target="_blank">brimonidine</a></b> (Rhofade) is also a bit of a liability. It can give <b><a href="https://www.londondermatologist.co.uk/how-do-i-stop-my-face-flushing/" target="_blank">rebound flushing</a></b> and as such worse redness and flushing than you started with. Not everyone with subtype 1 rosacea will have that problem luckily, but the more prone to reactive flushing you are, the higher the risk. There is much more reliable anti-flushing medication out there, but unfortunately over in the Netherlands, patients still need to be very proactive about it... Find a cooperative doctor. Bring the necessary paperwork to prove the scientific <b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5828925/" target="_blank">trial results</a></b> that show that clonidine or beta blockers or certain antidepressants and even antihistamines have a good and safe track record when it comes to reducing the debilitating face flushing of some rosacea patients. It is so much harder to treat often, and doctors seem to have the breaks on when it comes to prescribing something that isn't spelled out in their diagnostics and treatment textbook. It can be very stressful for people like us to find something that works, and to <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/07/how-to-improve-your-chances-of-finding.html" target="_blank">find a doctor</a></b> who is willing to let you try something like clonidine. Despite all the scientific <b><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6219630/" target="_blank">evidence</a></b> regarding its <b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1704538/" target="_blank">effectivity</a></b>. As for laser and IPL, they can do wonders, but also come with a small risk factor. And they are invasive and their effect is sometimes irreversible. For <b><span style="color: #783f04;">telangiectasia </span></b>(dilated or broken blood vessels located near the surface of the skin) the Dutch doctors suggest the use of IPL and laser as well. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5FMK-2BGOmSi5llnd0U7s7SNurE2GCt1EcNbdmUZ7-1sDcRNCiIdZ98ng2Idn_9-J6sJrBFJZLogrvKCR5vN1M6s3gS53TlvAcynM3lbWOcwX71l_dwMOxHCcm_5zk2L-U6_1vTaN2kmd/s1600/IMG-20210927-WA0000.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5FMK-2BGOmSi5llnd0U7s7SNurE2GCt1EcNbdmUZ7-1sDcRNCiIdZ98ng2Idn_9-J6sJrBFJZLogrvKCR5vN1M6s3gS53TlvAcynM3lbWOcwX71l_dwMOxHCcm_5zk2L-U6_1vTaN2kmd/w640-h360/IMG-20210927-WA0000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqKRL9fpwNqu7PdKrBI_lVCjlgWwE64WfoNkGW8zul5nRnen617XUrQOfgO6pTy4BwA7ZkKAFdPcfgA9h5ZZDL-mYD_DCi_y2YrryquNieYdNxc_C5beUjUqSlza65oXa0fORCLFEgacx/s1503/Untitled-1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1503" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqKRL9fpwNqu7PdKrBI_lVCjlgWwE64WfoNkGW8zul5nRnen617XUrQOfgO6pTy4BwA7ZkKAFdPcfgA9h5ZZDL-mYD_DCi_y2YrryquNieYdNxc_C5beUjUqSlza65oXa0fORCLFEgacx/w400-h239/Untitled-1.jpg" width="400" /></a>Some other news, Merck laboratories has been developing an oral covid drug, and seems to be heading to <b><a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/essais-prometteurs-d-un-nouveau-medicament-antiviral-contre-le-covid-20210402" target="_blank">authorization</a></b> of it soon. Molnupiravir is an antiviral drug that blocks the effective replication of the virus by introducing copying errors. Merck report about their Phase 3 trial, that they indicate 'a reduction of <i>“Approximately 50%”</i> of the risk of hospitalization in adult patients with a mild to moderate form of Covid-19, but with at least one risk factor for developing a severe form'. Merck is also the original producer of ivermectin by the way, a drug that has a small mountain of favourable scientific research behind it (I added some of them further down this blog post), and ivermectin also has been awarded with a Nobel prize, has a reliable safety profile plus decades of successful use worldwide. Plus a good track record for over a year now in the actual reduction of covid illness and mortality. But ivermectin's patent rights have long expired, and as such every pharmaceutic company and pharmacist can make it for pennies. So this new drug is slightly different and of course; patented. But anyway, am happy that there is more interest by now in therapeutics, because so far all developments seem to have been aimed at vaccines (which for a fact are still stuck in phase 3 testing, no idea yet about long term effects). Let's hope that Molnupiravir will be a serious candidate and approved soon. Although the main question in France is now: <i>But what does Veran think?? (French joke). - </i>There are also promising trials of the SaNOtize nasal spray apparently, developed by an Anglo-Canadian biotech. I believe that there are also developments in the pipeline with <b><span style="color: #660000;">monoclonal antibodies</span></b>. <i>[the French joke: But the real question is what is the selling price? If the product is very expensive and is not French, it has every chance of being validated by Minister Véran. At 1000 € per dose, it will be immediately authorized]</i>. These products can hopefully be thoroughly tested and then approved and put on the market: they can then be given at a very early stage to people with a positive covid test result, to prevent serious illness or hospitalization.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidlUBl7hrCCvX552hbBCewMtIFHDCLyKq01hPHgL-GfppJdjtOeCjxj1NBdGWtuPbkYXIW8K5Jy3MBs-Tya0IgPDbOkOW1APoS1IpHZ_8FxeYxgKCPAAVHs3A5t39WSqYuD78C63EnFg7I/s478/9780141187761-475x500-1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="325" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidlUBl7hrCCvX552hbBCewMtIFHDCLyKq01hPHgL-GfppJdjtOeCjxj1NBdGWtuPbkYXIW8K5Jy3MBs-Tya0IgPDbOkOW1APoS1IpHZ_8FxeYxgKCPAAVHs3A5t39WSqYuD78C63EnFg7I/w273-h400/9780141187761-475x500-1.jpg" width="273" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Am also still reading Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. </span></b>It really seems most of all a pamphlet, poured into a story. But the protagonist then reads a book, written by the elusive rebel Emmanuel Goldstein, which seems to reflect mostly Orwell's own insights of and predictions about human behaviour, power, class and such. Very interesting though and fascinating that he wrote this in the 1940's I believe, as it was published in 1949. Yet it effectively predicts the Cold War situation and even far more modern and dystopian situations. He could not yet foresee the internet and wrote about intricate TV systems which at the same time broadcasted and spied on the people in the houses, but nowadays mostly everyone has voluntarily bought and brought the spyware into their lives and houses in the shape of smartphones. Anyway, some passage I marked is the following is about DOUBLETHINK, which is a process of indoctrination whereby the subject is expected to simultaneously accept two mutually contradictory beliefs as correct, often in contravention to one's own memories or sense of reality. Doublethink is related to, but differs from, hypocrisy:<br /><br />"It need hardly be said that the subtlest practitioners of DOUBLETHINK are those who invented DOUBLETHINK and know that it is a vast system of mental cheating. In our society, those who have the best knowledge of what is happening are also those who are furthest from seeing the world as it is. In general, the greater the understanding, the greater the delusion; <i>the more intelligent, the less sane</i>. One clear illustration of this is the fact that war hysteria increases in intensity as one rises in the social scale. Those whose attitude towards the war is most nearly rational are the subject peoples of the disputed territories. To these people the war is simply a continuous calamity which sweeps to and fro over their bodies like a tidal wave. Which side is winning is a matter of complete indifference to them. They are aware that a change of overlordship means simply that they will be doing the same work as before for new masters who treat them in the same manner as the old ones. The slightly more favoured workers whom we call 'the proles' are only intermittently conscious of the war. When it is necessary, they can be prodded into frenzies of fear and hatred, but when left to themselves they are capable of forgetting for long periods that the war is happening. It is in the ranks of the Party, and above all of the Inner Party, that the true war enthusiasm is found. World-conquest is believed in most firmly by those who know it to be impossible. This peculiar linking-together of opposites -- knowledge with ignorance, cynicism with fanaticism -- is one of the chief distinguishing marks of Oceanic society. The official ideology abounds with contradictions even when there is no practical reason for them. Thus, the Party rejects and vilifies every principle for which the Socialist movement originally stood, and it chooses to do this in the name of Socialism. It preaches a contempt for the working class unexampled for centuries past, and it dresses its members in a uniform which was at one time peculiar to manual workers and was adopted for that reason. It systematically undermines the solidarity of the family, and it calls its leader by a name which is a direct appeal to the sentiment of family loyalty. Even the names of the four Ministries by which we are governed exhibit a sort of impudence in their deliberate reversal of the facts. The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from ordinary hypocrisy; they are deliberate exercises in DOUBLETHINK. For it is only by reconciling contradictions that power can be retained indefinitely. In no other way could the ancient cycle be broken. If human equality is to be forever averted--if the High, as we have called them, are to keep their places permanently--then the prevailing mental condition must be controlled insanity."</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqnTZlgBCDgAB5-loGP9IHVrU9gPSAmNST1GbjC8bxxG2KzFacrob99AGytJ_xAIeZRUVq1EqIKu13EiSjnMLa_jUUqXWbZPycAlSXfCvu2x0ozksqhBezALoG8jACfumDqZgDImQSGiVG/s736/c0c1df195d9989da13c11b354ed3227f--george-orwell-ignorance.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="736" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqnTZlgBCDgAB5-loGP9IHVrU9gPSAmNST1GbjC8bxxG2KzFacrob99AGytJ_xAIeZRUVq1EqIKu13EiSjnMLa_jUUqXWbZPycAlSXfCvu2x0ozksqhBezALoG8jACfumDqZgDImQSGiVG/w400-h225/c0c1df195d9989da13c11b354ed3227f--george-orwell-ignorance.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEbfvlqLi9-gI9KbUQMGf27dfUExu-na-pTr1-iIwjaARoGLUo2WWtcrq9dI5mKaBFfR1JWY3duSJKxYYmrwBhKFVch5-vLezzWo3ik4Z7Zh-IPr2C_-kMjSZXv_lzlWzROiHiaHJMIks/s1600/george-orwell-quotes-header-min.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEbfvlqLi9-gI9KbUQMGf27dfUExu-na-pTr1-iIwjaARoGLUo2WWtcrq9dI5mKaBFfR1JWY3duSJKxYYmrwBhKFVch5-vLezzWo3ik4Z7Zh-IPr2C_-kMjSZXv_lzlWzROiHiaHJMIks/w400-h225/george-orwell-quotes-header-min.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">And about THE CLASS DIVIDED STATE Orwell wrote: </span></b>"Ignorance is Strength. Throughout recorded time, and probably since the end of the Neolithic Age, there have been three kinds of people in the world, the High, the Middle, and the Low. They have been subdivided in many ways, they have borne countless different names, and their relative numbers, as well as their attitude towards one another, have varied from age to age: but the essential structure of society has never altered. Even after enormous upheavals and seemingly irrevocable changes, the same pattern has always reasserted itself, just as a gyroscope will always return to equilibrium, however far it is pushed one way or the other. The aims of these three groups are entirely irreconcilable. The aim of the High is to remain where they are. The aim of the Middle is to change places with the High. The aim of the Low, when they have an aim--for it is an abiding characteristic of the Low that they are too much crushed by drudgery to be more than intermittently conscious of anything outside their daily lives--is to abolish all distinctions and create a society in which all men shall be equal. Thus, throughout history a struggle which is the same in its main outlines recurs over and over again. For long periods the High seem to be securely in power, but sooner or later there always comes a moment when they lose either their belief in themselves or their capacity to govern efficiently, or both. They are then overthrown by the Middle, who enlist the Low on their side by pretending to them that they are fighting for liberty and justice. As soon as they have reached their objective, the Middle thrust the Low back into their old position of servitude, and themselves become the High. Presently a new Middle group splits off from one of the other groups, or from both of them, and the struggle begins over again. Of the three groups, only the Low are never even temporarily successful in achieving their aims. It would be an exaggeration to say that throughout history there has been no progress of a material kind. Even today, in a period of decline, the average human being is physically better off than he was a few centuries ago. But no advance in wealth, no softening of manners, no reform or revolution has ever brought human equality a millimeter nearer. From the point of view of the Low, no historic change has ever meant much more than a change in the name of their masters.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The hierarchical form of society had been the doctrine specifically of the High. It had been preached by kings and aristocrats and by the priests, lawyers, and the like who were parasitical upon them, and it had generally been softened by promises of compensation in an imaginary world beyond the grave. The Middle, so long as it was struggling for power, had always made use of such terms as freedom, justice, and fraternity. Now, however, the concept of human brotherhood began to be assailed by people who were not yet in positions of command, but merely hoped to be so before long. In the past the Middle had made revolutions under the banner of equality, and then had established a fresh tyranny as soon as the old one was overthrown. The new Middle groups in effect proclaimed their tyranny beforehand. Socialism, a theory which appeared in the early nineteenth century and was the last link in a chain of thought stretching back to the slave rebellions of antiquity, was still deeply infected by the Utopianism of past ages. But in each variant of Socialism that appeared from about 1900 onwards the aim of establishing liberty and equality was more and more openly abandoned. [..] The principal, underlying cause was that, as early as the beginning of the twentieth century, human equality had become technically possible. It was still true that men were not equal in their native talents and that functions had to be specialized in ways that favoured some individuals against others; but there was no longer any real need for class distinctions or for large differences of wealth. In earlier ages, class distinctions had been not only inevitable but desirable. Inequality was the price of civilization. With the development of machine production, however, the case was altered. Even if it was still necessary for human beings to do different kinds of work, it was no longer necessary for them to live at different social or economic levels. Therefore, from the point of view of the new groups who were on the point of seizing power, human equality was no longer an ideal to be striven after, but a danger to be averted. [..] By the fourth decade of the twentieth century all the main currents of political thought were authoritarian. [..] Every new political theory, by whatever name it called itself, led back to hierarchy and regimentation. And in the general hardening of outlook that set in round about 1930, practices which had been long abandoned, in some cases for hundreds of years--imprisonment without trial, the use of war prisoners as slaves, public executions, torture to extract confessions, the use of hostages, and the deportation of whole populations--not only became common again, but were tolerated and even defended by people who considered themselves enlightened and progressive. [..] The new High group, unlike all its forerunners, did not act upon instinct but knew what was needed to safeguard its position. It had long been realized that the only secure basis for oligarchy is collectivism. Wealth and privilege are most easily defended when they are possessed jointly. The so-called <i>'abolition of private property'</i> which took place in the middle years of the century meant, in effect, the concentration of property in far fewer hands than before: but with this difference, that the new owners were a group instead of a mass of individuals. Individually, no member of the Party owns anything, except petty personal belongings. Collectively, the Party owns everything, because it controls everything, and disposes of the products as it thinks fit." </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYhf5vHbzSBWJY_kqvtLA-mzERrSI_Rn9xERpiHnprRcltEHrI1_WdcND8xgKmds5F-1iX719Pic4fGTx6OB4ecP1DIE7PhRUJ_3s37fmw1COW4crMR5OfeobmyKoNV9m1eY1Aa5hTFM9/s500/tmb_milano.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYhf5vHbzSBWJY_kqvtLA-mzERrSI_Rn9xERpiHnprRcltEHrI1_WdcND8xgKmds5F-1iX719Pic4fGTx6OB4ecP1DIE7PhRUJ_3s37fmw1COW4crMR5OfeobmyKoNV9m1eY1Aa5hTFM9/w232-h232/tmb_milano.jpg" width="232" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Covid wise the health pass is mandatory now in</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> the Netherlands as well. Funny how all these leaders seem to follow the same talking points </span></b>and how they all said by April of 2021 that there would not be a health pass for everyday life activities. The vaccine does not make people immune; it does not prevent you catching covid and vaccinated people are just as contagious as non-vaccinated people if they have covid. So it made sense, from a scientific point of view, to oppose this health pass concept. Rutte and De Jonge guaranteed it in the NL, Macron and his cronies promised it explicitly on TV in France, Biden guaranteed it in the USA. Then they all used the following argumentation list, compared with a salami: you don't eat a whole salami. It's not tasty, it's not what people stuff their mouths with. But when you offer them slices of salami, it goes down a lot easier and more contently. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal">First: We talk about it, saying that there can be no question of it.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then: We could consider it in case of extreme necessity.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then: We could do it, but of course that would be limited to exceptional cases.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then: It's a good solution, we'll put it in place making sure it's proportionate.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then: The situation is more serious than before, we put it in place finally, but it is only temporary and after all it is essential.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then: Now that it's installed, let's no longer talk about when the measures will end, but rather about where else we can implement it. Of course the "sacred" areas are exempt.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then: Discuss the extension in time, the extension to other areas, the escalation of sanctions. Discuss extensively how any problems or ineffectivity faced are down to those who do not join in </div><div class="MsoNormal">And then: extend.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">This is the principle of salami. It's not good, but in thin slices it goes down well. And the majority of people approve of it. It does not matter to the majority who are comfortable that the pass discriminates and stigmatizes people who, for instance, already had the disease. Or those who, due to particular and rare health vulnerabilities, still hesitate to be vaccinated. <i>Refuseniks</i> is the not so new word that's now being used to deride people and dismiss their legitimate concerns. Oh well. Curious what Orwell would have thought about all this. </div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDUhR9QWjsIL3RMH_Jww1i1nI1p2zTSG9uFooXbWTyeldUcRgkRuZlBs3J5_qknXKy7UhhhysHb2_GIc84dvGA9l8VU6QdmqjbPJw5aOzjnFVPqmTPOF9Ss_S79tjj-AV-HRNpQkUoOd2/s180/700x525_198589795035090944_16079472.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_2c1NVuGc0XUpRY-TqQTEyUa73mbdfKb8eU9pL6TFDR_jpcAC_7A_E7hNXnTJF4yr-aWqjjByy5KDly_LfAkr0MiottZ101PKMhe-BuqyYg6-vtCoLxhf-DsV8EP3Nq1yjCu4FseF3g/s600/h477FC8D6.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_2c1NVuGc0XUpRY-TqQTEyUa73mbdfKb8eU9pL6TFDR_jpcAC_7A_E7hNXnTJF4yr-aWqjjByy5KDly_LfAkr0MiottZ101PKMhe-BuqyYg6-vtCoLxhf-DsV8EP3Nq1yjCu4FseF3g/w400-h200/h477FC8D6.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkh8KQ_Ld2Bs4K7tVpBqBmEwEQo7HV65Bt1VE3JWyskbOYW4aZ5zfqVgglv1Xcebh9mOYzbn2C7kJt8g-XEiHzkhcotaGnmvBSE0a0FDEbo5NiKOZRObKuZm1othZekkeQ7LA29Xs1mtzG/s1600/61588_10151239911708996_1923453173_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="700" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkh8KQ_Ld2Bs4K7tVpBqBmEwEQo7HV65Bt1VE3JWyskbOYW4aZ5zfqVgglv1Xcebh9mOYzbn2C7kJt8g-XEiHzkhcotaGnmvBSE0a0FDEbo5NiKOZRObKuZm1othZekkeQ7LA29Xs1mtzG/w400-h300/61588_10151239911708996_1923453173_n.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">September</span></span></b></span><b style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> <br />26th,</span></span></b><b style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2021</span></span></b></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div></div><div>Some feel good contribution for today. Here are some videos I really enjoyed. One is about Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, one of the busiest airports of Europe and one which I have been to very often. The guy of that <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfYCRj25JJQ41JGPqiqXmJw" target="_blank">aviation channel</a></b> is great and I bet there will be other people who find it equally fascinating to see the air controllers at work in their tower, making sure that all incoming and outgoing planes land and depart safely. I personally love everything about aviation, from flying in airplanes to jumping out of airplanes, to spotting airplanes take off and land, to watching documentaries about airplanes and air crash investigations, to following flights now and then on <b><a href="https://www.flightradar24.com/43.32,2.1/6" target="_blank">Flightradar24</a></b>. Another video is about the power of music, and how music triggers memories, emotions and even coordination in our brains, also in those of people suffering from Alzheimer's for instance. Very touching video that made me well up even at some point. The other two are wonderful videos of a small <b><a href="https://www.wowukraine.org/" target="_blank">organization</a></b> that saves abused and neglected lions from Eastern European countries, and transports them back to a refuge in South Africa. Big thumbs up also for Qatar Airways, who handled the complicated air transport of these lions free of charge. Touching footage! </div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bKp_0268BVQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="bKp_0268BVQ"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rnUSNbqtVJI" width="320" youtube-src-id="rnUSNbqtVJI"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PmguxdVHJIM" width="320" youtube-src-id="PmguxdVHJIM"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VejHEZjE5rU" width="320" youtube-src-id="VejHEZjE5rU"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Music of the day</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="374" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ME2wGaYJBQo" width="450" youtube-src-id="ME2wGaYJBQo"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">And when the media overlooks and ignores a certain group </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: medium;">of unfortunate people, I do like to emphasize their health cases,</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: medium;">because this could have happened to any of us:</span><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="378" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B9YOUkC9X2U" width="455" youtube-src-id="B9YOUkC9X2U"></iframe></div><br /><br />Oh and this may trigger some people, but it's all parody. Not making fun of sick or dead people, but just people throwing some black humour at the misery we're all facing today. Like people have done throughout history (although it may be an endangered thing by itself, going into the future). Big knock on wood here and request for karma to let me get away with a bit of innocent fun. When it comes to vaccinations and covid informal 'rules', there is just so much coercion and pressure applied by the people around us. Some like to say "Free choice? To infect others?" But it is known for a fact now and publicized as such, that the vaccinated can still carry and transmit the virus just as easily as those who are vaccinated. And they can and do still end up in hospital too, unlike what the popular belief is. In the UK there was a bit of a row about a dance show (Strictly dancing), where a handful of dancers refused to be vaccinated. It was played out in the media as if they were the ones risking the health and lives of everybody in the team. In the end several dancers did get sick with covid, but they turned out to be vaccinated. All that fuss about the unvaccinated yet it was the vaccinated that brought covid onto the show. So well, do what you want but let's stick to the science, as people always like to say but don't always practice. Like George Orwell said:<i> </i>"Being in a minority, even a minority of one, did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad". </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdMx_ml9CIUKNZlkU1oCEUjCAUqR61dXpetpAQl3c95jO0wV-R_lu0Xv1zyCiG8ucTbuxRjvCM4BNNJ32z6sSQ0seWl-QnnFy1WjXQguA4_xRLBVVb889TEiB0Ou1EcUTR6RdpwIz3xEKW/s2048/LOL1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1595" height="989" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdMx_ml9CIUKNZlkU1oCEUjCAUqR61dXpetpAQl3c95jO0wV-R_lu0Xv1zyCiG8ucTbuxRjvCM4BNNJ32z6sSQ0seWl-QnnFy1WjXQguA4_xRLBVVb889TEiB0Ou1EcUTR6RdpwIz3xEKW/w770-h989/LOL1.jpg" width="770" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifN7MJgEkJcb8tEPSopJXsiLsdPIv7AGxH7f1RPt1SjlvNnEpHXDLiEqapL8IStyfE5Xp-kiz_LOYadDk5lLvGya9zCZ3ibnhE3fw1rYedT70NhxmwknOQXGXmBuOpA2u6LCObqs2CEznL/s1920/LOL2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1676" data-original-width="1920" height="676" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifN7MJgEkJcb8tEPSopJXsiLsdPIv7AGxH7f1RPt1SjlvNnEpHXDLiEqapL8IStyfE5Xp-kiz_LOYadDk5lLvGya9zCZ3ibnhE3fw1rYedT70NhxmwknOQXGXmBuOpA2u6LCObqs2CEznL/w777-h676/LOL2.jpg" width="777" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div><div><div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Read more of my updates on day to day life <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/11/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-vii.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> and <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/10/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-xvi.html">HERE</a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJP-RuTz3v56LTrisV6xs2Lsxdgue_28eGFbMO-4Wv6MBrcXYc78JqQL58zophUaXc7RqfY5Vru2dTewXIk1FhMPbsrrikZ3K0eKpde7wm0gQ0mNCVnxi-3OpAud3vPmyOPuDtRNCqKzu/s1600/ZZZ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJP-RuTz3v56LTrisV6xs2Lsxdgue_28eGFbMO-4Wv6MBrcXYc78JqQL58zophUaXc7RqfY5Vru2dTewXIk1FhMPbsrrikZ3K0eKpde7wm0gQ0mNCVnxi-3OpAud3vPmyOPuDtRNCqKzu/w640-h480/ZZZ.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script><br /><br /><br />
Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-64102391158445500962019-10-15T05:44:00.006-07:002024-01-31T05:47:10.728-08:00Ongoing post, Update day to day life XVI, September 19th 2021 - April 18th 2020<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLXOLyEBs_KP94KLhP6jnX_K-qtELaVbB40JE5xv7iRc6o6JhNRgboNy4Ulr2kH2Boh8HwJ93vRNas77CAvfMxmgSzhL91oVeKGE-9fifWHPVpVIbgGXvyYMlxDc7MTQR-gZqMXydwOUD/s1600/freegifmaker.me_2de8g.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8bbmMWIwXjYLPEWgcYDurM1wO_Cq6MCv7P8W4bXEVwEqBYRsmEMT6yaXaoDEbqdCxGRT2aOP72TosPCU7XdAKWIJeBloaIRkjKw2OGQuf2QO8EBRQ_jOY1QR4J9jzM8iVU6_xPrGHCBPd1WNpEIc3plPmieZJOn2i5SvP7XolkL5IaHpuXws9_PRomg=s499" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="499" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8bbmMWIwXjYLPEWgcYDurM1wO_Cq6MCv7P8W4bXEVwEqBYRsmEMT6yaXaoDEbqdCxGRT2aOP72TosPCU7XdAKWIJeBloaIRkjKw2OGQuf2QO8EBRQ_jOY1QR4J9jzM8iVU6_xPrGHCBPd1WNpEIc3plPmieZJOn2i5SvP7XolkL5IaHpuXws9_PRomg=w532-h420" width="532" /></a></div><div><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>I try to give an insight in my own life and dealings with rosacea. I also try to gather information that might be useful for everyone with rosacea, especially subtype 1 with burning, flushing and skin redness. I happen to be a bit unfortunate in that I have this condition for a long time already, and unlike many others, I haven't been able to get it into remission. I know it is more uplifting to read about someone who has beaten rosacea, but I like to write about the struggles that come for those who haven't achieved this. </b><b>I also blabber here about everyday life topics.</b><b> </b></span></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div arial="" font-family:="" font-size:="" helvetica="" sans-serif="" small=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLzO9PhhN2u32yvay19dVfaWSmciUjxJ82p__f9uzvWq4jaSTbpGFseFvBkJHkSeoGtQ-BAeYJVhAVaY6J083micN4Xj1GVLnlyd1uF21MDxi6YiQWFYmaZsh7aWt1RtIOJl7msYVjwte1/s1126/E-6DlqxXMAEMORp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="1126" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLzO9PhhN2u32yvay19dVfaWSmciUjxJ82p__f9uzvWq4jaSTbpGFseFvBkJHkSeoGtQ-BAeYJVhAVaY6J083micN4Xj1GVLnlyd1uF21MDxi6YiQWFYmaZsh7aWt1RtIOJl7msYVjwte1/w640-h302/E-6DlqxXMAEMORp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1MwZ7vGhBxAzSumUqGfA07pfhUbopadBXMFSDRnVOp7Jd4dkddNSZqDotEuAXOxsza-XdPha4MFE_ZbH_4nBXvt9Nt4CVSdiaBZAtagdlH9lTyjaDAx2z76vIawELaZYZ7rMMyGqEtqJuxttE7BrTQaKVQuaWDf9U4N5YmKv0oSn5jfLglu1WZH73kg/s1072/75210211_10157703501318996_6266727167447531520_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1072" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1MwZ7vGhBxAzSumUqGfA07pfhUbopadBXMFSDRnVOp7Jd4dkddNSZqDotEuAXOxsza-XdPha4MFE_ZbH_4nBXvt9Nt4CVSdiaBZAtagdlH9lTyjaDAx2z76vIawELaZYZ7rMMyGqEtqJuxttE7BrTQaKVQuaWDf9U4N5YmKv0oSn5jfLglu1WZH73kg/w640-h640/75210211_10157703501318996_6266727167447531520_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /><br /></div><div><div style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">September 19th</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2021</span></span></b></span></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLI4ABGtHO42jr0j8YeW_HsQygxzBgugfw5SHg5jwS-tpdVIZH9xIxTCAhF1E1GrgqT5IT0E2YEaF42_5exvQRYjFjfCq65ErHqCycmMHmEjmWzQz5iNQUz3wPRo-vqv_ZCO2b5M0pq978/s720/241085511_10208956112216624_3287606524410123496_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="672" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLI4ABGtHO42jr0j8YeW_HsQygxzBgugfw5SHg5jwS-tpdVIZH9xIxTCAhF1E1GrgqT5IT0E2YEaF42_5exvQRYjFjfCq65ErHqCycmMHmEjmWzQz5iNQUz3wPRo-vqv_ZCO2b5M0pq978/w374-h400/241085511_10208956112216624_3287606524410123496_n.jpg" width="374" /></a></div></div></div><div>Rosacea wise, I think I have successfully tested and discovered what is really going on with those on and off again rashes on the temples of my cheeks. I saw my German dermatologist for this a few months ago and despite saying that I suspected this was a heat rash flip version of my cold urticaria in winter (same locations, same characteristics in large, again having to do with extreme temperatures), his opinion was that this was a classic rosacea subtype 2 flare. Ok, that is also possible of course, considering my 20+ year battle with rosacea and advancing age. Perhaps my rosacea has been progressing. But the rozex cream and vitamin A cream, given for spot treatment, did nothing but making the rashes far worse and more painful. So I noticed that without any treatment (as I stopped using the creams at some point, they clearly weren't helping), that once the outside temperature dropped, my rashes disappeared. For months I had been taking skin photos every day to document these strange break outs. And just like that, everything was back to normal, with clear skin and 'just' the flushing and skin burning issue, as I have had for decades now. I even stopped taking skin photos, because it looked the same every day again; spot free. Then I had a long day of traveling, with the mandatory face mask on for many, many hours. Low and behold, I came home, threw the mask in a corner and.... had my cheeks covered again with these same rashes! Again on the same areas, the apples of my cheeks and stretching towards the ear-side of my cheeks. I was pretty certain by then that these are immune-related heat-induced heat rashes. I cooled my face through the night as I usually do, with a fan and now had the aircon switched on too. The next morning? All rashes gone again. See the photos below (before, during and after, all within the space of 3 days.. insane, right??):</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">My heat rash skin outbreak after travel</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrX4CRm0pIPrGibiMsbQa0G-EyLx4BJ3t4i87Yb0-wqM4R2lHF3CWMhobmPxNdqREltMtYdDV6I5m5dHXVgxGGWnHwd46lkvqKKvzcS4PaeZGm8MK-Gx5VPcVnKx6WkNh5TxuhchzuqlRM/s405/z201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="212" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrX4CRm0pIPrGibiMsbQa0G-EyLx4BJ3t4i87Yb0-wqM4R2lHF3CWMhobmPxNdqREltMtYdDV6I5m5dHXVgxGGWnHwd46lkvqKKvzcS4PaeZGm8MK-Gx5VPcVnKx6WkNh5TxuhchzuqlRM/s320/z201.jpg" width="168" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGSYSc29ko_pIITO5Hg0zKJW8u3XaM0HZs-wC3-5HvAlDCi_mijJ0_t_el93ge3wA1dlWgZd0FGTL9W1VylmVJ8a0nHP2q5-mPzd-3R0D5joZlzH30LoyA9xIBZ2Xm4buzKeJdWXBcu41U/s544/z203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="307" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGSYSc29ko_pIITO5Hg0zKJW8u3XaM0HZs-wC3-5HvAlDCi_mijJ0_t_el93ge3wA1dlWgZd0FGTL9W1VylmVJ8a0nHP2q5-mPzd-3R0D5joZlzH30LoyA9xIBZ2Xm4buzKeJdWXBcu41U/s320/z203.jpg" width="181" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUs770V3OD-bpxbtmRo3nWO9iCs0pZsnNlfm5i35eiw15GkebctHpExXQ0z8DsQ-GN8KiIQ0WP9ivN6gcJwaHsg0K7kqBvujHIDsES_wCO484XSRPt3SEUQ5f00MyzaRvezz_z7722CxsO/s479/z207.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="257" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUs770V3OD-bpxbtmRo3nWO9iCs0pZsnNlfm5i35eiw15GkebctHpExXQ0z8DsQ-GN8KiIQ0WP9ivN6gcJwaHsg0K7kqBvujHIDsES_wCO484XSRPt3SEUQ5f00MyzaRvezz_z7722CxsO/s320/z207.jpg" width="172" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div>So well.. a friend of mine finally went to visit a dermatologist for his IPL-induced rosacea damage, and the derm didn't listen, didn't want to prescribe anti-flushing medication and just threw ivermectin cream at him. Even though he has no p&p's. It is just so very difficult for us rosaceans to find a good dermatologist. Mine is excellent, really free thinking, very outside the box in many ways. But even he can see something, these rashes in my case, and instantly link this to previous patients of him, being convinced it is this or that, despite me suspecting a link with temperatures and immune responses. Often we have to start using a cream of sorts or even a drug to test out certain hypotheses, and come back if the experiment fails. Looking back, I think that this heat rash thing has been behind previous summer skin outbreaks as well. It's silly because I get hives and urticaria on my chest in summer as well and with that the doctor also says it looks like eczema and gives steroid cream. No, in fact it's just a heat rash that goes away by itself when I stay cool... I get them on my arms as well sometimes. Something is clearly not going all right with my mast cells and immune system, when it gets very hot or cold throughout the year. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">My summer skin outbreaks in 2018 plus urticaria on chest that lasted days </span></b></div></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJ1bXpn5_vrFSUQ1kd3UJw9VzMIN1MVhVM-p1uu7apU8XdfmY1aY6BXh27pp786cxcvQtAp4p3QlOtRSkbcu1GWjJIoMqvR0IG3L_sZGGwbLNVbkfYvs_Eal5fthYkUR5rELXASD42e_k/s1600/DSC06874.jpg" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="1391" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJ1bXpn5_vrFSUQ1kd3UJw9VzMIN1MVhVM-p1uu7apU8XdfmY1aY6BXh27pp786cxcvQtAp4p3QlOtRSkbcu1GWjJIoMqvR0IG3L_sZGGwbLNVbkfYvs_Eal5fthYkUR5rELXASD42e_k/w239-h150/DSC06874.jpg" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6OXcDNPm11qnFp4g903-dFPoqeaPBBI0eS4XQ8bgTYFvsEqaXxY25mQSk2lrrIR3S-bspo1OYERnihyphenhyphen8DNmWQLoFQmYWpGM5x9bMfMkKC-tE8hAPJBJCkSQMklpCiausgfdJc6l71K8cK/s1600/DSC07114.jpg" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="678" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6OXcDNPm11qnFp4g903-dFPoqeaPBBI0eS4XQ8bgTYFvsEqaXxY25mQSk2lrrIR3S-bspo1OYERnihyphenhyphen8DNmWQLoFQmYWpGM5x9bMfMkKC-tE8hAPJBJCkSQMklpCiausgfdJc6l71K8cK/w149-h151/DSC07114.jpg" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYIWIvXixMFbR0qRGdCwVp-0z2-wfz1vXO-ABq5H-_vbqYUSmd0jQP-9SvWhbJz0U9PhXiTNaeJTM9esZJhebGhEKyY01I_kSxY9m5m4X-xbeUKN-2HQntZNukhk0r492qia8on4h91BMK/s1600/DSC06880.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1322" data-original-width="1600" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYIWIvXixMFbR0qRGdCwVp-0z2-wfz1vXO-ABq5H-_vbqYUSmd0jQP-9SvWhbJz0U9PhXiTNaeJTM9esZJhebGhEKyY01I_kSxY9m5m4X-xbeUKN-2HQntZNukhk0r492qia8on4h91BMK/w184-h151/DSC06880.jpg" width="184" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQYMF_E8FSh1XUidK7XW95IhIYuiQfPdm4lADtXm5YdzzEbUfRiHYbtoXHlYlf-IpmEusp4I12EqWvNKupvSbqrmWREoaMECjyWIVQ-_COUe7I-ta01ub72-m0YB6RL73vBiThy8cT33BY/s709/IMG_20210518_114253.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="426" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQYMF_E8FSh1XUidK7XW95IhIYuiQfPdm4lADtXm5YdzzEbUfRiHYbtoXHlYlf-IpmEusp4I12EqWvNKupvSbqrmWREoaMECjyWIVQ-_COUe7I-ta01ub72-m0YB6RL73vBiThy8cT33BY/w122-h205/IMG_20210518_114253.jpg" width="122" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6VIc8xMoeLrMjm9rrOX52sugnbaQDfoyjzfpnbIk551kB4sAusUbWgNWaETdxvKQCP6Dvz6U6uzEmFrli4YgWJpWaNY5N3RpT0csz0m-JQMd7EfWkdHJhpk1oXt-3ruvPuUm3j-leneD/s738/IMG_20210518_114306.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="738" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6VIc8xMoeLrMjm9rrOX52sugnbaQDfoyjzfpnbIk551kB4sAusUbWgNWaETdxvKQCP6Dvz6U6uzEmFrli4YgWJpWaNY5N3RpT0csz0m-JQMd7EfWkdHJhpk1oXt-3ruvPuUm3j-leneD/w229-h204/IMG_20210518_114306.jpg" width="229" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCaBy0lep0zHITU0I4AXr5u38n6KwpcjDntEHXqs5_aEZRDfDuDnQU85MGnTSLxk-TtpQJPvSJFVpc9KPYs71IRv1bw2vjNfROqb2umq9U0bwXn0qW0ets0Xl2ibvK-5BVfCp_YJh6s0D/s1249/IMG_20210518_120306.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="1249" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCaBy0lep0zHITU0I4AXr5u38n6KwpcjDntEHXqs5_aEZRDfDuDnQU85MGnTSLxk-TtpQJPvSJFVpc9KPYs71IRv1bw2vjNfROqb2umq9U0bwXn0qW0ets0Xl2ibvK-5BVfCp_YJh6s0D/w224-h83/IMG_20210518_120306.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div><div>Other than that, I've been having some frustrating internet issues over here. The live box keeps switching to red/offline, at random it seems. Sometimes restarting the thing helps but sometimes not. Somehow ended up in a Kafkaesque story, where the store worker of the internet provider is obliged to send you home and pick up the phone to work through the issue with a teleworker, while the teleworker says that 'computer says fine' and that there seems nothing wrong with the box. Have given in, in sheer exasperation, after three tours back and forth. Going to another provider is futile as this is the 3rd contract in ten years, and the other two are even worse. I may soon <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD5ofrSNDFA" target="_blank">go all Bill Foster</a></b> on the store worker.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCdoI1M7M8akQp2iax1LzblmH017qV1u7FU6vkGE5C5v_2yTZTgcYWIa7grUboMEuBdZKkDOTiJvC6lFt5673OJNihRS1QWVh8UU_67XhcLDA2NUGbsQR8HrL7M4Y03XIB-z0pHrzNehA/s480/1640484_a7d82.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCdoI1M7M8akQp2iax1LzblmH017qV1u7FU6vkGE5C5v_2yTZTgcYWIa7grUboMEuBdZKkDOTiJvC6lFt5673OJNihRS1QWVh8UU_67XhcLDA2NUGbsQR8HrL7M4Y03XIB-z0pHrzNehA/w347-h347/1640484_a7d82.gif" width="347" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-Dhyphenhyphenko7FGA4p_tOzfCw9O7Uab8yOfA6VmJsQF0ETRG46WFIBJG_ymLO3yJ7HOjg9OBMADJzr0eXVGE37TvaH7w6o6ODZJ4UixoW4uN3XvZylpjyDiu7qAC_G-J7j9n18ZA3mMeoGaxS5/s600/e421e126007755.5634e2c939668.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-Dhyphenhyphenko7FGA4p_tOzfCw9O7Uab8yOfA6VmJsQF0ETRG46WFIBJG_ymLO3yJ7HOjg9OBMADJzr0eXVGE37TvaH7w6o6ODZJ4UixoW4uN3XvZylpjyDiu7qAC_G-J7j9n18ZA3mMeoGaxS5/w348-h348/e421e126007755.5634e2c939668.gif" width="348" /></a><span><b><span style="color: #660000;">Then back to my topic of interest lately. For those interested in a scientific look into the</span></b></span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #660000;"> origins of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, I like to link you to an interesting video. Shake off prejudices and listen with an open approach to <a href="https://www.bitchute.com/video/n2xItHiUVsj0/" target="_blank">this video</a> that is at the very least interesting, and that provides a ton of sources for claims.</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b>It is very long and you should probably skip the short pastor intro as religion has no place in this debate, but this professor is knowledgeable, fearless and transparent in how he explains things. It covers everything from the specifics of PCR tests to the origins of this SARS-CoV-2 virus, to <b><a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/sars-cov-2-la-bizarrerie-genetique-qui-alimente-le-soupcon-20211001" target="_blank">Gain of Function research</a></b> and US money streams, to the statistics that were used to get emergency green light for the roll-out of the vaccinations, and more. The mRNA vaccines have been rushed into use by governments under emergency measures, and as such they aren't fully tested and experimental (the trial won't end until the supposed sign off, sometime in 2023). Governments have therefore removed all liability from those who administer these mRNA vaccines, just as the manufacturers demanded (and received) indemnity. If you have the time and patience for it, have a listen. I find it all fascinating but there is also a sinister element to everyday life in general actually, right now. As I see it, at least.. My parents for instance will make statements or express opinions that come straight from their favorite news show or newspaper, of which I know that they are not true or only part of the truth. I try to tell them, but then they act disinterested, or say that they are not interested in all that extra information. Fair enough, not everyone is interested in the details, that's understandable. But it sometimes causes this feeling of frustration, that nobody seems to read the fine print, or wants to dig deeper behind the headlines. Lately the whole 'Ivermectin is a horse drug / will make you a horse-drug' nonsense for instance. I know it is a lie to state that this is solely a veterinary drug. Just as it is a lie to state that no scientific evidence exists that proves that it helps alleviate covid19 symptoms. There is a small mountain of evidence for this. There was an Australian minister speaking up about Ivermectin and that a Melbourne university got very good results from it last year (not long after the virus broke). He kept getting shut down by the opposition party and the fuckwits used Fauci as their source to discredit it. Of course this minister has been <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uzwcgMfx28" target="_blank">smeared relentlessly</a></b> by the media. As that Prof. Fleming puts it: since when are the pharmaceutical industry and politicians and <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT1TrJqCJRA" target="_blank">lying Fauci</a></b> dictating the medical professionals how to perform their craft?</div><div><br /></div><div>But my mum prefers to link me to now debunked fake news about some American hospital supposedly treating a ward full of ivermectin overdose patients. The end of the article even provided a rectification already back then, of hospital staff declaring that the person who 'broke' the story, not even actively working in that hospital, and also confirming that they did not have a ward full of ivermectin overdose patients. But it is almost like that is no longer of interest for readers. The headline is great enough as it is and it makes people feel smugly content with themselves to be able to believe that the 'others' are deranged uninformed conspiracy idiots, now paying the price for their ignorance. That they are believing a bullshit headline is of no further consequence. A very strange polarized world view is being pushed onto us all. And the facts are trumped by feelings, just as has been the case for the past years (I couldn't help but rant about this at times on this blog..). And in a way I feel that you can't blame people.. My parents for instance are Boomers and they firmly believe in the science they see discussed in their morning paper. I finished that super long video I linked you to in the intro here (frankly, the last hour of it was the least interesting to me as a non-American as it had more of an activist message), but if even half of what is discussed there is true, it leaves you so utterly flabbergasted about that sick shit that has been conducted right under our noses. Gain of Function experiments in labs, where all sorts of viruses are combined and upgraded to the worst infectants for humans, just because it can make for great bio-weapons one day. I also saw this staggering clip in that long docu, this is Bill Gates in 2005, smacking to Josef Mengele almost, if you ask me:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3zueYCKx0Hk" width="471" youtube-src-id="3zueYCKx0Hk"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjmOysf6EwjLK_hYQPwYdNdrDm1vXhjp0E5cdvhQgC5RQT8plpQFukRYKA4MbNkLcozn0uMzEkuuKHS-xN1ncrM3lL0272UVCHlTAe9uV9THs8WsXWZaOzQX8x6Nnwli5FwBi4ORufUJTc/s570/241077683_10208956113776663_8879669335903154095_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="570" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjmOysf6EwjLK_hYQPwYdNdrDm1vXhjp0E5cdvhQgC5RQT8plpQFukRYKA4MbNkLcozn0uMzEkuuKHS-xN1ncrM3lL0272UVCHlTAe9uV9THs8WsXWZaOzQX8x6Nnwli5FwBi4ORufUJTc/w400-h301/241077683_10208956113776663_8879669335903154095_n.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMJWK7A7n3QtBvJy7I7K7KhQWqT9KbwpHLqkVmi9EPMM2otFA934NbwIVhWxnJehF0ABtUoGnqpsWldlSbUnLC0QJLK_38Mu-cqPuYOS3AKbr7ndR6BP_Ji0TPz5HO4Ns1sfa0SZMM_tm/s680/241067606_10208956116856740_3364630453220964853_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="680" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMJWK7A7n3QtBvJy7I7K7KhQWqT9KbwpHLqkVmi9EPMM2otFA934NbwIVhWxnJehF0ABtUoGnqpsWldlSbUnLC0QJLK_38Mu-cqPuYOS3AKbr7ndR6BP_Ji0TPz5HO4Ns1sfa0SZMM_tm/w400-h321/241067606_10208956116856740_3364630453220964853_n.jpg" width="400" /></a>While people were mostly preoccupied with their next Apple device or their next music festival tickets, scientists have just been conducting horrible stuff. On <i>our</i> planet, risking <i>our</i> health but without asking the opinion of the people. There are no referendums for this stuff. Science does as science wants to do, and technological advancements and profit margins dictate the course of science throughout history. Only in rare cases does politics interfere, such as it was the case with cloning rights. But scientists will always find a back door, a way to continue to explore. That is often fine, curiosity is what propels us forward in terms of scientific discoveries. But when you have a lab in Wuhan, renowned for years already as the best when it comes to Gain of Function viral research, you are potentially exposing a whole town (and as it appeared now, the whole world) to the consequences of your experiments, in case things go wrong. This lab wasn't built in some desolate desert. And you know it will only get worse in the future. My parents, people in their 70's, have an interest in technology and the future, but they also want to believe in the good of everyone; from scientists to journalists to news channels to politicians. It would rock their world if they actually believed what is being claimed in <b><a href="https://www.bitchute.com/video/n2xItHiUVsj0/" target="_blank">that video</a></b>. I understand that, and I also understand the natural urge to demonize people like that Professor Fleming, although he is far from the only scientist who has spoken out like this, and isn't even the most prestigious among his colleagues. But my parents' sense of right and wrong and good and bad perhaps cannot handle that sort of dark take on the covid19 pandemic (or, of course, there is always also the possibility that that entire video is BS.. I try to keep an open mind). It rocks their world view and sense of morality and logic too much. And that is fine, I am not exactly getting more cheerful from this whole topic. I found that it is also pointless to tell them about the difference between this new covid19 vaccine and the old vaccination principle as they know it. They don't want to know. If the government and media say that it is fine, then it is fine. Because it is a domino effect. If they have been lied to, or given only half the truth, then that would in effect mean that the national newsreader is lying, that their favourite newspaper is lying, that the doctors are lying, as well as the politicians they like. People do not want to even contemplate that possibility as it is unnerving and destabilizing. And thus scientists who speak out, people who are skeptical or critical, are all thrown on one convenient pile; the conspiracy theorists. That solves the problem of nagging doubts in one sweep. Even though calling them 'the uninformed' is sometimes entirely besides the truth and the opposite of reality. Goebbels said that you can brainwash any population, with fear and the blackmail of patriotism. During the Nuremberg trials, an American said optimistically to him that in the USA they had democracy and that it wouldn't work there. Goebbels had a good hearty laugh about that, before committing suicide. I do fear that Goebbels was right. Not to compare this situation with the horrors of World War two, but it takes a specific type of emergency situation to bring these things out in people.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfGxR3YRjR3KUBlnyaadmi5Xz2wCMaBMga2jOfo9ZHoIY-8GO4jlpYZZ_AnSvR5T2PobZsn5Mbee0S-nUZrgFXWxlz7cSYigrQVVbz69nxSi7vIMPk5Kc0BRgIOSzn_0T0oJ5B1uZFUAj/s640/1624042783LEE_1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfGxR3YRjR3KUBlnyaadmi5Xz2wCMaBMga2jOfo9ZHoIY-8GO4jlpYZZ_AnSvR5T2PobZsn5Mbee0S-nUZrgFXWxlz7cSYigrQVVbz69nxSi7vIMPk5Kc0BRgIOSzn_0T0oJ5B1uZFUAj/s320/1624042783LEE_1.jpg" width="240" /></a><b><span style="color: #660000;">I am re-reading George Orwell's book 1984 at the moment </span></b>and although the storyline itself doesn't make for the best book I've ever read, the concepts he introduced, over 70 years ago, are rather chilling and still applicable to the modern times. Concepts like <i>'thoughtcrime' </i>(woke! Cancel-culture!), <i>'thought police' </i>(social media censoring! Fake fake-news stamps!), <i>'big brother'</i> (this turned out to be not so much a dictator but overhanging large social/media corporations). And of course, the currently very popular '<i>doublethink</i>', or today's gaslighting, which, when applied to an opponent, means the habit of impudently claiming that black is white, in contradiction of the plain facts. Our world is full of this, with 'big brother' (elites and media giants like google, facebook and twitter) imposing their truths on us, and censoring other, unwanted truths and facts. With the use of a very eager woke audience, out to censor opposing ideas and whomever comes with those opposing ideas. <b><span style="color: #444444;">In fact, there is utter madness in our times, reminiscent of the Macarthy witch-hunt in the 50's, there was also no shortage of actors prepared to betray their friends and colleagues. Now you have the Harry Potter stars stabbing JK Rowling in the back, and other people on all sorts of payrolls, willing to go along with the woke madness, feelings over facts and reversed racism, just to appear on the good side of things (I'd say they are exactly on the wrong side of history.. well you know my stance in all this).</span></b> It means a loyal willingness to say that black is white when <i>Party discipline</i> (these days the polarized political side you identify with and want to belong to) demands this. You not only have to have the ability to believe that black is white, but to convince yourself of the conviction that black is white, and even more; to forget that one has ever believed the contrary. This demands a continuous alteration of the past (unwanted info is these days scrubbed from the internet), made possible by the system of thought which really embraces all the rest, and which is known as doublethink. I wonder how George Orwell would have judged today's media reality. I bet he wouldn't be kind about it. </div><div><br />Front page on the Northern Dutch newspaper last week, quite brave, an opinion piece of a writer who defends not being vaccinated and says she finds it abominable that the pharmaceutical industry cannot be held accountable for side effects. That her healthy beautiful sister had the Astra Zenica jab and ever since has been in and out of hospitals. Couldn't use her arms and legs for months, now has ongoing constant shooting headaches, tinnitus, reduced eyesight and more. But nobody takes her serious and everyone waves it away as 1 in a million type of bad luck. But she says: if you were offered a bowl of M&M's and you'd know that a couple of them were highly toxic, would you still eat one? That professor in the video links it to other vaccines, how sometimes as little as 25 deaths meant the end of the vaccine roll out. In the west we have many thousands of official vaccine deaths, some sites claim hundreds of thousands already, also depending on the parameters of what is 'considered' a vaccine death. But nobody is supposed to make this a topic. It is for the greater good. Even though the efficiency of these vaccines is not that great. So many ppl are depressed right now, in the Netherlands 25% of people under 30 are feeling down and depressed according to research, shared in the media. </div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmmadeM7dKSut4CGtuNLYpDxtVUdtI2Oc2eEMzdVRAiMBkMviB3wKt7bWX8j6oG0fW1sSQcL5ul28FlwDjTbh9NXxREHNGhDlDRGHHR7AFinzCYw_T1OC1uc1uziHiIgaBxA0uAJ6Fda4D/s576/241091473_10208956103376403_69487248771170980_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="576" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmmadeM7dKSut4CGtuNLYpDxtVUdtI2Oc2eEMzdVRAiMBkMviB3wKt7bWX8j6oG0fW1sSQcL5ul28FlwDjTbh9NXxREHNGhDlDRGHHR7AFinzCYw_T1OC1uc1uziHiIgaBxA0uAJ6Fda4D/w400-h345/241091473_10208956103376403_69487248771170980_n.jpg" width="400" /></a>It's no wonder. We live in a strange world where some dictates make no scientific sense, and where feelings often trump facts. The pressure from the media, from social media, from the people <i>around</i> us, can be relentless. I trust science but I no longer trust all scientists. And now we are at the stage where almost 90% of the Dutch are vaccinated, and it is still not enough. The Netherlands have also introduced the dreaded health pass, the QR code obligation to enter a bar or a restaurant, a cinema or a museum, among other places of leisure. This has nothing to do with science and logic, because it is proven by now that the vaccinated still get sick, still carry even more than normal viral load when they do, but with lesser symptoms, so they become the super spreaders. So letting the vaccinated roam free without any restrictions, while restricting the non-vaccinated regardless if they are sick or have symptoms or not, is just another ploy to push more people towards vaccination. The French did it with a vaccination total of 50%, the Dutch now join the geese parade at a point in time when it makes no longer even a little bit of scientific sense. Besides, if you're vaccinated and believe that it makes you invincible, why be afraid of the unvaccinated? They are healthy until proven otherwise. They will be more prone to testing than the vaccinated; more prone to watching symptoms than the vaccinated. They want to exclude the unvaccinated from the economy purely for histrionic value. A vaccine we are supposedly free to choose. By all means, do what you want to do, feel free to get vaccinated, or not. I myself don't want to <b><a href="https://www.bitchute.com/video/W7Cc46rwQI00/" target="_blank">risk adverse reactions</a></b>, which many vaccinated people did not experience, but they are not me and neither have my specific immune issues / allergies and body reactivity. Side-effects are rare but <b><a href="https://t.me/s/covidvaccineinjuries" target="_blank">they happen</a></b>, <b><span style="color: #660000;">and I've got enough chronic health issues as it is right now, I feel.</span><span style="color: #783f04;"> </span></b>So far I never caught covid as far as I know and I take my own chances with having <b><span style="color: #660000;">ivermectin pills</span></b> in the house, in case I do ever develop covid19. We never know in advance how or what; perhaps this is <b><a href="https://www.sorryantivaxxer.com/" target="_blank">the wrong decision</a></b>, but the cruelty of life is that we sometimes don't realize we made the wrong decision, until it is <b><a href="https://t.me/s/covidvaccineinjuries/" target="_blank">irreversible</a></b>. Think of my <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/disastrous-ipl-in-2005.html" target="_blank">horrible IPL experience</a></b>, making me locked to a ventilator for life. Horrible covid vaccine side-effects happen; I have littered these texts with highlighted <b><a href="https://www.bitchute.com/video/W7Cc46rwQI00/" target="_blank">links</a></b> to documentation of them. They contrast with the widespread open media reporting of people dying from covid, which does get reported on in the media, especially when it involves unvaccinated patients. But those people who have been injured or who died from the vaccine, they have a right to have their stories told as well. Suddenly, after years and years of widespread attention for the underdogs, for the fragile who got maimed in life, suddenly we now cannot mention these people. Or we're compared with conspiracy theorists. A very insane and manipulative development I think. - We have no crystal ball. And by all means, get vaccinated if you have gathered enough information and feel comfortable about it. But people should not lose interest in the world around them and in the one-sidedness of the media narrative. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br />An interesting interview for those interested in the current state of the vaccination process, and how pharmaceuticals are dictating physicians how to practice their art. Dore and Malone* also set the record straight on ivermectin, indirectly backing up my previous posts and evidence providing regarding ivermectin. The other video is a snippet of the Dr Fleming super long video i have been linking to in this post; 20 minutes in which he explains the Pfizer/Moderna/Janssen test results that allowed them to get a permit for their vaccinations, and what meager results they really handed in, when you look at it more closely. *Notice btw how </span><span style="color: #444444;">this inventor of the mRNA technique, Dr Robert Malone who opposes these specific vaccines, has been entirely cancelled since and even had his name completely scrubbed from the mRNA wiki page. They only still have to remove his science papers from the net. </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iwPKnOhJRYg" width="320" youtube-src-id="iwPKnOhJRYg"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J4TOxfPW36k" width="320" youtube-src-id="J4TOxfPW36k"></iframe> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">August 11th</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2021</span></span></b></span></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvAW63Bov7Ttat5Qu-wPFDQMSJBoOoZnyFUi0ytak1neelGfullQMrOeE9WJyljUwMC7r5L1nkvzAcRz0PFkSmD1ne2dFLre0JsVvK2zio74g94EOlwXGP4hLpVc44w5XZlPVT818niUK7/s480/giphy.gif" style="clear: right; color: #222222; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvAW63Bov7Ttat5Qu-wPFDQMSJBoOoZnyFUi0ytak1neelGfullQMrOeE9WJyljUwMC7r5L1nkvzAcRz0PFkSmD1ne2dFLre0JsVvK2zio74g94EOlwXGP4hLpVc44w5XZlPVT818niUK7/w400-h300/giphy.gif" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">I saw my dermatologist here two weeks ago. The German older man with a lot of rosacea knowledge. </span></span><span style="color: #222222;">He is an older man so I really hope he stays working. He is the only dermatologist I have left. He says he will continue to work till he drops, so that is reassuring in an odd way :) He has one day a week when he still works for his old patients (takes no more new patients in, a very sweet man) and the rest of the week he does things like gardening and other relaxing stuff. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">He</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> looked at the small breakouts on my skin and said they are classical rosacea type 2 breakouts. Depressing.. I never get those papulas normally, only very rarely and ever so slightly in summer. Never like this though. I hope it is limited to this specific summer weather: humid, warm then cold then warm again, cold indoor air from the airco. It's not great for my skin. I also noticed that whatever side of my face I sleep on (that touches the pillow) nowadays can have breakouts the next day, so I now use a pillow that is used in the plane; the type that wraps arpound your neckonly supporting your neck. Anyway, the doctor prescribed me rozex cream and a vitamin A derivative type of cream. Which has perfume in it, grand... For spot treatment. I usually put some zinc ointment on these spots, which dries them out and also masks these redness. Zinc may also have some sort of anti-inflammatory effect. But it takes ages to have them gone that way. And if I am unlucky, new ones have shown up in the meantime. I feel like a teenager all over again, blehhh. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I also eat super healthy again now, I dropped the dairy (I did like to use cream and dairy in my polenta for a while), dropped the chocolate (with exception of a few bites of dark chocolate now and then), no more gluten because they also seem to make my skin less pale/clear. Basically I am back to fruits, vegetables, brown rice products, potatoes and meat. I don't have much hunger anymore either on this menu. Perhaps because there are less spikes in blood sugar now. Anyway, skin is clearing up a bit again. But it is just terribly depressing to wake up with red dots on your face... Am not really used to that as I normally only have the flushing and redness and burning issue. I still suspect that these rashes could be linked to my mast cell issue, as the regions where they appear are more or less the same as where I get cold urticaria in winter. I looked up 'heat rash' and 'prickly heat' and I think it could also be that. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hopefully the summer is over soon!</span></div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu84dezYdDoo9Dk8emJFO4LcmY3yD0BrmRlRCOXtmyIWqZAmpY4ZsHIWBszyHoRUFLftcY1VMmkuY2e0ohiUqEJxgA70Uo0Mt7X3sxhr_i4yE0-8HQwA5dSeifiMJgaC59fonL4fqAzry1/s1179/DSC04300.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1179" data-original-width="897" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu84dezYdDoo9Dk8emJFO4LcmY3yD0BrmRlRCOXtmyIWqZAmpY4ZsHIWBszyHoRUFLftcY1VMmkuY2e0ohiUqEJxgA70Uo0Mt7X3sxhr_i4yE0-8HQwA5dSeifiMJgaC59fonL4fqAzry1/s320/DSC04300.jpg" width="243" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5a2PES9auLyIfRTey76ECYDA8AHE3qM1sqrDmxYbJRnhO_5CnhGpL02d-cWAhz2-D3auoXhlZMO9P81ljvfWKeKuF0XFKziwdAqUgOL8BcgWLvEWimE-vS4xO-ZQG8DVX1T7TeMQ6cvH/s1239/DSC04362.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1239" data-original-width="762" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5a2PES9auLyIfRTey76ECYDA8AHE3qM1sqrDmxYbJRnhO_5CnhGpL02d-cWAhz2-D3auoXhlZMO9P81ljvfWKeKuF0XFKziwdAqUgOL8BcgWLvEWimE-vS4xO-ZQG8DVX1T7TeMQ6cvH/s320/DSC04362.jpg" width="197" /></a></div><br style="color: black; text-align: left;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYs8d97s0OU9ArOKHQJNENo4s8Yp5uWL6EcvZIErwFNAhdqbfexl-MXMgIZqb-qQF-s2p4LlGLPLQsJqisOCvVM1T9c3WEZ_HzMYe7medfpU2WcElr7b3j7ZMYOTD73qn-epxFC4TTtsI4/s645/DSC04288.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="288" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYs8d97s0OU9ArOKHQJNENo4s8Yp5uWL6EcvZIErwFNAhdqbfexl-MXMgIZqb-qQF-s2p4LlGLPLQsJqisOCvVM1T9c3WEZ_HzMYe7medfpU2WcElr7b3j7ZMYOTD73qn-epxFC4TTtsI4/w204-h456/DSC04288.jpg" width="204" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiszIm5fu2Hq6rknUjFwdAHoykbVvC8lt5Xa7ROarfYlb35zC_KbQyQBJPgccQ9Dn-lkNAhhz_NOxrGKXaPXIIvyIcc9legyCXOIzMtU8ivnmg9wCEZ5yKYw-4vu2Fiq7PqYJgiTJ31u9tj/s651/DSC04289.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="330" height="457" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiszIm5fu2Hq6rknUjFwdAHoykbVvC8lt5Xa7ROarfYlb35zC_KbQyQBJPgccQ9Dn-lkNAhhz_NOxrGKXaPXIIvyIcc9legyCXOIzMtU8ivnmg9wCEZ5yKYw-4vu2Fiq7PqYJgiTJ31u9tj/w232-h457/DSC04289.jpg" width="232" /></a></div></span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />The derm and I also discussed that we will try to experiment with estrogen tablets once I get menopausal hot flashes in the future. He agreed it is a good thing to try by then, as estrogen hormones can calm down rosacea (as opposed to progesterone which can worsen it). I have usually much better calmer skin in the first two weeks of my cycle also, when there is high estrogen and low progesterone. He found it an interesting suggestion and said that because I have no cancers in both sides of my family, there is little chance that I carry a certain gene that increases the chances of breast cancer. But that estrogen hormone therapy can increase those risks, especially in women carrying that gene. So that we will have to do a test by the time, to rule out that I carry that gene. But with no family members I know of having had cancer in their lifetime, knock on wood, he deemed it an unlikely risk in my case. But agreed that estrogen therapy (in pill form as it is the most reliable way to keep a steady level he said) could help perhaps with my flushing issues as well as with future hot flashes. Yeah! Happy to hear that this could be used further down the line, if necessary.</span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGO1wipPuKVW6DnIqLYy6KHz5AxVZmdLxy110w5oLDxWyeIskd0783K7kz4nsLiURQKF75OcVc-JxaXLWBk9DH3QBycGJJzg-OVnZUCagNtKxMXiSlHIteAxZ3sgMxJUlHdYlxLVfwb5_O/s893/219093354_4292215594170295_1764520033961314872_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="893" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGO1wipPuKVW6DnIqLYy6KHz5AxVZmdLxy110w5oLDxWyeIskd0783K7kz4nsLiURQKF75OcVc-JxaXLWBk9DH3QBycGJJzg-OVnZUCagNtKxMXiSlHIteAxZ3sgMxJUlHdYlxLVfwb5_O/w400-h400/219093354_4292215594170295_1764520033961314872_n.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Methotrexate is another possibility we discussed. Dr. Chu (I miss him, such a shame he retired) also used it for his worst patients he said at the time. It lowers the immune system and with my auto-immune issues and overactive immune system, it could potentially reduce the immune-generated inflammation as well. He had some success with it, but only used it for his worst patients he said, because one of the side-effects is an increased risk of infections. And in extreme cases even of cancers I later read, because a strong immune system is a good barrier defender for wrong mutations in the body. So that made me weary of it at the time, and still to be honest. But my German doctor now says that he uses it regularly for psoriasis patients for instance, and barely anyone has any side effects at all. It is a safe and old medicine with a long state of service, so to speak. But now with covid still roaming around, I do not want to reduce my immune system's force just yet.</span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0awJ1qFEG-M93_Y7y8zXjobY5gBAQCsEC6tJxOQDVl6uB-OR7QVaAo5_LNbJrQkUzRMTkdSASATFWgA6EjvU7KxBytAeXleD3q87Us9QHG4jbp8Qr9hyfW9SfQcwZCFg93vqNM1_u_NCL/s1024/224920474_194610392697860_5427199046102699736_n.png" style="clear: right; color: #222222; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVAXZm-OY3R5JQ7YgFPFC-iNbwBdcyAyAvDbr-lQ8E2xzNExy89Bsci6Hh1fKFg4Im4bhcNsVoKIAkCXOh9IEcPdlAcS24SSCAF0iMa9sVsOAW_RUx2y0QGvXL7Q1pCsWuTEeBMZ1ioZUX/s653/234238689_165999845636758_8365281834960023568_n.png" style="clear: right; color: #222222; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="653" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVAXZm-OY3R5JQ7YgFPFC-iNbwBdcyAyAvDbr-lQ8E2xzNExy89Bsci6Hh1fKFg4Im4bhcNsVoKIAkCXOh9IEcPdlAcS24SSCAF0iMa9sVsOAW_RUx2y0QGvXL7Q1pCsWuTEeBMZ1ioZUX/s320/234238689_165999845636758_8365281834960023568_n.png" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">He agreed that a vaccination may be a risk for me with all my allergies, mastocytosis-like reactions and overactive immune system. Advised me to look for data on how these vaccinations do so far with people with auto-immune issues like me, for instance those with mastocytosis. Although he was aware that reliable data like this may still be lacking at this point in time. I told him that a hepatits A vaccination seemed to have kicked off my more severe rosacea but he understandibly and logically said that it may have been a coincidence and not really linked to that vaccine. I do have metal allergies and that could be an issue. He said that the worst ingredient in his opinion would be the preservative used in the vaccine. I will think it over some more, aware of the potential risks of this. But I'm careful not to catch it and am weary of vaccinated people anyway, since more and more statistics are coming out that show that even in countries with high levels of vaccination, the doubly vaccinated do risk catching covid and passing it on. And they do risk getting it bad enough to end up in hospital or even die from. The statistical chance of that is looking to be lower when you are vaccinated, but already Israel says that after a couple of months, they deem a vaccine like Pfizer for instance less than 40% effective anymore against covid.</span><span style="color: #222222;"><i> </i></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">So, boosters will be on the program for most. Oh and the Mayo Clinic now investigated it as well and </span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.fr/us/pfizer-vaccine-efficacy-dropped-when-delta-became-dominant-study-2021-8" target="_blank">have stated</a> </b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">that Pfizer are 42% effective against the delta varient. </span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29yQ6m1sGqF3i5QcpQBGdD2bkcMK0WMH84Q9qCJNumjfXnShGIG2fUJVpmugID_9qPVi8uRNQ0EwehwN4GE9oWun7MC7X1gRstvAn8-b3Qm9rniRq977-2DOg_f66hgvIYVEy-S290R3-/s320/DSC04231.JPG" width="320" /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>I also had</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> a bit of a scare. Am always cautious about checking for ticks as the cats are out in the long</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> grass during the day. Low and behold, I had one behind my ear two weeks ago! It had already attached to the back of my ear, aiaiai... </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Removed it and when pushed flat, there was no blood inside yet. It may not have been there for very long. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I called the doctor's phone number for the weekend service and had all my old antibiotics in front of me as I liked to take some precaution antibiotics. But she said that only doxycycline would do, and mine was too far over date (had expired in 2013...). She said that since my tick seemingly hadn't been feeding on blood yet, there is only a small chance of Lyme or any other virus or bacteria they can pass on. Advised me to do nothing but look for possible future symptoms (red rash ring, fever, headaches) and that it would be soon enough then to start antibiotics. Blood tests won't detect anything until after 6 weeks. So ever since I have been slightly</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> nervous. Don't want bloody Lyme disease on top of everything. I found one pubmed article about what they call prophylaxis; a one day doxy dose to reduce the chances of catching lyme, but then it has to be taken within 72 hours and it is a one off small scale test. Doc on the phone deemed it needless but I did wonder afterwards if I should ask for it at a doctor's or at the pharmacy anyway the next day? But chose against it. So far no red rash and no fever. Will see if I can do one of those Elisa tests I think they are called in a month from now. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">A photo is added of the little bugger. My friend wrote me about it that t</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">he major issue is if the tick has imbedded itself and had grown. And since there was no or little blood, it means I probably got it very early. If it had been big and fat, different story and I should have a lot of concern he said, but if it is small, I will most likely be fine.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">I'm probably getting old for liking this video + </span></b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 700;">French citizens boycott vaccination passports by eating </span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 700;">right in front of almost empty, vaxx-only bars and restaurants</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="267" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qz1y37vnThQ" width="321" youtube-src-id="Qz1y37vnThQ"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='321' height='267' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxjcEV0vA0okmbHozBecaY0skk5xsqBMKBC74kcBjPgsY-2q_8dPbqlHHAM-5WwAyysXEVkkKoOKSjm89KqOQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></span></div></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="font-weight: 700;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: 700;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="color: #222222;"><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRz9hJpw-FfRx7vbcP3dvl-qy-D8ma-m3zK7WObCqgtbYJEf0h22Jqj2ChIhuC3W9Emqx9APMi9yoWkkAmO-wgtWYjwr9AsneeMVRu1txoML-_aTq_qQJ9oBqpzcfqsN37PPE3W4v_W4ND/s1023/E8NaINlXMAE-z-g.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="883" data-original-width="1023" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRz9hJpw-FfRx7vbcP3dvl-qy-D8ma-m3zK7WObCqgtbYJEf0h22Jqj2ChIhuC3W9Emqx9APMi9yoWkkAmO-wgtWYjwr9AsneeMVRu1txoML-_aTq_qQJ9oBqpzcfqsN37PPE3W4v_W4ND/w400-h345/E8NaINlXMAE-z-g.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Covid wise I am following the news and may be one of the few in my circle of friends and family who is sincerely keeping an eagle eye out on all these health pass freedom limitations</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"><br />In countries like France and Germany and quite a few others, the two-tier control society is in full</span><span style="color: #222222;"> swing. It seems to me that the virus is used politically, to implement this division within society and use of digital entrance papers. I understand that most people think that it comes from a place of caring and common sense within the different governments. But I fail to see the scientific logic at the moment, in allowing vaccinated people free reign in the restaurants, museums, theatres, hospitals and such without anymore covid testing. And in France they don't even have to wear facemasks anymore if they are vaccinated, or keep to the 1,5 meter distance rule. It seems political and cynical to me, when you see in all the latest stats that being vaccinated does not render you immune to covid and neither 'safe' for the people around you, who you can still infect. Only because the vaccinated feel holy and cleansed, they may not even be inclined to test themselves and then isolate themselves. </span></div><div><div><br /></div><div>The Jerusalem post for instance published last Friday the details of 250 people in intensive care ("serious conditions") in Israel. They structured the statistics by age: </div><div>5 patients are under 40 (2%)</div><div>20 patients are under 50 (8%)</div><div>40 patients under 60 (16%) 86 under 70 (34%)</div><div>164 patients over 70 (66%)</div><div>- Out of the total of 250: 35% were unvaccinated and 65% were fully vaccinated</div><div>- In the group of patients over 40 and under 60 years of age, 30 were unvaccinated (75%), 10 vaccinated (25%)</div><div>- In the group of patients over 60 years old, out of 210 patients there were 57 unvaccinated (27%) and 153 patients were fully vaccinated (73%) )</div><div>-In the group of patients over 70 years old: there were 37 unvaccinated (22.5%) and 127 patients fully vaccinated (77.5%)<br /><b><span style="color: #444444;">**Conclusion: Only 16% of the patients in hospital needing intensive care were younger than 60 years old, Two thirds of the total of 250 patients were fully vaccinated.</span></b></div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5M5HS6Y6qzn_uxoNptXPBJ8rXO6HdHBRu7TxQ51K_SPAhTy-yDkhzgSzjoy0xl_wZZ-VX6hF4pZbzOOdwvKNUjMmzRT1Z_Z_wWne_Xi7wsWGN8CK-sMcbRbGD0fNaLiJC4Y_Zgs4Z6Rg/s1800/JK-June2020.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1800" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5M5HS6Y6qzn_uxoNptXPBJ8rXO6HdHBRu7TxQ51K_SPAhTy-yDkhzgSzjoy0xl_wZZ-VX6hF4pZbzOOdwvKNUjMmzRT1Z_Z_wWne_Xi7wsWGN8CK-sMcbRbGD0fNaLiJC4Y_Zgs4Z6Rg/s320/JK-June2020.jpg" width="320" /></a>Meanwhile Doctor Kobi Haviv, director of the Herzog hospital in Jerusalem, <b><a href="https://twitter.com/EliseiNicole/status/1424666730295660548" target="_blank">declared</a></b> on an Israeli television channel on August 5th that in his hospital 95% of patients hospitalized for a severe form of Covid-19 are fully vaccinated (see video above, just press the play icon a couple of times for the video to start). In addition, he indicates that "85 to 90% of hospitalized people are fully vaccinated". He concludes his intervention by noting that the duration of the vaccine's protection over time is much shorter than promised and hoped for. Findings that are confirmed by Sharon Alroy-Preis, director of the public health services of Israel on CBSnews on 1/8, indicating that <b><span style="color: #444444;">people fully vaccinated in January are twice as likely as people fully vaccinated in March to be infected with the covid</span></b>, adding that infected and vaccinated people aged 60 and over were more severely affected than others. This difference in the number of infections depending on the age of the vaccination, illustrates according to them the rapid decline in the efficacy of the vaccine, as observed by the director of the Herzog Hospital in Jerusalem. In addition, still according to her, half of those infected in Israel concern fully vaccinated people and on these bases, the effectiveness of the vaccine is believed to be around 40%. And the Times of Israel reported that last Monday more than 6,000 people tested positive for covid19: a daily figure that had not been recorded in this country since the beginning of February. The number of serious cases stands at nearly 400, as the government continues to examine a series of new measures, despite mass vaccination. Of the 130,669 screening tests that were performed on Monday, 6,275 returned positive, with a positivity rate of 4.84% - an unprecedented percentage since the beginning of March. As of Tuesday morning, 648 people were hospitalized with complications from COVID-19. 394 are in serious condition and 64 people are currently on ventilators. <br /><br /><div><span style="color: #222222;">Update - As for all of Israel's hospitals combined, <i>“There are so many breakthrough infections [in Israel in August of 2021] that they dominate and most of the hospitalized patients are actually vaccinated,”</i> <b><a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/08/grim-warning-israel-vaccination-blunts-does-not-defeat-delta" target="_blank">says</a></b> Uri Shalit, a bioinformatician at the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) who has consulted on COVID-19 for the government. </span>As of 15 August 2021, 514 Israelis were overall hospitalized with severe or critical COVID-19, a 31% increase from just 4 days earlier. Of the 514, <b><span style="color: #444444;">59% of all these hospitalized Israeli's were fully vaccinated</span></b>. Of the vaccinated, 87% were 60 or older. <i style="color: #222222;">“One of the big stories from Israel [is]: ‘Vaccines work, but not well enough."</i><span style="color: #222222;"> </span><span style="color: #222222;"> To try to tame the hospital surge, Israel has now turned to booster shots. Yet boosters are unlikely to tame a Delta surge on their own, says Dvir Aran, a biomedical data scientist at Technion. In Israel, the current surge is so steep that </span><i style="color: #222222;">“even if you get two-thirds of those 60-plus boosted, it’s just gonna give us another week, maybe 2 weeks until our hospitals are flooded.”</i><span style="color: #222222;"> Aran also gave a grim message: </span><i><b><span style="color: #444444;">“Do not think that the boosters are the solution.”</span></b></i><span style="color: #222222;"> </span><span style="color: #222222;">A return to masking and social distancing is to be expected again in Israel. <br /><br /><span style="color: black;">And the CDC </span><b style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.aha.org/news/headline/2021-07-30-cdc-74-infected-massachusetts-covid-19-outbreak-were-vaccinated" target="_blank">reported</a></b><span style="color: black;"> that 74% of covid19 infected patients in Massachusetts were fully vaccinated. It may have been a 'cluster' of cases. "Three-quarters of the 469 COVID-19 cases associated with summer events and large public gatherings this month in Barnstable County, Mass., were in people fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 90% of 133 patients tested had the delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Five patients were hospitalized, including four who had been vaccinated; the unvaccinated patient and two of the vaccinated patients had underlying medical conditions".</span></span></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='267' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyaM92fySe8ODrT3t7rB7O-erpcRXvHusWh-2HvT4omHfzwUA_nVwrAlW3_bcaWdKn8FOlNiJV0GE0cfSlbpw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='321' height='267' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxwGbic4fXBPSFtZRDAr9-PjbqiDoTgVNL4YB11Vj4mPQfWC_Sg3mj5GDPlcvvVneXBYlrTybHn3hcEQkySZA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">COVID MEDICATION TREATMENT</span><br /></span></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span><span style="color: #660000;">And although vaccination is said to be the shortest and most reliable way to protect yourself against covid19, it is still a shame that so little mass research and discussion takes place of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34145166/" target="_blank">treatment options</a> other than vaccines.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjZkYG8Ax91o9VACBez0Or8FDDGefp5fGNKlOz9lru4o-d_-dlzxosZJRyAd7M6t0BkWsnB_NSGy0KC2AUlN5IvbipqFO_ptR6iNc3nFQscVnJgaVUO66iecniWbyMYcAIHqpdvVXafRsb/s960/5bc85rm7rce71.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #444444; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjZkYG8Ax91o9VACBez0Or8FDDGefp5fGNKlOz9lru4o-d_-dlzxosZJRyAd7M6t0BkWsnB_NSGy0KC2AUlN5IvbipqFO_ptR6iNc3nFQscVnJgaVUO66iecniWbyMYcAIHqpdvVXafRsb/w315-h315/5bc85rm7rce71.jpg" width="315" /></a></span></b> I still believe that it is deleterious that early phase treatments (<b><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32373993/" target="_blank">Hydroxychloroquine</a></b>, <b><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32593867/" target="_blank">AZY</a></b>, ZN, Monoclonal antibodies, <b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3043740/" target="_blank">Ivermectin</a></b>) have not been further tested in <i>large</i> randomized trials. It's not like there hasn't been time to look into drug treatment of covid. But everything is focused on vaccines, which are still stuck in trial phase 3, are proven by now to not fully protect you against covid, which also still enable you to pass covid on (in fact, positive vaccinated people are having higher viral load than non-vaccinated covid patients new research found) and on top of all that, the vaccines can for a small percentage of people cause serious side-effects including death - which is completely overlooked and ignored in the media - and their effectiveness decreases with time. Nothing against vaccines, but with such statistics and boosters already in the making, there really should ALSO be much more energy put into covid treatments other than vaccines. But doctors doing so are sometimes <b><a href="http://blog.drnagao.com/2021/08/post-7678.html" target="_blank">threatened</a></b> or obstructed. Strange. <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #212121;"><br /></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9MxTByI3_YGb63XOM1KzJhzcDasGiCYO0BBz5Uq8L_1szV3NuXEhaCY8JkAPWkJ-YNGaFHKQbn0NHrR2Y03F5ElixBYHXx2YA6f-EiBn7DpCQDa90_nV1JGaU8hXqjCBOX9WVAfDl5LM/s1456/FAiEzDRXsAQ9Rby.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1456" data-original-width="1204" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9MxTByI3_YGb63XOM1KzJhzcDasGiCYO0BBz5Uq8L_1szV3NuXEhaCY8JkAPWkJ-YNGaFHKQbn0NHrR2Y03F5ElixBYHXx2YA6f-EiBn7DpCQDa90_nV1JGaU8hXqjCBOX9WVAfDl5LM/s320/FAiEzDRXsAQ9Rby.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><span><b><span style="color: #660000;">IVERMECTIN</span></b><br />Currently </span><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/oxford-university-explores-anti-parasitic-drug-ivermectin-covid-19-treatment-2021-06-22/?fbclid=IwAR1RTr5pMvW8jaIZJKGnBIHTH0CkIzehjAd7YLwThoYlbdtAYLIxlkFhd04" target="_blank"><b>Oxford tests ivermectin</b></a> <span>(<b><a href="https://www.principletrial.org/news/ivermectin-to-be-investigated-as-a-possible-treatment-for-covid-19-in-oxford2019s-principle-trial" target="_blank">2</a></b>). Luckily the </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.pasteur.fr/fr/institut-pasteur/dans-le-monde#:~:text=Fort%20de%20sa%20r%C3%A9putation%20d,m%C3%A8ne%20une%20politique%20internationale%20ambitieuse." target="_blank">reputable</a></b><span> L'institut Pasteur has also </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://research.pasteur.fr/en/news/ivermectin-treatment-offers-protection-from-covid-19-symptoms-in-animal-model/" target="_blank">started testing </a></b><b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #660000;">ivermectin</span></b><span> as a covid19 treatment (</span><i style="font-family: inherit;">"Pasteur have shown that ivermectin, a drug used commercially as an antiparasitic treatment, offers protection from COVID-19 symptoms in an animal model. The scientists observed that taking ivermectin was associated with reduced inflammation in the respiratory tract and an alleviation of the related symptoms"</i><span>). <b><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="https://assets.researchsquare.com/files/rs-317485/v1/0696442e-24ca-49b1-9655-a3aa500bba04.pdf?c=1624280341" target="_blank">Here are many more scientific articles on ivermectin</a> proving that randomized trials do show that ivermectin is improving covid patients and their symptoms.</span></b> </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947344/" target="_blank">Here</a></b><span> is another pubmed article on ivermectin's efficiency statistics in the treatment of covid19. And in <b><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/" target="_blank">this pubmed research article</a></b> it is concluded that </span><span style="color: #212121;">"A five-day course of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19 may reduce the duration of illness". Countries like Peru, Mexico, Japan and African countries have this past year successfully introduced ivermectin as a covid treatment, and seen their numbers of patients dying go down. For instance, </span><span><span style="color: #212121;">In the 24 Peruvian states that adopted early use of ivermectin treatment, excess deaths plummeted on average by 59% just 30 days after the peak death rate. [</span><b><span style="color: #660000;">Update:</span></b><span style="color: #212121;"> Pasteur Institute concluded that ivermectin should be used in the EU on a therapeutic basis, for the treatment of covid19].<br /></span></span><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAMUewAKpIFZSMjPFwHEHicRmpeaYlxXMJOlavnrc9Kf4MxqlvYdngsjVjfVU_Q_P9-6yAhVBe_6y4OASQLhktsN_hUCnXqI_2uWI7EDFiDqnpYby6E1y4zVeSvxRm6O6PzZXySFC2VAYcAEufuhTIxtgZUhVJnzjaVMs8pAh5b51pxvlxYCIyXIjXzQ=s791" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="791" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAMUewAKpIFZSMjPFwHEHicRmpeaYlxXMJOlavnrc9Kf4MxqlvYdngsjVjfVU_Q_P9-6yAhVBe_6y4OASQLhktsN_hUCnXqI_2uWI7EDFiDqnpYby6E1y4zVeSvxRm6O6PzZXySFC2VAYcAEufuhTIxtgZUhVJnzjaVMs8pAh5b51pxvlxYCIyXIjXzQ=w400-h272" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh966f5LXWNnOza2cRvdI1UFHkiFlm0bPlM6REpfm-QxjDL4y8wHNARCZlF8gotvd-6ews4YIm9abYt8QLCRn0XAP3mA0agZFaLu5WfmjtVqHwSAAbmnmwzlm5rDzaof4yoaaXwPyv6NhzF/s1920/worldwide.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1652" data-original-width="1920" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh966f5LXWNnOza2cRvdI1UFHkiFlm0bPlM6REpfm-QxjDL4y8wHNARCZlF8gotvd-6ews4YIm9abYt8QLCRn0XAP3mA0agZFaLu5WfmjtVqHwSAAbmnmwzlm5rDzaof4yoaaXwPyv6NhzF/w400-h344/worldwide.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #212121; font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="https://ivmstatus.com/" target="_blank">This site</a></b> shows you where in the</span><span style="color: #212121; font-family: inherit;"> world people use ivermectin in the treatment of covid19. And it had dropped 75% after 45 days in those over 60 years old." In Japan it is also working according to one doctor (<b><a href="https://twitter.com/brenontheroad/status/1431112472958685186" target="_blank">source</a></b>). Unfortunately there has been a massive media offensive lately, trying to demonize ivermectin, stating it is a cow's/horse drug only, that it isn't supposed to be taken by humans and that there is no evidence of its effectiveness in controlling covid. All lies. <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/09/ivermectin-or-soolantra-as-rosacea.html" target="_blank">Ivermectin is by now an incredible tool in controlling the p&p's of subtype 2 rosacea</a></b>,</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> it also has been SAFELY prescribed for humans for many decades. </span>Ivermectin is widely used to treat parasite infestations. including head lice, scabies, river blindness, strongyloidiasis, trichuriasis, ascariasis, and lymphatic filariasis. It is <i>also</i> (!) used in veterinary medicine, to prevent and treat heartworm and acariasis, among other indications. It can be taken by mouth or applied to the skin for external infestations. - The story of how ivermectin was discovered is quite incredible. In the early 1970s, Satoshi Ōmura, a microbiologist at Tokyo’s Kitasako Institute, was hunting for new antibacterial compounds and started to collect thousands of soil samples from around Japan. He cultured bacteria from the samples, screened the cultures for medicinal potential, and sent them 10,000 km away to Merck Research Labs in New Jersey, where his collaborator, William Campbell, tested their effect against parasitic worms affecting livestock and other animals. One culture, derived from a soil sample collected near a golf course southwest of Tokyo, was remarkably effective against worms. The bacterium in the culture was a new species, and was baptised Streptomyces avermictilis. The active component, named avermectin, was chemically modified to increase its activity and its safety. The new compound, called ivermectin, was commercialised as a product for animal health in 1981 and soon became a top-selling veterinary drug in the world. Remarkably, despite decades of searching, S. avermictilis remains the only source of avermectin ever found. So Ivermectin was discovered in 1975 and came into medical use in 1981 (it is also FDA approved). <span style="color: #783f04;"><b>And in </b><b>2015, Campbell and Ōmura won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for ivermectins discovery and applications.</b> </span>In 2018, it was the 420th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than one hundred thousand prescriptions.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMP_TEvjAya32M2IlT5UFzt0YeFFca2qJ7OB2SJFPLIvMbU0kysXdS24-MByz__G-1YgDS7CPjXk89gCE_FL1vew8Qdd02AvfsNS9v0EfXq7CDA7R9RlqsP8csYVc-UmbmB_VAJALiL8I-/s760/1630084318461_ott_now_collins_ivermectin_210827_1920x1080-tfykv8.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="760" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMP_TEvjAya32M2IlT5UFzt0YeFFca2qJ7OB2SJFPLIvMbU0kysXdS24-MByz__G-1YgDS7CPjXk89gCE_FL1vew8Qdd02AvfsNS9v0EfXq7CDA7R9RlqsP8csYVc-UmbmB_VAJALiL8I-/w400-h225/1630084318461_ott_now_collins_ivermectin_210827_1920x1080-tfykv8.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #660000;">DOSE</span></b><br /><span><span style="color: #212121;">As a covid treatment, you have to make sure of course to inform yourself of the right dose. </span><b><span style="color: #444444;">We are talking oral ivermectin tablets here, made for human consumption; <i>not</i> ivermectin horse paste.</span></b><span style="color: #212121;"> </span></span><span><b><a href="https://assets.researchsquare.com/files/rs-317485/v1/0696442e-24ca-49b1-9655-a3aa500bba04.pdf?c=1624280341" target="_blank">In these varied scientific tests</a></b>, various different doses have been tested. A standard safe dose is </span>12 mg once daily for five days for adults with normal body weight (can be extended to 7 days). Another covid-related dose that is often mentioned in scientific testing is 0.2–0.4 mg/kg per dose (take with or after meals) — one dose daily, take for 5 days or until recovered. In another test they found a statistical improvement of covid symptoms on 6 mg every 84 hrs for 2 weeks, or 12 mg every 84 hrs for 2 weeks. And successful another test used 12mg at 0, 12, and 24 hours, so a total of 3 doses. Make sure to never use more than 400 mcg/kg (which comes down to 16 to 32 mg per day for me). A recent systematic review of ivermectin use among people with parasitic infections suggests that ivermectin administered at the usual doses (<u>0.2mg/kg or 0.4mg/kg</u>) is safe. - I see that wikipedia has now changed it's propaganda info that there is no scientific evidence for ivermectin's effectiveness as a covid treatment, into there being no <i>"credible" </i>scientific evidence. Notice how they added a highly subjective terminology here. <i><b><span style="color: #444444;">Who is wikipedia to decide that dozens of clinical randomized controlled trials (with the 'wrong' outcome) are not 'credible'?!</span></b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqhip198wSNG1fGetsPpLajVKEahcUDeFgi_ekLz-0hcHjzzxO0xRW1mHED7cY32kZydNBW9vF3TK0u5IzRC9Jhy5wy0SwgpmnJ6oEWSUNj4NCe3kc_-RYBFduIgNr5qwJqnwQ_ugsfMD/s1059/FLCCC.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1059" data-original-width="817" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqhip198wSNG1fGetsPpLajVKEahcUDeFgi_ekLz-0hcHjzzxO0xRW1mHED7cY32kZydNBW9vF3TK0u5IzRC9Jhy5wy0SwgpmnJ6oEWSUNj4NCe3kc_-RYBFduIgNr5qwJqnwQ_ugsfMD/w309-h400/FLCCC.jpg" width="309" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES ABOUT SUCCESSFUL IVERMECTIN USE FOR COVID19<br /></span></b><b><br />-<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34145166/" target="_blank">Ivermectin for Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19 Infection: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Trial Sequential Analysis to Inform Clinical Guidelines</a></b><br />Conclusions: "Moderate-certainty evidence finds that <b><span style="color: #444444;">large reductions in COVID-19 deaths are possible using ivermectin.</span></b> Using ivermectin early in the clinical course may reduce numbers progressing to severe disease". <br />-<b><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33947344/" target="_blank">Evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of adding ivermectin to treatment in severe COVID-19 patients</a></b><br />Conclusions: "According to the findings obtained,<b><span style="color: #444444;"> ivermectin can provide an increase in clinical recovery, improvement in prognostic laboratory parameters and a decrease in mortality rates even when used in patients with severe COVID-19. </span></b>Consequently, ivermectin should be considered as an alternative drug that can be used in the treatment of COVID-19 disease or as an additional option to existing protocols".</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div>-<b><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33278625/" target="_blank">A five-day course of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19 may reduce the duration of illness</a></b></div><div>Conclusions: "Virological clearance was earlier in the 5-day ivermectin treatment arm when compared to the placebo group, but this was not the case for the ivermectin + doxycycline arm. There were no severe adverse drug events recorded in the study. <b><span style="color: #444444;">A 5-day course of ivermectin was found to be safe and effective in treating adult patients with mild COVID-19</span></b>." </div><div>-<b><a href="https://assets.researchsquare.com/files/rs-317485/v1/0696442e-24ca-49b1-9655-a3aa500bba04.pdf?c=1624280341" target="_blank">Ivermectin for Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19 Infection: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis</a></b></div>Conclusions: "These findings suggest low to moderate-certainty evidence showing a survival benefit without harm of ivermectin for treatment against covid-19. Low certainty evidence on improvement and deterioration support the possibility of clinical benefit with ivermectin. Low certainty evidence also suggests it could be a useful prophylaxis. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Overall, therefore, the evidence suggests that early use of ivermectin may reduce morbidity and mortality from covid-19, based on reductions in covid-19 infections when ivermectin was used as post-exposure prophylaxis, more favourable point estimates for mild to moderate disease compared with severe disease for death due to any cause, and on the evidence demonstrating reductions in the number of patients deteriorating.</span></b> The evidence on severe adverse events in this review was graded as low certainty, partly because there were too few events to reach statistical significance. However, evidence from a recent systematic review of ivermectin use among people with parasitic infections suggests that ivermectin administered at the usual doses (0.2mg/kg or 0.4mg/kg) is safe and could be safe at higher doses.7,112 A recent World Health Organization document on ivermectin use for scabies found that adverse events with ivermectin were primarily minor and transient."<br />-<b><a href="https://www.cureus.com/articles/64807-prophylactic-role-of-ivermectin-in-severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome-coronavirus-2-infection-among-healthcare-workers" target="_blank">Prophylactic Role of Ivermectin in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection Among Healthcare Workers</a></b></div><div><div>Conclusion: "<b><span style="color: #444444;">Two doses of oral ivermectin (300 μg/kg/dose given 72 hours apart) as chemoprophylaxis among HCWs reduced the risk of COVID-19 infection by 83% in the following month. Safe, effective, and low-cost </span></b>chemoprophylaxis has relevance in the containment of pandemic alongside vaccine".</div><div>-<b><a href="https://thevirus.wtf/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Clinical_Safety_of_Ivermectin-March_2021.pdf" target="_blank">Medical Safety of Ivermectin– comprehensive review of safety</a></b><br />Conclusion: “Ivermectin human toxicity cannot be claimed to be a serious cause for concern.”</div><div>-<b><a href="https://ivmmeta.com/" target="_blank">Ivermectin for COVID-19: real-time meta analysis of 63 studies</a></b></div><div>Conclusions: "Meta analysis using the most serious outcome reported shows 69% [54‑79%] and 86% [75‑92%] improvement for early treatment and prophylaxis, with similar results after exclusion based sensitivity analysis and restriction to peer-reviewed studies or Randomized Controlled Trials. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Statistically significant improvements are seen for mortality, hospitalization, recovery, cases, and viral clearance.</span></b> 29 studies show statistically significant improvements in isolation".</div><div>-<b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7996102/#B28" target="_blank">Exploring the binding efficacy of ivermectin against the key proteins of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis: an in silico approach</a></b></div><div>Conclusions: "The present study depicts comparative <b><span style="color: #444444;">binding efficacy of a promising FDA-approved drug, ivermectin, against major pathogenic proteins of SARS-CoV-2 and their human counterparts involved in host–pathogen interaction. </span></b>Herein, our in silico data have indicated that ivermectin efficiently utilizes viral spike protein, main protease, replicase and human TMPRSS2 receptors as the most possible targets for executing its antiviral efficiency. Therefore, ivermectin exploits protein targets from both virus and human, which could be the reason behind its excellent in vitro efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 as reported by Caly et al. In this context, ivermectin could be an effective option as well. Considering all these facts, the present study explores the therapeutic targets of ivermectin against SARS-CoV-2 and enlightens the possibility of using this drug in COVID-19 clinical trials shortly".<br />-<b><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32251768/" target="_blank">The FDA-approved drug ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro</a></b></div><div>Conclusions: The results showed that this drug is a potent inhibitor of SARS-Cov-2. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Ivermectin causes 5000x reduction in viral RNA during two days</span></b>, which requires future clinical investigation in humans</div><div>"We report here that Ivermectin, an FDA-approved anti-parasitic previously shown to have broad-spectrum anti-viral activity in vitro, is an inhibitor of the causative virus (SARS-CoV-2), with a single addition to Vero-hSLAM cells 2 h post infection with SARS-CoV-2 able to effect ~5000-fold reduction in viral RNA at 48 h. Ivermectin therefore warrants further investigation for possible benefits in humans".<br /><div>-<b><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41429-021-00430-5" target="_blank">The mechanisms of action of Ivermectin against SARS-CoV-2: An evidence-based clinical review article</a></b></div><div>Conclusions: "Considering the urgency of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, simultaneous detection of various new mutant strains and future potential re-emergence of novel coronaviruses, <b><span style="color: #444444;">repurposing of approved drugs such as Ivermectin could be worthy of attention</span></b>".</div></div><div>-<a href="https://www.pasteur.fr/en/ivermectin-alleviates-covid-19-symptoms-animal-model" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Ivermectin alleviates covid-19 symptoms in an animal model</a><br />Conclusions: " The authors of the study demonstrated that taking standard doses of ivermectin reduces the symptoms and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection in an animal model. "We chose to study ivermectin because it is an allosteric modulator of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). This choice was based on the theory that the nAChR receptor plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection and could therefore represent a target for preventing and controlling infection," explains Guilherme Dias de Melo, a scientist in the Lyssavirus Epidemiology and Neuropathology Unit and first author of the study. The findings of the study reveal that ivermectin modulates the immune response in animal models infected with SARS-CoV-2, lessening inflammation in the respiratory tract. This immunomodulatory effect helps reduce the emergence of symptoms of the disease. Our results reveal that ivermectin has an immunomodulatory effect rather than an antiviral effect," "<b><span style="color: #444444;">Our results represent a significant breakthrough, demonstrating that ivermectin belongs to a new category of COVID-19 drugs in an animal model. </span></b>This research opens up new avenues for the development of more effective COVID-19 treatments in humans," concludes Hervé Bourhy, Head of the Lyssavirus Epidemiology and Neuropathology Unit and last author of the study.</div><div>-<b><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.592908/full" target="_blank">Molecular Docking Reveals Ivermectin and Remdesivir as Potential Repurposed Drugs Against SARS-CoV-2</a></b></div><div>Conclusions: "In conclusion, <b><span style="color: #444444;">both ivermectin and remdesivir could be considered potential drugs for the treatment of COVID-19. Ivermectin efficiently binds to the viral S protein as well as the human cell surface receptors ACE-2 and TMPRSS2; therefore, it might be involved in inhibiting the entry of the virus into the host cell.</span></b> It also binds to Mpro and PLpro of SARS-CoV-2; therefore, it might play a role in preventing the post-translational processing of viral polyproteins. The highly efficient binding of ivermectin to the viral N phosphoprotein and nsp14 is suggestive of its role in inhibiting viral replication and assembly. Remdesivir may be involved in inhibiting post-entry mechanisms as it shows high binding affinity to N and M proteins, PLpro, Mpro, RdRp, and nsp14. Although the results of clinical trials for remdesivir are promising (Beigel et al., 2020; Wang Y. et al., 2020), similar clinical trials for ivermectin are recommended. Both these drugs exhibit multidisciplinary inhibitory effects at both viral entry and post-entry stages."</div><div>-<b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8383101/" target="_blank">Ivermectin: a multifaceted drug of Nobel prize-honoured distinction with indicated efficacy against a new global scourge, COVID-19</a></b></div><div>Conclusion: "We believe that the evidence to date supports the worldwide extension of IVM treatments for COVID-19, complementary to immunizations. The indicated biological mechanism of IVM, competitive binding with SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, is likely non-epitope specific, as reviewed [8], possibly yielding full efficacy against emerging viral mutant strains. IVM has been safely used in 3.7 billion doses since 1987, well tolerated even at much greater than standard doses [34,35] and used without serious AEs in the three high-dose COVID-19 treatment studies noted above [34,36,37]. In the current international emergency of COVID-19, with mutant viral strains, vaccination refusals and potentially waning immunities over months presenting new challenges, IVM can be an effective component of the mix of therapeutics deployed against this pandemic."</div><div>-<b><a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200403115115.htm" target="_blank">Monash university: Lab experiments show anti-parasitic drug, Ivermectin, eliminates SARS-CoV-2 in cells in 48 hours</a></b></div><div>Conclusions: "A new study has shown that an anti-parasitic drug already available around the world can kill the virus within 48 hours in cell culture. Scientists showed that a single dose of the drug, Ivermectin, could stop the SARS-CoV-2 virus growing in cell culture. The next steps are to determine the correct human dosage -- ensuring the doses shown to effectively treat the virus in vitro are safe for humans."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">--<b><a href="https://www.thedesertreview.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/merck-sees-the-light---provides-ivermectin-for-humanity/article_df5674ee-d530-11eb-98a1-3fc9e8ddc005.html" target="_blank">The combination of Ivermectin with Hydroxychloroquine, Doxycycline, and now Fluvoxamine has proven highly effective in observational trials. Dr. George Fareed and Dr. Brian Tyson treated and saved nearly 6,000 COVID-19 patients in California’s Imperial Valley using this approach.</a></b></div><div>(<b><a href="https://www.thedesertreview.com/health/local-frontline-doctors-modify-covid-treatment-based-on-results/article_9cdded9e-962f-11eb-a59a-f3e1151e98c3.html" target="_blank">2</a></b>)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">--<b><a href="https://trialsitenews.com/finnish-biotech-secures-u-s-patent-for-ivermectin-based-nasal-spray-to-take-on-covid-19-in-low-to-middle-income-countries-lmics/" target="_blank">Finnish Biotech Secures U.S. Patent for Ivermectin-based Nasal Spray to Take on COVID-19 in Low-to-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)</a><br /></b></div>--<b><a href="https://swprs.org/who-preliminary-review-confirms-ivermectin-effectiveness/" target="_blank">WHO-sponsored review of ivermectin trials indicates 83% reduction in covid mortality.</a></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #444444;">Find more information about ivermectin use for covid <a href="https://covid.us.org/ivermectin/" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span><br /></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Interesting, those people who have never conducted a scientific trial in their life and who vow by 'science', but who trash not one, not two, but a hill of scientific evidence in favour of this well-known and long-used ivermectin drug. Science is also subjected to subjective politics. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwhgXNc2PUpPDKXkRaudKgqTykNUuZnvsSEtSYeoigeumIoUadq1hBzfOKy5PtnOSTuEdr7j1b9oRJSPWUMpmXiXzDI0hhsBM36TwbcyZgvCjmV3n2Sd4v4QMFDNRWQvtRz9xKC6coxqSg/s1104/pfizer+1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1104" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwhgXNc2PUpPDKXkRaudKgqTykNUuZnvsSEtSYeoigeumIoUadq1hBzfOKy5PtnOSTuEdr7j1b9oRJSPWUMpmXiXzDI0hhsBM36TwbcyZgvCjmV3n2Sd4v4QMFDNRWQvtRz9xKC6coxqSg/s320/pfizer+1.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigScM4gVEs-GbMhtrYsTA3dIPkBWKy2Qaap8xaL54ug4rCu9x3XxGNVlqxFDtSEGEwAqbX9myG2O21Qt2rMBi7UGAxCnQamp9XSLnOiCZ1ZAPHtuobWxWo010zTj3u2MCB3y7u5ac5w1Ab/s1094/pfizer2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1094" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigScM4gVEs-GbMhtrYsTA3dIPkBWKy2Qaap8xaL54ug4rCu9x3XxGNVlqxFDtSEGEwAqbX9myG2O21Qt2rMBi7UGAxCnQamp9XSLnOiCZ1ZAPHtuobWxWo010zTj3u2MCB3y7u5ac5w1Ab/s320/pfizer2.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #660000;">PFIZER IS DEVELOPING MEDICATION TO</span></b><b><span style="color: #660000;"> FIGHT COVID TOO BY NOW, LINKING TO</span></b><b><span style="color: #660000;"> IVERMECTIN </span></b><br /><b><a href="https://www.pfizer.com/science/coronavirus/antiviral-efforts?linkId=125685685" target="_blank">Pfizer</a></b> is creating an Ivermectin type pill now. On their website they <b><a href="https://www.pfizer.com/science/coronavirus/antiviral-efforts?linkId=125685685" target="_blank">write</a></b>:<br /><i>"Advancing Our Protease Inhibitors. Defeating COVID-19 likely requires both vaccination and targeted treatment for those who contract the virus. At Pfizer, we are evaluating two antiviral protease inhibitors – one orally administered candidate and one intravenously administered candidate – both of which have demonstrated potent antiviral activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as well as other known coronaviruses, in both in vitro and in vivo studies. We believe that, if successful and authorized or approved, these investigational therapies could provide end-to-end treatment options for COVID-19 patients, including those exposed to the virus, those with diagnosed infections treated in the outpatient setting, and those hospitalized with moderate to severe infection."</i><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Protease inhibitors.</span></b> By textbook definitions, HCQ (Hydroxychloroquine) and Ivermectin aren't classed as protease inhibitors, and the protease inhibitors I think Pfizer are referring to are probably modeled on earlier protease inhibitors, which interfered with the post-translational cleavage of what is called the Gag-Pol polyprotein in HIV and NS3/4A inhibitors in Hep C, which again targeted post-translational mechanisms. But it is very well possible that Pfizer is working on a pill very <i>similar</i> to ivermectin. Since Ivermectin is a <b><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22417684/" target="_blank">strong inhibitor</a></b> of replicase (RdRp), both proteases, the N-protein, and the Spike protein. As<b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7996102/#B28" target="_blank"> this</a></b> research article confirms: "<b><span style="color: #444444;">Ivermectin majorly acts by interfering with the viral entry through inhibiting the function of spike protein and protease. These studies also indicate that ivermectin may also target human ACE2 and TMPRSS2 for exerting its inhibitory action over SARS-CoV-2."</span></b> Ivermectin is a semisynthetic lactose derived from Streptomyces avermitilis B1a and B1b. It works by apparently paralyzing nematodes and arthropods by intensifying GABA-mediated transmission of signals in peripheral nerves. - Hydroxychloroquine has been <b><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32205204/" target="_blank">tested</a></b> for efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 and it has been reported to <b><span style="color: #444444;">inhibit the function of spike protein</span></b> via binding with the sialic acid residue of membrane ganglioside. HCQ is an antimalarial aminoquinolone phosphate salt and immunosuppressant. As an antimalarial drug it is a blood schizonticide which interferes with parasite metabolism through uptake in the parasite's food vacuole, which inhibits heme polymerization and causes the lysis of cell membranes. As an immunosuppressant, it is thought to suppress intracellular antigen processing and loading of peptides onto MHC II molecules by increasing the pH of lysosomal and endosomal compartments, suppressing T-cell activation. Other proposed mechanisms for the immunosuppressive aspects of the medication have to do with inhibition of leukocyte chemotaxis, inhibition of DNA and RNA synthesis, and the trapping of free radicals, among others. HCQ has been found effective in the treatment of covid as well in scientific trials. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><b><span style="color: #660000;">SO..</span></b><br />So if Pfizer gets their new treatments through the test phases, you can be certain that the media will start hailing their antiviral pill and stop focusing solely and entirely on vaccines, as they do at the moment. After the vaccines which are not as effective or long lasting as hoped, it only makes sense of course to start focusing more, finally, on other treatment options. Because Covid19 is not going anywhere. <b><span style="color: #444444;">What irks me is the mass propaganda and misinformation about drugs like ivermectin. </span></b>Some people think for instance that there is only one single medical research article about the use of ivermectin for SARS-CoV-2. And that it was so flawed that it cannot be taken seriously. But a simple pubmed search will show you dozens of research papers which mostly all prove the effectiveness of ivermectin when it comes to treating covid19 or being of prophylactic value. It is baffling to me how the media has succeeded in convincing scores of people that ivermectin is a dangerous poisonous horse medicine, when it is simply not true. The warnings about the risks of ivermectin were also interesting considering it is widely given to every man, woman and child in </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnazbTliXqMIrlqH62Qzpzf7o2hyphenhyphenN4zXYzPj6RltL1DO5e1Tjqsq9ZkaaPGloyAZLfmcWtkry9x85-ciOKkBtrkKXUi2n3-QknTobmjzUYBCOcBvlRAWeYS5TwMVHJjlQC2nKDRnRS814Z/s1514/pfizer3.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1514" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnazbTliXqMIrlqH62Qzpzf7o2hyphenhyphenN4zXYzPj6RltL1DO5e1Tjqsq9ZkaaPGloyAZLfmcWtkry9x85-ciOKkBtrkKXUi2n3-QknTobmjzUYBCOcBvlRAWeYS5TwMVHJjlQC2nKDRnRS814Z/s320/pfizer3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>poor countries with incidences of parasitic infections. The discovery of ivermectin won a Nobel prize in 2015 and <b><a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(19)30490-5/fulltext" target="_blank">THIS</a></b> Lancet article singing its praises was published as late as January 1st of 2020: "<i><span style="color: #444444;">Ivermectin is one of the most important antibiotics discovered. It is recognised as a landmark drug by the American Chemical Society and its discoverers received the Nobel Prize in 2015. Additionally, ivermectin is one of the most widely used anti-parasitic drugs for animals and humans. Since 1987, about 3·7 billion treatments have been given worldwide primarily for mass drug administration (MDA) campaigns for onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis in sub-Saharan Africa. Ivermectin is also highly effective against strongyloides, scabies, and ticks, and it has recently been shown to be an effective endectocide that kills feeding mosquitoes with the potential to reduce malaria transmission. The use of ivermectin will expand. For example, findings showed that ivermectin combined with diethylcarbamazine and albendazole is more effective than diethylcarbamazine plus albendazole as part of an MDA campaign for the treatment of lymphatic filariasis, resulting in greatly expanded use of ivermectin in MDA programmes worldwide." </span></i> But a few months later, the "horse paste" (no this is an unfair qualification as you should take the ivermectin pills, intended for humans, not the horse paste) was going to kill us all... I think what the media are also doing is focusing on the folks who eat horse paste cream, instead of getting the ivermectin pills which are fabricated for human use and of course, eating horse paste can more easily lead to unwanted overdoses. Reason being that the price of ivermectin has skyrocketed, since large portions of the world now also use it for covid. Merck's patent on ivermectin expired long ago, in 1996 already. Anyone can make it now, hence why ivermectin was always very cheap until recently. But now demand is high and so is the price. Only the horse paste is still affordable, but this is not meant to be used orally by humans. And with doctors being hesitant often to prescribe ivermectin, people do sometimes resort to eating the paste (don't!). Another very undesirable side-effect of this global hunting for ivermectin, is that the rosacea patients who successfully use ivermectin topically (many <b><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/09/ivermectin-or-soolantra-as-rosacea.html" target="_blank">successfully use</a></b> this horse paste topically for rosacea subtype 2), are now facing difficulties in buying their "HP". - <b><span style="color: #444444;">And would you believe btw that Pfizer had the power to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-20/pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-contracts/100553958" target="_blank">block countries from donating their COVID-19 vaccines to other countries</a>? Check out the insane power play these pharmaceutical companies stick to, in times of global pandemics. Well, as long as we ourselves get our hands on their product, right. </span></b></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWCaum5BaK9w2GnZpyy_QLErY2f2k79MbmbeSDRboThTuF3f2uE7bJxTsDpDad9pmfeoE7cnVhSpSd6CtHCHaBkKnUS0L9uSLcusAB8OtXkXsxqyrZZmkfwk4Plkl-UddKWEQTordwZWA/s1109/Dr.-Pierre-Kory.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="1109" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWCaum5BaK9w2GnZpyy_QLErY2f2k79MbmbeSDRboThTuF3f2uE7bJxTsDpDad9pmfeoE7cnVhSpSd6CtHCHaBkKnUS0L9uSLcusAB8OtXkXsxqyrZZmkfwk4Plkl-UddKWEQTordwZWA/w400-h238/Dr.-Pierre-Kory.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><b><span style="color: #660000;">By the way, the U.S. National Institutes of Health have <a href="https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/therapies/antiviral-therapy/ivermectin/" target="_blank">changed</a> their position on Ivermectin </span></b>from recommending <i>against</i>, to a <i>neutral</i> position, as of January 14th, 2021. This change is likely due to the <b><a href="https://scheerpost.com/2021/01/04/medical-alliance-urges-officials-to-ok-ivermectin-to-fight-virus/" target="_blank">intervention of FLCCC Alliance</a></b> asking NIH to change their position. They stated: <i>"NIH treatment guidelines established six months ago should be reexamined in light of compelling new research, says a group of physicians and researchers — and our author agrees". </i>Dr. Pierre Kory M.D., a pulmonary and critical care specialist who is also an Associate Professor of Medicine at St. Luke’s Aurora Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is president of the Frontline COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC), and their success in treating patients with COVID has been so dramatic, that he referred to ivermectin as a “miracle drug.” He <b><a href="https://medicalkidnap.com/2020/12/09/i-cant-keep-watching-patients-die-needlessly-medical-professor-testifies-to-congress-that-covid-cure-already-exists-with-ivermectin/" target="_blank">pleaded</a></b> with members of Congress to have the NIH, CDC, and FDA look at the “mountains” of data that he and his colleagues have gathered on the drug Ivermectin, which is already approved by the FDA as an anti-parasitic drug, and their success in treating COVID patients. He states: “If you take it, you will not get sick.” And in <b><a href="https://www.biznews.com/health/2021/07/29/ivermectin-treatment" target="_blank">this article</a></b>, things are put even more straightforwardly: "Twenty countries are using Ivermectin to treat Covid-19. They include Mexico, Guatemala, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Nigeria, and Egypt. In South Africa doctors are allowed to prescribe Ivermectin, but it is not being rolled out everywhere and in hospitals and clinics. <b><span style="color: #444444;">According to Jackie Stone, a doctor in Zimbabwe, since January – when Ivermectin began to be used – it has cut COVID hospital admissions and deaths over 70%</span></b>. “The death rate rose sharply in January and peaked on the 25th at 70 deaths per day. Official authorisation for the use of Ivermectin was granted on 26th January. Just one month later, on 26th February, the COVID death rate had fallen to zero”. <span><b style="color: #444444;">A meta-analysis gold standard review of 24 randomised trials conducted in 15 countries among more than 3400 people worldwide of clinical trials – just released by the BIRD group in the UK – showed that deaths are dramatically reduced when Ivermectin is administered. </b>Published in the American Journal of Therapeutics the most rigorous statistical standards were applied by world-leading biostatistician, Mr Andrew Bryant, and medical doctor and researcher Dr Tess Lawrie. The results concluded that Ivermectin has an over 70% success in preventing deaths in hospitalised patients. </span>Mexico City authorities created a home-treatment-kit, including Ivermectin, for its 22 million-strong population in December 2020 and cut hospitalisations by over 70%. Besides cutting hospitalisations and deaths Ivermectin can also be used as a preventative. In Argentina, 788 health workers took Ivermectin weekly and 407 did not. After ten weeks, 58% of those not taking Ivermectin had become sick – but not one of those who took it became sick. <span>The use of Ivermectin has been restricted because the WHO* says that further clinical trials are needed before they can recommend it. When asked about this, Dr Stone replied, “I find it very hard to understand how they can say that there is not sufficient evidence. There are three thousand patients plus in, I think, twenty-four trials where they demonstrate an over 75% reduction in mortality. Those figures fit exactly with what we have seen.” </span><span>Dr Tess Lawrie, one of the meta-analysis authors, in an interview with Dr. Mobeen speculated that the WHO and other regulatory agencies – which up to recently have had good reputations – may have been influenced by the lobbying of the pharmaceutical industry which is one of their chief sources of funding and which offers employment opportunities to the personnel who work in these agencies. The Emergency Use Authorisation of vaccines in the US and EU required that there was no alternative treatment available. If Ivermectin had been approved it would have been a problem to authorise the vaccines without proper trials. </span>The Indian Bar Association (IBA) sued WHO Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan on May 25, accusing her – in a 71-point brief – of causing the deaths of Indian citizens because of their misinformation about Ivermectin. The legal notice of June 13, 2021 against her states that her “misleading tweet on May 10, 2021, against the use of Ivermectin had the effect of the State of Tamil Nadu withdrawing Ivermectin from the protocol on May 11, 2021 – just a day after the Tamil Nadu government had indicated the same for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.” In Tamil Nadu – which withdrew their plans to use Ivermectin because of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan’s tweet – deaths rose ten-fold from April 20 to May 27 in contrast to the states in India which did use Ivermectin and where hospitalisations and death rates plummeted." <br /><br />*Mind you, the WHO is not a democratically chosen organization, The WHO was established from different nations, to help the world health situation. But there are many philanthropic organizations and people with a lot of money in this WHO, who help sponsor it. Bill Gates for instance funds 25% of the WHO budgets. It would be naive to think there are no geo-political interests woven into the fabric here.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Governments have given the virologists initially full responsibility for the covid approach. But they started to divert from the science itself after four months, focusing on the WHO guidelines by then. So initially the virologists for instance explained on TV and in the press that face masks would be as good as useless, because the covid particles are airborne and can slip through every little opening. But after 4 months, the WHO dictated that no, in fact facemasks were effective and everyone followed suit. This was probably a good move, but other things also started to shift. First getting herd immunity was the goal but then suddenly mass vaccination became the mantra. Without further judgement, it is at least good to be aware of this, I think. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='410' height='340' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dysKtdptWrxEFXxa4NIy1-Ij76i4Y_m1r1upWOdGDt0t1PDvqr42Yy9RrSpy-DCkFxc02uka947sth8PVtqUg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfU_OMOTsGbdVEZpbXcbXD9sKRuneGyUU9pzjaKCp2B6yKXgsP21WFrMVN_52BVYSnbdTm8AFt5v8LbJYdWpu5BnZuUW_jTcN06ueBnK0YEyZqF2b0bW8kkYf8gU2gVnP40AGGdNCw9I_L/s1061/20200515105231.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="1061" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfU_OMOTsGbdVEZpbXcbXD9sKRuneGyUU9pzjaKCp2B6yKXgsP21WFrMVN_52BVYSnbdTm8AFt5v8LbJYdWpu5BnZuUW_jTcN06ueBnK0YEyZqF2b0bW8kkYf8gU2gVnP40AGGdNCw9I_L/s320/20200515105231.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">OTHER PROMISING DRUGS</span></b><br /><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Remdesivir</span></b> has also come out as another choice of drug for treating severe corona-patients and</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32284326/" target="_blank">reported</a></b> to inhibit replication of SARS-CoV-2 via direct binding with the viral RDRP. However, in other tests remdesivir proved to be fairly useless as a covid treatment, and it also comes with a toxicity warning. Pasteur is also testing another old but hopefully promising molecule against Covid, <b><span style="color: #444444;">Clofoctol</span></b>. The FDA also approved </span><b><a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-additional-monoclonal-antibody-treatment-covid-19" target="_blank">sotrovimab</a></b><span> at the moment for emergency use. Recently the European Commission also </span><b><a href="https://www.mypharma-editions.com/covid-19-gsk-et-vir-biotechnology-signent-un-accord-dachat-conjoint-avec-la-commission-europeenne-pour-le-sotrovimab" target="_blank">approved</a></b><span> it's use. </span><b><a href="https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/about-the-guidelines/whats-new/" target="_blank">Sotrovimab</a></b><span> is a monoclonal antibody that is specifically directed against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and is designed to block the virus’ attachment and entry into human cells. </span><i>“With the authorization of this monoclonal antibody treatment, we are providing another option to help keep high-risk patients with COVID-19 out of the hospital,”</i><span> said Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. </span><i>“It is important to expand the arsenal of monoclonal antibody therapies that are expected to retain activity against the circulating variants of COVID-19." </i>And Merck has an anti-viral pill <b><span style="color: #783f04;">Molnupiravir</span></b> wrapping up clinical trials on August 10th. Clinical Trial of Molnupiravir Merck has to get paid since it lost out with its vaccine. Another company, Romark has an anti-viral pill called NT-300 that is using <b><span style="color: #783f04;">Niazoxanide</span></b> that was originally developed for treating intestinal protozoan infections (parasites). Romarks Phase 3 clinical trial was completed in April 2021 but no word on EUA. Romark announced initial results of phase 3 clinical trial of NT-300 tablets for the treatment of Covid-19. <span>And even </span><b><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33638944/" target="_blank">vitamin C</a></b><span> or </span><b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7580816/" target="_blank">Zinc supplements</a></b><span> may have a beneficial effect on covid19 infection, although more research is welcome. </span></div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCO2AdOBIxmN_WlImkvX6QxuaJZKyCrLfhUnCdFl1T1iv4bD1FxqOec7fbf_NFkNA7-NBAOtUiO9nlYS4WqfwBfcr9oz1ZeLtDLSXwJoT9n3BIl7Csv4Q5-iOGE1Ax2W0tgyp6ePCdLbu/s2048/E8NxsLpVEAA_ObY.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1947" data-original-width="2048" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCO2AdOBIxmN_WlImkvX6QxuaJZKyCrLfhUnCdFl1T1iv4bD1FxqOec7fbf_NFkNA7-NBAOtUiO9nlYS4WqfwBfcr9oz1ZeLtDLSXwJoT9n3BIl7Csv4Q5-iOGE1Ax2W0tgyp6ePCdLbu/w400-h380/E8NxsLpVEAA_ObY.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #660000;">So anyway, I am not against vaccinations. Not at all. People should get vaccinated if they wish to. But this media onslaught of one-sided stories and the at times flat out incorrect portrait painted by politicians who are behind with the current statistics, demonizing drugs like ivermectin in the most unscientific of ways and falsely promising that vaccination renders you safe from covid (Joe Biden for instance, just last week) is just a thorn in my eye.</span></b> Just as the way in which a large group of people without a second thought gives up the basic rights of the minority, just because <i>they</i> happen to be vaccinated and ready to enjoy some more normal life again. Reasonable people who are neither fiercely pro- or anti-vaccine can legitimately be disturbed by the inconsistent decisions of our rulers. After having said that the masks were useless (because we did not have them) and then encouraging us to wear them, constantly warning us about the variants but putting the maps on 'yellow' because of the holidays and economical needs of the European countries, now the last incongruity in France for instance is to not make it mandatory for police and gendarmerie to be vaccinated. While many professions, including the fire fighters, are being forced to vaccinate themselves or they won't get paid. And while French citizens will be controlled about their vaccination status and health pass by ... these same police, representatives of the Law, who themselves won't be... vaccinated? Isn't that the same as having your driver's license checked by police officers on motorcycles who don't have a license to drive? The reason is of course that Macron and his government have little to fear of rioting fire fighters, and everything to fear of rebellious police and army factions. All political regimes have the police and the army as their last bulwark. It is clear that Macron does not want to irk them, calculating the risk of them abandoning or turning against their rulers. History often repeats itself in this sense.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuf_V2VZyTGRD8lRxxJHwcArPJALvt86h_e-qKXOsxtar64aX6QFjBN1H02VLUtYmo3DG7CPGJj3hJJlm5MdAX4yzMjvRhPGEdL0D5_ZCKQVWIbSAJoaBwSXa5vEotYJp7kHW4upLRuuN2/s591/E8GLcsGXMAYj1--.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="591" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuf_V2VZyTGRD8lRxxJHwcArPJALvt86h_e-qKXOsxtar64aX6QFjBN1H02VLUtYmo3DG7CPGJj3hJJlm5MdAX4yzMjvRhPGEdL0D5_ZCKQVWIbSAJoaBwSXa5vEotYJp7kHW4upLRuuN2/s320/E8GLcsGXMAYj1--.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghI4LM4RjGqbIjcUr8waMdCCd0l8t0CdNruUgUXXXnpOBcKS8O_fGQuTlxx-DzNUh8xTCwBxIDczoRRv1W0mjLdOQcG7B8rQcwn_IXPHVrfT5-oleG35_jNFwhpYNVkcSUB40h7Pb-m4-G/s1200/02.26.2020_black_swan_cartoon.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghI4LM4RjGqbIjcUr8waMdCCd0l8t0CdNruUgUXXXnpOBcKS8O_fGQuTlxx-DzNUh8xTCwBxIDczoRRv1W0mjLdOQcG7B8rQcwn_IXPHVrfT5-oleG35_jNFwhpYNVkcSUB40h7Pb-m4-G/w322-h181/02.26.2020_black_swan_cartoon.png" width="322" /></a>Germany is changing the law as well, taking away basic human rights for this virus with less than 1% mortality overall. Unvaccinated people will soon no longer be able to go to the hairdresser, to the cinema or to restaurants. And covid tests will no longer be free of charge! Those same tests which everyone was ushered to have regularly, to keep track of covid infections and isolate them from society? Now suddenly this important station is being politicized as well, to force people to get vaccinated. It is really appalling I think, especially when you realise the stats are pushed and misrepresented, to justify political decisions. France is doing the same and I wouldn't be surprised if the prima donna's of the EU, Macron and Merkel, will try to push a similar uniform approach on other EU member states. And why not everyone is up in arms surprises me even more when we remember ourselves about the blatant lying that is involved. In France for instance, Emmanuel Macron declared in April this year, while his Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beauneon, declared it again on May 12th, that <i>"we will not have a daily health pass installed for cafes or restaurants, in France"</i>. Such a device would be <i>"excessive" and likely to create "a two-tier society"</i>. Macron had said a month earlier: <i>“The health pass will never be a right of access that differentiates the French. It could never be compulsory to access places of everyday life, such as restaurants, theaters and cinemas, or to go to friends." </i>- Three months later, and the health pass is now essential in the daily life of the French to go to restaurants, cafes, sports halls, cinemas or even long-distance transport. Even <i>hospitals</i> cannot be entered without it, unless it is life or death emergency help. There used to be safeguards in social law to prevent this type of excessive state ruling, but they were shattered with these exceptional 'emergency' measures. Hopefully they will not push this pass further and further and further... In theory, three types of so-called 'totem' activities can never be subject to the health pass: political, trade union and religious activities. But who knows how they will abuse this 'emergency situation' further. Or whether or not this health pass will ever become a thing of the past again.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQaMlp5mTInaJOprxWXwfDihz0zc_aAHqMub2xIA_O6y2Bbf8twd1WXwV_OOGKMORbmDt_vnGDHX5wqaq6_OZD5M-_2UYEpa9zbANEHX_qGRHlODAZwgrykVeBAGQDnsqZ-FsmumIz9ZRU/s1799/240897645_375331297301159_2925218925843075027_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1799" data-original-width="1440" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQaMlp5mTInaJOprxWXwfDihz0zc_aAHqMub2xIA_O6y2Bbf8twd1WXwV_OOGKMORbmDt_vnGDHX5wqaq6_OZD5M-_2UYEpa9zbANEHX_qGRHlODAZwgrykVeBAGQDnsqZ-FsmumIz9ZRU/w316-h395/240897645_375331297301159_2925218925843075027_n.jpg" width="316" /></a>I particularly am wary of the 'law of the majority', which is being used at the moment by many leaders to divide the population and push through their extreme and scientifically illogical measures, solely to force the people to get vaccinated. A minority can be viscerally opposed here while being actually vaccinated themselves, because they are for instance attached to democratic values. The law of the majority is not always automatically good. The majority were not exactly reliable ethically in Germany of the 1930's and '40's, to name one example. In 1940 it was also the minority in the shape of resistance fighters, who took up arms. The majority would more likely have sold them to the occupier, if they had something to lose from not doing so. Does that make the majority right? - A friend wrote me: "The Germans at the time used emergency measures to get away with authoritarian control, following the Reichstag fire. The fire was started by a Dutch commie but it was a propaganda gift for the Nazis and the whole Third Reich was ushered in under these 'emergency powers' ... which were not lifted. We learnt in school about Marinus van der Lubbe. Not all that bright, apparently. But politicians are opportunists and here they used that fortunate incident to pin a ton of new rules and restrictions on Germans. In 1931 Theodor Heuss wrote 'Hitler's Way' and he explained the phenomenon as having a duality, basically hysterical emotion, mass psychosis and the personality cult, and on the other hand this brutal, ruthless and efficient bureaucracy or party machinery chewing its way through all obstacles. Regarding 'law of the majority' Heuss wrote; <i>"Today legality means being formed or confirmed by the will of the majority. The man who mocks democracy subjects himself, vowing legality, to its methods and its very idea. In so doing, he suggests to his followers that this is not the result of a change of heart, but the manifestation of a period of adjustment, an attempt to win time that requires patience. The goal is to gain the majority of votes tomorrow or the day after tomorrow - and the majority means power</i>". Or as George Orwell put it:</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">"Being in a minority, even a minority of one, did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad". </span></i></b></div><br />This is a great short video of a class of professor Jordan Peterson, where he warns against totalitarian states and their ways of conduct. I see some parallels, for instance their 'disgust sensitivity'. Currently aimed at "anti-vaxxers", who are made to look like scapegoats. Especially when he explains how this obsession with the prevalence of infectious diseases led to total totalitarianism in Germany, I cannot help but think at how covid is currently used as well as the pretext for quite extreme (and some will say <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lctpOxSR-FE" target="_blank">totalitarian</a></b>) reduction of basic human rights, ensured by the law (normally). And I get very sad about the division in society. The one thing we could take from the beginning of the pandemic was how people pulled together. I hate the division covid and now the jabs are causing, currently. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='438' height='364' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxdQ8rK8jCLxkyYrNjpRrTR_-6iEGjj4GzS-y4pdNLMbx3WJNfTqZfPeeETu-EAA6UXh0A1PPbXWk79IWI2mA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWR30bjg5aGcPkXOZ_MtcEYJMVjCFOCsAU_XVwOfF_7IZydjasRduaIHk_jac5HHETp1M_u4QXrt151GL3xfknbBxWbcN9yVuAqtOJLs0fMMiId3g6ZH14yn27iPrrEgwuqybZB7eTpQV/s2048/JCF7W6FRCZGRFNIYD57OAY7VVU.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1575" data-original-width="2048" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWR30bjg5aGcPkXOZ_MtcEYJMVjCFOCsAU_XVwOfF_7IZydjasRduaIHk_jac5HHETp1M_u4QXrt151GL3xfknbBxWbcN9yVuAqtOJLs0fMMiId3g6ZH14yn27iPrrEgwuqybZB7eTpQV/s320/JCF7W6FRCZGRFNIYD57OAY7VVU.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3BbcP_YfsRckQ9L4CVvQcNm4AUVXmpJnfL8uYmh6ACRv1RzwdLg8L24cuVlHdbCdZyDoZW3QNVHKih-jtCE6ayOkDhfGaHLjOKju5E_6SUnFvgoc1IjluW3hdsqN8rIr382EqVC3M2KCz/s1359/EU_u9weWkAEoDLo.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1160" data-original-width="1359" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3BbcP_YfsRckQ9L4CVvQcNm4AUVXmpJnfL8uYmh6ACRv1RzwdLg8L24cuVlHdbCdZyDoZW3QNVHKih-jtCE6ayOkDhfGaHLjOKju5E_6SUnFvgoc1IjluW3hdsqN8rIr382EqVC3M2KCz/s320/EU_u9weWkAEoDLo.jpg" width="320" /></a>People in a democracy have the right to doubt, have the right to refuse medical treatments. It is not like there are no <b><a href="https://www.theitaliantribune.it/trovato-morto-lo-stilista-greco-nassos-katris-il-padre-ha-fatto-il-vaccino-e-si-sentiva-bene/" target="_blank">risks</a></b> involved when taking these vaccines, no matter how statistically minor (although some investigators deem this specific risk even <b><a href="https://www.francesoir.fr/opinions-tribunes/la-vaccination-covid-lepreuve-des-faits-2eme-partie-une-mortalite-inedite" target="_blank">rather significant</a></b>). That the government encourages taking this vaccination is not a problem. But the turn that has now been taken is in my opinion excessive and the health pass is unacceptable, especially in light of the latest statistics on vaccinated people getting covid, passing covid on and being also hospitalized for covid. It is therefore legitimate that part of the population does not want a compulsory vaccination, nor a health pass for everyday activities. Of course we want to preserve hospital services from an overflow of patients, but in the name of the deprivation of liberty of the majority? Are there no other solutions? Governments should simply have installed regular free testing and kept the social distancing rules in place.</div><div><br /></div><div>Most here were horrified upon discovering the "social credit" system in China. Their use of a pass to allow or deny people access to public places, to public transport., to amenities, leisure and even employment, under the guise of following (or not) to the letter the measures and rules of the government, while requiring companies to control customers/employees under penalty of being punished. And yet, today this same thing is happening in multiple European countries: a pass linked to a disease of which we <i>know</i> that the vaccine prevents neither from being contaminated, nor from being contagious. Iceland also proves this, with its 93% vaccinated population (those above age 16), but whose daily contamination rate is one of the highest of this continent, to the point that the Icelandic government having had to put an end to the vaccination campaign. They have given up the vaccination obligation, except for the so-called "fragile" people. Vaccination, as it now turns out slowly but surely, does not make you bulletproof when it comes to covid. Not only do we probably have to live with this virus for the unforeseeable future without a wartime mentality (and remember ourselves that Covid infection figures are largely without teeth if they do not translate into rising hospitalisations and deaths). But without wanting to sound like a lunatic, we also have to be aware of the fact that covid19 seems to have the potential to be used as a great excuse for some governments to set up the foundations of a social credit system with the registration and monitoring of its citizens/businesses and deprivation of freedoms. Under the guise of common law, under the (scientifically flawed) pretext that the people can live serenely again, without fear. These are exactly the same type of arguments used by China when they introduced their social credit system. The terms are different, but the facts are the same. </div><div><br class="separator" div="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxR2gQekd2NYWGWOvDD9Tf0RXksbTRHaiEG6BvcHWEWF7oubjfSiPUNMzyShxNFdoGAIyv-a3WLj9g15K1A-Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwoMEJPRvDGe0KPwOeYAT5PS-pbcnXjC7U2ns3-4C_tN1FqCSAxyatutjxBRvonCx82VqPbyrGzJx-WzQ3O_g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">July 31st</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2021. </span></span></b><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: 42px;">“Health pass: does the situation really justify a suspension of freedoms?”</span><br /><br /></b></span></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pit7q0YvoZQGiSj5HJCRCzjAYGg1BQtVEBfFLu9Od54z55qxUtvIWLaHcWstbnFy-bpewvOySGnKihDZnMmRoZogISf7fkciQ2jGMqykkPF0vnHjHFI29B17UxBGvyoXHcJqGk2wd2XQ/s932/Figaro+1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="932" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pit7q0YvoZQGiSj5HJCRCzjAYGg1BQtVEBfFLu9Od54z55qxUtvIWLaHcWstbnFy-bpewvOySGnKihDZnMmRoZogISf7fkciQ2jGMqykkPF0vnHjHFI29B17UxBGvyoXHcJqGk2wd2XQ/w355-h322/Figaro+1.jpg" width="355" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BaJRDpkkSfncNqNN77lsnsY61gto7ggGuJB4ilAMrkkzfoQIDRCMbiJ7iVviYB-2pUefYtj7RPV_JkyJXJ1jyy4XwGBeu_kTyQarRk0RZfKJbIOgi6Ummxu6Y9IXT_gi2JkSXGU5VBcM/s1694/Figaro2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1694" data-original-width="909" height="659" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BaJRDpkkSfncNqNN77lsnsY61gto7ggGuJB4ilAMrkkzfoQIDRCMbiJ7iVviYB-2pUefYtj7RPV_JkyJXJ1jyy4XwGBeu_kTyQarRk0RZfKJbIOgi6Ummxu6Y9IXT_gi2JkSXGU5VBcM/w354-h659/Figaro2.jpg" width="354" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKLa8z3cqdizLwtrC4y5eTuMrr-YHysIfFnbKx2rVwKqU2A7n2rkp25ST_aDBPgGA6-TxzrzGY5PMRVA1_TKPONQajmaqWEGxPVEZklqe3uzbsHvOCO0F4CgvK4UHbVIWWrTOLYNpB0LbI/s1237/figaro3.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1237" data-original-width="941" height="463" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKLa8z3cqdizLwtrC4y5eTuMrr-YHysIfFnbKx2rVwKqU2A7n2rkp25ST_aDBPgGA6-TxzrzGY5PMRVA1_TKPONQajmaqWEGxPVEZklqe3uzbsHvOCO0F4CgvK4UHbVIWWrTOLYNpB0LbI/w352-h463/figaro3.jpg" width="352" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtUTTP3ZCegw-tbE2iIlex-epRPY9H9sE5aPfwL726r90Yuc1o4QRVk5EIMT8eg9sYJscn8qSGdKmZm6sAUOsXjBPD0u_DLBTq1sUYuQszdkZMRr5zavJQchjpCufZO5QfmndrYEFQdeQ/s1558/figaro4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1558" data-original-width="957" height="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtUTTP3ZCegw-tbE2iIlex-epRPY9H9sE5aPfwL726r90Yuc1o4QRVk5EIMT8eg9sYJscn8qSGdKmZm6sAUOsXjBPD0u_DLBTq1sUYuQszdkZMRr5zavJQchjpCufZO5QfmndrYEFQdeQ/w350-h570/figaro4.jpg" width="350" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_Y6nXlkjatahCIHvRh71s-OFXfFixqF_VAIwau__1C9CgepnbCM0l6aIemZ5H-e3zIQCit-AgnQH1r_raoATNKt064j37Lg3zpE_ZwJPh8MJdWXoLsvwxQXBeQoFMQkXMhRjB64vNE2d/s1558/figaro4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjDyWuLYgGGSoHTHjqVJuC3vPX_Vi2-PUeVrlIJPkeSNQQSi3VgOMQ60B0KLzeo6-7Dn_bT3Wzij7-L94aZNqWb-YwO62aBLmoFErUD1FBaE42eOlENYdKwS7KruyB7YwAI9WeF2wg2D7O/s1237/figaro3.jpg" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXgXODX5n2y1inN0pitJH6ZNdpbxs6fTa6LsHEX9HJ7SutUayKWcomKIBSEueHgqS92cW1pJPAnvXNqbNgABewdng16PDdY4DCM-Z8ju4ekPV3iqbUyO5OAxgk2liNCXvaXTCfAEG-RgC0/s1694/Figaro2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></a></div><div><b><a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/vox/societe/passe-sanitaire-la-situation-justifie-t-elle-vraiment-une-suspension-des-libertes-par-chantal-delsol-20210726" target="_blank">Le Figaro</a></b></div><div>By Chantal Delsol<br /><br /></div><div>"TRIBUNE - For the philosopher, a government can demand sacrifices from its population in the event of an exceptional situation. But the Covid epidemic no longer meets these criteria, argues our columnist. She sees in the extension of the sanitary pass the mark of a society which makes "naked life" its only reference point.</div><div><br /></div><div>The measures announced on July 12 by Emmanuel Macron threaten to provoke revolts. From the beginning of August, it will be impossible to go to a public place without the health pass. It is clearly a backdoor way to make the vaccination compulsory. Something which the leaders had always sworn to leave optional. In addition, it is often difficult to access the vaccination (the "Doctolib in two clicks" is nonsense and a denial of reality, you just have to get started yourself to see it), which makes the measure, in fact, retroactive (and therefore unconstitutional). Children between 12 and 17 years old who will not be vaccinated at the start of the school year will be deprived, in fact, of any sport and any leisure. Many parents refuse to vaccinate their 12-year-old children, who risk nothing but a mild flu, in order to protect a small percentage of elderly or at-risk people who did not want to be vaccinated. It is a brutal law, which is installed during a long-awaited summer holiday period and on a population that is traumatized by the lies and multiple contradictions heard for months and months. The entire population, from restaurant owners to cinema openers, is now invited to track down the unvaccinated, who therefore speak of dictatorship. Family tables ignite.</div><div><br /></div><div>The question of the health pass and the compulsory vaccine is part of the general political question of the exceptional situation. We know that Western societies, from their pre-republican and pre-democratic origins, grasped the reality and the demands of a situation of peril, during which free institutions were required to arrogate to themselves more power than in ordinary times. At the very end of the VIth century BC, the Roman Republic established the dictatorship as Judicial exception, with special powers capable of responding to crises, namely the war, and at the same time as limited judiciary in time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Because it was not necessary that the depositary of the load take advantage of full powers to become a tyrant, refusing to give up his prerogatives once the situation has been cleaned up. This thousand-year-old conflict between the need to obey in times of crisis, and the fear of obeying too much or obeying too long, is a purely Western conflict since elsewhere power was waged absolute everywhere and always. It is a conflict typical of free societies, that has pursued us since our nation's historical birth. And this is still where we are today.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">"After more than eighteen months of health crisis, now that the health pass is installed, the situation has nothing to do with that of the beginnings"</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>When, at the start of the crisis, President Macron said: "We are at war", he thereby establishes the evidence of an exceptional situation, during which, consequently, the French will be faced with governmental demands to which they would not be required in normal times. To begin with, there were confinements. We are today at a point where we can seriously question, without desire for controversy, the very existence of an exceptional situation. That is to say: question whether there is still a dangerous crisis for society. After more than eighteen months of health crisis, now that the health pass is installed, the situation has nothing to do with that of the beginnings. Most of the population at risk is vaccinated, making the overloading of hospitals, which was the government's main fear, unlikely. The new variant spreads quickly, but due to vaccine dynamics its effects are lessened.. <b><span style="color: #444444;">And yet the discourse of the authorities, institutions and media involved, remains at the same level as during the height of the pandemic, in the beginning.</span></b> When we were still wondering if the virus was not going to decimate our children or kill 20% of the population. Today, the question is less how we have to protect ourselves from Covid, and more about understanding by what sly panic, by what contagion of terror our rulers claim to extend - and strengthen - the measures of the exceptional situation. In other words, they claim to keep us in step more and more and with more and more ardor, while the reasons for this seem less and less convincing.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">Today, the question is less how we have to protect ourselves from Covid, and more about understanding by what sly panic, by what contagion of terror our rulers claim to extend - and strengthen - the measures of the exceptional situation.</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>It is first necessary to understand that the 'situation of great risk', said to be exceptional, remains subjective. It does not suffer debate in case of imminent great danger: when Hitler's Germany bombed London, the population obeyed without shuddering with the imposition of the blackout and other coercive measures. But, generally, the concept of <i>great danger</i> varies and is debated.<b> <span style="color: #444444;">At present, things have gone so far that for Westerners with a heightened sensitivity, the risk of a virus that kills only minimally and mostly the elderly who are already suffering from underlying health issues, is as terrifying as the plague of the sixteenth century which took away a third of the population. </span></b>We must take into account the spirit of the times. The drastic measures put in place to preserve health respond to a postmodern ideology, 'hygienism', and mark a new chapter in contemporary biopolitics. We considered it normal to decree the exceptional situation in times of war, and today we consider it legitimate to decree it in times of Covid. This is the simple sign of a shift in the dominant value. The government is only given full powers when the essentials are in danger. The main thing today is "bare life". <b><span style="color: #444444;">The government therefore deems itself authorized to debate the epidemic in Defense Councils, and to constantly renew the state of emergency</span></b>, which says a lot about the mixing of genres and the perversion of concepts. However, one should never forget the permanent pitfall of the 'exceptional situation': <b><span style="color: #444444;">a government always aspires to gain more power</span></b>, and if it can find a good reason to bring society in line, it will do so wholeheartedly. It is enough to see with what joyful ease our rulers are ready, in this matter of vaccines, to regard those who resist vaccination as uncivil rebels against the established order who should be condemned. Human beings love to tyrannize. Humans do it with great pleasure, unless you prevent them to. Mankind does it triumphantly when legality allows it. So there comes a time when a part of society wonders about the validity of 'the exceptional situation'.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">"Is perfect health worth the end of freedoms?"</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF0qKbhYGe9yVe7m1qq-cCrAGvcVsD84XPIRnEdwqp9hXRd9FgQjNMGTBmn9zYCQYhxCAHDEsuf6sMqr_2Cp3g-03_rkEZ6ohUwAGW_JyVQm1-1VK8JVGoRjU-eVc-9BjCTrEPIZx6i2zh/s680/222474243_186789716799147_1190914657175170967_n.png" style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="666" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF0qKbhYGe9yVe7m1qq-cCrAGvcVsD84XPIRnEdwqp9hXRd9FgQjNMGTBmn9zYCQYhxCAHDEsuf6sMqr_2Cp3g-03_rkEZ6ohUwAGW_JyVQm1-1VK8JVGoRjU-eVc-9BjCTrEPIZx6i2zh/w391-h400/222474243_186789716799147_1190914657175170967_n.png" width="391" /></a>Today the question arises if perfect health is worth the end of our freedoms? Do I want to risk an illness in order to be able to go to the theater, play sports or see my children? Do I want to see my grandmother lose a year of her remaining life so that she won't be alone in her room for all the time she has left? In other words: it is the<i> hygienist ideology</i> itself which is questioned by the crititcal people within society, who are described immediately as a bunch of idiots, while our rulers are anchored in 'hygienism' as if it were second nature for them. The conflict between the two is violent, because the 'antihygienist' currents are deprived of thinking elites, and are therefore thought crude; and because 'hygienists' tend to belong to the elite, and are often intolerant and contemptuous. In France, this conflict is exacerbated due to the <i>generalized mistrust</i> among a large part of the population. This mistrust has been so well described by Cahuc and Algan: the anti-pass health workers do not believe in any figure that is given by the government (and it must be said that the government have previously told so much nonsense, for example about the uselessness of masks - a government cannot play with its population with impunity).</div><div><br /></div><div><div>What we call today "the dangerous electorate" and what was called in the nineteenth century the "dangerous classes", are people capable of extremism and violence because they have been too often deceived. But they have all the same the right not to be 'hygienic' in the same way as the elites: there are legitimate reasons even outside the "circle of reason" (a shameful expression which rejects all adversaries in the bed of infantile emotions). In the old Roman sense, <i>the dictatorship of the exceptional situation</i> is nothing to worry about, and it even helps to protect free institutions, <i>if</i> it is contained and reduced to the present crisis. What is questionable here is not the "health dictatorship", because it is logical that citizens support draconian measures in the event of common peril. <b><span style="color: #444444;">What is questionable is the hygienist ideology which elevates sanitation to the rank of supreme and absolute value."</span></b></div><div><br /></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>French protests about the health pass discrimination</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzVTZSj-qlXf3iLlWfVjwpHFAWomFtsTlMUUTn8MdGqLqBT8Q7_oS3RYWJjPjZp_diiRXAyL6WgWFnoUpwAhg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyqXibbepKaS55DpjhvuIyAjTmq2x6Phq-pRs2_VbbzMZpPWQAapS1fxp6QNx7KXAKcIZT6wF2ArEnLcBJ5gA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyoZKSEMEYuhC50Tj4LMGYyT6NeMPiYSM43dfkKKjoggan2XyA49u4zQqjKHvoQJXvO0rE8EVQkLoyzuGh11Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwBG7mLTpdH6RuvVtKjr8PLG9Qo6-oLCASDSbJObswa8nPlIwongKkA2l9AxNQg7kn-xFfCWZcXr8VuLV3Mxg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Italian parliamentary uproad about the health pass law + the <a href="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/08/exclusive-dr-fauci-used-taxpayer-money-dogs-tortured-eaten-alive-parasite-infected-flies-tunisia-photos/" target="_blank">evil</a> Dr on the inability of vaccines to prevent contagiousness</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwoLjxZUm9V-QeVF0agvzj_WhLDHRHIg08DKTbRs5f1gIvJVP1AK1wFkfgbAyhLt0PQEyRjbqV9BJtScdebdQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwTjrHRf0akEZ_7WnLQbrfAc2z34wr13pUy9uP8R0YNYmrs8vLI6IFFZpOnGo7hAbW2fl6V2XJO2_Uh_y-TnQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXcbhQccyYs_0yzmb-5rlt1Jt5epUsillcP2Pu_CksnjiLuZ3ROUWMhGPuhoAyiufjqSwWVnvf2LgBDVMggGLD5-ZFNNDvIoz5MWjQiPz0A7tdXRz64PG8USPnwxS25LyOztCxcWC3IcY/s2048/IMG_20210714_102427.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXcbhQccyYs_0yzmb-5rlt1Jt5epUsillcP2Pu_CksnjiLuZ3ROUWMhGPuhoAyiufjqSwWVnvf2LgBDVMggGLD5-ZFNNDvIoz5MWjQiPz0A7tdXRz64PG8USPnwxS25LyOztCxcWC3IcY/w300-h400/IMG_20210714_102427.jpg" width="300" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">July 24th</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2021</span></span></b><br /><br />Sorry for the lack of writing on here. I think we're all a bit covid-tired by now, despite a year long fear for this virus and the ongoing roller-coaster of media news hitting us every day with new numbers, graphics and risk assessments. I realized while browsing through this page just yet, that I have gone all over the place myself in the past year. Being petrified of covid, then getting tired of the Angst onslaught, hammering on us all the time. Going from thinking Millennials are selfish for not wanting to skip a party (or two), all the way to now being beaten numb with the constant changing of the rules. One step forward, one step back, one step sideways. And by now I am still very cautious, within limits, when it comes to avoiding infection. But I also think by now, after well over a year of lockdowns and heavy consequences for many other patients who have been unwantedly neglected sometimes in the hospitals and major effects on mental wellbeing of the younger generations, that the weaker in society should protect themselves as good as possible, with the help of the state. Meaning free vaccinations for those who want to use them (as we have), good health care (as we have). A society taking precautions that are within the limits of reason, such as wearing a face mask in crowded indoor places or public transport and being more vigilant about hand santizing. But that is where things should end in my (current) opinion, in order to restore some balance now that the majority of people have had the chance to be vaccinated. Countries and the young and healthy have been paralyzed for long over a year, and counting. I also do not believe in mandatory vaccination. Although it is good if people want to get vaccinated, I believe in absolute freedom when it comes to this particular vaccination. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf_ZqVlbJjALgSDNKHg9ArKGTaYOLdPQ6mBrYqQH_IocFw_tiAthl4OqUmJEbUtOCd-QAXPwNJcI8DdRpyNXVrnbKX5LOnp84SWLMxATYop85smYYr9cJCRiXORPS4vQWasmZXUZIySf-q/s264/zzzred7+copy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="138" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf_ZqVlbJjALgSDNKHg9ArKGTaYOLdPQ6mBrYqQH_IocFw_tiAthl4OqUmJEbUtOCd-QAXPwNJcI8DdRpyNXVrnbKX5LOnp84SWLMxATYop85smYYr9cJCRiXORPS4vQWasmZXUZIySf-q/w175-h335/zzzred7+copy.jpg" width="175" /></a></div>Covid is the last thing you want to catch if you are unlucky enough to get it bad, with pneumonia, lung damage, long covid if you pull through. But there is so much polarization out there. And this is not an old-fashioned 'traditional' vaccine and this is not polio either, as some like to throw into every vaccine discussion. Polio vaccinations render you 99 to 100% protected from polio, whereas the covid vaccines.. not so much. By now the mantra is that it mainly prevents you from getting covid <i>bad enough</i> to end up in hospital, and yet in places like the UK and elsewhere over 50% of the hospitalized covid patients have been fully vaccinated. So those things do not help in terms of convincing everybody to get vaccinated. Covid is a nasty virus, of which the precise origin remains a mystery because China continues to refuse to really cooperate with investigations and the WHO seem to have their own motives not to push harder. It's a virus that kills less than 0.3% of the world population. And even that is on the high side if you go by official numbers as <b><a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR0l_Kp5CblaupqvCqrHAsYSIQ3wnuNw5eswL5tF4qckq-DZiMd1JamUEiU" target="_blank">worldometer</a></b> states there are currently 4,164,065 registered covid deaths, on a world population of 7,876,467,571 (7,8 billion), that comes down to a percentage between 0,05% and 0,06%. Around 2,5% of the world population officially caught covid and recovered from it. Perhaps those numbers are not entirely finetuned yet, but the infection percentage in many countries does not surpass 1%. When you look at the infection fatality rate you don't look at your average risk, but the risk of those who actually gotten ill, and those risks are higher (around 1% in my country). But not even those numbers are reliable, because to work out the Infection Fatality Rate, you need two compare the total number of covid cases with the total number of deaths. However, the total number of cases of COVID-19 is not known, partly because not everyone with COVID-19 is tested. The total number of cases is not known, so the IFR cannot be accurately calculated. <br /><br />It is terrible if you are among those cassualties, which percentage-vs-numbers wise does amount to a lot of people all in all. But the flu has similar casualty numbers each normal winter. Of course the flu and covid19 are not the same illnesses and covid is a very serious illness if you get it bad (something I am petrified of ever getting!), but when you look at the group of people who has overall the highest risk of dying of covid, it is the same group of elderly, immunocompromised which is also most at risk during flu outbreaks in the fall and winter. In the Netherlands, an average flu year takes up to 10.000 lives. So far over the past 16 months the Dutch have less than 18.000 officially registered covid deaths. 17.829 currently. Yet for the flu we do not lock down the entire country and economy, but for covid we do. It is of course mostly because covid19 is a novel virus with a dangerous outlook for those who end up hospitalized with it. But lockdowns also became a necessity because there were not enough IC beds. And because the hospitals could not cope during the past covid waves. But 1,5 years have passed by now and yet the number of intensive care beds has not been increased in countries like the Netherlands and France, despite the hospital situation having been the justification for confinement. A confinement which so far has had astronomical (mental) health, psychological, economic and financial repercussions. It may be time to accept that we do what we can within the limits of reasonability.. Horrible individual stories and personal fears to catch covid aside, entire countries cannot be put through lockdown every other month, or for long periods of the year for an illness that does not come close to the plague for instance, which killed anywhere between 75–200 million people in Eurasia and North Africa in the Middle Ages. The Black Death plague killed between 30% to 60% of the European population in a couple of years, between 1347-1351. That is either one-in-three, or two-in-every-three people in Europe... </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXzVFOi2jc-N6erDSslxQjl9fbwf8eA5aVr3PVwCc6JIhEr9YttiK3ZdR_DYSx-tAKcJQ7CKFJMb5cd2E7LadserlXfY4xaElQoZwXBDQwea6Ppmua3vSPBu0mDmO9jCYQJoIXF5dYgjYx/s1600/WhatsApp+Image+2021-01-18+at+22.42.08.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1291" data-original-width="1600" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXzVFOi2jc-N6erDSslxQjl9fbwf8eA5aVr3PVwCc6JIhEr9YttiK3ZdR_DYSx-tAKcJQ7CKFJMb5cd2E7LadserlXfY4xaElQoZwXBDQwea6Ppmua3vSPBu0mDmO9jCYQJoIXF5dYgjYx/w400-h323/WhatsApp+Image+2021-01-18+at+22.42.08.jpeg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I am liberal in the sense that I believe people should decide for themselves if they want to be vaccinated or not, for a virus that over 99% of us recover from by the power of our natural immune system. Of course it is a risk to trust on that, but on the other hand I do understand the 'other side' of the discours. The vaccines are not yet through test phase 3 (so neither got through test phase 4) and are 'emergency approved', which is not the same as having gone through rigorous, decade long testing. They used a new technology for these drugs also, they are not the same as the old and tested traditional vaccines. And <b><a href="https://www.bitchute.com/video/W7Cc46rwQI00/" target="_blank">they can come with signifcant side effects</a></b>; blood clotting issues, immune response issues, neurovascular problems. <b><span style="color: #444444;">M</span></b></span><b><span style="color: #444444;">yocarditis, blindness, Guillain Barre disease, tremors</span></b>.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Recently it was admitted that a small percentage of female users have menstrual disturbances, of which nobody yet knows if there will be long term effects, linked to this. Luckily this only happens to a very small percentage of people, but nevertheless - and just like what applies to the low percentage covid death numbers -; what if it happens to you or your loved ones. And also not unimportant: <b><span style="color: #444444;">many of these are </span></b></span><b><span style="color: #444444;">side effects were discovered áfter the vaccines were put on the market</span></b>. Because they are only allowed as 'emergency' treatment, and they are still stuck in phase 3 testing (of which the end is currently planned for 2022/2023). It is a dazzling demonstration, in that respect, that these products have not undergone all the rigorous testing they should have, and that no one can say with certainty if there will be long term unwanted side-effects or not. Because this wasn't tested. Just like it has come as a bit of a surprise that the effectivity of the vaccines is dropping significantly after the six month mark (just like we were surprised by the high transmission of the virus between vaccinated people and their high viral load when infected). <b><span style="color: #444444;">Just like we had to find out áfter the global launch of these vaccines, that the vaccine and the spike proteins do <i>not</i> in fact stay isolated in the arm muscle, as intended, but travel throughout the body in over 75% of patients.</span></b> The effects of this are not known, because not researched yet. Who knows if this is the cause of blood clots (not registered as an official vaccine side-effect, 1,5 years after they were launched). Blood clots can lead to thrombosis, embolisms, heart damage and failures, strokes, you name it. There are more and more specialists showing concern about the vaccines possible ability to reactivate cancers., for instance (still unproven though), as well long covid now being blamed on the vaccine <b><span style="color: #444444;">reactivating a dormant Epstein-Barr virus</span></b>. Fortunately, for the great majority of people, the body takes care of these clots, but not everyone is so lucky. It looks a lot like Russian roulette. Painful also for victims, is that unless there is an undeniable causability (think of side-effects taking place within 15 minutes after the jab, when the nurse is still around), they will often be waved away as unrelated incidents.. Women who report or complain about menstrual issues after vaccination, are either told it is most likely unrelated, or unimportant. A return of the good old hysteria of women. So while I have been vaccinated for all the regular diseases as a kid, <span style="font-family: inherit;">I do understand the fear for not only covid, but also for these potential side-effects. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">And there is a lot of interesting stuff out there by scientists risking their careers over being critical of these vaccines. Some will talk nonsense, others are interesting to at least listen to. But I am honestly tired and too tired in fact, to deal with the constant allegations of being a 'conspiracy theorist', a 'wappie' as we call them in the Netherlands, simply by looking closer into the way these vaccines work, and wanting to highlight the minority, who have fallen ill or worse from the vaccines. That is constantly overlooked or ignored, which feels unfair to me. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxc4-QrNXh3wmSh4jADcx76oogV36FJYkryL8iFpCm12DvzBYYAos_AhypcFKBKcKaBjPJx7oq6uhIEt9nrKIgPP6_Whw-22gBaQ8Y-E9xC3HnizkS-m05JvrufO5pudJSbHhpHx0ErNx/s500/10f25e3a96dd71c4194c9cb734f7cef9.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="392" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxc4-QrNXh3wmSh4jADcx76oogV36FJYkryL8iFpCm12DvzBYYAos_AhypcFKBKcKaBjPJx7oq6uhIEt9nrKIgPP6_Whw-22gBaQ8Y-E9xC3HnizkS-m05JvrufO5pudJSbHhpHx0ErNx/s320/10f25e3a96dd71c4194c9cb734f7cef9.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Everyone knows by now that these are not vaccines in the traditional sense, infecting you with a weakened viral part, allowing your natural immune system to get accustomed to it. Now the mRNA provide your immune system with the genetic code to make it produce the characteristic spike proteins of the coronavirus itself. Your immune system recognizes it, builds up memory for this specific spike protein and when the real virus hits you, the immune system quickly gets to work. Problems that are encountered with these new type of vaccines, are for instance that the expectations were that the content of the injection and thus the genetic code, would remain in the arm muscle. But <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA8qMb33Zyo" target="_blank">research has now shown </a></b>that this only happens in roughly 25% of those vaccinated. The rest have the vaccine seep into the lymph nodes and blood stream, circulating further through the body. In some organs it accumulates (for instance in the ovaries). This is all supposed to be temporary and should not be a problem. But some scientists have been stating for some time now that the amount of vaccinated people who deal with subsequent blood clot problems (all the way to strokes and heart attacks) is directly linked to these spike proteins, which are now produced by the body itself, coming into the blood vessel walls. The natural immune system wants to destroy them and spike proteins obstructing the normal smooth blood vessel walls can cause blood clots. </span>Some are so tiny that they need to be detected with a D-dimer test instead of CT scans. This D-dimer test is specifically designed to detect recent blood clots and one scientist (among whom the now attacked Dr Charles Hoffe) showed that two out of every three people he tested who had taken the vaccines, he saw capillary-level blood clots scattered through their capillary network. This in itself can sometimes cause pulmonary arterial hypertension. Of course, millions of people worldwide had no such problems. But it is nevertheless important to carefully observe any symptoms you may (but most likely won't) experience in the weeks after both vaccine injections. <i>There is a middle ground here. Between universal vax and no vax. That is where I reside. Intelligent, strategic deployment of vaccines to high risk, coupled with early (imperfect, but still statistically effective) pharmaceutical intervention.</i><b style="color: #444444;"> </b>Personally, if you want to get vaccinated, I would keep an eye out for upcoming traditional vaccines that will be on the market soon, Novavax or Sanofi. They don't inject a new genetic code. <p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOCjDNX6799XUWFAq84b3XCqUJS8i6O2S71pTWZ_5uSPUIJu6PiVt_PdBenqeAvnO-4qUWvC0BGNI9dZ9IVfrRH_Xa-XL22H8dngT9r3p6YMToHeLCj20WppH0OJ_4oSX8yePBJ3dCFY4N/s2592/DSC03548.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOCjDNX6799XUWFAq84b3XCqUJS8i6O2S71pTWZ_5uSPUIJu6PiVt_PdBenqeAvnO-4qUWvC0BGNI9dZ9IVfrRH_Xa-XL22H8dngT9r3p6YMToHeLCj20WppH0OJ_4oSX8yePBJ3dCFY4N/s320/DSC03548.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPxR_wY7DXEt6lSA9FWD_4zIDGK2BR5CBHbxcHErUmoYDd_ZxIgwvnO5noaLWhUTQ96mRf_o_o1Wa4uPpSAZiv81SH_HHCMRb1LA8SFLmRAWEUt3vnRkm0rfCjWIVO_tkMYki0sJyArme/s1948/red2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1948" data-original-width="1902" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPxR_wY7DXEt6lSA9FWD_4zIDGK2BR5CBHbxcHErUmoYDd_ZxIgwvnO5noaLWhUTQ96mRf_o_o1Wa4uPpSAZiv81SH_HHCMRb1LA8SFLmRAWEUt3vnRkm0rfCjWIVO_tkMYki0sJyArme/w320-h328/red2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><b>So serious as this health crisis still is, I am opposed to the new health pass</b></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><b> restrictions in several countries, most notably in</b></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"> France</span></b>,</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> where </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">president Macron has gone a bit overboard with his covid rules (in my opinion). Macron wants all of France vaccinated and has introduced a 'pass sanitaire' (a health pass) for basically every outside activity, short of going to the supermarket. Either you show your pass sanitaire with a QR code that you have been doubly vaccinated, or you need to show a recent negative covid test costing €50 a test now for foreigners (and soon also for the natives). That is a lot of money, to be able to drink a cup of coffee on a terrace outside. Frankly: dystopian situations for a virus. But most French shrug their shoulders and mumble 'just get vaccinated then'. Can you imagine a surprise police check in a restaurant? As in the days of the militia. </span><i style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Ausweiss, schnell, schnell. </b></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is not for restaurateurs to control the private papers of their customers. They don't even have the right to ask for identity papers for identification. The state better put a policeman at the door of every restaurant or bar and organize their checks themselves. There were massive protests in all major cities last Saturday and more to come. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">But according to surveys conducted by the pro-government main media stations, the majority of people there simply support the pass sanitaire, and in effect that 1/3rd of the population will be structurally discriminated against. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">France is the only country in the world to impose this rigorous a health pass at the moment, needed to take the train, go to the cinema, to the hospital, the mall, a restaurant, museum or simply to sit outside on a pub terrace. Even China has banned governors from taking these kinds of draconian measures. Yes, it is too liberticidal even for the Chinese! </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not only can the holy QR code that allows entrance technically be that of your lookalike friend or sibling, as the staff aren't allowed to ask for ID, they will also certainly not be too zealous to find out if that QR code is really yours, as they simply want customers. Macron is not even able to enforce the basics of the highway code for kids on scooters, yet some people imagine that he will be able to terrorize every peaceful customer on the terrace or in a bar. But it is about the principle of course, it's medical Apartheid in the eyes of quite a few people. France also makes it mandatory for people in certain professions to get vaccinated. If you are a nurse, or work in a pensioner's home, or take care of people in any other way, you risk not getting paid for your work, or being suspended</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> if you don't get vaccinated before mid-September. That to me seems to cross the general European agreement that these vaccinations will not become mandatory. The French government will say however that they are exploring the <i>boundaries </i>of these agreements... People like Macron are dividing the population into 2/3 of socitety which can do things again as normal, and 1/3 which is excluded. These do not only consist of straight out jab refusers. They also include people who have medical reasons/advise not to get vaccinated. But for this small group there is literally no attention. Nothing, they are not mentioned by politicians, there are no exception rules for them. People like us have sat at home for a year, give or take, to help the hospitals cope, to help protect the old and weakest of society. But now we are treated like lepers by some people. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Banned from everyday normal life enjoyment, unless you pay €50 every other day and travel back and forth to get tested every other day. Who can afford that sort of expense? </span> </p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">Health is also "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and is not only the absence of disease or infirmity." (WHO)</span></i></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEp8_7zrX34JSFYkvrSMxcuHEmTNDQxsJu0N4n_nuoW8yYxqEvZCXNzE_mAt4MTthcpk81h1Y4QlXZWiU4HI3IGoRy9g0lvecAJbXznNfSCkfFLdpybMkdnPLzPsMxbznCrXzzTjm3DpVG/s1600/WhatsApp+Image+2021-01-18+at+22.41.59.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1257" data-original-width="1600" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEp8_7zrX34JSFYkvrSMxcuHEmTNDQxsJu0N4n_nuoW8yYxqEvZCXNzE_mAt4MTthcpk81h1Y4QlXZWiU4HI3IGoRy9g0lvecAJbXznNfSCkfFLdpybMkdnPLzPsMxbznCrXzzTjm3DpVG/w400-h314/WhatsApp+Image+2021-01-18+at+22.41.59.jpeg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">By now, cinemas have grabbed and argued the freedom to allow less than 50 people (so make that 49) to watch a movie without the need to show the health pas. This is because Macron and aides had uttered on TV that as a general rule, groups over 50 had to be subject to the health pass. So now they have to stick to their word and allow fast-thinking cinema owners to allow only 49 people into every cinema hall. Give it some time before owners of swimming pools, restaurants and terraces will start seeking the same exemption if they stick to 49 customer max. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">What a cacophony. What a delirium. And what's more: Macron appeared on live TV to announce the new rules while the national senate still had to approve these plans. France has a president who unilaterally announces televised bans, while they have neither been discussed nor voted for in the National Assembly, nor in the Senate. They have not even been targeted by the Constitutional Council. Isn't this the wrong order of things? Is this still the democratic way? Macron perhaps announced these new rules prematurely, to already reign over the millions of people who freaked out right after the airing and booked themselves a vaccination appointment. Three million of them, according to the government. This health pass could well be an announced economic, (mental) health and social disaster. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Because a lot of French are exasperated. New rules every bloody month. New restrictions, one step forward, one step back. Then one step sideways. It's like Macron is giving tango lessons. His government does not know where it is going. Is it looking for the revolution? That country is completely divided right now (even though the vaccinated people are the majority) and the government helps to create a polarized society, where one group of people have much more rights than others. And several other European countries watch and learn. When the virus was roaming free last year, everyone, also the healthy and the young and the strong, had to be confined to their houses to protect the weak. And now you have a group of people who cannot or will not get vaccinated, and they are excluded from society. One moment we all clap for the doctors and nurses, the next they are attacked for not wanting to get vaccinated and they should all be fired, according to the man in the street. From hero to villain, from professional to quack in 90 seconds. Even people who are pro-vaccination but against mandatory vaccinations are... branded an 'anti-vaxxer'. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">But it's all ideal for politicians is when the citizens don't attack their policies and tango-like measurements, but instead attack each other. </span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoQDla8TcmKEJb0SpA5b93ZGI_mb4fn35rXDv0_uubdYQXKW8rZvGj13qU4_l1FGmk7Um_R1z0HVwvaip8a2Bw2XxxJ94OcJVGtkQqlbUCXdZy8qjQ3PE3M0XC5KApUFfIyJmzDiZSBDy/s1334/10.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoQDla8TcmKEJb0SpA5b93ZGI_mb4fn35rXDv0_uubdYQXKW8rZvGj13qU4_l1FGmk7Um_R1z0HVwvaip8a2Bw2XxxJ94OcJVGtkQqlbUCXdZy8qjQ3PE3M0XC5KApUFfIyJmzDiZSBDy/w241-h428/10.jpg" width="241" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyAOL7FgAHHSgM7WRYTFBejUW0FIuBWgutrs8sIstRkbPLnHK-zikkO8Y1iSIk9rhENTwOYOP0Vak7hWHpUj6tnZteAA4eAn6D0o6dGfrqOJMp1MMRBVqjjb2prtNFFt5IPahe0t7x7SGB/s811/1779r3xn2ee71.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="811" data-original-width="640" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyAOL7FgAHHSgM7WRYTFBejUW0FIuBWgutrs8sIstRkbPLnHK-zikkO8Y1iSIk9rhENTwOYOP0Vak7hWHpUj6tnZteAA4eAn6D0o6dGfrqOJMp1MMRBVqjjb2prtNFFt5IPahe0t7x7SGB/w241-h306/1779r3xn2ee71.jpg" width="241" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">What is important in this regard, is that even on a scientific level, this new ruling makes no sense</span></b>. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Because it's already mainstream news by now that yes, <i>vaccinated people still catch covid and pass it on.</i> They in fact by now make up the majority of covid cases in some European countries (a</span>t Leiden University Medical Center 85% of all currently confirmed positive employees have been fully vaccinated<span style="font-family: inherit;">) and in a country like <b><a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/08/grim-warning-israel-vaccination-blunts-does-not-defeat-delta" target="_blank">Israel</a></b> for instance. Israel's health ministry has now released figures showing that Pfizer and BioNtech's vaccine will now only protect 39% against infection. The United States again recommends the wearing of the mask indoors for the vaccinated. People may be vaccinated and have less chance to end up in hospital, but they still are infectious and have very <b><a href="https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/virologen-slaan-alarm-deltavariant-verspreidt-zich-ook-via-gevaccineerden~b800c3e1/?fbclid=IwAR2lSACj1mMq3Zx_IbOGHFOXsIzTkdLhxpAkwo-lGHpOWpCjwZ8YGqCHViI" target="_blank">high viral load</a></b> when they have covid and are in the contagious phase. </span>Dr Fauci officially stated the other day: <i>“When you look at the level of viral load in the nasopharynx of a vaccinated person who contracts the Delta variant, it is exactly the same level of viral load as in an unvaccinated person who is infected.” </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, despite the initial promise that vaccination would protect up to 95% against catching covid and would make vaccinated people unable to transmit covid, to pass it on; it has now become clear that this is not the reality. </span>Now CNN is already <b><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/30/health/vaccination-alone-variants-study/index.html?utm_source=twCNN&utm_term=link&utm_medium=social&utm_content=2021-07-30T13%3A00%3A11?adobe_mc=TS%3D1627655661%7CMCMID%3D50418400330673220198432243877372405596%7CMCAID%3D2F9DE44805159600-60000911DBC6B004%7CMCORGID%3D7FF852E2556756057F000101%40AdobeOrg" target="_blank">saying</a></b> "vaccination creates new variants" and we need more lockdowns and masks instead: <i>"Vaccination alone won't stop the rise of new variants and in fact could push the evolution of strains that evade their protection, researchers warned Friday." </i>And the Washington Post published data from scientific studies, confirmed by the CDC, the main health agency in the United States, stating that infected people seem to transmit covid19 as much as unvaccinated people. The CDC had said earlier this year that fully vaccinated people are very safe from infection and can take off their masks in most situations. But by now, it says even fully vaccinated people can catch the virus and if they catch the Delta variant, they are just as likely to infect someone else as an unvaccinated person would be. The CDC now advises everyone in areas of high or sustained virus transmission to wear masks when around others, also vaccinated people.<b><span style="color: #444444;"> If vaccinated people are as contaminative as non-vaccinated people, why separate and divide the two groups, as the health pass intends? </span></b><span><b><span style="color: #444444;">This new data in itself should completely invalidate</span></b></span><span><b><span style="color: #444444;"> the relevance of the health pass. </span></b>Oh no, that law is mainly installed to blackmail people into getting vaccinated above all and to heavily restrict their everyday life if they do not comply. </span><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /><br /></span></b></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHgmtLcjK3__bAirXvEdwbTCchWutF0V5ouY20vmHsUqKkeMAKGJvoX-ThAc2VgpuPIzNwRjsgk2ZNqdyhUMaFRQKY5D5v6VzAMD4s5YhybGkNDW2HJfwHnQfKBRAIhwTfGYrf1WBUMRt/s676/9zlclpeffde71.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="640" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHgmtLcjK3__bAirXvEdwbTCchWutF0V5ouY20vmHsUqKkeMAKGJvoX-ThAc2VgpuPIzNwRjsgk2ZNqdyhUMaFRQKY5D5v6VzAMD4s5YhybGkNDW2HJfwHnQfKBRAIhwTfGYrf1WBUMRt/w317-h335/9zlclpeffde71.jpg" width="317" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another new risks could be that vaccinated people can believe that they are 'safe' and meanwhile infect others without realizing it. In France and many other countries, there are no more requirements to be tested for the vaccinated and when they have a mild case of covid, they may not even realize that they are positive. Welcome to Absurdiland. </span>Where politicians are allowing doubly vaccinated people (despite them being as contageous as the non-vaccinated people if they have covid and despite them ending up in hospital just as much already in several countries) to get in and out of planes, trains, into pubs and restaurants without a single test.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Where people who already had covid and who already developed strong, long immunity do </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">not</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> get a health pass, but doubly vaccinated people who often do not develop equally strong and long-lived antibodies and who can contaminate and be contaminated, they can go everywhere without testing.. T</span>he Israeli Ministry of Health for instance announced that Pfizer is 97% effective 15 days after the 2nd injection, but that this number drops to 64% already after six months. And the latest estimation of Israel, today on the radio, is that Pfizer is only 39% effective overall. The vaccine does not stop a person from getting the virus. It lessens the symptoms. Making it actually harder to spot the ill and prevent them from contaminating others. <span style="font-family: inherit;">There is even talk ánd scientific research backing up the risk of </span><i style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7092860/" target="_blank">Antibody dependent enhancement</a></b></i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> for those vaccinated. <b><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-020-00789-5" target="_blank">Nature also published</a></b> about this 'ADE' phenomenon more recently, in relation to both SARS-CoV-2 and the covid vaccines. The vaccine produces specific antibodies whereas your own immune system provides a <b><a href="https://thefederalist.com/2021/08/05/study-finds-greater-antibody-response-in-recovered-covid-19-patients-than-vaccinated-ones/" target="_blank">broad immune response</a></b>. With new variants there may come a need in the future for more vaccine boosters. And the return of testing and showing test results, also for the vaccinated. The Washington Post also wrote that the new data shows that the vaccine will not provide herd immunity and that it is especially important to vaccinate those at risk. <b><a href="https://swprs.org/covid-vaccines-and-cancer/" target="_blank">Here</a></b> more issues are described. <br /><br /></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm22rWGToNFG_JywWDsg4RvZ2jaC1LaQLgwr2G8ogZzsrd18XZgJc3mE-BaJJflssYpDKkgeM1_WJznKw48_qfortRSc7vvmRwnCa69zS3UPuGUVpuFF2W0MM4fP6S5IFF0CVTqTlTIteG/s707/E8homiiWUAATETu.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="707" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm22rWGToNFG_JywWDsg4RvZ2jaC1LaQLgwr2G8ogZzsrd18XZgJc3mE-BaJJflssYpDKkgeM1_WJznKw48_qfortRSc7vvmRwnCa69zS3UPuGUVpuFF2W0MM4fP6S5IFF0CVTqTlTIteG/s320/E8homiiWUAATETu.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43FR_hlDo0bSsq4yjrNGnScrkokecCU1-HbtEp1W-_sHdxV-vDPnD14IFezhZOi2kIOUP9Wn3qhrWO07suF7fEXHs2srOiRXjMUUYcTCV9QbK1MWcF9DBig1VNgoOyp_2_6FrMXqVU0De/s1077/E8hwa7LWUAUTOZh.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="1077" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43FR_hlDo0bSsq4yjrNGnScrkokecCU1-HbtEp1W-_sHdxV-vDPnD14IFezhZOi2kIOUP9Wn3qhrWO07suF7fEXHs2srOiRXjMUUYcTCV9QbK1MWcF9DBig1VNgoOyp_2_6FrMXqVU0De/s320/E8hwa7LWUAUTOZh.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">And will governments push for extensions or continuation of these health passes beyond 'a state of emergency'? </span></b>Are these passes even still about covid, knowing that the vaccinated are not 'safe' at all in terms of getting covid andpassing it on, or is it just a pretext to push us in the Free World towards China's social credit system, to name something extreme here? As you can probably tell, I think all people should just get a test done (free of charge) and show it before going to events with larger groups of people. Or develop more effective self-tests and provide them to the people. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unprecedented times. What was unthinkable a year ago is becoming mainstream reality: containment, curfews, masks, mandatory vaccines, health passes for access to basic places. When people are scattered around in the open air, it may all be a bit too strict now. T</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">he superb clean orders of the prefects in France were: </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">there is a mask obligation outside in the open air in the countryside, within a space of 100 ha for 20 onlookers, because there are 2 people in intensive care throughout the department. </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">That is getting ridiculous. Most people take the vaccination to just protect themselves and in their conviction others as well. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Some people take the vaccination because they are scared of the government, not of Corona. Afraid not to be able to go on holiday, or be allowed to shop. '</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is because I fear what the government will do to me or prevent me from doing.'</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">And that is fine, that is also freedom. But that freedom should work both ways. Taking a vaccine should be a personal choice, just as accepting the consequences and risks of not doing so. Not saying that there should be no pressure to get vaccinated. But this is a very specific situation, which cannot be compared really to the polio situation many decades ago here in Europe. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The proportions of this pass and all it entails are disproportionate. It is rough but there is something to say for building up herd immunity among the young(er) and healthy population. Instead of locking everyone (or by now the unlucky and disobedient 33%) in their houses again, for the Xth time and paralyzing society again and again. And with the knowledge now that vaccination does not provide the golden way out; why are politicians so dead-set to have 100% of the population vaccinated anyway? And are we ever going to get rid of these 'emergency state' health and ID checks? Or will they come here to stay? No certainties there either. They are massive impediments of our freedom of movement and identity privacy. Perhaps there are still </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">millions of doses of vaccines waiting which were bought in bulk. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Governing through fear, division and discrimination is not the way. Not even during a coronavirus wave. Because let's face it: a year ago no one would have accepted these types of laws. And how is the situation more serious now than last year, now that the majority of people here in Europe and those at risk are vaccinated?</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> If you believe in the vaccine, then there is no need to take these disproportionate and demagogic measures and if you are vaccinated and believe you are immune now, you don't have to fear the unvaccinated</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">; These type of passes and rights to fire people over vaccinations has no place in a free world. In this case it is politically used, giving a carrot to those who only got vaccinated to gain access to certain places. The establishment of a segregationist system that macronists so desire is another. Kafkaesque situations tend to end badly.<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigpnnPRrcwAQ6nMQ01JHMLkBf-xGVxP0WSSh50U3bKE8IDjXTquh19vjQ_AIcVTjQ66kkDqOtSHQmPdzpBDrPDQf6BCDG2bjnqHU8ink4he5i-odFishv-YcliCtV5NBaOyAST99XKGZSe/s667/242080555_539020877396472_5452827186618718469_n.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="667" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigpnnPRrcwAQ6nMQ01JHMLkBf-xGVxP0WSSh50U3bKE8IDjXTquh19vjQ_AIcVTjQ66kkDqOtSHQmPdzpBDrPDQf6BCDG2bjnqHU8ink4he5i-odFishv-YcliCtV5NBaOyAST99XKGZSe/s320/242080555_539020877396472_5452827186618718469_n.png" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7P6bRCoeQdtz4AFosHrZWb3YBKC45GQMlZjUFwDg1pc9WzMZXVa6yFzMCF-xQ3A-7Q5eCgqK5ggtsg907xrG9MbhKT0SnPKb3kQhXA9YYT6b1yRUJej8gtheAAldwlAZndlHMcCQYlkQPWP5G9NsSUh7wJ8smhKQGb4yTr2jejXqxQp9aSfv83bSuBw=s1029" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1029" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7P6bRCoeQdtz4AFosHrZWb3YBKC45GQMlZjUFwDg1pc9WzMZXVa6yFzMCF-xQ3A-7Q5eCgqK5ggtsg907xrG9MbhKT0SnPKb3kQhXA9YYT6b1yRUJej8gtheAAldwlAZndlHMcCQYlkQPWP5G9NsSUh7wJ8smhKQGb4yTr2jejXqxQp9aSfv83bSuBw=s320" width="320" /></a><span><span style="color: #660000;"><b>Among French 20-30 year olds, there is now a desire reported to get the health pass without being vaccinated (of which they are weary), by looking to be infected with covid, on purpose. </b></span></span>See the Figaro <b><a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/ces-jeunes-francais-qui-veulent-attraper-le-covid-pour-eviter-la-vaccination-20210728" target="_blank">news article</a></b> about this. So that they get the green QR code, in this case a Certificate of Recovery from Covid-19, the moment they have recovered and can show it with a negative test result. Settled for at least 6 months then, with the desirable green access code for pubs, restaurants and everything else that makes life interesting again. They rather catch the virus than that they get the vaccination with what some believe experimental new genetic coding. They fear potential long term side effects we may not yet be aware of. A small percentage of younger people have also suffered from serious side effects and sudden death after being vaccinated, and the fact that these stories are pushed out of mainstream media, makes some people weary. I guess that is the risk when putting the knife on people's throats and pushing, pushing, pushing, taking all their normal life activities away from them unless...unless! Meanwhile in the Netherlands there is no threatening at all, no different laws for the subhumans who do not want to be vaccinated and voila, we have over 80% of people vaccinated. The government actually contemplates the effects of threatening people or cutting them off in ways, stating that that in itself would push more people <i>away</i> from vaccinations, as they do not like to be told by the government what to do. Here you hear a health official ignoring the reasonable question why last year, with nobody vaccinated, the covid numbers were better in every respect than this summer, with at least 56% of the population vaccinated (spoiler; he won't answer that question directly): </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwKQ6LZ-N1BBMFbbDpn_l8wWqQ7lXTraAdYK4P0Cej7wcGN-zjG34Rma-sWLnFoVRsApTTZNCclmbYzHXlIlA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZEvUinEtaVmsyiUhBQ1QlVepYEOw_QbDRLeJflkR_GqQfftakleQ59IUuKlhNn5hJyqC4QwJ9VHILwbxQy8-w2o38SebQBczCFlBMUORyZGiwyKCz4jd_G0Ts-KnP4UGeI04JIe5oL9pl/s1137/215914799_1377929132577818_1266905463090326249_n.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1137" data-original-width="1072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZEvUinEtaVmsyiUhBQ1QlVepYEOw_QbDRLeJflkR_GqQfftakleQ59IUuKlhNn5hJyqC4QwJ9VHILwbxQy8-w2o38SebQBczCFlBMUORyZGiwyKCz4jd_G0Ts-KnP4UGeI04JIe5oL9pl/s320/215914799_1377929132577818_1266905463090326249_n.png" /></a><b><span style="color: #660000;">For those interested in this topic, here are some links </span></b>I found interesting. But keep in mind that this is the 'anti' argumentation. We all know the pro story, as that is the mainstream story:<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4zIpgXgLp8<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyPjAfNNA-U<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbWJ4xIPAkA<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJZxiNxYLpc<br /><a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/mounting-evidence-suggests-many-covid-19-long-haulers-are-co-infected-with-epstein-barr">https://www.sciencealert.com/mounting-evidence-suggests-many-covid-19-long-haulers-are-co-infected-with-epstein-barr</a><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">Skin wise my face is back to normal now, but when it was very hot and humid and I had to wear the facemask all the time when outside, I did develop some nasty rashes. </span></b>I am not sure if it was acne or just my usual allergy-prone skin breaking out. I get cold urticaria in winter from cold air. And lately I seem to get heat rash, basically, from hot and humid weather. Mine stays for a week easily (only on my face where rosacea kind of ruined my normal skin barrier), and it is not the type that goes away within a day. I will see my dermatologist next week and will ask about it. I put some zinc ointment on the spots and that seems to eventually make them go away, although I am honestly not sure if they speed up the natural healing process, yes or no. They kind of cover the redness up though :) During and after rashes went away again. I try to stay cool, as usual. Fans on, air-conditioning on. No overheating with many blankets when sleeping. Still taking all my anti-flushing medication (clonidine, propranolol, mirtazapine and xyzal). It has been a very depressing year to be honest. I mainly get through it by staying busy, staying in touch with friends and family and trying to enjoy small things like cooking, movies, music. The generic stuff, basically. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-91PFZisU_PSiNkEpo-RusMlkMvCXPDH97-c2Pr8ZZ5a9sLgpcAxc2kL0X4uqzMsfhyphenhyphentrORxz5kx16ljVMlagNeX8EYCHlnBuIaxvn6_T5aIRPJZwHcwjZknCo-yjB49xzPEGWKVsJeAR/s669/IMG_20210621_000608.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="549" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-91PFZisU_PSiNkEpo-RusMlkMvCXPDH97-c2Pr8ZZ5a9sLgpcAxc2kL0X4uqzMsfhyphenhyphentrORxz5kx16ljVMlagNeX8EYCHlnBuIaxvn6_T5aIRPJZwHcwjZknCo-yjB49xzPEGWKVsJeAR/w167-h203/IMG_20210621_000608.jpg" width="167" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVpLzXe-Y_hDo6TvYkwSczjwXumjEvjIQKPjRnT9PDz0gyRG2pD_-FAHPMs61NRVRHH0koBSsF2hX2pezlHFLtQuwnSX44mBYRTswzCETD6FUN642FUfrbmNiXKa4AdBq6hBJ38dbHZhL/s271/IMG_20210612_162244.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="271" data-original-width="203" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVpLzXe-Y_hDo6TvYkwSczjwXumjEvjIQKPjRnT9PDz0gyRG2pD_-FAHPMs61NRVRHH0koBSsF2hX2pezlHFLtQuwnSX44mBYRTswzCETD6FUN642FUfrbmNiXKa4AdBq6hBJ38dbHZhL/w153-h204/IMG_20210612_162244.jpg" width="153" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNoAuk2GZZ_idLNAXWhzmrEvRzer-tcJQR5fLNnVpRTOZGTUc2dYNUgs6KSQhtl5TUqJav6gP3nydFOeRmXVMEzZ8eNSBoyuZXpC9jB80RmDLnMA69dx-bcEwp1fuP0TCL4O-KdHu921ro/s162/z1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="162" data-original-width="130" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNoAuk2GZZ_idLNAXWhzmrEvRzer-tcJQR5fLNnVpRTOZGTUc2dYNUgs6KSQhtl5TUqJav6gP3nydFOeRmXVMEzZ8eNSBoyuZXpC9jB80RmDLnMA69dx-bcEwp1fuP0TCL4O-KdHu921ro/w179-h223/z1.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGce1eEE7Hw3bR_Rg-dDsB308KBGuzUX46Zu6_eKs0uC4r8rf4jnl1m5QgBrcgm4QdETEtZOvI_sVbKcvkq6cvgz39RFFDVf9x5VhHhtRwvQxzErIrFZKMIJVqPOb0p4kB5HJEif1dLWdM/s153/z2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="153" data-original-width="95" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGce1eEE7Hw3bR_Rg-dDsB308KBGuzUX46Zu6_eKs0uC4r8rf4jnl1m5QgBrcgm4QdETEtZOvI_sVbKcvkq6cvgz39RFFDVf9x5VhHhtRwvQxzErIrFZKMIJVqPOb0p4kB5HJEif1dLWdM/w139-h224/z2.jpg" width="139" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxnrSfc-jae5S0dt_I9xv3JdTezWsF3xeR3IEKKbAZN7BS2Pfg3RCYR7bx6jdm6P70lySP7bglOvMvyjjOodDve_-0i_Ks9mTc3VRCVlPxuODkiKJLkyxANThTVUKlax1-HqaQnPsH6-Y/s969/z5.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="969" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxnrSfc-jae5S0dt_I9xv3JdTezWsF3xeR3IEKKbAZN7BS2Pfg3RCYR7bx6jdm6P70lySP7bglOvMvyjjOodDve_-0i_Ks9mTc3VRCVlPxuODkiKJLkyxANThTVUKlax1-HqaQnPsH6-Y/s320/z5.jpg" width="320" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">March 24th</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2021</span></span></b><br /><br />It has been a dreary winter here, cold, miserable, locked in. I have had worse cold urticaria than ever. Last week it was suddenly cold again, although already spring and after a spell of more moderate weather. My face lit up once more and developed all these small swollen hives again, hot burning and itchy. I have now started a course of Singulair, some sort of mast cell inhibitor. I had it prescribed by an internist doctor in hospital already back in 2019 but I had only half-heartedly tried it for my face flushing. But now I am giving it a good go and so far the hives are disappearing and the flushing hasn't gotten worse either. I hope that with the spring pollen in the air, it will help curb those horrible allergy-fueled flare-ups I often get in spring. The past months had been red skin and flushing every evening. I already take a 4 double dose of Xyzal antihistamine daily, for years. Misery. (Photos first with a filter then without on a very pale skin moment, rest of the day I am pink as usual). Hopefully some warmer weather is ahead. But this is a newer development I feel with my skin. I always had relief from my rosacea with cold packs and cold air. But now when temperatures come under.. well say 8 degrees, and I have my ventilator on, aimed at my face.. I seem to get this skin reaction nowadays with the cold urticaria. Only on my face though. It must be linked to the fan use and the shitty skin barrier function. <br /></div><div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLeFvNVciBAwTWvUSGaUh-mDXDVcrqS0GVjgBrBtGScfFn2dUzqdfinEqgYqAB-fe1EifjY97_0b0CJOoHTpo6ZZsD8tcKblMl3KZrLqgoleBI7FhYcH0Xu4ibm8ccciiZTlCGe_KkmNQ/s957/z100.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="957" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLeFvNVciBAwTWvUSGaUh-mDXDVcrqS0GVjgBrBtGScfFn2dUzqdfinEqgYqAB-fe1EifjY97_0b0CJOoHTpo6ZZsD8tcKblMl3KZrLqgoleBI7FhYcH0Xu4ibm8ccciiZTlCGe_KkmNQ/s320/z100.jpg" width="320" /></a><div>Covid wise I wonder if in a way, the restricted lifestyle has probably come more easy to u all? I can only speak for myself of course, but I know from a few other people with rosacea that they all also live a more restricted homely lifestyle, mostly to avoid skin flaring and burning. So notwithstanding the general mood of grump, worry and despair, it has been mostly business as usual for us, despite the misery on tv. I do look for the boundaries I noticed. In terms of going out, shopping, traveling. As long as it isn't downright banned, I keep doing it, in order to make this year+ long covid restriction period less difficult. The mask wearing gives me a bit of skin irritation where the edges meet the skin for a long time and start to rub, but I have sown my own soft cloth around these edges of my N95 masks and in a way I love wearing them tbh, as a mask covers my rosacea redness completely now. Even when flushed I no longer feel self conscious about shopping at the farmers market now, for instance. Am also very careful with it all. I am not really in the high risk group and also have never had a positive covid test yet. But overall, hospitalization would be a rosacea hell for all of us I reckon. It is always warm inside hospitals, not getting enough air is a nightmare of course already. They work with corticosteroids to treat matters (contraindicated for certain cases of rosacea). Better try to be safe than sorry. </div></span></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><p></p><p>Politics wise I am still reeling from the madness of cancel culture culture, feelings over facts and more Millennial bullshit. But will keep all that grumping for emails with friends for now, or it will take over from the rosacea topic of this blog.. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="354" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wdxQnOgtzBI" width="426" youtube-src-id="wdxQnOgtzBI"></iframe></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqn4TYv9XQ0PX7C634v4_sf1jwfkmZbXU7SqGf53ybtfbWBplISZj0wPG3Z6I_pv0_IQG59011C5QQ2Er8j7HLAWerOrqzdxImwWzYQnU2Y_qhSyPcQpjOQm1iXQFbA_za_H64EZKCgty/s2048/DSC03404.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqn4TYv9XQ0PX7C634v4_sf1jwfkmZbXU7SqGf53ybtfbWBplISZj0wPG3Z6I_pv0_IQG59011C5QQ2Er8j7HLAWerOrqzdxImwWzYQnU2Y_qhSyPcQpjOQm1iXQFbA_za_H64EZKCgty/w300-h400/DSC03404.jpg" width="300" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">January 19th</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2021</span></span></b><br /><br />I am feeling bad about not having updated here for so long. I never like it myself when the handful of people I follow online suddenly stop posting. But in my case there just wasn't much to report on, I felt. I haven't caught covid19 yet, knock on wood. I have been travelling around a little bit, but always wearing a face mask. I have some faith in my strong (or actually too strong an) immune system, but the thought of perhaps having to be treated with a corticosteroid drug is already making me worried when I think about it. This because a steroid cream is what started this whole rosacea nightmare for me, 22 years ago. Somehow I respond very badly to steroids, even steroid nasal inhalers. But I don't try to avoid covid to the point where I would refuse to go out the door to see some friends and family. Or to stop traveling entirely. But now that it is 2021, covid is still among us and vaccinations are around the corner. I asked my immunologist and doctor about whether or not to get vaccinated. They cannot say, of course, if I risk an adverse reaction. Although the immunologist thinks that anything that triggers the immune system in my case is a risk of making matters worse. He diagnosed me with an overactive immune system, which causes all sorts of unwanted inflammation in my body (inflamed skin, inflammatory bowel and joint issues, urticaria etc). I had a hepatitis vaccination before going to Turkey one time (I already had rosacea back then, but it was in remission). It triggered terrible flushing and in the long run triggered the next stage of my rosacea, shooting from remission to moderate. Of course, looking back you never know with 100% certainty if this vaccination was <i>the sole trigger</i>, but it looked like it. So I am still unsure about getting vaccinated or not. I don't want to go back to the severe debilitating non-stop flushing I had before. Chances may be small that a jab would trigger that, but my immunologist advised me against getting pregnant (!) in a sincere and non-pc admission, because he believes it will trigger another immune response and with that more auto-immune conditions in my specific case. I feel that I need to think carefully about this, therefore....</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7LkX6Fu9hDCzIWOIB0nx-uH8v_TCJ9pDf-qrHIQw4OvYQ0tn8T5tSXxbaSnCQVVCYM6oefidIiQFG7ATWHqVlWe1NqG8H6mN2P0qw6od-62y2VYbX0lVCvJOlEvVlGpvSN_i0pcglOOB/s2048/DSC03401.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1579" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7LkX6Fu9hDCzIWOIB0nx-uH8v_TCJ9pDf-qrHIQw4OvYQ0tn8T5tSXxbaSnCQVVCYM6oefidIiQFG7ATWHqVlWe1NqG8H6mN2P0qw6od-62y2VYbX0lVCvJOlEvVlGpvSN_i0pcglOOB/w309-h400/DSC03401.jpg" width="309" /></a>The problem is always that nobody will be able to tell you with certainty how or if you will react badly to something. And once you do, if things will calm down again or not. And if not, it is my own experience that the doctors will for the most part raise their hands in the air and say that they cannot do anything more for you. 'Strange condition', 'unusually strong symptoms', 'never seen such flushing before'. I had an incident back in 2003 with a Dutch ob/gyn who <i>ensured</i> me that the Mirena coil would be no different from the copper coil I wanted to have fitted. "There is so little hormone in a Mirena that it won't even make it to your blood stream. It will all remain locally". Wrong... Had the worst acne and ongoing flushing ever since the Mirena was in. It had to be taken out again and of course the doctor said that she had never seen anything like this before. Was sent home with a burning face, because nobody knew what to do about that. <i>Good luck with it all, we couldn't have known this would happen either</i>. Same thing happened with the disastrous IPL treatment I had with Dr Patterson in the UK. I travelled all the way there for a test-patch, but was sent home with the message that he didn't do test patches and that they weren't necessary either, because he never made anyone worse. Silly young me, I should have stood my ground, but of course I didn't and trusted him and ended up with permanent blood vessel damage all over my face.. It is heartbreaking to be unable to turn back time and undo the treatment. Not to get a second chance, making up for some earlier mistakes or bad decision.. Why is there no general repetition for life, I sometimes wonder? I would most definitely have stayed very clear from IPL a second time around. And steroid creams. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p>I even tried IPL more than once, but for some reason both the strong and mild settings all set me off badly. I sometimes receive uplifting messages from people who found relief and success with IPL or laser, and I thank you for sharing your successes but I honestly can't bring up the power and bravery to start with IPL all over again. Laser may perhaps work better for me, but considering how poor I reacted to IPL and my several test-spot laser trials, I just forget about it now. It's all very sad but I am at the point where I can't risk making matters worse. Even though I would LOVE to make things a bit better. And I also have lost that burning drive of my 20's, where things had to be fixed and they had to be fixed right now! Or else I could not start the rest of my life. That is the thing with ageing, perhaps; you just roll into 'the rest of your life' and you find your own modus operandi, even if that means needing a ventilator often to keep your skin cool. Finding out that there are people who will still be your friend if you show up with a red face. People who will still love you (if you are lucky, I am aware of that) when you need adjustments or don't always look wonderful and normal. But when life still has to start for you, it is very tempting to believe in a big and quick fix. And for a lot of people IPL is just that and very effective. It just comes with it's own set of risks.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7kMlWYUalwCLYYLEZ_S_toSBtD0RGad_nBC-ve1qo2i4PDldJbsbLODYGkpESakK-D1EDXrOa2uNuXoh6ex26me5cez7tn-2H0IJVc6mvcPm4_zaYfxdO_PyFq78eL4ze1IO6pPhkXHtm/s2048/DSC03397.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1521" height="429" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7kMlWYUalwCLYYLEZ_S_toSBtD0RGad_nBC-ve1qo2i4PDldJbsbLODYGkpESakK-D1EDXrOa2uNuXoh6ex26me5cez7tn-2H0IJVc6mvcPm4_zaYfxdO_PyFq78eL4ze1IO6pPhkXHtm/w320-h429/DSC03397.jpg" width="320" /></a>Right now, I have that horrible cold urticaria again, the hives on my cheeks and they make those spots burn and really <b><a href="https://www.medicinenet.com/hives_and_warm_to_touch/multisymptoms.htm" target="_blank">hot to the touch </a> </b>(Any skin condition that causes inflammation of the skin and underlying tissues can leave the skin feeling warm to the touch in the affected area.). It flares up my flushing, unfortunately. These hives things stay for days and days and they get so hot and swollen and itchy from inflammation that they set my whole face alight with flushing and burning. Clearly has a histamine and allergy component to it with me. I already take four times the standard dose of antihistamine pills (Xyzal) but they don't seem to help with this cold urticaria. I seem to do best all round when I keep the temperature around 16 degrees, maybe 17 degrees if I feel particularly chilly. Any warmer and I get flushed and burnt up, any lower than, say, 10 degrees and I get cold urticaria when using the fan. It is worst in winter, I actually only get this when it is very cold outside. So it is difficult now; I need to wrap my face up with a scarf and hat and all that to prevent more cold rash, when I go outside in the snow or the chilly wind. But at the same time I need the cooler air to keep my face from flushing. I still exercise most days, long walks. I am normally ok with exercise in the fall and winter, rosacea wise. I just need to walk relaxed. So no jogging or running because that will dilate my blood vessels in the face too much and set off a flush.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjTEy_sPhw4M3oAZs1v3p_hGzsxDSwWTIY4j7xBOgz4Zq2Oy6P5a-nGPrKMxy3BPX4LNcDH1OspfPBvj2pnitMfHyt0Mxkw5bIJB4IBiux2cEZUcvCBwxgjVF6weFpT6u1z3Ebsu9xJioC/s2048/z2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1844" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjTEy_sPhw4M3oAZs1v3p_hGzsxDSwWTIY4j7xBOgz4Zq2Oy6P5a-nGPrKMxy3BPX4LNcDH1OspfPBvj2pnitMfHyt0Mxkw5bIJB4IBiux2cEZUcvCBwxgjVF6weFpT6u1z3Ebsu9xJioC/s320/z2.jpg" width="320" /></a></p>Covid wise it is all pretty miserable for everyone all over the world, I reckon. So many life restrictions, so many places are in lockdown and so many people are in fear of catching that virus, or in hospital trying to beat it. But then you have the families who are working from home and who are now responsible for their children's school work. Several of my friends have it tough they told me, keeping the kids educated and entertained, while also working themselves from home. There are only so many hours in the day, and aside from being exhausted from it all, everything also suffers in quality. Your work, your kids' school performance, their moods, your mood, your social life, and so on. Then there are the students, who have spent a good part of the year locked up in their university condo's often. Blocked from socializing, blocked from college classes and forced to study online. No wonder 25% of students here say they are depressed. And the old people in their care homes or their own houses, worried the most out of all the people about catching covid. And isolated even more than normally already seems to be the case. It is a lot of uncertainty and stress for everyone. But luckily there are donkeys :) And cats. And books and movies and tv series. I sincerely hope that things are quickly normalized for school going kids and students at the very least. Vaccinate the elderly and the frail and the teachers if they want to and reopen the schools asap. Kids rarely ever get sick from covid and having them cut off from proper education for such a long time by now... it just seems too extreme to me tbh. Especially if their grandparents can choose to see or not to see their grandchildren. Now the entire society is locked down, while the risk group is only a fraction of society. I understand that it all comes down to the hospitals not coping, but locking the entire world up inside and having the economy ruined is certainly not a long term solution either.<p></p><p><b><span style="color: #990000;">In terms of tv series, I am really really enjoying the Netflix series Dark.</span></b> Best see the German version (the original one) with English subs. It is incredible, I am almost done with season 3 now which is the last season. Really intelligently made and enthralling and thought-provoking. I love it, haven't enjoyed a series as much as this one in a long time. The trailer doesn't do it justice really.
<br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="354" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rrwycJ08PSA" width="426" youtube-src-id="rrwycJ08PSA"></iframe><br /><br /></div><p></p></div></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Odz0fmSRT1xuGaNsWe21g1L9nkmWVtMSr3Suh9Wgh2w-m3rRxyrPO9BpzYBoCA6FGHdICGgvk7h7s9iu7x8tUJg8SuvuiMFbkf_aCBnrQAhX2fZZGlk0udw5EbPd3edEeeNTSP8M-jLq/s2592/DSC03403.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="409" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Odz0fmSRT1xuGaNsWe21g1L9nkmWVtMSr3Suh9Wgh2w-m3rRxyrPO9BpzYBoCA6FGHdICGgvk7h7s9iu7x8tUJg8SuvuiMFbkf_aCBnrQAhX2fZZGlk0udw5EbPd3edEeeNTSP8M-jLq/w307-h409/DSC03403.JPG" width="307" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Books wise I am getting through Prousts In Search of Lost Time.</span></b> I listen to the audiobook version. His story and descriptions are incredibly slow and detailed, but by now I can appreciate it, for the most part. I first tried reading it in my early 20s and had to quit... It just seemed to have no real plot and needing a few dozen pages to describe the sensation of waking up...? <i>Next!</i> One segment I read today which really amused me, as it is so correct still for those isolated villages that exist still today, is the following. Proust describes his old aunt, who spends most of her time in bed and who lives for his little tales of his own walks in the afternoon. But she has a clear idea of everyone who lives in that village and get's particularly nervous when she hears about someone walking through the village who is <i>unknown</i> to the protagonist:<br /><br /><i>"At Combray a person whom one 'didn't know at all' was as incredible a being as any mythological deity, and it was apt to be forgotten that after each occasion on which there had appeared in the Rue du Saint-Esprit or in the Square one of these bewildering phenomena, careful and exhaustive researches had invariably reduced the fabulous monster to the proportions of a person whom one 'did know,' either personally or in the abstract, in his or her civil status as being more or less closely related to some family in Combray. It would turn out to be Mme. Sauton's son discharged from the army, or the Abbé Perdreau's niece come home from her convent, or the Curé's brother, a tax-collector at Châteaudun, who had just retired on a pension or had come over to Combray for the holidays. On first noticing them you have been impressed by the thought that there might be in Combray people whom you 'didn't know at all,' simply because, you had failed to recognise or identify them at once. And yet long beforehand Mme. Sauton and the Curé had given warning that they expected their 'strangers.' In the evening, when I came in and went upstairs to tell my aunt the incidents of our walk, if I was rash enough to say to her that we had passed, near the Pont-Vieux, a man whom my grandfather didn't know:<br /></i></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAs48CzgYOwDIA1uALsR1ozZhX9040v1wOPwqaDdbKlw-ymvxKsc3xYuONTIgAXh7ZVwn0jfdP42sj5tGrRRqV2fe_DOzHjIGUgIp-Pd0GqkBvMVoQbNj9eguiT98SCGgOk8nd3oYTQhBj/s2048/DSC03402.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1574" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAs48CzgYOwDIA1uALsR1ozZhX9040v1wOPwqaDdbKlw-ymvxKsc3xYuONTIgAXh7ZVwn0jfdP42sj5tGrRRqV2fe_DOzHjIGUgIp-Pd0GqkBvMVoQbNj9eguiT98SCGgOk8nd3oYTQhBj/w308-h400/DSC03402.jpg" width="308" /></a><i>"A man grandfather didn't know at all!" she would exclaim. "That's a likely story." None the less, she </i><i>would be a little disturbed by the news, she would wish to have the details correctly, and so my grandfather would be summoned. "Who can it have been that you passed near the Pont-Vieux, uncle? A man you didn't know at all?"<br /></i><i>"Why, of course I did," my grandfather would answer; "it was Prosper, Mme. Bouilleboeuf's gardener's brother."<br />"Ah, well!" my aunt would say, calm again but slightly flushed still; "and the boy told me that you had passed a man you didn't know at all!" After which I would be warned to be more careful of what I said, and not to upset my aunt so by thoughtless remarks. Everyone was so well known in Combray, animals as well as people, that if my aunt had happened to see a dog go by which she 'didn't know at all' she would think about it incessantly, devoting to the solution of the incomprehensible problem all her inductive talent and her leisure hours.<br />"That will be Mme. Sazerat's dog," Françoise would suggest, without any real conviction, but in the hope of peace, and so that my aunt should not 'split her head.'<br />"As if I didn't know Mme. Sazerat's dog!"—for my aunt's critical mind would not so easily admit any fresh fact.<br />"Ah, but that will be the new dog M. Galopin has brought her from Lisieux."<br />"Oh, if that's what it is!"<br />"It seems, it's a most engaging animal," Françoise would go on, having got the story from Théodore, "as clever as a Christian, always in a good temper, always friendly, always everything that's nice. It's not often you see an animal so well-behaved at that age. Mme. Octave, it's high time I left you; I can't afford to stay here amusing myself; look, it's nearly ten o'clock and my fire not lighted yet, and I've still to dress the asparagus."<br />"What, Françoise, more asparagus! It's a regular disease of asparagus you have got this year: you will make our Parisians sick of it."<br />"No, no, Madame Octave, they like it well enough. They'll be coming back from church soon as hungry as hunters, and they won't eat it out of the back of their spoons, you'll see."<br />"Church! why, they must be there now; you'd better not lose any time. Go and look after your luncheon.<br /><br /></i></p><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Rosacea, treating it with diet changes. German doctors give advice. Translated by me into English:</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="389" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eOwUeTUbSmw" width="468" youtube-src-id="eOwUeTUbSmw"></iframe></div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPqQw64JRBZg1YypVyti6pvnJmJDDzwJpxxBEAlv1V96SIwFaa8uY2Tb0ZKRGMcR0aZRfkKcJ2XARMIM401A0HHLgq_bBQaJgthSBpLwdAk33_PxP7QEy-GwGFwt4kVDDtZHfePRb00BA0/s641/10156022_10152296983093996_1050276549_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="500" height="517" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPqQw64JRBZg1YypVyti6pvnJmJDDzwJpxxBEAlv1V96SIwFaa8uY2Tb0ZKRGMcR0aZRfkKcJ2XARMIM401A0HHLgq_bBQaJgthSBpLwdAk33_PxP7QEy-GwGFwt4kVDDtZHfePRb00BA0/w402-h517/10156022_10152296983093996_1050276549_n.jpg" width="402" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhxmJN2Ty-C1RNL5m0wbxgHnwsRfjdtUv3S0bNQos_PvNa0KJcwmUNDjdvlBSQNraCH3zMivwlkqZAHUB2t6mug4fDpmDl5Xg9g02C-safEL_vYwf8su8kULFF2lGTC11_fFjuRfT91V-/s1021/5435_17975.png" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="1021" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhxmJN2Ty-C1RNL5m0wbxgHnwsRfjdtUv3S0bNQos_PvNa0KJcwmUNDjdvlBSQNraCH3zMivwlkqZAHUB2t6mug4fDpmDl5Xg9g02C-safEL_vYwf8su8kULFF2lGTC11_fFjuRfT91V-/w403-h179/5435_17975.png" width="403" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSwD2ezfAD-z7UTDWH5_9IpTC1fnpTJc2jBbgLtK2Vh-8n0RbvXSu84f1ccz-GY3ejGp4Z9KVNIte4Li-BoOcY4_CDt97wWcvOGnXu_QniWzI8uecUjpIR9a0vwKAnQytouv7-T3XTlaN/s885/Xolair.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="885" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSwD2ezfAD-z7UTDWH5_9IpTC1fnpTJc2jBbgLtK2Vh-8n0RbvXSu84f1ccz-GY3ejGp4Z9KVNIte4Li-BoOcY4_CDt97wWcvOGnXu_QniWzI8uecUjpIR9a0vwKAnQytouv7-T3XTlaN/w400-h275/Xolair.jpg" width="400" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">October 22nd</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br /><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;">My friend from Australia sent me some </span><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.medicaljournals.se/acta/content/html/10.2340/00015555-3168" target="_blank">interesting information</a></span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"> about a drug called </span>Xolair (Omalizumab)<span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"> for the treatment of allergy related skin issues such as Morbihan syndrome or articaria. </span></span></span></span></b>Morbihan syndrome is a rare condition that can be a late-stage complication of rosacea. People who have this syndrome suffer from bad swelling of the eyes and the upper cheeks (oedema), as well as redness (erythema) sometimes. They can also have visible blood vessels (telangiectasias) and occasionally papules, pustules and nodules. This issue is related to substances in the body which also play a role in allergies; an abundance of mast cells which make the blood vessels dilate as well as substances which increase inflammation; cathelicidins such as Cath-37, which also seem to play a role in rosacea. Scientists found that Omalizumab can not only help patients with allergy-related asthma and urticaria, but also can help suppress the symptoms of this Morbihan syndrome. It binds the circulating <i>IgE antibodies</i> and may <span style="color: #444444;"><b>stabilise mast cells.</b></span> There are some similarities between rosacea subtype 1 and Morbihan syndrome and urticaria: the facial flushing which rosacea can give work through the same pathways as the temporary red swellings observed in urticaria and angioedema. Scientists believe that omalizumab helps stabilize mast cells and reduces the temporary swelling, but that it can also help rosacea subtype 1 by reducing blood vessel dilation and potentially also reducing inflammation. Another drug that is linked to suppressing mast cell activity, <b><span style="color: #990000;">ketotifen</span></b>, shows also beneficial outcome in the treatment of rosacea in studies.<br /><br /><b style="color: #444444;">CASE REPORT</b><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span>"A 56-year-old woman, with moderate erythematous rosacea, developed persistent and prominent erythematous (red) oedema of the face, lasting for one year. Firm swelling of the eyelids, impairing vision, accompanied oedema of the cheeks and forehead. Neither itching nor scaling was observed. Pronounced swelling was seen after exposure to hot, cold and windy weather, and to a lesser extent to stress, sunlight and spicy food. The patient could not work or participate in the social events, due to her symptoms. She was diagnosed with Morbihan disease after excluding allergies, various connective tissue diseases such as dermatomyositis and superior vena cava syndrome. The patient was tested with a normal skin prick test, tryptase, antinuclear antibodies, thyroid function test, full blood count and X-ray of the lungs and mediastinum. Skin punch biopsy demonstrated non-specific inflammation consistent with rosacea. - MS was treated with lymecycline 300 mg twice daily for 3 months and later isotretinoin 10–20 mg daily for 4 months, but there was no effect on the swelling or erythema. Because of the temporary swelling caused by physical stimuli, in addition to the permanent oedema, we initiated a trial treatment with omalizumab 450 mg subcutaneously. A dramatic reduction in the swelling was seen 1–2 weeks post-treatment (Fig. 1B) and the patient subsequently became tolerant to the physical stimuli. The MS cleared completely after 5 months of monthly omalizumab injections, an initial dose of 450 mg and consecutive doses of 300 mg (Fig. 1C). Maintenance treatment was given for a further two months, every 4–6 weeks, and was then discontinued successfully without clinical relapse, 6 months later. The quality of life was markedly improved after omalizumab injections and the patient was able to resume working, instead of being on sick leave. Her photos show first a pre-treatment photo of prominent and persistent erythematous edema of the face. Firm swelling of the eyelids impairing vision. Then a photo showing the reduction of the edema as observed two weeks after the first subcutaneous injection with the monoclonal antibody - omalizumab 450 mg. The patient tolerated windy and cold weather and noticed less tenderness. Last photo: the patient is in her normal condition after monthly injections of omalizumab for five months. Her quality of life was substantially improved, and she was able resume normal life, including returning to work. A written permission from the patient to publish these photos was obtained." <b><a href="https://www.medicaljournals.se/acta/content/html/10.2340/00015555-3168" target="_blank">Source</a></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>A dermatology specialist wrote <a href="https://henningderm.com/services/medical-dermatology/" target="_blank">here</a>:</b></span> "We offer Xolair as an option to treat chronic hives which don’t respond well to antihistamines. Our office is one of only a handful of dermatologists in New Jersey who use Xolair. Xolair is an injectable prescription medicine used to treat patients with chronic hives that don’t have a known cause and are not controlled by H1 antihistamine treatment. Xolair is given in one or more injections under the skin for four weeks by our doctor."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">More links:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://irosacea.org/forums/topic/6944-pubmed-rss-feed-morbihan-syndrome-successfully-treated-with-omalizumab/">https://irosacea.org/forums/topic/6944-pubmed-rss-feed-morbihan-syndrome-successfully-treated-with-omalizumab/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://irosacea.org/forums/topic/11737-xolair-omalizumab/">https://irosacea.org/forums/topic/11737-xolair-omalizumab/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6024249/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6024249/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.medicaljournals.se/acta/content/html/10.2340/00015555-3168">https://www.medicaljournals.se/acta/content/html/10.2340/00015555-3168</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/xolair-immunosuppressant-3545766/">https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/xolair-immunosuppressant-3545766/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.xolair.com/important-safety-information.html">https://www.xolair.com/important-safety-information.html</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-APsO1SyMnnfan_RvNzjY-Z6OHWG_Ns8gd17yiydjgm5ln6E7_1gfnq5tYYGNa7xIl24laKn7MiASs-f4rLiGtt5D9-fi9JsI5cWRKhRCxEdp9hha_2XBr_3E4ddyUHbsRJGoVHLT60Rf/s599/44726376_10156742057483996_2411997618470125568_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="599" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-APsO1SyMnnfan_RvNzjY-Z6OHWG_Ns8gd17yiydjgm5ln6E7_1gfnq5tYYGNa7xIl24laKn7MiASs-f4rLiGtt5D9-fi9JsI5cWRKhRCxEdp9hha_2XBr_3E4ddyUHbsRJGoVHLT60Rf/w433-h310/44726376_10156742057483996_2411997618470125568_n.jpg" width="433" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">On The Rosacea Forum, Lookout <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?17347-Non-Sterodial-Anti-inflammatories" target="_blank">wrote</a> on February 6th, 2009 about Xolair (=omalizumab): </span></b>"Xolair.....is used for asthma (allgery based).I would want to try Xolair......I think the research for rosacea needs to include these types of meds since steroids make our condition worse or even brings it on! Xolair.....from what I understand would be safe for long term use.....that's why I picked it as my "drug" of choice! LOL. I figured most of us here do have allergies but this med is only used for allergery induced asthma.....but in my mind why not try it on rosacea patients? If it is effective in reducing inflammation then it just may reduce rosacea symptoms...not cure but give us a pill that really address that inflammation! I would have to go back to my ENT.....and get tested and try to sell him on my theroy to let me try it and see.....I have to do more reading about it....I guess I am feeling fustrated that there is nothing coming out for rosacea and for some reason most still don't recognize that a flare is an inflammatory response IMO....wish they would do clinical trials with this med for rosacea....maybe I should write the company about it....like they would listen to me LOL!"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Lamarr <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?17347-Non-Sterodial-Anti-inflammatories" target="_blank">replied</a> on February 7th, 2009: </span></b>"Most anti inflammatories over time well help rosacea, IF they target the correct cytokines/inflammatory pathway. Cyclosporin works very well for rosacea, but like already said has some serious side effects. These drugs can be used in different ways though, Dr Chu has used cyclosporin for rosacea, you just take the drug every other day. Instead of everyday in RA/organ transplant etc. I am using the perfect anti inflammatory for rosacea, an anti milarial."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Lookout <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?17347-Non-Sterodial-Anti-inflammatories" target="_blank">replied</a> on February 6th, 2009: </span></b>"They say you must first be tested to actually have allergies and then the person with asthma may be put on it......lot's of med's are effective for other conditions but it's almost an accident that we find this out many yrs later!"</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Nansa <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36440-Anyone-suffer-from-severe-swelling-or-morbihans&highlight=xolair" target="_blank">replied</a> on February 25th, 2019: </span></b>"I have been on high dose fexofenadine for 2 - 2,5 years most of the time along with montolukast, tranexamic acid and Xolair (omalizumab) to control chronic urticaria (insanely itching and painful) and angiooedema. In it-self fexofenadine had little to no effect on itching, but... It might very well help others. It is a bit complicated as I have chronic idiopathic urticaria and angiooedema (and of course asthma and allergy) - I get xolair injections to modulate the immunesystem (at hospital at the immunology dept). The angiooedema is "different in nature" from time to time - (in the throat, on the jaw, around/on the ears, and at least two types of swelling around the eyes). The dermatologist consulted suggested that at least some of it was morbihans (also because I have suffered from rosacea, incl occular, for years). Whether morbihans is worse than the other angiooedema types I do not know... I do NOT like any of it :-)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">And Laser_cat Nansa <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?39655-Flushing-in-the-evening-medication/page2&highlight=xolair" target="_blank">wrote</a> on April 15th, 2019: </span></b>"In the US - my experience is that most derms will not be able to offer much more than PCP. I began by asking PCP to trial medications mentioned here or in literature (clonidine, beta blockers). Eventually I landed on 2 derms who have an interest in neurovascular rosacea, but even they realize a large part comes down to trial and error per patient. My therapist had an "in" at my local teaching hospital and asked around for doctors who would specialize in flushing (how I found one of my derms). I found my other derm by looking up authors of rosacea publications. What I am able to get from these 2 derms I am not able to get from PCP or myself - how long to trial a given medication before I give up, why I wouldn't be a candidate for laser, how to titrate medications, medications that aren't typically "thought of" (calcium channel blockers, <span style="color: #660000;"><b>Xolair</b></span>, birth control, IVIG, baclofen, ..), pathophysiology behind my symptoms and similar patients. There are derms who are very interested in neurovascular stuff and who realize that flushing conditions can be anywhere from mild to disabling, but these derms are far and few between I think, most derms will try to rx soolantra, antibiotics etc."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>A patient with severe postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) received immunotherapy with low-dose naltrexone (LDN) and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) and antibiotic therapy for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUeJLkp_cpIXXI_tzE9Hk9Zva6i4V5pSKZjIytcontozdVLNR3hI4_2be1D6Lc_tl1MPxwuHmAF9gTETUY48CCgiC1PUwBvykTPoMQOstuJ2y02KB4D9Oz-jwBa2jjfhSL58swtn-ip-n8/s1280/casereports-2018-January-2018---F1.large.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="1280" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUeJLkp_cpIXXI_tzE9Hk9Zva6i4V5pSKZjIytcontozdVLNR3hI4_2be1D6Lc_tl1MPxwuHmAF9gTETUY48CCgiC1PUwBvykTPoMQOstuJ2y02KB4D9Oz-jwBa2jjfhSL58swtn-ip-n8/w602-h226/casereports-2018-January-2018---F1.large.jpg" width="602" /></a>And <b><a href="https://casereports.bmj.com/content/2018/bcr-2017-221405" target="_blank">this woman</a></b> with crippling POTS that gave her face flushing as well, improved on ultra low dose naltrexone, ivig and sibo treatment. It pretty much reversed eighteen years of crippling pots, mcas, and sibo for this woman. She even had blue hands. Poor woman. Her facial flushing reduced quite quickly.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">Be kind to others</span></span></b></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="color: black; text-align: left;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5SZDW1iS__YXOEQbQ_W48MehL_7V20WjEb-qJNY3TxYxEhVuLsYp4JwleLgPOCVRELyB-5ibzxLAH_XP0tDTMaYhfFyTzP6YXXvRNsMjDLzuCIV1guqAAAHECcdsbdQBV6lQfjzruM5iD/s250/tenor.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="250" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5SZDW1iS__YXOEQbQ_W48MehL_7V20WjEb-qJNY3TxYxEhVuLsYp4JwleLgPOCVRELyB-5ibzxLAH_XP0tDTMaYhfFyTzP6YXXvRNsMjDLzuCIV1guqAAAHECcdsbdQBV6lQfjzruM5iD/w363-h288/tenor.gif" width="363" /></a></div>Good grief I was in town just yet and the mood is horrendous. Had a spat with a girl in her early 30s I think behind the counter in one of my favourite shops, the HEMA. Real Dutch sort of shop. I'd just bought leggings and scarfs and stockings worth 100 euro and this big grumpy girl was just completely unfriendly while I checked my things out with her and was about to pay. Just the other week there was a change in advise from the Dutch government over wearing face masks, yes or no. Until then, the government stuck to their guns that they are useless in the battle against (catching/ spreading) covid. They did a u-turn last week, but it's not mandatory to wear face masks in shops. Some people do, some don't. But the shop staff do all wear them. They also have this plastic screen in front of them, for extra protection. I wore a mask myself, but because I was fretting about with money and bags and being clumsy, one side came a bit loose as the elastic didn't stay behind the ear. The mask was still on, but it didn't stick 100% to both my cheeks for a moment. She just gave me the cold stare of death and that was it. I walked off. But then I saw there was one set of stockings left in my basket which I hadn't paid for. I contemplated just taking them with me anyway, but decided against it and to get back in line. An elderly lady was paying, took her time. As she walked away I stepped forward, saying I missed one item. This woman behind the counter started bitching at me, with a really angry voice. "Well if you had waited a bit you could have respected the 1,5 meter distance with that woman before you!". I was surprised, said she was already away from the cash and anyway, I was wearing a face mask right? "Yeh and it looks terrible, it doesn't even fit", she says. Sooo unprofessional, so I scoffed at her in surprise that she sounded like she was having a bad day and that she should try to sound a bit more friendly perhaps to the next customers. Ugghhhh, I know that staff in the stores are all royally uncomfortable right now, having to wear that tight face mask all day, but cmon, I was about to ask for her manager to file a complaint. Called my mum instead (I know.. bit too old for that but well) and she said not to bother. That I was outside already again in the fresh air, while that woman was still stewing and grumping with her mask on for the rest of the day behind that counter. Just, really unprofessional, it did ruin my mood for about ten minutes. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="color: black; text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="color: black; text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="color: black; text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7pNx6h3eUJ_6qVZDyKZzEl327tDB3brlVh4ZL9DDX3k9cyKwNjH5CjXIyuOloYUukVhjNHdZPXI0ii23F6uf2v6bIdvU-rjiSNtEJsyPGGk2GdyajDIIFuoGq7IMDBDHjkmcJsAUQkFR/s2048/38.COULEURS+AUTOMNALES.VUE+DEPUIS+LE+VALLON+DE+LA+JARJATTE.18+OCTOBRE+2020..JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="2048" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7pNx6h3eUJ_6qVZDyKZzEl327tDB3brlVh4ZL9DDX3k9cyKwNjH5CjXIyuOloYUukVhjNHdZPXI0ii23F6uf2v6bIdvU-rjiSNtEJsyPGGk2GdyajDIIFuoGq7IMDBDHjkmcJsAUQkFR/w531-h301/38.COULEURS+AUTOMNALES.VUE+DEPUIS+LE+VALLON+DE+LA+JARJATTE.18+OCTOBRE+2020..JPG" width="531" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">Be careful when out hiking in nature</span></span></b></span></span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Also, a friend of mine who I hiked with in the past had a scary experience. I read up often about hikers who tumble and get injured in nature reserves. It happens more often than you'd think. Now this friend has a new passion for desolate nature reserves. beautiful places, but he is not the youngest anymore and had a few brushes with fate already recently, getting lost in a national park, not getting out until midnight, almost falling. Now he managed to get in bigger trouble. He went to the beautiful </span></span></span></b>Dévoluy massif, with three peaks over 2700 m. He had already previously climbed two of those peaks, but still had to climb to the top of Grand Ferrand [2758 m]. So he went out there with his car and bad omens hit him right away as he got stuck in the mud twice along the route, needing help from passers by to tow the car out of the mud. Content that he could drive on again, he started his hike late, around 13:00 pm. It was already too late to be able to climb all the way to the top, given the very technical and difficult course. There was a scree that had to be passed, loose rocks and stones covering the slope of the mountain. So he stopped at the foot of the scree, having still 600 m of vertical drop to go and promised himself to come back for the last part of the trail. He found a hut but then found it impossible to find a marked path. He went back to the hut and contacted a friend to ask if she could look up the description of the hike on the Internet and this way he found some sort of trail that wasn't well marked. He no longer had phone connection with his friend either on this track. After walking down the newfound trail, he soon ended up in terrain where the trail blended in with the countryside, until it disappeared altogether. He had to climb some ridges but was hardly reassured and the climb cost him a lot of energy. He then arrived at a very large scree at the foot of a pass and decided to sit down to eat something. Scanning the horizon, he overlooked some sort of valley with a dry riverbed. He managed to walk through some gorges towards this valley, but at one point he got stuck between the high rocks and water. He wanted to climb the mountainside to see if he could find another passage from the heights.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="color: black; text-align: left;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGUG7fGWZXn71VtIoTN0jpVZzO_gv3RTw6QBb55kkaB4jRO-3qQMBEGWAQ2S4IGvpHTqHqNT_34pya6HzXRD4IWlGnN5cbHNx3O_ouqlZSqaISIkEZeLINYEXQBSvkPuKG5P4BUKe5Q2-5/s2100/55.VUE+DEPUIS+LE+VALLON+DE+LA+JARJATTE.18+OCTOBRE+2020..jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1009" data-original-width="2100" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGUG7fGWZXn71VtIoTN0jpVZzO_gv3RTw6QBb55kkaB4jRO-3qQMBEGWAQ2S4IGvpHTqHqNT_34pya6HzXRD4IWlGnN5cbHNx3O_ouqlZSqaISIkEZeLINYEXQBSvkPuKG5P4BUKe5Q2-5/w551-h265/55.VUE+DEPUIS+LE+VALLON+DE+LA+JARJATTE.18+OCTOBRE+2020..jpg" width="551" /></a>And there, he slipped and fell 40 meters on stones, 'bouncing like a ping pong ball'. He thought he was going to live his last seconds. He ended up with a wound on the palm of the hand and with bruises all over his body. The camera he was carrying in one of the pockets of his North Face jacket was slung out. He searched for it and found it back, but the screen was cracked. It was 5.30 pm by now, and he was really stuck! What to do? Retrace his steps and find another passage? He got very afraid. He made up his mind and called for help by dialing 112. An hour later, a helicopter picked him up and dropped him off at his car. He got hoisted, in order to get into the helicopter from the rocks of the gorges. He received a little reprimand for not carrying a proper map of the area, and for making a silly decision by going off trail. Luckily no fractures, only a deep wound on the hand and a lot of bruises and pain. But now he is having flashbacks and nightmares, in which he tumbles down head first and does not make it out. "In any case, that will serve as a lesson for me for future hikes! Never walk off the path alone!"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I always tell him to be careful with these things. I wrote about two missing Dutch girls in Panama and read up all the time about missing hikers. He could have easily ended up in a spot where there is no cell phone reception and if you fall down then, you wont be able to call for help.. I gave him a checklist:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">1. Always let someone know where exactly you go for a hike and how long you plan to stay</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">2. Update this person if you decide to go off track</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">3. Bring an extra (fully charged) phone battery, just in case, as well as proper clothing/food/water</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">4. Do not get feverish over finding the summit; don't go off the beaten tracks....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">5. Next time they MAY charge you for the rescue operation which will be expensive :) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Anyway I'm glad he survived it. Some beautiful photos of the national park.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #990000; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 400;"><br /></div></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUMU0IaU7U11TBpxT1Frwb1K0L-sUYxsAcnZ3TW_HrdljPC0rpoesINJ14sB04YjGy-8DlEHF0vFKb2YsshdExRcrrh-KEC1ZWD7dTd4aQQ2Qdow9_i7P91HBYuWv0TJF3XZCo3Bavn7U/s2048/37.COULEURS+AUTOMNALES.VUE+DEPUIS+LE+VALLON+DE+LA+JARJATTE.18+OCTOBRE+2020..JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="2048" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUMU0IaU7U11TBpxT1Frwb1K0L-sUYxsAcnZ3TW_HrdljPC0rpoesINJ14sB04YjGy-8DlEHF0vFKb2YsshdExRcrrh-KEC1ZWD7dTd4aQQ2Qdow9_i7P91HBYuWv0TJF3XZCo3Bavn7U/w290-h192/37.COULEURS+AUTOMNALES.VUE+DEPUIS+LE+VALLON+DE+LA+JARJATTE.18+OCTOBRE+2020..JPG" width="290" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7pNx6h3eUJ_6qVZDyKZzEl327tDB3brlVh4ZL9DDX3k9cyKwNjH5CjXIyuOloYUukVhjNHdZPXI0ii23F6uf2v6bIdvU-rjiSNtEJsyPGGk2GdyajDIIFuoGq7IMDBDHjkmcJsAUQkFR/s2048/38.COULEURS+AUTOMNALES.VUE+DEPUIS+LE+VALLON+DE+LA+JARJATTE.18+OCTOBRE+2020..JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="2048" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7pNx6h3eUJ_6qVZDyKZzEl327tDB3brlVh4ZL9DDX3k9cyKwNjH5CjXIyuOloYUukVhjNHdZPXI0ii23F6uf2v6bIdvU-rjiSNtEJsyPGGk2GdyajDIIFuoGq7IMDBDHjkmcJsAUQkFR/w350-h198/38.COULEURS+AUTOMNALES.VUE+DEPUIS+LE+VALLON+DE+LA+JARJATTE.18+OCTOBRE+2020..JPG" width="350" /></a></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhppjHIMhzWuA1Sl3Lkpm-HGGOAjbfaVCFZ8avX-vdVx05U1nl8HRw3JOS4-DSBpAmcZX3BZUWwTM0kds3chwsXmUw2IqrHRdb-a7fnRv0dM48XxSVVCYVAls-mMPzi6E3WA-inkFlZ1Vhm/s2048/39.VUE+DEPUIS+LE+PARC+NATUREL+R%25C3%2589GIONAL+DU+VERCORS.18+OCTOBRE+2020..JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">October 18</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;" /><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 42px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhor0p73M8fLz7xuXFcmVYgali8Su1yBNhkDlA4Lctyl3LctHjUq1EFTGxYyWkKl_1gE4OEa7B3kZu-7BE-fMWJgB4uVwU7F-syoN2YXncsK8vAkFs7xBLwcJtDeZnmcFvPc0xBOQgjGDlP/s625/4e67dd6605eec4cc6b333b5efd9151f1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="625" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhor0p73M8fLz7xuXFcmVYgali8Su1yBNhkDlA4Lctyl3LctHjUq1EFTGxYyWkKl_1gE4OEa7B3kZu-7BE-fMWJgB4uVwU7F-syoN2YXncsK8vAkFs7xBLwcJtDeZnmcFvPc0xBOQgjGDlP/w400-h265/4e67dd6605eec4cc6b333b5efd9151f1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh time flies. Realize I haven't updated much here lately. This is in part because social life isn't all that exciting at the moment. I put a lot of time in this </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; text-align: left;"><a href="https://koudekaas.blogspot.com/">other blog</a></span><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400; text-align: left;"> I have about a missing persons case. Am also working on a book (well, an attempt) aside from other work. And I also tried to stop whining here about politics, which is difficult as there is just so much going on out there. Covid-related politics and I also follow the mayhem in the United States. But am trying to stick to the topic of this blog, rosacea. But people reading my personal ramblings on everyday life know probably how annoyed I am by hypocritical media, people applying double standards, silencing of free speech and partisan manipulation. So there has been enough to get wound up over. To counteract all that negativity I focus on books, movies, art and I </span></span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">walked in nature a lot. The weather has gotten chilly here. Like previous years I find that the cold weather makes my skin more red. During some of the warmer months the past months, my rosacea wasn't too bad actually. I still need to use a ventilator to keep my skin acting normal, but I wasn't too red or burned up with the mild, warm temperatures. But now that the air is getting really cold again and the contrast between cool outside air and heated houses and stores, I am more red and flushed up again. I try to keep my house not too cold but certainly not warm either, usually around 16 or 17degrees Celsius. Artificial heat is a massive rosacea trigger for me unfortunately, much more so than natural warmer weather. So I am hanging on, have my birthday in 1,5 weeks from now but other than seeing some friends and loves ones I have no big plans. Most fun things are closed anyway, as we are in semi-lockdown again. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-1dipldL775oVFvGQ6MaEclt_LFbDmUFdP3PL5AnDceTd8w2M75tdFJQD8I9knm68np9M7LaA4ZFKwlSI0qob3DLyLP4Vfyl8ytbQ-QQfI_iP6bEEYtDRVttPBF3noMcshBw1sSElNQh/s600/10102483-N95-Face-Mask-Protection.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-1dipldL775oVFvGQ6MaEclt_LFbDmUFdP3PL5AnDceTd8w2M75tdFJQD8I9knm68np9M7LaA4ZFKwlSI0qob3DLyLP4Vfyl8ytbQ-QQfI_iP6bEEYtDRVttPBF3noMcshBw1sSElNQh/w400-h400/10102483-N95-Face-Mask-Protection.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Covid wise, urgent hospital care is postponed yet again while doctors run around chasing cases of Covid. I truly don't want to catch this virus, but I am not sticking in the house either. Have no real problem with wearing a face mask. I have one of those special <b><a href="https://www.unoclean.com/N95-Harmful-Dust-Respirator-with-Valve-Face-Mask-10102483.aspx">N95 masks </a></b>used for people trying to block out fumes from paint etc, with a small valve in the middle. It's a normal looking mask but it only really touches my skin around the etches and leaves some space to breath in the middle. Mind you, I bought a stack back in 2018, after catching the winter flu every time I took a plane in winter. I wanted to wear such a mask in winter therefore when flying or in crowded public transport, but back then nobody else did and I felt like a pariah. But now everybody wears them. This year I haven't developped winter flu yet and when I do have a bad skin day and am red in the face, the mask and sunglasses I wear hide it all from sight! Very nice, to hide behind this mask now when in the supermarket or in public transport for instance. The downside is that my awesome neck fans can now only be aimed at my neck and no longer on my cheeks. But it feels kind of counterproductive to direct air towards your face, when trying to avoid catching a virus...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Once covid struck, I was happy to have 5 such N95 masks already in the house. So the good thing is; it leaves some room for breathing and it isn't a mask that sticks to all of your facial skin. My skin is extremely sensitive and doesn't tolerate any topical creams or potions or lotions, so a mask rubbing over it also irritates. With this mask I just have the edges to worry about and Ihave sown some very soft, clean fabric around the edges. the fabric has the same colour as the mask and I am a messy person but tried to to a semi-decent job here sowing it neatly, so it looks pretty professional, if I may say. Not something people look twice at, at least. So as long as I don't wear this mask for hours and hours on end, I seem to do OK. I wore normal face masks too in the past, but they make my face so hot and flushed... This N95 mask has an exhalation valve. From what I read, it provides the same level of covid protection to me as a mask that does not have a valve. The valve reduces exhalation resistance and makes it easier to breathe or exhale. It keeps the face cooler and reduces moisture build up inside the facepiece. However, the exhalation valve allows unfiltered exhaled air to go out. So... it is a bit of a <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-mask/art-20485449">SELFISH</a> mask! <i>"An N95 mask offers more protection than a surgical mask does because it can filter out both large and small particles when the wearer inhales. As the name indicates, the mask is designed to block 95% of very small particles. Some N95 masks have valves that make them easier to breathe through. But because the valve releases unfiltered air when the wearer breathes out, this type of mask doesn't prevent the wearer from spreading the virus. For this reason, some places have banned them."</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqv7N6CpPDkJ-lWGL_EWnasjBsLFL79ejn9fQDS88mt03aHQJQ_tJhvvItu12-Wfk2iL_U7ZzFQ7zYE_mAqZY0Ta1Cw3uFC7BzllLfVk7p2KrJOc98OSmC5Jg1vhRC4qBuPbqfHLUClv4e/s797/69563620_2917450091604954_76655339348426752_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="797" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqv7N6CpPDkJ-lWGL_EWnasjBsLFL79ejn9fQDS88mt03aHQJQ_tJhvvItu12-Wfk2iL_U7ZzFQ7zYE_mAqZY0Ta1Cw3uFC7BzllLfVk7p2KrJOc98OSmC5Jg1vhRC4qBuPbqfHLUClv4e/w400-h295/69563620_2917450091604954_76655339348426752_n.jpg" width="400" /></a>Again now in the Netherlands we're in semi lockdown and not only are all cafe's, restaurants and clubs closed, normal hospital care is starting to being cancelled again also. People who had to wait in the spring already for surgeries are now cancelled again, because the hospitals cannot handle the 1000 or so covid patients. All these extreme measures are, again, as to not overload the hospitals. My dad (72 years old) said the other day that he thinks frail elderly people shouldn't go on holiday right now and shouldn't meet all their family members and such, because he believes it are they who are most at risk and that they should protect themselves at this time. But because we do not discriminate on age, all of society is locked down again, including young people, students, kids, who cannot get their normal education, who cannot go to a pub or restaurant as everything has been shut down again this week. Who are burdened with a monster recession when all this is behind us. While they hardly get sick from this virus. The psychological effects on them are probably significant. Cancer screanings have been put on the back burner this year, as hospitals and labs are overwhelmed with covid. There are increasing numbers of patients waiting to start treatment or to even get a diagnosis for cancer since March. In the UK alone the latest number over 55,000. Covid has a 99.95% survival rate in under 75's published this week. And how many people are affected, physically, psychologically, because all the health system can handle is covid? It are mostly the people over 70 years old or with obesity or underlying health diseases who are most at risk, but when you see the 8 o'clock news, we're only hearing about how many new positive test results they had that day and how many people are in hospital. Not what age they are, if they had underlying illness. Is it ethical to have <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8848991/Dead-31-chemo-paused-Covid-Cancer-sufferers-fighting-lives.html">young people die of cancer</a></b> because a small percentage of mostly elderly people are taking up the hospital beds and system? I don't think such a morality discussion is taking place within society. It is a difficult dillemma.. You don't want anyone to die unnecessary. And if my parents would get sick I would be devastated. But I understand where my dad is coming from.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But you just want to take care of everybody, ultimately, covid patients, cancer patients, all patients, full stop. In the UK they built special tent-like covid hospitals so the normal hospitals could work as usual. But because they can't staff them, they turned into useless white elephants. Too many suits and not enough ground floor staff and equipment within the NHS. In the Netherlands we have only 1000 IC beds and already people are being shipped off to Germany again, so early within this supposed second wave, where they have a well oiled machinery in place as usual. Helps that the German people for the most part do obediently as they are ordered to do... <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEdH4-PP0Hw">Meanwhile in the Netherlands</a></b>.. It basically comes down to the healthcare system having been privatized in the past decades, and managers leaving very little margin for catastrophes and surprises. When the flu season hit us in the past, there was the same issue of hospitals not being able to cope. Because they aim for patients being as shortly as possible in hospital, because time = money. It's despicable, I hate market forces causing such cheapskates in vital systems such as the health care system. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">Some art to calm down the senses again, these are modern </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">bronzes </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">statues and the last one is a few centuries older.</span></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVV6VEzfpuXiX4fF_SXrXGJyRgJstfynFlBAgRjalvVKNCwXaXadPmWRVLTQGsI6ZPzF0bKSEOArEno8cyIIDNEeHgcTG4tTsJuFlNLFk5B9Dayeyl0MIXLtfaYuTb0mSVWpt_Y6JvdevM/s1200/ELBxmUtXUAEFhDJ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVV6VEzfpuXiX4fF_SXrXGJyRgJstfynFlBAgRjalvVKNCwXaXadPmWRVLTQGsI6ZPzF0bKSEOArEno8cyIIDNEeHgcTG4tTsJuFlNLFk5B9Dayeyl0MIXLtfaYuTb0mSVWpt_Y6JvdevM/w320-h400/ELBxmUtXUAEFhDJ.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZiLaVxksuMl4htQ8Yc8WBN4lUpyjuLRQz67uDkM9_JMIlCF2Ayd615eUgpeKUcgifD4rtKw6beGGh3jzM-BGXGWQva56ecW3N2O7sy898eJrxOowzoGHWVzVr3Mdur3aI2W3xmPB1R6qr/s259/download+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="194" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZiLaVxksuMl4htQ8Yc8WBN4lUpyjuLRQz67uDkM9_JMIlCF2Ayd615eUgpeKUcgifD4rtKw6beGGh3jzM-BGXGWQva56ecW3N2O7sy898eJrxOowzoGHWVzVr3Mdur3aI2W3xmPB1R6qr/w300-h400/download+%25281%2529.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNUuQSA6pZAiUtfz_y6uwI6xC8Xbd731BDX5nZa52qgx8MHR86F3yzHjlDh7We9Gm4eWvaVu5Q4spkaUkHdZKibvkHCRYUiA5XuSMQLVH59qG93XrehuKjQlqb4uqWU4g9XiR6nTncP0pv/s920/5efb844fda5a3ac7a07ad8fb05c30a83.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="920" data-original-width="736" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNUuQSA6pZAiUtfz_y6uwI6xC8Xbd731BDX5nZa52qgx8MHR86F3yzHjlDh7We9Gm4eWvaVu5Q4spkaUkHdZKibvkHCRYUiA5XuSMQLVH59qG93XrehuKjQlqb4uqWU4g9XiR6nTncP0pv/w320-h400/5efb844fda5a3ac7a07ad8fb05c30a83.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyz0eCARi3VDox_pB2sIljjFPkamCp1m_WIHCuYQjzsSci0nejOUr-EjGoPymuICqclCbCN0lp5gNCdDAD5LDyQXccq7ds27ma0PPEg5s9W0Xlofb7qooN8ZDRRZCue2dgFsPN0dWPXBUE/s1946/978d8e6a8d812ec38a1bdcee4681d649.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1946" data-original-width="1443" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyz0eCARi3VDox_pB2sIljjFPkamCp1m_WIHCuYQjzsSci0nejOUr-EjGoPymuICqclCbCN0lp5gNCdDAD5LDyQXccq7ds27ma0PPEg5s9W0Xlofb7qooN8ZDRRZCue2dgFsPN0dWPXBUE/w296-h400/978d8e6a8d812ec38a1bdcee4681d649.jpg" width="296" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> <b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Music clips of the day</span></b></p><p><b style="font-size: xx-large; text-align: center;"></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-large; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/--xnZi3PxMo" width="320" youtube-src-id="--xnZi3PxMo"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1ro4FHd51t4" width="320" youtube-src-id="1ro4FHd51t4"></iframe><b> </b></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-large; text-align: center;"><br /></b></div><b style="font-size: xx-large; text-align: center;"><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-large; text-align: center;"><br /></b></div><b style="font-size: xx-large; text-align: center;"><br /><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">July 30</span></span></b><b style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">th </span></span></b><b style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b><br /></span></b><p></p>
For those of you not sure what to watch in your free time during this lockdown summer, we love watching nature documentaries and the best of the best are BBC and David Attenboroughs'. Just finished watching 'Seven worlds, One Planet' last night and it's just marvelous. As good as their previous series. Hard not to get emotional, watching even the trailers.<br />
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Summer times. Trying to go out now and then for some normal living, avoiding direct sun or too much heat of the later morning and afternoon. Some silly footage from the beach, in the early evening. For those interesting in cold crime cases, I also added another case to <b><a href="https://koudekaas.blogspot.com/">my crime blog</a></b>, you can read the mysterious death of Mike Mansholt in Malta <b><a href="https://koudekaas.blogspot.com/2019/04/mike-mansholt.html">here</a></b>. I am also working on a book, which has not too much to do with rosacea and nothing with crime, a fictional tale, although I cannot help to let one of the protagonists struggle with mild rosacea. Hope I will finish it some day, have been trying to work on it for some time already, next to regular writing work/uni research job, and next to trying to have some sort of a social life, and being generally quickly tired and of course the ongoing 24/7 care for that horrible skin of mine. Oh and one of my cats had his tongue torn, I have no idea what happened but it was a serious gash. When I took him to the veterinary asap, part of the loose 'flap' of tongue, shall we say, was already necrotic. AAArrrghhhh. Luckily the vet could remove the damage and stitch the tongue up beautifully. Igor was stoned and groggy all the rest of the day, but getting back to his old self. I'm not sure if he can ward off infection of the wound though, I've got to call the vet about it tomorrow and will try to take a photo of the tongue, before dragging the poor cat back to the clinic again. They have an extra note attached to his file: Igor is very difficult to deal with and needs sedation just to get a basic check done. This vet is very calm and super professional, but last year another younger female vet tried to look at him (for a simple urinary tract infection) and was literally chasing him down the room, trying to grab him, while he was hissing and roaring like a wild mountain lion. She got a big scratch also, right through her workman's glove. I felt like a terrible cat parent haha. Below some photos of the handsome furry, sedated still in his carrier, then stoned out in the house.<br />
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">July 5</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUOBnnK5EnVE7c6jhyphenhypheneD7bD-kyjcM1RGVw7Y_p2a1gJYRxi80fYtVn4fdlzJ9121Q4-GiSclWBzBB3Pq9AAO_ApSfwH02c2JfDOF7VbaU6K4uaLanVDbZfQQIDHIG5W_utQ0Csnvt0Z_P/s1600/P1010673.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1448" data-original-width="1434" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUOBnnK5EnVE7c6jhyphenhypheneD7bD-kyjcM1RGVw7Y_p2a1gJYRxi80fYtVn4fdlzJ9121Q4-GiSclWBzBB3Pq9AAO_ApSfwH02c2JfDOF7VbaU6K4uaLanVDbZfQQIDHIG5W_utQ0Csnvt0Z_P/s400/P1010673.jpg" width="395" /></a>Thank you to Gunther, who sent me a link to <b><a href="https://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/sendungen/die-ernaehrungsdocs/Rosazea-bessern-mit-entzuendungshemmender-Diaet,ernaehrungsdocs308.html">this German program</a></b> about a woman with rosacea, who gets tips on how diet can help her skin become less red and inflamed. I realize that diet is not a rosacea trigger for <i>everyone</i>. I read often about people who have not identified dietary skin triggers, despite all sorts of elimination diets. This video and info is therefore not necessarily for everybody with rosacea. But I think diet can play a role sometimes in finding improvement. Maybe more so in subtype 2 rosacea, with background redness and skin outbreaks and pimples. But from own experience I can say that even in subtype 1 rosacea, with skin flushing, burning and redness, diet changes can sometimes give some improvement (not a cure for me though, not even close...). I notice a pretty significant improvement in my skin as well, like the woman in this video - although she sees bigger results than me - when I stay clear of sugar, wheat, dairy and any spices. In my case there is also an issue with histamine rich foods, which does include quite a long list of food items. But, when I eat lots of vegetables (except tomatoes, eggplant and a couple of other vegetables high in histamine), and stick to carbs like potatoes, as well as eating organic beef or chicken and foods like olives, unions and fruit, my skin is really less red and less inflamed. It also takes more for me to flush then. Although I still flush very easily, even then. But my skin has a base colour which is a bit more pale then. It is much easier to stay cool. My weaknesses are chocolate, bread and pastries, as well as some sugary things or pizza. I rarely give in to such foods, but when I do it's a good amount of sinning. Not just one square of chocolate :) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdVeV-5CKeKdf7eLnKXlK1BBxxZJqQFeu_UxX7fJR763civ1kHXPoIVFGB2fWrNYeOAIqdkQ4HzWguvg5WzAFNpUqB9RhiuiSdjKpxNJPj05qMITMGJZON2gOFnBElwtHXkcTuqniryT2X/s1600/4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="1044" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdVeV-5CKeKdf7eLnKXlK1BBxxZJqQFeu_UxX7fJR763civ1kHXPoIVFGB2fWrNYeOAIqdkQ4HzWguvg5WzAFNpUqB9RhiuiSdjKpxNJPj05qMITMGJZON2gOFnBElwtHXkcTuqniryT2X/w390-h291/4.jpg" width="390" /></a>The past weeks for instance, I stuck to the healthy diet and had nothing to sin with in the house; no chocolate, no bread, no sugary things. No crisps either. Then came that moment of boredom with the same safe foods day in and day out. I stuck it out some longer but by the time the new weekly shopping had to be done, I bought some chocolate, a chocolate pastry and some almonds covered in chocolate. I purposely bought small quantities, no large bars or anything, because I ate it all today. I guess it's supposed to be a reward for sticking to the low calorie, low carbohydrates, low on fun foods for as long as I did. But the 'reward' came in the shape of a flushed hot red face for most of the day and evening now. Dammit. And the effects are there right away, within half an hour. I always curse myself then and vow to <i>never </i>eat this crappy food again. Until the next time of course. Anyway, I just wanted to share this video with you, again thanks to Gunther for linking me to it. And I took the time to put English subtitles under the German video. To anyone German out there who may view it, please forgive me if I translated 1 or 2 muffled words incorrectly. I was poor at German in school..</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYlMmlx6_sVZBNm2QfD03sAvmfL_0rey3byBePpkPT90xjAcaT-iwmINR95ROV8Qip8X0kjuPQJ0z7T_XjdmZ-YL-gQgSHY5-fBuOF9IK9WhIiD9oVoattnGJFLBtnJheGmRJZP5Tl1RM/s1600/106211143_304679713891180_8510681375526888024_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYlMmlx6_sVZBNm2QfD03sAvmfL_0rey3byBePpkPT90xjAcaT-iwmINR95ROV8Qip8X0kjuPQJ0z7T_XjdmZ-YL-gQgSHY5-fBuOF9IK9WhIiD9oVoattnGJFLBtnJheGmRJZP5Tl1RM/s400/106211143_304679713891180_8510681375526888024_n.jpg" width="400" /></a>Regarding the existing anti-inflammatory diets out there, many are slightly different. Some ask you to cut out fruits, while others say you should eat them, because many fruits are anti-inflammatory. The pure fruit of course, no canned nonsense with added sugar or preservatives. And some meats are considered pro-inflammatory, while other diets ask you to eat as much protein as possible. I visited a traditional Chinese doctor in the past and he also gave me a strict diet, basically an anti-inflammatory diet, although they consider products like garlic and unions and ginger and certain predatory fish also as 'inflammatory' for those with 'heat' producing skin conditions. I had to cut that out too. And of course alcohol and caffeine... (I never consume either). In the end it's also about which diet people can stick to. Which leaves some variety of foods to make you able to continue with the diet long term. Eating no sugar, wheat or milk once or twice a week is not going to cut it unfortunately, you need to stick with that diet continuously for a long time to see changes in your skin (for those for who it works, which isn't everyone with rosacea. I also read about fasting a lot lately. But further than one meal every 24 hours I have not come haha. Apparently a 3 day fast now and then is good for resetting your gut flora and immune functions... Maybe in the future. <span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div>
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<br /><br /><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">June 29</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16ZMwN9rpCY2KwMpPKzlYpI26AgO2S3CBectlMH7aVtUmMsQ8ln2tj5W-zvHDFs2LPtwvBRnuK-zyPwYZt-39XobPwYBysMX31UoSdovJZyAs8bPPW1lb5y0kXYV0e8ii7h5aLzNnftZB/s1600/DSC02664%252C6.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><br />My skin is so so. Sometimes I flush, especially when out and about or when stressed. I stick to cooling with a fan or air conditioning when it gets too warm. I think my skin has more base (background) redness in the winter cold than in the summer heat, but the more humid the warmth is, the worse I flush. So I just march on with the same lifestyle as always. Have been very social for a long period of time, seeing many friends and going out for meals and drinks and all that, which was lovely but also a bit tiring. Bu am feeling good as always, mentally. Nevertheless... someone wrote that I always look so depressed in the photos I share 😌. I completely understand that assumption, I do not really smile much in photos, but I never have. That's just.... me, I guess. A professional non-smiler in photos. I feel fine though, not depressed, so no worries. Oh and my friend E. sent me <b><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-29/health-problems-caused-by-covid-19/12402852">another article</a></b> about the long term possible complications from covid:<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3WeizA8OhP1NdpSe0XFRxLxqowl8F94MEWD57YMAtETggSRWrXRtyQsxN72Zw8oMNq6tKL59_0Lgcvs0vfxZVqvZ5uRKral-3D0qnncw9cZYwRB1GOl4KL-vxkJpQ_DJy856D0NYPCBC0/s637/DSC02717%252C99.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="637" data-original-width="391" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3WeizA8OhP1NdpSe0XFRxLxqowl8F94MEWD57YMAtETggSRWrXRtyQsxN72Zw8oMNq6tKL59_0Lgcvs0vfxZVqvZ5uRKral-3D0qnncw9cZYwRB1GOl4KL-vxkJpQ_DJy856D0NYPCBC0/w159-h260/DSC02717%252C99.jpg" width="159" /></a><i style="text-align: center;">"It's a lung condition first and foremost, but scientists are uncovering evidence coronavirus can also attack a patient's blood, liver, brain and kidneys. "We thought this was only a respiratory virus. Turns out, it goes after the pancreas. It goes after the heart. It goes after the liver, the brain, the kidneys and other organs. We didn't appreciate that in the beginning," said Dr Eric Topol, a cardiologist and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, California. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>In addition to respiratory distress, patients with COVID-19 can experience blood clotting disorders that can lead to strokes, and extreme inflammation that attacks multiple organ systems.</b></span> The virus can also cause neurological complications that range from headache, dizziness and loss of taste or smell to seizures and confusion."<br /><br /></i>I followed the news for a long time but I sincerely cannot watch more than 30 minutes of this madness a day anymore. Better focus on good books or those movies still allowed to be shown these days by the PC police. Oh and some uplifting news from the animal world: The last testament of Maurice the Rooster: "Cultivate your garden. That never disappoints." So, what has happened? Maurice, the most famous rooster in France, has died. Of old age. He left a goodbye letter which will touch even the most hardhearted animal hater among you. Maurice rose to fame after a wealthy snobby city couple dragged him to court last year. For making too much noise and waking them up every morning, while they had expected some peace and quiet during their holiday in Oléron, a small island off France’s western coast. What happened next has gripped the nation and made Maurice a national hero. The second-home neighbors wanted Maurice removed from the village. The judge who handled this court case was faced with some important decision making. Would he side with modern day tourism or old fashioned, rural and traditional village life ways? With globalization or French backlands? With holidaymakers or locals? With human 'rights' or animal rights?<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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Last September, a judge ruled in Maurice’s favor and his lawyer, Julien Papineau, pronounced a great truth: <i><span style="color: #444444;"><b>“This rooster was not being unbearable. He was just being himself.” </b></span></i>About 140,000 people had at the same time signed a petition supporting a rooster’s right to make a noise. Maurice the rooster made the Gallic coq even more of a French symbol than the animal already was. And now, shortly after his national victory, Maurice has left us. Corinne Fesseau, his owner, announced last week that he had died in May of coryza, a respiratory infection common to chickens, and that she had buried him in her garden. The rooster, also dubbed “a cantankerous fowl with a magnificent puffed-out coat” reached the age of 6 years and is seen as a rural hero now. Maurice did not leave this earth without some last words, which may inspire someone out there, reading them:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18jj4gCuhr_XZI34oH2k9Y5sSbdDhpD9oEo2M7P7s8pR3YzkjOrvnbeJVggPOiaKs7yDoLTtm57C3FsvmD2_8TwNzf3lXjuWTS7jS5qClt82h4Ly-vWzZK3dZOvdw86WOoP6_FFi2wIZj/s1600/3500.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="700" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18jj4gCuhr_XZI34oH2k9Y5sSbdDhpD9oEo2M7P7s8pR3YzkjOrvnbeJVggPOiaKs7yDoLTtm57C3FsvmD2_8TwNzf3lXjuWTS7jS5qClt82h4Ly-vWzZK3dZOvdw86WOoP6_FFi2wIZj/s320/3500.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWlkj1cqaOI6OGAvGeNM7SWaDC9vbhg1oIwLZerVGCzvIPgRA_F6guBasxQngczfUjEBwjlfGNVyKICdWwpC0W6sdjCW0Ue4WeofMcUwz0kxgf8qpcOqFb-p1945tyY6HiXxThJ6Wnetn/s1600/merlin_156502959_553d0150-41dc-43c6-963a-5e82a1edb23f-superJumbo.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWlkj1cqaOI6OGAvGeNM7SWaDC9vbhg1oIwLZerVGCzvIPgRA_F6guBasxQngczfUjEBwjlfGNVyKICdWwpC0W6sdjCW0Ue4WeofMcUwz0kxgf8qpcOqFb-p1945tyY6HiXxThJ6Wnetn/s320/merlin_156502959_553d0150-41dc-43c6-963a-5e82a1edb23f-superJumbo.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wxY5BYhcCqJPf07tlQETTWQPcyWaC1I6uspNp8QcA3qNRi83AV5texTlcdSu7dVYY91TXaKaIZFCfffOxs-bfQjyInMra4BQYA7W4jBXeiE5bzZuFIigb2FFGMJPnTdMn0MYuEudtXNc/s1600/4863.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1200" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wxY5BYhcCqJPf07tlQETTWQPcyWaC1I6uspNp8QcA3qNRi83AV5texTlcdSu7dVYY91TXaKaIZFCfffOxs-bfQjyInMra4BQYA7W4jBXeiE5bzZuFIigb2FFGMJPnTdMn0MYuEudtXNc/s320/4863.jpg" width="320" /></a><i><span style="font-size: medium;">“I am not a hero. That’s an overused word. I spoke my own truth. I did what came naturally to me. Many things change but the essential things do not. The sun sets. The sun rises. Shaking my wattles, raising my head, I had to greet the morning. I could never resist, and why should I have? I had to crow. This was my particular joy, my particular thing. Each of us has one. Honor it.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: medium;">I am sorry to have caused a fuss. I never wanted to annoy anyone. Those neighbors from Limoges, with their busy city lives, I know they wanted their peace. They had been saving for their summer vacation. Perhaps what they missed is that a sound, like my crowing or a ship’s foghorn or a train whistle, may form part of the peace of a place.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: medium;">A little more patience, a little less agitation, never did any harm. I never went anywhere, and I was happy. There’s more to a coop than meets the eye. There’s more to any place if you look long enough. I was content to have three hens as companions. They kept me busy. Contentment, for me, was being attuned to the rhythms and cycles of life. The chicken and the egg. Keep your eye on the sunrise. [..] Even if everything changes so that everything can stay the same. Cultivate your garden. That never disappoints.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: medium;">I will miss Corinne. I will miss strutting about. I will miss puffing out my plumage and making heads turn (yes, I admit it, I noticed that). I will miss emptying my lungs in the dawn, such a perfect feeling. I will miss the little familiar sounds that offer comfort. I bequeath the 1,000 euros the judge awarded me to the establishment of an online audio museum of rural sounds. Lest this hectic world forget. </span></i><i><span style="font-size: medium;">May peace spread across the earth, but please do not confuse peace with silence.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: medium;">Maurice the Rooster”</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 23px;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">I also grew up in the countryside, at a farm and surrounded by animals and hay sheds and such. Good times. </span></b>My parents are no farmers though, we just rented a huge farmhouse from the real farmer next door (my dad is an artist and mum worked at the local museum and newspaper). There is a well known Dutch comedian, it's all very ancient stuff from a good few decades ago, and he has one sketch where he plays a calculating farmer. His mimicking and the way he looks are spot on for our sort of farmers, who are usually pretty shrewd. He says that he and his wife make good extra money hosting the 'city folk'. And in order to give them the farmland experience, so to speak, they give them exactly what they want to pay for. Early morning they get up from their comfy bungalow nearby, walk to the disheveled farmhouse where the city guests sleep, slap a few buckets and milk cans together to make them feel the 'simple farm life', and go back to bed. 'They love that stuff'. And they also want to pick the freshly laid eggs from under the chicken. So the farmer and his wife go to the supermarket, buy a full package of eggs, drug the chickens with some xanax so they stay put and then place some egg underneath them. They put eggs under the rooster too, as the city folk won't see the difference anyway :) And the people want to smell the simple smell of manure. But the fertilizer used these days, smells of nothing. So the shrewd farmer feeds the animals unions, garlic and carrots for a good manure smell, and if that isn't enough he sprays some specially fabricated manure perfume aerosol :) Exclusively made shit spray. City folk won't notice the difference anyway. Ching ching.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVkxZJTc-ZXN7fg80jrVud2LRKlVkdqB31SZN27PrMq4DMmnWlHoKF8pK8JCKgG6JkPSJpEo5dH7nJkbir34GEQI_gGOnXVof2TMmDrJRJ8cGYcJbzN4nzgiCeOs77I95JFoV_qXIIM8e/s1600/c1936f27b6449af6315a8d6041ff8307--le-coin-coin-lecture.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="475" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVkxZJTc-ZXN7fg80jrVud2LRKlVkdqB31SZN27PrMq4DMmnWlHoKF8pK8JCKgG6JkPSJpEo5dH7nJkbir34GEQI_gGOnXVof2TMmDrJRJ8cGYcJbzN4nzgiCeOs77I95JFoV_qXIIM8e/s400/c1936f27b6449af6315a8d6041ff8307--le-coin-coin-lecture.jpg" width="252" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I also read a great book. </b></span>Well, great, it depends a bit on your taste in books of course. This one is from the 1842, by Honoré de Balzac. I read the audiobook version, which you can download for free in English <b><a href="http://audiobookbay.nl/audio-books/la-rabouilleuse-honore-de-balzac/">here</a></b>. It is one of my preferred Balzac novels so far. Just like in Cousin Bette, Balzac paints the personalities and lives of a whole series of characters. who all are related or come into contact with one another. Some characters are beautiful but naive, others seem to have been dealt lesser cards in life, but try to work their way up in society. And then there are the true scheming scoundrels. More than two villains this book has and the plot is quite riveting in fact. The Black Sheep, or The Two Brothers as the book is also called at times, follows a family and dedicates most of its pages to the brothers Philippe and Joseph. The older makes a career in the army and is a true scoundrel, the younger becomes an artist and is the most gentle and ethical creature. The mother seems to grab beside the family fortune inheritance in favour of her older brother. But when the brother is ageing and ailing and has no children of his own, renewed interest goes his way. Especially when the family find out that the brother is living an unmarried life with a beautiful young mistress, Flore. But she has a scoundrel of a lover, Maxence, the equal of Philippe in terms of evil plotting and military background, who also has his eye on the family inheritance. As always with Balzac, gathering money and means in life is the driving force of most of the plot. But I highly enjoyed the contrast between the brothers, and the truly shocking tricks and shambolics Philippe resorts to, to get where he wants.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Du2IDs1PMwlJjuZPLr9oYMzP7DjWqmWE0IgUd7IhFQCEgAtD_rPnyoWsgrBcem8MaXdyels5DXskdUr5TuEnRLP3HV8WVujCWHWSGL8Hvw7BoGAI90eiPv_vO8rU0GTobYXvAYaCmw8j/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="177" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Du2IDs1PMwlJjuZPLr9oYMzP7DjWqmWE0IgUd7IhFQCEgAtD_rPnyoWsgrBcem8MaXdyels5DXskdUr5TuEnRLP3HV8WVujCWHWSGL8Hvw7BoGAI90eiPv_vO8rU0GTobYXvAYaCmw8j/s400/download.jpg" width="248" /></a>I won't spoil too much, but if you happen to have patience with books and like eloquent language, wit, history and elaborated character descriptions and plot lines, this may be something for you. I like that the author created very lifelike characters and does away with the impression that crime doesn't pay. In fact, in accordance with real life, murder, ruthless ambition, exploitation of vulnerable geezers and neglect of one's parents may pay off quite handsomely. Nice people finish last! Outer appearances also give people a head start in life in this book. The mother prefers her good looking, well-connected and at times successful scoundrel of a son over the mundane looking struggling artist with a heart of gold. Even though the latter gives her all the attention and devotion which the former withholds from her. So deep is this prejudice rooted, that even a loving mother confuses good looks and lust for money and power with virtue. She idolizes the Black Sheep of the family without bounds. There are many contrasts in this book, such as city life versus countryside life. But also the brothers form interesting contrasts, underlining their sibling rivalry. Phillipe is the rough, confident and brass embittered tall soldier with fair blue eyes and appealing features; Joseph the short, dark and humble selfless artist who time and time again is faced with conflicts of loyalty. Their mother firmly believes in Joseph’s mediocrity regardless of being told in no uncertain terms on more than one occasion that Joseph is talented, kind and loving. Both grow up without a father figure, as their dad dies at a young age, serving Napoleon as a civil servant. The impact of this growing up without a significant male role model to steer the Bridau family shows in both men, and Balzac also explicitly names it as a factor in the trouble unfolding. The preference from the mother for the handsome son is also an ongoing theme in the book.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1MnZFkC0SiuzsyAXGbul7M04bxnZEXwtefTzeQUYnKQ_Rz_I9bGIQsM74s6f7kcI4BfysMqOA0zWstyMBbGDPtmQ1l0VRMgFlX1ufvn6lFQGuq2OV3pGae4JrqtX581A54QKpe91Q4gGN/s1600/lpdp_145720-17.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1MnZFkC0SiuzsyAXGbul7M04bxnZEXwtefTzeQUYnKQ_Rz_I9bGIQsM74s6f7kcI4BfysMqOA0zWstyMBbGDPtmQ1l0VRMgFlX1ufvn6lFQGuq2OV3pGae4JrqtX581A54QKpe91Q4gGN/s320/lpdp_145720-17.jpg" width="256" /></a>The plot of this novel is unexpected with intrigue, surprising twists and turns and complex, because there are many characters involved, more than one villain and it is full of deceit, scheming, plotting and vice. The aim of almost everyone involved is money and self-advancement. But it is also a rich book which often deviates from the strict plot itself, explaining you a lot about post-Napoleonic France, the Bourbon Dynasty, social conduct in those days, arranged marriages, inheritance, as well as rural provincial culture versus Paris city life, upper class wealth versus working class poverty. And of course: the importance of money to support you through life, something which was a much more pressing matter back in the 19th century, without social welfare and other significant financial safety nets. One element that is woven throughout the story is that of addiction. Addiction to gambling predominantly, but also addiction to alcohol. One relative has a lifelong hope to win the lottery and spends vast sums of her savings on it, another struggles with civilian life once he comes out of the military and gets trapped in a life of debauchery. Because Balzac paints such lifelike characters, in such great detail, he does not need to write out and dictate the reader moral lessons. Instead he allows you to encounter situations as if you were there and makes you feel the emotions of his characters, who often represent the best and worst qualities in people (and everything in between); sometimes all combined into one person, so there are no archetypal 'all bad' or 'all good' characters. Although some are certainly more good than others... Women do not get off lightly with Balzac. You are faced with outer appearances of the characters yourself, as well as with the fleeting nature of success and the lengths at which people will go to get what they want.<br />
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I was surprised that someone who wrote so extensively about the details of everything, managed to create such speed in his story. Especially once you got through the first chapters, I was gripped by the twists and turns. Balzac managed to give me some sympathy for the scoundrels in the story and some contempt for the good people. Quite a feat. He also switches perspective a lot and allows even the minor characters in the book to come to flourish, by providing you with their own backstory. I especially enjoyed Balzacs sense of humour, non-sentimentality and eye for detail.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrAjAcbcrR5_QNP7Ap8V79UcU4TRcWw1qZhBOwpR3NptR4cuAt3JLt-7T6_2ZYsGHddJmcwzhuXDA_WslsMSNQX7firWAQYTG7MfKZe9TcvDr99sBD3HBRyuFs-1foyT_Ep1V6nS-1FuN/s1600/29358846-8398071-image-a-43_1591619411170+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="962" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrAjAcbcrR5_QNP7Ap8V79UcU4TRcWw1qZhBOwpR3NptR4cuAt3JLt-7T6_2ZYsGHddJmcwzhuXDA_WslsMSNQX7firWAQYTG7MfKZe9TcvDr99sBD3HBRyuFs-1foyT_Ep1V6nS-1FuN/s400/29358846-8398071-image-a-43_1591619411170+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMbiHl9K4cMV7M8jIgMba2rNCtcZ7QkWbpBQIIt18t1BuVPPHsW4brjoCBXR8lpuGhFYWu2gEVinU9HOkSDUJ8hcIeHWNgTkkAUO_bN9ffIErllCjqkktZvaittHT9Inni8kBcL4VY3jr/s1600/29354286-0-image-a-33_1591605965082+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="962" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMbiHl9K4cMV7M8jIgMba2rNCtcZ7QkWbpBQIIt18t1BuVPPHsW4brjoCBXR8lpuGhFYWu2gEVinU9HOkSDUJ8hcIeHWNgTkkAUO_bN9ffIErllCjqkktZvaittHT9Inni8kBcL4VY3jr/s400/29354286-0-image-a-33_1591605965082+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">June </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">8th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b></div>
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Hefty times.. Not just the coronavirus doing its rounds still, but also the violence and protests in the streets, which few people probably have missed by now. There is so much written about police violence and racism now, I don't think I am going to burn my fingers too much on the topic, because even with the best of intentions you can put one word 'wrong' and in today's caustic online climate that can result in getting your head bitten off. Orwellian style. Or see your argument turned inside out, the words picked apart, shaken in a bag and put back out in a different order, contorting what you were trying to say by twitter warfare and keypad revolutionaries, basically. But what I do like to say is that I wonder while seeing the news, why the overarching cause of inequality isn't being protested? As in: isn't the biggest cause of inequality for all of humanity the 1% owning most of the wealth and the subsequent disparity in income? With resulting poverty and crime, with resulting police force. Police brutality is obviously also an issue, more so overseas than where I'm from but still, killing unarmed people they are supposed to arrest should be heavily penalized when such persons were surrendering. But it does not stop at the borders of black communities. Police have statistically killed more white assailants and suspects than black ones, in the United States and also in places like the UK where violent protests also take place. Just check the actual research done on the matter, including by a black Harvard scientist. Every murder by police is one too many. But why do only black ones warrant media outrage? You don't hear the media about the many black and white deaths as a result of the violent protests. Aren't their lost lives important? It makes it seem like the media nitpick who's deaths are worth mentioning and who's aren't. And like cops are out to kill people only based on their skin colour, which is frankly not what the statistics are showing or supporting. Horrifying as this murder was, it seems symbolic politics to pretend all inequality will be resolved when the police force is dismantled. And why is black on black violence, which makes up the large majority of violent deaths for people of colour, not protested? Racism and prejudice in general also happens when people apply for a job, for instance. But protests are not going to change that. You need to look closer into the have's and have not's for that problem. But none of the rich sponsors are going to give money for SUCH a protest, as it challenges their own wealth.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATs1RBFT3ez_5bPRfZDUfeA8C8Ahiaxy6WfC1HUnOml2K06_k7uMBoJt4lAHWzvi-ZuSdxHIaUFy3UKZpFkYmZFY_Uj9kwecnxtM6Qa_S1AcGYFViOpqOMSk3QmiSgQ33vZG0yw5u9hiT/s1600/29358946-8397019-image-a-55_1591616927722+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1443" data-original-width="962" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATs1RBFT3ez_5bPRfZDUfeA8C8Ahiaxy6WfC1HUnOml2K06_k7uMBoJt4lAHWzvi-ZuSdxHIaUFy3UKZpFkYmZFY_Uj9kwecnxtM6Qa_S1AcGYFViOpqOMSk3QmiSgQ33vZG0yw5u9hiT/w257-h386/29358946-8397019-image-a-55_1591616927722+%25282%2529.jpg" width="257" /></a>Urgent as racism debates are, this is also a class fight. But it is much easier to divide the people using race. Because let's face it, spokespeople like Oprah Winfrey and her rich millionaire friends have no interest in protesters at their own doors, demanding a better dividing of wealth. THEIR wealth. And globalist-funded Antifa and their leaders behind the scenes are not going to make it their prime goal to make the poorest richer, at the expense of tax payers money, now are they? That is not in their own interest. So terrorism and destruction are OK when it's done by radical communists now. I don't think they'd get such a free pass if they tried to tear down the banks though and banking is what slavery was all about. I only hope the woke rich celebs, preaching from behind their gated billionaire communities are living on borrowed time in that respect. But maybe I am too old fashioned with those 20th century ideas about dividing wealth more equally, and building a better more just society through a welfare state. It did the United States a lot of good though, back in those 1950's, with a strong and resilient middle class, possessing half the countries wealth. Allowing one family member to provide for his wife and kids on one jobs paycheck, with affordable housing and all that stuff that seems to be lacking now. But let's not focus on the 1% owning the majority of the wealth now, in their enclaves, guarding the pot of gold for their own family only. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDT_ZvJlS6rQ05LvmvbO1vwWf6uoSI8cQHjl4XJoYDAX98y4WVOYc4_5b0E6I-YBXA1zWU73DWmpe7N99UDcWfxguOEAeQ5bvt18pPSvIz_e3vLCYMN3nK0kQKoVCPgAeDQ37iKExif45i/s1600/EZ64RZ2WsAAyR4e.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="598" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDT_ZvJlS6rQ05LvmvbO1vwWf6uoSI8cQHjl4XJoYDAX98y4WVOYc4_5b0E6I-YBXA1zWU73DWmpe7N99UDcWfxguOEAeQ5bvt18pPSvIz_e3vLCYMN3nK0kQKoVCPgAeDQ37iKExif45i/s400/EZ64RZ2WsAAyR4e.png" width="342" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b>I had a good laugh yesterday over some British humour.</b></span> The media is all out on the subjective reporting again. Someone mocked the BBC's reports that the protests were "largely peacefully" (despite 27 police agents being injured with a female agent very badly injured, a police horse being attacked with missiles and statues being ruined and demolished) and compared it with wartime reporting. <i>"A bit like Nazi Germany invading Poland 'largely peacefully' in 1939". </i>Peaceful, apart from a few minor scuffles. "In fairness it was self defense, a Pole looked at a German.."</div>
BBC 1939: "Some bombs were launched but were mainly ineffective as they bounced out of sight".<br />
BBC 1939: "Generally peaceful war has been declared by Britain and France on Germany."<br />
Or about the Hindenburg in 1937: "BBC reports that 62 people arrived in New York after a largely successful airship journey"<br />
BBC 1945: "A few Japanese people suffer minor cuts and bruises after the USA gently drop an atomic bomb'."<br />
BBC 1943: "German defence of Stalingrad 'Largely Successful'. Only a handful of casualties reported."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7U-bepTr7z0xui1PbZSnnjKq-DhEIlA3NH7ZIfcRCDAGoPLSfY9y9mgD3q6NiYceAWW7zTCEnb-xgVO7NYgvkzTzd9hq_1KBp0yg4zirskGnZwlTTflC07HCjQpftJ9iVPKHg6pL7ceFI/s1600/29335722-8397019-Protesters_tied_ropes_around_the_statue_of_Edward_Colston_in_Bri-a-2_1591595393124+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="962" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7U-bepTr7z0xui1PbZSnnjKq-DhEIlA3NH7ZIfcRCDAGoPLSfY9y9mgD3q6NiYceAWW7zTCEnb-xgVO7NYgvkzTzd9hq_1KBp0yg4zirskGnZwlTTflC07HCjQpftJ9iVPKHg6pL7ceFI/s400/29335722-8397019-Protesters_tied_ropes_around_the_statue_of_Edward_Colston_in_Bri-a-2_1591595393124+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXQ-RBcQTE-qTkx7voZASEBFsIFFsmFrzZkZzz3cmL1xF5sUhIK-46VNKZyPaL6vM1FF_3U1G5ChQlDRXrodtjHQa2l2VKn5v2dZSyHewo8DC4RHq0D9Q2j3OAH5o8wQ0KAH2KmEDTIiP/s1600/29350458-8397019-image-a-2_1591598027178+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="962" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXQ-RBcQTE-qTkx7voZASEBFsIFFsmFrzZkZzz3cmL1xF5sUhIK-46VNKZyPaL6vM1FF_3U1G5ChQlDRXrodtjHQa2l2VKn5v2dZSyHewo8DC4RHq0D9Q2j3OAH5o8wQ0KAH2KmEDTIiP/s400/29350458-8397019-image-a-2_1591598027178+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Something else which made me think is this habit of attacking statues of past leaders or historical figures.</b></span> Symbolic politics again. But why do some American friends of mine see no problem in destroying figures from the past, while I find it horrifying and an attempt of censorship of history? Which is not to say that some of those statues aren't controversial. Maybe it has to do with me being an old fashioned European and historian. I'll explain it in a bit.</div>
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First what an American friend said about it: "The thing about the statues here is that they’re not kept in museums. They’re not historical oddities kept for nostalgia. They are in public parks, on street corners, and in public squares. They’ve mostly been erected in our parents’ lifetimes [not true here in Europe where these statues are hundreds of years old often]. These statues were a public demonstration of defiance against integration. “Fuck you, we’ll keep hatin’ us some blacks!” was the entire point of these statues. Once seen in the context of a cunty backlash against black people being treated as human in the 1960's, this becomes less about remembering history and more about telling 14% of America they’re hated. Those statues need to come down, or at the very least moved to museums. The only people that think we should keep a visible and proud memorial to slavery are the sort that think it was a mistake to put an end to slavery. They cling to these statues because they cannot accept that the days where white-meant-right are over. When being white is all you have going for you, it can feel like the earth is eroding beneath you. So they’re going to have to find a new source of pride." "George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. This means they were not good people. There are mitigating circumstances such as the zeitgeist at the time, the traditions and societal norms, etc. Yet can we accept and embrace that fundamentally, they were people that owned, bred, and sold other humans being for labor and profit. This is to be distanced from, accepted as an evil of the past that must be recognized and acknowledged as being evil. It doesn’t change that these men had an impact on American and world history that changed the fate of our species."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGND7l3jyQHsOiJuPKbLLemG3ssMhAREVECUKpIjZhRMn2-pesabCE88uZAlMiwnPdtSGXO0Dr8oXsy_wTQETlRlYmPEmF_AHZhRngQ37bazX_LvduMTpRbw406uDFCFslSuLGQdy8Y5XF/s1600/29337452-8397019-image-a-82_1591562652190+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="643" data-original-width="470" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGND7l3jyQHsOiJuPKbLLemG3ssMhAREVECUKpIjZhRMn2-pesabCE88uZAlMiwnPdtSGXO0Dr8oXsy_wTQETlRlYmPEmF_AHZhRngQ37bazX_LvduMTpRbw406uDFCFslSuLGQdy8Y5XF/s400/29337452-8397019-image-a-82_1591562652190+%25282%2529.jpg" width="290" /></a>Although I agree that in today's time and world, they did bad things, I don't agree with angry mobs destroying statues that have stood in our cities for hundreds of years over here. The statue of 17th century politician Edward Colston in Bristol was torn down yesterday, demolished and dumped in the canal. Because he was a colonialist. But also a philanthropist who donated large sums of money to Bristol in particular. Hence, the statue, which had been in place since 1895. It had been a subject of controversy in recent years, with a petition to remove it garnering around 11,000 signatures. But why is an angry mob deciding what should and shouldn't be vandalized in the public space? Is this still a democracy, or does mob rule now have the biggest say? How about they also topple the hospitals, schools, etc that he was responsible for building? Colston gave all his money to charity after his death so if they really want to be true to their ideals they'll have to burn the whole of Bristol to the ground. Which goes for most of those statues of historical figures, certainly in England; they got their statues for spending their fortunes on building these cities. And where is the line here? The problem is, people only remember the 1st half of his life. How he got his money. The historical context and the widespread 'normalcy' (hard as that is to grasp for us modern day people) of this in the times when he lived, is not taken into account. This is called cherry-picking. Churchill is now also considered 'a confirmed racist'. "Mr Churchill only fought the Nazis to protect the protect the Commonwealth from invasion - he didn't do it for black people or for people of colour." But let's just forget about how he helped save most of Europe also from the Nazi's... Police were meanwhile too busy patrolling Twitter to stop these acts of vandalism. Slavery was a horrible thing and unfortunately it existed in the past, and still does in parts of the world although you wouldn't know it going by the First World protesters and feminists. Arab countries had it and Saudi Arabia (among other places) still has slavery. People fought to put a stop to it. It’s by now part of national history. Aside from the fact that the men who got these statues have been remembered for a lot more than just their role in slavery or colonialism, their statues are still standing because they are a reminder of our history.<span style="color: #444444;"><b> I understand why some statues are better removed, as some people did things which are no longer accepted in the modern day world. I also understand why people think such people do not deserve a statue any longer, in the public space, celebrating their life. But it's not up to a mob of looters, a small minority of society, to decide about this, or to unilaterally start demolishing them. Unless a democratic majority of the people want them removed, I'm having a problem with angry mobs deciding for us all and destroying them on their own accord.</b></span> If everybody has their say and wants such a statue gone, then the memory of their part in history (a cautionary tale sometimes) can instead stay alive in books or museums. This is a democracy we live in, not a dictatorship. This is going to cause so many problems, if this government doesn't stamp out this mob culture now. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEcUHG52LCpW9nf07Zo6n_uixVVYhKkUAW0PpAsqr6j9z_-wiLRJDNFjGMl1KcUcKpRBIuhUPeO9Ma7gvgSqZo-ICheYYRJONvv8P1misdFc7oWTj_IIiuVmr7hK7lJyqCxVBaMC5UDUO/s1600/29354014-8398117-image-a-32_1591605485659+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1443" data-original-width="962" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEcUHG52LCpW9nf07Zo6n_uixVVYhKkUAW0PpAsqr6j9z_-wiLRJDNFjGMl1KcUcKpRBIuhUPeO9Ma7gvgSqZo-ICheYYRJONvv8P1misdFc7oWTj_IIiuVmr7hK7lJyqCxVBaMC5UDUO/s400/29354014-8398117-image-a-32_1591605485659+%25282%2529.jpg" width="266" /></a>In the Netherlands we have statues for seafarer Michiel de Ruyter for instance, and other 'colonial' occupational forces of the past. Because of their historical achievements on the whole for Dutch history. And when you let a triggered emotional mob decide on all this, then next we will see books being burned for not telling the right things. And that is dangerous territory. Just ask George Orwell. Europeans are also fundamentally different from people in the New World when it comes to us clutching at our history. Our national identity is closely tied to our history, in this part of the world. Without a history, a new country has no future for us Europeans. That is why young states do all they can to create a historical and nationalist narrative, erecting statues and art works to prove this. Therefore, a statue is not 'just' a statue for us. We want to have a past, above anything else. Unlike the American settlers, who shook off their old country's heritage and started fresh and anew. Even the native Americans had to go... The States wants to look at the future and are proud of their modern blinking skyscrapers. Same for many Chinese cities, where old neighborhoods are easily bulldozed in favour of metal and glass also. But Europeans hold onto the past for their national identity. Maybe because we also <i>have</i> a lot of tangible history. Maybe this sentiment is subconsciously playing a part in the negative comments in most European online newspapers about this statue destruction, done by mostly young people. And whether people like it or not, we can't change history. Those statues, for many people, act as an emblem of our past and of how far we have come in some ways. You shouldn't want to rewrite history with the morals and views of today. Nobody would dream of demolishing Auschwitz (or not yet at least!) because it is a permanent reminder of one of the worst racist atrocity's in history. What's next on the radicals (barbarians) hit list, the Pyramids in Egypt? Because they were built by slaves? And statues also remind us of our past, which is important in shaping the future. The past should not be wiped out or eradicated, but learnt from. Besides, those men who got these statues also did a lot of good usually, like fighting the nazi's, or using their wealth to build entire cities. You'd have to pretty much bombard all of Bristol to the ground if you want to undo the works of Edward Colston. You can't judge every part of history and its people by the standards of our time. Many were born in a world with its own set of habits and rules. Just like we all have been born in such a world, our own 'normal'. Many people did not question their reality of the day, with all its flaws and good parts. Only some people did and made changes, and we remember them for it. But to judge the past with today's coloured glasses on firmly... it is not quite fair. Or helpful. We don't want to enroll in a whirlwind of modern day iconoclasm, with Christian statues and art demolished because they 'trigger' and 'offend' people with different religions. Or statues of world leaders from the past thrown in the canals, because people found some less than savoury facts about them on wikipedia. By hiding your past and mistakes, people will never learn valuable lessons. If the younger generation want to make a mark, they should create and not destroy. And besides, aren't there more urgent pressing matters to tackle for feminists and activists? Slavery still exists in many countries, including in Saudi Arabia and Lybia. How about protesting that? Same for feminists. But the keypad revolutionaries won't touch evils like that, you never hear them about it. Too afraid it will offend Muslims, with all sorts of possible unwanted consequences? Better focus on weak minded Liberal societies and age old statues.. Well, many will disagree with me on all this, but that's ok.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35DZ85d3ayOvET0C8GMLWl0taLJAlDzvtgbCkf-YF4ChNz7t3_qnTYMfuySeGtq-38N34cFjEeUIdmbpuI7gZ9xsxxk6hI2eqW0602c9RiuixYABMhII7DOWCipgzbOCydy1PiRWKkm1L/s1600/51f24e5892b1a47b65238f9adbab7ed0.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="586" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35DZ85d3ayOvET0C8GMLWl0taLJAlDzvtgbCkf-YF4ChNz7t3_qnTYMfuySeGtq-38N34cFjEeUIdmbpuI7gZ9xsxxk6hI2eqW0602c9RiuixYABMhII7DOWCipgzbOCydy1PiRWKkm1L/s320/51f24e5892b1a47b65238f9adbab7ed0.jpg" width="238" /></a>What's the point of freedom of speech, if we only can say what a small group wants to hear? And even then they'll find a way to be offended. Or does that no longer exist in this new "modern" world of Millennials? It's interesting how the people of a younger generation who say they hate bullying turn into the worst bullies ever known when someone dares to disagree with them. Has to stop, this PC madness. Complex questions of politics, race and identity have become sharply polarized, stripped of all nuance, simplified beyond all reason and presented as moral imperatives, a simple case of good versus evil, love versus hate, and yes, black versus white. The notion that all white people are privileged and racists and need to apologize for their very existence is completely ridiculous. But say that out loud, and you are typecast as not much better than the men who killed Floyd. Open debate and freedom of opinion are silenced and the (social) media are playing a huge part in it. You either support their view of the world or you are the enemy. It's mindbogglingly dumb, but there you have it. George Orwell thought this big danger would come from the Right, but he was wrong there*. Any deviation from the narrative of extreme political correctness, of Left wing ‘woke’ revisionism, is interpreted as a thought crime, a perversion, and shut down accordingly. Call me old fashioned (not old) but this is not the Liberalism I grew up with. I'll be the last to censor someone for having a different opinion. <b style="color: #444444;">*For those not knowing George Orwell (tsk tsk tsk), here is a quote:</b><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.” ― George Orwell, 1984 </span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">UPDATE</span></b><br />
I understand that some people say that statues do not just remember, but 'honour and idolize' these historical figures. I don't agree with that. Statues are very rarely idolized. Most people have to look up who the statues represent, before they take offence. Statues are like the wallpaper of our streets. Hardly anyone knows their history, anyway. Statues are mostly used for pets to pee on or for the shade they offer in summer. Historians and modern day people need to be careful with 'improving' the past. Iconoclasms are moralistic judgement of the past, stripped of all its nuance, context and true knowledge of those times. It's really one sided to judge the past like that, in terms of good or bad, black or white, innocent or guilty. History cannot be changed and it's nonsense to think historical statues are out there because they are adored by people, or serve as an example of sorts. They are not. Not over here at least, in western Europe. But the past needs to be remembered, because it unites us and because we (well, most of us) strive to improve from it. Destroying everything and everyone who does not stand the strict scrutiny of today's morality is bordering on censorship. It's not yet that, but we're heading that way, for sure.<br />
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Just like it seems madness to me to assume that every white person drags along the racism past of ancestors from 300 years ago. Regardless if you came from a piss poor workers family or the aristocracy. We over here also do not judge modern day Germans for the atrocities their parents and grandparents committed only 80 years ago. You cannot judge people on the actions of their forefathers. Some people want to make everyone guilty by association. It's absolutely illogical and irrational. People should be judged on their own actions, not those of ancestors. And to judge a person and declare them a latent racist, based solely on the colour of ones skin, is beyond ironic. But don't expect the mob to 'get' the irony in this. You know, McCarthyism by the very people who would condemn McCarthy. If they'd know who he was and knew their history, which they often don't, strangely enough. Seen so many interviews where the new revolutionaries were asked some basic historical questions about their nation. Hysterical answers... The political and social situation in the USA is clearly different from ours here in the Netherlands and I'm honestly sick to my stomach from the latest world news so I have stopped following it. It's a lovely day outside my window and there are many enjoyable things going on still. But over here, our country is built on equality, and has been for centuries. Of course there is racism and there are prejudices in general. Not just based on race, but based on anything and everything. That's human nature unfortunately. People coming from rural hamlets are discriminated by city folk; workers people with poor speech are discriminated by intellectuals. To think there is only one sort of discrimination is naive. It doesn't make it right, but that is something for future generations to change, organically, just like many generations from the past fought their own battles for equality. Feminists for the right to vote, to work and to become financially independent. Intellectuals for the liberation of the heavy pressure of a Christian society putting some people down. And so on and on. Every generation has a fight at hand, usually. Good article on the topic<b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-8438021/This-cowardly-surrender-Oxford-University-wilful-vandalism-history-writes-Daniel-Hannan.html"> here</a></b>.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>I guess I care and write about these topics, because</b></span> it just hurts me in a way to see globalist socialism crumble and self implode like this. Especially in the USA but it is also happening to Europe. Why do liberals not see that this type of extremism is ultimately going to push people away. And is not going to make the democrats win the next election either. NO, we do not want America's crazy liberal totalitarianism over here in Europe. Not at all. You can keep your madness, your identity politics, your media propaganda and your defunding of the police. We don't want your thought crime and hate crime hysteria over here either, or your irrational mob-like cancel culture BS. That's not what our liberal socialism here looks like and not what it ever should turn into. We don't want emotions over facts, or Marxist universities who ban anyone with a different opinion from attending or joining the debate. We do love debate and we do not resort over here to whining and foul rant attacks from self-entitled activists who do not tolerate difference of opinion. We also don't want your madness streaming into our lives through American companies like facebook or twitter, with their censorship of non-liberal opinions. We don't want only free speech for only one part of society, the part on the "right" side of the political spectrum, and social media persecution of those on the "wrong" side. Or special groups of civilians who are deemed untouchable for criticism, based on their looks or religion. We don't want people being fired for liking the wrong post without a possibility to defend themselves, like is happening now in the USA and also in the United Kingdom. You can keep your hysteria. This is what you get when you pamper your little darlings to the point where they need 'safe spaces' at universities in order to handle the real world and people who have opposing ideas. Spoiled <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8516929/Parents-unwillingness-impose-boundaries-spawned-generation-infantilised-millennials.html">'infantilised' Millennials</a></b> who rather shun or banish people with different opinions from their own (or get them fired), instead of learning to tolerate this fact of life (and humanity). Young people will always have bone-headed ideas and it’s the duty of adults to exercise their authority when they get out of line; something has gone very wrong there in the past decades. <span>Freedom of opinion does come with responsibilities and consequences, but what we see today is far more than that, it's giving in to mass hysteria; people are fired for dating someone who votes for the wrong party; for having a father who said racist things in the 80's. That's North Korean shit, being guilty by association.<b style="color: #444444;"> </b></span>When people are denied their livelihood because of a political stand or opinions that break no actual law, then that should outrage people, because it's a threat to basic human rights and democracy. Do not take the freedoms of our nations for granted, just because it's not 'woke', according to some young preaching radicals. How can it be that those violating these right are able to do so with impunity? Why on earth are we letting a few people drive an agenda to billions who don't agree? A minority of radicals taking over the majority by being aggressive and totalitarian is Communism's main tool, just read the work of George Orwell for a gripping warning of such systems. This totalitarian instinct has crept up on us with amazing ease and unfortunately, thanks to the internet, we over here also have to endure the madness that was only a few years ago mainly the modus operandus of certain US university campuses. It's the sort of extreme leftism which has no real chance of winning at the ballot box, but which is forced upon people with the help of the internet; a half-baked dogmatic ideology, run by anarchists, obsessed with the language of racial, sexual and gender politics. And universities are the current breeding ground for this shit. It’s not just absurd but also very anti-intellectual, this tendency of wanting to protect students (not children!) from different views and stifling debate like this. I hope a new type of university is set up, one where ferocious debate is promoted like in the old days and where safe spaces and snowflakes are not welcome. Go sing kumbaya in a circle at some of the <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8560707/Lecturer-sacked-praising-Jewish-scientists-German-engineers-slams-woke-brigade.html">woke universities</a></b> instead.<br />
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What is so worrying is how even prominent journalists and commentators seem to be increasingly fearful themselves of suddenly being caught offside - and it is contaminating their discourse as they attempt to weave some kind of narrative that slips and slides to cover all bases. I guess it's only now that J.K. Rowling herself has become the victim of the mob (read <b><a href="https://areomagazine.com/2020/06/23/an-apology-to-jk-rowling/">here</a></b> what went wrong with her), that some 150 left leaning writers have published a letter, denouncing the 'cancel culture'. You didn't hear from them when it were conservative writers who were attacked and who were "de-platformed"... (Although it was refreshing that J. K. Rowling's publisher stood behind her by telling the online mob who wanted them to sever all contact with her to get lost). Of course, in complete irony, soon after some of those 150 writers <i>started apologizing for signing the letter in the first place</i>! 😂 You can't make this shit up, really... Only now that the irrational mob is at their own gates, are they ushered into a defense. The 'cancel culture', at the end of the day, is nothing more than intolerance, trying to pass as some new form of liberalism. New woke liberals seem to think that they have the right and the moral high ground to censure others and are the ones to decide who is 'guilty'. Supporters of 'cancel culture' say it only affects "the guilty, who deserve to be excluded from conversations: the racists; the misogynists; the incompetent elites... " Aha.. And who precisely decides who is guilty? Napoleon? Snowball? The urge to save humanity is almost always a false-front for the urge to rule it.<br />
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Do these people really believe that they're qualified to be judge and jury? Does nobody see the irrationality and arrogance, not to mention the danger of this? It's the old thing of those who shout the loudest. And the trouble is they're being heard, many media channels go along with this madness. Cancel culture is even in its current, localized form (the USA and the UK seem already infected with the virus), quite serious. I keep bringing this writer up, I know, but it truly are Orwellian activities that take place, where the mob relies on the initial complacency of populations to ensnare them into miserable restrictions on speech and thought. It is the same as before, in a way. Only now they can magnify their abuse through social media power. The tragedy is that the 'woke' generation, for whom mob-bullying seems to be second nature, are supposed to have grown up. And it's irrational extremism like that, which hollows out real socialism, the type which many European countries have happily lived in, at least during the second half of the 20th century. Both ends of the spectrum, extreme Right and extreme Left, they both don't want a free debate. They often cannot win such debates as their dogma's aren't nuanced enough to withstand the test of reality, hence why they threaten with different types of violence when they see themselves opposed. People think extreme Lefties are not that bad, no as bad as extreme Rightwing nut-jobs. But I think they are mistaken there. Just check our more recent history books for that. So these people call themselves Leftists, but in reality they are not left wing and most definitely no socialists. The traditional left wing supports the working classes, whereas these "liberals" tend to sneer at the working class. Most of these people are middle class, white young people with good incomes, riding on the back of capitalism. They are virtue signalling, trying to shut down free speech and as such the opposite of traditional liberalism. They read the Guardian and the New York Times. They watch The BBC (or CNN in the States). The old 20th century Left versus Right conflict is no more. These days the power struggle - and culture war - is between woke Liberals versus Conservatives with traditional values. I am a socialist but not a Liberal. Not anymore. Unfortunately it's this type of extremism that pushes people like myself to the center, to conservatism. <span>Video: best skip to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz08xwDCWDc&feature=youtu.be&t=723"><b>here</b></a>, minute 12, to skip blabbering about pro-life and go to the more interesting parts. Or as Ricky Gervais put it in the other below video: "</span><span>There's this new weird sort of fascism of people thinking they know what you can say and what you can't and it's a really weird thing. </span><span>There's this new trendy myth that people who want free speech want to say awful things all the time. </span><span>'It's just isn't true, it protects everyone. If you're mildly left-wing on Twitter, you're suddenly Trotsky, right? </span><span>'If you're mildly conservative, you're Hitler and if you're centrist and you look at both arguments, you're a coward. Just because you're offended it doesn't mean you're right.'</span></div><div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidxyiveNZzMgLt5rH0pJ37QXav029cQnzNZiivMckb3v73QxpyiSo43dQ_661SFqsE_hkG7KZgGAl_GX3FiH4JgAZTPYGGVfj9xiuLNof5DbountdEqwaVqX-fm8LT8v5v4fdYQhakNK96/s1600/christine-roy-343235.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1600" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidxyiveNZzMgLt5rH0pJ37QXav029cQnzNZiivMckb3v73QxpyiSo43dQ_661SFqsE_hkG7KZgGAl_GX3FiH4JgAZTPYGGVfj9xiuLNof5DbountdEqwaVqX-fm8LT8v5v4fdYQhakNK96/s400/christine-roy-343235.jpg" width="400" /></a>Anyway... I used to care (over here in Europe) as this American madness tends to spread like a bad stain to this part of the world. But honestly, this sh*t has been going on for close to a decade now, with Millennials interfering with university courses and which professors they do and do not 'condone' of. The writing has been on the wall for years, and these spoiled pampered middle class prats are given free range. Why is the silent majority, the center conservative mass of the USA not putting a stop to this hijacking? Out of fear of online mob vigilantes? Of being fired for not echoing the woke message du jour? This is all a problem of their own making. Raise your kids with participation prizes and thinking they are incredibly special, and this is the result. Stand up and do something about it if you want this cancel culture/woke/neo-marxist madness to change. Also annoying; celebs like Natalie Portman and that Teigen woman parroting how the police should be defunded and how police protection is also 'white privilege'. Hypocrites, with their crew of permanent private security officers around them. Of course they don't need police, so easy said. How about they part with half of their millions in the bank and do something that actually means something? Come on, give 'your white privilege' away to black communities. We all know they won't. Words are cheap after all. Time for BLM to challenge these clowns on their immense wealth which is the real privilege in this world. Go after their money and their real privilege, mobsters.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">Or as my friend wrote me:</span></b> "Absolute madness over the world. We were supposed to remember the D-Day landings and instead social media bombards you with stories of 'peaceful protesters forcing much needed change' and Colin fucking Kaepernick. The poor, oppressed multi-millionaire that he is. Next to that, photos of empty beaches and a story of one old veteran who managed to make the trip alone. There's a photo of him standing forlornly on some cliffs. He won't see his remaining buddies, perhaps ever again and the article writer wrote, unbelievably ... 'at least the dead will always be there'. On top of that dumb-arse statement of the year and without a hint of irony ... something about how 'they put an end to fascism in Europe' perhaps??"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Salman Rushdy <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8593441/Salman-Rushdie-warns-Left-wing-cancel-culture-threat-literature-freedom-speech.html">said</a> on the matter</span></b>: "Responding to the idea that authors should write only ‘what they know’ or risk being ‘cancelled’, the Booker Prize winner said he could not accept that ‘there are areas in which censorship is acceptable’. "I’ve always seen democracy as a public square in which everyone is arguing... The ability to have the argument is what I would call freedom because in countries that are authoritarian the first thing rulers try to do is to shut down that argument.’ The Anglo-Indian author has long been a staunch defender of free speech and his own life was under threat for many years after Iran’s spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against him in 1989, following the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfn7I4Tx5lknsQgCumQhZmBF6JSnJDOY6qTt6Z1P1v3h9LKraG5tQsJI8D8dEpk2s-EHxW90WhdQivge72hJSN9CLp2YZooKQRbQgMjc76xZbeuWAohbiIzXjoXVg278UMZj2RC631k-KB/s1600/3251266.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfn7I4Tx5lknsQgCumQhZmBF6JSnJDOY6qTt6Z1P1v3h9LKraG5tQsJI8D8dEpk2s-EHxW90WhdQivge72hJSN9CLp2YZooKQRbQgMjc76xZbeuWAohbiIzXjoXVg278UMZj2RC631k-KB/s640/3251266.jpg" width="640" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">A little reflection on the corona virus epidemic so far.</span></b> The first month of this covid outbreak was not just frightening, but also interesting. My generation and younger ones had not yet undergone such a global health crisis first hand. On top of reading whatever I could, I felt this wave of 'consciousness', as Oprah would no doubt call it, where the whole world was concentrating on the same thing. We all applauded for our health workers. There was something inspiring about the selflessness we all had to showcase when it came to giving up our personal freedoms for the greater good. Which we always took more or less for granted. That first mass outburst of feeling and solidarity was interesting to experience. And difficult to resist. I guess that people also felt some sort of connectivity. Cities with millions of inhabitants; countries with 50 or 100 million inhabitants, or more, felt all that... well.. history was being made, in effect. The media was also quick to instill that notion in us; this moment would never return in history, this was unheard of in our modern lives where everything seems always under control (unless you get a deadly illness).. But going through such a crisis together, was seen as an extreme way of cleansing us of our egotism. Also class and status differences were suddenly seeming less important; everybody could catch covid19 and die from it, the rich and the poor alike. And when a multimillionaire such as Ellen Degeneres publicly whined from her villa compounds that the lockdown 'felt like prison' to her, she was widely criticized. This would be the time where we collectively renounced celebrity adoration. This crisis would make us realize who the real heroes were. As Banksy drew it so poignantly. Strangers who'd normally ignored one another were speaking with each other in the streets, from a safe distance. Some of us no longer felt the isolated human being we were before, but part of the whole, of the people. Who would all applaud at 8 o'clock for our real life heroes. Not just doctors, but also the nurses who normally felt unseen or insignificant, working morning to night, evening to morning, caring for the sick and the ailing, were now put on a pedestal. They were also suddenly and respectfully acknowledged as heroes. They felt the unknown power that was raising them above their ordinary lives. It was almost intoxicating, this solidarity shown by all, fired up by the fear of catching this retched and incurable virus ourselves. All differences were submerged in this one moment in time and this one feeling of trying to stay safe and ultimately beat this virus. </div>
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This great wave of fear and illness broke over the world so suddenly and with such violence, that as it foamed over the surface, it also brought up from the depths the dark subconscious primeval urges of us humans. A rejection of civilization. So self sacrifice went hand in hand with rebellion for some people. There were covidiots, illegal parties, youngsters fatalistically flouting their disregard for the new laws by organizing provocative beach parties or barbecues under the noses of those law abiding citizens. And of course there were also cracks showing, where people like myself included were starting to get angry about the why's and the how's of this occurrence. Who made errors and when? Are we the victims of fate and a chance virus mutation? Or are we the victims of either ordinary political folly or of the power of a malicious force such as China? But most people were firmly set on first surviving, then analyzing later on. And there is also covid-tiredness setting in now. The novelty has worn off. Even this new norm has become something most of us have grown accustomed to. We long for our old lives, NOW if possible, please?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ29uFt48cAHo7c-95smR107P4viy7paIPhRGXmqr1QAQLeLnqGJc4CYmbTPMc_oRZJhtIhIgXKSnYIeEckh9I2t6sSdzhyzkCVJrIlZ9SCK4-oQodtDbq4-Az9FMI30PBTLYwAJncFFJd/s1600/72473650_10215010589164134_8334324062964678656_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="693" data-original-width="443" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ29uFt48cAHo7c-95smR107P4viy7paIPhRGXmqr1QAQLeLnqGJc4CYmbTPMc_oRZJhtIhIgXKSnYIeEckh9I2t6sSdzhyzkCVJrIlZ9SCK4-oQodtDbq4-Az9FMI30PBTLYwAJncFFJd/s400/72473650_10215010589164134_8334324062964678656_n.jpg" width="255" /></a>Well, we are still bang in the middle of all of it now. Some lockdown extremes are being softened but we are still required to show the utmost caution when out in public. Face masks in public transport and supermarkets, no hand shaking or kissing (well that's a good one for me, I loathe the 2 or 3 mandatory cheek kisses with near strangers), no large public gatherings. And the omnipresent fear of a second wave of coronavirus, bloodier than the first one. We have the Spanish Flu in mind there, as some ominous sword of what could be in store. But, I am starting to change my mind about the whole covid approach.. Am starting to get the feeling that the governments have been overreacting perhaps, in retrospect. restricting everybody's freedom of movement, freedom to travel, freedom to walk the dog or go out for exercise, freedom to going to school... Considering that similar numbers of people die of the flu in a bad flu year like 2018/2019, it would perhaps be better by now to shield off the elderly and the vulnerable. Not keep the rest of the healthy population chained to their homes and stifle the economy for another half year, or more. Now that a lot of people are being tested, the infection rate is rising again, but this seems not the case with the hospitalization and mortality rate. Besides, most people who died appear to be in their 80's (not all, but statistically) and I do think they need to compare these numbers to an average year, because right now anyone who died and had a positive covid test, seems to have been counted as a covid victim. When in fact people may have died of very different causes, and old people die at some point anyway. I don't want to sound crude, but there is so little information shared, only these statistics, without a clear image of the ways in which things are measured. But what is becoming clear now, is that many thousands of people in the netherlands alone (they mention 50.000 people) have not received their cancer diagnosis during those covid confinement months, meaning many receive care too late. And many operations were postponed too, a lot of people died from that as well, not to mention the soaring depression and suicide rates. There is a dark side to this obsessive focusing on covid and covid alone. </div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Update:</span></b></div>
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My skin is so so. Some days I am flushed and burnt up, others my skin is not too bad and I can go about my day more freely (and less stuck to ventilator and cold packs). Same as usual, therefore, skin wise.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">I saw this movie last night</span></b>, on the tele and it was very good. About Denmark right after the war, and young German soldiers being recruited (forced) to clean up the landmines on the Danish beaches. Historic thing, which really happened...</div>
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I saw another video the other night. About Australia's most famous disappearance case, of 3 young children, the Beaumont Children. A terrible disappearance case. It struck me, as most viewers (going by the comment section under the video) how in the 1960's young children were so free! Parents gave them some money to catch the bus to go to the beach and they were there all day, unattended, until sunset. And it was normal, and safe (mostly..). You read a lot in those comments that it was normal back then in Adelaide to just let the kids roam free like that. In Holland we were also free to go anywhere in and around the village, in the 80's. We'd take our bikes as kids of 6 or 7 years old and biked a few kilometres to a sand dune place where the trucks would come to pick up the sand. We'd sled off the sand all the time. Pretty dangerous when a hole collapsed with sand, and I think one boy did suffocate there. But kids did what they want back then and parents just gave along a warning to be careful. But now you have modern day parents responding to that video link, that 60's or not, it is WRONG to allow a 9 yr old and younger ones to take the bus to the beach alone. I understand that also, but they just can't imagine life as it was 60 yrs ago. And where we lived, at some point there was a child groomer in the village. Or so the story went. Mum told us not to accept sweets if a man offered it to us and off we went again. One day my sister and I were out in the middle of nowhere on our bikes along the canal and low and behold, there was a man there. Approaching us. The archetypal child groomer, I couldn't believe it was such a cliche: tall man, long overcoat, one of those 80's long beige raincoats. He stopped us, asked if we wanted some sweets, went with his hand to his pocket and we just screamed and took off on our bikes. Haha. It's almost like a dream now, I hadn't thought about it for ever until I saw this video..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="clear: both;"><div style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">April 21st </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyikRaC5lCk-Sd4aoWLfoZBsqFCk8JV0jvE5BojJ15cGoQvpuFMdEimqt2O35pTQBp6KMTriVP29kl2bVpehWRJ5RFo16LBOl_pMRKmJHBu9oPZ3IMatXGi-pJmv4NL6u4zvJE5j8sze2Z/s1600/DSC02371.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyikRaC5lCk-Sd4aoWLfoZBsqFCk8JV0jvE5BojJ15cGoQvpuFMdEimqt2O35pTQBp6KMTriVP29kl2bVpehWRJ5RFo16LBOl_pMRKmJHBu9oPZ3IMatXGi-pJmv4NL6u4zvJE5j8sze2Z/s200/DSC02371.jpg" width="150" /></a><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444;">Invitation</span></b><br /><i>
Igor is proud to present his first performance minimal art works, named Scratchings I, Scratchings II and Scratchings III for his upcoming solo exhibition in Berlin. While living in Spain, his strong bond with Spanish native artists was discovered. These are Igors early expressions of his Catalonian childhood, emulating the excitement he felt when noticing repetition patterns in the cosmos around him and referring to the perceived action of our environment.<br />
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Gracias</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsQZhg-vOesV5AijymIxntQmyq2QGrLbpRgLSsdGu7vbXV7pSsvdiAWawU-KnqvML_5Hebjhv9mjzocPnmN0TEI_7hwqYuIv3Ha_vRHF9l9u-WqAcO-ag6JnZIGTtkQedbt6rsTBQS24Vv/s1600/DSC02367.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1160" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsQZhg-vOesV5AijymIxntQmyq2QGrLbpRgLSsdGu7vbXV7pSsvdiAWawU-KnqvML_5Hebjhv9mjzocPnmN0TEI_7hwqYuIv3Ha_vRHF9l9u-WqAcO-ag6JnZIGTtkQedbt6rsTBQS24Vv/w247-h343/DSC02367.jpg" width="247" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFoV5P7tu58kbZ1TjyZaZQYWrGH5y1MexvRX2TovZVSyDmB-c3vSyShw3ohEFgVYSpB2zNrKRF-eozDJka93IZmgE6gdWmoI3w-5iHTuR_tXuJjZkfBPMVMYgLu9d_6jPdrZtBD_pS6kaA/s1600/DSC00008.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFoV5P7tu58kbZ1TjyZaZQYWrGH5y1MexvRX2TovZVSyDmB-c3vSyShw3ohEFgVYSpB2zNrKRF-eozDJka93IZmgE6gdWmoI3w-5iHTuR_tXuJjZkfBPMVMYgLu9d_6jPdrZtBD_pS6kaA/w460-h345/DSC00008.jpg" width="460" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">The first official reviews are also already in:</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b>Guardian:</b></span> <i>"One can clearly see in the spontaneous and natural touch of Igor that he may be a descendant of one of Picasso's cats"</i><br />
<b><span style="color: #444444;">Washington Post:</span></b> <i>"This intuitive artist makes some of the most refreshing and innovative art of the 21st century. Such rare materials. We smell the start of a new art movement."</i><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b>New York Times: </b></span><i>"The artist is without a doubt gifted with the right smug looks, exuding a certain je-ne-sais-quoi which wouldn't be out of place in artist hotspots such as SoHo or Berlins Prenzlauer Berg"</i> </div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">Daily Art Newspaper:</span></b> <i>"He's on a roll!"</i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">Daily Mail:</span></b> <i>"We seriously wonder if anyone has informed Igor about the current shortage of toilet rolls. One can only hope that this avant-garde new kid on the block created his masterpieces in one go."</i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">Man in the Street: </span></b><i>"This is still better than what 99% of human 'artists' produce!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJyarkTtloGjbZQVEKJPfAojJ_Hg4hE4MJNH_6HzL_ks0YVPnf0FMXQ8aopA5hyphenhyphenJZ5aHD1MvhwahrffiXcuitXDPjJ-8ta5ah8dfvFKYsIDl8T7k-wdWLp47ceIz7FLnmlKbiZN7-Minxj/s1600/93762972_10217358668784774_249314141339123712_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJyarkTtloGjbZQVEKJPfAojJ_Hg4hE4MJNH_6HzL_ks0YVPnf0FMXQ8aopA5hyphenhyphenJZ5aHD1MvhwahrffiXcuitXDPjJ-8ta5ah8dfvFKYsIDl8T7k-wdWLp47ceIz7FLnmlKbiZN7-Minxj/w300-h400/93762972_10217358668784774_249314141339123712_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">April 18th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b><span style="color: #990000;"><b><br /><br />Is the cure by now worse than the (covid) disease perhaps? </b></span>For the majority of people? In India and developing countries, people die from the lockdown. They can't work anymore, they can't provide food anymore, staff is sent away. In my own family my stepdad is waiting and waiting for urgent cancer treatment. While the hospitals are full with elderly people who are kept for weeks, months, on ventilators. Which is horrible and they should get the best of care, of course. But should the economy at this point be destroyed and countries sent to years of austerity and recession? Numbers of people committing suicide are already higher than normal and the domestic violence numbers are said in some countries to have doubled or tripled. Cancer patients not being treated. Heart patients afraid to go to hospital even when they should. Even a portion of emergency patients are avoiding hospital these days. And I'm not even mentioning the many small companies and shops who are going bust and jobs vanishing, due to the extreme lockdown measurements. I have changed my mind about the total lockdown by now.. Maybe at some point, as soon as possible, the healthy, younger population - anyone but the elderly and the frail - should get back to work.. It's the only way to prevent a mega financial collapse. Sweden does this and so far have far less covid19 deaths, while they managed to keep their economy going and prevented the higher scores of death as a result of lockdown. And like this renowned scientist also says; we do not have reliable statistics even on the real mortality of this virus. Everyone who dies in hospital and tests positive for covid-19 is counted as a victim of it, with covid named the cause of death. This professor says that goes against textbook science and that the old with underlying illness may have died from other causes. He also notices that <b><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/20/air-pollution-may-be-key-contributor-to-covid-19-deaths-study">levels of pollution</a></b> (and thus lung quality) in the countries of origin of most victims play a role. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQQD_OtfHM2pL7AyRoeNidgXIHAHsbfzoNsv2qAW91v496-DKuu5arf5zEqAt3ktKd2hCcfEJ-zWa002zlgMxIPNDOJT30qJAyiW8iMQpfIEpLgG8Qh8-7ViEp9r6ADG3CzYbtTQgdEuI3/s1600/DSC02348.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQQD_OtfHM2pL7AyRoeNidgXIHAHsbfzoNsv2qAW91v496-DKuu5arf5zEqAt3ktKd2hCcfEJ-zWa002zlgMxIPNDOJT30qJAyiW8iMQpfIEpLgG8Qh8-7ViEp9r6ADG3CzYbtTQgdEuI3/s400/DSC02348.jpg" width="300" /></a>It is not sure which percentage of the population even carries covid antibodies (also those without symptoms). Because not enough are tested. The 30.000+ flu victims each year are also gathered under covid-19 victims. In other words; he says that the real mortality and danger of this virus for the general population is not reliably studied. I must add here that the professor got slack in the German media for one of his videos, in which he was accused to downplay the real numbers of future German covid19 patients. But as long as you don't test everyone, the entire population, you can't calculate reliable percentages. If you only test people who are really sick once they go to the doctor or the hospital, then you do end up with very high percentages. But look at the current official figures for Germany <b><a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus">here.</a></b> Germany now has 144,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, of which 4,500 people died. That means that of the 83 million Germans, less than 0.5% of the population received serious enough covid19 infection that made them get a test. And of that 0.5% (144,000), just over 0.3% died. So those are very low percentages. Now Germany has an excellent track record anyway with this virus. But the professor seemed to be on the money with his predictions, in retrospect. And going by his arguments; how many of those 4500 people would have died in the space of those months anyway? (22,000 elderly people die every day on average in Germany). How many of them would have died of the flu in winter (in the Netherlands alone many thousands died each winter)? Yes, Covid is very contagious and despite there often not being detailed research in the exact cause of death, it is reasonable to assume that it was in fact covid19 that killed them. But ordinary flu also kills large sections of elderly and ailing people every winter. That's the point the professor seems to try to make. So this doesn't necessarily make covid19 more deadly than seasonal flu. Even though it may be more contagious. His stance is that you first need thorough research of a large section of society, before you can make such claims as they have been thrown around so far about covid19 being an all out killer virus, severe enough to paralyze most of society. Besides, it is starting to look like covid may have been wading around in December and even November already. And more data is coming out each day, suggesting that very large parts of western society has already been infected, unbeknownst to them. Many may have thought they had the common flu, or had no symptoms to speak of at all. But estimates about up to half of society having already developed antibodies are mounting. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><i>It is frightening to see how powerless scientists and world leaders still seem, so many months down the line, in the face of this virus. With no treatment or virus known still, we're resorting to cowering like Medieval peasants in our houses.</i></b></span></span></div>
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Yet, draconian measurements are taken by world leaders, also taking away certain human rights. I do support that, did at least. But at some point things need to be managed in a different and less societal/financially destructive way than full lockdown I'm afraid. For instance: here they are developing tracking tabs on your smartphone, to trace anyone going out, just like the Chinese do. It's apparently so very important for reinstating normal life, that parliament in the Netherlands is bypassed to force down this new tracing app; not supposed to be voluntary. HUGE privacy issues. I don't even have a smartphone. Is the state now going to force everyone to have a smartphone and download this tracing app? Every new power the authorities are now installing, temporarily supposedly, may make them ultra greedy to hold onto it in the future. Huge changes are rammed down in record time thanks to this virus. And I heard from a friend today that Virgin Airlines Australia might go broke. Guess who is thinking about buying them? The Chinese. Ruin the western economy and then conveniently pick through the carcass of the dead bodies. [To anyone crying 'racism' now, I'd like to say: how do you think the world would have responded if, god forbid, such a virus would have originated in the United States? Do you think the Chinese and Russians would have handled the location of origin with tact and dignity? Of course not. Trump would have been slaughtered for it, internationally. But because the Chinese are culpable, they cannot be named, supposedly. If we aren't careful, 'racism', regardless of how realistic the claim, will become the new McCartyism. Feelings over facts]. And the solution here comes in the form of wonky ideas about a '1,5 meter distance society'. As if that will ever work. Trains, planes, restaurants, pubs.. nobody wants to go to a restaurant where you are obliged to wear face masks and stay meters away from everybody else. What are discotheques going to look like then? More space for those loving to do<b><a href="https://youtu.be/_0dxBCmtaRU?t=38"> the robot dance</a></b>? It almost looks like they want to hold onto these new liberties they get from the 'emergency state'. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDvpr12x00HBvs578dVrZjo_1cz7sEDX98oFu9sS-GROZb2CIpmRpIXUh_CkqvC2GUvhjVdT-l2s9JWB9ehSDUxTxI_Ae_9Y3LF0XNbBZ2tw639mHwd7w7wFIYLg9zi-WY9V-XeVQpLwO/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="173" data-original-width="292" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDvpr12x00HBvs578dVrZjo_1cz7sEDX98oFu9sS-GROZb2CIpmRpIXUh_CkqvC2GUvhjVdT-l2s9JWB9ehSDUxTxI_Ae_9Y3LF0XNbBZ2tw639mHwd7w7wFIYLg9zi-WY9V-XeVQpLwO/s320/download.jpg" width="320" /></a>It is all super well meant, and this may sound harsh, but I always have a bit of a laugh when the Dutch log behind the rest of the world. Not just when it comes to fashion, but also when implementing these 'original ideas', stolen from everybody else. So when Belgium had this lovely idea of asking everyone to go outside and write messages of (covid/quarantine) support on the ground when a drone was making its rounds, of course a week or so later the Dutch had to do the same. Presenting it as their own idea. And when Italy spontaneously and heartwarmingly started to applaud their health workers at 8 pm... low and behold, some Einstein came with the same idea in Holland a few weeks later. Everyone gets drummed up through social media. A friend of mine got a Stasi text from a neighbour, inquiring why he and his family weren't clapping for health care workers on the street??? Sounds almost Chinese (yeh there we go again), with their good old communist community committees, spying on everyone to see who walks out of line. I understand that some people do not understand why others are so petty as to not fit in with the current virtue signalling mode du jour and are not sticking with the neighbours. But this way any nice spontaneous initiative gets quickly hijacked by the morality police. As usual. Clapping vigilantes. Just like anyone not wearing the poppy around November in the UK gets publicly shamed. Here they also look at you weary for not hanging out of the window every evening at 8 to clap. I do sometimes, but I also forget it some evenings. </div>
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I really like the videos of <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8PbkoxH7Cg">Talking Kitty</a></b>, made by a guy called Steve Cash. Talented and charming, but he also suffered from bipolar disorder, he wrote below one of his videos. He had periods where he uploaded loads of videos, and there were times where he hardly uploaded anything. He <b><a href="https://nypost.com/2020/04/17/youtuber-steve-cash-dead-of-self-inflicted-gunshot-wound-at-40/">killed himself</a></b> a few days ago, aged 40. Very sad about it. Just like so many people have been taking their lives the past months, going by the media coverage about it. The changes to everyday life have been so radical, so draconian, that some people develop anxiety and depression, while others who already suffered from this before, see their symptoms worsen now. It is difficult to handle the uncertainty and the onslaught of media hysteria, day in day out. We don't know when life will normalize again. We don't know if we can go out as normal soon and what our risks are to catch this corona virus and end up in hospital ourselves, or worse. People who are extrovert, probably struggle with the lack of social interaction now. The social isolation. People like myself who are introverts probably struggle with the lack of common structures and habits now and the lack of control about the future. Add to that financial woes and worries about the future and you have a lethal cocktail in the hands of some. Not to speak of relationships troubles and pending <span style="color: #444444;"><b>divorces</b></span>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNGz2ESNGU-jXdsueZ4yGL8tdl2gvgfiVO8jo90PTW2Trr6IkX0Emudz0NPCRg6dD203iRiEmzqpAtiRXZmYJPDPLma7nthYZQG9G7OgodcRNdRVJfiJP-VuiiNHPoG_vlXFUV-wsU3uDp/s1600/tumblr_ncdintbg691s5o9hzo1_400.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="400" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNGz2ESNGU-jXdsueZ4yGL8tdl2gvgfiVO8jo90PTW2Trr6IkX0Emudz0NPCRg6dD203iRiEmzqpAtiRXZmYJPDPLma7nthYZQG9G7OgodcRNdRVJfiJP-VuiiNHPoG_vlXFUV-wsU3uDp/s400/tumblr_ncdintbg691s5o9hzo1_400.gif" width="400" /></a>I had a really rough year myself, back in 2005. My sister had just died; my rosacea was all over the place after a <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/disastrous-ipl-in-2005.html"><b>botched IPL treatment</b></a>. I couldn't stop burning and flushing and no treatment seemed to help. I dragged myself through the days and nights, constantly cooling my face with coldpacks and fans, and nothing was helping; I couldn't bring the fire in my skin down. I got really depressed. By then I had battled rosacea for 6 years already and I didn't think the vascular damage done by Dr Patterson with his horrible IPL treatment, was up for repearing. I couldn't bring my anxiety down anymore. Every medication I tried made matters worse. I just couldn't go on, I felt. I had a block of flats in mind where I could jump from. It was some sort of possibility in the back of my mind; I always had that option left. But a good friend and my father were there for me day and night. I only had to call, and one or both of them would come round my house, watching a movie, or going for a bike ride with me on the back of the bike, getting some cool air on my skin. My father always said to me that no matter how dark life was; as long as I still enjoyed something for 15 minutes a day - may it be a movie, music, a book, anything really - it was worth going on. It really helped me back then. Eventually a good friend from England invited me over and took me to his dermatologist, <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/03/visiting-dr-chu-in-london.html"><b>prof. Tony Chu</b></a> (sadly now retired) who really made the difference. The <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html"><b>medication</b></a> he prescribed gave me improvement, both skin wise and psychologically. For ever grateful for this! But I know first hand how bleak and desperate life can become. For some it is just impossible to plow on. However, I always try to tell my depressed friends that suicide should really be the very last bus stop.. I also forced myself at the time to exhaust every other avenue, before contemplating that last resort. So in my own case, I had to try every single medication and rosacea treatment first, I had told myself. And for those who do not have skin problems, I'd like to say to please try every other avenue as well. Including antidepressant therapy (not just one drug, but try many over time to be really sure there isn't one brand that fits you and works for you). Also first have therapy and try at least 2 councilors. Buy yourself a ticket to an exotic island, try volunteer work (helping animals or people in need) first. Try everything to get you out of your modus operandi first, before killing yourself. Some will believe they go to a better place if they die. It's all personal, but I'd always take into consideration the possibility that there will be nothing for eternity instead. And you can be dead for ever, for the rest of time and beyond. Life is only one drop on a hot plate anyway. You have the certainty of death, eventually, anyway. So try to find something to life for, for as short as it lasts.. </div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Book</span></b></div>
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I read a couple of books from German writer Stefan Zweig lately. I like to recommend one short story of his, called Chess Story (also translated as The Royal Game). It is an amazing story, very memorable. It also touches on the topic of self-isolation by the way. I listened to this audiobook version, granted the guy who spoke in the story does not have the best voice or accent, but it is easy to get into nevertheless, as it is such a gripping short story. Maybe you will like it (it's really captivating and quite short). I also saw <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSX-mpsVutQ">this </a></b>lovely and heart wrenching movie, "The the light between oceans". </div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>What's keeping me sane these days:</b></span></div>
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<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Read more of my updates on day to day life <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/10/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-xv.html" target="_blank">HERE</a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJP-RuTz3v56LTrisV6xs2Lsxdgue_28eGFbMO-4Wv6MBrcXYc78JqQL58zophUaXc7RqfY5Vru2dTewXIk1FhMPbsrrikZ3K0eKpde7wm0gQ0mNCVnxi-3OpAud3vPmyOPuDtRNCqKzu/s1600/ZZZ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJP-RuTz3v56LTrisV6xs2Lsxdgue_28eGFbMO-4Wv6MBrcXYc78JqQL58zophUaXc7RqfY5Vru2dTewXIk1FhMPbsrrikZ3K0eKpde7wm0gQ0mNCVnxi-3OpAud3vPmyOPuDtRNCqKzu/w640-h480/ZZZ.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div>
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<br />Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-12401034247686763522019-10-15T05:03:00.017-07:002024-01-31T05:47:41.909-08:00Ongoing post, Update day to day life XV, May 10th 2020 - March 5th 2020<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihVN1e32n_LA7THUKE1k5ibz0le7oieviyvfgjlqDVIUeufDvvkf94_Y4LR-O2UDp26bQFfqSPCNFSXS9nUXY7nh4rKaBlYNm7S5LxDas2rqLn46J3LbNo6scQx76t2B3ez6fQRm3vx_3eMdDSDVdZ1Tc8mO7VltxV5s5GQHHtid1NBIBvuGeGbC1qkQ=s480" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFwvhJO9onmWgGmvWHzXdL4AE-iIkVJAZx0BUyCEOweXqi4A94S4JUe02Pw3rnnUjP0xaT9znCHtJnBLm0dup0lkYkX68qP10E65mzevEJ3Dp0LNoCNCx6FPewZKMotptdlW-rOwGWDoCRjkRh-SnW36x6iswUl2ZZmLPXdW01Q_ovIe3pi7afrnzMDg=s600" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="491" height="607" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFwvhJO9onmWgGmvWHzXdL4AE-iIkVJAZx0BUyCEOweXqi4A94S4JUe02Pw3rnnUjP0xaT9znCHtJnBLm0dup0lkYkX68qP10E65mzevEJ3Dp0LNoCNCx6FPewZKMotptdlW-rOwGWDoCRjkRh-SnW36x6iswUl2ZZmLPXdW01Q_ovIe3pi7afrnzMDg=w498-h607" width="498" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>I try to give an insight in my own life and dealings with rosacea. I also try to gather information that might be useful for everyone with rosacea, especially subtype 1 with burning, flushing and skin redness. I happen to be a bit unfortunate in that I have this condition for a long time already, and unlike many others, I haven't been able to get it into remission. I know it is more uplifting to read about someone who has beaten rosacea, but I like to write about the struggles that come for those who haven't achieved this. </b></span></span><b style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-large; text-align: left;">I also blabber here about everyday life topics.</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div arial="" font-family:="" font-size:="" helvetica="" sans-serif="" small=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">May 10th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQslKpgf3I4D5FA4fLtG57LcHZWGB1tiZpbY9gZLXS5IgwDyrA91fFJIkQ6Pt9VV0aXv3-Y-GZ-L92N6QOlhUKKbJO-2439A5V1woSoep_s_VgYDuG3bwBI_M_0iWbDLZjgMLHIj1RKJB/s1600/500.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQslKpgf3I4D5FA4fLtG57LcHZWGB1tiZpbY9gZLXS5IgwDyrA91fFJIkQ6Pt9VV0aXv3-Y-GZ-L92N6QOlhUKKbJO-2439A5V1woSoep_s_VgYDuG3bwBI_M_0iWbDLZjgMLHIj1RKJB/w544-h326/500.jpg" width="544" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I read an interesting </b></span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>explanation from Dr </b></span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Zania Stamataki of Covid19, a senior lecturer in viral immunology</b></span><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;"> </b></div>
What is it that makes a virus deadly, or merely an inconvenience? What determines whether it spreads to become a pandemic, like Sars-Cov-2, or burns out rapidly, in a remote location? What does “success” mean, in viral terms? These are questions on many peoples’ minds, as they wonder what else might be out there. Could the next pandemic be 50 times as bad as this one? Is the lethality of viruses a grim lottery, with mere luck separating us from something like Ebola sweeping the Earth? In fact, viruses generally have to follow certain rules if they want to get ahead. Stealth is critical, because these pathogens are unable to thrive and reproduce alone. Instead, they invade host cells and rely on them to, first, decode their genetic information to produce components for new virus particles, next, assemble those components, and finally, release new viruses to infect more cells. If this process causes tissue damage that leads to organ failure, the virus risks perishing along with its host. That’s why “nightmare” viruses – like those with 90% mortality – thankfully aren’t always very successful. To survive and thrive, a virus must operate like a spy in enemy territory, skilled at passing its genetic material from cell to cell without alerting the host’s immune response. Sars-Cov-2 is far more of a menace than the common cold, because it can cause severe acute respiratory syndrome in some patients, which may lead to between 1% and 7% mortality.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrox_zTULxv9IXO1dNrJRJFJdfvVWkxDtmtOiLnKsmyWiksFQHcEoWQBaMu5ajckezCRpVNJebKhg5ndgn82me8fHaB6VHJIwJG20XPJxqo5ZH2GTzYwRZErxdJ3Jda3w5Wk-skM51otI5/s1021/5435_17975.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="1021" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrox_zTULxv9IXO1dNrJRJFJdfvVWkxDtmtOiLnKsmyWiksFQHcEoWQBaMu5ajckezCRpVNJebKhg5ndgn82me8fHaB6VHJIwJG20XPJxqo5ZH2GTzYwRZErxdJ3Jda3w5Wk-skM51otI5/s320/5435_17975.png" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQTctXzqFwgqX4D-rY5swwx8hwvyIscBzmRX_z-5HWbNnogSWXAEcDpnptiQ2LLq4rX2qhfTzz5xN-U43rsWB3iMj1l5fHGqnjrnVkdF0MMN53Qh2nmw5-oPaWf_-LuaVmmT494QB-jdR/s1280/casereports-2018-January-2018---F1.large.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQTctXzqFwgqX4D-rY5swwx8hwvyIscBzmRX_z-5HWbNnogSWXAEcDpnptiQ2LLq4rX2qhfTzz5xN-U43rsWB3iMj1l5fHGqnjrnVkdF0MMN53Qh2nmw5-oPaWf_-LuaVmmT494QB-jdR/s320/casereports-2018-January-2018---F1.large.jpg" width="320" /></a>A successful spy must be a master of disguise, and so it is with viruses: if they want to evade recognition by immune cells, they must change their protein coat frequently. This is achieved via tiny alterations in their genetic material called mutations. The Goldilocks principle applies here: if the mutations are too subtle, the viral coat will be easily identified by existing antibodies, whereas if they are too drastic they might simply inactivate the virus. The mutations that allow viruses to fly under the radar fall somewhere in between. Influenza viruses, which use rapidly evolving ribonucleic acid (RNA) as their genetic material, are experts at this game. History teaches us that influenza mutations can result in pandemics with millions of deaths, so we’ve learned to keep a watchful eye on them. As flu evolves over the months, virologists respond by producing seasonal vaccines that remain effective – for a time, at least. Coronaviruses have RNA genomes too, but they are very large. That means that there are many more opportunities for mutations to go wrong – from the virus’s point of view. As a result, they have developed a sort of “proof-reading” mechanism that edits out mutations – meaning that they change a lot less rapidly than flu does. This is good news for us, and for vaccine development. But we still need more information to determine just how long a vaccine might be effective for.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuAPxM_WM58UOLkm-Z5RoZIfV_uZgbFuvDWCpBg9KMEXaQ3lnJeV7cNghxFYiRe9qWV8Mev79EdxffqHnteXKREQftpTXYqz5ceMVoyyKQp75vlRjTn6Ten3yzgKkVXEDskn0WHpICLR9S/s1600/20200319-REACTU-660x280.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="660" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuAPxM_WM58UOLkm-Z5RoZIfV_uZgbFuvDWCpBg9KMEXaQ3lnJeV7cNghxFYiRe9qWV8Mev79EdxffqHnteXKREQftpTXYqz5ceMVoyyKQp75vlRjTn6Ten3yzgKkVXEDskn0WHpICLR9S/s640/20200319-REACTU-660x280.jpg" width="640" /></a>This is the hallmark of viral success – it doesn’t kill us quickly, mutates often, and is easily transmitted. This virus seems capricious and unpredictable, which plays a major factor in its success. Some people may not be affected at all and so be unaware they are carrying it. But they may infect others. Some people may suffer mild symptoms and mistake it for a winter cold. Some people it kills. And then there is the element of the virus causing blood clots in the lungs or lung periphery. The blood vessels push liquids into the lungs. Intravascular coagulation is often associated with bacterial sepsis (blood poisoning is the old term). And we know that small vessel coagulation is driven by activation of our own immune system (and specific types of cell death). Its paradoxical, but dampening down the fires that are started by our immune system to fight the virus, could be critical to prevent the excessive responses in the patients that end up in ICU. We need to understand the immune response to this virus and the immunopathology that results..... it's not always about fighting the pathogen.</div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day </span></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DnVBJXZwqS8" width="320" youtube-src-id="DnVBJXZwqS8"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wggVs0rRqds/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wggVs0rRqds?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">May 9th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14p7pMu8c4ITerq9abPHPs0dSz563a4Qt1VcrxpkXJZ9lTF-1Rmd-dlTI2oHs59dQmF_6DjLo2sRprbbZ6IJSqZiuynTGI9zBK-68EUJL0xyCTiJQfpYB79jct6RJyqWs8x0Jerp3bj1N/s1600/Michael_T_Flynn.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14p7pMu8c4ITerq9abPHPs0dSz563a4Qt1VcrxpkXJZ9lTF-1Rmd-dlTI2oHs59dQmF_6DjLo2sRprbbZ6IJSqZiuynTGI9zBK-68EUJL0xyCTiJQfpYB79jct6RJyqWs8x0Jerp3bj1N/s320/Michael_T_Flynn.jpg" width="256" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">Politics wise, I think I have written some thoughts before here about the FBI and their shameful antics lately. </span></b>Small update, the general who was set up, then arrested with incredible force, shamed and who had his life destroyed, General Flynn... well his case has been dropped now. And we have been given new insight in the disgraceful handlings of this case by the FBI. We now have the documentation that Comey/Obama/FBI (and Joe Biden was also in on all this) discussed setting him up, purposely falsifying his claim of not being a spy and changing it into the opposite, then threatened his son if he didn't plead guilty (now recanted), and pressurizing him to lie under oath. And the most gob-smacking thing of all? Left wing news outlets still manage to twist and turn the facts now and instead of heckling the FBI and the politicians who were behind this, they pretend that <i>the prosecutor</i> is corrupt in dropping the case.. Barr got an independent lawyer/attorney to look into the Flynn case, Jensen, but you wouldn't know about that reading mainstream media. Jensen, not Barr, did the review and ultimately concluded that it was "just" to withdraw the case, but all you hear the majority of the media about is how <i>Barr</i> did it all. Because they want to blame Barr. Nothing about the DOJ’s written report being damning. Nothing about the hand written notes from the interview with Flynn contradicting the official 302 memos. Nothing about the initial 302 memo having gone 'missing' in the FBI files. They have no idea that Lisa Page was editing and falsifying the second 302 for Peter Strzok and that the whole premise of the interview was flawed. Because nothing in the critical call with Flynn was suspicious. There was no pretext for a crime and no reason to interview Flynn other than to set him up. Flynn was the fox in the open hunting season who played a part in the bigger Russiagate investigation. Flynn also previously opposed Obama, for instance when it came to his poor decision to send weapons and arm to the 'Syrian rebels', which turned out to be ISIS. Obama openly advised Trump not to work with Flynn, because Obama didn't like him. And regarding the by then building Russia Collusion case; Flynn was head of the defense Intelligence Agency and knew exactly how the FBI worked. So in order for the FBI to continue to investigate and spy on Trump not just before he was elected but also after - during his administration -, a competent and intelligent person like Flynn who reported to Trump and who did not get on well with Obama and had cleared up political military lies in the past, was kind of an obstruction. Flynn was a national security adviser and loyal to the president, after all. Flynn would have found out about the illegal investigations, the falsely acquired FISA court allowance to spy on Trumps campaign. So Flynn had to be set up and get fired, one way or another and after that squeezed to falsely admit subverting the political process (because that was what the Russia investigation had turned into by then; no longer collusion with Russia, which proved incorrect, but suddenly and silently the investigation was steered towards subverting the judicial process). And it has now become public that he was set up with lies. It was damning that on the very day Strzok wanted to organize a meeting, investigations on Flynn had come back all clear and they were going to close the investigation that day. No clear indication as to why Flynn was under investigation in the first place. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphF5q4Rnzy81Y1ARHm3jnQROVC8NkE5ukgx61Ut6ivfZPxJ6oDol62fPcBUZmauZUDvoEL42vsU8cixfGVYF2W3tqf4cTtnZKaceXiWkQXoNNQug-JrJxDRvGQsBvYVhmJzFtEOjgpEQx/s1600/EXmREHXUcAALa6n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="600" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphF5q4Rnzy81Y1ARHm3jnQROVC8NkE5ukgx61Ut6ivfZPxJ6oDol62fPcBUZmauZUDvoEL42vsU8cixfGVYF2W3tqf4cTtnZKaceXiWkQXoNNQug-JrJxDRvGQsBvYVhmJzFtEOjgpEQx/s400/EXmREHXUcAALa6n.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcngSRFxNzZ0fA2NtIAFhfWn4yYmH-X4CdYd56uAyBcafhrN7Zgt-cjdbHfNfuU9Rb4n-PbP_PTcYvEt0ZR5JxfUO86PGtbvywNnFk0TJysLAFIeCXaRKmXWh662oOXZbHNQhnd8ah-bkg/s1600/EXmRYSoUcAA4OGx.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="631" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcngSRFxNzZ0fA2NtIAFhfWn4yYmH-X4CdYd56uAyBcafhrN7Zgt-cjdbHfNfuU9Rb4n-PbP_PTcYvEt0ZR5JxfUO86PGtbvywNnFk0TJysLAFIeCXaRKmXWh662oOXZbHNQhnd8ah-bkg/s400/EXmRYSoUcAA4OGx.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #444444;"><b>The report written by Barr outlines the Flynn decision and zooms in on three main issues. </b></span>Firstly, that the FBI had no legitimate legal reason to interview Flynn in the first place. You cannot just start FBI investigations on anybody without some legal basis for them. Here this was acknowledged in writing, but bypassed, which lends weight to the notion that Flynn was set up. The FBI sidestepped a modest but critical protection that constrains the investigative reach of law enforcement: the predication threshold for investigating American citizens. Secondly by then FBI director James Comey broke protocol and ignored the AG's request to follow protocols Thirdly it was found that FBI agents at some point had the transcript in their hands and were confident Flynn didn't lie.<br /><br />In more detail: The Unites States department of justice, the DOJ, found that the pretext to interview Flynn on the "<a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/13/opinion/pernicious-logan-act-should-have-been-scrapped-long-ago/">Logan Act</a>" was illegitimate (a 221 year old archaic act which was dragged into this case on purpose to confuse and set up Flynn). And listening in on his call with the Russian ambassador, then transcripting Flynns words, was done without a warrant and also illegal. The DOJ and FBI warned Comey about this and given that Comey already had a transcript of the call with the Russian diplomat, showing that US National Security Advisor Flynn didn't lie, the Logan Act was not a sufficient reason to then go on to interview (interrogate) Flynn. What was said in the transcript was fine and not illegal. The FBI said “the is no valid reasons to investigate Flynn”. And then they continued to investigate. Comey ignored warnings and concerns from the FBI and DOJ's Sally Yates and went ahead anyway. Because the FBI was eager to interview Mr. Flynn irrespective of any underlying investigation. What also lends weight to the "entrapment" part, is that the interviewing agents failed to issue the common Section 1001 admonitions about lying to investigators. It is also undisputed that the agents breached the common practice of arranging for the interview through the White House Counsel. DOJ officials wanted Comey to warn and brief the White House (aka Trump) of the nature of the interview, but Comey along with Brennan refused. This caused "frustration" for Sally Yates (DOJ) who later demanded Comey to brief White House officials, which Comey continued to ignore. Comey also bypassed the DOJ. And the FBI also didn't show Flynn the transcript of the conversation with him.<br /><br />What was going on with this transcript? The FBI desperately fought for Flynn's lawyer to NOT see the FBI's hand written notes. The original tape of the call is still in the hands of the FBI, but they 'lost' the important original 302 (official document memorialisation the meeting), which is a record of the interview and the answers from Flynn. But the hand notes are still there from the agent and the hand notes say "I don't remember", however the edited 302 says something different. Of course, the suspicion is that the original 302 <i>also</i> has the FBI agents hand written answer of "I don't know" for Flynn. But we do know that Strzok got Page to edit that 302. Background context here is that the FBI - incredibly enough - still don't actually record and store interviews. They still rely solely on written notes from the interview (!!) And in this Flynn case, these written notes contradict the official memo (302) which was edited by Page. Unbelievable, right? So, the original 302 got 'lost' but the hand written notes that are still there show "I don't remember". Only the edited Lisa Page version says something different. Therefore the lost original 302 would have been kind of vital to prove there really was originally noted down :"I don't know" as Flynns answer. The FBI desperately covered this up and didn't want Flynn's lawyer to see these hand written notes because they proved Flynn wasn't lying. The original hand notes from the interview say that Flynn didn't remember. But the <i>edited</i> 302 said something different. Because Lisa Page illegally edited the phone call transcript to suggest that Flynn DID lie. But Flynn didn't lie. He said, "I don't remember" The first agent wrote that down. But between the agent who first hand listened to the call and who wrote it down, and the FBI member who did the 302, something went 'wrong'.<br /><br />Later Flynn admitted to the FBI that "you already have the transcript" of the call. When asked whether he asked (Russian diplomat) Kysliak to not "escalate the situation", Flynn answered "Not really, I don't remember". This contradicted the FBI's record of him saying "DON'T DO ANYTHING". FBI agents had the transcript of the call and reported to their leadership that Mr. Flynn exhibited a “very sure demeanor” and “did not give any indicators of deception.” At this time FBI did not open a criminal investigation based on Mr. Flynn’s calls with Mr. Kislyak, predicated on the Logan Act. The FBI never attempted to open a new investigation into Mr. Flynn on these grounds. Mr. Flynn’s communications with the Russian ambassador implicated "no crime"<br /><br />Regarding this Logan Act: the FBI really looked for anything to bring Flynn down. Flynn was part of the transition team at the time. A Barr found, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the phone call and Flynn was doing what anyone in his position has done throughout the last 200 years. That's also why no one has been charged. Obama's DOJ was actually angry at the FBI for using this ploy, stating that he thought it was important to treat Trump like they treated Obama. Sally Yates, acting AG, was no happy with the "Loagan Act" and got even angrier when Comey ignored her and broke protocols to get to Flynn. The FBI not only got Flynn fired, but they also bankrupted him then, starting trials based on these very dubious charges, costing him immense sums of money in lawyer costs. On top of this, Flynn was threatened by agents that his son would be investigated and charged over wrongly filled in documents, unless Flynn admitted to lying. Mueller knew all this, but he kept it from Flynn's lawyer and prosecuted him anyway. Why did Mueller and FBI hide the written notes? Why did Lisa Page edit the 302? Where is the original 302? And why did the FBI tell congress Flynn didn't lie and then suddenly months later, they changed their statement and said that he did lie?<br /><br />The Flynn case has now been dropped by the state prosecutors themselves, because there was no predication: Flynn should never have been interviewed over the "Logan Act". You need a valid legal reason to interview someone like that and their's was not valid (and worse; it was politically motivated, not legally, a no go for the FBI and Obama who was leaving the White House by then). Also the case was dropped because protocols were broken to get to that interview. There is also not sufficient proof that Flynn lied. All damning stuff, this. The FBI even spoke about keeping Flynn relaxed and not in the know. That is; against the law they did not inform him that he was being interviewed over a perceived crime. They even didn't warn him, as thy legally should, because thy didn't want to "tip him off" about what they were doing. That's bang out of order and illegal. Aside form illegal interviews and practices, the Flynn case has also been dropped by the state prosecution because the government cannot explain, much less prove beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury, how false statements are “material” to an investigation that seems to have been undertaken only to elicit those very false statements and thereby criminalize Mr. Flynn. The FBI agents “had the impression that Flynn was not lying or did not think he was lying.” And the statements in question were not by their nature easily falsifiable. In his interview, Mr. Flynn offered either equivocal (“I don’t know”) or indirect responses, or claimed to not remember the matter in question. The evidence unearthed creates reasonable doubt as to whether Mr. Flynn knowingly and willingly lied to investigators during the interview. And the FBI illegally spied on Flynn to get this phone call. Political opponents as it now seems <i>illegally</i> obtained Flynns phone call with the sole purpose of entrapping him to lie. That is all why the case against Flynn was dropped. The FBI was way out of their legal rights and abused their powers, breaking the law. Let that sink in, anyone screaming 'Yeah but Flynn Lied!'. Don't be a partisan and always try to look at the law and the factual reasonings behind a case like this being dropped, no matter how much you may hate Barr and Trump. (Thanks B for always highlighting the latest updates on all this to me).<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW1PmEjow8i9I8xQnEjN5u4e0_87hECXR_M27aFIPLEBw-qBiKyBb-UpIfqZaXLCwxTIXBQ8KbgLxGv7ctqdeEAEuN53dLtFC9LOx6PzhXJNMRqfFAeMhqD8Pw56oTiRmZqRdymtXCEYkZ/s1600/EXw8E0cWAAAo4TN.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="864" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW1PmEjow8i9I8xQnEjN5u4e0_87hECXR_M27aFIPLEBw-qBiKyBb-UpIfqZaXLCwxTIXBQ8KbgLxGv7ctqdeEAEuN53dLtFC9LOx6PzhXJNMRqfFAeMhqD8Pw56oTiRmZqRdymtXCEYkZ/s400/EXw8E0cWAAAo4TN.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">As my trusted and ever up-to-date friend puts it:</span></b> Unfortunately this sordid Flynn affair is linked to that other FBI travesty; The Mueller investigation. Which is looking like a cover-up for the FBI. Who knew the Russia dossier was fake. There are interviews with the sub source for the dossier who said it is just full of “Bar talk”: it was not to be taken seriously. This same person was the source for Christopher Steele to compose the dossier. So the FBI knew the dossier was just full of “bar talk” well before they used it to start spying on Trump. The FBI also received a letter from the UK warning them about Christopher Steele and his credibility. There are also email exchanges from people at the DOJ questioning Steels credibility. The FBI also have it on record that Christopher Steele wanted to take down Trump. Therefore it was politically motivated. The FBI knew the dossier was fake. The IG reported that the dossier was “central and essential“ for gaining warrants to spy on Trump officials. In short the dossier was the only thing that the FBI had. Enter Mueller many months later. Who does Mueller investigate and take down in crimes totally unrelated to Russian collusion? Mueller manages to charge Paul Manafort for Tax evasion from 12 years ago. He raids and arrests Trump’s personal lawyer and charges him with taxicab medallion fraud. He goes back after the FBI, clears Flynn of wrong-doing (months prior) and brings him in for interrogation. Then threatens his son and gets Flynn to admit to lying after bankrupting him first, based on very dubious charges where written notes from the FBI agents in the meeting contradict the official 302 (official document memorialisation the meeting). A note which just so happened to be edited by Lisa page, who wasn’t even in the meeting herself. The initial 302 is conveniently lost by the FBI.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZR_yGylTvt9_gZilQXrWkm1QYqXBG4nAWyKq3fcXy6Karir15WFgvM07BUxenAmgJV8ll1O-KZOElPOzehWgE7i3fRlQ4_0WofJO-xLSdrIHLz2-UDJBaHqZ-00uwICVkmmYntJSoSLyB/s1600/75007793_10214873489296723_682887537932369920_o.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="871" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZR_yGylTvt9_gZilQXrWkm1QYqXBG4nAWyKq3fcXy6Karir15WFgvM07BUxenAmgJV8ll1O-KZOElPOzehWgE7i3fRlQ4_0WofJO-xLSdrIHLz2-UDJBaHqZ-00uwICVkmmYntJSoSLyB/s400/75007793_10214873489296723_682887537932369920_o.jpg" width="362" /></a>George Papadopoulos is detained at the airport and surprisingly has his bags searched upon arriving in the USA by the FBI. George was given $10k cash only a week before but smartly left the money with his lawyer in Greece. The FBI still takes George for questioning where he gets the dates wrong in a meeting and admits to lying to the FBI. All of those people were named in the bullshit Steele dossier. Mueller knew the dossier was bullshit. By the time Mueller came in it was as clear as day. Even Andy McCabe under oath said at the time they couldn’t verify it. Comey specifically said in front of Congress that the dossier was “salacious and unverified”. There are about 10 separate pieces of very good evidence that they knew it was bullshit and they knew Hillary had paid for it.</div><br />So what did Mueller do? He targeted and arrested every person named in that dossier. Because he needed to cover up for the FBI because he knew that it would come out that it was fake. Mueller targeted every person mentioned in that dossier and found charges so that he could give the dossier some credit. Muellers goal was to cover up the corruption of the FBI and if he could arrest Michael Flynn, people would accept that while the dossier was wrong about Flynn, the FBI and Mueller were <i>correct</i> in arresting him. Every person Mueller arrested was in the dossier. The only person they couldn’t arrest was Carter Page. The dossier said that he was an agent for Russia. The FBI got caught doctoring a report from saying “Page was a US asset”, to “Page was NOT a US asset”. The FBI sent Stefan Helper into Page but they couldn’t pin anything on him. The dossier also said that Trumps lawyer Michael Cohen met Russians in Prague. Problem is, Cohen has never been to Prague. What did Mueller do? He raided Cohen, got him on fraud charges over taxi medallions and then tried to make him flip on Trump and Cohen tried with secret recordings but he didn’t have enough. It is easy now to spot that Muellers whole objective was to cover up FBI corruption . He didn’t even bother investigating Joseph Mifsud, he didn’t care about the fusion GPS meeting with a Russian lawyer before and after the Trump Tower meeting. He didn’t even bother investigating Hillary paying a foreign agent to interfere in the election and he didn’t bother investigating the fake “black ledger” which was organised by the Dems with Ukraine that helped take down Paul Manafort. Mueller’s job was to put lipstick on the pig. The FBI weren't going to get caught using a Hillary paid dossier to take down Trump, because they were convinced Hillary would win the elections. But Trump won and by then the FBI started to panic. They knew the dossier was fake and it would have been a massive scandal if that news got out. Enter Mueller to take down the people named in that dossier to make it look credible. Sure sound like “an insurance policy”. And Adam Schiff has been desperately hiding documents of testimony over the Russian collusion. He knows that it is damaging, especially because he parroted that he had evidence for the past three years. Obama knew all about Flynn.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIOWiQQCN8lgbrUXFhU4mIFk-0quaLiGKE9SU9lk-px-ZxUsxxSMcxPR-Wp2WIMHdpH3tFkbr-rcfDU5HeU4B1d4fHRKgPaI_ryoB1w-35suE2u0Qm0ra93A4_Hr5-__Hqo9nT40frODK/s1600/96540147_378244153072066_1007912323383296000_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="750" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIOWiQQCN8lgbrUXFhU4mIFk-0quaLiGKE9SU9lk-px-ZxUsxxSMcxPR-Wp2WIMHdpH3tFkbr-rcfDU5HeU4B1d4fHRKgPaI_ryoB1w-35suE2u0Qm0ra93A4_Hr5-__Hqo9nT40frODK/s640/96540147_378244153072066_1007912323383296000_n.jpg" width="640" /></a>So the real timeline was 1) ICA and Sanctions 2) No Russian response 3) discovered call 4) kept case open 5) LEAKED CALL but not what was said 6) administration denied sanctions were discussed 7) interview Flynn 8) get Flynn fired. It's huge, this is Watergate scandal levels but of course the mainstream media and NYT first are refusing to report honestly and give it all a nasty turn, as if justice was failed. As if him admitting guilt is the red line here, while omitting the parts where Flynn was blackmailed to do so. They don't even inform their readers with the main facts. I can't believe and understand Americans have to live in such polarizing media madness. It is just plain unfair and it really makes me sad that even quality papers have given in to partisan decisions. These are the same media that told their readers for three years that Trump was <i>going down</i> because of Russian collusion. Here is <b><a href="https://sharylattkisson.com/2020/05/50-media-mistakes-in-the-trump-era-the-definitive-list/">a very very long list</a></b> of proven fake news, something he always complaints about. News outlets and journalists should always try to bring the news objectively. I guess that is an idle dream these days, because also over here this news was NOT breaking. And has anyone heard left wing news outlets ask Obama or Comey or Biden even one single question about this scandal and the newly unearthed damning evidence? Nope, they deflect deflect deflect. This episode I just described is waved away by some as 'Trumps attempts to deflect from covid19'. Sure sure.... More like you didn't look into this matter. A friend of mine who is a democrat said they should burn that party to the ground and rebuild it from scratch. That's one possible way to look at it I guess. Why would you constantly allow your own politicians to get away with corruption? (Goes for Republican voters too of course). What's with this mind-numbing hypocrisy of one rule for themselves and another for the opponent? Do as I say, not as I do? The predictable message that "we need to heal the nation and move on" (only when it benefits corrupt Democrats)? Instead the media just continue their never ending campaign of mocking Trump and highlighting all his errors. You wouldn't know the scandals surrounding the Flynn case if you'd only read progressive newspapers. Why doesn't that outrage intellectuals? Of course, with all media in the States being in the hands of about 6 people, you will not find a lot of difference of opinion in the mainstream media. Again, I am not a right winger myself but have grown increasingly irritated with the manner in which politics is covered by the media I used to trust. As I said before; if organizations like the FBI (and their equivalents worldwide) can break an innocent man's life like that, we should all be concerned. <b><a href="https://jonathanturley.org/2020/05/03/the-flynn-case-should-be-dismissed-in-the-name-of-justice/amp/?__twitter_impression=true">More on this topic</a></b>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">[<b><span style="color: #660000;">Update May 2022:</span></b> "WASHINGTON, DC — Hillary Clinton personally authorized her campaign to share since-debunked computer data linking Donald Trump with a Russian bank, according to bombshell testimony from her 2016 campaign manager Friday. Robby Mook, testifying as a witness in defense of former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, told jurors that he discussed the matter with the Democratic nominee shortly before Election Day."]</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8LwGFy7L2oCbiD1FkFL3JW9dNVhqpWn3h4GrGZYnVFs3OKhqWlTWv0DGv36JIEzWwVFRR4lIA0GFyFdtgA_vTWhyeRQYKAbYkb9EYd9DNuJud1uZQeBVRKw-kPGdsdkzA2K9DmyB4xrE5/s1600/IMG_20200402_175307.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8LwGFy7L2oCbiD1FkFL3JW9dNVhqpWn3h4GrGZYnVFs3OKhqWlTWv0DGv36JIEzWwVFRR4lIA0GFyFdtgA_vTWhyeRQYKAbYkb9EYd9DNuJud1uZQeBVRKw-kPGdsdkzA2K9DmyB4xrE5/s640/IMG_20200402_175307.jpg" width="640" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">April 15th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020 - welcome to the era of the Great Confinement</span></span></b></div>
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Guess most of you are still trapped in the same Covid nightmare as I am. Hope everybody is able to keep up some sort of normalcy in your life. I am self isolating to the T. Working a bit from home. Following the news... The covid statistics. Humans reduced to numbers, it's sad. Here in Europe the other day, Emmanuel Macron held another speech for his nation. Highest viewing numbers in French history, nearly 37 million people watched it. Another month of complete lockdown was announced. And for mostly all of the rest of Europe lockdown measures also remain in place. Spain and Italy have been loosening their radical lockdowns a bit from the start of this week, but their infection numbers are soaring again today. Same for Sweden, who have hardly any lockdown in place. We may be in for the long run here. It's getting so long on a personal level also... Police everywhere, not even allowed to leave the house for exercise during daytime hours in some big cities, everything but essential shops closed. Of course, if a cop pulls you over and talks to you, he can pass the virus on. But cops are everywhere now suddenly, even patrolling sleepy tiny villages. In case of being interrogated by a cop when in my car, I'd probably open the window just a tiny bit, just enough to speak through. Could try to ask the cop to stand at 2 meters distance.. Of course, such orders are best shouted in German 😉. See if that has more impact.<br />
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Zombie atmosphere everywhere... People swerve in a wide angle around you while exercising😋 Almost as if you were having the plague. Which you could, sort of... technically.. Grocery shopping has become an outing to look forward to. Despite the Keep Distance lines, the waiting times, people disinfecting trolleys before you get one and despite cops checking if no couples enter a shop. Even while waiting in line to pay, you have to be vigilant now about personal space. When you bend forward to pick something from a shelve nearby and you enter someone else's 1,5 meter space, you can expect angry looks and hisses now. Respect My Personal Space! Stay out of my aura. But here we're all told that life pre-Covid may not return any time soon. 1,5 meter distance rule will stay in place for a long time to come. I have no idea how the restaurants and cafe's will cope with that new distancing rule, while no vaccine is ready. Or sport events. Planes, trains.. The only bonus I can think of is that those ghastly 2 or 3 kisses as greetings over here may finally be a thing of the past. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyx0Pl1_IuQ9DJ8LBCCZVeRAtaM38GU7W6NXcDOxNe784MtRRF8IAdey2Q5oZ9HLb2dlhsJiApTf0XuD9z3fhmOZPP6BWJPSHXSL5ouwV2UgjYL-PDx9djaSeqPioycibns65Hlbl4Xl9d/s1600/IMG_20200403_124757.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyx0Pl1_IuQ9DJ8LBCCZVeRAtaM38GU7W6NXcDOxNe784MtRRF8IAdey2Q5oZ9HLb2dlhsJiApTf0XuD9z3fhmOZPP6BWJPSHXSL5ouwV2UgjYL-PDx9djaSeqPioycibns65Hlbl4Xl9d/s400/IMG_20200403_124757.jpg" width="225" /></a>Bad as this crisis is, I am starting to change my mind to be honest about the full lockdown... It is clear we're having a monster recession ahead here and life has come to a near standstill. But statistically, young people are hardly running any risk of getting really sick. (Aside from the fact that many seem to flout the rules here <i>anyway</i>, thinking they aren't at risk). The few who do are a minority... Am starting to wonder if it may be a wise thing to gradually allow the young and healthy to get the economy going again. </div>
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I keep an eye on the American news and developments too and know that on paper, things are dire there also. A country like France has many casualties, but the United States even more. Strangely enough (or is it not so strange?), the States' number of casualties is said to be made up of up to 80% African American people. What a disparity.. Wonder why that could be? Maybe because over there, African Americans have statistically higher chances of suffering from poverty and health conditions? Generally more overweight, living in crowded conditions, more risk of suffering from underlying health conditions like diabetes and heart issues... So this notion of Covid-19 being 'the great equalizer' is really far from the truth clearly.... Such an enormous gulf between the rich and the poor in this lockdown and death numbers/statistics. </div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Celebrities</b></span></div>
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Ricky Gervais tweeted about celebrities whining from their wealthy compounds to shut the f up. That he doesn't want to hear celebs complaining from their villa's and swimming pools anymore, using this crisis for even more attention. Or singing 'Imagine' (<i>'Imagine no possessions</i>', sung from their multi-million mansions, sitting on a mountain of dollar bills). 'You can see in their eye - "I could cry at the beauty of my personality, I'm just so beautiful for doing this" and everyone sees that - we get it.' Ricky thinks the nurses and doctors out there are the real heroes. I agree. It's become clear now that the severity of someone's (covid)illness can be directly linked to the amount of virus someone has been subjected to. Putting health care workers at high risk in more than one way. So many hundreds of doctors and nurses have already died in many EU countries as a result. And still they go out to care for the sick, despite not even having reliable protection gear often. Celebs loooooove to stay in the limelight though, showcasing their villa's and gated compounds and pretending to be just like you and me (despite flouting the lockdown rules and jetting all over the place in their private jets <i>anyway</i>). Soooo humble, so normal, suffering just the same. As if.. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsLeybaycIoef_nP2z_nBQzHaVzNlSi8123UIC9Dwr7Ymr3E85iVe3LWS6lSW7u_b2CPwPey1WUleKfgkFz2Ba3UapLipbcb2JdS7bv8bG4vhOVa2S9V8vkyPdXaSE2ejRTi8rTOTzAyRR/s1600/92533705_2851011388267279_427993027189932032_o.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="924" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsLeybaycIoef_nP2z_nBQzHaVzNlSi8123UIC9Dwr7Ymr3E85iVe3LWS6lSW7u_b2CPwPey1WUleKfgkFz2Ba3UapLipbcb2JdS7bv8bG4vhOVa2S9V8vkyPdXaSE2ejRTi8rTOTzAyRR/w319-h331/92533705_2851011388267279_427993027189932032_o.jpg" width="319" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6fZAYpnhNoD1uJlqf9quZol5HBUBg7u9AMOuO53SJHmsg-JqvbgDwdnQjvUSoo6PKs7Hk-EC0db_g-KmPOKP2mYOaCYHOY77Oq_V2XSNRRM-hkDhJ7JA5o361rC7rsonQxsVuMiysq8g/s1600/gettyimages-1208478104_custom-296187153606317dacfff2bf27f81c902f9b047e-s1100-c15.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="1100" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6fZAYpnhNoD1uJlqf9quZol5HBUBg7u9AMOuO53SJHmsg-JqvbgDwdnQjvUSoo6PKs7Hk-EC0db_g-KmPOKP2mYOaCYHOY77Oq_V2XSNRRM-hkDhJ7JA5o361rC7rsonQxsVuMiysq8g/s320/gettyimages-1208478104_custom-296187153606317dacfff2bf27f81c902f9b047e-s1100-c15.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Despite feeling bored, anxious about the lack of clarity about when this is all going to improve again and frustration with the whole thing (plus being afraid to catch the virus)</b></span>, I'm also lucky in a sense I guess, having no lack of space in the house, not having lost jobs, not struggling to feed myself, generally not all alone and forgotten (sniff..). So, all well and good, except for those who are in fact losing jobs, who were already on zero hour contracts and now relying on universal credit, living in crowded blocks of flats with a herd of children and no garden, having no pension plans and little else other than possibly five or more years of crippling recession to come. Aside from those poor people dying in hospitals, there is this other group within the population; those who are in isolation and are wrecked by worries and who are not enjoying this free time and leisuring around the garden all day, I suppose. No equalizing in sight therefore.. I can definitely see how this months long lockdown now can cause strain on relationships. It's not just "spending a month or two together", in many cases it's also not knowing if you'll be homeless in a month's time, or seeing your bank balance go into overdraft, or never having an hour of adult time away from the kids when you have a family, or grieving a sick or dead loved one, or anxiety about catching the virus because you have a risk factor that increases your risk of death from it, etc. Fiends with kids admit that they struggle with the unwavering energy required to handle all those kids, which usually are in school or out playing with friends. Living together 24/7 with others can be very demanding, when you are not used to it and have no way to escape to for a while, now and then. This lockdown is fast becoming an elite class case of virtue signalling, denying any recognition of the looming shadow. For some individuals and families this is an opportunity to relax, become more introspective and ponder on what was wrong with their previously busy lives, their families, the larger society, our values and priorities, blah, blah. But there is a much larger group who's concerns will overwhelmingly be about survival, rather than attending online gym sessions, virtual visits to art galleries, acquiring new hobbies or how to bake a cake without eggs or flour. Of course, there will always be people who are better off than others, and those people will usually come out the other side in a better position, and that's life. But for rich celebs to use the airspace to wallow in their 'prison life' now, stating how much they are just like the rest of us... just sod off for a month or two.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Skin</b></span></div>
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My skin is all over the place. Some days it looks fine, others I am so red and flushed. Pollen season has started and with my allergies it is really spiking my histamine related flushing, unfortunately. But as usual in spring... (Sorry for the looks of utter glum and misery, I'm down from all the covid-changes in life and am generally a miserable bastard and bad at smiling).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnTj6n07P9vvAPVdBVrMetU7gYM0x4ec34DJhasOSlKJyXcyA12dnkItHZMiSKxh5sCsX2O9AtT1en3OWCrhiDuCbENbTpVIBkXthu-KcDC9MOI_WuyhK_pJSH2Sd2_935KF1qiQrw9L3/s1600/landscape-1462802318-2nd-skin.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="980" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnTj6n07P9vvAPVdBVrMetU7gYM0x4ec34DJhasOSlKJyXcyA12dnkItHZMiSKxh5sCsX2O9AtT1en3OWCrhiDuCbENbTpVIBkXthu-KcDC9MOI_WuyhK_pJSH2Sd2_935KF1qiQrw9L3/s400/landscape-1462802318-2nd-skin.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInZLXNeGWJXRlB3ar65F_M8ujuIz78xGGss7xLezuBWMcv5tplxCFicnMCRegSevO5X3puCFrxzQsrgsoavohOM-yMiUikxVx-3q7LYqh6Ayvozp_9oTDZJSjWYWZLbRrYjwiXL5MhMXM/s1600/gallery-1462801481-xpl2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="768" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInZLXNeGWJXRlB3ar65F_M8ujuIz78xGGss7xLezuBWMcv5tplxCFicnMCRegSevO5X3puCFrxzQsrgsoavohOM-yMiUikxVx-3q7LYqh6Ayvozp_9oTDZJSjWYWZLbRrYjwiXL5MhMXM/s400/gallery-1462801481-xpl2.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPyzgVqYy9LH8Av1EAgKWWrFcUcI7RLQeQ_vNdphXaB62KYdc4MtwBJSjvuFbzB98IN2pwQq2I4Vpccv8Xejhtcq9ikXUqcfEz7w7YYKWiUjsPeGFUVaJ3CUAIrJDlee8BZi7mw1sHZbL/s1600/gallery-1462801428-xpl1+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="768" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPyzgVqYy9LH8Av1EAgKWWrFcUcI7RLQeQ_vNdphXaB62KYdc4MtwBJSjvuFbzB98IN2pwQq2I4Vpccv8Xejhtcq9ikXUqcfEz7w7YYKWiUjsPeGFUVaJ3CUAIrJDlee8BZi7mw1sHZbL/s400/gallery-1462801428-xpl1+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Is there anything positive to report? Perhaps there is</b></span><br />
Yes, there may be new <b><a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a20774/silicon-second-skin-that-makes-you-look-younger/">silicone skin</a></b> in the making! I ALWAYS imagined this to become reality some day! A second artificial skin, lightweight, protecting our sensitive rosacea skin and masking all redness and imperfections. This one is made from silicone and perhaps it will irritate my mega sensitive ridiculous skin, but in the future a perfectly organic bio-matchable second skin may become reality. A thin layer you can put over your real skin in the morning, protecting yours and making you look perfect 😇<br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><br />"Scientists Just Invented a Silicone "Second Skin" That Makes You Look Younger".</b></span> "A team of chemical engineers and medical researchers led by Robert Langer at MIT just developed a wearable second skin. It's a breathable, silicone-based film that's effectively invisible to the human eye. Called XPL (for crosslinked polymer layer) the film is durable and elastic yet fits taut to the skin, with a pressure that reduces the appearance of wrinkles when applied. The invention is outlined toady in the journal Nature Materials, in <b><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nmat4635">a paper</a></b> titled "An elastic second skin". XPL is applied onto the skin in two steps. First, a material called polysiloxane—think of it like a see-through silicone plastic—is carefully coated onto the skin in a exceedingly thin layer. That layer is then cured by a second material, called a platinum catalyst, which pulls the polysiloxane tight by ordering its molecules into a rigid grid. Measuring only 70 micrometers at its thickest, a freshly applied layer of XPL is only about half as thick as a crisp new dollar bill. You can peel away XPL harmlessly at any time... although doing so looks eerily like peeling away skin a day after a bad sunburn. But you wouldn't need to worry about the second skin ripping while you're wearing it, as XPL tears at just below the same pressures and forces that would otherwise break human skin. In their experiments, the research team applied XPL to human subjects in a variety of different pilot studies. They found XPL had a marginal benefit in helping dry skin stay moisturized, and a fairly striking effect in hiding age-related skin changes, such as covering over wrinkles and bags under the eye. Using 3D photography that analyzed skin-level surface area, the researchers compared the under-eyes of subjects before applying XPL and then four hours after putting on the silicone second skin. With the XPL applied, the applicant's skin was pulled almost twice as smooth. It's pretty astonishing.<br />
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Rox Anderson, a medical researcher with the research team at Massachusetts General Hospital, forecasts a future in which his silicone skin has benefits beyond the cosmetic. For instance, he imagines layering ultraviolet light-blocking materials or dermatological creams into the skin for a healthier you. "For eczema or sun protection, as examples, this second skin platform [could] serve as a reservoir for trans-dermal drug delivery or SPF ingredients," he says."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57Svovx9YExIkN_zO0sjnF0mJVl6mS7qi3MdXkoIBUMJjPNOZMmNlGC3KLG7ZjGlR5fWvm0jGCCnos4_i1Z0cdk8c2eSNRI46ytkNKt6OmqQg2Yw98jkaTcL69bh7zg0UhsVrwQd1HEuh/s1600/27085994-8211291-image-a-1_1586648442884.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="634" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57Svovx9YExIkN_zO0sjnF0mJVl6mS7qi3MdXkoIBUMJjPNOZMmNlGC3KLG7ZjGlR5fWvm0jGCCnos4_i1Z0cdk8c2eSNRI46ytkNKt6OmqQg2Yw98jkaTcL69bh7zg0UhsVrwQd1HEuh/s640/27085994-8211291-image-a-1_1586648442884.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I understand why some people are so pissed off with the WHO </b></span><br />
I know I myself wrote some words of praise about China's tackling of the crisis in their own country, but now that we're a bit further down the road and more news has come out, I'm retracting. China has been covering up and misreporting from the get go. And it's shocking how the WHO allowed China to cover up this pandemic - the worst of the past century - and spread false information. China didn't warn the public of a likely pandemic for six key days after detecting the new coronavirus, investigation now reveals. Officials held on to the information of a likely pandemic for almost a week in January. Despite the WHO first hearing about clusters of unusual cases of pneumonia in Wuhan on December 31st of 2019, a mass banquet was held in Wuhan and millions began travelling in the next two weeks. President Xi finally warned the public on the seventh day, Jan. 20, documents revealed. During that time, from January 5 to January 17, hundreds of patients were appearing in hospitals not just in Wuhan but across the country. The delay came on top of almost 14 days during which no cases were registered, although there were in fact thousands of real Covid-19 cases already in China. The WHO accepted these flawed data from China, just as they accepted their nonsense information about 'not having clear evidence from investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities that there was human to human transmission of the new corona virus'. A World Health Organization official <b><a href="https://dailycaller.com/2020/04/13/world-health-organization-human-transmission-timeline-china-covid19-coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR1OIBSeLlc3D4zjKzGbq13FkqdLXa6Tsz_XiDWRqQoDDBy95Yxb0xBwIdw">said Monday</a></b> that she suspected human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus “right from the start,” beginning on Dec. 31, 2019. But WHO officials echoed Chinese authorities and denied any suggestion of human-to-human transmission for weeks after Dec. 31. Chinese doctors, meanwhile, were reported to have known for <i>weeks</i> prior that the virus could be transmitted between humans. You'd expect the WHO to have top notch virologists and scientists on board. But this is what sort of blatantly false information was<i> tweeted</i> by them on January 14th (!so, weeks later!):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYAyAcZzjxfWvxDXoAjmquo3skayOA00Nx2knKtH8PwDCN8xNw8CZLBby-yCcZMFt11AjMwirNHVVf8NTFWsPEMq0hPayZoyKjpRScqDf8MKeBW_jx2_Tu2sAJL0oK9jYKfKziemRHyDt/s1600/26889738-8198163-image-a-29_1586305635930+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="962" height="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYAyAcZzjxfWvxDXoAjmquo3skayOA00Nx2knKtH8PwDCN8xNw8CZLBby-yCcZMFt11AjMwirNHVVf8NTFWsPEMq0hPayZoyKjpRScqDf8MKeBW_jx2_Tu2sAJL0oK9jYKfKziemRHyDt/s640/26889738-8198163-image-a-29_1586305635930+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYrMiaVkGcyl-QBeRRpKtcAzUus-eH3_AhlQsj4CtgwwfcZMdHHWhOjjLCJgeAyjnz8TVC173p7ynS_wmIl9L7kfOgwSVaVM0hdUNjy-2tdhxEyp_bEkp_9Hht05UOZIsxAZWESYZlHAm/s1600/27220420-8221607-Director_General_Tedros_Adhanom_Ghebreyesus_attends_a_daily_pres-a-30_1586956494153.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="634" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYrMiaVkGcyl-QBeRRpKtcAzUus-eH3_AhlQsj4CtgwwfcZMdHHWhOjjLCJgeAyjnz8TVC173p7ynS_wmIl9L7kfOgwSVaVM0hdUNjy-2tdhxEyp_bEkp_9Hht05UOZIsxAZWESYZlHAm/s400/27220420-8221607-Director_General_Tedros_Adhanom_Ghebreyesus_attends_a_daily_pres-a-30_1586956494153.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">WHO also refused to call it an epidemic, and instead kept downplaying the virus infections. And the WHO did not recommend Chinese travel bans. In fact, they advised AGAINST travel bans. The one thing that would have spared the rest of the world from this pandemic. </span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><b>It also advised against travel or trade restrictions on China. </b></span>They played along with China, sat back and watched this local virus spread over the world, turning into a worldwide pandemic. Top officials secretly determined that they were likely dealing with a major health crisis on January 14, but President Xi only warned the public of the emergency on January 20, new evidence suggested. Thousands of people were believed to contract the deadly disease during those weeks of silence, in mid-January, after the government kept the information from them. The Chinese medical staff and doctors who were whistle-blowers about the first covid outbreak, were punished, died or disappeared entirely, never to be seen again. Party officials interrogated and punished Chinese doctors who tried to warn others as the virus began to spread... they even sat on evidence showing the virus could be transmitted between humans. China's attempt to walk a line between alerting the public and avoiding panic set the stage for a pandemic that has infected almost two million people and taken more than 126,000 lives. Yet, WHO's Dr Tedros said he had spoken with the Chinese Minister for Health, and praised the government for its <i>‘invaluable’ efforts to halt the virus</i>. On January 23rd Tedros said he had decided <i>not</i> to declare the virus a public health emergency of international concern, praising China’s ‘cooperation and transparency’ in tackling the virus. It's ridiculous and a disgrace really, this goes beyond a mere misjudgment... Only on Jan 30, so a month later, the WHO Emergency Committee declared a public health emergency of international concern. It comes after confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission in Germany, Japan, Vietnam and the US. Dr Tedros again praises China for ‘setting a new standard for outbreak response’ with its lockdowns, and says the small number of cases outside the country – 98 – is ‘thanks to their efforts’. Yeh, sure.... And how about the <b><a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/">two million cases</a></b> by now? Is that also 'thanks to China's efforts'? And the day after China admitted that the virus was transmissible between humans, China tried to patent the antiviral drug Remsvidir, used for some corona patients. On January 21 a patent for commercial use of Remdesivir was filed in China. Wow, whát a coincidence.....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRL4fikyM53_CRbuwcPQcxzesBNIeBzq2HIrrgFNAs1D8673Ie4KbC8LmOzItas8e6NjPtpfGuDEsu6mDaySCFoFcbebqahbLOy_Eor2H20Fn27p82YCrsML52q_5qSp8NCWw2gD_renS/s1600/92952912_1146639252350738_6592855467435753472_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRL4fikyM53_CRbuwcPQcxzesBNIeBzq2HIrrgFNAs1D8673Ie4KbC8LmOzItas8e6NjPtpfGuDEsu6mDaySCFoFcbebqahbLOy_Eor2H20Fn27p82YCrsML52q_5qSp8NCWw2gD_renS/s320/92952912_1146639252350738_6592855467435753472_n.jpg" width="179" /></a>New virus or not, coronaviruses as a whole are not new and there was also back then already so much information available about its strains and history and the way in which such viruses are spread. To tell the world that there is no evidence for human to human spreading is just outrageous. Especially when it was reported in December already by doctors and specialists what was going on with this virus, and its infectiousness levels and methods. (And last month the South China Morning Post unearthed a report which suggested the government were aware of an outbreak as early as November). Wuhan doctor Lu Xiaohong for instance told China Youth Daily that by Christmas she had already heard of doctors becoming infected with the virus. The Wall Street Journal similarly reported that Chinese doctors were aware of human-to-human transmission of COVID-19 since late December, though Chinese authorities censored those who spoke out. Even back then people knew this was a ridiculous statement from the WHO, based on supposed Chinese 'research'. Purely an attempt to not create widespread panic. They dragged their feet, and did the complete opposite of what they were supposed to do and for which the West pays them royally. The WHO also ignored the very early warning from Taiwan that there was a pandemic starting up. Taiwan informed the WHO well before China did. But of course the WHO does not recognize Taiwan in any shape or form (being an enemy of China) and their warnings were ignored and even erased from the annals. Instead, the WHO kept telling the world that we (other countries) should not panic and that China was putting everything under immense control.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UlCYFh8U2xM/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UlCYFh8U2xM?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: right; float: right;" width="320"></iframe><b><span style="color: #990000;">World renowned expert Professor Petr Chumakov claims that Wuhan laboratory scientists 'did absolutely crazy things' to alter coronavirus and enabled it to infect humans. </span></b>He told Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper: 'There are several inserts, that is, substitutions of the natural sequence of the genome, which gave it special properties. 'It is interesting that the Chinese and Americans who worked with them published all their works in the open (scientific) press. 'I even wonder why this background comes to people very slowly. 'I think that an investigation will nevertheless be initiated, as a result of which new rules will be developed that regulate the work with the genomes of such dangerous viruses. - Now the World Health Organization is under fire, after Taiwan released the contents of the December email inquiring about the person-to-person spread of COVID-19, which it says was ignored by the WHO, which also denied to provide adequate information about how to fight the virus. But now the facts are <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8220177/China-didnt-warn-public-likely-pandemic-6-key-days.html">coming out</a>,</b> on the WHO also.<i> "China was 'not truthful' about initial coronavirus outbreak, ex-FDA boss Gottlieb says."</i> Around the same date as this tweet, the National Health Commission distributed a 63-page set of instructions to provincial health officials, obtained by the AP. The instructions, marked <i><b><span style="color: #444444;">'not to be publicly disclosed,'</span></b></i> ordered health officials nationwide to identify suspected cases, hospitals to open fever clinics, and doctors and nurses to don protective gear.<b><i><span style="color: #444444;"> 'All localities must prepare for and respond to a pandemic,'</span></i></b> it said. In public, however, officials continued to downplay the threat. Yet, <i>'The risk of sustained human-to-human transmission is low,'</i> Li Qun, the head of the China CDC´s emergency center, told Chinese state television on January 15. I mean.... monster <i>Robert Mugabe</i> was a Goodwill Ambassador for the WHO... You cannot make it up. China needs to divert a sizable portion of its astounding growth over the last 20 years to compensate the global population for this catastrophe. You cannot run a virus generating "wet market" without consequences. The eventual damage to global economies will run in the tens of trillions of dollars for this wave of pathogen alone, and China bears full responsibility. Especially given that the original SARS outbreak happened in exactly the same way and was also covered up by China initially; they need to face some sort of consequence. Once is understandable but twice is carelessness.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhynRE84fG_s6J52ZbmMnAjZPrNjLb82DVEgCaktL49VTX9wQrP6dc6zAhMj7lgyn3zVmaxSlxYJcTPrWinjYe9TM8KAUAXU5p99iiQEf75hjvUw6zs7VkWz7uGNYBOSMVuQd_N_9BeRlyF/s1600/wire-27206550-1586927933-427_634x422.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="634" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhynRE84fG_s6J52ZbmMnAjZPrNjLb82DVEgCaktL49VTX9wQrP6dc6zAhMj7lgyn3zVmaxSlxYJcTPrWinjYe9TM8KAUAXU5p99iiQEf75hjvUw6zs7VkWz7uGNYBOSMVuQd_N_9BeRlyF/s640/wire-27206550-1586927933-427_634x422.jpg" width="640" /></a>Love him or hate him (or hate him with a blinding vengeance), Trump, despite all his errors in his approach and preparing for the virus, was the only one who imposed travel restrictions on people coming from China, back on January 31st already. In Europe, Chinese can <i>still</i> land in several major airports today (and<i> still</i> the WHO does not recommend bans on trade or travel and our borders are still wide open). And thanks to this total mismanagement of both China and the WHO, we're all in a living nightmare right now. My stepfather has been diagnosed with kidney cancer already 4 months ago, but he cannot be operated because hospitals are full with corona patients and everything else which can be delayed is delayed. As it stands now until June, the earliest. People are suffering physically, mentally, financially. It's infuriating to me how this all panned down, when anyone with half a brain could have seen this coming early on. Why did Europe not close airspace right away for flights and travellers coming from China? Why was the winter sport ski holiday not cancelled for everyone? Because the WHO, run partly by politicians these days, played it down for a whole critical month. Incompetence? Corruption? or both? Why don't they force China to close those wet (exotic wildlife) markets, known to be potential sources of these type of viruses which jump from animals to humans? Why doesn't the WHO force China to be more transparent about what they know of the exact origin of this covid-19 virus? Info they are currently withholding and obstructing investigations into? Why is the USA paying 500 million dollars every year towards the WHO while China, the richest country with the most inhabitants, pays less than 50 million(aside from possible sinister under the table donations we do not know about of course)? And still they dominate things and refuse to share all they know. Countries such as all EU countries and the US have been contributing mostly all the funds to the WHO, to ensure that <i>if</i> a large scale health scare such as a pandemic arises, we are warned in a timely and reliable manner. So that we all have sufficient time to take appropriate measures. This clearly has not happened and the WHO have been seriously negligent. They and the Chinese Government have been complicit in delaying the release of damaging information, resulting in the virus gaining a foothold in other parts of the world with all of the resulting consequences. This warrants a full investigation. The only way changes are forced upon (as it was done to the UN a few years back, with success), is by withholding any further funding to the WHO. Fact of the matter is that China's economy hardly endured a dent from this pandemic, whereas many European counties and of course the United States are looking at years of serious financial crisis, recession and yet another Great Depression. Let's see which country is going to benefit from this, worldwide. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecWIf5xD6jQlQ27cRs7Gx19Vr_yyxBAkcuYrFFIoUWxr3c3bUN8Km0Ou_bFBDOKsBprwcTG4w9wjG7JS-jhJMdbyEN72RfaPn33c2oDbtKXFpydTUC3Tkhy4EAXLhq2PQVqUt-HxmHkoS/s1600/3wa6fn.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="508" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecWIf5xD6jQlQ27cRs7Gx19Vr_yyxBAkcuYrFFIoUWxr3c3bUN8Km0Ou_bFBDOKsBprwcTG4w9wjG7JS-jhJMdbyEN72RfaPn33c2oDbtKXFpydTUC3Tkhy4EAXLhq2PQVqUt-HxmHkoS/s320/3wa6fn.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj28m5ce3NJnCDWAmTa9PqltjRLmJJEQqsGTBH9mb3D3OcV9fBGY66igSYbPDEsqo05gtimAMZ3LRUHsD7QsvONxbWUgXo_s7TPvz4sQ5fAfOSSrfuUS66DraZvy7VnZ0Hw1I0NAcQ4dYy/s1600/cartoon-corona_0.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="687" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj28m5ce3NJnCDWAmTa9PqltjRLmJJEQqsGTBH9mb3D3OcV9fBGY66igSYbPDEsqo05gtimAMZ3LRUHsD7QsvONxbWUgXo_s7TPvz4sQ5fAfOSSrfuUS66DraZvy7VnZ0Hw1I0NAcQ4dYy/s320/cartoon-corona_0.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">And I'm not even talking about their atrocious wet markets</span></b> <span style="color: #990000;"><b>and abuse of animals</b></span></span> - kept under unacceptably horrible conditions and torturing them needlessly with no respect for animal rights of swift painless slaughter. It really makes me sad.. We've known for so long now about the risks of virus leaping from wild animal to other animals and then humans... And how such virus can ravage humans. How many examples does the world need? China has known this too and were the ground zero of more than one such virus outbreak. The government there has been told repeatedly, for decades in fact, about the risks posed by their endangered species wild animal markets. Year in, year out China has been warned by virologists that it was only a matter of time before a new lethal virus would break out, risking a global pandemic and financial meltdowns. Yet they do nothing about those markets. HIV, SARS and Corona have all come from eating wildlife. Stop this practice now which will also save our dwindling wildlife.</div>
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And China are not automatically to be taken for their word here. The official death toll (3341 supposedly) they gave to the WHO is most likely highly flawed. Specialists abroad mostly all agree that the REAL Chinese death numbers are suppressed and is expected to be a lot higher, in fact by a factor of 40. They probably glee at the sight of the USA having overtaken them already in the covid casualty number race.. And they even have the nerve to try to pass the blame for the whole outbreak on Italy and the USA. The Global Times reported that Italy may have been to blame, producing no evidence whatsoever for the irresponsible claim. And China's foreign minister tweeted about the possibility the "US military brought the virus to Wuhan"... The country where the virus by all reliable science and sources originated lied, covered up and spread misinformation about its role. Not an apology in sight. And then they 'help' by sending aide to western countries in the shape of medical supplies.... of which half turned out last week to be useless, because they fail to meet professional quality and had to be rejected as substandard and potentially dangerous to use. Or they provide corona antibody tests worth millions that <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8229843/Britain-paid-16m-coronavirus-antibody-tests-China-DONT-WORK.html">don't work</a></b>. I hope countries are going to seriously reconsider their economic relations with China after this pandemic is hopefully curbed. I'm myself boycotting all products coming from China. And I know others who do too. I don't care anymore if it is PC or reasonable or not. This was mishandled, covered up and life as we know it is ruined here. We all know where this virus originated from, yet again. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkXzObBCvDWG0NpLdTMRVh74Vt1KIMzZ2V5Dyt44rSZOgx8XOYXFQcpIm_Gk_lpzRCeNnd3pwmvgbg76zO1PKH42JNaYG6qAo6vZdh3lFlxTWI0kJK6B-OIs7_wDUN8odyUcLLz1HRwZo9/s1600/1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="949" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkXzObBCvDWG0NpLdTMRVh74Vt1KIMzZ2V5Dyt44rSZOgx8XOYXFQcpIm_Gk_lpzRCeNnd3pwmvgbg76zO1PKH42JNaYG6qAo6vZdh3lFlxTWI0kJK6B-OIs7_wDUN8odyUcLLz1HRwZo9/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXgSH1R5eZ6BKUObydIaYX7lIohIOr7p1iOA_Fwo5z-AlhE5dUz7A0fhc3v20Ybilp5e7wH67bUfpfJwAG4ECDjEIyLrP3MtIqCGCfxTHWtwzTu8yuHzIcS3QqF90CQ2GIbsj4Yo4supKH/s1600/2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="1019" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXgSH1R5eZ6BKUObydIaYX7lIohIOr7p1iOA_Fwo5z-AlhE5dUz7A0fhc3v20Ybilp5e7wH67bUfpfJwAG4ECDjEIyLrP3MtIqCGCfxTHWtwzTu8yuHzIcS3QqF90CQ2GIbsj4Yo4supKH/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Even the Washington Post is daring to utter </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">some criticism on China now, and is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/14/state-department-cables-warned-safety-issues-wuhan-lab-studying-bat-coronaviruses/" target="_blank">reporting</a></span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">on China Lab In Focus Of Coronavirus Outbreak</span>.</span></b> Remember, liberal newspapers for months accused anyone asking critical questions of being a right wing, xenophobe conspiracy nutcase. The Washington Post called the Republican Senator Tom Cotton a conspiracy theorist for three months and he was attacked by all of the left wing media for suggesting that the virus came out of a lab. Now the same paper breaks this story: <i>"State Department cables warned of safety issues at Wuhan lab studying bat coronaviruses" </i>By Josh Rogin. April 14, 2020. "<i>Two years before the novel coronavirus pandemic upended the world, U.S. Embassy officials visited a Chinese research facility in the city of Wuhan several times and sent two official warnings back to Washington about inadequate safety at the lab, which was conducting risky studies on coronaviruses from bats. The cables have fueled discussions inside the U.S. government about whether this or another Wuhan lab was the source of the virus — even though conclusive proof has yet to emerge."</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-fslbmed-FM9umdVh_9rF1Mttupp-NHbQPhZVrxH5Kf7dZLkPJPnQiEfM2tKzRoV4I5GTtT-4PaL02jT9iAkXomPDz_pPwdy8D0qYIv0-Pgd3GjZr1T565FOLMjDFxcgz9Kx0uwIQsYe/s1600/27362542-0-image-a-5_1587243550257.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="634" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-fslbmed-FM9umdVh_9rF1Mttupp-NHbQPhZVrxH5Kf7dZLkPJPnQiEfM2tKzRoV4I5GTtT-4PaL02jT9iAkXomPDz_pPwdy8D0qYIv0-Pgd3GjZr1T565FOLMjDFxcgz9Kx0uwIQsYe/s320/27362542-0-image-a-5_1587243550257.jpg" width="315" /></a>There are increasingly more reports and facts coming out that the Covid-19 virus could theoretically have originated from a lab in Wuhan, where the Chinese were experimenting with bats and coronavirsuses. And that by human error it escaped there (I myself don't really believe in a chemical attack (yet) where it was let loose on purpose..). Sequencing of the COVID-19 genome has traced it back to bats found in Yunnan caves, but it was first thought to have transferred onto humans at that now infamous wildlife animal market in Wuhan. But a doctor at the Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital (Cao Bin), highlighted research showing that 13 of the first 41 patients diagnosed with the infection had not had any contact with the market, and that this Wuhan food market was not the only origin of the virus. Yet, there is also a lab nearby, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where Chinese were experimenting with bats and coronavirsuses. It's only based twenty miles from the Wuhan wildlife market. Media saw documents which prove that this lab is partially funded by a $3.7 million grant from the US government by the way. Pretty shocking, considering what sort of 'dangerous and cruel animal experiments' take place at this Wuhan Institute. Scientists there experimented on bats supposedly as part of a project funded by the US National Institutes of Health, which continues to licence the Wuhan laboratory to receive American money for experiments. Other U.S. partners include the University of Alabama, the University of North Texas, Harvard University, and the National Wildlife Federation. As part of the NIH research at the institute, scientists grew a coronavirus in a lab and injected it into three-day-old piglets. Some say that scientists at the institute could have become infected after 'being sprayed with blood containing the virus', and then unwantedly and unknowingly passed it on to the local community. A second institute in the city, the Wuhan Centre for Disease Control – which is barely three miles from the market – is also believed to have carried out experiments on animals such as bats to examine the transmission of coronaviruses. It keeps more than 1,500 strains of deadly viruses and specializes in the research of 'the most dangerous pathogens', in particular the viruses carried by bats. (Chinese officials decided to build it after the outbreak of SARS in 2002 and 2003). American biosecurity expert Professor Richard Ebright said that COVID-19 could easily have escaped from this Wuhan laboratory while it was being analyzed. He saw evidence that scientists at the Centre for Disease Control and the Institute of Virology studied the viruses with only 'level 2' security, instead of the recommended level 4, which provides only minimal protections against infection of lab workers. There is always some risk of infection when people start collecting virus, culture and isolate it. Lab accidents happen. Horrid times.. Stuck in the house, waiting for this nightmare to be over.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXADHbBTkubHKCQlu-Y3r83AJAM1qCrC4diXrXvzG2v_7pPH7yf3wMW6agTreIZD6WPtaGGXLE69e_iA59D3uPjb_Uyp8973gwX8pVu7B1B5JCQ9sIq0P4n1qcLyQ1Iz-nGsODEYsuYnz/s1600/article-5860-1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1392" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXADHbBTkubHKCQlu-Y3r83AJAM1qCrC4diXrXvzG2v_7pPH7yf3wMW6agTreIZD6WPtaGGXLE69e_iA59D3uPjb_Uyp8973gwX8pVu7B1B5JCQ9sIq0P4n1qcLyQ1Iz-nGsODEYsuYnz/s400/article-5860-1.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikSRGoL8UiEIZZYYT-NPod6VaJRorxstxtaYhFaYWtu01wOTxhyphenhyphenTUdfA_wVBhg_g0fqrDnlLwpg0ctVmJp-hmKvL4v-UpgB1PZDiWeZKfC_LpAo2nWmWmAVFpB3IByP5sykhgxzA6F4vdE/s1600/27086004-8211291-image-a-7_1586650490164.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="634" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikSRGoL8UiEIZZYYT-NPod6VaJRorxstxtaYhFaYWtu01wOTxhyphenhyphenTUdfA_wVBhg_g0fqrDnlLwpg0ctVmJp-hmKvL4v-UpgB1PZDiWeZKfC_LpAo2nWmWmAVFpB3IByP5sykhgxzA6F4vdE/s400/27086004-8211291-image-a-7_1586650490164.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Some more quotes from the Washington Post article:</b></span> "<i>In January 2018, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing took the unusual step of repeatedly sending U.S. science diplomats to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), which had in 2015 become China’s first laboratory to achieve the highest level of international bioresearch safety (known as BSL-4). WIV issued a news release in English about the last of these visits, which occurred on March 27, 2018. The U.S. delegation was led by Jamison Fouss, the consul general in Wuhan, and Rick Switzer, the embassy’s counselor of environment, science, technology and health. Last week, WIV erased that statement from its website, though it remains archived on the Internet. </i><i>What the U.S. officials learned during their visits concerned them so much that they dispatched two diplomatic cables categorized as Sensitive But Unclassified back to Washington. The cables warned about safety and management weaknesses at the WIV lab and proposed more attention and help. The first cable, which I obtained, also warns that the lab’s work on bat coronaviruses and their potential human transmission represented a risk of a new SARS-like pandemic.</i></div>
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<i>“During interactions with scientists at the WIV laboratory, they noted the new lab has a serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians and investigators needed to safely operate this high-containment laboratory,” states the Jan. 19, 2018, cable, which was drafted by two officials from the embassy’s environment, science and health sections who met with the WIV scientists. (The State Department declined to comment on this and other details of the story.) </i><i>The Chinese researchers at WIV were receiving assistance from the Galveston National Laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch and other U.S. organizations, but the Chinese requested additional help. The cables argued that the United States should give the Wuhan lab further support, mainly because its research on bat coronaviruses was important but also dangerous. </i><i>“Most importantly,” the cable states, “the researchers also showed that various SARS-like coronaviruses can interact with ACE2, the human receptor identified for SARS-coronavirus. This finding strongly suggests that SARS-like coronaviruses from bats can be transmitted to humans to cause SARS-like diseases. From a public health perspective, this makes the continued surveillance of SARS-like coronaviruses in bats and study of the animal-human interface critical to future emerging coronavirus outbreak prediction and prevention.” </i><i>The research was designed to prevent the next SARS-like pandemic by anticipating how it might emerge. But even in 2015, other scientists questioned whether Shi’s team was taking unnecessary risks. In October 2014, the U.S. government had imposed a moratorium on funding of any research that makes a virus more deadly or contagious, known as “gain-of-function” experiments. </i><i>As many have pointed out, there is no evidence that the virus now plaguing the world was engineered; scientists largely agree it came from animals. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>But that is not the same as saying it didn’t come from the lab, which spent years testing bat coronaviruses in animals, said Xiao Qiang, a research scientist at the School of Information at the University of California at Berkeley.</b></span></i><i>“The cable tells us that there have long been concerns about the possibility of the threat to public health that came from this lab’s research, if it was not being adequately conducted and protected,” he said.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcuopfYP8ovsQETlORlA8PxWQwLc0xb5KrJoF9QIUg60VjglJ3nqUBJ2AxkI_-e7iMZLc3M7KCz8N0Pbv48q9fRan31JZAymCDUlvtM5B1o3cxu8n_mS5dUyOfa8jhOvUfF5nzK_c5NfPH/s1600/27246220-8223779-image-a-8_1586994886450.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="634" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcuopfYP8ovsQETlORlA8PxWQwLc0xb5KrJoF9QIUg60VjglJ3nqUBJ2AxkI_-e7iMZLc3M7KCz8N0Pbv48q9fRan31JZAymCDUlvtM5B1o3cxu8n_mS5dUyOfa8jhOvUfF5nzK_c5NfPH/s400/27246220-8223779-image-a-8_1586994886450.jpg" width="400" /></a><i>There are similar concerns about the nearby Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention </i><i>lab, </i><i>which operates at biosecurity level 2, a level significantly less secure than the level-4 standard claimed by the Wuhan Insititute of Virology lab, Xiao said. That’s important because the Chinese government still refuses to answer basic questions about the origin of the novel coronavirus while suppressing any attempts to examine whether either lab was involved. </i><i>Sources familiar with the cables said they were meant to sound an alarm about the grave safety concerns at the WIV lab, especially regarding its work with bat coronaviruses. The embassy officials were calling for more U.S. attention to this lab and more support for it, to help it fix its problems. </i><i>“The cable was a warning shot,” one U.S. official said. “They were begging people to pay attention to what was going on.” </i><i>Inside the Trump administration, many national security officials have long suspected either the WIV or the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention lab was the source of the novel coronavirus outbreak. According to the New York Times, the intelligence community has provided no evidence to confirm this. But one senior administration official told me that the cables provide one more piece of evidence to support the possibility that the pandemic is the result of a lab accident in Wuhan.</i><i>“The idea that it was just a totally natural occurrence is circumstantial. The evidence it leaked from the lab is circumstantial. Right now, the ledger on the side of it leaking from the lab is packed with bullet points and there’s almost nothing on the other side,” the official said. </i><i>As my colleague David Ignatius noted, the Chinese government’s original story — that the virus emerged from a seafood market in Wuhan — is shaky. Research by Chinese experts published in the Lancet in January showed the first known patient, identified on Dec. 1, had no connection to the market, nor did more than one-third of the cases in the first large cluster. Also, the market didn’t sell bats. [..] The Chinese government, meanwhile, has put a total lockdown on information related to the virus origins. Beijing has yet to provide U.S. experts with samples of the novel coronavirus collected from the earliest cases. The Shanghai lab that published the novel coronavirus genome on Jan. 11 was quickly shut down by authorities for “rectification.” Several of the doctors and journalists who reported on the spread early on have disappeared." </i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1aYClwzri3Q1Gdkvla5NylsQQ-XAGpZFFhQt5G_HNuzyfOO2Fq2hmF82F4zA1vT97QEnk90ABwDN_paZBidjzfff13qCiDwOo5ZZySeBOAzdiqH3NVb6GZHPhiCBd5cIq0E60OZy5V0N/s1600/27248264-8223779-A_colorized_scanning_electron_micrograph_of_an_apoptotic_cell_re-a-1_1587015054584.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="632" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1aYClwzri3Q1Gdkvla5NylsQQ-XAGpZFFhQt5G_HNuzyfOO2Fq2hmF82F4zA1vT97QEnk90ABwDN_paZBidjzfff13qCiDwOo5ZZySeBOAzdiqH3NVb6GZHPhiCBd5cIq0E60OZy5V0N/s320/27248264-8223779-A_colorized_scanning_electron_micrograph_of_an_apoptotic_cell_re-a-1_1587015054584.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5T3xG1sBNc95mIFhqK70DZ7m_fkT_Z1oJ45i4saoOS04NYXq2NaEnCmMX3KPf9qNvDC45sWK6XQlGBeKGwj7N-d0m73eVrHOcsk8Osh5c4dvsOyiXYNLE-H5FD4piFBVA7f3vw-GYJZ9R/s1600/wire-27206508-1586927912-962_634x422.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="634" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5T3xG1sBNc95mIFhqK70DZ7m_fkT_Z1oJ45i4saoOS04NYXq2NaEnCmMX3KPf9qNvDC45sWK6XQlGBeKGwj7N-d0m73eVrHOcsk8Osh5c4dvsOyiXYNLE-H5FD4piFBVA7f3vw-GYJZ9R/s320/wire-27206508-1586927912-962_634x422.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #444444;"><b>This news story is not just about blame. It’s a </b></span><b style="color: #444444;">legitimate question that needs to be investigated and answered. It’s crucial to understanding how the novel coronavirus pandemic started because that informs how to prevent the next one. The Chinese government must be transparent and answer the questions about the Wuhan labs because they are vital to our scientific understanding of the virus. Perhaps now that the Washington Post published this information, instead of... lets say the Daily Mail, people will take this information more seriously. </b><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span>This is shocking news but is what had been discussed some weeks ago. Accidents do happen but this matter is so alarming to all that it really does need absolute proof from somewhere and as soon as possible. I believe that it could be a realistic scenario that this corona virus indeed escaped from the wuhan lab. As the Washington Post now proposes. It may have happened accidentally, or it may have been done on purpose. It brings up so many questions, just the notion of this scenario. Why have such a laboratory situated in a hugely populated area in the first place? Shouldn't it be situated in a desert area away from people and city life, in order to lessen the likelihood of accidents or disasters like the one we currently endure from happening? Right now China managed to (inadvertently?) destabilize the world economy. While their own economy is going strong. The fact that almost all PPE and ventilators need to be imported from China now, shows how stupid and shortsighted governments have in the West have become. Which I partly blame on the landslide privatizations everywhere. Making governments themselves no longer responsible for these things. And when you leave these things to the free markets, then business and wealth and greed is what dominates worldwide from east to west. China is a dictatorship that oppresses its people, but we trade with them for cheap labour anyway, out of greed for greater profit. This disaster is once more showing how dependent and reliant Western Economies and democracies have become on China. And how well the Communist State can quickly react and shut things down to deal with the crisis, while our economies crumble. Yet in China they can switch their production and manufacturing lines to meet new demands and requirements, right away. Imagine, starting a problem and ALSO being the one to 'save' the World with export of PPEs etc. Also listen to what EU minister said about China buying up companies that are struggling under the economic crash. They do so all over Europe as well. </div>
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But the chance of China admitting anything that is remotely truthful about this is less than zero. China deliberately denied that this virus was a problem and had Doctors arrested back in November and certainly didn't think to mention it to the world until the end of January. Begs the question how much on purpose all of that was? A lot of people openly doubted that the origin of this covid-19 virus was the wet market (even though it could very well be!); thought for months already that it originated from a bat that lives 1000 miles away. Which new research documents now confirm. How did the bat get to Wuhan? The same way all animals used for research get to the lab, they're transported there. Or... in the Batmobile perhaps ;) But it could well have been transported and used in those Wuhan labs (which the US also partially funded by the way...). I'm afraid the West is very much tied firmly to China. They literally make everything we buy. Big business controls it all and they have too much invested in China to let it die. China have no brand, they only have cheap prices through cheap labour. That's what's given them growth and that's why most western populations will continue to buy from then when this is over, unfortunately... Could the U.S. possibly start by pulling Apple out of China? Allegedly Samsung have shut all their manufacturing plants there. We have become far too reliant on the "made in China goods. And China seems anything but sorry...their economy is booming because the rest of the world has to buy PPE from them which is shoddy like the rest of the crap that comes from there. And the WHO should have been all over this from the word go, but their Director General is so heavily compromised it was never going to be them who get to the bottom of it. He's an absolute disgrace and should resign immediately or be thrown out on his ear.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><br /></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">April 6th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">Some videos that made me smile or dance, </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">just a bit of distraction from all the coronavirus horrors and stress.</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOT9dPXGRwGRFYITmQC4zxBo-O3lGjYH8Rdv0HECj4r3j1LuApOMKPpVE7AwwlrG5Y8AbLACYhQCJCZsEtf9BEih65eRJjMMhdB8V3QfQREfmrXVyg7tNPvvHJYyYOVhTpJEBq7CZ-jY0b/s1600/91462129_10158113879826894_7141606039933157376_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="757" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOT9dPXGRwGRFYITmQC4zxBo-O3lGjYH8Rdv0HECj4r3j1LuApOMKPpVE7AwwlrG5Y8AbLACYhQCJCZsEtf9BEih65eRJjMMhdB8V3QfQREfmrXVyg7tNPvvHJYyYOVhTpJEBq7CZ-jY0b/s400/91462129_10158113879826894_7141606039933157376_o.jpg" width="315" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">March 29th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b><br />
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Tough times.. I have had a very sore throat for weeks now 😡 Also mucus build up, heavy chest feeling, nausea. But a sore throat most of all. However, it's most likely just some very mild allergy symptoms or maybe even a normal seasonal flu. No worries about Covid-19 because frankly I haven't left the house for weeks, other than a nightly walk through town when everyone else is sleeping. Also don't have a fever, nor coughing. So I'll just be 'under the weather'. The common flu/cold is also going round here. I am not worried about it either; the thermometer is my safety net in the morning and evening, and with normal body temperature, I forget about it further. And my rosacea has been bad all week also 😢. Burning, red, angry. I need to get my hormones checked with my dermatologist, but they cancelled my appointment this week, due to it not being an emergency and in order to stop the spread of Covid-19. It brings me down, having to cool my face all the time and being so limited in every way. (Photos taken at the absolute palest moment all week; been much more red the majority of last week). What also does make me really down is the lack of socializing, or even shopping. I always used to mock 'extroverts' for being so depending on other people in that respect. <i>No, me? I'm happy as a clam in my house with my books and computer and cats and such. </i>But now that all of that has become mandatory, and not so much a free lifestyle choice (also forced upon me by my rosacea), it does start to feel claustrophobic. And I;m saying this despite being the biggest supporter of complete Covid-19 lock-down and radical quarantining. But even I am getting slight cabin fever by now, without my weekend outings, visiting of cafe's or the beach or even grocery shopping with others and cycling through town. I am feeling low on energy, every day looks like the previous one and I struggle keeping up with my normal disciplined working system. Instead I just sleep way too long and get distracted for hours on end, procrastinating while reading all the latest doom and gloom news. Not being able to go out with people, going for a drink or a walk over the market is getting claustrophobic at this point. It's a strange atmosphere. And the fact that predictions about how long this will last vary wildly, isn't helping. It makes me cranky about those countrymen and -women who break the rules and who go out anyway. They make this lock-down fail and will only lengthen the whole ordeal. With great ramifications for people's psychology and the economy also.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVMOkFBEIeiNEOs0MDGtBDfo3int6HUTT3m_3g8oeb0KG-2UiZbDiGoW_VxjwvmVoOHMser5AxWTqsHjJ0bh35hjKQ7Hg1Yiln65o8hIwRNhz8WgyDA5JPy9KV7t260aOev76Lt5eIIcse/s170/zzDSC03190.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="170" data-original-width="117" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVMOkFBEIeiNEOs0MDGtBDfo3int6HUTT3m_3g8oeb0KG-2UiZbDiGoW_VxjwvmVoOHMser5AxWTqsHjJ0bh35hjKQ7Hg1Yiln65o8hIwRNhz8WgyDA5JPy9KV7t260aOev76Lt5eIIcse/w156-h227/zzDSC03190.jpg" width="156" /></a>As the Guardian <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/mar/28/americans-who-dont-take-coronavirus-seriously"><b>put it</b></a>: "<i>The past few weeks have brought considerable reason to question the purpose of human existence. Between the examples of influencers licking toilets during this pandemic and the people who think it’s funny to cough on food at the grocery store, are we seriously still supposed to believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution?</i>" - The general population here in Europe does not have the discipline and obedience you see in many Asian countries. In countries like Singapore, <b><a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/16/taiwan-china-fear-coronavirus-success/">Taiwan</a></b> and South Korea they contained this coronavirus in record time, because the population is obedient and actually stick to the rules when their governments orders them to. Everyone of them. Taiwan has 10 million masks a day, widespread tracking, and just 1 death despite being close to the outbreak. <i>"Taiwan’s anti-coronavirus strategy utilizes a combination of early vigilance, proactive measures, and information sharing with the public, as well as applying technology in the form of analyzing big data and online platforms. All this is done with an impressive level of public transparency and engagement. Taiwan took measures early on, including inspecting plane passengers coming from Wuhan starting Dec. 31, banning Wuhan residents on Jan. 23, suspending tours to China on Jan. 25, and eventually banning all Chinese visitors on Feb. 6. Taiwan’s government stopped exports of surgical face masks on January 24 while requesting local companies to step up production. Daily production is set to reach 10 million soon, divided between the public, medical, and industrial sectors. The authorities have also moved quickly to track down infected persons and map the cases to show the sources of infection. Educating the public on the risks of the illness and precautions to take through television notices and posters is also a big part of anti-coronavirus efforts."</i> (<a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/16/taiwan-china-fear-coronavirus-success/">source</a>). It may be a cultural thing; the people there stick to the rules and don't sabotage their own virus approach. The governments of those Asian countries also do things by the book; they test anyone and everyone; they impose strict quarantine of all infected and their families. And because nobody flaunts the rules, these countries have kept their economy going. They kept restaurants and shops and businesses open. Because everyone who needs to be quarantined sticks to it, and when people are told to keep 2 meters distance between one another, they actually obey to it. Without exception. Their population takes an order for an order and as a result, many of the Asian countries by now have this Covid-crisis as good as contained. WE in the 'free West' on the other hand stick up our middle finger. Do not blindly accept and follow orders from our authorities. Don't even know sometimes what real discipline is. Besides, we are friendly requested here, not ordered. Even the state leaders leave a lot of room for personal interpretation, which is.... not wise in a crisis situation. Many over here in Europe flaunt the new rules, unable to give up their modern lifestyles overnight, and<i> not used to</i> following any orders that are detrimental to their freedom and what they want in life. So we think we know better than the authorities. And the authorities fail as well, unable or refusing to 'test test test', as is basic rule number one with such pandemics. This is a disaster unrolling right in front of our eyes for many European countries, because of our attitude. The whole anarchistic independence self awareness (and self-entitlement) serves us right when standing up to dictators and dictatorial regimes, but right now during a virus pandemic, it is kind of counter productive..</div></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b>Interesting: how Asian countries approached this virus successfully</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b>Plus 3D images of corona lungs: </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOXpnQASvbRrjPkxEP6lMwng5PAKs6Z5o7VfmesL64p8YXtIKoNLTz5FtDYPknMW8SX3y6KsaFlEOcH4JJx-zJfD510cU-s8Mad7OLX7Ecnj_wATfvXidymf7-l_U07kmcopOfBDv_Mcy/s1600/89964726_2795221843846234_2658378391635361792_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="630" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOXpnQASvbRrjPkxEP6lMwng5PAKs6Z5o7VfmesL64p8YXtIKoNLTz5FtDYPknMW8SX3y6KsaFlEOcH4JJx-zJfD510cU-s8Mad7OLX7Ecnj_wATfvXidymf7-l_U07kmcopOfBDv_Mcy/s320/89964726_2795221843846234_2658378391635361792_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>I read a lot of cases of youngsters dying here.. Beautiful <b><a href="data:image/jpeg;base64,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">16 year old girl</a></b> without known health conditions, many 20-somethings.. It now is becoming more and more apparent that the story that Covid-19 only kills the old and the sick is not quite correct. Yes, they have statistically the highest risk of dying from it, but this virus can have the same effect on those with overly active immune systems. Just like the Spanish Flu had, only in much smaller numbers with corona. Either the immune systems of the victims are too weak (the elderly) or they are too strong and overact in a cytokine storm fashion. That last thing can happen to those with auto-immune diseases, or to those who simply never knew that their immune system would or could go into overdrive when confronted with such a virulent virus. The youngest known European victim for instance is <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8164787/14-year-old-boy-Portugals-youngest-coronavirus-victim-Ovar-near-Porto.html">this 14 year old Portuguese boy</a></b>, who had psoriasis, which is an auto-immune disease and as such he was classed as having 'underlying health conditions' which put him at risk for Covid-19. Many people have auto-immune diseases, may it be allergies, asthma, psoriasis, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, thyroid disease etc. Please be aware that you 'may' be at higher risk of complications from this coronavirus.. (I myself have inflammatory bowel disease, allergies, arthritis and histamine issues unfortunately). I think anyone basically needs to take good care right now not to catch this or ending up in hospital right now..</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>If memes are your thing, here are some that made me smile and which try to make light of this very strange and stressful moment in time:</b></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXFdPl9YmV_kdnXNV4yCO1sRkA-V5PKft5ADRl3UapYsTjIG6rqAfjKSLbPMbpJQEvmWL4wUGaGdeHbyuAvteFuNKfpIHrEFn62RnSNaMUiKhRrsgJ97_7Ke5vt2x9PhgOxuE5G1cqthQy/s1600/DghlAj4XkAAmosv.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="898" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXFdPl9YmV_kdnXNV4yCO1sRkA-V5PKft5ADRl3UapYsTjIG6rqAfjKSLbPMbpJQEvmWL4wUGaGdeHbyuAvteFuNKfpIHrEFn62RnSNaMUiKhRrsgJ97_7Ke5vt2x9PhgOxuE5G1cqthQy/w298-h400/DghlAj4XkAAmosv.jpg" width="298" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">March 26th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b><br /><br />When it comes to Trump, it is astounding to me how the media over here only reports on Trump when he does something dumb on a personal level. A tweet that wasn't phrased as it should, a smirk that didn't sit well. His bad manners, or rash out-lashings. Him speaking out against the Venezuelan villain (well thát was a new thing for the USA, I applauded). You just don't hear about any achievements on Dutch TV and from what I understand mainstream media also likes to ignore that part. For instance, Obama called very low growth or low GDP the “new normal”. The media mocked Trump for saying that he would get 3 to 4% GDP growth. One of the “leading economists” who writes for the New York Times said that Trump couldn’t do it, but he did it after one year in office. He got 3% virtually straight after that article and hasn’t stopped. Of course now all you hear is that this was already in the pipeline and Obama's doing lol. They all said that Trump would devastate the economy with his trade war. But the US economy is in the lift, more so at least than under Obama. Even the BBC had to admit this week that Yes, the economy in the States is doing well since Trump is in charge.. Trump has China on the ropes and has done something about the unfair import and export tax rate differences between these two countries (always favouring China's economy in the past). America’s economy is improving. He rightfully attacked the disproportionate UN costs for the USA. Media also said that he would never be able to renegotiate NAFTA, that agreement between the USA, Mexico and Canada. He’s got that done. No new wars under him and plans to get out of existing ones, coordinated and professionally. I never understood why a billionaire businessmen who deals with China and other countries all the time with business, wouldn't do better in theory than a professional social worker like Obama. What would Obama (who armed and helped 'the rebels' in Syria for years, until they turned out to be ISIS.. yes this is true unfortunately) know about business? Trump dealt with the Chinese nearly daily in various ways for the past 40 years. Anyway, he also did some shitty stuff, especially his take on climate change and controlling national CO2 emissions sucks I think. Nature preservation and taxes are also not his strong points from what I understand, among other things. I'm peronally no fan of the 1% rich enclaves that are allowed to sprawl in the USA, while such a large group of the population lives below the poverty line. Luckily over here in Europe the rich get properly taxed and so do big companies, or at least in theory they do (am sure they find loopholes and all that in reality). I always hated 'the right' as a student, but aside from the pretty vital differences on tax views, the left in my eyes have become extremely annoying and hypcritical over time with their gaslighting, abuse of media power, woke opinions and lack of proper condemning of violence. And in the end, news should report on news, all the news, not just the news that fits their own political conviction and thus not just his fuck-ups. </div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Something else that is Trump related (and I've read up on this thanks to my friend who is into this whole thing and read reliable source material): it will all come out in due time (unless the Democrats win the elections and will cover it all even more up) and there are already investigations started now into it all after the Russian Hoax debacle from the Democrats exploded in their face, but this has to do with the presidential election process, when Hillary Clinton was still in the race and used contacts with the FBI and CIA to get a secret, illegal rapport going on Trump. She paid for it all of course and wanted to find dirt on him, in particular proof that he had received help or money from the Russians to win the elections (now debunked with the Mueller rapport on this Russian hoax thing). Very dodgy. A few conservative commentators have been talking about this Russian Issue for over a year. Basically, they say it is a travesty what the media and the left have done to back Trump into a corner with Russia. Don’t forget CNN even had that corrupt guy John Brennan, the former CIA boss, saying that Trump committed Treason because he sided with Putin by saying he believed him when he said Putin didn’t interfere with their election. Also the New York Times called Trump a Russian agent not long ago (unfounded, no proof) and the leader of the democrats all said recently that Putin has something on Trump. No proof, once more. Empty rhetoric. Now debunked officially, but the media ran with these lies for years. Trying to undermine his presidency based on lies. This is all a propaganda campaign. The special counsel has spent $30 million, investigated every bit of Trump’s life, done the unethical by raiding Trump’s lawyer, all of the warrants and even the special counsel lead back to a fabricated dossier paid for by Hillary Clinton and they have no hard evidence to pin him to anything. Hillary and some of her FBI cronies also had tapped all Trumps communications already during the presidential campaign phase, and the FBI even sent spies into his campaign. It is hard to believe that in the USA, Obama’s FBI spied on Trump during his presidential campaign and it was all based on a fake, unverified dossier, paid by Hillary to infer that Trump was colluding with Russia. It is mind blowing what the FBI, CIA and DOJ have done, going by the information available by now. If true, then this is 3rd world shit regardless of what you think of Trump as a person or president. It rocks the foundations of democracy. If we'd see it happening in rogue states across the world, we would all condemn it, well most of us would and the western media certainly would. Unless it happens in the USA and is Democrat-orchestrated? Does noone see the hypcrisy and madness in this? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAUQuhaX4W5vKnOp8gsUF6T335j677hyphenhyphenHT_YHfZU03kw1CgHAXaXnfvOM6jyK2dUiBi9m0EL9sCt3reFn_es-GpxeSFQjnfp6EZxJ5_yuCcZypDbtaa8pl0tehPLQhccMXMFWbyCAny5dz/s1600/download+%25281%2529+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAUQuhaX4W5vKnOp8gsUF6T335j677hyphenhyphenHT_YHfZU03kw1CgHAXaXnfvOM6jyK2dUiBi9m0EL9sCt3reFn_es-GpxeSFQjnfp6EZxJ5_yuCcZypDbtaa8pl0tehPLQhccMXMFWbyCAny5dz/s320/download+%25281%2529+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Mm8ji357V3v-XdGZZmPvKHc-cNHCEYrO77VShssgwdKTtGLx2egMvl0dvJ_sq9pOfTeWkV_7tGI23dIp5DM-cL7JNXYKBPGvS-PU_XvcHuy4sWSRmpU5RRlw2jaczIeAi8rM1W0IGgwV/s1600/hillary-clinton.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Mm8ji357V3v-XdGZZmPvKHc-cNHCEYrO77VShssgwdKTtGLx2egMvl0dvJ_sq9pOfTeWkV_7tGI23dIp5DM-cL7JNXYKBPGvS-PU_XvcHuy4sWSRmpU5RRlw2jaczIeAi8rM1W0IGgwV/s320/hillary-clinton.jpg" width="320" /></a>There was the infamous Trump Jnr tower meeting, which was the media’s and FBI’s “holy grail” of catching Trump. The Russians that Trump Jnr met with, had also met with Fusion GPS - who created The Dossier. They met with Fusion GPS the night before actually, and the day after the Trump Jnr meeting. The 4th in charge of the DOJ’s wife worked at Fusion gps, which was all kept a secret and was never supposed to come out. She was feeding the dossier and other fake info to her husband at the DOJ. That fake info was then given to the FBI where they then used that fake info to fool the courts into getting a warrant to spy on Trumps campaign. This is the Fake Dossier, and it had serious implications. In the USA they have what is called a “Two Hop” rule. It means that if you get a warrant to tap an Americans phone, you can do “two hops” from that person which means if one person in the campaign speaks to two others, you can listen in on them or read their communication too. In short, it allows you to spy on whoever you want. So, getting back to Fusion gps and the Trump Jnr meeting with the Russians who also met with the Dossier creator the day before and after the meeting. The Russians gave Trump Jnr nothing and talked about something called the Narivski act or something like that, about the regulations regarding adopting kids. But they got their warrant thanks to this, based on fake info, so basically an illegal judicial power was gathered. Hillary paying for this fake dossier is pretty much common knowledge and undisputed by all sides now. The DOJ lawyer and his wife who worked for Fusion GPS (the dossier creator) is indisputable also because both the husband and the wife confessed their involvement under oath to congress behind closed door hearings. The Russian lawyer meeting with Fusion GPS the day before and the day after the Trump tower meetings are also not up for debate as the lawyer has admitted it. The owner of Fusion GPS who concocted the fake dossier disclosed this to congress: </div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYG3bHy7yg17x6fjjkBRjOKUOirQi7TH-1rPQkhw-Wrj4lcgs_Fb-U8zXX-kWAgCKbJ4MmLvbGZ_P8nd9isLXT4hgN0fAw-e9sRoGQQgzelcNrwRTNKPUrrfL6WntOEoTNpLS2S0jPwZm/s1600/download+%25283%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="320" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYG3bHy7yg17x6fjjkBRjOKUOirQi7TH-1rPQkhw-Wrj4lcgs_Fb-U8zXX-kWAgCKbJ4MmLvbGZ_P8nd9isLXT4hgN0fAw-e9sRoGQQgzelcNrwRTNKPUrrfL6WntOEoTNpLS2S0jPwZm/s400/download+%25283%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Fusion GPS’ Glenn Simpson Dined With Russian Lawyer Before & After Her Meeting at Trump Tower</b></span></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i>Transcripts released Wednesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee say that Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of Fusion GPS, had dinner with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya both the day before and the day after she met with Donald Trump, Jr. at Trump Tower on June 9, 2016. </i><i style="text-align: left;">Veselnitskaya, however, told the committee that “no,” she did not have contact with Glenn Simpson on June 8, 9, or 10, 2016. In written responses to questions from the committee, she disputed a news report saying she met with Simpson before and after the Trump Tower meeting. </i><i style="text-align: left;">Trump Jr. had never heard of Veselnitskaya, either, before he met her; and he said he was not aware that Fusion GPS was conducting opposition research on his father when the meeting took place. </i><span style="text-align: left;">(</span><a href="https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/fusion-gps-glenn-simpson-dined-russian-lawyer-after-her-meeting-trump-tower" style="text-align: left;">Source</a><span style="text-align: left;">)</span></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AOf8LvpJCG4MsYr0PhH03lzIj9plJAwZFY0kBRCjLauDt34s1jSD1O8uxpQA1S5U4vQiFPLyrurOGkdq1J6gY0-n4IjFWTrE7tCaF_FRQHlxe8Z0AGkyUbdBIkQAKAlZejuhm9U1-4t6/s1600/FC.481-Large-TIFF_4000-pixels-long-224x300.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="224" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AOf8LvpJCG4MsYr0PhH03lzIj9plJAwZFY0kBRCjLauDt34s1jSD1O8uxpQA1S5U4vQiFPLyrurOGkdq1J6gY0-n4IjFWTrE7tCaF_FRQHlxe8Z0AGkyUbdBIkQAKAlZejuhm9U1-4t6/s400/FC.481-Large-TIFF_4000-pixels-long-224x300.jpg" width="298" /></a>What was going on here is that the FBI was trying to manufacture fake collusion contacts with the Russians and tried to frame Trump. It was a set up. They used FBI informants such as Stefan Halper and Greenberg, while Natalia Veselnitskaya was a Fusion GPS plant. She was let in on a special visa from Obama and tried to frame the Trumps. Simpson lied to congress here. It turns out that in an email chain about “talking points“ for the Trump tower meeting, a prominent Clinton lawyer was also included. This same lawyer met with the main Russian from the meeting, on that day and immediately after the meeting. In summary, this was an attempt to entrap Trump so that the FBI has dirt on him to say he was colluding with Russians. Let’s not forget the FBI chief of counter intelligence saying that he had an “insurance plan to ensure Trump doesn’t get elected", and his text messages with his FBI lover lawyer are damning. A British intelligence spy was also involved in it all. The fake dossier started with Christopher Steele (former top British secret service spy) who worked for Fusion GPS. All of the players in this set up from Britain, all have links to Christopher Steele. Coincidentally, this man tried to organize meetings between Russians and Trump campaign people, that went nowhere. Why would an FBI spy try to set up meetings with Russian people for the Trump staff? Isn't that illegal to try to entrap people? And doesn't this sound like an "insurance plan"? Stefan Halper set up meetings for other key Trump players who the media accused of collaborating with the Russians. In other words, this Stefan Halper was trying to get Russians to talk to Trump people. Even the New York Post<a href="https://nypost.com/2018/05/19/cambridge-professor-outed-as-fbi-informant-inside-trump-campaign/"> had to report on it</a>. The FBI naturally didn't want anyone to know about this Stefan Halper spy. It looks ever so likely that Halper was trying to set up Trump people by trying to get them to have meetings with Russians. This then would give the FBI reasons to investigate Trump. In other words; entrapment. The media went from <i>"Don't be so ridiculous - it is a conspiracy theory that FBI spies were planted in the Trump campaign"</i> to <i>"The FBI had good reasons to plant a spy in the Trump campaign". </i>Stefan Helper is the spy and of course the media then tried to play it all down. And like I said, the fake dossier started with Christopher Steele who worked for Fusion GPS, the (former British) spy. He is intertwined in all of the intel. people. In other words, to repeat it again; all of the players in this set up from Britain, all have links to Christopher Steele. It looks pretty much a given that the US and British intelligence, along with an Australian broke protocol and were setting up Trump. Sounds too unbelievable almost, I know, but there is too much evidence to deny it.</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The two hop rule and the spying on the Trump campaign is not in any doubt by the way. The NYT and CNN nevertheless said for a long time that the Trump camp was never spied on, but then turned around and did stories basically saying "Ok, yes, he wás spied on,<i> but for good reasons</i>." Nice back-flip. Then the 2nd in charge of the FBI admitted under oath that without the fake dossier they would not have gotten FISA warrants no less than 4 times to spy on Trump. This is pretty much indisputable no matter how much CNN or the NY Times try to cover it up. Don't forget that all of the major leaks for the FBI have been to CNN and NY Times. CNN miraculously were present for a 27 man FBI raid of one of Trump's associates recently. 27 FBI agents with guns at 6 am for a 66 year old man who has cooperated for 2 years and is charged with lying about things that he did AFTER the election, ie nothing to do with Russian collusion. But now even the more left leaning news organisations confirm it and it is pretty much common knowledge and indisputable that the fake dossier – paid for by the Clintons – was the crux for the warrants to spy on the Trump camp. During the presidential campaign already, which is truly shocking, especially coming also from the FBI itself which shouldn't meddle in democratic presidential elections.</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4FYgxjQmzXHLJcX2lJtARi5mPXyYHmOIV7JTIK_91ajnjy6rZT8zP9OOUPgh_kcRCu-WnuXNnO2c-FmLSBaW4nf0sBMzFEsd8qUjnZxsOHFpPDWCBU6QxNBK8Ol3USw3zn-Qj7HHISLi/s1600/download+%25285%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="305" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4FYgxjQmzXHLJcX2lJtARi5mPXyYHmOIV7JTIK_91ajnjy6rZT8zP9OOUPgh_kcRCu-WnuXNnO2c-FmLSBaW4nf0sBMzFEsd8qUjnZxsOHFpPDWCBU6QxNBK8Ol3USw3zn-Qj7HHISLi/s400/download+%25285%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b>This is what Comey <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/420408-comeys-confession-dossier-not-verified-before-or-after-fisa-warrant">said himself</a> about the dossier: that it was not verified and that information</b></span><b style="color: #990000;"> that it was fake was conveniently ignored by the FBI before handing it in to the judge to get their much wanted spying warrant</b><span style="color: #990000;">:</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i>"The failures of Comey’s remarkably turbulent and short tenure as FBI director were on display again Friday on Capitol Hill, when he was interviewed in a closed-door session by two House committees. Republican lawmakers were aghast at his sudden lack of recollection of key events. He didn’t seem to know that his own FBI was using No. 4 Justice Department official Bruce Ohr as a conduit to keep collecting intelligence from Christopher Steele after the British intel operative was fired by the bureau for leaking and lying. In fact, Comey didn’t seem to remember knowing that Steele had been terminated, according to sources in the room.</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>“His memory was so bad I feared he might not remember how to get out of the room after the interview,” one lawmaker quipped. Lamented another: “It was like he suddenly developed dementia or Alzheimer’s, after conveniently remembering enough facts to sell his book.”</i></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i>But lawmakers were relieved when Comey could remember one fact that is essential to understanding if his FBI acted appropriately in the investigation of Donald Trump and Russia. The towering ex-FBI boss confessed that the FBI had not corroborated much of the Steele dossier before it was submitted as evidence to a secret court to support a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant to spy on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page in the final weeks of the election. And Comey admitted much of the dossier remained uncorroborated more than six months later when he was fired by President Trump. I won’t waste too much time harping on the enormity of this confession. Everyday Americans now know that the FISA court process is an honor system and that the FBI may only submit evidence it has verified to the judges. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Comey now has confirmed what Republican lawmakers like Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) have warned about for months – that the FBI used an unverified dossier, paid for by presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party as political opposition research, to justify spying on the duly nominated GOP candidate for president just weeks before Election Day."</span></b></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74t3qNnl5h0hwn0b2YOfyFnEBehVahyphenhyphenUN0K3SesN6TpkltxicYWDA_01zeUG0UEOebIDpAmo3c0cxe-IQ6D8tUyCtdpfMb_MKe_2Di1yUI4YXkpWld9sPB5faLZzQGGutJ_BzL5_lzbiF/s1600/2-Anselm-Kiefer-Dem-Unbekannten-Maler-To-the-Unknown-Painter-1983.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="865" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74t3qNnl5h0hwn0b2YOfyFnEBehVahyphenhyphenUN0K3SesN6TpkltxicYWDA_01zeUG0UEOebIDpAmo3c0cxe-IQ6D8tUyCtdpfMb_MKe_2Di1yUI4YXkpWld9sPB5faLZzQGGutJ_BzL5_lzbiF/s400/2-Anselm-Kiefer-Dem-Unbekannten-Maler-To-the-Unknown-Painter-1983.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Comey’s confession: dossier not verified before, or after, FISA warrant. </span></b>Comey, the disgraced (and sacked) FBI boss. There is so much that the mainstream media won’t report. But imagine if this had been done to a democratic candidate; it would have been the new Watergate. Worse even than Watergate in some respects. It is damning for the FBI and some people don’t even realize that up to 10 of the highest FBI management leaders have either been sacked or demoted, and the second highest from the FBI is currently set on 3 criminal charges. James Comey FBI boss - sacked. Andrew McCabe (2nd in charge of the FBI) - sacked and has 3 indictments against him for lying and is part of the text message about "that insurance plan that we spoke about in Andy's office to stop Trump" between Lisa Page and Peter Strzok. Peter Stzrok - Boss of counter intelligence. Sacked. His text messages leave little doubt about his involvement to take Trump down, including the "insurance plan" and his text telling his lover (Lisa Page) "to not worry, I will stop Trump from becoming president". Lisa Page (head lawyer FBI) - sacked. Famous for her texts which give evidence of willingness to take down Trump. James Baker - top FBI lawyer who was part of the plot and frequently leaked information to the media to try to set Trump up. Demoted and then forced to resign. Bruce Ohr (senior lawyer DOJ) - demoted. Secretly had wife (Nellie Ohr) working for Fusion GPS to create the fake dossier. Nellie Ohr - the wife of DOJ lawyer who worked for the Clinton paid for Fusion GPS fake Dossier. Nellie Ohr used "spousal privilege" to not disclose much. All secretive until the media exposed their links. Even CNN hád to<b><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/19/politics/nellie-ohr-fusion-gps-congress-gps/index.html"> report</a></b> it: <i>"Ohr, whose husband is a senior Justice Department official, is facing scrutiny over what role she had with the opposition research dossier on then-candidate Donald Trump and Russia commissioned by Fusion GPS, which Republicans and the President charge is at the heart of alleged DOJ misconduct during the 2016 election. Bruce and Nellie Ohr are in the middle of allegations that the Justice Department misused the dossier in order to obtain a foreign surveillance warrant on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page."</i></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It is basically one of the worst corruption stories in US history to 1. Stop Trump from winning 2. Attempt a bloodless coup by destroying his presidency <i>after </i>he was democratically elected. The media over there (USA) scream Russia Russia Russia every day, 24 hours a day and there was not one ounce of evidence after two years of investigations in the full force of the government stacked against Trump. All they have are some process crimes, which are crimes that occurred after Trump got elected and are for little things like people involved in Trump circles not telling the truth or not remembering things. For nearly 2 years the media laughed of, scoffed at the notion of Trump being spied on. They called Trump mentally ill for saying his campaign was being spied on through surveillance - but it ended up true. Then after the media blowing all of that off, it turns out that not only were the FBI tapping phones and reading communications, they also sent in spies. I am pissed off tbh that even in this day and age of globalism with the internet ensuring more transparency (on paper), the media are so biased and unreliable. Of course CNN and the NYT who initially called it all BS, then did a 180 degree turn and started giving reasons why the FBI needed to spy on the Trump camp during the election.</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVgsT6KLvFldeo4Nid5_EetiC6hkF6weocMN2xwKNP3bu35F3Llg2kCTANwfQf27tdVy-iu7vfH0EYInJ92jNTKf_w2DAquSyGP-7nydKYdm7wj-OfsTRSpMewgu7MFxRWMfH1Z7GXPyK3/s1600/048a75a5e4476f7373d31417f2a7228a.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="450" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVgsT6KLvFldeo4Nid5_EetiC6hkF6weocMN2xwKNP3bu35F3Llg2kCTANwfQf27tdVy-iu7vfH0EYInJ92jNTKf_w2DAquSyGP-7nydKYdm7wj-OfsTRSpMewgu7MFxRWMfH1Z7GXPyK3/s400/048a75a5e4476f7373d31417f2a7228a.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTB-YNDS0GcjK3iahen5vOVQlhLGGrxuIji5TxDJlktt8XkcZS7Up1eIvaneY3vrP3EPnrvZHcVDEVniIzohHCbOChrtjlHh9ouAAp2O-2XvgPL0c1BBn5LemJFZNb6B0gHXcqAge5wsAc/s1600/anselm-kiefer-athanor.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="480" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTB-YNDS0GcjK3iahen5vOVQlhLGGrxuIji5TxDJlktt8XkcZS7Up1eIvaneY3vrP3EPnrvZHcVDEVniIzohHCbOChrtjlHh9ouAAp2O-2XvgPL0c1BBn5LemJFZNb6B0gHXcqAge5wsAc/s400/anselm-kiefer-athanor.jpg" width="400" /></a>So getting back to Trump and Putin, what can Trump do now? They have ruined any positive relationship that Trump can have with Russia, because the Democrats in the media are corrupt and tried to fix the election. Trump can’t do anything good with Russia because they will call him a Russian spy or a puppet of Putin when he does. Meanwhile - and here comes the true hypocritical side show of this - it is Clinton who agreed to sell 20% of their uranium to Russia, it was Bill Clinton who received $500,000 for a speech to a Russian bank, the same Russian bank that did the deal with several Russians who did the uranium deal. Then the same Russians gave the Clinton foundation $145 million after the deal went through. It is Hillary Clinton who has ties to all of the Russian oligarchs and that whenever something happens or whenever Trump gets blamed for something, all roads lead back to the Clinton’s. I even wonder if this special counsel into the Trump and Russian collusion could be a massive Smokescreen to cover up for Clinton. Btw, Bob Mueller, the same one from the Hoax investigation, was also involved in the decision process with Clinton to sell uranium to Russia. He also appointed 12 investigators for his special counsel and every single one of them are registered high profile Democrat lawyers with one being the lawyer for Hillary in her email scandal. Donald Trump interviewed this Bob Mueller for the job of the FBI boss at some point. Trump did not appoint him. The very next day after their meeting bob Mueller was appointed the lead of the special counsel into investigating Donald Trump. If that is not the biggest conflict of interest then I don't know what is. I mean love him or loath him, but if this proves to be true about the interference with Trumps campaign, even if partially true, that should be unacceptable in politics in general.. Anyway, I could go on for a few more hours with more details and twists and turns in this story, but lets summarize it for now as dirty games :) Oh, and no collusion between Trump and the Russians was found.. Despite 2,5 years and 30 mln. Mark my words, this will explode in the future, they will make movies and TV series about all this. It's pretty much an attempt on a coup on a democratically chosen, sitting president. Unheard of. Again, I am not a republican, I'm not even American, just coming from a fairly neutral point of view. I know that a lot of people love to demonize the current American president (his tweets, oh his tweets), and place a lot of trust in Joe Biden and Kamala - the Heyena - Harris, but I fear that Biden has dementia and is worse than a straw doll, while harris is insincere and unqualified in every way. There, I said it. </div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWaiSZGUX6ZMVHLVhpxI2wfnLCf7aO8gLbf89axggi8GTEfw389Oi8UMAuaqy-YDC00wt3EA9eoiUtFQGYdgXm_Jnc8tt6Yip7S3RzPoYZwydp5Z7AhUIJiR5wsuzTam-zdN7szErZiix/s1600/ca_caged_pangolin_getty.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="1440" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWaiSZGUX6ZMVHLVhpxI2wfnLCf7aO8gLbf89axggi8GTEfw389Oi8UMAuaqy-YDC00wt3EA9eoiUtFQGYdgXm_Jnc8tt6Yip7S3RzPoYZwydp5Z7AhUIJiR5wsuzTam-zdN7szErZiix/s640/ca_caged_pangolin_getty.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Coronavirus should be a wake-up call to our treatment of the animal world</b></span><br />
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By Cyril Christo<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">(<a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/opinion/488295-coronavirus-should-be-a-wake-up-call-to-our-treatment-of-the-animal?fbclid=IwAR3CwATfOECw1DtwpD8lnGCTVKV8tUb9Bss8MLkO9cSOAARYZ-onxdqwuN4">source</a>) "The coronavirus did not manifest from nowhere. Our sadistic treatment and manipulation of animals for centuries has come back to haunt us. It is time for humanity to absorb the lessons of the animal world. </span></b>From the Orient the world has inherited a civilization upending event, this coronavirus feeding on the human strain. It is perhaps not a coincidence that it has manifested at the very time the UN is trying to form a Convention on Biological Diversity to protect what remains of the organic world. The contagion is the karmic result of our own ignorance and disregard of other species that began in China and that has visited us before. As Erin Sorrell, microbiologist at Georgetown, exclaims, 70 percent of zoonotic diseases come from wildlife. As the 2003 SARS virus already proved. Then the culprit may have been Asian palm civets. Today’s pandemic may have been caused by pangolins. The scale-covered mammals are kept in caged conditions in markets in Asia in criminally appalling realities, reserved for dinner menus. Most animals in these markets are dying and thirsty and kept in squalid containers moved and shipped around as if they were simple commodities. The conditions are a nightmare and have even prompted many Chinese to close the animal trade. How we treat animals affects entire ecosystems and habitats, the only real wealth we as a species have. China’s ban on wild animal markets may well be the one silver lining in this ensuing global tragedy, but it should become a permanent ban, not a temporary palliative, because other viruses may well ensue in the not distant future given climate change is upon us.</div>
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<br /><div style="text-align: left;">Major conservation groups have also pleaded for Vietnam to take stringent measures to close its wildlife markets. Vietnam's prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered the ministry of agriculture and rural development to ban the consumption of wildlife. We can only hope these initiatives manifest quickly and foster a new relationship to what remains of the Mekong basin's wildlife. Vietnam's actions will hopefully prevent not only new outbreaks in the future but also keep even more potentially virulent viruses from overwhelming the globe. Wall Street has had the jitters, tens of millions in China have been as impacted as when the Mongol Golden Horde swept into the Middle Kingdom in the 13th century. But whatever deaths have overtaken our species in the last few months, deaths that number in the thousands, we should not forget the root source of this scourge, humanity’s revolting disregard, manipulation, and outright slaughter of our fellow beings, the animals of earth. The deafening silence of absent species marks our time as singular. What extinctions are happening will become more impactful than WWI, WWII or the Great Depression combined, because now we have an enormous, almost unfathomable ecological tab to reckon with, and not just the folly of an economic system run amuck. The entire spectrum of nature’s syllabus is being played out. Our relationship with the sentient world will have to reverse or we perish. The coronavirus is the tip of the iceberg. Animals were always considered cardinal spiritual, sentient and even intellectual beings in the lives of indigenous peoples and many civilizations past. But as colonial and technological powers overran the world, indigenous peoples were treated no better than the buffalo, or whale or pangolin or bat. And now our disregard of the others bears a karmic component we cannot ignore. The criminal neglect and dismantling of Nature over the last century has led us to a point where globalization itself will have to be rapidly reappraised. Wall Street may have lost some ground, but the mounting possible extinction toll is many magnitudes more vital than the arbitrary machinations of the Dow. The death toll on millions of acres of rainforests lost, coral reefs bleached and species eradicated the world over has brought us to this point. It is the invisible aura of loss we have inherited. It is the karma our species is inheriting. The locust invasion of east Africa is a Biblical cohort to the virus of East Asia. Now our entire immune system as a species and that of the planet is under siege.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCOHi4qIgoAoAstpte0RV4zV-pVl2yMLFHWdGdN8lAOh4P_SUEQ6iA-VzzrCIEIHfK_wjmyNXHvrMZqOoym4fpPFqbdzKQYsYxhM7kx7Hak6R1xOBAPq-zkSgZ0PUEFmLzqnOXZRltkUd/s1600/26442392-8155797-A-a-9_1585240982849.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="306" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCOHi4qIgoAoAstpte0RV4zV-pVl2yMLFHWdGdN8lAOh4P_SUEQ6iA-VzzrCIEIHfK_wjmyNXHvrMZqOoym4fpPFqbdzKQYsYxhM7kx7Hak6R1xOBAPq-zkSgZ0PUEFmLzqnOXZRltkUd/s320/26442392-8155797-A-a-9_1585240982849.jpg" width="220" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuqeIAS2624r-UcEdm02sbP_KJr9PaXmdxxZF2S1iAQwGzUZxq7-2MS-6reynP_6lhw86eypcfrIpuDosLra_2DnE01otUGM0jvCNLix7I_CMztdiLoJHpP-2VgEclV87ak7buLWNSrGZq/s1600/26440040-8155797-image-m-8_1585240969472.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="306" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuqeIAS2624r-UcEdm02sbP_KJr9PaXmdxxZF2S1iAQwGzUZxq7-2MS-6reynP_6lhw86eypcfrIpuDosLra_2DnE01otUGM0jvCNLix7I_CMztdiLoJHpP-2VgEclV87ak7buLWNSrGZq/s320/26440040-8155797-image-m-8_1585240969472.jpg" width="220" /></a>Paul Shepard, the eloquent ecologist who wrote triumphantly about the importance of animals, wrote in “The Others: How Animals Made Us Human,” “People are asked to rely on faith in the invisible and intangible, repudiating the beasts on which primal peoples depend as intermediaries, embodying spirits, affirming death, giving form to the mystery of the multiple truths of mortal existence, and acting as vehicle to other realms.” It is not coincidental that this “Christian-” based society has so neglected its first teachers, the animals, for several thousand years and put so much faith in invisible gods and the afterlife, intangibles that have divorced us from life and the very soil on which we depend for our survival. We have in Henry Heston’s words become “cosmic outlaws.” If we lose the animals, we will become inconsolable orphans. This most minute but insidious of beings, the coronavirus is a wake-up call to our unconscious selves. We have wrapped ourselves in a cocoon of technological, synthetic and decorative cultural achievement burdened with pride that strains and depletes our full values as sentient beings. In the process we have ignored the suffering and sentience of others. The physiologist Rene Dubos once wrote that humans could adapt “to starless skies, treeless avenues, shapeless buildings, tasteless bread, joyless celebrations, spiritless pleasures — to a life without reverence for the past, love for the present, or poetical anticipations of the future, but it is questionable that man can retain his physical and mental health if he loses contact with the natural forces that have shaped his biological and mental nature.” How we converse and conduct ourselves in the next year or two will morph into a different realm of relating, and hopefully into a more respectful species. We may need to grow roots under our feet once again and cultivate what Levi Strauss called an “ecological civicism.” We may need more than a pause from the pace of globalization that began to convulse the world two generations ago. Will we return to the same numbers game of outlandish growth, and greed when already much of the pollution from northern China seems to have dissipated from the map? Is not our entire fixation on profit a psychic numbing that has divorced us from ecological coherence? Maybe the coronavirus is a warning sign, the first real test of our global community that has emerged from the Pandora’s box of an increasingly incorrigible species. Amazon-size ecosystems are in jeopardy. This insidious half live, half un-live being called corona has taken over our sleep and waking life like an alien invasion. Let us be grateful the next time we see a flock of birds flying miraculously overhead, or the next time we see a koala holding on to a branch for dear life, or the next time we see a dolphin dancing over the waves. And know these beings did not have to die a merciless, hapless, sick death in some market of central China where this virus originated. The virus has given us a fever, yes, just as we have imposed a fever on the climate of the earth. Milan Kundera in the “Unbearable Lightness of Being” reminds us in one of the most poignant lines ever written, “Humanity’s true moral test, its fundamental test, which is deeply buried from view, consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKElGKM7-ZT44GdN3vi3z4uFn5uRTgH__b59rWoOupIJCDpy1AP9DdiT_Mi6JABS0B8ONmBquaCxWHBapK5kY950q7_Qkot2sq2pyYHq7QeUBeyVvUZJyc9wXnHgirLo0K4lU2YkVNPUJw/s1600/26440026-8155797-image-a-11_1585241118979.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="634" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKElGKM7-ZT44GdN3vi3z4uFn5uRTgH__b59rWoOupIJCDpy1AP9DdiT_Mi6JABS0B8ONmBquaCxWHBapK5kY950q7_Qkot2sq2pyYHq7QeUBeyVvUZJyc9wXnHgirLo0K4lU2YkVNPUJw/s320/26440026-8155797-image-a-11_1585241118979.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEigHwrjlGjCdGyrY3yd6TCsCuvkiSuGh0rQuZkd7LjqONzGJus1EuOoga-5gg1jtv7bwbqSHY4tZ-kWN4xzFSdGLI16gg415f4Bod7r27tF_Ckz5tCkvlfDAZJSTuFlDAG6KHYTXu0S2r/s1600/26440364-8155797-image-a-2_1585240900842.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="634" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEigHwrjlGjCdGyrY3yd6TCsCuvkiSuGh0rQuZkd7LjqONzGJus1EuOoga-5gg1jtv7bwbqSHY4tZ-kWN4xzFSdGLI16gg415f4Bod7r27tF_Ckz5tCkvlfDAZJSTuFlDAG6KHYTXu0S2r/s320/26440364-8155797-image-a-2_1585240900842.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiumE_IiKkGlYfU42c4kgaGbx4QBLMhK788SxQhQO0jW-3kSy3JdgPf_0a1UeA_0NJUPY1DUr0cFFSHkYjysmNeSIcS9NJN4tYqemp1K10yovYKU1x06IeidNAo-q5ZRhGAl3qymE1v27Z/s1600/26440374-8155797-image-a-1_1585240804616.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="634" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiumE_IiKkGlYfU42c4kgaGbx4QBLMhK788SxQhQO0jW-3kSy3JdgPf_0a1UeA_0NJUPY1DUr0cFFSHkYjysmNeSIcS9NJN4tYqemp1K10yovYKU1x06IeidNAo-q5ZRhGAl3qymE1v27Z/s320/26440374-8155797-image-a-1_1585240804616.jpg" width="320" /></a>And in this respect humankind has suffered a fundamental debacle so fundamental that all others stem from it.” And it is possible that the coronavirus may be just another contagion in a long line of lessons we will have to inherit from our fellow creatures. Recently a wolf’s head was discovered by mammoth tusk hunters in Siberia dating from 30,000 years ago. What viruses are embedded in its flesh? What strains will invade our civilization like ghosts from a forgotten Pleistocene seeping out from under the crying and collapsing torrent of glaciers up north, seeping slowly onto our shores? Will we learn the lesson that the pangolin, one of the most trafficked and severely abused mammals on earth, the one that has filled so many markets in Asia, is teaching us now across the time zones of the world? Will we make sure now that it does not go extinct? Even its exquisite plates, the only armored mammal on Earth, could not protect itself from the diabolic hunger of our species. Will the coronavirus humble us to the reality that humans make up just .01 percent of life on Earth? Will we have to absorb a virus so virulent, so complete in its ability to create havoc from the melting permafrost in the Arctic that humanity will become irreparably crippled? The coronavirus in its all-pervasive pandemonium is a wake-up call, not just to our well-being and souls but also how we had better conduct ourselves towards the other species of this Earth, they who enable life as we know it. The coronavirus is a karmic test that we need to pass, so that we as a species can transcend our conduct on this planet we have maligned and mistreated for far too long. One immensely vital and fragile bioregion that promises potentially lethal pathogens is the Arctic. The great thaw at the top of the world, with ice melting at an extraordinary rate, with polar bears, whales and many other beings having to survive the immune breakdown of the region, is the main reason Shell and other mining and fossil fuel industries should stay clear from the region. Five years ago French scientists discovered a "giant virus" in a 30,000- year-old sample of permafrost in Siberia that had retained its infectivity. If we industrialize these areas and ride roughshod over the roof of the world we risk waking up pathogens we thought we had eradicated or help foster the spread of things even worse than smallpox, said researcher Jean Michel Claverie. Jean Malaurie, the remarkable French geologist and explorer of the Arctic who fought for the preservation of the Inuit from the contrivances and pollution of Western man, once expounded, "Men of science, like men of state have a duty imposed by ethics. The Earth is living: it can and will avenge itself: already there are portents. The Earth has no time left for man's ignorance, arrogance, sophistry and madness."</div></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">Oh and some alternatives for toilet paper during the toilet apocalypse we are in 😁</span></b></div>
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A little silver lining to this coronavirus drama; some animals seem to flourish. On my morning walk I passed several large hares, squirrels and a buzzard. They were much closer to human civilization than normal. Squirrels even run through the streets now. A few days earlier I passed a fox. Apparently fish have returned to the canals in Venice and ducks are right now breeding out their eggs on a deserted San Marco square there. Pollution levels have reduced in all the corona-affected areas and vapid or mindless consumerism is going down, now that most if not all non-essential shops are closed. My parents love every phone call they get, sometimes multiple times a day, whereas they normally are rushing from here to there in their busy pensioners lives. Kids are playing football in the streets again, where normally speed demons usually knock them off their feet. The rest of town is.. quiet. Silence. Of course the wheels will begin to spin as never before, the moment this virus is expelled. A friend asked me if he detect a weird Hannibalesque admiration for this thing (covid-19) with me? I'm not sure about that, but a fascination it is for sure. Isn't it interesting how these viruses keep mutating and how such a microscopically small particle can knock down modern life the way it does now. All those movies and TV series lately about apocalypses and deserted cities and an overturn of the status quo. And now we live through such a thing for real. I have written enough already about the horrors of this virus below, but seeing the world and the people in it slow down has something special too, if you look out for it.</div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day </span></b></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">March 23rd </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">Our grandparents sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Now we will sacrifice our freedom for their lives #stayhome.</span> </b>I read that the UK are getting the same stringent lockdown rules from tomorrow onward as most of Europe has had for over a week now. Not allowed to leave the house, unless for emergencies or groceries and in France and Italy you need to have a sworn statement on a state offered form with you explaining why exactly you are leaving your house. Army and police are patrolling and pull their guns at the least of offense. There are big fines or prison sentences if you are caught outside without good reason. It works, streets are empty. I was a bit miffed when seeing in the media/newspapers) the English and the Dutch flock out to the beaches and markets and parks this last weekend, with not a care in the world<i style="color: black;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">. Corona-holidays!</span></b></i> Probably best that the new and more stringent measurements have been put in place by Boris Johnson? Seemed he had perhaps been dilly dallying a bit the past week, with his open-ended, non-committal 'advise' on staying home. While at the same time telling people they could go out for exercise. Tories seem to have an illogical belief in free choice and to think that everyone is rational and responsible and that giving them the right information will automatically mean that everyone will make the right, self sacrificing decisions. However, many people are self serving and hasty. There are some people who will always spoil things for everyone else. Just look at all these heroes panic buying and clearing the shelves in Blitz spirit, so the elderly and vulnerable and Healthcare workers get nothing at the end of the day.</span></div>
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Although I do wonder if Bobbies with batons will be able to contain the masses? Get the feeling there is a specific independence thing going on with some people. Too much of Keep Calm and Drink Tea? I wonder if British police could get laughed at or punched when trying to keep order. How can they enforce a lockdown with just some silly CS gas and a baton? Like the Netherlands, the UK follow the 'herd immunity' ideology. Keep economy going, survival of the fittest. A human 'herd' ... Right out of Boris' mouth. Doesn't exactly sound like the words of people filled with compassion and humanity. Saves on paying out pensions too. But <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Herd immunity</b></span> is a tricky gamble because it isn't even known yet if immunity works for this specific new virus. Nor that people cannot get it twice or even three times in a row; some did already in Asia. And then there is the risk of virus mutations, making previous immunization.. useless. Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz is an epidemiologist working in chronic disease in Sydney, Australia, and he has <b><a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/why-herd-immunity-will-not-save-us-from-the-covid-19-pandemic?fbclid=IwAR2FXj_0mndcRg1GHs6oguOyiFutJUoWae3RSQJDxbMU8K0bwVKJ5jsxk54">strong opinions</a></b> on Herd Immunity as a current Covid-19 strategy:<i> "If 70 percent of your population is infected with a disease, it is by definition not prevention. How can it be? Most of the people in your country are sick! And the hopeful nonsense that you can reach that 70 percent by just infecting young people is simply absurd. If only young people are immune, you'd have clusters of older people with no immunity at all, making it incredibly risky for anyone over a certain age to leave their house lest they get infected, forever. It's also worth thinking about the repercussions of this disastrous scenario – the best estimates put COVID-19 infection fatality rate at around 0.5-1 percent. If 70 percent of an entire population gets sick, that means that between 0.35-0.7 percent of everyone in a country could die, which is a catastrophic outcome. With something like 10 percent of all infections needing to be hospitalised, you'd also see an enormous number of people very sick, which has huge implications for the country as well. Yes, it [herd immunity] may eventually happen anyway, but hoping that it will save us all is just not realistic. The time to discuss herd immunity is when we have a vaccine developed, and not one second earlier, because at that point we will be able to really stop the epidemic in its tracks." - </i>So, Herd-Immunity seems now mostly a political ploy to refrain from doing the maximum in terms if lock-down. And it is becoming painfully obvious by now that government and scientists didn't prepare for this outbreak correctly. By the time scientists wanted to start testing SARS treatments and vaccines in the past years, the virus already had stopped being active and so.. they saw no immediate market for it and dropped the investigation. Fuck.. Market forces at their finest. </div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">March 22nd </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsxf8DJUSjNJjbVLHM0jhihuKQLW_zeerf168Ah0n3rbGg4nj0dhApn5aWY0i7y2WMkjMNuGTYgraVu3Sbk3nq6SixZsG7iCA1CFceX_1xPVI-lXTXz1KYSjH1cbU0e2_mTcGUdfoGjF3/s1600/89813416_1288722734671546_5269563841536065536_n.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="500" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsxf8DJUSjNJjbVLHM0jhihuKQLW_zeerf168Ah0n3rbGg4nj0dhApn5aWY0i7y2WMkjMNuGTYgraVu3Sbk3nq6SixZsG7iCA1CFceX_1xPVI-lXTXz1KYSjH1cbU0e2_mTcGUdfoGjF3/s400/89813416_1288722734671546_5269563841536065536_n.png" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Patients gasping for air. Italian doctor: "No, it's</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"> not like the flu. It's a totally different thing. </span></b></div>
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In most cases it is a very severe form of pneumonia. A very severe chronic pneumonia." For those ending up on Intensive Care, it's a 50/50 chance whether you'll live or die. In other words; take this virus seriously. "Have you ever seen someone gasping for their last breaths? Not many have, but for those who have experienced it, you never forget the horror. I wish I could forget all the faces of the dying I saw last week. The look of panic across every face, the chugging sound people make as they desperately try, and fail, to get oxygen in their lungs. It doesn't leave you. According to one graphic I have seen shared on social media, Covid19 is little worse than the winter flu. But let me tell you, it is so very much worse. Many of you reading this might have assumed that the virus is only serious for those with 'underlying health issues'. It is a clever term, for it works to distance many of us from it. Yet I have seen first-hand how quickly it spreads. Me? I am asymptomatic, but I have been exposed to it – frequently. I am, therefore, most likely carrying it, as are most medics up and down the country. As a doctor you should be saving lives. But for the first time in my career I have to face the fear that as a doctor I could be a silent killer. I have no choice but to block out that fear and just get on with it. Towards the end of last week, it became apparent that there is very little we can do to halt the spread of this aggressive and unrelenting virus. Many patients simply do not respond to treatment and oxygen masks and we are left with no choice but to make them 'comfortable'. Even with morphine and the sedative midazolam to help numb pain and ease breathing, the deaths have been excruciating. Once a patient is in a critical condition with this virus, there is never more than a couple of hours before it kills." (<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8138581/Coronavirus-frontline-NHS-doctor-reveals-patients-dying-agony-just-start.html">source</a>) - "As the body’s immune system shifts into high gear to battle the infection, the resulting inflammation may cause those organs to malfunction, he said. As a result, some patients may endure damage that is inflicted not just by the virus, but by their own immune system as it rages to combat the infection." (<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-body-symptoms.html">source</a>) </div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">March 16th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHIGwINbkB2ri05O_qpnCdDpHApNxsQD131CufwiL6gZygT2Y_lVGgmDRjj2UchwvMz37LarglarwVqosJG54cDbpaksQaw0eeL67FfDZwX65bVaPG_H6aG1t78g242e2rp5mh6EzSRoFu/s1600/89762265_2790626434305775_3119386252609060864_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHIGwINbkB2ri05O_qpnCdDpHApNxsQD131CufwiL6gZygT2Y_lVGgmDRjj2UchwvMz37LarglarwVqosJG54cDbpaksQaw0eeL67FfDZwX65bVaPG_H6aG1t78g242e2rp5mh6EzSRoFu/s320/89762265_2790626434305775_3119386252609060864_n.jpg" width="256" /></a>Been having a very sore throat the past days and some sort of ulcers on the inside of my lips and throat. No fever so fingers crossed it's just a flu virus or low immune function... Because the numbers of infected and critically ill keep doubling every two days still over here (Netherlands but also France and Spain for instance), all those countries have decided to install a state of emergency and close all schools, cafes, restaurants, clubs, everything. In Spain the army is out to send anyone out and about back home; you cannot sit at the beach anymore, or in a park there. They use drones and the police force to patrol and send everyone back inside. France is considering the same, as the Parisians are still flocking to parks and the border of the Seine, now that they are home from work. Only those working in critical professions can continue to go to work, so doctors, nurses, police, firefighters and such. The rest has to work from home. My mums husband was planned in for fairly urgent cancer treatment this month, but it was cancelled because the hospitals are full with corona patients 😞 And in France, the situation has taken a drastic turn today, as nobody is allowed to leave the house anymore, except for visits to a doctor, pharmacy or very occasionally for grocery shopping. Over the weekend, people ignored the call to stay home, and flocked to public parks and gathered in the city centers for social activities. Despite all cafes, restaurants, clubs etc already having been closed previously. Shame it's not a virus that attacks the stupid.. The French government is livid and had to put extreme measures into place. Nobody is allowed out and about anymore and if you do leave the house, you need to sign and print a special document from the state website, or face hefty penalties. Also the borders are closed, nobody is getting in or out anymore, except for returning French natives.<br />
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Really invasive measurements. Over here in Europe, world leaders are follow a different tactic than China did. China has the infrastructure and mentality to successfully quarantine all victims, and to let the virus run its course in those who don't die from it. Now there are no more new coronavirus patients within China, they say. Now they have to make sure that tourists and visitors do not bring the virus back INTO the country. So anyone flying in is put into a 2 week mandatory quarantine. But once tourists from, say, Italy come to China again, one can reintroduce the virus all over again in China. Although I read other opinions too, virologists who say that in China the virus is simply fading out now anyway, as a result of the strict lockdown of the country. And China managed to protect a lot of vulnerable and old people, by eliminating the virus. Over here, this is pretty much an impossible tactic. We have open borders, an open economy and a population unwilling to go to such extremes. We cannot prevent the virus from re-entering the country due to free travel and tourism. That would requite Korean style approach of testing everything and anyone and instantly isolating positive coronapatients and their loved ones. Works well there at the moment! But over here there is hardly any testing done and the government follows a very different approach. here they try to aim at<span style="color: #990000;"><b> 'herd immunity' and 'flattering the curve'</b></span>; preventing that there is a mass peek of corona patients, which would cause major problems for the hospitals. So the government flat out says and predicts that 50 to 70% of all people will get the coronavirus, but they want to spread this over time, so hospitals can cope. Between 10 and 15% of those infected with coronavirus have to be taken into Intensive Care as it stands. And we simply do not have the intensive care capacity for this. That is why schools are closed and cafes and such are closed and people are mostly staying at home. In order to slow down the rate at which people get sick and at which a fraction of them will have to be treated in hospital. And on top of that they are hoping for herd-immunity: when the majority of the population has caught and gone through the virus infection, and as a result have developed immunity to this virus. That means that if a second or third wave of the virus engulfs the nation, the virus cannot latch onto many people. And cannot spread as easily. That way, an 'invisible wall' is built around the most vulnerable people; old persons and younger people with chronic illness or reduced immune function. So the fit and healthy are helping the sickly by going through the virus. Hopefully with little symptoms. The only thing I haven't heard the PM about, is what will happen if this virus mutates and people have to go not once, but twice or three times through a genetically altered (and thus different) virus. Or the fact that some people in Asia caught the coronavirus not once but twice. Sometimes even three times (and each time they got very sick, some care workers and doctors had extreme illness because of how much virus they had been exposed to). Also, this is a brand new virus and <span style="color: #444444;"><b>the WHO criticizes countries like the Netherlands for their approach of aiming at herd immunity. Because nobody even knows yet if herd immunity will take place here; there is not enough data at the moment about this virus and how it behaves. We don't yet have the evidence to prove that if you are infected once, you would be immune for life. </b></span>So... expecting up to 80% of the population to get infected, as a means to slow the virus' spread, is a RISKY move. Especially combined with my countries' absolute lack of testing and quarantining corona victims and their families. I'd much rather see the Netherlands go all out like many other European countries, and impose draconian isolation measures: nobody allowed to leave the house unless to see a doctor, the pharmacy or to get groceries once a week. Then use the army and police force to make sure people stick to the rules.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ijvPjRUMay0PAm0FVTRcsZgvjQlXmAaXJBFjF_CfUXkVGN7FabWVWiBxqMOPzZr7d5vg0NmhMvNS8-CVMNeoh_s1xMzVbMj8Ix2BxlVXapJwcvY1x-9-CiaAwHe4TBqtoVUhY8w0qMiO/s1600/90146389_2712572385643201_8448031084448317440_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="493" data-original-width="720" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ijvPjRUMay0PAm0FVTRcsZgvjQlXmAaXJBFjF_CfUXkVGN7FabWVWiBxqMOPzZr7d5vg0NmhMvNS8-CVMNeoh_s1xMzVbMj8Ix2BxlVXapJwcvY1x-9-CiaAwHe4TBqtoVUhY8w0qMiO/s400/90146389_2712572385643201_8448031084448317440_n.jpg" width="400" /></a>Over here people will continue to be paid wages when they stay home or work from home, because it is an emergency situation. The French state has axed all monthly costs people have for electricity, water, taxes, rent etc. The state also pays for the extra childcare needs for those people working in Critical Jobs (doctors, nurses etc), and pay for their kids' childcare. Companies and entrepreneurs who are facing big financial losses because they have been told to close their shops and cafes, are eligible to get special state funding and taxes and such are temporarily stopped. The state also offers interest free temporary loans. In other words; major state investments, which we can afford due to the higher taxes people pay. I wonder how countries like the USA will do this? I understand a portion of the population literally cannot go without a month of wages; they'd be evicted from their homes otherwise. And that is without even mentioning the dreaded health insurance situation in the USA.... Dreaded for the non-rich, that is. Over here people all have health insurance, by law, and that covers for everything; from corona testing to treatments. We all pay a monthly fee for it (currently about 140 euro's a month for me, plus an own risk of 350 euro), but it is affordable for mostly everyone and those with lower income get subsidies from the state to compensate some of the costs. A country like France has free healthcare for everyone earning less than a certain amount. But how about the USA? I read that there is very limited testing done for corona, for instance, because there aren't enough tests, or they are too expensive. And CDC's standards for testing being so stringent that many people who are infected don't get tested either. So legions of people do not know whether or not they are infected and thus don't know if they should self-isolate to stop the spread of the virus.. Is it every man for himself? This is perhaps not a good time to be a capitalistic society..<br />
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There are currently more infections and deaths in Europe combined than in China. And no signs of it slowing down, with numbers doubling and doubling and doubling several times per week. It remains to be seen if we can get that virus under control as fast as they did. The French are defiant and won't be told what to do, the English are even worse and many don't even support the closing of schools. And the Dutch are standing in long lines to fetch their last big batch of weed and recreational drugs haha:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5SRkmrjuPrje5kQ5jtA5nB6dioEMOs6m-vWmHsebTKvjqhjN8je_Y8lUOL7yHEPWsR_6s_qqNiLk-pc38b7scKsn2FpkQq5xNMSzC93TWjfXny1cJK5_mYk7W4E1FgniVaHjKhLLdlG0X/s1600/25774202-8094933-image-a-7_1583834188687.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="634" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5SRkmrjuPrje5kQ5jtA5nB6dioEMOs6m-vWmHsebTKvjqhjN8je_Y8lUOL7yHEPWsR_6s_qqNiLk-pc38b7scKsn2FpkQq5xNMSzC93TWjfXny1cJK5_mYk7W4E1FgniVaHjKhLLdlG0X/s400/25774202-8094933-image-a-7_1583834188687.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">It's also way more contagious than the media say.. </span></b><b style="color: #444444;"><a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3074351/coronavirus-can-travel-twice-far-official-safe-distance-and-stay">Scientists studied</a> one man in China who passed the virus to 13 people in total. On the bus, germs jumped as far as 4.5 metres to other travellers. It lingered in the air for up to 30 mins, after the original man had got off the bus. People who wore masks on the bus were not infected, the study found. Coronavirus bugs also stayed on surfaces for days, especially when it was hot. Scientists said their findings show face masks are useful protective measures. </b>A man infected with coronavirus spread the virus to nine other people on his bus, raising fears the killer infection can jump between people far easier than initially thought in confined places. A study found two victims sitting 4.5 metres (14.7ft) away from the man were later diagnosed, which is four times what is considered a 'safe distance' to stand near an COVID-19 patient. Countries including Italy and the UK have implemented one to two metre distancing between people to limit outbreaks. The virus has been thought to spread via cough or sneeze droplets, but the study found germs can linger in the air for long periods of time. One traveller caught the coronavirus half an hour after the initial COVID-19 carrier got off, according to the scientists. None of the people who wore a face mask on the bus ride were diagnosed with COVID-19, indicating that those taking extra precaution on public transport are protected. In total, the man led to 13 others being infected. At the time, a crisis had not been declared in the country, where the virus originated. Now more than 114,400 cases and 4,000 deaths have been confirmed worldwide. The study also found the coronavirus can last for days on a surface, particularly in warmer temperatures, on plastic, fabric and metal. The findings shed light on the importance of extreme measures to prevent clusters of cases. It also throws into question who 'close contact' of confirmed cases are, considering complete strangers were infected by the man. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5P9NB16TmmExueQaxfkyx0r_RmPIDylnVG4_t-vJ6dOcNNn4M_ncYSxzDM40X_i-pC2-0KcNFTABX_rJ-G-S0T2GNmOqNPoX0p1AfXcCxzi7cvlWmLlGUeM9hTOuhM6fcJeDI-JL9zibZ/s1600/Coronavirus-news-scientists-isolate-COVID19-strain-1249449.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="590" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5P9NB16TmmExueQaxfkyx0r_RmPIDylnVG4_t-vJ6dOcNNn4M_ncYSxzDM40X_i-pC2-0KcNFTABX_rJ-G-S0T2GNmOqNPoX0p1AfXcCxzi7cvlWmLlGUeM9hTOuhM6fcJeDI-JL9zibZ/s400/Coronavirus-news-scientists-isolate-COVID19-strain-1249449.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Some people I know are heckling the media, who are said to be too sensationalistic. </span></b>It's true that some media are creating quite a stir over this virus thing, and are scaremongering as such. I look a bit differently at it all, bc I always have health issues to worry about anyway. And my sister also has asthma, so is in the risk group. Not as much risk as people of old age though. But it seems old news that mainly very old people end up in hospital. A Belgian emergency doctor, Ignace Demeyer, started to a <b><a href="https://www.dvhn.nl/extra/Coronapati%C3%ABnt-Marcel-43-moet-overgeven-van-de-pijn-We-gaan-door-een-hel-25471709.html?harvest_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F">newspaper</a></b> that: <i>"We see people here on the emergency with no medical history who are very seriously ill. We've had very few older people in so far. We now have people between the ages of 30 and 50 who come in."</i> According to Demeyer, they all have the same complaints:<i> "They have been sick for a week, stayed home with the flu. The flu attack is over, they think. They feel fine for two days. And then they report complaints of a dry cough and shortness of breath."</i> A very low oxygen saturation then rings the alarm bell for the doctors, although people usually do not initially feel sick. "They just walk in, but they are terribly affected by the virus," said Demeyer. <i>“The X-ray images we've taken are downright terrifying. These alveoli contain 80 to 90 percent inflammatory fluid, which builds up into a kind of mass that is forming a scar. ” </i>In reality, the virus acts like a partially loaded revolver. It hurts some, it misses others. Age and compromised immune system, long term health issue, all increase the chances of fatality. Younger people with undiagnosed health issues believe themselves safe, except for a weekend with flu. The reality is, everyone over the age of 20 is at risk. Some won't survive, and as we are finding, some of those dying are a lot younger than 70. People are mistaking statistics, to immunity. More older people will perish, but other age groups are not guaranteed to survive.<br />
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Nevertheless many careless young people go on their business as usual. Teenagers state to survey takers that they do not see the need for all this hassle of self isolation. Sigh.. I get a little worried when thinking about somehow ending up in hospital over this tbh. Not that I expect to, I self-isolate and am super cautious. But just the thought of being locked up in a hospital room with no option to open a window or run a ventilator or use the aircon, is enough to make me fear. And then the whole horror people on intensive care now face of having double sided severe pneumonia, needing to be intubated and put on their stomach for long times, it's all pretty horrid. I think my face would be purple if that were the case (no meds, no fan, no cool air, no air, struggling to breath, controllable immune related inflammation...). My friend with rosacea wrote me: <i>"Corona virus 19 being<a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30566-3/fulltext#sec1"> treated with systemic corticosteroids</a> in hospitals, also chest CT scans done throughout treatment. :/ we really don’t want to get this and need to go to hospital and be treated for a bad case 😨😨😨 " </i>My worst nightmare also!!!!!! Luckily there are also other treatment options now, although very early stage discoveries; <b><a href="https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/16/remdesivir-surges-ahead-against-coronavirus/">antiviral drug Remdesivir</a></b>, also a <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=591649821435117">HIV and malaria drug</a>. </b>And today they are <b><a href="https://www.biospace.com/article/moderna-s-covid-19-vaccine-clinical-trial-starts-today/">already testing</a></b> a new Covid19 vaccine on humans.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGidl2iWEgb2vGQRTl4EVMFn5jVEXVfjG6OGnzq6feQnQmo53WGVN3GAkZABev1DIu_ryW7xSvb5GvSEdcDlAYzVpzdkS3bx5ggmbhN802KSV_VJ2Ckf3SmVc0HYESJsRQQTYpnkjtnO9v/s1600/1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="582" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGidl2iWEgb2vGQRTl4EVMFn5jVEXVfjG6OGnzq6feQnQmo53WGVN3GAkZABev1DIu_ryW7xSvb5GvSEdcDlAYzVpzdkS3bx5ggmbhN802KSV_VJ2Ckf3SmVc0HYESJsRQQTYpnkjtnO9v/s400/1.jpg" width="258" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvVvf51UEUOsoAaCXZgev-toyUreYi1GuWVSnE4UToJ6mUMscq3dqb6EObg2An8GUSjt7EUBYxF9rSzDKKuI53yDGJJuoC4Wx0ces0KtrBgTBhe9d7qZ7j-Oh_MHAea3hKmcIdL0gmewc/s1600/2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="737" data-original-width="590" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvVvf51UEUOsoAaCXZgev-toyUreYi1GuWVSnE4UToJ6mUMscq3dqb6EObg2An8GUSjt7EUBYxF9rSzDKKuI53yDGJJuoC4Wx0ces0KtrBgTBhe9d7qZ7j-Oh_MHAea3hKmcIdL0gmewc/s320/2.jpg" width="256" /></a>And I read about a <b><a href="https://japantoday.com/category/national/Confirmed-coronavirus-patient-in-Aichi-told-to-go-home-goes-bar-hopping-instead">Japansese dude who was infected</a></b> and purposely went out to bars to infect others. Would that qualify as a biological attack? I wonder how many people there are who know they are infected and who had humanity and just say FUCK YOU ALL I'm going to infect as many as possible? Quite drastic, but then there are the legions of young(er) people with whom just asking them to stay at home was too much asked. They know they are in the lower risk group statistically and thus they continue going to bars, concerts, parks and marathon runs. So the government here has made the choice for them; this weekend it was party galore again with even Belgian people crossing the border, because in Belgium all cafes and places of fun were already closed, so they all came to Holland for some partying.. Cool.. Government here said enough is enough, we also close everything. So now every cafe, bar, restaurant, theater, cinema and coffee shop is closed. People are told to work from home or stop working for X amount of time. All except for those in critical functions, such as doctors, nurses, police etc. And I understand that young people with robust health find it all a bit exaggerated perhaps. The indestructibles eh, the youth. But young people also end up on Intensive Care here. I understand that many younger people think it is all a bit exaggerated and a sign of mass hysteria. That the old have to die of something in the end, and it's true that natural selection is of all times. But there are so many people in society with auto-immune diseases, or recovering from cancer treatments for instance; why should they be sacrificed, just so that the healthy ones (luck of the draw more often than not) can continue to do exactly as they please? Youth in former generations were asked a lot more sacrifice; serving in world wars for instance. All that is asked now is to refrain from social activities for a month, maybe two at the most, and enjoy yourself with your x-box and Netflix. In order to show unity and let the virus run its course, without causing death and suffering for a weaker segment of society. Countries like Italy and Spain now need to install the army to reinforce the new rules. Being free-thinking and anti-establishment somehow starts to sound selfish at the moment. Now it starts to look like people are just unwilling to make sacrifices for the greater good of humanity. If it doesn't affect them, and they'll just get a bit of a cold, they don't care about anyone else.</div>
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Nevertheless, Nature tends to act eventually as the ultimate equalizer, ensuring all things return to balance, be it via viruses, droughts, tsunamis, an asteroid, or Darwin Awards. Nature has eliminated the weakest of species throughout history, but now (luckily) we have modern medicine to keep people alive much longer. It's a tombola lottery anyway, where you are born and with what genetics and whether you are born 'sickly' or not. Although it makes - evolutionary - sense that the 70+ patients appear to have the highest chance of dying from this coronavirus. But when you'd say my parents had it and were about to die, alone in isolation in a hospital, choking for breath and without anyone allowed to hold their hand or say goodbyes, I'd say fuck natural selection.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">Most patients with severe pneumonia in </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">intensive care are around the age of 50, sometimes 40:</span></b></div>
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Not getting sick is not just a matter of doing yourself a favour, but also the chronically ill and also the already overworked medical staff. This is also about full hospitals, sleep deprived and overworked staff who are risking their own health and that of their families. Anyway, statistics are excellent for us lot at or under the age of 40. There is a very high chance of not getting anything serious from this virus. But I would try to avoid infection nevertheless.. especially those of us with underlying immune issues for instance. And many of us should be OK I think, being less social anyway :)</div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">Promising therapies that are currenly being tested </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">Here, are some of the drugs that experts believe have potential:</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUoPLovAB6DXoBv5RFNxvc8ws643DwbMDed8Vg3XrGALdMx2k0DurYh-mD5NPBnxJYX_qhqRhgxds79wuydZTZ6VC7OLFK-alL-9BhhyT38G0nDUCxu6WOala83sDJLzj22we4xZ9tvRph/s1600/26124536-8126789-image-m-10_1584547085188.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="634" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUoPLovAB6DXoBv5RFNxvc8ws643DwbMDed8Vg3XrGALdMx2k0DurYh-mD5NPBnxJYX_qhqRhgxds79wuydZTZ6VC7OLFK-alL-9BhhyT38G0nDUCxu6WOala83sDJLzj22we4xZ9tvRph/s320/26124536-8126789-image-m-10_1584547085188.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Chloroquine phosphate (Malaria) </span></b></div>
One drug being used by doctors fighting the coronavirus outbreak is chloroquine phosphate, <b><span style="color: #444444;">an anti-malarial medication</span></b>. The drug – sold under the brand name Arlan – kills malaria parasites in the blood, stopping the tropical disease in its tracks. But tests of the drug – which has been used for 70 years – on COVID-19 patients in China show it has potential in fighting the life-threatening virus. One drug being used by doctors fighting the coronavirus outbreak is chloroquine phosphate, an anti-malarial medication. It is sold under the brand name Arlan. Chinese officials claimed the drug 'demonstrated efficacy and acceptable safety in treating COVID-19 associated pneumonia'. Experts at the University of Palermo in Italy, as well as a team in Israel, collated the research on the drug in treating the coronavirus. In their report, they claimed officials in the Netherlands already suggest treating critically-ill patients with the drug. South Korea and China both say the drug is an 'effective' antiviral treatment against the disease, according to a report by US virologists. The Wuhan Institute of Virology – in the city where the crisis began – claimed the drug was 'highly effective' in petri dish tests. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Tests by those researchers, as well as others, showed it has the power to stop the virus replicating in cells, and taking hold in the body. </span></b>Twenty-three clinical trials on the drug are already underway on patients in China, and one is planned in the US and another in South Korea. University of Minnesota experts are planning to test whether the drug – sometimes given to treat lupus and arthritis – prevents the progression of COVID-19. Chloroquine was prescribed around 46,000 times in 2018 in the UK – but it is also available over-the-counter from pharmacies without a prescription. Professor Robin May, an infectious disease specialist at Birmingham University, said the safety profile of the drug is 'well-established'. He added: 'It is cheap and relatively easy to manufacture, so it would be fairly easy to accelerate into clinical trials and, if successful, eventually into treatment.' Professor May suggested chloroquine may work by altering the acidity of the area of cells that it attacks, making it harder for the virus to replicate.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-s2bjmvQUJ4kw3h6_G5hQlRzAd7hSpZk-fXyrGGOjMB44tXeSjvKBopEj-tFUU-UXTyN0-ebCb3U2NlculcZ2T6WZSyMrTBIa1CXKZRJROp4DafuUzC-ep0hClM6yWYSpvoJRSkjkdlHM/s1600/26124586-8126789-Wuhan_Institute_of_Virology_scientists_admitted_they_are_still_l-a-8_1584551712005.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-s2bjmvQUJ4kw3h6_G5hQlRzAd7hSpZk-fXyrGGOjMB44tXeSjvKBopEj-tFUU-UXTyN0-ebCb3U2NlculcZ2T6WZSyMrTBIa1CXKZRJROp4DafuUzC-ep0hClM6yWYSpvoJRSkjkdlHM/s1600/26124586-8126789-Wuhan_Institute_of_Virology_scientists_admitted_they_are_still_l-a-8_1584551712005.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Hydroxychloroquine (Malaria)</b></span>Chinese scientists investigating the other form of chloroquine penned a letter to a prestigious journal saying its 'less toxic' derivative may also help. In the comment to Cell Discovery – owned by publisher Nature, they said it shares similar chemical structures and mechanisms. The team of experts added: 'It is easy to conjure up the idea that hydroxychloroquine may be a potent candidate to treat infection by SARS-CoV-2.' But the Wuhan Institute of Virology scientists admitted they are still lacking evidence to prove it is as effective as chloroquine phosphate. Wuhan Institute of Virology scientists admitted they are still lacking evidence to prove hydroxychloroquine is as effective as chloroquine phosphate. Hydroxychloroquine, sold under the brand name <span style="color: #990000;"><b>Plaquenil</b></span>, causes side effects such as skin rashes, nausea, diarrhoea and headaches. Drug giant Sanofi carried out a study on 24 patients, which the French government described as 'promising'. Results showed three quarters of patients treated with the drug were cleared of the virus within six days. None of the placebo group were treated. French health officials are now planning on a larger trial of the drug, which is<span style="color: #444444;"><b> used on the NHS to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis as well as malaria</b></span>.<br /><br /><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">Ivermectine </b>Not the 'horse dewormer', but an antiparasitic drug that has been used safely for many decades in humans, all over the world and received the Nobel Prize in 2015. It seems to have the potential to help treat covid19 infections early on, by making it more difficult for the virus to replicate. When used in the appropriate doses, linked to body weight, it has little or very mild side-effects, which is a promising feat.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPUtY6ek40TQg3BOCb41G2EycPIZJd6Rl3RDQkF-o6auwymNNaPxRp0oEukjQ-8uXpoyia3XJ7tyG8IOAqZ44igNwcQObFxS5ZkhIITXwdAK-fUD6WuKeOh-MwoTzLXjTu8EPl2ouk0ra/s1600/26124604-8126789-Lopinavir_ritonavir_marketed_under_the_brand_names_Kaletra_and_A-a-7_1584551711455.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="306" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPUtY6ek40TQg3BOCb41G2EycPIZJd6Rl3RDQkF-o6auwymNNaPxRp0oEukjQ-8uXpoyia3XJ7tyG8IOAqZ44igNwcQObFxS5ZkhIITXwdAK-fUD6WuKeOh-MwoTzLXjTu8EPl2ouk0ra/s320/26124604-8126789-Lopinavir_ritonavir_marketed_under_the_brand_names_Kaletra_and_A-a-7_1584551711455.jpg" width="177" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Lopinavir/ritonavir (HIV) </b></span>Lopinavir/ritonavir, marketed as Kaletra and Aluvia, is an anti-HIV medicine given to people living with the virus to prevent it developing into AIDS. Lopinavir/ritonavir, marketed under the brand names Kaletra and Aluvia, is an<span style="color: #444444;"><b> anti-HIV medicine. </b></span>The drug has shown promise as a way of tackling coronavirus, scientists say, because it is able to bind to the outside of the coronavirus. It is a class of drug called a protease inhibitor, which essentially stick to an enzyme on a virus which is vital to the virus reproducing. By doing this it blocks the process the virus would normally use to clone itself and spread the infection further. In a clinical trial application submitted in the US from Asan Medical Center, in Seoul, South Korea, scientists said: 'In vitro [laboratory] studies revealed that lopinavir/ritonavir [has] antiviral activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).' Chinese media reported that the drug was successfully used to cure patients with the coronavirus, but the reports have not been scientifically proven. US-based manufacturer AbbVie has donated free supplies of Kaletra to health authorities in China, the US and Europe – it is not clear whether the UK is included. The drug is available on the NHS and was prescribed around 1,400 times in 2018, either as Kaletra or ritonavir on its own.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwi44SgsXhjZmXugruDZx-5AlIYnCcSovLgqSaWfvCXo_ov5o_x_rnsOIDCXmhvzxc9TIyqeYrjm9VPBeKZL5BNH5PRXAp51cI322HI9nmZFQty_gi-4S7r0eieUHhpaRaHKLnWKE-O9R/s1600/26124608-8126789-Favipiravir_is_the_active_ingredient_in_a_flu_drug_called_Avigan-a-12_1584547429445.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="306" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwi44SgsXhjZmXugruDZx-5AlIYnCcSovLgqSaWfvCXo_ov5o_x_rnsOIDCXmhvzxc9TIyqeYrjm9VPBeKZL5BNH5PRXAp51cI322HI9nmZFQty_gi-4S7r0eieUHhpaRaHKLnWKE-O9R/w188-h280/26124608-8126789-Favipiravir_is_the_active_ingredient_in_a_flu_drug_called_Avigan-a-12_1584547429445.jpg" width="188" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Favipiravir (flu) </b></span>Favipiravir is the active ingredient in <span style="color: #444444;"><b>a flu drug</b></span> called Avigan which is sold in Japan. Doctors in China have claimed it was 'clearly effective' in patients with the coronavirus after they gave it to 80 people in the cities of Wuhan and Shenzen. Favipiravir is the active ingredient in a flu drug called Avigan which is sold in Japan. They said it sped up patients' recovery, reduced lung damage and did not cause any obvious side effects. It is also used to treat yellow fever and foot-and-mouth. According to local media, patients who were given the medicine in Shenzhen had negative results for the coronavirus an average of four days after being diagnosed. This compared with 11 days for those who were not treated with the drug. It is not clear what the results were of the trials in Wuhan, the worst-hit part of China. The drug is an anti-viral medication which neutralises a vital enzyme that viruses use to reproduce. It is called a RNA polymerase inhibitor. It is not used by the NHS. It's produced by the Japanese company Fujifilm Toyama Chemical.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMISTPErTZm8np4mHUAERH8d7DQ8E-sJh6YMnl-jv-cRKLhyizEUq2Xtjj_f4gUHZntiBZks3dGoQq8nBcOBPWh69SIatin4It4-ATXteFCZDK1Rl9vtLKypEurBwrhjm1U47uKKJzY4EX/s1600/26124606-8117891-image-a-13_1584544198021.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="306" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMISTPErTZm8np4mHUAERH8d7DQ8E-sJh6YMnl-jv-cRKLhyizEUq2Xtjj_f4gUHZntiBZks3dGoQq8nBcOBPWh69SIatin4It4-ATXteFCZDK1Rl9vtLKypEurBwrhjm1U47uKKJzY4EX/w184-h249/26124606-8117891-image-a-13_1584544198021.jpg" width="184" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Remdesivir (Ebola) </b></span>Remdesivir is an <span style="color: #444444;"><b>anti-viral drug</b></span> that works in essentially the same way as favipiravir – by crippling the RNA polymerase enzyme, stopping a virus from reproducing. It was developed around 10 years ago by the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences with the intention of it destroying the Ebola virus. It was pushed aside, however, when other, better candidates emerged. But it remained an anti-viral drug with the ability to destroy various viruses in lab tests, scientists said. Doctors in the US tried it on three hospitalised coronavirus patients but results were mixed. The drug is now being trialled on coronavirus patients in China and at the University of Nebraska, CNN reports. Doctors writing in a study led by the Wuhan Institute of Virology, published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature last month, said: 'Our findings reveal that remdesivir [is] highly effective in the control of 2019-nCoV infection in vitro.' They added that, since the drug is proven to be safe in humans, it 'should be assessed in human patients suffering from the novel coronavirus disease'. Remdesivir is not prescribed on the NHS. It is also expensive and comes with potential very serious side-effects, for instance on the liver. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUmvZJv4EHYJepq5dcLcSQfLbaVtXehfboD9vgNybv8sG-n1jCuVi6qmE8XFbvaJCaqiEJqbSl2a_lGOtKSWusbOrcAGwmjMs0YsXJZRP93rtGg457q1GhorDXFj-RQVAXmFbUMxkWHzYu/s1600/26124538-8126789-Sarilumab_a_rheumatoid_arthritis_drug_which_is_marketed_as_Kevza-a-11_1584547429333.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUmvZJv4EHYJepq5dcLcSQfLbaVtXehfboD9vgNybv8sG-n1jCuVi6qmE8XFbvaJCaqiEJqbSl2a_lGOtKSWusbOrcAGwmjMs0YsXJZRP93rtGg457q1GhorDXFj-RQVAXmFbUMxkWHzYu/s1600/26124538-8126789-Sarilumab_a_rheumatoid_arthritis_drug_which_is_marketed_as_Kevza-a-11_1584547429333.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Sarilumab or </b></span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Tocilizumab</b></span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>or </b></span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>(Rheumatoid arthritis) </b></span>Sarilumab, <span style="color: #444444;"><b>a rheumatoid arthritis drug</b></span> which is marketed as Kevzara in the US, is set to be trialled on patients in the US. Sarilumab, a rheumatoid arthritis drug which is marketed as Kevzara in the US, is set to be trialled on patients in the US. Pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and Regeneron plan to give the medication to people with the coronavirus to see if it can help calm their immune response. The drug works by blocking part of the immune system which can cause inflammation, or swelling, which is overactive in people with rheumatoid arthritis. Inflammation is the body's natural response to infection but, in patients with coronavirus, it can get out of control, making symptoms significantly worse and even trigger multiple organ failure. Regeneron, which makes the drug, said Chinese doctors say it has worked for their patients, the Financial Times reported. He said the drug could provide 'temporary support' by reducing the severity of patients' symptoms to help hospitals to cope. John Reed, from Sanofi, told the FT: 'We expect to rapidly initiate trials outside the US in the coming weeks, including areas most affected by the pandemic such as Italy'. <b><span style="color: #990000;">Tocilizumab</span></b>, marketed as Actemra, is taken by patients with rheumatoid arthritis to lower inflammation. Chinese doctors gave it to 20 patients during the peak of the country's epidemic, and claim 19 were discharged from hospital within two weeks. (<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8151865/Arthritis-drug-helped-cure-95-critically-ill-coronavirus-patients-scientists-claim.html">source</a>).</div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">Piers Morgan going all out on selfish millennials</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_MjI_ZyQHZgUBa9NImx4cKId-X9noeiWNIQyGW8F5UXzzl9WOCl5G7Lucqwgnh_-Ol-OBFC-Odv04wrYByb8MUgGZyxLFpzIgP3geWQjkRKcCZPcQB6FJYdpEfe0WFnGoP6h36M2B6WR/s1600/26070004-8120599-image-m-47_1584447575512.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="306" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_MjI_ZyQHZgUBa9NImx4cKId-X9noeiWNIQyGW8F5UXzzl9WOCl5G7Lucqwgnh_-Ol-OBFC-Odv04wrYByb8MUgGZyxLFpzIgP3geWQjkRKcCZPcQB6FJYdpEfe0WFnGoP6h36M2B6WR/s400/26070004-8120599-image-m-47_1584447575512.jpg" width="223" /></a><b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8125813/PIERS-MORGAN-Selfish-millennials-help-coronavirus-kill-people.html">PIERS MORGAN</a></b>: <span style="color: #444444;"><b>If coronavirus killed young people like it does the old, we would have shut </b></span><b style="color: #444444;">down society weeks ago - so the least dumb, selfish millennials like Vanessa Hudgens can do is stop partying and like, wake the f*ck up</b><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span>"I’ve wondered for a long time how the millennial generation would cope with a real crisis. Not one of the myriad crises many of them claim to have every second of every day, triggering the biggest explosion of ‘anxiety’ and ‘triggering’ the planet has ever seen. No, a real one. One that impacts every one of us, one that causes genuine hardship and strife, one that causes huge numbers of deaths and rips the global economy to pieces and, one that is a proper valid reason to feel anxious because it’s indisputably frightening and none of us, not even the world’s top scientific experts, knows how bad it will get before we come out the other side. Well, now I don’t have to wonder because it’s happening. And whilst some millennials are being perfectly stoic and sensible, recognizing the gravity of the situation, some are behaving like complete and utter cretins. I couldn’t believe the idiocy of so many Spring Break students flocking to the beach in Florida, hugging and kissing each other like it was VE-Day. Or the crass stupidity of all those flocking to bars on St Patrick’s Day around Britain and America yesterday, when even Ireland shut down every pub in the country and cancelled all the parades beloved by every town in the country. Or all the blinkered arrogance of all the cocky young chumps bombarding me with ‘Stop being so f*cking hysterical, it’s just the flu!’ abuse on Twitter every time I try to warn them of how bad this pandemic may get, and how urgent it is that they take it more seriously.</div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>What kind of mentality, I pondered, makes people so brainless when the we’re in the grip of the greatest potential threat to our existence since World War 2?</i></b></span></div>
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For the answer, turn to High School Musical star <span style="color: #990000;"><b>Vanessa Hudgens</b></span>, 31. Yesterday, she turned on her Instagram live ‘story’ and broadcast her thoughts on the coronavirus to her 38.4 million followers, many of them young and impressionable. Reacting to the news that the virus may still be wreaking havoc through the summer, she said: ‘’Til July sounds like a bunch of bullsh*t. I’m sorry, but like, it’s a virus, I get it, I respect it. But at the same time, like, even if everybody gets it, like, yeah, people are gonna die. Which is terrible, but like inevitable? I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this right now.’ You, like, THINK? As understandable outrage greeted this staggeringly tone-deaf response, Hudgens dug an even bigger hole by deciding to further clarify her position. Naturally, this involved blaming everyone else for all misinterpreting her disgustingly callous jabberings, and <i>immediately positioning herself as a victim</i> to try to draw the sting out of the vitriol pouring down on her stupefyingly dumb head. Hey guys,’ she whimpered, flicking her hands through her frizzy hair like a ditzy dimwit, ‘so yesterday I did an Instagram Live and I realized today that some of my comments are being taken out of context. It’s a crazy time, it’s a CRAZY time and I am at home and in lockdown, and that’s what I hope you guys are doing too, in full quarantine. And staying safe and sane. Yeah, I don’t take this situation lightly. By any means. I am home.’ Then Hudgens gave the obligatory millennial vacuous smile and peace sign to the camera and concluded: ‘So stay inside, y’all.’ Unsurprisingly, this disingenuous load of self-protective crap did little to dampen the furore.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dypEyWeesy4wAiG1RrGWJjo8-xVx1YwMbU3VY30nZC9Fo-RkWGG-wMnOBJq2XO8EPuyMLuJqq8aUh8YxxgTRA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br />Hard to believe this one has passed the age of 30... Talking like a teenager, </b></span><b style="color: #444444;">"Like and I think like" With sounding in the background the song 'Fever', oh the irony.</b></div>
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So, an hour later, her publicist presumably took charge and ordered Hudgens to issue a grovelling new mea culpa statement saying: ‘I’m so sorry for the way I have offended anyone and everyone who has seen the clip from my Instagram live yesterday. I realize my words were insensitive and not at all appropriate for the situation our country and the world are in right now. This has been a huge wake up call about the significance my words have, now more than ever. I’m sending safe wishes to everyone to stay safe and healthy during this crazy time.’ In the general scheme of things right now, the thoughts of someone like Vanessa Hudgens shouldn’t matter. But when someone with 38.4 million followers who hang on her every word is spewing such dangerous nonsense, it actually does matter. It can literally mean people live or die. And her casual, self-absorbed gormlessness explains why all those Spring Break students are partying on the beach, why so many others are still hitting any bars and club still open in Britain and America, and why they’re so furious at their holidays being cancelled, or their gyms being closed, or their favorite sport being canned.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Xp9v3vbRqjjaQXMmo__MOUY1B3UoQqADyDhobFg4ja62B0OSVY-VGjNNB6gxhTVA9WKbB9i2lP6KxqhY8b8sKjlpCDy8qjop4T-jgg8B4x2ImZ4hx5MpUg-fDvEgLR6J4Je0N7now_Gk/s1600/26115658-0-image-a-7_1584532168669.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="634" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Xp9v3vbRqjjaQXMmo__MOUY1B3UoQqADyDhobFg4ja62B0OSVY-VGjNNB6gxhTVA9WKbB9i2lP6KxqhY8b8sKjlpCDy8qjop4T-jgg8B4x2ImZ4hx5MpUg-fDvEgLR6J4Je0N7now_Gk/s400/26115658-0-image-a-7_1584532168669.jpg" width="400" /></a>This is a woefully entitled generation that’s grown up whining about absolutely everything - yet has so little to legitimately whine about given how much safer, healthier, less war-ravaged and more prosperous the world is now compared to any other time in recorded history. They mock and scorn the ‘Boomers’ (people born between 1946 and 1964 – I don’t quite qualify, having been born in 1965, but this doesn’t stop them calling me one) for being old, out-of-touch, boring and narrow-minded. But one thing my generation knows is the horror of World War 2 because our grandparents who lived through it told us about it. My own grandmother was in her late teens when WW2 started, and I had many conversations with her about what life was like for young people during that tumultuous period. She said it was very very tough, obviously, but it also taught everyone to be strong, resilient, selfless and caring. ‘We were all in the same boat,’ she said. ‘So, everyone helped each other. We had no choice.’ It also taught that generation perspective. Millions of young men had to go and fight for the country, and many didn’t come back.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><i>Today, the biggest sacrifice we’re being asked to make is not go to the pub or beach and sit at home for a while watching TV.</i></span></b></div>
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Is that really too much to ask? The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hasn’t enforced measures as draconian as most other countries because he doesn’t think we’d have the patience to stay inside for months on end. In other words, we don’t have the stomach for the fight. I find that notion offensive, and his worryingly vague strategy of half-social-distancing very wrong – perhaps disastrously so - but sadly he’s probably right about many millennials judging by the ludicrous antics of people like Vanessa Hudgens. Fortunately, there are some people of her generation who DO get it. Take pop superstar Ariana Grande, who four days ago tweeted the following message to her 72 million followers: ‘I keep hearing from a surprising amount of people statements like “this isn’t a big deal”, “we’ll be fine”, “we still have to go about our lives”, and it’s really blowing my mind. I understand that is how it felt weeks ago but please read about what’s going on, please don’t turn a blind eye. It is incredibly dangerous and selfish to take this situation lightly. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>The “we will be fine because we’re young” mindset is putting people who aren’t young and/or healthy in a lot of danger. You sound stupid and privileged and you need to care about others</b></span>.. like, now.’ Ariana added: ‘Like, your hip hop yoga class can f*cking wait, I promise. This a national emergency and a pandemic of global proportions.’ </div>
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Heroes come in many forms at moments such as this, but Ariana Grande is a true hero for grasping the severity of this situation and taking action to properly inform her massive army of young fans as to what the right response should be. We need a lot more Arianas on hugely influential social media right now and a lot fewer Vanessas. This Coronavirus crisis is a war and everyone needs to grow the f*ck up and understand just how serious it is. Especially those young people who still don’t get it. To them, </div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">"I can only say that every one of your parents and grandparents is incredibly relieved this is a virus that predominantly kills members of our age-groups and not that of our kids. But if it WAS the other way round then I can assure you we wouldn’t be taking a single reckless chance with YOUR lives". </span></i></b></div>
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So, stop taking a chance with the lives of those older and more vulnerable than you. It’s time many millennials stopped being so bloody selfish and asked themselves the question President John F. Kennedy asked in his 1961 inaugural address: ‘And so my fellow Americans,’ he said, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you - but what you can do for your country.’ <i>Before it’s, like, too late y’all</i>."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik6CtvCIwVRDSlsD_pmQCDopq556j-GNkp9-8kI7TgJXQcOERIdUnRGpRmfSS1ZMd3LEZO6_InMWOk9rNWw42DuVYXWk0chyphenhyphenKBb5xY23D-dY2ypl9GZzRFtmQFr4s0-G2DOyI-uLFNFRe0/s1600/26229368-8136757-image-a-60_1584752962759.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="962" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik6CtvCIwVRDSlsD_pmQCDopq556j-GNkp9-8kI7TgJXQcOERIdUnRGpRmfSS1ZMd3LEZO6_InMWOk9rNWw42DuVYXWk0chyphenhyphenKBb5xY23D-dY2ypl9GZzRFtmQFr4s0-G2DOyI-uLFNFRe0/s400/26229368-8136757-image-a-60_1584752962759.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Afraid I have to agree with Piers Morgan here. Selfish people in pubs.. With a portion of the population being absolute f#-+ing idiots. </b></span>Same over here, with football fields full with young people who state to journalists that 'they won't get the virus anyway because they're young enough'. Or large groups of youth hanging out together outside, despite the new rules who forbid this. They think their 'religion will protect them from coronavirus'. And with pubs closed now, they will find other places to congregate. Parents seemingly having no control over their offspring, who do exactly what they want to. People have to be forced to comply to the rules, unfortunately. France uses the army and prison sentences to force people off the street and back in their homes. And they don't have these problems as much in countries like Singapore or Taiwan where the virus is effectively sucked dry. Because the population respects the rules. Utterly selfish behaviour over here from people who just can't go without their social pleasures and instant gratification addictions, not even when the health systems are about to burst under the coronapatient load. Just over 100 years ago men your age were coming home from the trenches, and women were doing men's jobs and bringing up kids....never complained, just got on with it. The same year that 50 million plus people died of the Spanish Flu epidemic. Now they can't even stay home on the sofa. Better not compare today's people with the previous generation as it is an insult. Enjoy your beer muppets. Enjoy it till your lungs collapse.. These snowflakes haven't a clue about anything, they only think of their own enjoyment and sod everybody else. But just wait till it hits them, then it will be help me me me, and sod everyone else again. Everybody, just do your bit. Stop bleating about how you want this and that at this moment in time; just comply to the social distancing and self-isolation rules without whining and self-entitlement. If you carry it or develop Covid-19, you may survive. But if you pass it on to another person, he or she may not be as lucky. Lead by example. And if you're not thinking of your own loved ones, think of that front line doctor or nurse who has to pick up the link in the infected chain. It's all a big laugh until your grandfather is choking on his final breath, your mother's chemotherapy treatment is on the back burner due to a shortage of medical staff, your otherwise fit and healthy sibling is desperate for an intensive care bed but they were taken up weeks ago and your child's concussion isn't deemed critical enough for A&E staff to take a look at. As an NHS nurse wrote today: <i>"I was looking after a patient today who was only out partying last weekend....this weekend they are ventilated and fighting for survival. I know this as when I spoke to the family, via a phone to update them, they told me the shock of how well this person was last weekend. You see I had to call them to update them as this patient is positive for COVID-19 and they're now all having to self isolate, they can't be with their loved one at the most terrible time. Before you think this is a cold or a quick bit of socialising won't hurt here and there - think of this family. If this carries on this phone call will be repeated over and over again, the only change will be we don't have enough ventilators to be able to say to every family ' we will do our best we promise.' For the sake of your NHS I beg you all to stay and home and be safe. Us NHS staff want most is for you all to be safe in your homes. We can't stay at home but you can. We can get a grip on this virus if we all do our bit now."</i></div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-njfdVFrDk92B30vg8ggyxi1JVzWRd3jPzOfO12oI0Cd7WMb8mQs-SJAu00oaoXFQwndgcjaJzvXIx6lDOvp1PiXcw36OUjm_1tzUbfbYFT3TX8My0BPTXa4cGWRNh2f4MXhorrF_6QV5/s1600/25772368-8094933-The_researchers_at_Hunan_Provincial_Centre_for_Diseases_Control_-a-11_1583851211535.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="634" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-njfdVFrDk92B30vg8ggyxi1JVzWRd3jPzOfO12oI0Cd7WMb8mQs-SJAu00oaoXFQwndgcjaJzvXIx6lDOvp1PiXcw36OUjm_1tzUbfbYFT3TX8My0BPTXa4cGWRNh2f4MXhorrF_6QV5/s400/25772368-8094933-The_researchers_at_Hunan_Provincial_Centre_for_Diseases_Control_-a-11_1583851211535.jpg" width="400" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">March 12th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b><br />
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I cancelled my travel plans, call me a hypochondriac but I do not feel relaxed about this coronavirus. Have been reading up on it and will share some info below, in case you are interested. I also visited my GP and made an early morning appointment on purpose, after the assistant had told me there were suspected Covid19 cases in their practice. Made me worried, in true hypochondriac fashion, because the GP here gets to see all the coughing old folks and may himself be infected already, for all I know. Incubation time of this virus is 5 to 7 days, and new science has proven that the virus is highly infectious from day 1, well before the patient develops any symptoms. So well, who knows. Oh and this nasty virus can stay alive and circulating in the air for up to three hours, brand new <b><a href="https://time.com/5801278/coronavirus-stays-on-surfaces-days-tests/">research</a></b> shows, and live on some surfaces for as long as two to three days. Although you can't prevent everything I guess. But I did make an appointment as early in the morning as possible, because in the morning there have not been that many people in and out of the office yet, thus hopefully less virus particles floating around. The GP wasn't too bothered (yet..), said for young people like me it acts like a case of the flu mostly. I had a scarf wrapped around my mouth anyway. But then felt so self conscious about it (doc was not protected at all) that I kind of let it drop down most of the time. I didn't touch the door handles there however, didn't shake hands and washed my hands as soon as I could. Of course now, the next day, I am having a sore throat and blocked nose... Just me being too worried most likely, may just be the normal flu. But unlike some others, I do worry about that coronavirus. In general, and also a tiny bit for myself, having underlying immune illnesses and just seeming to catch every single winter flu virus that's circulating every year, for the past five years already. I never used to get the flu before that. Now the past winters I have dealt with recurrent bronchitis/ pneumonia at clockwork and not being able to breath well is really horrible. Being so short of breath that you can't do much but rest, is frightening. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKdr_s2p4ZIZhKJ_H-ib2r1sZg3ne6pvx0YaX5h-D_C6ZFkHCSU3MzKVFEjZLQcGrdlAgcIdXXXo3YFdyb251Pvf9BY-5kMnm1LYj3tVh7Qb1KUnY29lem0mdUjGWQbdvzB1uqNBPEAED/s1600/corona-13-maart-2020-a.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1073" data-original-width="1600" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKdr_s2p4ZIZhKJ_H-ib2r1sZg3ne6pvx0YaX5h-D_C6ZFkHCSU3MzKVFEjZLQcGrdlAgcIdXXXo3YFdyb251Pvf9BY-5kMnm1LYj3tVh7Qb1KUnY29lem0mdUjGWQbdvzB1uqNBPEAED/s320/corona-13-maart-2020-a.png" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Covid19 is more than a 'boomer remover'</b></span><br />
I hear people and even the GP say that this corona virus is for many just the same as the flu. But I'm not buying that. Italian doctors have shared details about the patients there who end up on Intensive Care and even pass away from this virus, and they have significant numbers op young patients, under age 50, significant percentages are in their 40s or 30's - even teenagers - of which many had no underlying health problems beforehand, and were fit. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Over half of the people <a href="https://www.ad.nl/dossier-coronavirus/40-a-50-nederlandse-coronapatienten-op-intensive-cares-meer-dan-de-helft-is-onder-de-vijftig~a058aad2/">currently in IC</a> in the Netherlands are under age 50 and some are teenagers also. </b></span>Over half of the critical patients currently in intensive care in France (over 300) are younger than 60. <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8103999/NHS-doctor-trapped-coronavirus-hit-Italy-begs-UK-Government-shut-EVERYTHING.html">This doctor in Italy</a></b> also warns that it are not just the old who die from the virus, but also younger patients and those with underlying health issues. And don't forget that 'underlying health issues' can also include diabetes and asthma for instance and put young(er) people also at considerable risk. Unfortunately the virus is also mutating over time and Europe currently already has <b><a href="https://www.xandernieuws.net/algemeen/belgische-viroloog-en-sars-expert-waarschuwt-dat-europese-corona-variant-veel-dodelijker-is/">a more deadly variety</a></b> than China endured a month or two ago. This Covid19 virus is not the same as the common flu. Flu also doesn't typically cause as much severe pneumonia (bilateral interstitial pneumonia), nor organ failing. It can, but statistically the chance is much lower. Flu kills about 1% or lower annually, whereas the statistics are much higher for corona, up to 8% chance of dying in a country like Italy at the moment. The average amount of people with seasonal flu who die is just about 1 out of every 1000 who catch it. With Coronavirus, the average amount of people with it who die is 60 out of every 1000 (WHO official figures), and those numbers have already been upscaled as the virus keeps spreading and developing. 12,5%, meaning 1/5 of all active cases of corona, end up on the intensive care. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>There are several strains of coronavirus circulating, which mainly differ in infectivity and which cause separate diseases: Covid-19A, Covid-19B, -19C, etc. Estimations are that there are currently about 5 to 6 different variants around the world. Some countries have the most aggressive Italian version</b></span> (countries like The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Spain, where currently also high numbers of <b><a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/">casualties</a></b> are counted). And as a result, the severity of this corona-induced type of pneumonia, bilateral interstitial pneumonia, can also differ. The virus makes the body attack itself, creating a lot of fluid and mucus in the lungs, drowning the unlucky ones from the inside out. No antibiotics will help here, nothing helps. When I had bronchitis from the flu, penicillin <i>did </i>help, because bacteria from the nasal cavity (snot, mucus etc) had ended up in my lungs, and the penicillin helped clean out the bacterial component to the problem. But with the coronavirus, the virus attaches itself way down the respiratory tract and makes the bodies immune system create these lung problems itself. More on that below. So once (vulnerable) people develop pneumonia from the coronavirus, a certain portion of them dies. The latest stats say 50%. Which is a horrible death. They did autopsy on some of the bodies, and found lungs filled with a glue-like substance. Lungs all stuck together. Horror. Those people who keep saying stop flapping, it's just like winter flu, are incorrect. The disease may look like just the flu for the lucky majority, but scores of people (also previously healthy and also under the age of 50) are currently fighting for their lives in IC units, with severe pneumonia. And the ones who die, die alone :( Isolated. Kids are not allowed to hug their dying parents, it's really tragic. <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8104001/Elderly-couple-die-hours-apart-contracting-deadly-coronavirus-northern-Italy.html">This</a></b> story for instance.<span style="color: #444444;"> <b>I feel terribly sad for the thousands of desperately ill, who are left at hospital doorways, with doctors deciding who will be treated and who will be left to die. For all those people (also folks in their 30s and 40s and 50s) who will never enjoy their pensions and who die in total isolation, with nobody to hug them or hold their hand or say goodbye. Choking to death from the pneumonia. </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMCtoByIsfGhGlCu8bMcjDWPlipMNG0pl8mBksYEr846KG2fD6U2MFclvJSSxhV9m1wKyK5-rh9pQbaRXfjRfiXm0irjQBIwniPZ-0H7zRITPKQHLU3F45ZCUc4i9RMKilT9Ay88tvhT8/s1600/coronavirus-covid19-enfants-970x647.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="970" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMCtoByIsfGhGlCu8bMcjDWPlipMNG0pl8mBksYEr846KG2fD6U2MFclvJSSxhV9m1wKyK5-rh9pQbaRXfjRfiXm0irjQBIwniPZ-0H7zRITPKQHLU3F45ZCUc4i9RMKilT9Ay88tvhT8/w304-h202/coronavirus-covid19-enfants-970x647.jpg" width="304" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjug5f35PLAVgKwudXuzc-yNoRLfMoUvHwbLZEIGp1jDWI56zGlUl7UEm8YVlCDZI1DOoqBPDswHI3U0wdA8A7UsfAfmf9xxZwv18IGsPVpIPZUduDOo63SrZNbmUwVZPUzOahKwEwzAQzm/s1600/25777764-8095727-Professor_Mark_Handley_at_University_College_London_compared_the-a-71_1583851828319.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1003" data-original-width="962" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjug5f35PLAVgKwudXuzc-yNoRLfMoUvHwbLZEIGp1jDWI56zGlUl7UEm8YVlCDZI1DOoqBPDswHI3U0wdA8A7UsfAfmf9xxZwv18IGsPVpIPZUduDOo63SrZNbmUwVZPUzOahKwEwzAQzm/s320/25777764-8095727-Professor_Mark_Handley_at_University_College_London_compared_the-a-71_1583851828319.jpg" width="305" /></a>So there are very different messages coming at us about this virus. China warns everyone to take the virus very seriously and to go all out on isolating the patients and stopping all contamination options. So far it seems to be working for China, where official patient numbers have been dropping for some time now. The peak of the epidemic has passed for China, with only a trickle of new cases and the number of new patients in Hubei province falling to single digits for the first time yesterday. But it didn't happen by itself, it took very dramatic action. "Draconian measurements", as I read in newspapers over here. Not sure I agree with that. Because the outbreak is worsening outside China and was yesterday declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation. Italy has it very very bad at the moment with 12.500 <b><a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/">official patients</a></b> and over 800 deaths. Numbers for many countries are in reality much much higher, as many people do not get tested. For instance, in the UK they won't even test people with suspected coronaviruses unless they directly travelled from Iran, China or Italy. Never mind that this virus is highly contagious even in the first days of having it, when there are not even symptoms yet for patients. So everyone who gets into contact with these people, have a chance of developing it too. Without any further link to countries like China or Italy. But these people do not get tested. Not yet at least. Same in the Netherlands where relatives of corona patients are just told to self isolate, and they are not counted. So official numbers are seeming deceptively low still. Italy also started with only 3 patients, about two and a half weeks (!) ago. Every day the numbers rose with around 30%. Until the current count of over 80.000 patients. And this is the exact same situation for many European countries, like Spain, France, Germany, the UK and the Netherlands; their numbers keep rising with around 30% daily. Right now they may<i> seem</i> to handle the crisis better, but it is important to emphasize that <b><span style="color: #444444;">they are just two to three weeks behind Italy</span></b>. In every other sense their situation is exactly the same. And in 2 weeks from now, we will all be facing much higher numbers of infected and dead. Maybe not as high as Italy, because Italy has quite special circumstances in some ways (more on that in a minute). But there may be 10,000 plus cases by the end of the next fortnight. Without any social distancing, that is the usual rate. We'd have had to be as proactive as Taiwan and Japan to manage things any better. There is likely to be unbearable pressure on our already overstretched healthcare. But with all these other European countries favouring the No Panic message and the protection of the economy over radical measurements, we're all heading in the same direction. "Business as usual" strategy is irresponsible I think and they should have banned travel three weeks ago. <i>Everyone coming from infected countries should have been quarantined under forc</i>e. Schools and public life should have been closed right away. Patients should have been monitored and the state should have ensured that they and their relatives were kept in quarantine. That way they can only infect the people living in the same house and not, say, 65 other people they meet outside of the house. Then you let the virus run its course, without exposing millions of people to the virus and overburdening the hospitals and healthcare system. China is looking at us European counties with disbelief, about how terrible and wishy-washy we are handling this virus. Beijing medical adviser and epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan said at a news conference today: <i>'If all countries could get mobilized, it could be over by June.</i>' Zhong, who is credited with helping to combat the SARS outbreak in 2003, warned that the current crisis would 'last longer' if countries 'do not treat the infectiousness and harmfulness seriously'. 'I'm particularly worried about... the complacency and slow motion process that would be demonstrated by the fiscal authorities of the euro area in particular. My advice is calling for all countries to follow WHO instructions and intervene on a national scale.' 'My estimate of June is based on scenarios that all countries take positive measures,' he said. 'But if some countries do not treat the infectiousness and harmfulness seriously, and intervene strongly, it would last longer.' </div>
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In order to avoid a crisis such as in Italy right now, I think leaders really should make the tough decisions and stop international flights, see to very strict isolation of the infected (state controlled, because otherwise many people just do as they wish) and cancel all activities such as sports, festivals. They already started such serious measurements in Israel, where the count for coronavirus patients is 'only' 100 at the moment. But Bibi Netanyahu is taking no risks and has ensured that any foreigner coming into Israel, first gets quarantined for 14 days. This virus is quickest under control and with the least amount of casualties, when governments go all out, isolate patients and their families and close schools and ban all gatherings. In China they have brought things under control in two months in this fashion. Half baked measurements will mean the virus takes months longer to be contained, with all additional costs and risks. Meanwhile in Australia there is panic and <b><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/10/coronavirus-response-a-shambles-doctors-and-patients-complain-of-confusing-processes">doctors complain</a></b> about the chaos, the long lines in front of hospitals of patients and people wanting to be tested for the virus. The thing is; crisis hit China two months ago already. The world could watch and see how the virus behaved in China, how the situation escalated in no time there with coronavirus patients skyrocketing to 80.000 patients and over 3000 deaths, and you'd think that the rest of the world would use those two months of extra time to take precautions and set prevention plans into motion. But no. Economy comes first here unfortunately, and only after the hit hits the fan will most leaders implement necessary action. Just asking people in epicenters to not go out the door will solve this thing, the prime minster thinks over here. And our western-European population, maybe all of Europe even, are probably not as law-abiding as residents of China, Singapore, Japan and such places. So leaders feel that they need to gradually implement changes. Not too much too quickly, because then the people may not agree with it and refuse to follow orders. Of course, there are always measurements possible to make sure that people follow the new laws; in Italy you risk significant prison sentences if you go against new laws, thereby endangering the health and lives of others. People who are ill and do not self-isolate risk a <b><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8103861/Italy-closes-bars-restaurants-streets-remain-empty.html">prison sentence</a></b> of 21 years for 'malicious murder'. </div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Situation in Italy</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrl5680KLsRCBQd35nbVvfm8WuOqXIPplF1ORhnbnXW_7NyyG9-MegeTT5cQTISEfRUD7492ywlohu8CoRyiE9yZ_ruY6Gm8qMBtqiwghxt7Zv3XeGhAh8YDS7k_EH_dqTCdYY6S23Lm_A/s1600/25756746-8090779-image-a-32_1583791940273.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="962" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrl5680KLsRCBQd35nbVvfm8WuOqXIPplF1ORhnbnXW_7NyyG9-MegeTT5cQTISEfRUD7492ywlohu8CoRyiE9yZ_ruY6Gm8qMBtqiwghxt7Zv3XeGhAh8YDS7k_EH_dqTCdYY6S23Lm_A/s400/25756746-8090779-image-a-32_1583791940273.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHzwM8HYzklN37NwMW3QKIF37JbXNRp_3b0kvyYa93YAYVOdPMpX3ZaunAFbB_R8zpaqCPA5SjFbd9eeCI2VF1kER_12KnjSfDojUo0HxmHdaDObZ_AkTtceEIpRXC0DhDy05BiOb3HEKE/s1600/25756748-8090779-image-a-24_1583791661026.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="962" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHzwM8HYzklN37NwMW3QKIF37JbXNRp_3b0kvyYa93YAYVOdPMpX3ZaunAFbB_R8zpaqCPA5SjFbd9eeCI2VF1kER_12KnjSfDojUo0HxmHdaDObZ_AkTtceEIpRXC0DhDy05BiOb3HEKE/s400/25756748-8090779-image-a-24_1583791661026.jpg" width="400" /></a>Italy appeared well ahead of the curve when the coronavirus outbreak began to spread outside of China. The first three coronavirus cases detected in Italy, at the end of January 2020, were two Chinese tourists and an Italian man who had been in contact with a friend who had just returned from China. The patients were isolated in a hospital in Rome. Their contacts were traced, it was established that the two Chinese tourists in Rome had visited Parma, and Italy then cut all transport links with China. Prime minister Giuseppe Conte was confident that Italy had contained the threat, stating on 31 January that: “The system of prevention put into place by Italy is the most rigorous in Europe.” In reality, as would become clear in February, the virus had since mid-January been circulating unnoticed in northern Italy via other local chains of infection. Only now we start to understand how extremely infectious this virus is, and that it can remain airborne for many hours. Another error made by Italy, is that they followed a protocol which said that only people who had a connection with China should be tested for coronavirus if they showed symptoms. Italians who had no ties with China, but did have unexplained fevers and respiratory complaints were <i>not</i> tested. Then on 18 February, a fit 38-year old with no apparent links to China fell ill in Codogno. He has become known as Patient Zero. He saw his GP and visited his local hospital several times, but his symptoms were not picked up on and they kept sending him back home. Three times. When he was finally admitted to hospital, he tested positive but had been interacting freely with other people in the days prior. Believing his GP in that he just had the flu. So by the time he was isolated in hospital, he had already infected a number of medical personnel and other contacts over a period of days. </div>
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So the first two (Chinese) coronavirus cases in Italy were linked to Parma, a place they visited. Authorities then went on to shut down 10 towns linked to the initial cluster of cases in the northern provinces of Lombardy and Veneto. The local lockdowns, which began on the same day that Patient One was confirmed as infected, were hailed in some quarters at time as "speedy and decisive". They would help in isolating the corona cases in the specific towns and villages where the patients resided. But the lockdown didn't last long enough and the geographical scope of those initial quarantines turned out to be far too limited. And for other northern places, which are the economic and industrial heart of Italy, it was “business as usual”. Unfortunately, the virus spread very fast among the northern regions first, and by now all over Italy in fact. And Italy also decided early on to stop flights to and from China. The problem with this was that those flights would have provided the authorities with a clear indication of who was arriving from that country, making health checks easier. Now instead, Chinese came to Italy with intermediary stops in other European countries, making it impossible for the Italian authorities to further identify and tag them. Now the whole country has been put in lockdown as we speak. No more travelling is allowed, shops are mostly all closed, cafes are closed and all of normal life has come to a standstill. People are asked to self isolate. They risk prison sentences when they go against the orders and do organize meet ups or parties or start driving in their car without a special permission, or anything like that. There have been a lot of Italian corona cases and deaths in the past month. 12.500 official cases (and many more in reality as only a fraction of patients get tested) and nearly 850 official deaths (also more in reality). Italy is extra susceptible, because it is a country of old people. People get old on average in Italy, and the country is ageing. But Italy is also one of the most beloved tourist places in Europe. So it attracts many tourists from all over the world, who help spreading the virus, both to Italy itself, and away from Italy again. </div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">And I also saw this, he is an actor from a series called Gomorra. </span></b>When Luca Franzese's 47-year-old sister Teresa died of corona, he was locked up with her corpse in the house for more than 36 hours because no funeral company wanted to pick her up so she could be buried. "My sister is dead in bed, and I don't know what to do," says Franzese in the video. "I can't give her the last credit she deserves, because the institutes have failed me. I called everyone, but no one could answer me. " Even when she got sick, nobody came to help them. Despite him calling emergency services and the GP; everyone refused to come. Because they are overwhelmed. He himself has the virus probably too but he isn't tested. he tells that he gave his dying sister mouth to mouth breathing, and thus probably has the virus too now. Very sad this. And he is in Naples, so far away from the epicenter in the North of Italy.</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>What did China do which curbed their corona crisis situation?</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKvloKDrzmLMr7aoOR04hMVNycDHW0wO4gFiw6PlnGsW8oMDnMNpeLf5xbLKwYhidNtW6f1kl8ZU-UsvgXZsg3ptFmHF11Xu6WAq0cY83V1Fk_xsmcnvTKc0DckHl2zu5knYdvQirqgYW0/s1600/images.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKvloKDrzmLMr7aoOR04hMVNycDHW0wO4gFiw6PlnGsW8oMDnMNpeLf5xbLKwYhidNtW6f1kl8ZU-UsvgXZsg3ptFmHF11Xu6WAq0cY83V1Fk_xsmcnvTKc0DckHl2zu5knYdvQirqgYW0/s400/images.jpg" width="400" /></a>China has gone to extreme measures to halt the coronavirus, even using a 'social nuclear weapon'. Some in the west say that China has gone too far with the limiting of individual human rights, but many scientists and Chinese actually disagree. China used technology to make sure that infected people were quickly traced and isolated, and that they stayed isolated. The Chinese government can track its citizens very precisely, by their trail of bank payments. On January 23, the Chinese authorities imposed radical movement restrictions on provinces of over 930 million people. Then in early February, at least 48 cities and four provinces in China were put in lockdown. Residents of a community had to be registered before they were allowed to go in or out. Highways were shut as well as railways and public transport systems. When people wanted to get back in, their body temperature was checked, cars were disinfected and only one person per household was allowed to leave the house at set times to buy food. Of course, everybody had to wear masks and protective gear. In many regions, workers who could not do their normal job were retrained and redirected to deliver food to the public. All schools were closed and kids were taught at home with the help of Skype. The Chinese stuck to the rules and were also ushered to do so through posters and leaflets with state imposed Chinese collectivist slogans such as<i> 'It is everyone's responsibility to fight the virus'</i>. Or: <i>'Let's unite together to fight the virus in this special period.'</i> In the elevator, the sign reads: 'No more than four people in the elevator. Please be patient and wait for the next elevator.' Authorities would also apply tape to section elevators into four equal parts, so that people keep an appropriate distance from each other. And a Chinese company has developed the country's first facial recognition technology that can identify people when they are wearing a mask, as most are these days because of the coronavirus, and help in the fight against the disease. People returning from countries like Italy, Iran and South Korea are put straight into a 2 week long quarantine in China. No risks are taken. </div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">These are some comments below a New York Time article on the coronavirus, defending China's method of action;</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Shawn from Shanghai, March 7th 2020: </span></b>"The Chinese have put the full power of their surveillance state behind stopping the thread of this virus. I’m called frequently by someone in my “neighborhood committee” asking about my movements and health. I’m required to input my temperature into an app twice a day. If I leave the apartment I must show a government QR code that shows I’m considered healthy to get into many establishments or office buildings. Anyone coming from anywhere outside Shanghai (domestic or international) is being asked to stay away from work for 14 days once they are back in shanghai. The local citizens have done a great job heeding the government’s call to self isolate, even when healthy, and the streets are pretty empty and even restaurants and shops that have reopened are mostly serving one or two customers. If the goal is to completely eradicate the virus then the approach of the CCP seems most effective. Unfortunately it comes at a huge economic cost. Nobody will ever know if the eventual economic repercussions will be worse than the virus hit if they hadn’t put in the restrictions here in China. We may, however, get a view on how putting the economy first and virus control second will fare with the current reaction in the United States where I don’t think there is the will to take measures the Chinese have taken due to fear of disrupting the economy. I really don’t know what’s the right choice but my chance of catching COVID here in Shanghai is now less than in California."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Xenophon from Shanghai wrote on March 8th 2020:</span></b> "As an American who stayed in Shanghai throughout the whole epidemic, I have to say that the epidemic controls since February have been impressive, even if control of the initial outbreak was horribly bungled. One has to split apart the initial failures, which would be unacceptable in anywhere, with the followup controls, which have many impressive elements:</div>
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- Everyone can get a colored QR code (the green/yellow/red codes) which is generated from a combination of travel history, cell phone tower data, contact with infected individuals and trains/ planes, and big data. To reopen a company or go to many restaurants, you need a green code, which 99% of people are getting. This is pretty Big Brother, but is also the most advanced form of contact tracing I've heard of.</div>
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-99% of people on the streets wear masks, and all indoors venues require masks and temperature checks to enter. There's government distribution of very inexpensive surgical masks every few weeks. It's only 5 masks every time, but it's something. 3M N95 masks, made in Shanghai, are now available in stores as of a week ago for 20 yuan, which is 1/7 the price of $20 N95 masks I'm seeing on eBay in the US.</div>
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-The neighborhood committee volunteers are nowhere as scary as the NYT is making them seem. They're mostly white-collar office workers who help with finding delivery packages, which are left at the gates, and collect info on folks returning to Shanghai."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Ben from nyc wrote on March 7th 2020: </span></b>"I don’t understand how the author (of a NYT opinion piece) can remotely reasonably suggest that the cure may be worse than the disease. Yes liberties and human rights have been compromised (more than usual) with China’s heavy handed approach in suppressing the spread of the virus. You know what is worse than not having all the liberties and rights? Being dead because the government didn’t clamp down hard enough on the virus."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Jason from Nanning, China wrote on March 7th 2020:</span></b> "Let's not forget that, when China initiated the aggressive response to the outbreak, people had very limited knowledge about the virus: how it spreads, how deadly it is, how much resource is needed... Most cases were from Wuhan at that time, where the situations appeared to be much worse than elsewhere, painting a grim outlook. Facing a novel virus, huge uncertainty, and a big stake, what China did is very responsible and not short-sighted."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Ken from Portland wrote on March 8th 2020: </span></b>"The situation described in this article can be summarized as: "Drastic Chinese measures to limit the spread of the CoVid-19 infection are saving thousands of lives but hurting economic growth statistics. OK, which is more important? Also, 80,000 cases seems less "staggering" when you consider the population is 1.386 billion. That's 1 case out of every 17,000 people."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlvRD_XOOx-G8b0lmUVx_aSYIspy53oNWxLeBp-jeQcriWQPYTN4luaJcf5hRLuV3YR9xjGvPmxLOoXIGe5HNAVSG_dtVbz8E1PR2q2Z9-3VkDIJwzEcv31H0gSG4XGxAH8afTwcOXx4Us/s1600/25725112-8090779-image-a-29_1583745514733.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="962" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlvRD_XOOx-G8b0lmUVx_aSYIspy53oNWxLeBp-jeQcriWQPYTN4luaJcf5hRLuV3YR9xjGvPmxLOoXIGe5HNAVSG_dtVbz8E1PR2q2Z9-3VkDIJwzEcv31H0gSG4XGxAH8afTwcOXx4Us/s400/25725112-8090779-image-a-29_1583745514733.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">The argument here is that it is a choice between controlling the virus while trashing the economy</span></b>, or allowing the virus to spread and presumably the economy will hum along as usual. But is this realistic? Do we think when hospitals are overwhelmed, and thousands of people are dying, that life will still go on as usual? Would people still go shopping in malls, go to cinemas, restaurant, or even go to work as usual? I would argue that if the virus is not brought under control with measures that are painful in the short term, the epidemic will still lead to the same economic impact, but probably even more severe and prolonged. These measurements are radical in the eyes of the west, but China has spared no costs to curb this outbreak. And it was probably also China's unique political and social environment is what has helped it to combat the virus so efficiently. By now, President Xi Jinping has stated to reporters that the coronavirus outbreak has been 'basically curbed' in Hubei province and Wuhan. China has 80,796 confirmed (official) infections and a death toll of 3,169. China is gradually lifting restrictions. China understood that if you do not act quickly, the infection can get out of hand very quickly. Unfortunately, the Netherlands (and many other European countries) are not willing to follow a similar plan of approach. They prefer to usher to "No Panic" and to not interfere with the economy, if possible. They want to contain the spread of the infection with the most minimal of measurements. Therefore we are walking behind the facts, unfortunately. Our own Prime Minster now tells the public not to shake hands anymore. A little too late, if you ask me. We would be wise to trace down every single infected person, just like they did in China, and isolate them. And to have controls in place to check if they truly do so. The same applies to their family members who live in the same place. Over here in the Netherlands, patients are instead advised to stay inside (self-imposed quarantine) but nobody is checking and other people living in the same house as the patient are free to go and do as they wish. How illogical and impractical is that? It is nearly impossible not to get infected when you live in the same place, China has showed that without a shadow of a doubt. The virus is super contagious, from the first day of infection patients emit over 1000 times as many viral particles from their throat as someone with active flu does. There is a case example in China where a woman was infected with the coronavirus and she had two young nieces live with her. They did everything they could to contain the virus; aunt had her own room of which the door was always closed. the nieces put her food in the hallway and never were in direct contact with the aunt. But they got infected anyway. The virus floats through the air for hours. And even touching a door knob can pass the virus on. - And when we look at places like Taiwan and Hongkong; they had success with less stringent measures. Hongkong had travel restrictions in place for everyone coming from risk areas. Therefore they limited and controlled the import of contamination. The population all wears face masks, have been asked to avoid social gatherings and to work from home. Maybe it is typical for Asia that the population actually obeys to those requests, whereas over here we have stubborn people who 'won't be told what to do", and often accuse governments of hysteria. But Hongkong so far has only had 130 cases of coronavirus and these numbers have stabilized. The authorities know exactly where the patients are located, who their relatives are and they are all put in strict isolation. That's how you handle and shut down an epidemic. </div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>More in detail about this coronavirus and what it does exactly</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitIrYPYKjeqcRMkYh8IIV14hx79_hHbuoLCiqs3XoUomDur6sUyP3F-0GpfSE_iUV_U-r4XfP0IHZn5j0vnLlZngtu6CvYgISvsTABfbvmLqd1IQtH_j51KhYe6LqSwxXvFpdrJ1eQ5ckc/s1600/960x0.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitIrYPYKjeqcRMkYh8IIV14hx79_hHbuoLCiqs3XoUomDur6sUyP3F-0GpfSE_iUV_U-r4XfP0IHZn5j0vnLlZngtu6CvYgISvsTABfbvmLqd1IQtH_j51KhYe6LqSwxXvFpdrJ1eQ5ckc/s320/960x0.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJdhXBS8s8nv7qmJFX5aGIabeUIEm2UBQZGk-8e23IZ-2endIH1gM5tqFl-wZ3z1qjdfBd4OKT5SIeTIJ3l4Sl_jNvg8OYU9XBhJeCf3ByWisc8MouSi8j3CphbyhNR80mtpJUt1qC7HR/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJdhXBS8s8nv7qmJFX5aGIabeUIEm2UBQZGk-8e23IZ-2endIH1gM5tqFl-wZ3z1qjdfBd4OKT5SIeTIJ3l4Sl_jNvg8OYU9XBhJeCf3ByWisc8MouSi8j3CphbyhNR80mtpJUt1qC7HR/s1600/download.jpg" /></a>Corona virus work in your cells like a hand blender. These viruses are incredibly small. A virus compares to a bacterium like a rowboat to an aircraft carrier. In essence, a bacterium is still a small organism, but a virus is no more than a wrapped string of genetic material, with the inscription: <b><span style="color: #444444;">COPY ME</span></b>. The virus sends that message to your body, hoping that your cells will do the job. They are actually very small, extremely complicated molecular machines. A virus does not think, does not feel, does not hesitate. It just does. But without a host they can't multiply. And the mission of a virus is to go to the next host. It all starts when some virus enters your body. By inhalation, perhaps through the eyes: because a virus is a ten thousandth of a millimeter small, there is always a way in. Once there, the virus particles tumble and float through our airway. Until they bite. For this the coronavirus uses one of the petal-like protrusions that surround it and with which the virus scans its environment and which give it the name "coronavirus" (after the "crown" of spikes of the protrusions). They use these spikes to attach to the outside of human airway cells (called ACE2). Contact. That is when the virus allows your body to wrap it up in a fat vesicle, which also contains useful nutrients. As such, it gets transported into a cell of yours. There the cell begins, unsuspectingly, to unpack the package. With numerous busy hands, proteins strip the fat vesicle from the coronavirus and break open his outside. That is how its content is released; his genetic material telling the body to<b><span style="color: #444444;"> COPY ME</span></b>.</div>
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Coronaviruses are different from most other viruses due to their genetic code; their genome. The polio virus for instance contains a genome of 7,500 chemical letters; in contrast, the new coronavirus has 29,903 letters of genetic instructions. All these extra chemical letters don't make the coronavirus necessarily more dangerous than the polio virus, but it does allow the virus to have more tricks up his sleeve. The coronavirus multiplies more refined and smoothly within the cell, for instance. So, in the cells of your airways, the coronavirus begins to unroll its massive genome. Written in chemical code language, a long string of genetic material ("RNA"). Slavely, as a tool of the devil, the protein factories in your cells begin to follow the building instructions on the RNA. They create sixteen parts. These virus components then start to click together. Until a huge, complex protein complex called "replicase" is created. Those sixteen products are parts of a copy machine, and once these 16 parts find each other, they actually turn into a copy machine. Genetically the coronavirus is simply a SARS virus. First there is a big gene: <b><span style="color: #444444;">COPY ME</span></b>. Behind it comes a somewhat smaller gene, which indicates how the spike protein should be made: <b><span style="color: #444444;">HOW TO MAKE MY SPIKES</span></b>. And behind that come seven shorter genes, containing the instructions on how to make the shell of the virus and genes used to enable the virus to run its course more smoothly. Coronavirus is like SARS the 2nd (about 80% identical), but the improved version. One improvement for instance is a small gene called "ORF 8". SARS also had it, but there it was broken (29 letters had been dropped from its code). Therefore scientists at the time thought it couldn't have been a very important gene. But now with coronavirus, we see the same gene back, but now fully intact. And it turns out that this repaired (intact) gene IS very important in fact. It gives the virus a huge boost and increases the copying speed of the virus by more than twenty times. This may be part of the answer as to why the new coronavirus spreads so quickly. It seems this ORF 8 gene plays a role in avoiding the bodies defense mechanisms, and has been refined through natural mutations. </div>
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By now, in your cells, the virus has started the next phase. The virus starts blowing bubbles. A kind of foam is created in the cell, from double-walled bubbles. An essential part of the replication cycle. They are like cocoons, interconnected by a kind of web of wires. The virus is building a nest. New strands of virus RNA are starting to form in and on the cocoons, and new spike proteins are now also starting to grow. New virus parts are growing and new viruses are formed. <i>Thousands per cell</i>. Within ten to twelve hours the first viruses start to leave the cell. On their way to the next cell, instructing that cell also: <b><span style="color: #444444;">COPY ME! COPY ME! COPY ME!</span></b> Meanwhile the hijacked and used cell of our body looks like a ravaged mess, as if butchered by a kitchen blender. And everywhere there are loose spikes, idle RNA strings and discarded proteins that the virus has left behind. That is not all, because spikes also stick to the outside of the cell. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>As a result, cells start to stick together, food molecules and signal substances can no longer pass and entire tissues become diseased.</b></span> Until the cell self-inflates, or is broken down by immune cells or gets eaten by a passing by bacterium. You cough and as a result the bacteria, the waste ánd the healthy virus particles fly around in the air. Ready to infect the next person.</div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b>This is now the third time this has happened recently, this century, after SARS (in 2002-2003) and MERS (2012-2013) epidemics.</b></span><b><span style="color: #444444;"> Every now and then we are punished for our carelessness when it comes to disturbing the balance in nature. Then the virus takes its chance. That won't happen just any day. But if you give him a million times the chance, it should work at some point. As it now stands, some antiviral medication and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=591649821435117">these meds</a> may help patients with Covid19. </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Germans try to approach </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>the matter with humor:</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Spanish flu</b></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A fascinating docu on the Spanish Flu; the big epidemic killing up to 50 to a 100 million people<br />between 1918 - 1920, of which the majority were young and previously healthy people. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ZAgoK-Hp9rFW43kLiYrGiPhCSAtqn-WBzA8FbjdkcuCuD3iyP_QXb_XWb3JtTE_53YjKx49yczykjQQtf2x8poCSlGB_sUtlPTV-Z8K5hMW-fHwiiKvfwAzVEmgGeJlZlpbz_hOghYhW/s1600/file-20200310-61113-6wtz74.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ZAgoK-Hp9rFW43kLiYrGiPhCSAtqn-WBzA8FbjdkcuCuD3iyP_QXb_XWb3JtTE_53YjKx49yczykjQQtf2x8poCSlGB_sUtlPTV-Z8K5hMW-fHwiiKvfwAzVEmgGeJlZlpbz_hOghYhW/s400/file-20200310-61113-6wtz74.jpg" width="400" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">About the Spanish Flu, in comparison with the coronavirus</b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span>The Spanish flu was the cause of one of the most dramatic massacres of the 20th century. In 1918 and 1919 it killed more (young) people than the First and Second World Wars combined. The numbers are very rough estimates: between 20 and 100 million, with modern day scientists leaning more to the highest number. The world wars claimed 17 million and 60 million lives respectively. The Spanish flu came in three waves. The first developed in the spring of 1918. Most deaths occurred during the second wave, in the autumn, between mid-September and mid-December 1918, just before and after the end of the trench warfare (WW1). A third wave in 1920 claimed relatively few casualties. We can largely reduce the hereditary material of the Spanish flu virus to viruses that occur in animals. The virus probably came to humans through birds and pigs at the time. Epidemics that have emerged in recent decades - ebola, zika, sars, mers - also all had their origins in the animal world. Now with the coronavirus, the same thing happens, as coronavirus probably comes from bats. It first erupted in Wuhan. China, where people eat bats, as well as snakes, badgers and exotic animals. This way, the virus can spread from animals to humans. In the case of the feared Spanish flu, the epidemic died down two years after the virus emerged. The virus disappeared when immunity had developed among the population. It was found in the lung tissue of frozen bodies in the ice of Alaska in the 1990's. That made it possible to crack the genetic code of the virus. In 2005 American scientists brought the virus to life for research. They identified it as influenza A, subtype H1N1. Animals that have been tested and were given this virus, died quickly, with the same symptoms as humans at the time. The virus now lives on in a highly guarded biological laboratory.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8TrulbIfYV_DP3yThy0BxRAipAxoyR33KOIHQBeJX9XN-WfIwnFFwG987VsqkHsvf9U5elSxE9QFWQBa4kX48FxbWilfjTucrcSjQA4zOT4F5JJxEx04KsZXZZRoT42CW5aRxRO6QuVAo/s1600/Ideas-spanishflu-613476154-2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8TrulbIfYV_DP3yThy0BxRAipAxoyR33KOIHQBeJX9XN-WfIwnFFwG987VsqkHsvf9U5elSxE9QFWQBa4kX48FxbWilfjTucrcSjQA4zOT4F5JJxEx04KsZXZZRoT42CW5aRxRO6QuVAo/s320/Ideas-spanishflu-613476154-2.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4_Ivvgs1t_e60CXBFUPDr2tRDSDzyUmOKdlYji-WOPubWnV_W1ofmJHUftddFH0rXcsi2cR3gJqN_WotI1t8c-yoPO6xeQbO0fv4CePrcjvCxifFwKegBYd_LCXptV2Jptfqoq82_qGJ/s1600/im-161353.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="620" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4_Ivvgs1t_e60CXBFUPDr2tRDSDzyUmOKdlYji-WOPubWnV_W1ofmJHUftddFH0rXcsi2cR3gJqN_WotI1t8c-yoPO6xeQbO0fv4CePrcjvCxifFwKegBYd_LCXptV2Jptfqoq82_qGJ/s320/im-161353.jpg" width="320" /></a>The Spanish flu virus is fundamentally different from the corona virus. The influenza virus can undergo much more genetic changes in a short time than the coronavirus. Influenza viruses are a champion in metamorphosis. They have a larger bag of tricks. They mutate. Coronaviruses do the same, but influenza viruses also have the ability to exchange gene segments. If you get two viruses from two infected animals or humans, chances are that segments of one virus will be shuffled with segments of the other virus. For example, an influenza virus can not only mutate quickly, but can also exchange genetic material and become more dangerous as a result. Many patients who received the Spanish flu died quickly and miserably. Many died within 24 hours of the first symptoms. People who were fine one day were dead in bed the next. The virus directly affected the lungs. It caused an infection that caused the alveoli (small air sacks in the lungs) to leak. Leaks occur in the lungs, causing the lungs to fill up with blood. Then you can no longer get oxygen. People turned blue. You are drowning, as it were. The Spanish flu virus also led to more serious complications than previous flu viruses. Many additional bacterial infections were fatal. This was in a time where penicillin hadn't been discovered yet. Or someone's lungs were damaged so badly with scar tissue, that breathing became impossible. In addition, the virus could cause a total dysregulation of the immune system (called a 'cytokine storm'), resulting in fatal kidney- or liver failure. Unlike the corona epidemic, relatively high numbers of young people succumbed to Spanish flu. Most deaths from the coronavirus so far are the elderly or those weakened by other diseases. A striking number of people between the ages of 15 and 30 died with the Spanish flu. That was because people in this age group had built up little or no immunity to the virus. The elderly were likely to have a greater resistance because they had been in contact with previously circulating influenza viruses more often. And many survivors of the Spanish Flu had mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia. Even children who had been subjected to Spanish flu in the womb had more health problems later on. They were a weakened generation. Luckily science has evolved since. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, the first drug that could protect humans from deadly bacteria. Virology, the study of viruses, has established itself as a serious discipline, the first flu vaccines have since become available. Now scientists are working on a vaccine and treatment for the coronavirus. </div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b>My own great-grandparents (my grandfathers family) had 16 children of which they lost 6 to the Spanish flu! Here they are pictured with their 10 surviving kids. </b></span></div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Song of the day</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNa51m9idKF5LxPPmu4hZlGWFpyBRr3nYm8qhK6Y-c7U1HDLBJbAzZ7kKKjYuvT6T5hnt5lT6qnMIzztHhh_5ktFY0qHC93QEVMLKa6mqPWdjpqH6VkzVym34MkqsZ8kGa8iXXestk6p3a/s1600/25521720-8073501-image-a-32_1583324911340.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="634" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNa51m9idKF5LxPPmu4hZlGWFpyBRr3nYm8qhK6Y-c7U1HDLBJbAzZ7kKKjYuvT6T5hnt5lT6qnMIzztHhh_5ktFY0qHC93QEVMLKa6mqPWdjpqH6VkzVym34MkqsZ8kGa8iXXestk6p3a/s320/25521720-8073501-image-a-32_1583324911340.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK9BlrzZ16euMaQfFDUiaL9FEJDUgCuGst0z8sBA211muyEuIZ3MRYswPFhnrXrHKniMOkqNBoYrhhkUK_z-i10vhb1o_HMJNH7lq1yp3IQ9E5VdvfUT4S1GIvbz0DOL93lvfaXdE4LPaO/s1600/download+%25283%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK9BlrzZ16euMaQfFDUiaL9FEJDUgCuGst0z8sBA211muyEuIZ3MRYswPFhnrXrHKniMOkqNBoYrhhkUK_z-i10vhb1o_HMJNH7lq1yp3IQ9E5VdvfUT4S1GIvbz0DOL93lvfaXdE4LPaO/s320/download+%25283%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">March 5th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b></div>
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I am a bit worried about the coronavirus (Covid19) to be honest :( Seems that some people are, while others do not personally worry and highlight that A. there is still a small chance you catch it and B. it won't likely kill people my age or younger. But the infection numbers are shooting up in Holland too. Started with 1 case, then 3, now 82 with numbers having doubled every day for the past days. Germany has 350 cases, within one week, and France has nearly 300 cases. It is frightening to me how very fast and easy it can spread. Over here in Europe many cases stem from one 'patient zero' who had contact with a friend who had just returned from China and got infected there. He didn't know that of course at the time, but this Italian patient zero did get sick. Went to his Italian GP doctor three times, and got sent home with anti flu medication every time without being tested for coronavirus. And thus infected a dozen or so friends and family members. By the time he did get tested, it had spread around already and now there are nearly 3100 cases in Italy (107 deaths) and most other European cases can all be led back to northern Italy. Before they started to infect their inner circles in these other parts of Europe, that is. So people who were on holiday in northern Italy, hundreds of them got infected. I do wonder how exactly, because they wouldn't have kissed or even shaken hands with the local Italian infects. It must be through coughing or touching infected surfaces or door handles and then touching your face or mouth or nose or eyes. But just shows how super infectious this virus is. And in the Netherlands one of the very first patients had been treated in a Dutch hospital for a week already (!) for severe unresponsive pneumonia, and not once did any doctor there think about or decide to test the patient on the coronavirus. Why not? Because the Dutch state "protocol" didn't tell them to do so. Shocking.. A protocol dictates the bare minimum of what is needed; it does not prevent specialists to test people when they have a suspicion. What does it cost to do a quick test? Makes me angry, why specialists and hospitals are such slaves to the protocol. Even in their official statement they kept hammering on about the protocol. <i>"Yes but we have followed the protocol, and according to protocol, we decided against, in accordance with the protocol yadayadablabla"</i>. It's like hearing a lawyer talking. All about accountability and passing responsibility to Big Brother. In the meantime that patient had to be transferred to the intensive care and had contaminated other hospital workers. There is a bit of hysteria in the media here but then again, this virus is at least 3 times more contagious and deadly than the flu, which also kills a lot of people annually. I read it are mainly the older people above 50 or 60 who are at risk of dying from this, or people with immune disorders. Age-wise I am not a risk group of course but I do have auto-immune diseases and am generally 'sickly', as they would have called it in the Victorian times. But even if you don't die from it, this whole Corona illness must be very painful when you go through the motions of it, I read. With high fever also and aches and pneumonia. My worst nightmare, aside from actually dying of it, must be to get forcefully locked up and isolated in a hot hospital with no possibility to open a window or have the aircon on, I really want to avoid this thing. Deadly or not. But I have to use public transport a lot in the next week. May just wear gloves and wrap a scarf around my mouth and nose. Oh and not to make light of this serious virus, but sometimes you also need a smile about things, added are some very creative and inventive ways people try to protect themselves. I read that unless you have a top notch gas mask on, or one with side boxes like the professionals wear, none of these masks protect you, because the virus is a thousand times smaller as a particle than a bacteria and also passes through surgical masks or anything really that allows you to have airflow in still. Just have to say: great idea, using a plastic bag over your head to stop coronavirus..... What could possibly go wrong :) More people will die of suffocation than the actual virus.<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWiV5Ze_KMAB3OuljdrWPToOu5wUVYClW-6UNkFVwuLI_o3ut9LM7BHEd57TGmJfcSEwJb73_g8_zrjJJHwJaywk6a305ZtM6ckjJK_rcrnqjGT8r0f-v2u0OVZA8kjuWoeGSc_iG4-v79/s1600/25526132-8073501-Another_simply_popped_a_plastic_shopping_bag_over_their_head_and-a-47_1583325275756.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="306" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWiV5Ze_KMAB3OuljdrWPToOu5wUVYClW-6UNkFVwuLI_o3ut9LM7BHEd57TGmJfcSEwJb73_g8_zrjJJHwJaywk6a305ZtM6ckjJK_rcrnqjGT8r0f-v2u0OVZA8kjuWoeGSc_iG4-v79/w230-h434/25526132-8073501-Another_simply_popped_a_plastic_shopping_bag_over_their_head_and-a-47_1583325275756.jpg" width="230" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH-gwBbrrN5WufmN5epxImN3W1WE7mV6yIGtyKiiacit-nF2pEfL8Q9qPTPbewyPCxbE1EcPX1KBbyKf9pzONRzNV-fZIRk50tOasQ1Tl_mS9gUOd1j_iAAzDb5kQh745Igcdz-zqOtWkL/s1600/25528428-8073501-Extreme_measures_One_London_passenger_got_creative_by_hiding_und-m-63_1583329758988+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1101" data-original-width="634" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH-gwBbrrN5WufmN5epxImN3W1WE7mV6yIGtyKiiacit-nF2pEfL8Q9qPTPbewyPCxbE1EcPX1KBbyKf9pzONRzNV-fZIRk50tOasQ1Tl_mS9gUOd1j_iAAzDb5kQh745Igcdz-zqOtWkL/s400/25528428-8073501-Extreme_measures_One_London_passenger_got_creative_by_hiding_und-m-63_1583329758988+%25281%2529.jpg" width="230" /></a>In many countries outside of China, the numbers of infected cases are still fairly low, but people are already hoarding. Shops empty etc. Just in case this virus balloons and explodes. I hope they can isolate all infected people and prevent spreading, but our economy and globalized society makes it super easy for viruses like these to spread. And I know people who still board planes to holiday in Italy, as we speak, despite the Dutch government having decreed that only in absolutely urgent cases should people travel to North Italy at the moment. On the other hand, viruses attack mostly every winter, and usually we end up just fine. This coronavirus is only deadly to a small percentage of patients, up to 4% I just read, which mostly involves elderly or people with weak health. I can understand that some people (looking at things from a global point of view, not an interpersonal one) that with world population of 7.7 billion, the Earth needs Nature to act up now and then with a pandemic or epidemic virus or diseases here or there. Spanish flu, Black Plague; weed out the weakest and the old. Although the Spanish flu had a preference for young, otherwise healthy people with very strong immune systems... Nearly all of its victims were under 65 years old and half of them between 20 and 40. Quite cruel to wipe out between 17 and 50 or even 100 million of the strongest people of that time. The rest of the strong men probably died in the trenches of WW1 back then.. Nevertheless: Nature as the ultimate equalizer, ensuring all things return to balance, be it via viruses, droughts, tsunamis, an asteroid, or Darwin Awards. Nature has eliminated the weakest of species throughout history, but now (luckily) we have modern medicine to keep people alive much longer. It's a tombola lottery anyway, where you are born and with what genetics and whether you are born 'sickly' or not. But it makes - evolutionary - sense that the 80+ patients appear to have the highest chance of dying from this coronavirus. Must also say that I am a bit upset with the footage of those life food markets in China, Wuhan in this case, and the way eating exotic animals like snakes, or bats, has transmitted this virus to humans, as it is stated now at least. I understand people used to be very poor in rural China and ate whatever they could, and some will still be poor, but these days there is enough food available, there are McDonalds everywhere too, I mean these days those live animal markets are not because people have no money or chance to eat anything else. I really hope the Chinese government stops those markets right away and bans exotic animals from eaten, sometimes while still alive. Badgers, bats, snakes, even koala's are traded there I saw on footage and of course they eat dogs and cats, who are first tortured often. I couldn't sleep after seeing photos of that, best to never watch such things, it's really sad and angering. Surely now this virus has hit globally and also affects the economy the way it does, China will force through changes I hope. I mean, again one such a virus is coming from China and can be led back to their wild animal eating habits, same story and reasons with the SARS virus in the recent past. Can't continue to happen, companies are going bust here as we speak, events are all cancelled, thousands and thousands of people died, the global economy is affected (that's usually when world leaders start to take things seriously). Hopefully changes will happen in China and it will be forbidden to trade and eat exotic wild animals on their food markets very soon from now.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSR_8ZNLGkhNmoSvMoc4cG5fGc8peqbzxsMejCrZxhwaBnuNzBx8dTjBMTrEqF0u90dOdlK7gZOQL9GP-SpRs0MBKxRj3DC-q0tj5dAlc26ttJo_QZb2J32zeJ-qRArSHmt3rWfYbWdurC/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="244" data-original-width="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSR_8ZNLGkhNmoSvMoc4cG5fGc8peqbzxsMejCrZxhwaBnuNzBx8dTjBMTrEqF0u90dOdlK7gZOQL9GP-SpRs0MBKxRj3DC-q0tj5dAlc26ttJo_QZb2J32zeJ-qRArSHmt3rWfYbWdurC/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">Otherwise I've been feeling a bit low</span></b>, my skin is red and burning a lot, and am getting tired of leading the same sort of life day in day out. I read about people who were extremely upset and struggling with the doctor-imposed 2 weeks of quarantine (even though <b><a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30566-3/fulltext#back-bib33">recent research</a></b> shows that the virus can live in patients for 5 weeks; 2.5 times as long as the mandatory two-week isolation period required by most healthcare experts). Where they had to stay in their house for 14 days without being allowed to leave it or invite other people over. And some people are struggling and trying to break out their houses anyway, because they cannot keep the self isolation up. I can be 'self isolated' due to the sore rosacea for months, years.. (Same for you I think?) Do see people of course but not every day, sometimes there are weeks of just not doing anything else but the daily chores and work and certainly no parties or social gatherings or anything like that. Just interesting to know that it is for some people a super hard thing to achieve; not mingling with the rest of the world. Ok some more creative photos. I would do the same if I were living in Wuhan!! Don't mind the 'normal' people eyeing you up, just do your thing :) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj04NLcSlkPzrF-GdTNKPZSoc-j1CHDGoegh1YRkulKgE8INeANJIyKycY1HPPwOyrDDDgTG0J83yrkLDxpkmwKw8JQ3qp5I23q4QFqI_qdhCpp3v6JXs9m4zLQLBZTg2BWE1LR6k7wJ2-s/s1600/download+%25284%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="177" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj04NLcSlkPzrF-GdTNKPZSoc-j1CHDGoegh1YRkulKgE8INeANJIyKycY1HPPwOyrDDDgTG0J83yrkLDxpkmwKw8JQ3qp5I23q4QFqI_qdhCpp3v6JXs9m4zLQLBZTg2BWE1LR6k7wJ2-s/s320/download+%25284%2529.jpg" width="199" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">By coincidence I also last month read The Plague (1947), a book by Albert Camus.</span></b> Interesting and details the spread of the plague infection in a fictional place somewhere at the middle of the 20th century. It is a detailed novel slash thesis on the plague, also called the <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death">Black Death</a></b>, and details what it is like to go through one, and what an epidemic also does to everyday life. How rulers try (and usually fail) to contain it. In real life, the plague wiped out up to 200 million people in Europe and Asia in the past, and is estimated to have killed 30% to 60% of Europe's population in the 14th century. I really liked the book, although it wasn't a traditional novel with traditional protagonists and story line. But well written and interesting topic. In real life Camus was a charismatic man. Died in a car crash at a relatively young age. At that time he was married but also had a long standing extramarital affair with a beautiful feisty actress. Half Spanish lady. And they had been writing for many years, corresponding. Love letters, every day letters. The old penpalling, as I love to do too. And as often is the case, their correspondence had gone through a lull at some point; the high from receiving post had worn off and fizzled out a bit. But they loved each other dearly. But the disappointments about not being physically together had taken over. And just the day before he died, Camus had written her that he had made a decision and that they would meet again that week or very soon from then, and that they would rekindle their romance again and move on together. That he loved her. But Camus was still married with his wife and after returning from a holiday with her in the days leading up to his planned rendez-vous with the actress he loved, he planned to go back to Paris by train. He always traveled by train because he had a fear of cars and car accidents. But this time he accepted the offer of his publisher to drive along with him in his car, instead of with his wife and kids by train. One of the few times he accepted to be driven in a car. And the car crashed against a tree.... Camus sat in the passenger seat, not wearing a seat belt, and died instantly. They found his unused train ticket still in the pocket of his coat when they searched his body.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiehUH67OVuSQOTKxCm4y4rcJ6TWdB8lWQdfm6wOzdGcEkzT99mxjf6c3fKRx81jKs7LqCStA_RJepyyRKFvlZdx8CvIgKDTXS7h6tYO8R4V2sF4KQ-FP-zboY6MPhr8HBahlvW1Xy4IPM0/s1600/images.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiehUH67OVuSQOTKxCm4y4rcJ6TWdB8lWQdfm6wOzdGcEkzT99mxjf6c3fKRx81jKs7LqCStA_RJepyyRKFvlZdx8CvIgKDTXS7h6tYO8R4V2sF4KQ-FP-zboY6MPhr8HBahlvW1Xy4IPM0/s400/images.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">I selected some parts of The Plague, which I liked. Will add a few passages here. Here Camus describes the psychological effects once the town was isolated from the rest of the world, and also some scenes which we also see right now taking place in a city like Wuhan: </span></b><br />
"From now on, it can be said that plague was the concern of all of us. Hitherto, surprised as he may have been by the strange things happening around him, each individual citizen had gone about his business as usual, so far as this was possible. And no doubt he would have continued doing so. But once the town gates were shut, every one of us realized that all, the narrator included, were, so to speak, in the same boat, and each would have to adapt himself to the new conditions of life. Thus, for example, a feeling normally as individual as the ache of separation from those one loves suddenly became a feeling in which all shared alike and, together with fear, the greatest affliction of the long period of exile that lay ahead. One of the most striking consequences of the closing of the gates was, in fact, this sudden deprivation befalling people who were completely unprepared for it. Mothers and children, lovers, husbands and wives, who had a few days previously taken it for granted that their parting would be a short one, who had kissed one another good-by on the platform and exchanged a few trivial remarks, sure as they were of seeing one another again after a few days or, at most, a few weeks, duped by our blind human faith in the near future and little if at all diverted from their normal interests by this leave- taking, all these people found themselves, without the least warning, hopelessly cut off, prevented from seeing one another again, or even communicating with one another. For actually the closing of the gates took place some hours before the official order was made known to the public, and, naturally enough, it was impossible to take individual cases of hardship into account. It might indeed be said that the first effect of this brutal visitation was to compel our townspeople to act as if they had no feelings as individuals. During the first part of the day on which the prohibition to leave the town came into force the Prefect's office was besieged by a crowd of applicants advancing pleas of equal cogency but equally impossible to take into consideration. Indeed, it needed several days for us to realize that we were completely cornered; that words like "special arrangements," "favor," and "priority" had lost all effective meaning. Even the small satisfaction of writing letters was denied us. It came to this: not only had the town ceased to be in touch with the rest of the world by normal means of communication, but also, according to a second notification, all correspondence was forbidden, to obviate the risk of letters carrying infection outside the town. In the early days a favored few managed to persuade the sentries at the gates to allow them to get messages through to the outside world. But that was only at the beginning of the epidemic, when the sentries found it natural to obey their feelings of humanity. [..] At first, telephone calls to other towns were allowed, but this led to such crowding of the telephone booths and delays on the lines that for some days they also were prohibited, and thereafter limited to what were called "urgent cases," such as deaths, marriages, and births. So we had to fall back on telegrams. And since, in practice, the phrases one can use in a telegram are quickly exhausted, long lives passed side by side, or passionate yearnings, soon declined to the exchange of such trite formulas as: "Am well. Always thinking of you. Love."<br />
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[..] Also, after some days, when it was clear that no one had the least hope of being able to leave our town, inquiries began to be made whether the return of people who had gone away before the outbreak would be permitted. After some days' consideration of the matter the authorities replied affirmatively. They pointed out, however, that in no case would persons who returned be allowed to leave the town again; once here, they would have to stay, whatever happened. Some families, actually very few, refused to take the position seriously and in their eagerness to have the absent members of the family with them again, cast prudence to the winds and wired to them to take this opportunity of returning. But very soon those who were prisoners of the plague realized the terrible danger to which this would expose their relatives, and sadly resigned themselves to their absence. [..] For most people it was obvious that the separation must last until the end of the epidemic. And for every one of us the ruling emotion of his life, which he had imagined he knew through and through (the people of Oran, as has been said, have simple passions), took on a new aspect. Husbands who had had complete faith in their wives found, to their surprise, that they were jealous; and lovers had the same experience. Men who had pictured themselves as Don Juans became models of fidelity. Sons who had lived beside their mothers hardly giving them a glance fell to picturing with poignant regret each wrinkle in the absent face that memory cast upon the screen. This drastic, clean-cut deprivation and our complete ignorance of what the future held in store had taken us unawares; we were unable to react against the mute appeal of presences, still so near and already so far, which haunted us daylong. In fact, our suffering was twofold; our own to start with, and then the imagined suffering of the absent one, son, mother, wife, or mistress. Under other circumstances our townsfolk would probably have found an outlet in increased activity, a more sociable life. But the plague forced inactivity on them, limiting their movements to the same dull round inside the town, and throwing them, day after day, on the illusive solace of their memories. For in their aimless walks they kept on coming back to the same streets and usually, owing to the smallness of the town, these were streets in which, in happier days, they had walked with those who now were absent. Thus the first thing that plague brought to our town was exile. It was undoubtedly the feeling of exile, that sensation of a void within which never left us, that irrational longing to hark back to the past or else to speed up the march of time, and those keen shafts of memory that stung like fire. [..] In short, we returned to our prison-house, we had nothing left us but the past, and even if some were tempted to live in the future, they had speedily to abandon the idea anyhow, as soon as could be, once they felt the wounds that the imagination inflicts on those who yield themselves to it."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">People were trying to figure out the probable duration of their exile. Then the next torture came; if people had set their minds at an exile of 6 months maximum, then some friend would bring in an article in a newspaper, a vague suspicion, or a flash of foresight that would suggest that, after all, there was no reason why the epidemic shouldn't last <i>more</i> than six months; why not a year, or even more?</span></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC9mUXH7q4ikF8-RlGI8GbtYdwgsjjO5syGKWNiMHM8a-fk-ubVsj8duaFUTk-5DkCsCXQX8BaqcYVqUM3qj3tIv0QY8U8a3xBDLTAoDUxQC9CKP-9lv1QQVnoAXYMhBq3SQ-bxjt7gndw/s1600/Camus.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC9mUXH7q4ikF8-RlGI8GbtYdwgsjjO5syGKWNiMHM8a-fk-ubVsj8duaFUTk-5DkCsCXQX8BaqcYVqUM3qj3tIv0QY8U8a3xBDLTAoDUxQC9CKP-9lv1QQVnoAXYMhBq3SQ-bxjt7gndw/s320/Camus.jpg" width="309" /></a>"At such moments the collapse of their courage, willpower, and endurance was so abrupt that they felt they could never drag themselves out of the pit of despond into which they had fallen. Therefore they forced themselves never to think about the problematic day of escape, to cease looking to the future, and always to keep, so to speak, their eyes fixed on the ground at their feet. But, naturally enough, this prudence, this habit of feinting with their predicament and refusing to put up a fight, was ill rewarded. For, while averting that revulsion which they found so unbearable, they also deprived themselves of those redeeming moments, frequent enough when all is told, when by conjuring up pictures of a reunion to be, they could forget about the plague. Thus, in a middle course between these heights and depths, they drifted through life rather than lived, the prey of aimless days and sterile memories, like wandering shadows that could have acquired substance only by consenting to root themselves in the solid earth of their distress. Thus, too, they came to know the incorrigible sorrow of all prisoners and exiles, which is to live in company with a memory that serves no purpose. Even the past, of which they thought incessantly, had a savor only of regret. For they would have wished to add to it all that they regretted having left undone, while they might yet have done it, with the man or woman whose return they now awaited; just as in all the activities, even the relatively happy ones, of their life as prisoners they kept vainly trying to include the absent one. And thus there was always something missing in their lives. Hostile to the past, impatient of the present, and cheated of the future, we were much like those whom men's justice, or hatred, forces to live behind prison bars. Thus the only way of escaping from that intolerable leisure was to set the trains running again in one's imagination and in filling the silence with the fancied tinkle of a doorbell, in practice obstinately mute. [..] And, in these conditions, it was rare for them not to detect their own shortcomings. [..] In normal times all of us know, whether consciously or not, that there is no love which can't be bettered; nevertheless, we reconcile ourselves more or less easily to the fact that ours has never risen above the average. But memory is less disposed to compromise. And, in a very definite way, this misfortune which had come from outside and befallen a whole town did more than inflict on us an unmerited distress with which we might well be indignant. It also incited us to create our own suffering and thus to accept frustration as a natural state. This was one of the tricks the pestilence had of diverting attention and confounding issues."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: 700;"><b style="color: #990000;">I have continued writing my day<br />to day life updates in </b><b style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/10/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-xvi.html" target="_blank">this blogpost</a>. <br />Or read older updates <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/03/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-xii.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</b></div><div style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: 700;"><b style="color: #990000;"><br /></b></div><div style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/s1600/0%252C2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/w435-h435/0%252C2.jpg" width="435" /></a></div></div></div>
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<br /></div></div></div></div>Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-29949701658583948222019-10-14T10:59:00.009-07:002021-09-16T14:20:25.952-07:00Flushing due to progesterone (autoimmune progesterone dermatitis); a personal success story<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqnHVkz2hwdJ-xwzEisutUvgf3gwTsTNfX4Oct6EmrXH_D8XH4P3YbRqCRd4Zi3747-o1bETnkdkoDNpTfVouX-pyMr_4Ht9I_KIznDCjKs0ACh9jVERp2gfhOIwaotXqT8J0N4YncmZG/s1600/source.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqnHVkz2hwdJ-xwzEisutUvgf3gwTsTNfX4Oct6EmrXH_D8XH4P3YbRqCRd4Zi3747-o1bETnkdkoDNpTfVouX-pyMr_4Ht9I_KIznDCjKs0ACh9jVERp2gfhOIwaotXqT8J0N4YncmZG/s400/source.gif" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: 21px;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>'Veda' first contacted me a year ago about her severe face flushing flares*. She explained how she had been dealing with rosacea for two years at that point, and to which extend she </b></span></span><b style="color: #b45f06; text-align: left;">had to accommodate her life to this awful condition. How she took clonidine with some success, but noticed over time that her severe flushing mainly happened in the 7 to 10 days before her period. After seeing a good doctor and after several years of suffering, Veda found out that her facial flushing and burning were triggered by progesterone hormones in her system. After she had an hysterectomy and her ovaries no longer produce progesterone.. her flushing has as good as stopped. She was diagnosed in the end with a rare condition called autoimmune progesterone dermatitis. Below she will tell her own story. Rare as the condition may be, we hope that this will perhaps help some women who may flush, flare and burn for the same reasons as Veda did. </b><br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9rcWTuzZG_jzLbabZlCaHjzOVCj8bGBPMbOMwBCt2ZDRM7l6qUg2UWZv9iA1cv7sT1x-uqyxWcGAVP2lyznviOvsVYN6scsjRAfuKRpShjq19jOYbI14C3bxdQMxb1MfdE3v5802imHpX/s1600/d32f24629500efc00150dcfc81638f38.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="501" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9rcWTuzZG_jzLbabZlCaHjzOVCj8bGBPMbOMwBCt2ZDRM7l6qUg2UWZv9iA1cv7sT1x-uqyxWcGAVP2lyznviOvsVYN6scsjRAfuKRpShjq19jOYbI14C3bxdQMxb1MfdE3v5802imHpX/s400/d32f24629500efc00150dcfc81638f38.jpg" width="302" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 21px;">My Health Journey </span></b><br />
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<i>"In October of 2016 at the age of 46, I suddenly, out of nowhere, received a large red welt on my left cheek. I went to my GP a few days later and she asked me if I ever had chicken pox because she thought it was shingles. After receiving some medication, she also suggested I check in with my dermatologist. The derm said it wasn’t shingles, it was contact dermatitis in which she prescribed hydrocortisone. Although that burned, after a few days it took the swelling and inflammation down some. Over the next several months I had bouts of this inflamed “contact dermatitis” in the same location and kept visiting the derm who suggested I have a biopsy. In March of 2017 I finally broke down and had it done. The results came back as rosacea. I was given soolantra, metrogel and oracea, none of which helped (in fact made it worse). I was confused as how I suddenly developed this condition after all the years of not having any sort of signs. In May of 2017, it spread to my right cheek. I thought maybe I needed a second opinion so I saw another derm 100 miles away. She suggested VBeam Laser. I saw some improvement at first, however I continued to flare and it began to spread to my chin, nose and forehead (not all at once though). In addition, I was waking up every night with red, burning, painful skin. I would be up for hours and not get any sort of decent sleep. By the morning it would be better. Over time the bouts got worse, I was out of work for days not only with red inflamed skin but I also had GI issues and body aches (I felt like I had the flu) and then it would just go away. The redness and burning feeling also spread to my eyes. At this point I stopped wearing any kind of face makeup which I have been wearing for 30 years! I began having panic attacks and bouts of depression. I tried to “fix” this by changing my diet and skin care products and I avoided any potential triggers. I also began seeing an acupuncturist and natural doctors who told me it was my liver or candida etc. I took the supplements they suggested and nothing changed, in fact it got worse. Physically and mentally I was a wreck. I couldn’t go anywhere or see anybody and I was still having panic attacks. I think my biggest fear was having a terrible flush while out. My GP gave me every kind of test known to man but I was “normal”. I almost wanted something wrong with me so I knew where this condition came from. The person who was once very confident, was now a mental “mess” and a secluded hermit.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5AbBymqXhpmx_wOlczrCRhp0SP-HZPm2A5nfcLQEWkqK02JTwWrDXWhFrNDuMv5JJKjRd0AK9avnIZ5at7323VlKqS6XxoHQ5bZl0vZs7nLRZ9SQqUNFgzdRjZzlcqvDgvCCJWzg-sFnz/s1600/giphy+%25282%2529.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5AbBymqXhpmx_wOlczrCRhp0SP-HZPm2A5nfcLQEWkqK02JTwWrDXWhFrNDuMv5JJKjRd0AK9avnIZ5at7323VlKqS6XxoHQ5bZl0vZs7nLRZ9SQqUNFgzdRjZzlcqvDgvCCJWzg-sFnz/s320/giphy+%25282%2529.gif" width="292" /></a><i>I went back to my GP who put me on Zoloft and propranolol. He also suggested I see a psychologist. I tried these avenues, as well as other medications but my situation was getting much worse. At this point, I stopped taking the birth control pill that I have taken for years to see if that would have any affect. All my doctors including my gynecologist said it couldn’t be that but I wanted to try. To my astonishment I wasn’t flushing at night anymore. I was thrilled! I thought I found the answer! However after a few months (once my body got back into a natural cycle), I began flushing terribly every 3 weeks. This time, it kept me out of work for weeks each time. It also continued with the GI issues and body aches. Now when I flared, my face felt like someone poured acid on it. That is how painful it was. I went back to my GP who suggested I see specialists as my condition seemed that it was not in the normal range for rosacea. I saw several specialists and each one said they are sure it was an underlying auto-immune disease but they weren’t sure what is was. I started keeping track of my cycles at this point. I found that my condition worsened 3 weeks into my cycle. I made an appointment with a new gynecologist who ordered hormone testing. Of course I went on a day when I looked and felt pretty good. The results were normal. Again I slumped into depression but I tried so hard not to give up. I decided to have another hormone test done but during a flare up. So I waited and like clock work I had a started flaring 3 weeks into my cycle. I went for a second test and I remember the nurse asking “why are you so red”. Ugh I thought, I just want to get out of here. But I had the test done and a few days later the results showed that my progesterone was high which means I was ovulating. I did some research and found a condition called <b><span style="color: #444444;">“auto-immune progesterone dermatitis”</span></b>. It is very rare and those who had it seemed to have similar skin conditions. Issues begin in the second half of their cycle. So I met with my gynecologist again and we spoke about options. There are medications out there that could help suppress ovulation but my insurance wouldn’t cover them. I did try the cheapest one I could afford which was $150 a month. Unfortunately it didn’t work and again I was severely depressed. I met with my doctor and spoke about a more extreme approach which was having a total hysterectomy. And because he would also be taking my ovaries I would most likely need estrogen. I am only 48 years old and most people would have needed time to think about this major decision. But since I was constantly in so much pain it was a no brainer. I scheduled my surgery for May 10, 2019. </i><i>The surgery went very well and the outcome was a success. I have not flared in 15 weeks and counting! My skin is slowing healing and getting back to being semi-normal. I am feeling better and getting back into doing some of the things I used to do including going on vacation (we haven’t gone in 3 years). This has been an extremely hard struggle but I am sharing my story because I want to help other woman."</i><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Veda during flushing flare ups </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEL26L6mio5e7iCaZWTHiTbg9YuI4ILl1YkX5nPbWF1eBURHTMnTXNEVWo9dmxizNeLihvX5swBgLbJZUpDnURX_wMUZxScsNI474-nJz4FvEw76t-ioi_Ae7PwLMdwFG-B0RL-cS8jqA/s1600/6b4da0b5703c4b68a6882a8987d1ec0f.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="563" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEL26L6mio5e7iCaZWTHiTbg9YuI4ILl1YkX5nPbWF1eBURHTMnTXNEVWo9dmxizNeLihvX5swBgLbJZUpDnURX_wMUZxScsNI474-nJz4FvEw76t-ioi_Ae7PwLMdwFG-B0RL-cS8jqA/s400/6b4da0b5703c4b68a6882a8987d1ec0f.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">What is Autoimmune Progesterone Dermatitis</span></b><br />
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Autoimmune progesterone dermatitis is a rare allergic reaction to a woman's own progesterone hormones. These hormones are created in the female body in the last week(s) before menstruation starts. So during the second half of the menstrual cycle. This period is called the luteal phase. So us women go through this every month again and again. Women who suffer from this condition show a variety of symptoms and conditions as a result, including <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/erythema-multiforme/"><b>erythema multiforme</b></a>, <a href="https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/guide/atopic-dermatitis-eczema"><b>eczema</b></a>, <b><a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/157260.php">urticaria</a>, <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/angioedema">angioedema</a></b>, and progesterone-induced <a href="https://www.webmd.com/allergies/anaphylaxis"><b>anaphylaxis</b></a>. Other symptoms can be deep <a href="https://www.aafp.org/afp/2013/0401/p513.html"><b>gyrate lesions</b></a>, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Papulovesicular-skin-lesions_fig1_283760823"><b>papulovesicular lesions</b></a>, <a href="https://www.dermnetnz.org/topics/target-and-targetoid-lesions/"><b>targetoid lesions</b></a>. Symptoms usually occur three to ten days prior to the onset of menstrual flow and resolve 2 days into the menstruation. And going by L's case, flushing and redness of the face seems also a possible symptom that falls under the umbrella term of autoimmune progesterone dermatitis. There are examples, for instance of a 38-year old woman who experienced erythema multiforme and urticarial rash every week before her period started. First she was seen by an allergy specialist and dermatologists for evaluation. Allergy testing was done and was reported negative. The patient was placed on antihistamines for treatment, which she reported did not help her symptoms. Then the patient was told her symptoms were due to stress. Later doctors started to get a better idea of what could be going on. The patient reported that during pregnancy and while breast feeding that she did not have any episodes of a rash and/or hives. The patient also stated that she was on oral contraceptives for one year at age 23 where she noticed her symptoms decreased. Now she was treated with oral contraceptive pills and the symptoms went away. Doctors concluded that hers is a typical case of progesterone autoimmunity. The diagnosis is based on cyclic nature of the dermatitis. This differentiates the condition from other allergies or systemic diseases with skin manifestations. Once she started taking the pill, she no longer ovulated as a result and therefore had a decrease in progesterone secretion. Therefore her <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6xnkzbA31a7_ziuXOY4wgoufI2phIJ8PP3YdlhjfSLaMd2qgwJ6qz_19Df8zyhX5fLpN_UGmvgtBwJbKKi9hYM5P3d7-wSFbMVypvCGOi-Bza8G_XE26GEIW8J6426YwKR6ynhLB4Nb-H/s1600/32ff9481f99011e98f44c7ff43e3fd6e.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6xnkzbA31a7_ziuXOY4wgoufI2phIJ8PP3YdlhjfSLaMd2qgwJ6qz_19Df8zyhX5fLpN_UGmvgtBwJbKKi9hYM5P3d7-wSFbMVypvCGOi-Bza8G_XE26GEIW8J6426YwKR6ynhLB4Nb-H/s320/32ff9481f99011e98f44c7ff43e3fd6e.jpg" width="220" /></a>symptoms went away. There are some disorders similar to autoimmune progesterone dermatitis. One in particular that should be considered when evaluating a patient is <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/08/facial-flushing-due-to-mastocytosis-or.html">mastocytosis</a></b>. Mastocytosis is a group of disorders characterized by excessive mast cell accumulation in one or multiple tissues. It is subdivided into two groups. One group is cutaneous mastocytosis which is limited to the skin. It can cause flushing and redness of the skin .The second group is systemic mastocytosis where mast cells infiltrate extracutaneous organs. The typical presentation for mastocytosis is pruritus, epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting, chronic diarrhea, and arthalgias. It can also present at neuropsychiatric changes such as irritability, depression, and mood liability. <span>Systemic symptoms can occur in any form but the most common is flushing</span>. The most dramatic symptom is anaphylaxis with syncope or even shock. However, the symptoms of mastocytosis are not cyclic.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">More information on auto-immune progesterone dermatitis:</span></b><br />
<a href="https://www.aarda.org/diseaselist/">https://www.aarda.org/diseaselist/</a><br />
<a href="https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/diseases-by-category/13/immune-system-diseases">https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/diseases-by-category/13/immune-system-diseases</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAFmmMCFY6XHDGKiSV2BKEjfYiMw5T32Xj3l9bZB45eIntJcnt4VYda1OQa-U9GdPSkYIikjVykLqxuGcYN1xRmkc0Lxpc90d7nRBXTzsuuzA0MSndHY8RKkq8WK2_bsbK-gaNs2hx3wT/s1600/02337c6dac7705d3c5bc89505e166cef.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="451" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAFmmMCFY6XHDGKiSV2BKEjfYiMw5T32Xj3l9bZB45eIntJcnt4VYda1OQa-U9GdPSkYIikjVykLqxuGcYN1xRmkc0Lxpc90d7nRBXTzsuuzA0MSndHY8RKkq8WK2_bsbK-gaNs2hx3wT/s400/02337c6dac7705d3c5bc89505e166cef.jpg" width="337" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Excerpts from Veda and my communication over the past year, and her slow discovery of what caused her severe face flushing and burning. Convo starts in August 2018</b></span><br />
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"Hi Scarlet<br />
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I hope you don’t mind me emailing you. I was reading your blogs and I am going through the same thing except I got this terrible condition at 45 probably due to being pre-menopausal. I literally woke up with it one day on one side of my face. It has since migrated to the rest of my face and my neck and ears. I am receiving VBeam laser treatment but don’t really know if its helping. Also my skin feels really dry and I am getting awful flushes two to four weeks afterwards. I changed my diet (low carb, no dairy etc), Got a food sensitivity test done and avoid those foods I am allergic too, no alcohol, trying acupuncture for anxiety, seeing a psychologist for anxiety, etc etc. I can’t tolerate any of the topical meds. I currently use products from the Rosacea Treatment Clinic in Australia which are expensive. I am at my wits end and I have a GP who agreed to put me on 1 mg of clonidine however he wants me to take it once a day due to having low blood pressure. [..] I am currently on Zoloft too. Also I flush mainly when I sleep (if I sleep). I get up several times to put the air conditioning up or down or off and reposition the fan etc. [..] I cannot be in heat either. Sorry so long and I have so much to ask you but I won’t bombard you in this one email. Thanks for helping me out. Veda"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, I only had the dreadful condition for the last two years.</span></b> They think it was caused by pre-menapause. I am 47. I never had any symptoms before until literally one day. Up until that day I was able to eat and drink what I wanted, although I have always been into fitness and ate healthy. I am struggling to find peace and have a “normal” life. [..] This condition has crushed my self-esteem. But I am trying. [..] I have a floor fan and sometimes I wake up with my face stinging like its irritated. I thought maybe the fan was too close or something. [..] I think I told you that I had my hormones checked a few weeks ago and the tests even showed my hormones are ok and that I am not going through menopause. I was shocked. [..] I have been off for two weeks due to a bad episode with a V-Beam laser treatment. I have had 6 so far and most were fine but the last one left me red and irritated in areas that the laser didn’t touch. I thought the V-Beam was helping to a point but now I am nervous to get anymore. I may wait a year and see what happens. I think I am done with laser for a while. So I have had bad flushing at night while I sleep and I feel the clonidine has helped in that respect. I just want to get to a point where I am semi-normal and can sleep the night and have some good decent days. Hope all is well with you. Veda"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsjDOWdgPf6wI31iGaNhaO0p6DubnpZp52soOZhtlr_B_X4bxYDAJOHreAlVMUKvNeFMjyZtDL3tU7LKGlSTIzc56H9zmgvZXm8Kv9Z-NkAXL4_u33YdcTLnxZRFhkhG3_cf_db71QUf02/s1600/b76be960152d98cb76be907ff3b2fc17.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsjDOWdgPf6wI31iGaNhaO0p6DubnpZp52soOZhtlr_B_X4bxYDAJOHreAlVMUKvNeFMjyZtDL3tU7LKGlSTIzc56H9zmgvZXm8Kv9Z-NkAXL4_u33YdcTLnxZRFhkhG3_cf_db71QUf02/s400/b76be960152d98cb76be907ff3b2fc17.jpg" width="323" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi again!! The clonidine has been increased</span></b> to every 8 hours and last night I was able to sleep during the night so I really hope it helps me. Regarding work, I have a lot of stress [..] the redness is embarrassing as it is on my cheeks, nose and chin. But its not so much that as<span style="color: #783f04;"><span><b> I get patches of swelling which make me looked like I was punched</b></span>.</span> The pain is incredibly painful too as it feels like acid was poured on my face. I told this to my GP and he set me up to go to R. (strong hospital) as that is a large city and has more state of the art testing. He wants to test for auto-immune diseases. Because something is wrong I feel it. I had food testing done and eliminated any possible allergies. I eat organic clean food. I don't drink or smoke. I used to love wine too and I gave that up. But I changed every possible thing I can do and I am not even somewhat better. I know I have rosacea but it was caused by something and continues to fire up. I have friends to have mild rosacea and if they cut out gluten, or sugar or alcohol then they are fine. Nothing seems to help me. [..] - My GP said something interesting today. I have been on the pill for 20 years and was fine. Around when this started I started getting cystic acne and was switched to a different pill. 3 weeks after doing that I got rosacea. She wonders if I developed an allergic reaction to the pill. Have you heard of this? If so I'll stop it but I'm scared to wonder what will happen too. Veda"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"I just got back from seeing a new derm.</span></b> My husband came with me and showed her the pics of the bad flushes. She said (and she is not the only one) that what I have seems extreme for rosacea especially me just getting it a year and a half ago. So she ordered a test (urine test) that I have to do for 24 hours. Fun fun. Then I have an appt with a huge hospital in the city of R. that deals with rheumatology and they are a teaching hospital so they use a lot of experimental drugs and such. I stopped the clonidine and the Pill (ugh) so I am determined to control this thing! I am really on no meds right now except trying doxy but oracea. I know it doesn’t work for everyone (and I read it made you worse) but I have to try it to see if it will keep the swelling down. I asked about the propranolol and they want me to wait until after the pee test. Its turned cold here (40 degrees F) so we have the heat on. I actually do better in the fall/winter. Why?? I have no idea.."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Igf9sKsQ0E2EfwNAZT6mkp9XazZBUZePzn8RjFTsEZN5-bdrE6o3JgpyDfC4EYHfNU4iN27vOvzrRw91EJYlZ8ubqjh0dLqdrK5q5AnILlnqeWX_o6N5JatNe6z-uowYcKh-nb-8ao6J/s1600/tenor.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="373" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Igf9sKsQ0E2EfwNAZT6mkp9XazZBUZePzn8RjFTsEZN5-bdrE6o3JgpyDfC4EYHfNU4iN27vOvzrRw91EJYlZ8ubqjh0dLqdrK5q5AnILlnqeWX_o6N5JatNe6z-uowYcKh-nb-8ao6J/s400/tenor.gif" width="298" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi there again. My doc wants me to be weened off of clonidine</span></b> and then will consider another which I will mention the propranolol. I am sorry you are having a bad week too. I hope it gets better for you too. I have been home from work this week with the worst flush I have ever had. I kind of hope it was the clonidine because I just hope its not the new norm. Having this major painful flush every other week sucks. [..] I just started a probiotic. Just wondering because you see to be just as sensitive as I am. [..] I have been weaned off clonidine now and I do see a diff but I have also stopped the birth control pill. Hope you feel better. Veda."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Veda, oh that sounds like a proactive derm who takes your symptoms serious. </span></b>That is great. I hope something comes out of the tests. Yeh it is extreme to flush this bad and the few people I know who have it too, all seem to balance on the edge of different possible diagnosis. For instance, one of the derms I see thinks I have a mast cell disorder, hence the violent flushing. I also know a bad flusher whoms doc says she must have erythromelalgia. I joined an EM facebook group on her suggestion and there are many more people there with extreme face flushing and burning! More on average than in our rosacea groups. However they tend to also have burning hands and feet. My hands do burn but that has been diagnosed as Raynaud's syndrome in hospital. But the division lines are blurry. But... at the end of the day they are labels and EM doctors also struggle to treat the facial burning and flushing, so we end up either way with a flushing problem that is hard to treat; both for dermatologists as well as for neurologists as well as for a rheumatologist, or a vascular specialist... OK, very curious what comes out of the tests. Yeh doxy/oracea is a good anti-inflammatory and works for many people with our skin issue so it is trial and error :)"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, well knock on wood, so far so good. </span></b>My rosacea has settled and I have been sleeping at night. I would flush horribly at night with burning and pain and during the day when it wanted to come out like during stress. But its nice to get some sleep. I have been taking the propranolol but just at night as it makes me so very tired. My body hasn’t adjusted yet to it I think. [..] Yes I will let you know for sure what comes out of the tests. It is so depressing really going through all these tests too and then to find nothing wrong. I mean I don’t want to wish a disease upon myself but I want something causing it so I can try to fix it or at least make it better. My skin does better now, in the fall and winter. It does terrible in the summer and it was a hot one this year. My skin does not like forced air conditioning but it’s a necessary evil cause it doesn’t like the heat either. My skin does well in the natural cold but I do cover up in the deep winter when it gets down to 10 degrees and with the wind. [..] So my results came back and my doctor wants to do follow up testing. I did research before I spoke to the Doc and it looks like it could be a tumor on my adrenal glands or around there. Maybe but it gives off a lot of hormones and me taking the birth control pill adds added hormones so I’m wondering if all that made me flush horribly. Hmmm"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho-MmBA4UgW1p5nypK6TAi80SexzuqZFGhk9sVbkHxd5GQU_yICtSP2B2NXAM24lWW5-RYL8_jF3weB-Zwi8bNjGJyOnXWK739AtjMNRGBx60OrQDve_T453NZWouiYthSPd_TZbgmp37Z/s1600/dc3305bfad8c5c17ea5b498cf50863f2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="563" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho-MmBA4UgW1p5nypK6TAi80SexzuqZFGhk9sVbkHxd5GQU_yICtSP2B2NXAM24lWW5-RYL8_jF3weB-Zwi8bNjGJyOnXWK739AtjMNRGBx60OrQDve_T453NZWouiYthSPd_TZbgmp37Z/s400/dc3305bfad8c5c17ea5b498cf50863f2.jpg" width="342" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Veda. Oh, that is worrying!</span></b> I really hope there is another reason for the higher hormone blood levels. Have you managed to speak the doctor already at this point? I hope the doctor can soon give you some more certainty!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi there, I have a new derm (third one) and this one is proactive and wants to get to the bottom of my aggressive flushing. </span></b> So she ordered these tests and now sent the results to my GP. I have an appt with him next week and I guess we will go from there. [..] I had a really bad flare up two weeks ago during my period as well. My two cheeks from my eyes to my jaw were covered including swelling, welt looking areas and severe burning. Took me out of work for a week. Now when you have a bad one do you feel like you have the flu? My body aches, I am so fatigued that all I do is lay around and because of the severe pain my doc gave me valium. It helped me sleep since I had a hard time doing that. My face looked like it had welts on it and was giving off major heat. My derm says that isn’t a normal case. Well as you know <span><b><span style="color: #783f04;">my tests came back with high adrenal hormones</span> </b></span>so they really think that is the issue so they are trying to get me into endocrinology. They called me and I have an appt in February 2019! ugh. My rheumatology appt is this Friday and is 3 hours away. I hope they can help me… Veda."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Veda. </span>Sounds like a thorough doctor.. </span></b>I hope you are not very worried at this point? I really hope there is another explanation for your hormone imbalances.. Keep me posted and yes, it would be great if they went to the root of this flushing problem. I'm in the same boat still! Oh that sounds like a full (body) system response yes.. My face flushes often and I just feel hot, in pain and tired then. But after cooling for a while, things can go back to normal again. In the long run, a long and intense flare can make me very tired also, and I just go to bed with fan on usually then to sleep it off ideally... I know about the heat radiating face thing... Welts, could that be an allergic reaction? Have you ever had full allergy tests done? Have you already been tested perhaps for mastocytosis? And ANA blood levels and related blood work, to rule out auto-immune diseases? There are a lot of conditions that can cause flushing and burning of the face. My derm says my flushing is so severe that he suspects something else going on, on top. Mastocytosis (but that one is hard to diagnose) in my case or perhaps erythromelalgia as my hands are flushing and getting hot too lately.. It is a huge jigsaw puzzle, getting proper diagnoses.. Yes first suspect now is the adrenal hormone abnormality! Geez louise.... February?? That is such a long wait :( Are there waiting lists where you are? Or does the doc not think your levels are worrisome? Did your rheumatologist come up with anything new? Best wishes!"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkp6c3WhA0eIlLh8skHzC9y4q9A0JdBP8zRi0GsoCMV7HhMPSmwE7cc9Bu5KDaGAydZWDKdi_Uh3kKuFa0-tZXuyx4br06GAZ1OugFmp5tE7lgu2JpxJ_-BoSBab-uWVWhtIxmbsFAXuM_/s1600/6ed9057a7bb42ebc77b02ab5dc8e39ba.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="410" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkp6c3WhA0eIlLh8skHzC9y4q9A0JdBP8zRi0GsoCMV7HhMPSmwE7cc9Bu5KDaGAydZWDKdi_Uh3kKuFa0-tZXuyx4br06GAZ1OugFmp5tE7lgu2JpxJ_-BoSBab-uWVWhtIxmbsFAXuM_/s400/6ed9057a7bb42ebc77b02ab5dc8e39ba.jpg" width="217" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000;">**"</span>So we drove to R. Friday morning during a snow storm!</span></b> They were very thorough and spent an hour and a half with me and then took 7 vials of blood. We will see. The pain is all over my body…… in my bones as I told the doctor. The endocrinologist here cannot take me in until February and yes I am on a waiting list but my GP just put a referral into R. for Endo now and they said they could take me next month. We will see! [..] I just got back from a derm appt and I told her about the new flushings I’ve had and she really thinks my issue is coming from within. She is trying really hard to get me into an endocrinologist. I had another flush last night and my skin right now feels like someone took a piece of glass to it. I really hope they find the issue and it can be fixed at least to a point where I don’t flush as much. I do everything right, eating wise, meditation, I don’t drink alcohol, I stay away from sugar as much as I can but I love chocolate.. Stuff like that. And I still flush worse than anyone I know that has rosacea. Actually its not many people but the few I know have the normal flushing due to exercise, cold, food etc. its just sooooo frustrating. My sister in law was in town so she came down and I showed her what I look like and she said that it doesn't look like rosacea but looks like welts! I get so inflamed that my eyes get to the point of looking like they are closing. The inflamed parts are hot and red and then the rest of my face gets a "patchy" light red look to it. I really do look bad, to the point I can't work because I need to put ice packs on my face. This is getting worse for me and in just two years. I do have yet to see a new derm who specializes in lupus rashes, and I still have some tests they want me to do (one is a hormone test). I don't disagree this is rosacea but its an inflammation coming from somewhere else."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Veda. </span>Glad you made it despite the horror weather!</span></b> Really hope something tangible comes out of the blood work and good news that you can be seen earlier for the other out of whack hormone levels. Yeh I know all about the intense pain after and during a flush.. I hope your face has calmed down by now? Even touching my skin is painful at this stage.. Same for me... I do everything right on paper, and still.... We both need super thorough, out of the box thinking types of tests I feel to get to the bottom of this thing."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, </span></b>My tests came back fine except for a few things that imply an autoimmune condition like lupus. But since not ALL the test were positive they say I don't have lupus. This process has been tiring. But more tests on the way! So I will keep you updated. They did mention to me about me trying plaquenil. I was reading your blog about it but I wanted to get an update opinion from you about it. Is it worth trying?<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Veda. </span>ugh that sounds a bit like my own results :(</b></span> Sort of positive ANA and inflammatory substances but not high enough or not precise enough to mean lupus. In a way its a positive that you don't have lupus, because that is a nasty condition that can spread to organs and even the heart. But on the other hand... something is not right with our bodies! And all that crazy flushing needs to be explained somehow. I see an immunologist mid January and will bring all my test results along and hopefully get another opinion or more tests... I will update you of course. Plaquenil can really help. It is a strong anti-inflammatory for the skin. I know several people with flushing and redness who are seeing big improvement with it. It has the downside of staying in your system very long (long half-life), so if you have side effects it can take 2 months or so until all is flushed from your system. I used it 3 different times but every time my eyes got very painful on it :( I did feel it made me more pale at some point. The eye side effect is rare though. I would say; definitely worth a try! They're not steroids so no long term risks about trying.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87CIi9szAldcshwdXT5jARQ5uPiwU2U6TwvPc5xZohhiQK-B_nI_qE2V6sjllQQFFbFbW-YJrNKKJ_b35uzcfIVXEAWy0PtGW7V9GOAF23mJLq509mT33ARxHyz1moaM_F26TuybnmKts/s1600/7b31c279b9fe86f6fe526dfbe141cd12.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="564" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87CIi9szAldcshwdXT5jARQ5uPiwU2U6TwvPc5xZohhiQK-B_nI_qE2V6sjllQQFFbFbW-YJrNKKJ_b35uzcfIVXEAWy0PtGW7V9GOAF23mJLq509mT33ARxHyz1moaM_F26TuybnmKts/s400/7b31c279b9fe86f6fe526dfbe141cd12.jpg" width="288" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, </span>I got home late last night from R. I finally have a light at the end of the tunnel. </span></b> Based on my tests, my symptoms and history I have<b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/04/do-i-have-rosacea-or-erythromelalgia-em.html"> Erythromelalgia</a></b>. The doctor prescribed gabapentin and pentoxifylline. And then he wants to work in plaquenil. Never heard of the first two but he says that my nerve endings are shot basically and I have severe burning pain from it. This is all new to me! I wanted to let you know.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Veda. </span>Very curious how you will do on those meds!!! Gabapentin is a nerve pain med. </b></span>Its also called neurontin (brand name). be aware that it has the very small possibility of causing blood vessel dilation (vasodilatation) as a side effect, but this is rare. Pentoxifylline is also a med to numb nerve pain. Plaquenil reduces inflammation in the skin. I wonder if you also need a med to reduce flushing. But doc probably wants to see first how you do on this combo? Exciting! Would you say that nerve pain is your worst symptom, and then flushing? or the other way around?"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, I would say yes, nerve pain is the worse.</span></b> It feels like someone poured acid on my face. If I was just red without the pain I could cover it but with the intense pain AND swelling I cannot. Oh by the way, I went for blood tests the other day to check my hormones. I am 48 so everyone says to me “its your hormones causing the issues”. <span style="color: #783f04;"><span><b>They called me yesterday and according to my tests my hormones are normal and I am NOT going through peri-menopause</b></span>.</span> I was shocked. So its not hormones driving this problem. Veda."<br />
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<b style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Veda. </b>Great that your hormones are fine. Yesss that is one less worry. Ok well you can always try and see how it goes? Good thing of meds like these is that they are well studied, safe and if you don't like what they do, you stop taking them and all should go back to normal. I would give it a try and just see it as another step towards improvement? EVEN if for whatever reason your skin doesn't respond well, even then because then you know that these two meds are not for you, and the doctor can probably suggest something else. Unfortunately it can take a good few med trials for some until something clicks and works a bit.... Yeh meds are never nice but no meds is also detrimental at this stage to your body, your skin, your blood vessels, your nerves.... Flushing like ours needs to be controlled in the end :("<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiETK-Lk8i5JK5ktn0YzOp0oF8x6vzHbNtsePLWc5nX54MyDXoPDuFfSXfRtSFwLi30ZYOpl6ZUpi4FXhhAARU1ygNjUyVDrK_h2dTBIQaU4nDysXK6oJTCr1XEyrw0StyEUHNgmItqamAw/s1600/7a451cb086c8d5950f21c4d754a6a527.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="564" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiETK-Lk8i5JK5ktn0YzOp0oF8x6vzHbNtsePLWc5nX54MyDXoPDuFfSXfRtSFwLi30ZYOpl6ZUpi4FXhhAARU1ygNjUyVDrK_h2dTBIQaU4nDysXK6oJTCr1XEyrw0StyEUHNgmItqamAw/s400/7a451cb086c8d5950f21c4d754a6a527.jpg" width="281" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, </span></b>you're right about the meds. What we have needs to be controlled. I can see that the redness is becoming permanent too. So any VBeam I did is gone! Money out the window….. I think I will try one for one week then add the other. I don’t see the doctor for 4 weeks so I think that should be fine. If I flush then I know what it is. He claims that the meds are supposedly harmless. We will see!! Thanks for the idea!!<br />
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<b style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Veda. </b>Yeh haha I have heard that one before too. These doctors mention often that meds have no side effects blabla, well tolerated. But when you flush at the drop of a hat and even from smelling someones perfume (me at least), there really is no saying and many meds can worsen the flushing actually... But some can also help :) Trial and error! I used to keep a small diary when I tested new meds. Made daily skin photos and just described the symptoms a bit. It becomes a big blur soon afterwards when too much time has passed. Fingers crossed."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>**"Hi Scarlet, My rosacea isn't typical because one day I can have all the triggers in the world, food wise, and be fine.</b></span> But stress and heat are the issues. Right now I am spraying my face and have ice packs wrapped in cloths on my face. It sucks! Oh I wanted to ask you about the med I am on, trental. It opens my capillaries. He said that should help if I have Erthromelagia. That shouldn't cause flushing right? Sorry your having issues too. Your pic looks painful too. This really sucks for us!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Veda. I wonder indeed if this is something else than classic rosacea! Because a rosacea flushing flush usually lasts a few hours tops. Then cools down again.</span></b> It is possible to have longer lasting redness (inflammation, background redness) though, but the intense pain.. yes it could be erythromelalgia or lupus even? Doc needs to be able to tell you. When do you think your test results come in? YES anything that dilates blood vessels is a no no for us, in principle. The issue with erythromelalgia is that the pain comes not just from the vessels excessively dilating, but also from them constricting. I know a girl with severe flushing who has erythromelalgia and she actually gets better from calcium channel blockers, which dilate blood vessels also and are top of the not to use list for rosacea flushing. In her case, they help keep her blood vessels stable. But with normal rosacea flushing there is no issue of constricting blood vessels and nerves (causing the typical white pale thing you sometimes see with cold fingers). All we usually need to do is prevent blood vessel dilation. So mildly constricting them is the way to go, I think. Not opening them up."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5jreEZVvJ174rKyFzGT89UyRp9178w5d4vK_XzHXTkJhUZMz2Ags9NElGQ295ZkrKaBeaQStJVvrQ7y02rgWID6C3ouVOfg6qVnQzD4zjHj-qGKa366856LZjROn3d_Fy-H0uLI9NixN/s1600/ed4b8faef8b1daf8faf0d4b27987b0bb.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5jreEZVvJ174rKyFzGT89UyRp9178w5d4vK_XzHXTkJhUZMz2Ags9NElGQ295ZkrKaBeaQStJVvrQ7y02rgWID6C3ouVOfg6qVnQzD4zjHj-qGKa366856LZjROn3d_Fy-H0uLI9NixN/s400/ed4b8faef8b1daf8faf0d4b27987b0bb.jpg" width="332" /></a><b style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, </b>sooooo, my gynecologist called and we discussed my test I had as soon as my rosacea came back really bad this last time. (so as soon as the symptoms came in, I went for a hormone test the same day). <span style="color: #783f04;"><span><b>He said my progesterone was elevated</b></span> </span>and I was going through ovulation. So to make a long story short(er),<b><span style="color: #783f04;"> <span>he is putting me on a medication to suppress the progesterone</span>.</span></b> As soon as I feel my symptoms coming in, I take the pill until I get my period. It makes sense because it gets so much worse about 3 weeks into my cycle and gets better during my period. So I will try this. The strange this is I asked the doc so why now?? I have been on the pill for 20 years (getting more progesterone) and I was fine all those years until 2 years ago…. He just said “why does anyone get anything the way they do? Psoriasis for example when they never had it”. He is right. I guess I need to stop asking why why why. Veda."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Veda, </span></b>Yes makes total sense! I think its a good move, on paper at least :) Progesterone is responsible for many women's rosacea flaring the week before the period starts. Progesterone stimulates the sweat glands and can cause acne, or heat rash and pruritic urticarial papules. <span style="color: #783f04;"><b>Progesterone also prevents vasoconstriction by increasing levels of nitric oxide</b></span>, which causes blood vessel dilation. It can also worsen inflammation. Perhaps you respond particularly bad to it? It is one thing I look forward to after menopause; progesterone will drop a lot then, but estrogen as well.. (which can help again with rosacea for some).<br />
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<b style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet,</b> I am ok and my guess is I will be until I go through ovulation again. I meet with my gynecologist again in April and I’m seriously thinking of having a hysterectomy. I have other issues too but if this is linked to progesterone then that made my decision a little easier. I am 48 so I think its time. Oh By the way, an allergist can test for a progesterone allergy. I made my appt for April 11th. This has to be it! Ugh. Had another bad flare."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguaIeeBYsVoXZiaGp3f11NKKeUxt_Fm_T8lMNf0if7LEiRgsUqfx_GC4TUUoNrcN9W1aogLUSFgbg0MxToHvh3SrrrD0hVOtrSaq-gLpIyqSD_eXuZ52TjT4n1A6wvJco7W4efO-ZSvO-M/s1600/ae8fa1b737d9f81032b6ac2bd169becc+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="482" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguaIeeBYsVoXZiaGp3f11NKKeUxt_Fm_T8lMNf0if7LEiRgsUqfx_GC4TUUoNrcN9W1aogLUSFgbg0MxToHvh3SrrrD0hVOtrSaq-gLpIyqSD_eXuZ52TjT4n1A6wvJco7W4efO-ZSvO-M/s320/ae8fa1b737d9f81032b6ac2bd169becc+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Veda. </span></b>Fingers crossed!!! Very sorry you had another bad flare. Its very individual but for me, progesterone rise means more redness and flushing! In a normal cycle, the first 2 weeks have higher estrogen and low progesterone. Then after ovulation (so around day 14 normally) estrogen decreases and progesterone goes up. Especially the few days before your period starts (for some the entire week before) progesterone is high and rosacea flares can be worst for some women. Then once period starts, progesterone drops. Did you ever see a pattern yourself in this?"<br />
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<b style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet,</b> yes I did see a pattern. Is there anything I can do? I was on the pill for several years and in the past few years things got worse (was flushing every day) but now that I am off it, it seems better and now I flush every 3 to 6 weeks. But that flare last a week now. How are you? Veda."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Veda. I assume that on birth control you had progesterone in your system (synthetic one) all the time </span></b>hence the possibility for your flushing every day?<br />
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<b style="color: #990000;">**"</b><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Hi Scarlet, As mentioned my gyno put me on Ella to suppress ovulation but it hasn’t worked</b></span>. My gyno told me to start the pill even sooner plus do the increase. Soon I will be on that morning after pill the whole month. LOL. But I met with my gyno today and he scheduled a total hysterectomy for me in May. I just want it taken care of. He actually said that it will be easier for everything to be controlled once the surgery is done, meaning I will have to go on estrogen pills (most likely) but that would be easier than trying to calculate my schedule now to make sure I take that pill before I ovulate.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xAArUq5-Z7dAkl9t3_z8Y01RPvOzDyn2UErWibGq-4BerxLXbySc_OPcCwhPVvRDU0oaldrownvW_qJ9mvblEHRBYJnniNxLbembpPJws_oTYKZw-5w8WiUteQeRBEdFakku28Q8LEbc/s1600/c8cf7298009cfc6dd7bde33919c8632d.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="268" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xAArUq5-Z7dAkl9t3_z8Y01RPvOzDyn2UErWibGq-4BerxLXbySc_OPcCwhPVvRDU0oaldrownvW_qJ9mvblEHRBYJnniNxLbembpPJws_oTYKZw-5w8WiUteQeRBEdFakku28Q8LEbc/s400/c8cf7298009cfc6dd7bde33919c8632d.jpg" width="247" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Veda. </span></b>Wow, good news!!! YES I fully understand. You will then only have to worry about adding some estrogen. Your progesterone will be down big time then naturally right? Seems much less draining for your body than taking these strong morning after pills too long. Although taking extra estrogen has its risks too apparently (I read about statistical increased risk of cancers in the long run, not sure, your doctor will know about that). And May is already soon! Is it a big surgery? No key-hole one I reckon? I really hope that will solve the flushing flare ups."<br />
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<b style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet,</b> I know I was very surprised he could get me in so soon. Yes it is a major surgery and I will be out of work for 6-8 weeks. I plan on still having the allergy testing done prior and I hope the outcome shows that I am basically allergic to the hormone; then my mind is surely made up. If not the doc did say that most of a woman’s issue with rashes comes from progesterone so I probably will still keep the appt. ;..'I forgot I see my Primary Doctor next Tuesday so I will wait to talk to him then and in the meantime stop the Gabapentin and see what happens. I took two yesterday and last night I only slept two hours because I had a burning flush. Not 100% sure it was from Gabapentin but I want to rule it out. Based on my cycle I should be in the doing better stage now. Ugh!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Veda. </span></b>Yes attack it from all angles because knowledge is power. So by ruling out (or confirming) allergies you may have more pieces of the puzzle! And we'll go through menopause anyway, eventually. Fingers crossed it will all go well, Veda"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, Sorry to keep bothering youJ But the name of the condition they think I may have is autoimmune progesterone dermatitis</span></b>. If you want to google it. I typed in “autoimmune progesterone dermatitis and rosacea”. Maybe it will help you. Have a good one."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Veda. </span></b>Interesting Veda.. Do you think you ALSO may have rosacea on top? Or does the autoimmune progesterone dermatitis also give flushing and burning of the face potentially, aside from rashes and hives?"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPyy7IZ5onDf-U4OI05a1IPSUFs5QbHEQIFZ_sPCmwR7rJj0Ap9dod5SHhkHJDEWd9YbkGrX2Mc2vOJawPIqDBgbmrW8-JN8Z6JUnndHVLyxuu9f3q9YvEnuKM3lPNcy0fE5kTxvCCi6GD/s1600/83a26e7f4a0b9aba55cb2e3457610bfe.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="512" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPyy7IZ5onDf-U4OI05a1IPSUFs5QbHEQIFZ_sPCmwR7rJj0Ap9dod5SHhkHJDEWd9YbkGrX2Mc2vOJawPIqDBgbmrW8-JN8Z6JUnndHVLyxuu9f3q9YvEnuKM3lPNcy0fE5kTxvCCi6GD/s400/83a26e7f4a0b9aba55cb2e3457610bfe.jpg" width="295" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, </span></b>I probably have some rosacea but the condition worsens it is my guess. <span style="color: #783f04;"><span><b>I read that </b></span><span><b>you can get like welts from it like from a drug reaction. And that is what I get.</b></span> </span><span>My face doesn’t just get red but it swells including my eyes almost like I got stung by a bee or something</span>….. From the beginning I knew the cause was different than anyone else I spoke to that has rosacea. It started over 2 years ago with me changing my birth control pills and 3 weeks into my pack I got a major flare on the left side of my face that looked like a welt. Then it just spread from there. But I kept taking the pills because the docs said that wasn’t the cause. Over time I changed pills and it either got worse or a little better. When I finally stopped taking them my daily flushed stopped! I was like OMG this is great but then now I get more of the cyclical flushing. Well birth control pills regulate your hormones by preventing ovulation thus not making progesterone BUT you are taking progesterone every day(in the pills) so that is why I got daily flushing. When I stopped taking the pills so did the daily flushing but now my body produces the progesterone during ovulation and that is why I am getting the cyclical stuff. I wish it was caught sooner! But at least now I am aware."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Veda. </span></b>Really sounds like your flushing is predominantly hormone driven yes. Gives me hope that yours can also be controlled again once your progesterone is no longer made."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, </span></b>I hope so, I have been battling this for 2.5 years now. I tried the medication again and it didn’t work. My doc said he will removed everything and I will be in the hospital for 2 days and out of work 6-8 weeks. I hope this helps it. Had another bad flush last week (right before my period) so it GOT to be that!!"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxqbbcqRCkdNmTzrgHxLBYiYCxxNtvmuLm9wVJ4Axz92hOOF58o1r5zgN2eOWTRaIzzZVs5ixEGSQaP07HE20733F3xcnHF-WMIdqlS4mUElkBd8lAzi7pgFWIn94K1CiCxIUtTumbgN3/s1600/650843ba58a672e8fd9dadf2241deb53.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="779" data-original-width="564" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxqbbcqRCkdNmTzrgHxLBYiYCxxNtvmuLm9wVJ4Axz92hOOF58o1r5zgN2eOWTRaIzzZVs5ixEGSQaP07HE20733F3xcnHF-WMIdqlS4mUElkBd8lAzi7pgFWIn94K1CiCxIUtTumbgN3/s400/650843ba58a672e8fd9dadf2241deb53.jpg" width="288" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: 700;">**"Hi Veda. </span>Yes very good hopes too that this will help you curb those flushes! They are so god awful, I know all about it.... Had a bad week myself, also hormone related!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, </span></b>One week and I am so scared. You know, I am mostly afraid that I will be in a horrid flush while in the hospital (based on my cycle) Ugh but my husband thinks I shouldn’t worry as they have seen a lot of bad things so a flush is nothing but I’m more concerned with the pain on my face. Still taking the Ella. it cost me $300 so far this month!! But after the surgery I won’t need it. I do plan on bringing my desk fan, my spritzer (water bottle) and my ice packs. I already asked for the bed near the window (they have two people to a room) UGH!"<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: 700;">**"Hi Veda. </span>yes I understand your worries.. I've been in hospital myself a couple of times, sometimes overnight even and it always was not as bad as I expected... Yeh bring a fan along. Ask for a room of your own so you can open the window yes. I brought the whole circus along haha, including cold packs for them to cool. I really hope all will go well. And that will save you money on the Ella meds as well. So expensive in the US..." [..] "How has the operation gone Veda? I have been thinking of you. Hope you are doing well, and that you are not in too much pain at the moment. Can you open a window in the hospital?"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, </span></b>The operation went fine, I was in the hospital for 2 days and the nurses were really sweet. I will have to be on estrogen (patch) if I want to avoid hot flashes. I did wake up with night sweats one night but I didn't mind since that was the first time I sweated in a long time:) I will let you know how things go. [..] Well my flush was horrible last week before my operation but everyone was so nice and understanding. I had my spray bottle and fans. I attached the fans to my IV :) that helped a lot but I really didn't know what was going on anyway, they had me on fentenal so I was out and they gave me oxycodone for at home but I haven't taken it. That is nasty stuff. <span style="color: #783f04; font-weight: bold;">But my face looks great, even the underlying redness that i had when I wasn't flushing is gone.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span>I am able to sleep normal (not having to sleep upright). I don't have the feeling of burning which I had all the time.</span> I feel normal again. I haven't told anyone but you: ) I want to see how this goes. I am hoping this continues and the operation was the fix. So far so good!"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJPDNNHTrfeUgsQUjDKzMv8oxGOEDyn_a_Q97ISVVG5yjNNCrhe7wQbpUlOMJxdcyIF-6tNxRZoLi1uxt9dkHci-D0rsS4kO9USPxsvPI41-HIRQj5pLrjN_k8r7-yITJMlVQCaXktQYzb/s1600/7904f165ed9705f4b0cae15e3507965f.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="403" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJPDNNHTrfeUgsQUjDKzMv8oxGOEDyn_a_Q97ISVVG5yjNNCrhe7wQbpUlOMJxdcyIF-6tNxRZoLi1uxt9dkHci-D0rsS4kO9USPxsvPI41-HIRQj5pLrjN_k8r7-yITJMlVQCaXktQYzb/s400/7904f165ed9705f4b0cae15e3507965f.jpg" width="230" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: 700;">**"Hi Veda. </span>Well that is FANTASTIC news. Ohhh if only this was the one thing you needed. I really hope you will never get those awful flushes again! Keep me posted. My rosacea unfortunately has so many triggers and even is a daily struggle in my good hormone weeks.. I only know that high progesterone triggers flares but so do hormonal changes for me.. :( It would be too big a risk for me I feel therefore as the sudden changes in hormones could in theory álso affect mine."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">**"Hi Scarlet, </span><span>so far my skin has been really good, for me I think mine was all a hormonal issue with progesterone</span><span> as the other normal triggers didn't affect me. </span>Although heat would kick it up but I wasn't sure how much of that was because my skin was so damaged that it was sensitive from the severe flushing. I"m wondering if my skin was able to heal if a lot of the issues would go away. So far I don't feel the burning like I did, but I will say that time will tell for sure!! I thought it was weird that I got rosacea at 45 when I never had any symptoms in the past. I think my body changed hormonally at that time. If things go well I really want to help others. I know how lonely I was because no one understood what I was going through (except you) and it was frustrating to see so many doctors but I pushed through and bugged them until they took me seriously. That is a lot of work and energy to do, so I feel for anyone else in my position. They can cure hepatitis now but not what we are going through. That shouldn't be. Hopefully that will change. I really hope you find what causes your flushes, keep bugging the doctors! So many people have told me I have to be my own advocate and they are so right. But I will let you know how things go. Again so far so good :) Veda."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8zrLmyVcU2soKsX-_JkQJk26CAh9g07tGqhLd2-Xdq-b_drz0MU_Kv_CT0VYKQBGKE8dUFEhoLO5dMuWvXjrZHyzfXPC7m8Uykx2hLsTTT9TOvF8-t2MzhLRb7xBPpMA2__Koil7N7Mw/s1600/ccca4fb3c100affbde9ad9a88949223c.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="522" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8zrLmyVcU2soKsX-_JkQJk26CAh9g07tGqhLd2-Xdq-b_drz0MU_Kv_CT0VYKQBGKE8dUFEhoLO5dMuWvXjrZHyzfXPC7m8Uykx2hLsTTT9TOvF8-t2MzhLRb7xBPpMA2__Koil7N7Mw/s400/ccca4fb3c100affbde9ad9a88949223c.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: 700;">**"Hi Veda. </span>Its amazing!! I wonder if you would want to help me, in time, by making a blog post about this? I've got a blog, or you maybe make your own? But if you don't want that, maybe you would like to write down for me how all this started, what you have tried, and how you have beaten your severe flushing at some point? I would love to make a blog post about it. Because I am CERTAIN there are more women out there like you, indeed. Even though this is a rare cause of flushing. If only they can read about your story, you may even help a handful perhaps? Either way, yes a lot of vascular damage so it may be early days to hang the flag out yet, but the skin has amazing recovery talents and I am positive that once the prime flushing trigger is removed, it can recover indeed."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, </span></b>I would love to help you with your blog. I have read a lot of your articles and they were so informative! So yes I will gather some info in the near future. I want to make 100% sure that this has helped and then I will write down my whole story and you can use what you want. My mom was here today and said that my skin looks brighter and healthy. First time I have heard that in a long time! So I am hopeful!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, </span></b>just giving you an update. So far so good:) I am still home recovering but no flushes since May 6th! There isn't alot of info on line regarding autoimmune progesterone derm but I found this <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DlA0ptnQwE%E2%80%8B">youtube video</a></b> that was pretty close to my issue. I thought you might want to see it.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: 700;">**"Hi Veda. </span>Oh wow, It is miraculous really considering how bad you would flush. This is such hopeful news Veda. Thanks so much! I'm going to watch it."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, </span></b>I am still going strong. No flareups since before my surgery. I think the last one I had started on May 6th and lasted until my surgery on May 10th. My skin is improving daily and looking like my old self. In fact I worked out pretty long tonight and actually sweated! I am feeling so much better! This surgery was my last resort too. I saw my GP on Friday and he was so happy! I spoke to him about stopping all my meds. We are doing one at a time starting with propanolol.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: 700;">**"Hi Veda. </span> Aww well that is a wonder story really. I'm so pleased for you. This is stuff most ppl with rosacea can only dream of. Yeh my skin has been awful all week due to period coming up, blehhh. Its also warm here now so I'm flushy all day. Wished mine only had hormones to respond to but my skin flares up from literally everything :("<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJCSlrkFQVJAhqMgaiUq-bjTJPt4iG2QpXsILHZNzPvOrdfq3UhLFZBzeOJ5u1tgvIa-9Ym7yIUb8QLk-qyUN9zpS9lLJC9C0g7w9hOM4zY2TmZpww-6iDKFBRIxnn7AycAn0ZEpiZ8MIO/s1600/08475efaea252c13ce687640de0d7e35.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJCSlrkFQVJAhqMgaiUq-bjTJPt4iG2QpXsILHZNzPvOrdfq3UhLFZBzeOJ5u1tgvIa-9Ym7yIUb8QLk-qyUN9zpS9lLJC9C0g7w9hOM4zY2TmZpww-6iDKFBRIxnn7AycAn0ZEpiZ8MIO/s320/08475efaea252c13ce687640de0d7e35.jpg" width="285" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, </span></b>Thank you so much! I know how lucky I am and will not take life for granted anymore. I was in so much pain. I am sorry to hear about your flareup. I hope someone can help you the way my doctor helped me. It was the gyno that figured it out. I do plan on sitting down this week to write down my story for you so you can put it on your blog. I really hope I can help others.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: 700;">**"Hi Veda. </span>That would be lovely Veda. Its been such a roller coaster ride for you! I hope other women may learn from your experience and suffering ❤ I really wonder how many women with our type of flushing may in fact also have this rare progesterone allergy or response that you had. The fact that you had it mainly in the week before menstruation and not from heat for instance may be a very good clue. Yeh not even the summer heat affects your redness? Its great!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">**"Hi Scarlet, </span></b>It sure has been a roller coaster! I’m still doing well. I had one small flush right on the cheek area under my eyes but I was pushing the limit. I was having a glass of wine outside with my husband and some friends and it was hot and humid. But once I turned to drinking water and fanning myself it went down. But that was one day out of a 2 month time period. I am ok in the heat. But all in all I have improved about 90%. The only time I flush (just a little) is when I had a few drinks a few weeks ago outside on the deck. [..] <span style="color: #783f04;"> </span><span><span style="color: #783f04; font-weight: bold;">I forgot to mention to you that I was having hair loss and my nails were very brittle during the flareups. That has now changed as well.</span> My hair is growing back and nails look better. So there are a lot of other symptoms that occur as well with this autoimmune progesterone dermatitis. And the symptoms that happened to me might be different for others but in the end the result is the same.</span>"<br />
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Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-62736059667579310212019-10-12T16:48:00.023-07:002021-09-16T14:33:43.373-07:00Rhofade (oxymetazoline) for rosacea redness and flushing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Rhofade</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho5QmSVjPRLN7jjnYyBa7KTg-giLEpxwZBQ9PiC_gbHDwwhcrzrBLTT8AecmGCgtltabB7jKFjj_l31NM3qTlI5A-5seW0iYgWp0f4qBuqxasv7Qq5JEJfMzU-HjIVP2Q-PXY4sABWOjnA/s1600/536089_10151311803053996_772785755_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho5QmSVjPRLN7jjnYyBa7KTg-giLEpxwZBQ9PiC_gbHDwwhcrzrBLTT8AecmGCgtltabB7jKFjj_l31NM3qTlI5A-5seW0iYgWp0f4qBuqxasv7Qq5JEJfMzU-HjIVP2Q-PXY4sABWOjnA/s400/536089_10151311803053996_772785755_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
A few years back I wrote a total of three blog posts about the topical Mirvaso (brimonidine 0.33%) cream for rosacea skin. It helps constrict the blood vessels in the skin temporarily, and was touted as the next big new thing for rosacea redness and flushing. Unfortunately the user reviews were far from favorable. You can read <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/12/mirvaso-inventory-of-patient-responses.html">here</a></b>, <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/09/mirvaso-inventory-of-patient-responses.html">here</a></b> and <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2015/07/mirvaso-inventory-of-patient-responses.html">here</a></b> that many users struggled with often pretty horrendous 'rebound flushing', making them temporarily more red and flushed than they normally are. For some users this rebound flaring even worsened their rosacea over the long term. The problem with brimonidine is that is gives a strong chemical push to the small blood vessels in the skin to constrict; making the skin look more pale. This effect only lasts for a short period of time however, usually between 6-12 hours, but in some cases it would wear off even sooner. What can follow, especially for moderate to severe patients, is an unnatural compensatory dilation of the blood vessels. This rebound flare normally dies down after several hours, although some people mentioned that it roared on for days for them. This rebound can be so extreme that it puts many users off for good.<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>Rhofade is a similar topical, but uses another basic ingredient than Mirvaso: oxymetazoline hydrochloride. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUWOQjAlXkiHSc1BVBxkv-GEPpoc-ox-mPqgr8D_PFZ0jfL4mqOengDAucTk9uMK-cOLDwSsEDK5psHX1ad98sydTFlHraf16xTtrr4bWxW6X3tcYL3NHLPsQDDj86zpvcCg2wN57SxcZ/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUWOQjAlXkiHSc1BVBxkv-GEPpoc-ox-mPqgr8D_PFZ0jfL4mqOengDAucTk9uMK-cOLDwSsEDK5psHX1ad98sydTFlHraf16xTtrr4bWxW6X3tcYL3NHLPsQDDj86zpvcCg2wN57SxcZ/s1600/download.jpg" /></a>Rhofade is a similar topical, but uses another basic ingredient than Mirvaso: oxymetazoline hydrochloride. Oxymetazoline belongs to a class of drugs known as a sympathomimetic (alpha receptor agonist). Where brimonidine is normally used for glaucoma of the eye, oxymetazoline is originally used for a nasal spray. As such, it helps to constrict the small blood vessels in the nose of patients suffering from nose (allergic/viral) congestion. By narrowing these small blood vessels in the nose, patients can breath more freely. Pharmaceutical company Allergan* (so not Galderma who produced Mirvaso) thought that as such, oxymetazoline could also potentially help rosacea patients who have redness of the face. And in fact, oxymetazoline works for rosacea skin too, by narrowing the blood vessels in the face. Oxymetazoline is a long-acting topical drug that constricts, or shrinks, blood vessels. That is how it relieves congestion in the nose. But people who use nasal decongestants for allergies, colds or sinus problems are warned to use such products for only three to five days. After that they may experience rebound congestion as the medicine wears off. The same thing can happen when it is used in the eyes. Rebound redness occurs when the blood vessels dilate after the effects of the medicine fade. It can take several days (or sometimes longer) for this effect to gradually disappear. The good news is that Rhofade is more gentle than Mirvaso; it doesn't make you instantly pale like a ghost as Mirvaso has the capacity to do, but it also makes it less likely that you will turn just as beet red and on fire after the effect wears off. Nevertheless there are stories of rebound flaring for Rhofade too. After all; it works only temporarily on the blood vessels. And constricting and dilating the blood vessels long term can in effect weaken them. Therefore I didn't want to make a blog post for Rhofade for a long time. I am most definitely NOT going to use or even try Rhofade myself. My blood vessels are too reactive and my skin too sensitive to take any such risks. Besides, I tried <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-brimonidine-trial-it-was-not-what-i.html">brimonidine</a></b> in the past and had terrible painful long lasting rebound flushing that made me look beyond purple red. But now that I am reading more user reviews (both positive and negative) and am realizing that regardless of the risks, a certain group of rosacea patients seems to actually benefit from this product, I will make a blog post about it after all. Just want to urge caution with this product though. The impression I am getting is also that Rhofade is more suitable for rosacea patients with mild to moderate redness and flushing of the skin. If your skin is very reactive and you have more severe flushing issues, I would personally stay clear of this product, as you do risk dealing with rebound flushing and potential weakening of your blood vessels and increasing their reactivity.<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>So please use this product with great caution, and realize that you may experience rebound worsening of your flushing and redness from Rhofade</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQO92vd_DusHBRbVlHn8klTCiODAQG1mh5vIJWRnqEfhGaPIYLbZ10x0R3BmSUcJs9mTmZnOOwaf8SYkPUKopEiu1yIS3ZZV4kgcMfv8dQuu4YrJeySGYfNgAACwRFuH2s5RFRDQlVOfk/s1600/249895_10151311793678996_40600367_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQO92vd_DusHBRbVlHn8klTCiODAQG1mh5vIJWRnqEfhGaPIYLbZ10x0R3BmSUcJs9mTmZnOOwaf8SYkPUKopEiu1yIS3ZZV4kgcMfv8dQuu4YrJeySGYfNgAACwRFuH2s5RFRDQlVOfk/s400/249895_10151311793678996_40600367_n.jpg" width="398" /></a>The fact that Rhofade got FDA approved in 2017 doesn't mean it is safe to use for everyone unfortunately, as we have seen with Mirvaso which also got FDA approval despite coming with a hefty side-effect risk - which for a long time was covered up by the company. Statistically, Rhofade will also not work for everyone. <b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5605221/">This pubmed article</a></b> details that "many individuals using this agent (Rhofade) appropriately experience results consistent with the favorable efficacy outcomes described in the clinical trials". Which came down to a chance of around 15-20% of Rhofade working for you (roughly 1 in 6). But on top of that it is admitted in the research paper that no real life users were interviewed, and instead the results that were discussed came from controlled clinical studies. Which may sound like reliable sources for information, but as we all know can be manipulated by the manufacturer of the drug. Galderma for instance declared that in clinical trials only 2% of rosacea patients noticed side-effects like rebound from their product Mirvaso, when in fact that number was later<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5605221/"> revealed</a> to be 10 to 20% in clinical trials and much much higher percentages among real time users on countless patient forums and patient sites. One can of course always debate how well a representation such forums are of the average user (they attract typically more unhappy patients than content ones, perhaps?), but the initial released 2% has been debunked thoroughly either way. So I am not trusting clinical trial outcomes blindly when it comes to topical medication like Mirvaso or Rhofade. I scour through all the real life patient reviews, trying to - hopefully - get a more realistic view of how patients tolerate rosacea treatment options.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 35px;"><b>Possible side-effects</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiXcxcoGexlFLB6OcAhYEA4Xr-jAaMfgNlYzalG88OxD5yY9BY1nNB-7ki-gYPyw7xPG1jAVQYj8qhaTbwLB8TqEPoPq61IUCVmKNxaMF4vjzW2zRj2dO5g6amVGriir3pQq99BEh0ivxi/s1600/rhofade-works.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1547" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiXcxcoGexlFLB6OcAhYEA4Xr-jAaMfgNlYzalG88OxD5yY9BY1nNB-7ki-gYPyw7xPG1jAVQYj8qhaTbwLB8TqEPoPq61IUCVmKNxaMF4vjzW2zRj2dO5g6amVGriir3pQq99BEh0ivxi/s400/rhofade-works.jpg" width="386" /></a></div>
Suspicious is also that <b><a href="https://www.allergan.com/assets/pdf/rhofade_pi.pdf">Rhofade's information leaflet</a></b> does not flat out mention rebound flaring as a potential side-effect. What it does mention: "Most common adverse reactions (incidence > 1%) are application site dermatitis, worsening inflammatory lesions of rosacea, application site pruritis, application site erythema, and application site pain." Application site dermatitis means a red rash on the skin that has been treated with Rhofade (and not rebound redness or flushing). Pruritis is severe itching of the skin. Worsening inflammatory lesions refers to p&p's and fixed redness inflammation (not transient redness that comes and goes due to the blood vessels expanding), and the same goes for 'application site erythema', although this one may come closest to what we would call rebound flaring. Yet it is something different. Nevertheless <b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5605221/">this</a></b> pubmed articles interprets it as rebound flaring: "Application-site erythema was noted in one percent of actively treated subjects versus 0.4 percent in vehicle-treated subjects in the pivotal studies and in two percent of actively treated subjects in the long-term study. These data suggest that treatment-related worsening of facial erythema occurring during active use and/or after discontinuation of therapy (defined as rebound in pivotal clinical studies) are uncommon with oxymetazoline hydrochloride 1% cream. Ultimately, it will be very important to see what observations are made with more widespread use of topical oxymetazoline in real-world clinical practice in patients with rosacea." The article also underlines that there are few useful medical trials to get information from. The information leaflet also brings up one of Allergans own patient trials: "A total of 489 subjects with persistent facial erythema associated with rosacea were treated with Rhofade once daily for 4 weeks in 3 controlled clinical trials. An additional 440 subjects with persistent facial erythema associated with rosacea were also treated with Rhofade once daily for up to one year in a long-term (openlabel) clinical trial. Adverse reactions that occurred in at least 1% of subjects treated with Rhofade through 4 weeks of treatment are presented below:<br />
-Application site dermatitis 9 (2%)<br />
-Worsening inflammatory lesions of rosacea 7 (1%)<br />
-Application site pruritus 5 (1%)<br />
-Application site erythema 5 (1%)<br />
-Application site pain 4 (1%)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknvUixbcJA-xV0J9YRZo23uCdeGAyomz_dV7qcrmBnf6U8qJaF7zR4ywKmnM5F4_OYDXGIlc7ketioCG-GRNg-dJLrx1JpABfHqS-h3Uo3U5VqLSPHXGOs3pCBHwwLwnlKzJX9SseXJUT/s1600/10922770_10153066436413996_4431278969935137701_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="470" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknvUixbcJA-xV0J9YRZo23uCdeGAyomz_dV7qcrmBnf6U8qJaF7zR4ywKmnM5F4_OYDXGIlc7ketioCG-GRNg-dJLrx1JpABfHqS-h3Uo3U5VqLSPHXGOs3pCBHwwLwnlKzJX9SseXJUT/s400/10922770_10153066436413996_4431278969935137701_n.jpg" width="400" /></a>In the long-term (open-label) clinical trial, the rates of adverse reactions over a one-year treatment period were as follows: worsening inflammatory lesions of rosacea (3%), application site dermatitis (3%), application site pruritis (2%), application site pain (2%), and application site erythema (2%). Subjects with persistent erythema along with inflammatory lesions were allowed to use additional therapy for the inflammatory lesions of rosacea." Do not apply on irritated or broken skin. Apply a thin layer of medication to cover your entire face (forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin) as directed by your doctor, usually once daily. Wash your hands right after applying this medication. Do not use in your eyes, mouth, or vagina. Avoid contact with your lips and eyes. If you accidentally get this medication in your eyes, rinse with large amounts of cool water. Warning, Rhofade may impact blood pressure and should be used with caution in patients with severe or unstable or uncontrolled cardiovascular disease, orthostatic hypotension, and/or uncontrolled hypertension/hypotension. The official advise is for patients with cardiovascular disease, orthostatic hypotension, and/or uncontrolled hypertension/hypotension to seek immediate medical care if their condition worsens. ALso important: David Pascoe highlighted the increased risk of oxymetazoline/Rhofade being involved in the development of heart valve damage risk. This is a very serious issue so please read more about this <b><a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-may-come-with-a-heart-valve-damage-risk.html">here</a></b>. *Pharmaceutical company <b><a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/10/15/1621519/0/en/Aclaris-Therapeutics-to-Acquire-Worldwide-Rights-to-RHOFADE-from-Allergan.html">Aclaris</a></b> has bought the world wide rights of Rhofade in 2018. They were also involved in the early phases of Rhofade's development.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj294ApHwVlbWnBUl11qoLJJa5Vbh9c_wxcdz3dwFQ4ucdgB0RCT1CYMTd5Rk0lfjWqX51eoOD8fWnZDpOM8-oWA4kkCwDnq6nyvEAk9DIMinO5u8UED4EvPVZpILf-V_mD0um_XYc1_7fw/s1600/74990_10151311806208996_828551206_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj294ApHwVlbWnBUl11qoLJJa5Vbh9c_wxcdz3dwFQ4ucdgB0RCT1CYMTd5Rk0lfjWqX51eoOD8fWnZDpOM8-oWA4kkCwDnq6nyvEAk9DIMinO5u8UED4EvPVZpILf-V_mD0um_XYc1_7fw/s400/74990_10151311806208996_828551206_n.jpg" width="398" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;"><b>In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29320594">this pubmed trial</a> oxymetazoline cream 1% was tested on rosacea skin.</b></span><br />
It called oxymetazoline (also used in Rhofade) "a safe, tolerable, effective treatment for moderate to severe persistent facial erythema in patients with rosacea." This phase 3, double-blind study evaluated the efficacy and safety of topical oxymetazoline in 440 patients (mean age, 49.5 years; 78.9% females) with moderate erythema (redness) of the face, correlating with moderate to severe rosacea. Patients were randomly divided into groups who were given oxymetazoline hydrochloride cream 1.0% or another neutral topical. They applied it once daily for 29 days, and were followed for 28 days post treatment. Researchers found that more patients who were given an oxymetazoline cream showed improvement of their skin redness than those who were given a placebo. They noted at least a 2-grade decrease from baseline redness, based both on the evaluation of a clinician and based on the patients own judgement. A 2-grade decrease in redness means that if you had mild redness to begin with, you can expect almost pale skin with this product. And if you had severe fiery redness, you can expect mild redness after using Rhofade. Moderate redness can be reduced to slight redness. In theory :) Only 1.8% of the patients using oxymetazoline stopped early with the trials due to side-effects, compared to 0.5% of those in the placebo control group. The most common side-effects mentioned were "application-site dermatitis, application-site erythema, and headache" in the oxymetazoline group (1.4% each), and headache (0.9%) in the plaecbo group. Interesting is here that "application site erythema" is what they probably call what I'd call rebound redness. And that nobody in the placebo group mentioned this side effect, compared to 1.4% in the oxymetazoline group, which equals 3 people out the 220 group of oxymetazoline test patients. This side effect increased once patients stopped using oxymetazoline: "<i>Following cessation of treatment, low proportions of patients experienced rebound effect (oxymetazoline group, 2.2%; vehicle group, 1.1%)</i>." Read more about the result outcome <a href="https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/results/NCT02095158?view=results"><b>here</b></a>.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-UrLkKgBl1n2vebNx9MUHGgRF1L15OE2VD4_94A9moB_wgvqmewXw-ZgTGXAqP2jtyTi-IKKWuwP39Gdg43i1Ii1e3ZBMZvSAMudym4yo9X2dPRigya3zdWposzNG43AczaT-75Igzh1/s1600/hqdefault.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-UrLkKgBl1n2vebNx9MUHGgRF1L15OE2VD4_94A9moB_wgvqmewXw-ZgTGXAqP2jtyTi-IKKWuwP39Gdg43i1Ii1e3ZBMZvSAMudym4yo9X2dPRigya3zdWposzNG43AczaT-75Igzh1/s400/hqdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">And in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29409914">this pubmed research</a> article, again 440 rosacea patients were studied (perhaps even the same test group), but this time longer; for 52 weeks.</span></b> </span>By the time the trial finished, after 52 weeks, 43.4% of the participants still in the trial had a 2 grade or better improvement in their facial redness, 6 hours after application. Based on this long term research, your chances of success with Rhofade suddenly increase to more than 40%, so 2 our of 5 people. Apparently, now 8,2% of participants reported side-effects; mostly local dermatitis (redness rash), tingling of the skin, pain or itchiness. And only 0.7% (3 people) of the 440 participants reported rebound redness at the end of the year, 2 weeks after the completion of the study. I am not quite sure if this is a reliable test outcome, given the much larger (seeming) percentage of real time Rhofade users mentioning rebound issues. Or do we only hear online from the unhappy minority? I take real patient reviews very serious however, whereas with such relatively small scale and single double-blind studies, it is not always entirely clear if the researchers were linked or even paid for their research by the pharmaceuticals who make the product. Strange as it may sound, this is common practice actually, and as you can imagine it throws some doubt then about the objective factuality of the whole enterprise. It's like the FAA asking Boeing to make rapports and certify the safety of their own planes.. . Oh wait, that actually also <b><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/failed-certification-faa-missed-safety-issues-in-the-737-max-system-implicated-in-the-lion-air-crash/?fbclid=IwAR1ekvJTg0YbTDJduZrPlrxnFp9NuzQ-jRVeIoPCfyvWo2g2-OJmxIPSGCM">happened</a></b> for real. And look what trouble that gave. Very interesting that those rosacea patients who had been treated with a placebo cream also reported in some cases to get rebound redness after stopping it. The researchers concluded that oxymetazoline applied to the face once daily for 29 days was effective, safe, and well tolerated in patients with moderate to severe persistent facial erythema of rosacea. It concludes: "Clinical trials completed with oxymetazoline 1% cream suggest a low to negligible risk of worsening of facial erythema or rebound, although postmarketing clinical experience with oxymetazoline is still early." Another "however" is that there was nothing mentioned in the research papers about the scientists involved being independent and not somehow linked to Allergan pharmaceutical company, or paid by them. Something that may sound strange, but has in fact happened in the past with Mirvaso research (paid for or done by Galderma linked people). Some of the scientists who wrote it were in fact working for a Dermatology Consulting Service, a Laser Skin & Vein Institute, for Baumann Cosmetic & Research Institute, Inc, Miami, Florida and there we have it; Allergan plc, Irvine, California. So, very little research done on how this product is tolerated by rosacea patients, and the research that wás done is unclear about the neutrality of the researchers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVo0D9_ZtISCskIhGfgGoIiHwcmo8LTTG1dtmQkO2XV13WYwrDHWTV7p0ib5yjsk-kEGmei4tM2zUa3HAPSp9t6N0B1GnlqpEiKEUCL6n-vxBIsH0Rw5fJpaqcRXILW6Xj9SR3zhu9kgrj/s1600/fran_1762384i.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVo0D9_ZtISCskIhGfgGoIiHwcmo8LTTG1dtmQkO2XV13WYwrDHWTV7p0ib5yjsk-kEGmei4tM2zUa3HAPSp9t6N0B1GnlqpEiKEUCL6n-vxBIsH0Rw5fJpaqcRXILW6Xj9SR3zhu9kgrj/s400/fran_1762384i.jpg" width="393" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 35px;">This <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3839519/#!po=18.7500">trial</a> mentions two case reports of people with skin redness and flushing using oxymetazoline cream 1%.</b><br />
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Topical oxymetazoline 0.1% solution was applied once daily to the face. After one hour both people reported a decrease of facial redness. Within 2 to 3 hours they mentioned a dramatic improvement of the redness of their skin. These effects lasted throughout the day. Both people actually kept using the 1% oxymetazoline solution for several months and mentioned "marked improvement in erythema without episodes of flushing or flares". And even after continuing to use the product for a whopping 8 and 17 months, they still felt it made their faces less red. And no rebound mentioned... Now, we have all been fooled by Mirvaso's initial test results, which also worked around the serious rebound problem, ignoring it entirely or estimating it to be an issue for only 2% of users. Often reps blamed that 2% on an "allergic reaction". In other word; nothing wrong with their problem, but in fact with the immune system of those unfortunate users. Then it turned out in reality that the product does give intense rebound for a significant percentage of users, and not due to allergies but instead due to the basal way in which it works. For everyone. Galderma knew about this problem, but chose not to solve it - for as far that is even possible with these type of blood vessel constrictors. One forum member <b><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36555-Interesting-piece-about-oxymetazoline&highlight=oxymetazoline">said</a></b> this about it all:<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>"I was on the Mirvaso clinical trials and quit the trial for rebound flushing. I was not the only one yet the drug went to market and in the beginning there was no mention of rebound flushing. My dermatologist even asked the Galderma reps about rebound flushing and they said there was none..."</i></b></span></div>
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Bottom line; they lied.... Eventually Galderma had to insert a rebound <b><a href="https://www.mirvaso.com/hcp/about-mirvaso/">warning</a></b> in their patient information leaflets, but it took them a long time to do so, and no doubt were doing it for legal reasons, as quite a few angry patients who endured short or long term damage from Mirvaso were trying to sue the Pharmaceutical company...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMwXDNrL3J_RpLk4xqWvVZghXMKTyTsWGkyo3DwtoOC32z8XzvyQG1zHdQOBKqtRJ4_qjkwsNvYbe6Z9dtpFIRsY60XK3LWXHTPbUNyp__f_sFvKSbAAwKvddP8biUlwAyC5uBQKPgMSgv/s1600/images+%25283%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="225" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMwXDNrL3J_RpLk4xqWvVZghXMKTyTsWGkyo3DwtoOC32z8XzvyQG1zHdQOBKqtRJ4_qjkwsNvYbe6Z9dtpFIRsY60XK3LWXHTPbUNyp__f_sFvKSbAAwKvddP8biUlwAyC5uBQKPgMSgv/s320/images+%25283%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a>The scientists went on to explain that decongestant like Oxymetazoline, but also other constrictors (and they mention here other α1-adrenoreceptor agonists, such as phenylephrine hydrochloride, naphazoline hydrochloride, tetrahydrozaline hydrochloride, oxymetazoline hydrochloride, and xylometazoline hydrochloride) work by binding the alpha 1 receptors on the capillaries (the finely branched out blood vessels in our skin), constricting them. If you use these products in the nose, they will therefore decreases the swelling in the nasal cavity, allowing more air passage. And when used on the skin, they constrict the superficial blood vessels in the skin, thus taking out the redness of rosacea. And when used in the eyes (as an eye product), they decrease the redness in the white of the eye. Now doctors warn not to use too much of it, because theoretically it could travel further into the body than the superficial surface, and even reach the deeper bigger blood vessels, affecting the systemic circulation. And that could be important to know for people with heart illness, blood pressure problems and such. But the chance of this happening is very small (given that we use it on the skin, and don't swallow it), and you would need to use a lot of oxymetazoline or comparable substance. Aside from constricting the blood vessels, oxymetazoline and comparable substances also have <b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16221739">shown</a></b> to have <b><span style="color: #b45f06;">anti-inflammatory effects</span></b>. The fact it can decrease pro-inflammatory cytokines, which are directly implicated in rosacea inflammation, is good news, on paper. <i>"Oxymetazoline has also recently been shown to have significant effects on the arachidonic acid cascade, strongly inhibiting 5-lipoxygenase activity and thus decreasing the synthesis of the highly proinflammatory leukotriene B4.</i>" It is also stated to reduce oxidative-stress dependent reactions in inflammatory and/or infectious skin conditions, but scientists add that more research needs to be done on this one. So we will take it with a tiny pinch of salt, just yet. But promising info nonetheless.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5txx9BFDBSlkr9y5Wwob5FlAwxBaiknmo0RuTweT1ADcGQdeCIxk8CuExwg_D9Y3selMOVXIGZ4_AC7yuw5njN2vCL6DTwx4YiNleo8AZ5_AVqd6AqcRkmgzhN-XIyx7mNtusPvWfchxb/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="709" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5txx9BFDBSlkr9y5Wwob5FlAwxBaiknmo0RuTweT1ADcGQdeCIxk8CuExwg_D9Y3selMOVXIGZ4_AC7yuw5njN2vCL6DTwx4YiNleo8AZ5_AVqd6AqcRkmgzhN-XIyx7mNtusPvWfchxb/s320/Untitled-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">But the authors of <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/654421">this research</a> also added that there are two big issues with oxymetazoline and comparable substances:</span></b> First they tend to lose efficiency over time, and Second they are linked to rebound flaring and rebound blood vessel dilation, leading to more redness ánd swelling of the skin. Although the two patients they described had no such problems. They pose the theory that the flushing and redness of these patients is linked, at least in part, to "an abnormal expression, function, distribution, or responsiveness of α-adrenergic receptors, likely of an α1-receptor subtype, and that these clinical manifestations may be successfully treated by the topical application of agonists selective for α1-adrenergic receptors such as oxymetazoline."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">About α-2 receptors </span></b>(complex info from <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5605221/"><b>this research paper</b></a>). "The α-1 receptors are located postsynaptically in the vascular smooth muscle within the region of the synapse; α-2 receptors are located presynaptically at the nerve terminal, postsynaptically in the vascular smooth muscle outside the direct region of the synapse, and within the endothelial wall. These anatomic differences may correlate with variations in individual drug activity under certain clinical circumstances (e.g., heating, cooling, differences in relative receptor expressions and locations). In most mammalian species, arterial vasoconstriction via directly innervated stimulation of vascular smooth muscle is mediated predominantly by α-1 adrenoreceptors, though other receptors also play a role in vasoregulation; both α-1 and α-2 receptors appear to contribute significantly to venous vasoconstriction. The presence of presynaptic a-2 receptors appear to inhibit norepinephrine release, which may contribute to vasodilation via a negative feedback loop mechanism. It is not clear when this mechanism would dominate in the clinical setting; however, this activity may potentially emerge in selected clinical situations where postsynaptic α-2 adrenoreceptor activity and/or density are diminished in rosacea-affected skin. More data are needed to further clarify the potential role of this mechanism in the clinical setting where worsening of erythema develops after topical α-2 agonist application. The presence of α-2 receptors on endothelial cells has been shown to mediate release of nitric oxide (NO), which induces vasodilation. Hence, stimulation of endothelial cell a-2 receptors may invoke a vasodilatory response. α-1 receptor stimulation on vascular smooth muscle is able to override the NO-induced vascular relaxation response. The potential triggers that may induce release of endothelium-derived NO are increased levels of shear stress, neurotransmitters, autacoids, and hormonal stimuli. In any given patient, the extent of α-2 receptor-induced vasoconstriction or vasodilation may reflect the net effect of α-2-invoked vascular smooth muscle stimulation (which causes vasoconstriction) versus α-2-mediated endothelial NO release (which causes vasodilation). When the latter response dominates, vasodilation occurs."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibskPFWf8meVKJqq-ZyL5IdOPCcEFGuZeQTd1OcHzWShWvmPua9jZ96TJeqQ7fYIU0qEnLRn1ukt-DckYFBMcan-sHQenyzt2bAZF-eNgfxZi6Pi8o2irLcX5E4WQtwLLM48elwXxqlBTW/s1600/images+%25284%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="223" data-original-width="226" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibskPFWf8meVKJqq-ZyL5IdOPCcEFGuZeQTd1OcHzWShWvmPua9jZ96TJeqQ7fYIU0qEnLRn1ukt-DckYFBMcan-sHQenyzt2bAZF-eNgfxZi6Pi8o2irLcX5E4WQtwLLM48elwXxqlBTW/s400/images+%25284%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 33px;">More details about this 2-person test <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/654421">case</a>:</span></b> "The erythematotelangiectatic (ETR) subtype of rosacea is characterized by frequent episodes of facial flushing and persistent centrofacial erythema (redness of the center of the face) and may be accompanied by telangiectasias (broken spider veins), facial edema (swelling), burning, or stinging. The pathophysiologic cause of the erythema is uncertain, and there are currently no satisfactory treatments for this common form of rosacea.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Report of case 1</span></b><br />
A 55-year-old man presented with a long history of ETR rosacea (subtype 1 rosacea with skin redness) manifesting with prolonged facial flushing provoked by multiple stimuli including heat, exercise, sun exposure, and the consumption of alcoholic beverages. He confided that he was particularly disturbed that, for many years, people frequently asked him: “Why is your face so red?” His condition had progressed over the last 15 years to include persistent facial erythema (redness). In addition to his usual triggers, he had noted that during his workday in an air conditioned office the erythema worsened, usually peaking in early afternoon, sometimes with concurrent facial stinging or burning. He had previously been treated with several oral antibiotics, multiple topical therapies including metronidazole, and most recently azelaic acid gel, with no effect. He asked if there was anything that might help the erythema and symptoms.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Case 2</span></b><br />
A 70-year-old woman presented with a history of ETR rosacea (subtype 1 rosacea with skin redness), progressively worsening throughout her adult life. Although she had endured episodic flushing for decades, her erythema (skin redness) had become persistent in recent years. She had used numerous topical antibiotics for decades, including metronidazole, clindamycin phosphate, and combination sodium sulfacetamide, 10%, and precipitated sulfur, 5%, in an attempt to alleviate the erythema. She noted no improvement with the use of any of these agents and stated that she had continued using them “more out of hope” than because the medications had any effect. She had also used topical tretinoin with no improvement and had considered pulsed-dye laser therapy but had decided against it.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Therapeutic challenge</span></b><br />
Erythematotelangiectatic rosacea, in general, responds poorly to treatment. Topical and oral antibiotics, standard treatment for papulopustular rosacea, are usually ineffective. Oral systemic agents such as β-blockers, clonidine hydrochloride, and spironolactone have little evidence of benefit; these agents also have potential systemic adverse effects. The pulsed-dye laser and, more recently, other nonablative laser and light therapies have been used to treat erythema and telangiectasias; however, not all patients respond, multiple treatment sessions are required, recurrences are common, costs can be significant, and flushing is often persistent. Our 2 patients demonstrate typical features of ETR rosacea with easily triggered, treatment resistant, socially embarrassing, persistent facial erythema and discomfort (stinging and burning). Neither patient demonstrated a papulopustular component, phymatous component, or ocular component to their disease, and conventional therapeutic options had not been effective.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Solution</span></b><br />
"An attempt to treat ETR rosacea using an over-the-counter drug known to possess vasoconstrictive properties was undertaken. A commercially available preparation of <b><span style="color: #b45f06;">oxymetazoline hydrochloride</span></b>, 0.05%, solution was applied once daily to the affected area of the face. Patient 1 and her physician noted a decrease in facial erythema within 1 hour of drug application, and a dramatic improvement within 2 to 3 hours. This effect was sustained throughout the entire day. After a 7:30 AM application of the drug, the patient noted an improvement in the chronic “baseline” erythema, and experienced a marked reduction in his transient flares. His erythema continued to be controlled in the early afternoon, at his normal time of peak erythema, and he experienced no stinging or burning. Patient 2 reported a similar improvement in her appearance and symptoms. Two weeks after initiating therapy, she was so pleased with the response that she sent her physician a letter of thanks indicating that the treatment was still effective and that she had discontinued use of topical metronidazole, her most current treatment. She returned 3 months after initiating therapy and continued to evidence marked improvement in the erythema and had experienced no episodic flares or flushing. Both patients were counseled that this treatment was “off label” and that even though the medication was over the counter, adverse effects could occur and could include the listed adverse effects of underlying heart disease, hypertension, thyroid disease, diabetes mellitus, and urinary retention. Both patients elected to continue treatment on their own. Patient 1 stated that “This is the first time my face has been normal in decades.” Six weeks after initiating once-daily application, patient 1 demonstrated continued control of the erythema and had complete relief of his facial stinging and burning. Neither patient experienced any adverse effects, has evidenced any rebound flares in erythema or other symptoms, or has demonstrated any tachyphylaxis to the current regimen. At the last follow-up examination, patient 1 had continued treatment for 8 months and patient 2 for 17 months, with sustained effects. Both patients had discontinued all other therapies directed toward their rosacea other than sunscreen use."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBtMJ3Q-kfHuR7jy084oxLJXac_Neh12yOY7EGT1DdVhsTmBFjYIFuSoPktiYhDRDFmcy-VjmEi1j-SCd89_fKORKybBJkzgIYASIfUb-6pOChYqPEMyn3n9WGzAyxZcb2EwVG3M2UcGJu/s1600/woodman1-b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="1600" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBtMJ3Q-kfHuR7jy084oxLJXac_Neh12yOY7EGT1DdVhsTmBFjYIFuSoPktiYhDRDFmcy-VjmEi1j-SCd89_fKORKybBJkzgIYASIfUb-6pOChYqPEMyn3n9WGzAyxZcb2EwVG3M2UcGJu/s400/woodman1-b.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 30px;"><b>Shockingly low (official) success rate</b></span></div>
Going by the published clinical data, it is <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html"><b>stated</b></a> that basically one in 6 or 7 users of RHOFADE will have a 2-grade improvement in their facial redness, typically for 12 hours, and continuing for 29 once-daily uses. 1 in 6, optimistically.. That is not a great success rate. I wonder what the reason behind this is.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhszdD537JZLzB9rHF-_sW75y3A2GzasjWvixwUELP0iebYkmNFipz4OgKtJ5Lyis4k9UX6cChRaMWs8GSPOlsI7woFnprJghhGx2BcncQvcL1VoJFFcvHcEkt1_uhglxABA8zX-lRG8h1a/s1600/rhofade-clinical-results.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="1011" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhszdD537JZLzB9rHF-_sW75y3A2GzasjWvixwUELP0iebYkmNFipz4OgKtJ5Lyis4k9UX6cChRaMWs8GSPOlsI7woFnprJghhGx2BcncQvcL1VoJFFcvHcEkt1_uhglxABA8zX-lRG8h1a/s400/rhofade-clinical-results.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;"><b>Ingredients explained</b></span><br />
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Each gram of RHOFADE (oxymetazoline hydrochloride) cream contains 10 mg (1%) oxymetazoline hydrochloride and the following inactive ingredients: sodium citrate dihydrate, citric acid anhydrous, disodium edetate dihydrate, butylated hydroxytoluene, anhydrous lanolin, medium chain triglycerides, diisopropyl adipate, oleyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol 300, PEG-6 stearate, glycol stearate, PEG-32 stearate, cetostearyl alcohol, ceteareth-6, stearyl alcohol, ceteareth-25, methylparaben, propylparaben, phenoxyethanol, and purified water. Below I will explain a little bit more about these ingredients and mark those that can be skin irritants in red.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Sodium citrate dihydrate</span></b> is used in cosmetics and personal care products as a buffering agent to control the pH level, but may also be used as a preservative. It is the sodium salt of citric acid, a weak organic acid that is naturally found in both plants and animals, particularly in citrus fruits. It is not known as a skin irritation or for allergic skin reactions.<br />
<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Citric acid anhydrous</span></b> is used in pharmaceutical preparations due to its antioxidant properties. It maintains stability of active ingredients and is used as a preservative. It is a weak organic acid that is popular for skin care use due to being a natural preservative and conservative. Topical citric acid can brighten skin, shrink pores, treat mild acne and correct dark spots and fine lines. It is used in skin care products to adjust the acidity of a product or promote skin peeling and re-growth in the case of anti-aging products. Citric acid is naturally found in citric fruits and juices, providing the characteristic acidic taste.<br />
<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Disodium edetate dihydrate</span></b> helps prevent the deterioration of cosmetics and personal care products. Cosmetic manufacturers frequently use this ingredient as a preservative, chelator and stabilizer, but has also been shown to enhance the foaming and cleaning capabilities of a cosmetic solution. Used in many personal care products.<br />
<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Butylated hydroxytoluene</span></b> (BHT) is used in a wide range of cosmetic formulations as an antioxidant and preservatives in lipsticks and moisturizers, among other cosmetics. They are also widely used as food preservatives. BHT applied to the skin was <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/12396675/">associated</a> with toxic effects in lung tissue, but no significant irritation, sensitization, or photosensitization. Is safe as used in cosmetic formulations.<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Anhydrous lanolin</span></b> is used as a moisturizer to treat or prevent dry, rough, scaly, itchy skin and minor skin irritations (e.g., diaper rash, skin burns from radiation therapy). Used to soften and moisturize the skin and decrease itching and flaking. But lanolin also has a bad rep for irritating sensitive skin and causing allergic reactions. However, the amounts of lanolin used in cosmetic products like facial moisturizers are usually small.<br />
<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Medium chain triglycerides</span></b> (MCTs) are generally made by processing coconut and palm kernel oils in the laboratory. When MCT oil is applied to the skin, it will act as a high quality moisturizer in the treatment of dry skin.<br />
<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Diisopropyl adipate</span></b> is a lubricant, used to give skin a soft, smooth appearance, but is is also added to cosmetic products to soften synthetic compounds. It serves as an emollient or solvent that absorbs rapidly. Often used in cosmetic products such as perfumes, colognes, aftershave lotions, skin cleansers, foundations and lipsticks.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Oleyl alcohol </span></b>is also used as a lubricant, giving the skin a soft, smooth appearance. Stearyl Alcohol and Oleyl Alcohol are mixtures of long-chain fatty alcohols, so not the same as regular (drying) alcohol. </div>
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Polyethylene glycol 300</b> </span>(PEG 300) is a lubricant and an absorption enhancer which allows both good and bad ingredients to be absorbed faster into deeper parts of skin. If used on broken or damaged skin, it can cause irritation and system toxicity. In addition, PEGs can reduce the skin's moisture levels and speed up skin aging.<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">PEG-6 stearate</span></b> is another PEG. Used in cosmetics and personal care products as surfactants, cleansing agents and emollients. Some PEG compounds are not safe for use on damaged skin.<br />
<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Glycol stearate</span></b> is used as an emollient in cosmetic products, and is a combination of ethylene glycol (colorless chemical) and stearic acid (a common fatty acid). Glyceryl Stearate reduces the greasiness of oils used in certain cosmetics and personal care products.<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">PEG-32 stearate</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b>is another PEG and cleans the skin and hair by helping water to mix with oil and dirt so that they can be rinsed away. PEG Stearates are used in skin creams, conditioners, shampoos, body cleansers and soapless detergents.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh3E5a-8rAI6_4Nwkt2-A7UOdbB673uLxOAdq6eEhDK0Sem3mAnQ4hrkUQ4HABPonB77AGMDjuqNLY-vk-Pbp_T59c4sZr9-7zaJzbgBlw_LqAj8_qs9GJ6Dq-hA7mt1gQxurKcxZgH7Vz/s1600/2043_10151311803378996_58445235_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="660" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh3E5a-8rAI6_4Nwkt2-A7UOdbB673uLxOAdq6eEhDK0Sem3mAnQ4hrkUQ4HABPonB77AGMDjuqNLY-vk-Pbp_T59c4sZr9-7zaJzbgBlw_LqAj8_qs9GJ6Dq-hA7mt1gQxurKcxZgH7Vz/s400/2043_10151311803378996_58445235_n.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Cetostearyl alcohol</span></b> is used as an emulsion stabilizer; opacifying agent; surfactant - foam booster; and viscosity increasing agent. It is often used in creams and lotions as emollients and thickener. Fatty alcohols are not irritating and, in fact, can be beneficial for dry skin.<br />
<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Ceteareth-6</span></b> is derived from olive oil) and used in skin care products, moisturizers, hair conditioners and such. Helps to form emulsions by reducing the surface tension of the substances to be emulsified.<br />
<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Stearyl alcohol</span></b> is a naturaly fatty alcohol derived from stearic acid, coconut oil or vegetable fatty acids, and is used to soothe and soften as a conditioning agent and as an emulsifier. Fatty alcohols are not irritating and, in fact, can be beneficial for dry skin.<br />
<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Ceteareth-25</span></b> is another fatty alcohol that functions as an emulsifier and surfactant in cosmetics. It may be plant- or animal-derived or made synthetically.<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Methylparaben, propylparaben </span></b>are preservatives, antimicrobial; they can irritate the skin in very sensitive skin types. Parabens, including methylparaben, mimic the effects of estrogen in the human body. Possible skin irritants.<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Phenoxyethanol</span></b> has been used since the 1950s as a preservative in cosmetics and personal care products. It prevents the growth of fungi, bacteria, and yeast that could cause products to spoil. It can cause skin and lung irritation ans there have been toxic effects noted through inhalation, skin exposure, and ingestion. The product's Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) says that it phenoxyethanol is harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin and that it can cause reproductive damage.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTI-2cgjT2CGpptaTfZvfYVGzr10QDdZ04m8rfa1ohpVta9St21Rz1Gmu6GObompEjFc5aqp6bcN9mSdOCYRuGyRqxUKlnI1ZGeHDHxHRBxvahjC2FlgPfiIvwsHN4BVZx84G2Prh-1ge/s1600/Woodman-Francesca_untitled_arms-980x972.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="972" data-original-width="980" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTI-2cgjT2CGpptaTfZvfYVGzr10QDdZ04m8rfa1ohpVta9St21Rz1Gmu6GObompEjFc5aqp6bcN9mSdOCYRuGyRqxUKlnI1ZGeHDHxHRBxvahjC2FlgPfiIvwsHN4BVZx84G2Prh-1ge/s400/Woodman-Francesca_untitled_arms-980x972.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;"><b>Oxymetazoline spray</b></span><br />
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Rhofade can be expensive, especially when you live in the United States. In Europethe product is usually very affordable, in case Health Insurance doesn't cover its cost entirely (they usually do as it is a prescription drug). Rhofade has the active ingredient oxymetazoline, which as a nasal spray is available OTC. Some people have used the nasal spray as such for their skin and it has the same effect. It is however very important not to use too much. One pea sized drop of Rhofade cream is enough, and for oxymetazoline spray dosing is a lot more difficult. It is therefore not recommended, but rosacea patients have tried oxymetazoline in the past; both experimentally before Rhofade came onto the market, and afterwards because Rhofade was too expensive for some. Rhofade is in the end 'stolen' from nose sprays; it has the same active ingredient as Vicks sinex nose spray or Otrivin nose spray. It also works in the same way; temporarily constricting the blood vessels. In the nose, it makes you able to breath better while having nose congestion and on the skin it will help reduce redness. BUT, as written already, the big but is that for people with reactive blood vessels, it can cause rebound worsening of redness after it wears off. just like with its "big brother" Mirvaso (stolen from an eye drop that does the same). But Rhofade is not as strong as Mirvaso so makes the chance of profound rebound flaring smaller. But it still happens to some users, so comes down to trial and error. You may want to try this product on a small patch of skin first, and be careful. It is only a temporary aid and once the product wears off after about 8-12 hours you are either back to normal, or temporarily worse. If Rhofade works for you but the price tag is too high, try looking up products where you live that contain oxymetazoline perhaps, there have been similar experiences by others who tested it with the oxymetazoline nose sprays as with Rhofade. Also important to note; if you use Oxymetazoline as the active ingredient in decongestant products like Afrin, Sudafed OM and Vicks Sinex as well as in eye drops like Visine LR, then make sure to use it on a hydrated face. Either mix it with your moisturizer or splash your face wet with water first. Reason being that hydrated skin absorbs better. When the underlying dermis becomes saturated with water, junctions between the skin cells (gap junctions) become temporarily larger, allowing larger size molecules (of the oxymetazoline in this case) to pass on through. This occurs between the skin cells. Just as water will flow from an area of low concentration to an area of high concentration (called osmosis; when you eat salt, the salt in your blood pulls water into the vessels, increasing pressure) reverse osmosis works in the opposite manner: if a drug molecule sits outside the skin cell membrane, then it will be more likely to be "sucked" into the skin cell if it the skin cell is filled with water (water won't "sweat" out of the skin...skin is there to prevent this from happening). So, moisturize first in some form of another to increase skin absorption.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigMOhL7o0mmPO69wknogNBniJ8Reik7IJa94G5X7lkPibe6thOEafxzfPxWvAGX7fsgmM5u-_CyWrFEbc2plqxOG1FoI-3S8m3GeBlW2q1PQ59UjNe6BFfVJtlmKHzBxx2VvHGFGrkaoVS/s1600/francesca-woodman-self-portrait%252C-providence%252C-rhode-island-%2528with-glove%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="470" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigMOhL7o0mmPO69wknogNBniJ8Reik7IJa94G5X7lkPibe6thOEafxzfPxWvAGX7fsgmM5u-_CyWrFEbc2plqxOG1FoI-3S8m3GeBlW2q1PQ59UjNe6BFfVJtlmKHzBxx2VvHGFGrkaoVS/s400/francesca-woodman-self-portrait%252C-providence%252C-rhode-island-%2528with-glove%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;"><b>I will add user reviews of both Rhofade and oxymetazoline below. </b></span>Spoiler: the majority of the reviews are negative. Mainly in a facebook rosacea support group I help moderate have I read more positive reviews. But due to privacy I cannot link to them unfortunately. But paraphrasing some of those reviews, people (verified real life people with rosacea) have been saying that they love it, that it works but is expensive. That it makes their face two shades lighter in terms of redness. That Rhofade brings the redness of their cheeks down. Others say their face burns less while using it, Someone had been using it once daily for a week and was seeing improvement in subtype 1 redness, saying the redness returns at night only once the Rhofade wears off, after 8 to 10 hours. Someone mentioned reduced flushing also and another wrote that Rhofade seems to prevent flushing. Multiple people said it works for 10 to 12 hours, unless a trigger food was eaten. Some had no redness worsening after those 12 hours, others did go more red or pink and some mentione days of after-se relentless redness or even flushing. Someone called it the Cinderella cream, only masking the redness cosmetically and only to be used for special occasions. Others use it daily, to prevent redness of the face during the day (and just suck up the redness during the night). Some people noticed no effects, neither good nor bad. While someone else said that it should be used regularly in fact, to counteract possible rebound. For some it worked right away, for others the results only became visible after two weeks of daily use. And for some, it stopped working after a few months. Someone said about the Rhofade rebound that it is not like the rebound that Mirvaso gave, but that the pinkness does start coming through again after about 12 hours. Someone said the Rhofade dried the skin out too much, some others that it made their skin burn and hurt. Another person said that Rhofade ruined her face and to run as fast as you can from it. Or that it made the rosacea and burning worse. Someone said it made the face worse after 3 days of use. Some people suspected that they were allergic to some of Rhofades ingredients, instead of dealing with rebound problems. Others mentioned it gave them acne which they never had before, or red splotches and rashes after use. Someone wrote that Rhofade made the blood vessels in the skin lazy and ultimately made the redness and flushing worse over time.<br /><br /></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;">User reviews: Rhofade </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Person66 <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on March 17th, 2019:</span></b> "Horrible. Was prescribed this by dermatologist for mild rosacea, without any warning about possible side effects. I used this in conjunction with Plexion daily wash. Used no other facial soaps at all. Only other skin regimen was to use the recommended neutral moisturizers. Within 5 days of using rhofade the redness had become much worse. Before treatment, I just had a smooth simple blush. After 5 days of this "medicine", my skin had become much more red, over much more area. Instead of smooth slight red, it's bright red and blotchy, with bumps and break-outs forming. Dry and rough and yet looks very shiny. Itching became so bad that I could not sleep (I did resist urge to scratch). I stopped the meds 2 days ago but the symptoms persist. With so many negative reports here, how did this medicine pass approval? The studies claim only very low (like 2%) have adverse reactions. What is the truth here? How long will it take to recover? Or is the damage permanent? I rate it with a 1.0."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Redfacedman <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on March 5th, 2019:</span></b> "I had tried Mirvaso and had a terrible rebound redness. Worse than an rosacea attack. Plus it made me too pale. I have been using the Rhofade now for about three months almost every morning with a very mild amount of application. I have yet to experience a noticable rebound. The only additional redness I have is right after application from rubbing it on my face. I do not get rosacea bumps too often but, I did have a small cluster the other morning on my forehead which I thought was diminished rather quickly by the mornings application. I have been very satisfied with my results from using Rhofade. I rate it 8.0."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Bill <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on March 2nd, 2019:</span></b> "Definitely reduces redness but with rebound redness that persists for multiple after stopping use. Both effectiveness and rebound are not quite as pronounces as with Mirvaso. There is no way trials showed no rebound. The FDA is failing us. I rate it 2.0."<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Lynn <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on March 1st, 2019:</span></b> "I have mild rosacea with some stubborn redness, but nothing too upsetting. I have been doing IPL off and on to control the redness with great results. Recently for no reason, I can think of, my cheeks began to burn and turn bright red. I saw my dermatologist and got another round of IPL AND a sample of Rhofade put on my face before I left. Well that first day my skin looked almost normal before all the flaming redness popped up. BUT now my cheeks are back to flaming red and this is after getting IPL! I'm hoping the IPL will do its job and take care of the redness. I am taking a big pass on the Rhofade. I do not understand these extreme responses to this medication: many have really terrible experiences (like me) and some are praising Rhofade. Makes me wonder....anyway, a big NO on Rhofade! I rate it 1.0."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Kelly <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on February 23rd, 2019:</span></b> "Got a sample from my Derm. Used twice, and now my face is red, hot, inflamed, swollen, burning, etc... do not recommend. I rate it 1.0."<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Buttercup <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on February 19th, 2019:</span></b> "Dr. Emily Goeller prescribed this cream for my very mild rosacea. I had slight redness but no bumps or pustules on my cheeks only. After one use of rhofade on one cheek only I had a flare up with pustules all over my face and my eyes burned. There are many bad reviews for this cream but that's typical for rosacea treatment. However, this cream is much worse than most other treatments. Almost everyone has a bad reaction and it takes months to heal. Compare rhofade reviews to azelaic acid reviews. Azelaic acid is much better. I recommend that you don't risk it. I rate it 1.0." <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">M <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on February 19th, 2019:</span></b> "I had mild unexplained flushing (mostly evenings) but otherwise beautiful skin. At my derm’s recommendation I used this across my nose/cheeks for 6 weeks to curtail flushing. The first 3 weeks it did eliminate most flushing, however when I washed my face at night the area where I used the rhofade was getting redder and redder. Went to the derm who explained there could be a mild temporary ‘rebound’ after it wore off and it was safe for everyday use. This night time redness/burning got incredibly bad last week to the point I went online and found these reviews. I stopped using the product immediately and in the last 5 days have had PAINFUL redness, burning and swelling to the point of using ice packs at night and my husband thinking we should go to the ER. Please, if anyone has experienced this and knows how long it will last (days, weeks?) I would so appreciate a word of encouragement that this is temporary and gets better. Thanks for sharing any experiences. I rate it 1.0."<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKKa-nWfVzbfrfUAFqvpxf0GK0jfq0dM6eY12PvrBKWX_3PJcrHjJVVxvzy_CeGQRAvbNuKwBZ9L5PsLncC2eI-8RZSd1fX2kj4yb81Io0cCln-Ed-BlBTlI_y6OYJWg0xPM2hbiqBoiR/s1600/190674_10151311801533996_1898645004_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKKa-nWfVzbfrfUAFqvpxf0GK0jfq0dM6eY12PvrBKWX_3PJcrHjJVVxvzy_CeGQRAvbNuKwBZ9L5PsLncC2eI-8RZSd1fX2kj4yb81Io0cCln-Ed-BlBTlI_y6OYJWg0xPM2hbiqBoiR/s400/190674_10151311801533996_1898645004_n.jpg" width="398" /></a><br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Not happy <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on February 12th, 2019:</span></b> "I have mild rosacea and thought I could get it under control if I get a prescription from the dermatologist. I paid more than I should have for rhofade. I immediately experienced burning and the redness and swelling is so severe, worse than I’ve ever looked before! I’m so upset! I’ve obviously stopped using the product yet the irritation, redness and bumps have remained. I fear I’ve destroyed my skin permanently! How did this cream ever pass the testing phase and legally get distributed....I feel we are the victims and only wish I did my homework and saw these reviews before I ever tried this product! There needs to be a class action lawsuit. I rate it 1.0."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Rosie <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on February 8th, 2019:</span></b> "I was told by my derm that this cream would help with my rosacea. It actually made it worse! I do not recommend using this product! I rate it 1.0 "<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Anonymous <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on January 30th, 2019:</span></b> "DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT. I used it for a month religiously then all of a sudden my skin broke out. It was even worse than before. I’m worried it won’t get better. It seems like this happen to a lot of people. How long did it take to heal? I rate it 1.0"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mrsgvern <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on January 28th, 2019:</span></b> "I used Rhofade for my rosacea for 5 days. It seemed to be helping but my face started hurting like I was bruised all over. I started getting painful burning and swelling all over my face starting day 6. I haven't used it today being day 7 but my face is still bright red and swollen with bumps all over. I've never seen this much constant swelling and redness in my 10 years of menopause. This really hurts and I'm on vacation so don't know what to do. Even my eyes are burning. I rate it 1.0"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Ricki <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on January 16th, 2019:</span></b> "I would not recommend this medication to anyone. I suffer from mild rosacea and heard positive feedback from two physicians so decided to give it a shot. I applied the recommended “pea size” amount to my face yesterday at 9am. At about 9PM I washed my face and went to bed. I did not notice any reduction in my redness except for the first 4 hours. The rest of the day my face was like it always is. Today, about 18 hours later at about 5PM my entire face got very flushed, more so than it had ever done in the past. About an hour went by like this and now, two and a half hours post major flush situation only my right cheek is bright red and warm. I reported the adverse event to Allergan and am just praying this resolves on its own. I caution everyone to avoid Rhofade - I had this result from only ONE application. I rate it 1.0"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Tink <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on December 31st, 2018:</span></b> "I have been on Rhofade for 3 weeks now and was very skeptical at first because of these reviews but I have to say it has worked great for me and brings my redness almost to normal. I use this in the morning and Soolantra before bed and that has worked for me. Really happy about this Product and glad I tried it. I rate it a 10."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">PK <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on December 23rd, 2018:</span></b> "DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT!!!! I was prescribed Rhofade for mild rosacea and facial redness. I was very open minded and excited to try this product. After 4 days of use my face has broken out with pustules, severe inflammation, and is fire engine red. It is itchy and painful at the same time. Nothing seems to give me relief. Just in time for Christmas too. I am absolutely furious this product is on the market and being recommended. I rate it 1.0"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRen5N3JnPTx-Qp8vIJjBgQDL_EBAc7oAn4UWo2Gz63ULHzlJRssQMleg_QFOy8JBObW8aPqGOcFw4J6zOdl8KNaiFZbkKY-psMIh7q3IBXHwgwQbqxUP2tgopw2daps1gxaNNrbJWW3dt/s1600/05-francesca-woodman.w536.h536.2x.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1072" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRen5N3JnPTx-Qp8vIJjBgQDL_EBAc7oAn4UWo2Gz63ULHzlJRssQMleg_QFOy8JBObW8aPqGOcFw4J6zOdl8KNaiFZbkKY-psMIh7q3IBXHwgwQbqxUP2tgopw2daps1gxaNNrbJWW3dt/s400/05-francesca-woodman.w536.h536.2x.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Yogi1234 <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on December 12th, 2018:</span></b> "I tried Rhofade for a few weeks and it didn't work at all. No change in redness and rebound flushing. I do not recommend. It doesn't work and it actually causes more redness. Had much better results with mirvaso but it's very expensive. I rate it 1.0"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Laura <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on December 12th, 2018:</span></b> "I wish I'd read these reviews before using Rhofade. It seemed to help my symptoms for a few days, but then I started having intense, burning facial flushing daily (and still do, even though it's been months since then). Rhofade rebound is real and miserable. I rate it 1.0"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Crystal <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on December 11th, 2018:</span></b> "I have been using rhofade for 7 months for redness and flushing and I love it. I did not have any issues with bumps or anything. I did notice at first I had some small areas that would be a brighter red than the rest of my face when I did not use the cream. But I have been taking pictures of my face to compare and actually my face is way less red than usual even when I don’t use it. So the brighter red areas were actually the little areas that did not get lighter. I would not have realized this if I was not using pictures to track my skin. Now my skin on days I don’t use it is much less red. So I say over time this works to lessen the redness. But while it’s on your face it’s definitely not red at all for the whole day. Friday 6am applied before work still looking clear at 2am. The only bad side is the high cost of this cream. But it works very well for me I do not wear concealer or cover up at all I do use a light moisturizer 10 minutes prior to using rhofade. Not sure if that matters for bumps etc. I rate it a 10." <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Crystal <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on December 9th, 2018:</span></b> "Had mild rosacea, red but not always, never pimples. Derm prescribed Rhofade now I am covered in pimples, BRIGHT RED skin worse than ever before. In fact I have horrible skin that cannot be covered with make-up. This should be taken OFF THE MARKET!!! It has ruined my skin on my face. THIS IS AWEFUL!!! DO NOT DO NOT USE"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Elaine <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on December 1th, 2018:</span></b> "Dr says this is the same as putting a 1/2 oz bottle of original afrin mixed with cerave 7 oz of am cerave cream shake well and apply a pea size amount to each affected area. Way cheaper. I rate it 8.0"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mel12345 <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on November 17th, 2018:</span></b> "This medicine is everything I have been looking for. I never thought that I would find a solution to my redness that comes when I’m hot, embarrassed, flustered, etc. THIS IS IT! I can’t say that enough. The first day I used it it was wonderful, then it was about a 2 week period of annoyance before it finally started to work properly. It’s been 7 months since the first time I put it on and every single day I can count on having a clear face that’s the color of my skin (even when I’m flustered, hot, embarrassed, etc) My only problem was redness; I didn’t have pimples so I can’t speak to that. If your problem is redness like mine- TRY THIS and stick with it. I rate it a 10."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">LNS <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on September 24th, 2018:</span></b> "I have rosacea and my face would always get severely red, bumps, feel like it was on fire and would have a stinging sensation. Rhofade, for me, has been a blessing. It is the only thing that completely takes away the redness and it works so fast. My dermatologist gave me samples and I was amazed by how wonderful this cream is. I’m saddened how many have bad side-effects or allergies to this because for me it was life changing and I can’t see myself without it. If I forget to put it on the redness does come back though. I really hope it isn’t expensive. I still have my samples and have been using for 2-3 months now."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Smith <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on September 24th, 2018:</span></b> "The first day I used it my skin looked better. The second day it started burning, itching, turning (tomato) red, swelling. I felt like bugs were crawling on my face. I would not recommend anyone to get this medication. My face looks worse then it ever did. If you are going to try it ask for a sample before you pay the high price it cost. I rate it 1"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">TB <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on September 23rd, 2018:</span></b> "Used it once. Within two days I had blisters on my nose. I stopped using tit until the wounds healed. I tried it again. More blisters that break open and bleed. They take weeks to heal. I rate it 2.0"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhLe-MbCiwH8-hIp885brGUnGgcTK0MVcepoM9iuSE37eyVQpVDIpqzYQ44g74IrPO7ZDPNXNW_MTMYhyphenhyphenm_8aW7geqvC3MxJHMYDeyxTriKc_CVv1Wkc_AY8gFKTZc7iwMUkgM18drmeJ/s1600/Francesca-Woodman-Self-portrait-talking-to-Vince-Providence-Rhode-Island-1977-C-George-and-Betty-Woodman.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="620" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhLe-MbCiwH8-hIp885brGUnGgcTK0MVcepoM9iuSE37eyVQpVDIpqzYQ44g74IrPO7ZDPNXNW_MTMYhyphenhyphenm_8aW7geqvC3MxJHMYDeyxTriKc_CVv1Wkc_AY8gFKTZc7iwMUkgM18drmeJ/s400/Francesca-Woodman-Self-portrait-talking-to-Vince-Providence-Rhode-Island-1977-C-George-and-Betty-Woodman.jpg" width="383" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Matt <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html">wrote</a> on September 17th, 2018:</span></b> "Please don't use this if you just have redness. I asked my derm if there is anything for just redness.. he prescribed me rhofade.. I used it once a day for 3 days and now I have one spot on my cheek that's more red then before. After I stopped taking it the day after my face felt like it was on fire, to the point I wanted to put a cold rag over my face. The burning has stopped, but I'm left with this one spot on my face that's more red then ever before. What do I do now? Will it fade away back to what it was ? This is so annoying. I rate it a 1."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Allergic <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on September 4th, 2018:</span></b> "I saw an ad for Rhofade and asked my derm for a sample. Contains oxymetazoline, which used to be the vasoconstrictor ingredient in Visine eye drops, so it made sense to me. Didn't see much effect for a couple of weeks; then, all of a sudden all redness broke loose! My face turned bright red, was covered with pustules, and itched like mad. It took weeks of coating my face with hydrocortisone to resolve."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Boomtown405 <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/6xpytq/rhofade_cream/">wrote</a> in 2018: </span></b>"Don't continue to use it if you get rebound flushing. I got samples from my derm who asked "have you heard of rhofade or mirvaso"? I said I'm scared of those products due to rebound flushing. He said "rhofade doesn't cause rebound flushing". I did some research and that's a lie it totally can. Maybe not as bad as mirvaso but it can. I think it goes without saying my samples will go in the trash. I went to the doctor wanting a prescription for clonidine as that can help flushing/redness dosed every 8 hours, he says he wanted to try mirvaso and a beta blocker carvidolol that's known to be a vasodialator. I'm considering ordering clonidine online and i wont be using either of the meds my derm tried to give me.."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Byu/altruismandme <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/95xdlp/rhofade_question/">wrote</a> on August 2018: </span></b>"Hi guys! I was recently diagnosed with rosacea and prescribed rhofade for treating redness. I’m aware that in some people, it causes more redness. On first use, I was absolutely stunned. I had never seen my skin so.. normal. My boyfriend even noticed, “wow, your skin isn’t pink!” And I didn’t even tell him I’d tried anything different. I’ve been using it every day since then and... it does nothing. It doesn’t make it any better or worse. I’ve tried the recommended “pea sized amount” and a bit more. Why would it work once and never again?! Has anyone experienced this or have any advice? I was so happy that first day."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Someone <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/95xdlp/rhofade_question/">replied</a> on August 2018: </span></b>"Vasoconstrictors like Rhofade and Mirvosa build up tolerance quickly. Be glad that you didn't experience too much rebound redness because from what I've read it can be quite serious. Personally, I only use Rhofade for special occasions such as weddings or interviews."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Anonymous <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on July 31st, 2018:</span></b> "I used this for 3 days. Worked fine. Day 4? Burning hot red face, worst rosacea symptoms I’ve ever had. I’ve literally never written a review for anything, so this tells you something. Pharmaceutical company tries to report no rebound, but sadly, it worst very similarly to the other topicals that cause rebound redness. Horrible cream. My face feels like it’s on fire."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Rudolph No More <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on July 25th, 2018:</span></b> "For 5 years Drs prescribed all the same stuff Soolantra, Clindamycin, sulfacetamide, etc etc Same red nose Same pustules Rhofade ended it No more red nose No more pustules I wish the Dr wouldve skipped all that other stuff that did not work and went straight to Rhofade I don't know what these other people are talking them in when they say it doesn't work because I have never seen anything work like this Literally within 2 days"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Thomas <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on June 29, 2018: </span></b>"Rhofade on my skin:<br />
– Full effect after 3 hours<br />
– Full effect during 7 hours + after half effect during 2 – 4 hours<br />
– After 5 months : absolute zero side effect<br />
– Visually: my skin is 100% white. Only in huge stress situations or very warm rooms my skin is 80% white (20% red)<br />
– Disadvantage : doesn’t prevent the momentary redness (15 seconds), it doesn’t remove the burning sensation that characterizes rosacea (even if you are not red), the price (very expensive)."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8u-EJRuOiVkfBgQg8BicujGSJffB8A7VQn2KuWs-z6VzS0tdxd00A35mAcKLtariLAOC_7IBzlZOAEcVG3tVWQaiZM5OIn9W75YchHjNShYCoe9YWoqeqHJQRiW56XwHpAyTwsPUwZiaB/s1600/screen-shot-2014-03-05-at-16-15-59.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="431" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8u-EJRuOiVkfBgQg8BicujGSJffB8A7VQn2KuWs-z6VzS0tdxd00A35mAcKLtariLAOC_7IBzlZOAEcVG3tVWQaiZM5OIn9W75YchHjNShYCoe9YWoqeqHJQRiW56XwHpAyTwsPUwZiaB/s400/screen-shot-2014-03-05-at-16-15-59.png" width="398" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">John H <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on June 29, 2018: </span></b>"I’ve been using Rhofade for about a year now, and I still love it. In addition to rosacea, I have psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis. I can’t use it when my SD is acting up or when I have a rosacea flare when I get lesions (my flares are really bad) because it stings and seems to inflame it. Luckily, my deem seems to have found the right combo to get things under control. I use Soolantra, sulfacetamide sodium lotion, and doxycycline. My wife is making me be gluten free too, so who knows what exactly it is, but the rhofade is the thing that makes the red go away for most of the day."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Janet <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on June 28th, 2018: </span></b>"My dermatologist recommended Rhofade for mild rosacea – would only break out once in awhile. After using it for two nights I am stopping. My face looks worse than it did before I started using it. I was using Calm by Aveda before and will go back to that. An expensive lesson!!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Kevin <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on June 25th, 2018:</span></b> "Wow! I knew I wasn't crazy. I noticed my face got super red after using Rhofade for a month. And reading these reviews confirmed I wasn't just seeing things. My face is worse now than ever before. I only had mild rosacea before Rhofade and now my face feels like it is on fire 24/7 and looks like I am sunburned. DO NOT USE THIS! THIS WILL RUIN YOUR LIFE"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Megan <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on June 19th, 2018: </span></b>"I love rhofade. I used mirvaso for years and dealt with the rebound redness every day. I forget I have roscea using this cream. Sorry to hear about all the people it does not work for."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Deltamike <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on June 17th, 2018:</span></b> "Same as other reviews, tried Rhofade for mild redness due to Rosacea. After only a few days of use, face started burning, redness increased, overall bumpy texture plus acne. I wish I’d have googled reviews before use (lesson learned), but blindly trusted my dermatologist. I wondered if it was a coincidence and something else was the trigger, but too many reviews sound exactly like my experience for that to be the case."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Jenny <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on June 7th, 2018:</span></b> "My experience with Rhofade was very similar to the other reviewers. My dermatologist gave me a free sample. The first day I put it on, my face looked less red. The second day, my face burned after I applied the cream and it felt like little needles were stabbing my face. I immediately stopped using it. My face looks more red than it did before. I hope it goes back to normal. DO NOT use this product!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Starz777 <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on June 6th, 2018:</span></b> "Never ever use Rhofade! My dermatologist saw me one time and recommended it. I used it for three days and my skin is red as a tomato and all inflamed and raw. My Rosacea was hardly noticeable and very minor before I started using this stuff."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Lynne <span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> </span>on June 4th, 2018: </span></b>"I had a similar experience.. looked great for couple days then one morning.. I was bright red and felt swollen.. I’m very sad cause I thought I finally found something to help me."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Kimhunter6121</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/8r57h8/did_rhofade_help_your_redness/">wrote</a> on June 2018: </span></b>"My hubby got really <span style="color: #b45f06;">bad rebound redness </span>from this - looked like bad sunburn from his eyes down to his chin and over to his ears. First time he used it everything went to plan and he was happy to find something that worked. Day two - absolute disaster. Be really careful and make sure you are somewhere where you don’t mind if the rebound redness comes on. My hubby was at work and had to hide away for a couple of hours before he felt he could show his face again. Until I discovered this forum a day or so later we didn’t know what was causing the flushing. Still so mad the doctor didn’t say anything about it being a risk - it’s only when you start reading the reviews you find out how common this side effect is."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Xaniskai</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/8r57h8/did_rhofade_help_your_redness/">wrote</a> on June 2018: </span></b>"Yeah, I knew nothing about it when I first put it on! Thank goodness I only used it once. It’s the next day and I don’t have any more redness than usual, but I still won’t be using it again. For something with so many online reviews of bad reactions, you’d think they would warn you when it’s prescribed."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Kc1319310</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/8r57h8/did_rhofade_help_your_redness/">wrote</a> on June 2018: </span></b>"Tried it twice, got such bad rebound redness both times that I threw it in the trash. It only worked on me for a few hours."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOTd_M1-72mo8OU4qTtHNyMZs78TskECxeIzOCnQjmPIEjSzgwvHysqUg7tPoa90H6uCWcEA2XciF1SCbnwAYGIJqloLgU1Y30Tarb5aMAk8aAY46mV44UhJ90v6TVaMs5nSl0KsJHg6vC/s1600/541689_10151311808628996_1033325582_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="500" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOTd_M1-72mo8OU4qTtHNyMZs78TskECxeIzOCnQjmPIEjSzgwvHysqUg7tPoa90H6uCWcEA2XciF1SCbnwAYGIJqloLgU1Y30Tarb5aMAk8aAY46mV44UhJ90v6TVaMs5nSl0KsJHg6vC/s400/541689_10151311808628996_1033325582_n.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Byu</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/8md9bc/issues_with_rhofade/">wrote</a> on June 2018: </span></b>"I’ve been seeing a dermatologist this year to help with persistent acne and what I always suspected was rosacea. I was originally prescribed spironolactane for hormonal acne, and a steroid cream and anti-fungal cream for the redness (she thought it could be something else). I revamped my skincare routine but the redness remained. My derm says she thinks it’s rosacea. She prescribed me Rhofade last week and I want to cry it’s been so bad. I have never had rosacea bumps, just redness. Now it looks like I have a giant rash covering every part of my face. I literally just cleared up all of my acne, and I’d rather deal with the redness which I can cover with makeup than these bumps. Has anyone else had this happen to them? Did the bumps disappear after continued use of Rhofade? Did you immediately stop use? If you stopped, did the bumps eventually fade? Right now I feel like I destroyed my skin and every time I look in the mirror I want to cry at my stupid vanity."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Whit1008</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/8md9bc/issues_with_rhofade/">wrote</a> on June 2018: </span></b>"I had a bad experience with Rhofade too. <span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>As soon as I put it on, I was as red as a tomato</span>.</b></span> I tried again a couple days later, same thing. I no longer use it. So mad at myself for not asking for some samples before I filled the prescription. I have type 1 and 4, so bumps, papules/pustules, and acne rosacea aren’t really an issue for me. Rhofade didn’t bring any of that on, just intense redness. I’m already pretty red, so I looked so awful. I learned my lesson with topicals for sure, Samples first!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Lalala <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on May 30th, 2018:</span></b> "I have acne rosacea and once I got the acne under control, I was prescribed Rhofade for redness. After a few days of use my acne was as bad as it was prior to using this garbage." <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Leigh <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on May 25th, 2018:</span></b> "Used this trash 6 days now my face is red as a damn beet. I just had mild rosacea with occasional flare ups. Now my face is jacked up. Don't use this trash product. Don't be there guinea pig. I wish my dermatologist never recommended me Rofade."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Anonymous <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on May 18th, 2018:</span></b> "Why is Rhofade still prescribed? I wish I had read reviews first. Used only twice and I feel like it's ruined my skin. Increased redness and now I'm dealing with pustules...which I never had prior to use. If I could rate this a zero I would. I rate it a 1."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Alyse May <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on May 16th, 2018:</span></b> "I went to the dermatologist complaining of minor acne and some facial redness. I was told to use aczone and retin - both were fine. My derm insisted I try rhofade, claiming it was the new "miracle" cream for rosacea patients. I was so hesitant after reading all of these terrible reviews that I decided not to use it then. I went back for a follow up and again she was insisting I NEEDED to use this, it works wonders!!! I used rhofade for 3 days.... that's it. That was 4 weeks ago and since then I've been through the worse with my skin. Every square inch of my face is covered in red and white bumps!!! I've been on prednisone, a topical steroid, a topical antibiotic, an oral antibiotic for one month (still on), and now something called elidel. I am still trying to recover and this week the rash came back WORSE THAN EVER. So bad that I cannot go into work this week. If there is anything you take from this review - please DO NOT USE RHOFADE. Despite what your dermatologist tells you."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Veronique <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on May 15th, 2018:</span></b> "I tried this for mild redness on my cheeks, nose and chin. The first few days my face seemed to improve but then it got worse. This is the worst my face ever looked. I started to get some acne and dark red bumps on my cheek. I haven't had acne in the last 30 years. This medicine is terrible. My face burns. I stopped for the past two days but my face still has the bumps. I am also angry that my dermatologist prescribed this without mentioning these issues. DO NOT try this medicine!! I wish I read all these reviews. I rate it a 1!"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQqpHcVQkxUkJvckFXmsAkSaa60nVVcc2Gw2XjqawSnoFz_Ar1jcO58Saz2XKIxcocmwUiAgtkVEuG-dbk0D0zYuDVl4U2WfLgeFGUpd5krTF_cwBhQE9azdDOwZUM8wkbTHTImtXb-m1W/s1600/1421938634.9964_115_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQqpHcVQkxUkJvckFXmsAkSaa60nVVcc2Gw2XjqawSnoFz_Ar1jcO58Saz2XKIxcocmwUiAgtkVEuG-dbk0D0zYuDVl4U2WfLgeFGUpd5krTF_cwBhQE9azdDOwZUM8wkbTHTImtXb-m1W/s400/1421938634.9964_115_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">themildenthusiast <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/8aovhx/rhofade/">wrote</a> on April 2018: </span></b>"Hi! When I went to the dermatologist for Rosacea like symptoms I was told that it wasn’t Rosacea but he didn’t know what it was. He still prescribed me Rhofade because I get extreme redness and hives on my neck and chest that I can get at any point during day for reasons such as embarrassment, eating too quickly, being outside in the sun, drinking alcohol etc. I have also gotten the rude remarks from strangers and even family about my redness and it just makes you feel worse! You are not alone!<span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span><span style="color: #783f04;"><b>Rhofade works within one hour and keeps all of my hives and flushing at bay for up to 12 hours.</b></span> I have read some negative reviews about it and couldn’t believe it! It works great for me. I was also prescribed Propranolol and I use them in conjunction with great results. For the first 4 refills of Rhofade, I received a coupon for my dermatologist that made my prescription just 40$ but without it, it is over 100$ with my insurance. I try to ration it out and don’t waste a drop lol hope you get it soon where you live, and that all this has helped you out!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Byu/krisnoelb</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/8dhe1h/review_rhofade_rebound_out_of_control_my/">wrote</a> on April 2018: </span></b>"Rhofade rebound out of control! My experience with it. I have a subtype 1 Rosacea that is usually well managed. I am lucky enough to not have acne and pustules and over all my skin is in pretty good condition thanks to a long process of finding the perfect routine (thanks SCA, I love you all). I was given samples of Rhofade, patch tested on the side of my jaw and was feeling confident I may be one of the patients that can tolerate it. Like all my new products I eased into it and noticed the first day little to no changed, the second day and third day my cheeks were less red and looked flawless! Oh the fourth or fifth day, I started to get a little red, but thought it was perhaps from exercise or a spicy soup I ate and<span style="color: #783f04;"><b> <span>this morning I woke up with an angry face in a lot of pain</span>.</b></span> Half way through work my neck became itchy and it traveled down my neck to my chest and then my eyes started getting puffy. After talking with my doctor on some rescue remedies (which included antihistamines, steroids, and anti inflammatory meds) it seems to be I am having a rebound reaction to the extreme. I thought I did everything right testing it out, only using it on my cheeks, the proper SCA way. Oh man, I will never use this product again and I urge anyone to be careful. Has anyone else had this experience; how long did it take to go away?"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">ViolaineSugarHiccup</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/8dhe1h/review_rhofade_rebound_out_of_control_my/">wrote</a> on April 2018: </span></b>"Unfortunately this happens a lot with Rhofade and Mirvaso (different drug but also acts as a vasoconstricto). If you google rebound flush plus Rhofade or Mirvaso you'll find a lot of stories. I never tried either because of this and opted for laser treatment instead (I have subtype II but with a lot of redness). As for how long the rebound flush can last: Anywhere from a few days to several months from the various testimonies around the web."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Maria <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on April 26th, 2018:</span></b> "Awful experience!! I've been on Accutane for about 4.5 months and was diagnosed with mild Rosacea long time ago. I tried a sample of Rhofade ONCE and after 3 hours I felt it was the best thing on earth. My redness was completely gone but the next day when the effect was over my Rosacea got really worse than ever before. It's irritated, bright and spread redness with pain. Please if you are considering Rhofade try in a really small spot of your face first. I'm still suffering from that side effect and don't really know what to do to relief my redness."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">sr840910 <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on April 19th, 2018:</span></b> "Be EXTREMELY careful with this medicine. I had minor redness of the face after taking accutane for 6 months. My doctor gave me Rhofade all nonchalantly. I began to use it once a day everyday for a few months. Well slowly I realized <b><span style="color: #783f04;">it was actually <span>making my face more red</span>.</span></b> When I would not put it on, my face would be bright red, making me look ten times worse. I have completely stopped taking it now for about a month and my face is still very red. My doctor prescribed me doxycycline to help get rid of the redness but it is not working good. Does anyone have any suggestions? I would rather take a pill instead of a topical at this point. I tried propranolol but it made me dizzy and light headed. Please, anything would help I am desperate!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">SR <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on April 18th, 2018:</span></b> "Be EXTREMELY careful with this medicine. I had minor redness of the face after taking accutane for 6 months. My doctor gave me Rhofade all nonchalantly. I began to use it once a day everyday for a few months. Well slowly I realized it was actually making my face more red. When I would not put it on, my face would be bright red, making me look ten times worse. I have completely stopped taking it now for about a month and my face is still very red. My doctor prescribed me doxycycline to help get rid of the redness but it is not working good. Does anyone have any suggestions? I would rather take a pill instead of a topical at this point. I tried propranolol but it made me dizzy and light headed. Please, anything would help I am desperate!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Jessie <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on April 3rd, 2018:</span></b> "I normally don't write reviews - and never before for a drug, but my skin is so red and inflamed, I felt I had to. The first week of using Rhofade was fine. I didn't see a big difference, but continued to use, thinking it may come in time. I have mild Rosacea on my lower cheeks (only). I felt that my cheeks were more red in the mornings (prior to putting on the cream). I ended up putting the cream on my apples of my cheeks - as the redness had spread. Days went by, and the redness became more apparent. Yesterday, I was covering my cheeks and had a tiny amount of product leftover on my fingertip. I spread a small circle on my forehead (no redness at all - completely pale white). It wasn't until mid-afternoon that I used the restroom and looked at my face. A small bright red circle was on my forehead. I was so embarrassed. This stuff is making me red. It making my cheeks tingly. I'm so frustrated I am out the $50 and left with a worse face. I rate it 1.0"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">VAsufferer <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on March 25th, 2018:</span></b> "I was really excited to try this product after years of suffering from rosacea. The first dat it seemed great - dramatic reduction in redness. However, after another use it seemed to make my rosacea even worse (painful rebound redness). It wasn't just red - it was fierce red and burning. This product should come with a warning about severity of rebound risk. Big disappointment."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Teri <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on March 22nd, 2018: </span></b>"I have been using Rhofade for about 8 months, and I can really see a difference in my rosacea. I’m Norwegian and Swedish, very fair, and this has been better than Mirvaso, Finacea for me. I really like it. [..] I leave the Rhofade on for about 5 minutes before I apply my makeup. Also, I sometimes put it on at night before I go to bed. Then I put just a dot on my areas of concern, and it has worked beautifully."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">MagicTripLunchBox</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/81rohh/review_a_positive_outcome_using_rhofade_for/">wrote</a> on March 2018: </span></b>"A positive outcome using Rhofade for alcohol flush :D (xpost /r/Rosacea). 6 month update: All is well! Still using sparingly to avoid rebound flush. Guess I'm one of the lucky ones! :) [..] I have mild type 1 rosacea that flares up with temperature change, sun exposure, allergies, and (most dramatically) alcohol. I decided to give Rhofade a try despite billions of negative reviews on line, mostly related to rebound flushing. I applied a thin layer across the right half of my face, waited thirty minutes, and took two shots of tequila...for science. I'm pleased to report that I'm very happy with the outcome! The left half of my face reacted as per usual-- painful, blotchy flushing. The right half didn't flush and even looked slightly better than it did before drinking. You can see a spot under my brow where I didn't apply the cream still turned bright red...the comparison is pretty dramatic! I haven't had any unpleasant side effects. The skin does feel a bit cool/tingly after application, but it's not bothersome at all. I only use the cream if I know I'm going to be in a triggering situation. It's so nice not having to refuse drinks! Years of avoiding alcohol have left me with very little tolerance, though...so beware of your new found super power haha. Anyway, I just wanted to add a positive review towards a seemingly rather unpopular cream. Hopefully it will work for others as well! PS: Forgive my "I can't believe I willingly did this to myself" face ;P<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Someone <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/81rohh/review_a_positive_outcome_using_rhofade_for/">replied</a>:</span></b> "DO NOT USE THAT SHIT. It seems magical at first but it isn't .Go online and look at reviews for mirvaso(which is the exact same thing as rhofade but came out in 2014) It basically overly constricts your blood vessels which makes you look pale and then you will get an extreme rebound vasodilation flushing from at at some point . People have had terrible rebounds from it that disfigured them for a long time. Its basically the exact same thing as nasal sprays work so well but then have rebound vasodilation which makes you dependent on it."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Queen_of_naps <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/81rohh/review_a_positive_outcome_using_rhofade_for/">replied</a>:</span></b> "Mirvaso and Rhofade are 2 different drugs and while the anticipated outcome of both is to reduce redness, Rhofade does not appear to have the same rebound redness seen with Mirvaso."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Someone else <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/81rohh/review_a_positive_outcome_using_rhofade_for/">replied</a>:</span></b> "They both work the same way by overly constricting blood vessels in an unatural way mirvaso uses brimonidine and rhofade uses oxymetalozine. Both do the exact same thing. <b><span style="color: #783f04;"><span>And yes reports are already coming out that rhofade has the rebound effect.</span> </span></b>Rhofade came out more recently so less reviews are written about it than mirvaso but the ones that have been written all talk about the rebound. Many reviews also state exactly what op is saying that it worked initially BUT after a while blood vessels weakened causing them to vasodilate. People here might not like it because the results look good and are not aware of the rebound but i strongly advise people who have rosacea or even regular skin to not touch any of them."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Sooprnateral <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/81rohh/review_a_positive_outcome_using_rhofade_for/">replied</a>:</span></b> "Hey, while I think your intentions are great, & it's important for people to be aware of any side effects their medications may cause, two different medications won't always cause the same reaction. Differences in active ingredients, inactive ingredients, and the manufacturing process can all have an effect on how someone responds to two drugs that serve the same purpose."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Gabi <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on March 5th, 2018:</span></b> "My experience was much like everyone else. Paid $50 and has actually made my skin more red with lots more spots coming out. Shouldn’t have used it and going back to my dermatologist to try IPL as none of the creams have worked for me and all seem like a waste of money. At first it seemed like it was getting less red and then my face felt like it was warming up and got twice as red, then this morning all of the spots came out. Hopefully it will calm back down, who knows? I rate it 1.0"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">RR <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on February 23rd, 2018:</span></b> "Awful product, do not use!!! Much like others here, after only a few days using Rhofade my rosacea has gotten much, much worse! I now have pimples I’ve never had before, like a teenager with a face full of acne. Every spot that garbage touched is a red little bump. This product is an absolute waste of money, do not let your dermatologist prescribe it!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Efm <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on February 19th, 2018:</span></b> "I have been using rhodode for the past 2 months. I am very happy with the results. My redness is about 50-75% less. This means that I am not using foundation on weekends and days I don't go to work. My face has some redness but it looks healthy. In addition to the flush improvement, my face is not as dry and scale as it was before using it. Unlike a lot of reviewers here, I have not had pimples or any other reaction. My derm told me rhofade is 50/50. Some love the results and some don't. I guess I go lucky."<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwudkBqnENpGsxgfjDicAg8ePfCRiVDiU3WcCIoI3Aj5fTATGBgEuDgQCBuSW61BuBAFl_B6k77bxt0INWutk_0B2MA1RogyA7bHMVWs_3Xs9aCR4OUOE3dt2NUwt8dHGLM4FYjXqleAUh/s1600/78290.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwudkBqnENpGsxgfjDicAg8ePfCRiVDiU3WcCIoI3Aj5fTATGBgEuDgQCBuSW61BuBAFl_B6k77bxt0INWutk_0B2MA1RogyA7bHMVWs_3Xs9aCR4OUOE3dt2NUwt8dHGLM4FYjXqleAUh/s400/78290.jpg" width="351" /></a><br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Chloe <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on January 20, 2018:</span></b> "I started using Rhofade last week and it seemed like a miracle at first but then it started working off and on sometimes it would work and other times not so much, but now it seems to be leaving these<span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span><span>small bumps</span> all over my face. They are not pimples, also my face is still red after using the product now. I have medium rosacea, but I get flare ups that can get bad. I’m 19 year old female."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Vanessa <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on January 11th, 2018: </span></b>"I had a similar experience. The dermatologist gave me a script for Rhofade in December. Surprisingly it was covered by my insurance. I have been disappointed with the results since using it. The redness only actually increased. I did not have an issue with the bumps or pimples. I have discontinued use."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Rebecca Webb <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on January 8th, 2018:</span></b> "Began using Rhofade three days ago. Worked wonderful on the very first application…I actually had pretty, pale skin and felt like I looked “normal” for the first time since I can remember. Now, three days later, my skin is considerably more red, I have pimple-like bumps on my face, my skin burns, and I have a rash all along my midsection. Has anyone else gotten a rash away from the application site? I wonder if I keep trying Rhofade how long after application before I can apply moisturizer and my makeup? Anyone else tried Oracea? I was prescribed this also but have not started it yet…"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">MagicTripLunchBox</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/81rohh/review_a_positive_outcome_using_rhofade_for/">wrote</a> in 2018: </span></b>"I've been using it once or twice a week for about a month now to <span style="color: #b45f06;">no ill effect</span>. As with any medication, people are going to respond differently. I'm apparently one of the lucky few so far, but I'll discontinue if any rebound flushing occurs. It's 100% worth the risk to me right now."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Crimsonsky5 <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/81rohh/review_a_positive_outcome_using_rhofade_for/">replied</a>:</span></b> "Hi again thanks for your post just wondering how is rhofade going for you since. Did you have no side effects so far how long have you been taking it now."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">MagicTripLunchBox</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/81rohh/review_a_positive_outcome_using_rhofade_for/">replied</a>: </span></b>"Still working well for me! :)"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">JeniG <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on January 24th, 2018:</span></b> "I have previously managed my mild rosacea with metronidazole cream and Finacea cream (the latter with better results). My dermatologist prescribed Rhofade as lately I've been flushing more often. I did note immediate improvement in facial flushing, and I feel a slight tightening sensation to my skin when I would normally except my face to flush (e.g. moving from cold to hot), but my face doesn't go red. However, a week after using Rhofade, I've broken out in pimples across my face, and my skin is also sore so I will have to stop using Rhofade. I rate it a 3"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Zahrah <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on January 16th, 2018:</span></b> "The first day I used rhofade it seemed to be a miracle worker, the second day I noticed little bumps appearing on my skin. The third day my cheeks became extremely itchy and I felt like my face was on fire! My face looks like it is completely sunburned. I went to the doctor with a mild case of rosacea and now my face looks 100x worse."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Deevs <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=2">wrote</a> on December 28th, 2017:</span></b> "I'm not even sure why the doctor prescribed this for me as I have very mild rosacea and very little redness. The first time I used it, my skin tone evened out and looked great. A few weeks after, I used it again before going out and I got a spot. I used it the next night and had four more spots that got worse before better. It took three days before the spots went away. I usually only get spots when I'm in the sun and wasn't in the sun, so is it a coincidence that I got spots after using the product? $75 down the drain. I rate it 1.0"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Daniel <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on December 27th, 2017: </span></b>"I was prescribed Rhofade by my derm. I applied it on the first day they gave it to me. On the first day I applied it, I saw results within the first 30 minutes which was quite impressive but I didn’t want to get too excited. So the first day was great. On the second day, I didn’t really see any results. Waking up on the third day in the morning being that I apply it in the morning and on the night, my face was full of weird looking bumps. I guess I got an allergic reaction. But I kept applying to see if maybe by any chance it was something else, although I had never had these weird looking bumps on my skin. So on the fifth day I stopped using it and I called my derm and she told me to go and see her so that she may see what she can do. She gave me these small samples of this steroid cream which help take off the bumps. So unfortunately it didn’t work for me. The derm has giving me Mirvaso and I’m getting mixed results. One cheek gets very red while the other one is much clearer."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Stephanie Perry <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on December 27th, 2017:</span></b> "I was hopeful that Rhofade would work for me after the redness on my face practically went away after the first application. However, the second and third day I had a little redness showing though, and I began breaking out with small itchy pimples where I had applied the cream. By day 4 I felt my skin was redder than before I had started the Rhofade, and I had burning and itching with little bumps all over, as if I was having an allergic reaction. I stopped using the Rhofade cream on day 5, because the itching, burning, and redness had gotten so bad. It has been 3 days since I last applied the Rhofade, and I still look and feel like I’m having an allergic reaction, covered in little itchy bumps, and extremely red.<span style="color: #783f04;"><b> <span>I wish I never tried the Rhofade</span></b></span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span>because it’s made my skin look so much worse than it ever was before using the product. I am really hoping the itching and bumps will subside soon, but I haven’t had any improvement yet."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNuc-7Mykfatfm5Qnwck67-xOf4l_NQTcKgSyCkzeuF3cf0MBoP55NJkPI95avPYpI9MFnbcmVolsuFWCZQJLh0uvONaWVOYCPRoewMKne-_1bopClQaxLeWa09WF7wa3sUdYcIhpDTFbG/s1600/734928_10151311807653996_915481642_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="478" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNuc-7Mykfatfm5Qnwck67-xOf4l_NQTcKgSyCkzeuF3cf0MBoP55NJkPI95avPYpI9MFnbcmVolsuFWCZQJLh0uvONaWVOYCPRoewMKne-_1bopClQaxLeWa09WF7wa3sUdYcIhpDTFbG/s400/734928_10151311807653996_915481642_n.jpg" width="397" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Juanita <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on December 27th, 2017:</span></b> "It’s almost like we’ve traumatized our skin, by sampling Rhofade. Because (for me, at least), it took over a month for my skin to return to normal. Not sure about how others fared on here. Good luck to you."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Deevs <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=3">wrote</a> on December 20th, 2017:</span></b> "I’ve had mild rosacea for years and was thrilled to read an article espousing Rhofade. My dermatologist prescribed it without warning of possible side effects. After two days, my face is dark red everywhere this cream touched my face. Bumps and burning. Beware of this product."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Alysann B Whitley <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on December 13th, 2017: </span></b>"I just started using Rhofade, and I’ve never had a reaction this bad. I used it for a few days but I had some added redness and tingling symptoms. I stopped taking it until I was out of school (only 2 days of classes left). After classes I took it again. It worked the first few days, but it got worse. So much worse. I haven’t taken Rhofade in 4 days and the symptoms keep getting worse. Whole room is hot. Burning. Tingling. Red all the time. The pain is so intense.. disappointed."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Elizabeth <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on December 6th, 2017:</span></b> "A few days use of Rhofade resulted in a terrible flare up for me. Within a couple of days using Rhofade I had flaming red cheeks and nose and both were covered in pimples. I even got pimples on my forehead which I’ve never had before. Once I realized the effect, I stopped the Rhofade. Unfortunately my face got worse before better. The pimples lasted almost two weeks. As it wound down, my cheeks and nose were cracked, peeling and itchy."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Barbara <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on November 30th, 2017: </span></b>"Anxious to try it. The PI says it’s successful in 18% of users. That’s not very promising, but hopeful that I am in the 18%. Cash pay price is $500. My insurance copay was $25 and I was able to use the company co-pay card and brought my copay down to $0."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Nnhhff <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=3">wrote</a> on November 29th, 2017:</span></b> "This is the same ingredient as of mirvaso all they want is the peoples money they don't care for anybody. You don't want to see my face after this. Two creams thanks gardema you have destroy my live. I rate it 1/10" <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Jordanm100 <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=3">wrote</a> on November 25th, 2017:</span></b> "Insurance covered the drug which was great. Started using Rhofade 6 months ago. Had 2 days of amazing results. Noticed the results actually worsened after 3-4 days. Some days Rhofade will work fine. After the 8-10 hour mark of use, my cheeks turn Dark red and begin to burn. The Whole room becomes hot. I used this drug for a long period of time because I was hoping results would start to show. Anything alcohol related will trigger the rosacea into a very uncomfortable stage. I noticed during supper time after eating a meal, it would outbreak into a deep red stage. Rhofade was a disappointment to say the least."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">CC123CC123 <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=3">wrote</a> on November 22nd, 2017:</span></b> "This is an absolutely terrible medication. It made my rosacea so, so, so, so much worse and caused acne and rosacea bumps that I've never had before after only about 5 days of use. My face feels like it is on fire now even though I have discontinued this medication. I am constantly red. Everything is so much worse than before I started this. I rate it 1/10"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Tim <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on November 21st, 2017: </span></b>"I went to my dermatologist last week and she recommended Rhofade. I put a pea amount on my face as directed 2 days ago and my face has been bright red and burning since then. It is by far the worst that it has ever been even on my worst red face day. I will not put another dose on my face at this point and am out $50. Very disappointing. I was hoping to read some reviews that it improved after a few days, but it does not seem to look that way."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">gmejb505 <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=3">wrote</a> on November 17th, 2017:</span></b> "This is a horrible product and should be recalled - I had a very minor rosacea problem with two patches of redness on my checks. I used this for one week and it worked fine - but then the second week it made my face a living hell with bumps and itching - the area infected increased to three times the size. I stopped using it and now using something different from a different doctor. DO NOT USE IT!!! I rate it 1.0" <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Angela <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on November 15th, 2017: </span></b>"Tried on/off for a few weeks. Had to stop using…made my skin worse, no breakout…just really really red. Also felt like it was burning after first applying."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">pcake <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=3">wrote</a> on November 14th, 2017:</span></b> "I think I'm allergic. My cheeks get bright red and I feel and look flush."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Toni <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on October 31st, 2017:</span></b> "I used Rhofade for 3 Days, samples from my dermatologist. I woke up in the middle of the night and my face was burning so bad and it was swollen it felt like a really bad sunburn. I took pictures of it. I took pictures because I was so confused. My dermatologist told me I should buy this cream because it doesn’t give you a rebound redness. I was using mirvaso and actually that wasn’t as bad as what I experienced with the Rhofade."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">JJRJr <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=3">wrote</a> on October 16th, 2017:</span></b> "I used Rhofade for about 2 weeks before I started to have problems. Initially, I thought it was awesome but then I started to have a break out of red bumps that stung like crazy. I tried adding more Rhofade but it only made it worse...much worse. My face still stings even though I stopped using Rhofade. I hope I didn't do any permanent damage. 1/10"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Beverly <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on October 8th, 2017: </span></b>"very costly, $750 in the USA and insurance does not cover this."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpwkEEV95l5-3PuJJVFG1lbVE1821QiuxriLXORVDPCafk7W1XPMVCl0hqxGWR6b0NHcy0L3KtiJYb1KCtraUUjRMNQT71kXEN9WX5hu4e-lHe_-_NmJzSTpN0vmnZ3AjKDWLWMpsA7yQ/s1600/307518_10151311807313996_488365990_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="506" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpwkEEV95l5-3PuJJVFG1lbVE1821QiuxriLXORVDPCafk7W1XPMVCl0hqxGWR6b0NHcy0L3KtiJYb1KCtraUUjRMNQT71kXEN9WX5hu4e-lHe_-_NmJzSTpN0vmnZ3AjKDWLWMpsA7yQ/s400/307518_10151311807313996_488365990_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Ellen <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on October 8th, 2017: </span></b>"It’s not on my Rx formulary and I was quoted $488 for a tube! Insane."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Patti <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on October 3rd, 2017:</span></b> "I I went to the dermatologist and got samples and RX for Rhofade for my mild rosacea. After using it for 3 days, I started noticing a lot of pimples popping up on my nose and cheeks. Also my skin was burning and itching very badly! My face was flushed and a little swollen. It was so painful I quit using it. It has only been 2 days and <b><span style="color: #783f04;"><span>my face is still red, flushed and broken out and still itches</span>. </span></b>The burning is better after using a moisturizer. I thought maybe I was just having a reaction from it, but it looks like a lot of people are having the same issues with it. I have tried a lot of rosacea medications and have never had such bad side effects as these."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Val <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on September 30th, 2017: </span></b>"I seem to have a middle of the road experience. It’s not great but provides some improvement. I’ve haven’t had any adverse reactions. Mirvaso was a disaster for me, exactly the same experience as others, worked great for a day or two, but then my face became nuclear to the point where people were concerned about my well being, and skin was in general much worse when not using Mirvaso."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">V <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on September 28th, 2017: </span></b>"I had very mild redness and was surprised when my dermatologist during a routine check-up diagnosed me with rosacea. He gave me a few rhofade samples. I only applied it once and discontinued because of weird tingling sensations all over my face. In about two days after that my face turned red and was covered with tiny pimples. I’ve never had those before. It’s been a week since and my face is slightly less red and no more pimples but overall it’s still much worse than before rhofade. I’ve never had any reaction to alcohol until then either but now a single drink makes my face red. I reported my case to FDA and will be looking for a different dermatologist. I think it’s totally irresponsible to give out samples of medication that can cause such lasting damaging effects. Hopefully, someone will launch a class action suit against Allergan."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Susan <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on September 28th, 2017: </span></b>"I switched from Mirvaso to Rhofade when it first came out and it has been amazing for me. Mirvaso was a complete nightmare. Yes it got rid of my redness, but once the medication wore off it came roaring back 100 times worse than before. It became a vicious circle and on days when I didn’t use the Mirvaso my redness was horrible. I haven’t remotely had that problem with Rhofade. It takes away redness much more naturally than Mirvaso and I don’t have that horrible flare up at the end of the day caused by the medication wearing off. I’ve actually seen my redness lessen over time now that my face isn’t dealing with the medication boomerang effect. I’ve been dealing with Rosacea for about 20 years now and the combo of <span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>Rhofade and Soolantra have helped me</span> </b></span>get better control of my symptoms. Now if someone would please just find a cure so none of us have to ever deal with this again I’d be very grateful."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">V2017 <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=3">wrote</a> on September 28th, 2017:</span></b> "I had very mild redness and was surprised when my dermatologist gave me a few rhofade samples. I only applied it once and discontinued because of weird tingling sensations all over my face. In about two days after that my face turned red and was covered with tiny pimples. I’ve never had those before. It’s been a week since and my face is slightly less red and no more pimples but overall it’s still much worse than before rhofade. I’ve never had any reaction to alcohol until then either but now a single drink makes my face red. I reported my case to FDA and will be looking for a different dermatologist. I think it’s totally irresponsible to give out samples of medication that can cause lasting damaging effects. 1/10"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Miracle Cream <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=3">wrote</a> on September 16th, 2017:</span></b> "I has suffer from mild acne since 14yrs old. At age 19 I was diagnosed with Rosacea on top of the acne. I have tried EVERYTHING out there. So far, I am 30yrs old now, Accutane and Rhofade have had the best results for me. After my 3rd course of Accutane for 5 months, which makes my face look like porcelain, I started to break out again, my dermatologies gave me 2 little samples of Rhofade and with first application my face was clear again from redness & what looks like ezcema. I have used it 2 days so far and it is wonderful. I do feel some sensation on my cheeks but it is worth it. 9/10"</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Katherine <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on September 14th, 2017: </span></b>"I have super sensitive skin too. This product worked wonders for me for 2-3 days. But then I had a horrible reaction that took over a week to go away. Closer to 2 weeks. I assure you. These comments are not a sham. I’ve been following it for a bit and it seems like very few people have success. My problem is I’m sensitive to alcohol (mostly figured it out after the fact) and this product had 4 types of alcohols which aren’t the best for your skin anyway."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mike <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on September 12th, 2017:</span></b> "<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>Rhofade sucks</span> </b></span>just like every other rosacea medication. The chances that it will work are under 15%, and the chances it will actually make your skin substantially worse are at least 85%. Not worth it. I took it and thought it was a miracle the first day, but my skin flared up when it wore off and it took me about a month to recover. My skin was on fire for about a month straight, all day everyday, after a single application. Not even close to a success. I think it’s an absolute scandal how incompetent the medical industry has been on rosacea, considering it’s 2017. They should have this figured out by now. Decades ago, actually. It’s scandalous that they haven’t." [..] "There ain’t no cure coming – don’t hold your breath. It’s nearly 2018 and they haven’t even managed to find A SINGLE EFFECTIVE TREATMENT for rosacea that makes life manageable – not one. The odds of them finding a cure in the next 20 years are 0. There’s a 0% chance. I think, realistically, we won’t have any treatments that work even poorly until 2050 at the earliest (right now we dont even have medications that work poorly – they just ruin lives), and I doubt there will ever be a cure. But if there is, it won’t be for another century or two. Rosacea is one of the only conditions where you’re no better off getting it in 2017 than you would’ve been if you got it in the year 1500 BC. There are a tiny number of conditions that meet that criteria, and rosacea is certainly one of them."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">LeAnn <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on September 5th, 2017: </span></b>"Ok. I have been dealing with rosacea for just a couple of years and have been using Metro gel with very little results. My dermatologist gave me some Rhofade samples 3 days ago. I applied this cream for 3 days and I am about to crawl out of my skin. I have taken 2 doses of Benadryl today to try and calm the extreme itchiness! I also now have bumps all over my face that I never had before. I’m so disappointed!! I will never use this stuff again!"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCXeM9xnDZT0m9FcFbACzRnkmndBS0CWNC3_yWXeYlee2KaLGs3H60iINTvy9thyphenhyphenqJlrHSliu8fQ2Mo8DHg-6tXHwFiy02cuFyyOB0wEyqFPSTeINYTpi01NfFCU3aVbpXWTokpYv77wt2/s1600/734215_10151311794768996_1033940426_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="912" data-original-width="886" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCXeM9xnDZT0m9FcFbACzRnkmndBS0CWNC3_yWXeYlee2KaLGs3H60iINTvy9thyphenhyphenqJlrHSliu8fQ2Mo8DHg-6tXHwFiy02cuFyyOB0wEyqFPSTeINYTpi01NfFCU3aVbpXWTokpYv77wt2/s400/734215_10151311794768996_1033940426_n.jpg" width="387" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Juanita Holland <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on September 2nd 2017:</span></b> "Sadly, I must concur with other posters: you hope for relief and end up disappointed. I was given several samples of Rhofade on Wednesday, August 23rd. I applied a small size on Thursday, August 24th. It is now Friday, September 1st, and I won’t use the remainder of my samples. The first day (Thursday), the redness diminished completely. That sunburn look was gone! It was still gone on Friday. But by Saturday, a little of the redness had returned, and my skin looked oily. I don’t have oily skin. I continued to use Rhofade, but the redness was returning, and I still looked oily. Now, as Luke posted, I’ve got small bumps as if I had pimples (I don’t get them), and I look sunburned. [..] The Rhofade was my first ever attempt at trying to diminish the redness."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Heather Miller <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on September 2nd, 2017:</span></b> "I am sorry this hasn’t worked for you. Like you, my Rosacea did not appear until my 40’s. I use Soolantra to get rid of the pimple like bumps and it works very well, you might want to ask for a sample. I do have <span>great success</span> with rhofade (it is my “hero”) and am so sorry it didn’t work for you." [..] "I had redness in cheeks, chin and nose (always asked if I got sunburned). [..] The Rhofade worked within an hour and lasts all day. I have also noticed less redness in the mornings before I put it on."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Luke <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on August 29th, 2017:</span></b> "I had a terrible experience with Rhofade. I went to a dermatologist because of mild symptoms of rosacea. I used Rhofade for 4 days, and it made symptoms 10 times worse. I looked like I had a bad sunburn and pimples. My skin was also dry and burning. I stopped using it and I bought Eucerin Sensitive Skin Redness Relief Soothing Night Cream, and Eucerin Redness Relief Cleanser from Walgreens. They are helping. Now my skin is just a little pink in some spots."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Luke12345 <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=3">wrote</a> on August 29th, 2017:</span></b> "I had a terrible experience with Rhofade. I went to a dermatologist because of mild symptoms of rosacea. I used Rhofade for 4 days, and it made symptoms 10 times worse. I looked like I had a bad sunburn and pimples. My skin was also dry and burning. I stopped using it and I bought Eucerin Sensitive Skin Redness Relief Soothing Night Cream, and Eucerin Redness Relief Cleanser from Walgreens. They are helping. Now my skin is just a little pink in some spots. 1/10"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Ev11 <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=3">wrote</a> on August 6th, 2017:</span></b> "Wow! It makes all the redness and little broken capillaries literally disappear! I only have mild rosácea with some flushing. I've been using it for a couple of months. I'm so impressed!!!! My skin looks better than it has in years, and I can go light on my foundation or skip it! I do feel a tingly sensation at times on my face, but it's worth the trade off for me. I'm very happy with Rhofade! 10/10"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">AlexD87 <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=3">wrote</a> on August 4th, 2017:</span></b> "I used Rhofade a few times and it seemed to work. After about 3 days, my face became really red and flushed. I felt like I was burning up. My doctor told me to stop it. 1/10"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyqdnKT6IQ4ANKCHcZjZS9_-GnmrGggcuv8XikzvSnh6Om2ijsU6Baxjulr27lRSd3NHo4GK_M_fUhxI5CYodk8be8AlP96FREEr1ExPoK6jOgS9jKEB03f-r6HXXBfhjYRrnGxaMXACs/s1600/543970_10151311808393996_1986381071_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="409" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyqdnKT6IQ4ANKCHcZjZS9_-GnmrGggcuv8XikzvSnh6Om2ijsU6Baxjulr27lRSd3NHo4GK_M_fUhxI5CYodk8be8AlP96FREEr1ExPoK6jOgS9jKEB03f-r6HXXBfhjYRrnGxaMXACs/s400/543970_10151311808393996_1986381071_n.jpg" width="365" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Do not use Rhofade <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=3">wrote</a> on July 22nd, 2017:</span></b> "I used Rhofade for a few days and it immediately became apparent that my skin became much worse, redder and burning. I would not recommend this product at all. After discontinuing use and returning to regular hygiene routines my skin returned to normal, albeit with mild rosacea. I rate it 1/10"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Paul S <a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/oxymetazoline-topical/rhofade.html?page=3">wrote</a> on June 11th, 2017:</span></b> "Used on and off for about 1.5 months. I stopped once I noticed more frequent, although mild, flushing (which I used to rarely get) after the first month. It seems like a much milder and more effective version of Mirvaso, but going forward I'll probably save it for special occasions rather than using it semi-regularly. I rate it 4/10"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Amy ford <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on July 6, 2017: </span></b>"I LOVE this stuff! I have tried every cream, taken every pill, had IPL treatments, home remedies with very little to no results, Rhofade has been a miracle for me! It truly lasts up to and longer for me. I don’t care if I have to get a second job for this stuff, it’s definitely worth it for me!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Jim <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on June 7, 2017:</span></b> "1 month in using rhofade. Best topical I ever used to reduce redness. No rebound whatsoever. In my opinion, mirvaso drained all the blood vessels and when it ran out at the 8 hour mark it came back like crazy. Rhofade only reduces a little bit so the blood vessels aren’t so constricted.. hope this helps."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Deb Olsen <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on June 1, 2017:</span></b> "Deb: I began Rhofade two weeks ago in the US. For the first time in 12 years the<span style="color: #783f04;"><b> <span>redness is significantly decreased!</span></b></span> I did have to pay for the prescription though $75USD due to it not being on the formulary via my insurance. But well worth it so far! Another added benefit, the tube is much larger so you don’t have to refill as much!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Agnus G <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on June 1, 2017:</span></b> "<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Caused <span>horrible rebound</span> redness as did Mirvaso</span></b>, but with Rhofade my face has stayed red even after I quit using it 10 days ago. It is like I have had a total relapse and all the improvements from the laser is gone. If this crap only works on 1 in 7 people, why risk even trying it? NOT WORTH THE RISK!!!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">coco <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on May 30, 2017:</span></b> "Used rhofade everyday for a week. works great, experienced some tingling but, no rebound flushing like mirvaso. that s**** ruined my life — i went to several doctors trying to figure out why my face was catching on fire. no one could tell me why this was happening to me. got blood work done, saw an allergist, went off certain foods, the whole 9. all along it was this f***ing gel. cried myself to sleep for months thinking it’d never end. thank god i figured it out… key word I. still verrrry cautious but, rhofade did not give me any rebound “face on fire” feelings. just some tingling. be very mindful of where you put it, how much, how often and monitor it closely. gradual use is key. hope my experience helps."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Ellen <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on May 11, 2017: </span></b>"I’ve been using it for a week now and unlike with Mirvaso, I’m not experiencing rebound redness. I used to wake up in the morning all red-faced. Not with the RhoFade. The clinical trial results that say it only works for about 29 applications? Makes me want to wait until then to see if these results continue."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Elizabeth Wendler <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on May 3, 2017: </span></b>"I have used Rhofade for a week now. First few days it reduced redness in a more natural way than Mirvasco did. However 4 days ago it started tingling in spots. <span style="color: #783f04;"><b>The last 2 days it <span>looks as though it literally has burned my face</span> </b></span>in all of the areas I applied it. I will not use it anymore. I have tried everything. My Derm was so excited to have me use the samples. I was hopeful. Not anymore."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">countervail <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/rhofade-user-reviews.html#comments">wrote</a> on May 2, 2017: </span></b>"I am trying Rhofade with samples from my dermatologist. For me, it does reduce redness. However I don’t think it seems to change underlying heat for me, just the topical appearance. Also my eyes have been very dry and bloodshot since starting as well and I’m monitoring to notice if this is a side effect or something else like spring allergies. It seems to work, but it’s not a game changer. And if it’s expensive as I hear without insurance, I’m not sure it’s in my long-term arsenal."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-BluZXlRBECyzNw_DfWmMmxbXuX_zYFJgPd_MoS3CqJGuDIXzU7D3kXR1tSeGWZ5XRM9H8WaLQSrjEEJBTOxbbvbwKPhaiP5jeStpA5zC1LFSHrlBdlUz9dDc9zKUSaEmBLumj1x9Mob/s1600/fw5_zps0787ffab.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="530" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-BluZXlRBECyzNw_DfWmMmxbXuX_zYFJgPd_MoS3CqJGuDIXzU7D3kXR1tSeGWZ5XRM9H8WaLQSrjEEJBTOxbbvbwKPhaiP5jeStpA5zC1LFSHrlBdlUz9dDc9zKUSaEmBLumj1x9Mob/s400/fw5_zps0787ffab.jpg" width="267" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;">User reviews: oxymetazoline </b></div>
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Before Rhofade (and therefore Mirvaso) came on the market, rosacea patients have experimented already with oxymetazoline and brimonidine in their original form; nose spray and eye solution. After all, oxymetazoline has been around since the 1960's, One of its product forms is Afrin nose spray. Other over-the-counter nasal sprays that contain oxymetazoline are for instance Otrivin, Operil, Dristan, Dimetapp, Oxyspray, Facimin, Nasivin, Nostrilla, Utabon, Sudafed OM, Vicks Sinex, Zicam, SinuFrin, Drixoral and Mucinex Full Force. They mostly all have some preservatives added, for longevity. I am focusing on the product Afrin now, as it has been most tested and discussed online by rosacea patients so far. You can buy it over the counter in most countries, and it is designed for clearing blocked noses, either due to allergies or vital infections. It works as a decongestant by constricting the small blood vessels in the nose, which widens the nasal passage and makes breathing easier. Afrin uses 0.05 % of oxymetazoline hydrochloride. Other than that is has the following ingredients: Benzalkonium Chloride, edetate disodium, polyethylene glycol, povidone; propylene glycol; sodium phosphate dibasic and sodium phosphate monobasic.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Benzalkonium chloride solution</span></b> is a topical antiseptic, and acts as an antimicrobial preservative in nasal sprays, preventing the growth of fungal, bacterial and viral pathogens. It can cause rebound congestion swhen used in the nose. It is also used in certain cosmetics, shampoos and disinfectant soaps, to name some products, but can cause skin irritation in theory.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Disodium edetate dihydrate</span></b> is also used in Rhofade. It helps prevent the deterioration of cosmetics and personal care products. Cosmetic manufacturers frequently use this ingredient as a preservative, chelator and stabilizer, but has also been shown to enhance the foaming and cleaning capabilities of a cosmetic solution. Used in many personal care products.<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Polyethylene glycol</b> </span>(PEG 300) is also used in Rhofade. It is a lubricant and an absorption enhancer which allows both good and bad ingredients to be absorbed faster into deeper parts of skin. If used on broken or damaged skin, it can cause irritation and system toxicity. In addition, PEGs can reduce the skin's moisture levels and speed up skin aging.<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Propylene glycol</b></span> (also an ingredient of Soolantra) is a widely used cosmetics product and a solvent; it is a hydrating ingredient, a man-made organic alcohol that attracts/absorbs water. It is broadly used by food, drug, and cosmetic and personal care product manufacturers. Safe ingredient but can cause skin irritation or allergy for very sensitive skintypes, so test on skin first. Usually, this happens in people who are allergic to the chemical and subsides after a short period of time after the body has had time to break down the compound. However it is also used in Soolantra and it is used in many skin care and cosmetic products, so either way, if you are sensitive to it, not even Soolantra might be suitable for your skin).<br />
<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Sodium phosphate dibasic and sodium phosphate monobasic</span></b> are inorganic salts. In cosmetics and personal care products it function as a buffering agent that maintain the pH between 4.0 and 8.0 and a corrosion inhibitor.<br />
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I wouldn't use it on my own skin, personally, but that is because my skin is hyper reactive and sensitive. Rhofade has quite a few potential skin irritants as ingredients as well. Nevertheless rosacea patients have used it on their skin, and mentioned the same effect as what was reported later with Rhofade: reduction of skin redness and the potential for rebound worsening. And for people who simply cannot afford the -frankly obscene- sort of prices that Allergan are said to be charging for their product in the United States (I read numbers ranging from $500 a tube to $700 a tube), it may be interesting to carefully test patch one of the available, cheap nasal sprays instead. Especially considering the expensive Rhofade has an official trial result efficiency rate of 15 to 25%.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1h2pRCQlxvv_tU-XVe7rEmjWVT5iLXZITxA3UVca_6d7PJAMlcQivFIrSEpjOrFRCaOjDxqQHkVfI7eAQQPghJKYzcCFGsu9OoH2FJ176EXoLLB30chxRPUAwxU1OkSb3JfBc9qCAewov/s1600/405982_10151311808128996_1657053690_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="270" height="389" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1h2pRCQlxvv_tU-XVe7rEmjWVT5iLXZITxA3UVca_6d7PJAMlcQivFIrSEpjOrFRCaOjDxqQHkVfI7eAQQPghJKYzcCFGsu9OoH2FJ176EXoLLB30chxRPUAwxU1OkSb3JfBc9qCAewov/s400/405982_10151311808128996_1657053690_n.jpg" width="400" /></a>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Cdelic <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page30">wrote</a> on April 6th 2008:</span></b> "Be careful. This is so new and untested. However, 3 1/2 hours later my cheeks are 90% better and i don't have that "sunburn" feeling. I also drank a swig of coffee 3 1/2 hours ago and it has worn off so that may have something to do with it. (Caffeine is my main trigger- and cold diet coke is actually worse than coffee or tea so for me it is the trigger.) I also took a tavist (antihistamine) right before the oxymetolazone as I read some dermatologist websites that say antihistamines can help. But the effect worked on my cheeks within a few minutes so it had to be the topical stuff not the systemic stuff. By, the way, my cheeks are the worst so I tried it there first. The effect for me is quite remarkable. But being a physician I am well aware of the build up of tolerance and the possible long term side effects of what, at first, seems like a miracle. Tread lightly. We are using our faces as guinea pigs. But this is how many outstanding pharmaceutical got developed so there is hope. Makes me feel much better. Steve B"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Cdelic <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page30">wrote</a> on April 8th 2008:</span></b> "Just starting Oxymetazoline. I just discovered this forum while doing a search on google for oxymetazoline Hydrochloride rosacea. I started using a generic brand (similar to Afrin but with less ingredients) about 3 days ago. I've been dealing with a very red nose (with lots of acne and oil) and red face for years. The last week my nose was as bad as it has been in years (I'm 52). I had noticed a few years ago that when I used eye drops that where it would run down my face it would reduce the redness. I should have run out and gotten a patent then! Any way, on day three and the acne has totally reversed course. I've never had anything work this fast, except maybe doxy. Still red but not as bad. It will probably take at least a week for acne caused redness to clear. I'm not too worried about side effects. This drug has been squirted in eyes and noses for years without any problems. I'll keep you posted. I'm also going to be adding micronized zinc to the routine, but won't start that until I give the oxymetazoline a week or so to see results. Gary"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Steve95301 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page30">wrote</a> on April 9th 2008:</span></b> "Just a heads up: A condition called rhinitis medicamentosa is associated with prolonged vasoconstrictor use. It is caused by rebound dilation and downregulation of receptors. So, there's a very good reason to be careful when experimenting. Good luck though, I love using this treatment myself occasionally - it's just so effective. [..] Unfortunately, the rebound (with Afrin) was due to the vasoconstrictor, although the preservatives may have aggravated things. I say this because I've experienced some rebound from my preservative-free spray. I've stopped using it. I plan on using oxy before an oral presentation I have next week, but other than things like that, I'm staying away from vasoconstrictors until I can ask Dr. Bitter about them or the FDA approves them for rosacea."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">gf4456 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page30">wrote</a> on April 10th 2008:</span></b> "Ok this is day four on the oxymetazoline Hydrochloride. I'm blown away. <span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>I still have redness but it has been reduced dramatically</span>.</b></span> But what is really amazing is the acne just stopped dead in its tracks. And I'm talking painful acne, stuff that is deep. Normally my nose produces so much sebum that it is ridiculous. Right now, none, when I squeeze top of my nose or the crevise...none. That has never happened except once when I fasted for 10 days! So as some of the redness goes away I notice the damage from the acne, they will probably stay red for awhile. The few spiderweb veins on my cheek are almost non-existent. And the ones right under my nostrils, seem to be fading fast. Right now I'm applying 3 times a day but will drop that back probably next week. I think I am also just going to add it to the RejuveneX face cream I use.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">man_from_mars <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page30">wrote</a> on April 16th 2008:</span></b> "Man, I can't believe people are still willing to try this experiment. It's like crack cocaine: it's going to work great at first, then you will tend to start overusing it it will require more and more to get same affect and highly probable you will pay for it in the end. Suspect the thread is so long ,people may be skipping over the posts covering the bad after-affects. Wish someone could rename the thread subject to something more cautious and not as promising. PS* I'm referring to the nasal sprays on the face experiments. mfm"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Steve95301</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page31">wrote</a> on April 19th 2008:</span></b> "I used a double application of oxymetazoline last night for an oral report. It worked remarkably well, as expected, but I was pleasantly surprised when I had<span style="color: #b45f06;"> no rebound </span>today. In fact, it seemed like the effects of last night continued into today. I do have clonazepam in my system, which tends to make me pale, so maybe that's the explanation. Are there any further reports from others who have decided to try this?"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Alba</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page31">wrote</a> on April 21st 2008:</span></b> "Steve, That is wonderful that it worked for you. I used it on a weekend and didn't experience a rebound effect. I think its when its used on a daily basis for a longer period that the rebound effect happens. Alba"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Thedude</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page32">wrote</a> on April 30th 2008:</span></b> "Hey folks, just joined on and was excited to discover this website and to read this whole thread. i'm 30, have had Eurythma for about 7 or 8 years, had strong results for a short while with Tetracyclin, but stopped taking it when it stopped working. Per this thread, i went out and bought some Afrin w/moisturizer. Man, crazy results after a few hours, face was tingling and felt great. Tried it again the next day with even better results. Tried it a third day with great results. So i took a few days off and tried it again just once last week. I feel like it reddened my face even more for at first but <span>after a few hours was looking great</span>. I just saw my dermatologist the other day and she said what i suspected -only use it occasionally. Otherwise, she gave me some prescriptions for two things and was wondering if anyone had any info or results from them. Rosac Wash and Klavon Lotion. Otherwise i recommend this sunblock by Aubrey Organics -natural sun spf 25 which has Green Tea in it. Other than that, I've been washing my face for about 5 or 6 years with Aquanil which is great as a soap or moisturizer. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Best of wishes to all."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVAWtqKq6RrrVVI8sx8bbLQNCm4F-BEsLXOWFUyFzu5PJBs39j5iiNCDCH_NRJoaFeMYLWJMr3IICwyX81mgtn16ChasAXmydGizHOJneNbjvbYQUecMxsYTunC2YvLnTTgQlX5cfVJXm/s1600/unnamed%252B%25284%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="1000" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVAWtqKq6RrrVVI8sx8bbLQNCm4F-BEsLXOWFUyFzu5PJBs39j5iiNCDCH_NRJoaFeMYLWJMr3IICwyX81mgtn16ChasAXmydGizHOJneNbjvbYQUecMxsYTunC2YvLnTTgQlX5cfVJXm/s400/unnamed%252B%25284%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Felix27</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page32">wrote</a> on May 2nd 2008:</span></b> "Difference between Nasal spray and eye drops. If I understand it right Oxymetazoline is the important active ingredient. I find that ingredient in eye drops and in nasal sprays. Who used nasal spray and who used eye drops? I think that nasal spray is maybe more aggressive, because of menthol. Maybe eye drops are better for our skin. What do u think? I didn't read every post, but from what I read, more users had problems with nasal sprays."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Melissa W</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page32">wrote</a> on May 2nd 2008:</span></b> "Hi Felix, You are absolutely right in that the eye drops would be better for our skin but they are by Rx only. Hopefully the best product for our face will come out soon and be helpful to us. Best wishes, Melissa"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Alba</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page33">wrote</a> on May 4th 2008:</span></b> "Hi All: last week i woke up and my right ear was so red that i just had to put some of the sinex to see if it would go away. so i put it on probably 4 times that day and my redness had gone away. then the next day i didn't apply it just left it alone. well i got such awful rebound flushing i mean extreme i usually flush on the right ear but with in a few minutes im able to bring it down with an ice pack gel or cold water. well no matter waht i did i had my right ear in severe heat and flushing staring Thursday and finally by last Saturday night i gave up and applied elocon to the right ear. then in the morning it felt a little better but still having the rebound flushing till i would say finally by Tuesday i was having less flushing and still getting better. my ear got so red and inflamed, and the skin around the ear was so awfully dry that i was even peeling. i really do blame this to the sinex since it was the only thing i applied to it. so definitely believe that this ingredient brings on severe rebound flushing. Today the skin around my right ear is still very dry, and peeling, better each day but still awful experience. Alba"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">johnsob0</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page34">wrote</a> on May 13th 2017:</span></b> "Started using Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride from nose spray. Results were consistent with the limited study: immediate (give it a couple hours) reduction in visible blood vessels and what I perceive as inflammation (I don't have much of the more general redness issue). I am now on day 3 and<span> my skin looks better than it has in years</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span>(I am 63 years old and have moderately severe rosacea, most likely genetic in origin as my sister also has rather severe rosacea). I will stop treatment after a few weeks to see if I get a rebound."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja52-MN4BlOuBBjKRcdzosowpu9hkQWTUDKLrJuq7tUv5GWSgHdWBV4_EL3pY6ffcWHxtINJYX_ETjyWYcxPsoeSTwMdVWjC7qea_5ZZAMzfmn4AmSdXHWowLhGSevBPlgodsRMYefDtDV/s1600/538623_10151311806728996_1006388292_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="283" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja52-MN4BlOuBBjKRcdzosowpu9hkQWTUDKLrJuq7tUv5GWSgHdWBV4_EL3pY6ffcWHxtINJYX_ETjyWYcxPsoeSTwMdVWjC7qea_5ZZAMzfmn4AmSdXHWowLhGSevBPlgodsRMYefDtDV/s400/538623_10151311806728996_1006388292_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Prryjones</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page2&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a> on November 25th 2007:</span></b></span> "Decongestant. Oxymetazoline and other constrictors work by binding the alpha 1 receptors on the capillaries, constricting the vasculature. This thus decreases the swelling in the nasal cavity, allowing more air passage. This also, used on the eyes, decreases the redness. So, since theses molecules constrict the vessels, theoretically, at least, if enough were used, then some could get into the systemic circulation and further constrict peripheral vasculature, thus the caution for use in uncontrolled hypertension (this is very unlikely though, using topical constrictors, and much more readily applies to oral decongestant products -- which more readily are diffused through the systemic circulation). And likewise regarding glaucoma and BPH. Have to put that warning there, though. [..] In contrast to the rebound nasal congestion typically encountered after long-term use of nasal decongestants, I'm not aware of rebound redness, itching or conjunctivitis being commonly associated with ocular constrictors use (I'll look into it later and post any interesting info.) Perhaps this is because they are not normally used on a LT basis. I think it's worth experimenting with -- e.g. mix some Afrin (R) (which, by the way, has a 12hr dose) with some Cetaphil lotion and go for it. Maybe some will experience rebound dilation after a time and some won't. Or, maybe 3 wks on, 1 week off, etc. Hope this helps, Perry"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">jennfran <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page3&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a> on November 26th, 2007: </span></b>"Thanks for the info...hmmmm. I do wonder about the reboud though. Although I would set my alarm clock to it if I had to..lol..My biggest symptom is burning sensation but I only turn a slight pink. The burning is what I would want this for and of course to stop the dilation which maybe would slow down progression...Jenn"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">BrunoP <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page3&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a> on November 27th, 2007: </span></b>"I will try it too... There are some different nasal decongestant but all with Oxymetazoline, Nasex, Navisin, Afrin, Vicks Sinex Nasal Spray. But what to buy? Nasal drops, or nasal spray?... Perhaps drops are better..what do you think? And how will you apply? Put the nasal in the morning,these days.?.. Sorry about this dumb questions.. but i want to try this properly...and please update about the results.... regards Bruno"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Caran <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page4&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a> on November 27th, 2007: </span></b>"For anyone trying this remember the study used 0.05% oxymetazoline so if this is the strength you buy and then you mix it with a lotion etc you will be diluting it. Perhaps it is best to get some 0.1% and mix the entire contents thoroughly with the same amount of lotion.Does this make sense?"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Bentherebefore <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page4&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a> on November 27th, 2007: </span></b>"The highest I was able to find in the store was .05%. That's the concentration that was in Vick's Sinex, Afrin, and the generic brand-x bottle. Visine LR has half the concentration, .025%. If anyone finds a higher percentage, let us know."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Steve95301 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page5&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a> on November 27th, 2007: </span></b>"Before I went to sleep, about 30 min. after my last post, I could see a very large difference. The left side of my face was quite pale in comparison to the right (control side). It took a little longer than I thought it would, but it definitely worked. Wouldn't it need some kind of lotion to help it penetrate the skin? Perry had mentioned using Cetaphil, which made sense to me. I don't think the dilution would matter, because I would have applied the same volume of spray directly anyway. The moles (for lack of a better word) of oxymetazoline stayed the same. [..] Unfortunately I don't know about duration or rebound, since I went to sleep just as it was starting to kick in. I'm currently putting some on my right cheek directly, so I'll be able to see if it kicks in faster that way."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Prryjones</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page5&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on November 28th 2007:</span></b> "Hi, a bit of info concerning topicals: The goal is to get the active ingredient to the site of action and have it stay there and "work" before being carried away by the systemic circulation. The skin is not a depot and if a drug is absorbable, will continue to absorb as long as the molecule is in contact with it. The molecule has to be the correct size, chemical nature (hydrophillic vs hydrophobic), and electrical nature for optimal absorption. The reason exipients (other compounds, creams) are added to drugs is to facilitate absorption -- there are compounds which sort of "pull" or "push" the drug through the skin. These added ingredients also hydrate the skin, and hydrated skin, contrary to intuition, absorbs drugs much more easily than dry skin. And this is why drugs are formulated in creams, instead of simply "drug and etoh" etc. Perry"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2JVnKXUk8-xfYl5jiUow4oB7S3mnywa-eZtRu-bA4s_EJ6jg6Pt2dho8IPEHDt5Sek-viOuP93oG9uqlCTt7yZczN_u38V20ckUwTlCkD8Np8SGuU2DVn9lT215JquFwU0oBG_9BMsi7/s1600/images+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="225" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2JVnKXUk8-xfYl5jiUow4oB7S3mnywa-eZtRu-bA4s_EJ6jg6Pt2dho8IPEHDt5Sek-viOuP93oG9uqlCTt7yZczN_u38V20ckUwTlCkD8Np8SGuU2DVn9lT215JquFwU0oBG_9BMsi7/s400/images+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Prryjones</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page5&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on November 28th 2007:</span></b> "I tried it last evening. After 1 hour nothing. After 2 hours small difference. After 3 hours 30-50% paler. I applied the drops directly on my cheeks. Today at work, I felt great with much paler face. Yes I applied it this morning too."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Tompkin</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page6&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on November 28th 2007:</span></b> "Those of you experimenting: given what Perry has said, are you putting a good moisturizer on first and letting it hydrate your skin? Adding the drops directly to moisturizer, then applying that mixture, risks diluting the medication too much. But if your skin is properly hydrated before you directly apply the liquid, that might aid transport."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Steve95301</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page6&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on November 29th 2007:</span></b> "Over the past couple days I've had burning sensations for the first time in years. Not sure if it's related to this stuff, but it's worth reporting [..] I got one that didn't have menthol or propylene glycol or anything crazy in it... I'm at work so I can't check, but I got the one that had the least amt of harsh ingredients. I don't know whether or not it's related, but I thought I'd better report it just in case. Sometimes I get a similar sensation from drinking coffee in a dry, warm environment. So, it could be due to that. I'm really not sure. However, I am also getting a numb/tingly feeling on the sides of my face. It's pretty weird. So, I dunno. [..] I tried it again today. Results: Very impressive. ~50% reduction in redness. I now know that the burning I experienced previously was just due to extreme dryness. If I keep my face moisturized, I can use this stuff with excellent results. [..] I can't tell if there is any rebound, because I drank hot coffee in my warm apartment tonight, and I can't differentiate that flush from any rebound. [..] I use Anefrin Original: What I do is put some aloe vera lotion on for about 5-10 minutes. Then I pat my face dry with a paper towel and put on the Anefrin. Then after a while, I wash that off too."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Angela1979</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page7&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on November 30th 2007:</span></b> "Hey, I've tried it too, yesterday. Bought nasivin nasal spray and put it on a cotton wool, then applied directly to my right cheek. Didn't see any effect or difference compared to the other cheek during the day. But this morning this cheek was actually redder than my left cheek and covered in papules.<span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span><span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>So won't be trying that again</span>.</b></span> Good luck. Angela"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Bentherebefore</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page6&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on December 3rd 2007:</span></b> "I have been using Afrin for 4 or 5 days now. I have been applying it with a cotton ball. A lot of it stays in the cotton ball so I'm not sure if there's a better way to apply it. Thus far, I have noticed a slight decrease in redness. That said, I have noticed no decrease in warmth, flushing, or burning. Not the results I was expecting... but I will keep experimenting... [..] I have applied it mixed with some cetaphil lotion. MUCH easier to apply. Keeps the skin from getting dry. Not sure how it changes the effectiveness yet, but I'll letcha know!"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbkc30mUX09rWCUX5jD7tcwJ57aSsQ_YqUGE8KpRsY2Xf6M_t5Xy0DpBggbe4THXfSInaWbdYp5X07OVAUNJrHsWB4FC8JXUIALs-i1jiTisLGfNB29EbP745UiG3AhLN2rHtOKDky4W4/s1600/woodman-francesca_untitled-providence-rhode-island_1975-78_mm_1500x1489-980x973.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="973" data-original-width="980" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbkc30mUX09rWCUX5jD7tcwJ57aSsQ_YqUGE8KpRsY2Xf6M_t5Xy0DpBggbe4THXfSInaWbdYp5X07OVAUNJrHsWB4FC8JXUIALs-i1jiTisLGfNB29EbP745UiG3AhLN2rHtOKDky4W4/s400/woodman-francesca_untitled-providence-rhode-island_1975-78_mm_1500x1489-980x973.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">rop</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page14&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on December 18th 2007:</span></b> "Hey, I am using dristan 0.05% (it has preservatives) been using it for a week or so it is really helping me with the redness (viens and background redness) my top half of my face is always red I put some drops on my face and there were some areas that turned white for the first time in a long time. A couple of days ago i mixed it with lyndsy vita oil and have been applying it every morning around 8 am at 10:30 or 11:00 I see a real improvement in my face colr even after walking in the cold ooutside -17 degreez i had some redness but nothing compared to what i used to get and it went away real fast. And this lasts all the way till 10 pm. I went and bought 0.1 % today and I got another Dristan 0.05% that i am going to try to see the differences between using it with vita oil, alone and using the 0.1 % I am going to have 3 test areas on my face at the same time :?. Any ways i was thinking if we were able to constrict the blood vessels then using something to strengthen them like grape seed extract wont that make these changes actually perminant after some time?? and is this just a temperory treatment of would it permenantly reduce the redness after long term usage ???? thanks guys,<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">BrunoP</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page17&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on January 12th 2008:</span></b> "A few weeks i went to a new dermatologist, people said that is the best in my country...so, i made an appointment, and he said that creams like, metroderme, rosaliac, rodermil, roseliene, etc, etc.. have no effects on rosacea, and almost every dermatologist prescribes those at the first appointments... he said to take a "Inderal" (clonidine) every morning and also put "Nasex" every morning in the cheeks, which has more effects than the other creams, i mentioned, and he have patients that use this for 2 years, and helps the redness...and also said,that if it works for me i should see the results, in one day or too, and you can use it for ever if you want.. but if it not helps with the redness, you may stop using it... also said that put directly to the face after a cleanser. unfortunately for me it´s not helping with the redness.. and the next time i´ll see him.. i´ll say that, and see what he recommend.. in my opinion, we rosaceans, have more knowledge in this issue than most dermatologists...i had some that dermatologists, that prescribed thinks that i immediately said, that "i´ll not take this, or put this in my face, cause has no effect, or have steroids, or anything that make it worse"...they are so traditional... and always prescribe the same things to everyone in my country, i don´t know how it works in other countries... if you could die for having rosacea, they would find a cure more faster... regards, Bruno"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Steve95301</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page18&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on January 13th 2008:</span></b> "Jenn, I just picked the one off the shelf that looked like it had the least amount of irritating ingredients. The one I ended up getting is Walgreens brand ("Anefrin") original. I remember it being the only one without propylene glycol."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Jennfran</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page18&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on January 13th 2008:</span></b> "I am going to exchange this one for the generic brand you used Steve. I think all nasal decongestants (oxymetazoline) have preservatives in them, don't believe there is a way around this, just maybe one has more then the other. I am still going to try it tomorrow after I exchange it...Jenn"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Caran</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page22&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on January 14th 2008:</span></b> "Benzalkonium chloride is a preservative which lots of people react badly to. It is also implicated in increasing rebound in nasal and eye preparations."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Jennfran</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page22&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on January 14th 2008:</span></b> "And I think benzalkonium chloride is in all of them, and I did react bad to it. Needless to say I wont put this on my face again. Jenn"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Steve95301</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page23&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on January 17th 2008:</span></b> "I had been using it intermittently, but then I used it for a week straight, Monday through Friday. That weekend - both Saturday and Sunday - I was redder than usual. As an experiment, I applied the oxymetazoline in the late afternoon on Sunday, and voila - paleness. Maybe constricting the vessels for a whole week makes them bounce back a little bit; I really don't know. In fact, I don't even know for sure that it was a rebound at all. The redness could have come from the junk food I ate while watching the football games. [..] pale all week... I'm pretty sold on this stuff."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Steve95301</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page26&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on January 21st 2008:</span></b> "Tonight, I had <span>a bad flush</span> come out of nowhere, which is very unusual for me. My vessels are extremely sensitive right now (and I do have some burning). This is undoubtedly a reaction to the Anefrin. I don't know if it's the oxymetazoline itself, or if it's the benzalkonium chloride. Either way, BE CAREFUL."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Steve95301</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page26&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on January 26th 2008:</span></b> "The left side of my face is still kinda messed up. [..] Be careful, I developed purple areas in two places because of this stuff. They look permanently hypoxic."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Patrick</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page25&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on January 18th 2008:</span></b> "Hi, I use it in situations where I am almost sure I'll flush. The results are never spectacular but it always seems to prevent a flush or it moderates the intensity of the flush (tested on 5 or 6 situations). I have to put a lot on and it gives me breakouts afterwards. Still I am very happy to have found this and I hope they will start working on a formulation specific to target rosacea(flushes)."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Flemmo</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page26&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on January 21st 2008:</span></b> "I've found a Xylometazoline Hydrochloride (1mg/mL) spray that is free of preservatives ( benzalkonium chloride). Only seems to be available in Australia. The product info is quite interesting though..."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Flemmo</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page27&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on February 4th 2008:</span></b> "I've been trying the preservative-free Flo Xylo-Pos over the last few days. The good thing is it stops my nose from going bright red during my evening flushes - it feels uncomfortable still, but no increase in redness. however the base line redness can been increasing over the last few days, so I'm gonna stop this little experiment for now. I real shame because I thought being preservative free would be the answer. It might be unrelated, but for now I'll have to put up with looking like rudolf every evening."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Flemmo</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page27&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on February 8th 2008:</span></b> "It messed me up too even though the stuff I was using was preservative-free."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Rogue22</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page28&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on February 8th 2008:</span></b> "I've been trying this too for a couple of days now. Spraying some on a cotton pad and applying it to my nose and one cheek. So far I've seen decreased redness throughout the day, but increased redness at around 21:00. So it seems to be working, but now a whole day. More like 20 hours. I'm using nasivin preservative free."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mauz</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13303-Successful-Treatment-of-the-Erythema-and-Flushing-of-Rosacea/page28&highlight=alpha+agonist">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on February 13th 2008:</span></b> "Yesterday I tried applying Oxymetazoline on my face with pretty amazing results. Like already said, <span>after some hours the redness was decreased dramatically</span>, holding up all day. I'm using Vicks Sinex (Oxymetazolinehydrochloride 0,5 mg/ml). Too bad my heart seems to dislike this kind of stuff (heart rate increases and seems to be 'louder'), which I already found out when using Xylometazoline as nasal spray. Therefore, I'm not sure if it's safe for me to continue putting this stuff on my cheeks, any thoughts?"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">LuckoftheIrish</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?23004-Oxymetazoline-good-for-occasional-use&highlight=oxymetazoline">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on November 28th 2010:</span></b> "Oxymetazoline - good for occasional use? I've read all the posts about oxymetazoline and am aware of the risk of rebound flushing after prolonged use (a week or so straight). I just wondered if there was anyone who is using this at weekends, say, or for special occasions only? I used some Vicks Sinex on my face today and noticed an improvement - not huge - but definitely one of my cheeks was less red and swollen and the pores were much smaller than usual. Does anybody use this periodically? I'd be really interested to hear."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mistica</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?23004-Oxymetazoline-good-for-occasional-use&highlight=oxymetazoline">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on November 29th 2010:</span></b> "I can not emphasize enough, don't touch it again. Please read my hellish posts in the topical brimonidine thread and also the ER thread in the general section. Oxymetazoline is an a1 and a2 adrenergic receptor agonist. Brimonidine is an a2 adrenergic receptor agonist. You don't want to risk the post hell, believe me. Rebound flushing is not always dose or time/ duration dependent. On average it is said it takes three doses to get hooked. That is all it took for me. It can happen sooner. Nat suffered after two doses. Instead of quitting cold turkey I decided to gradually wean myself off it and that turned out to be even worse!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Steve95301</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?23004-Oxymetazoline-good-for-occasional-use&highlight=oxymetazoline">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> on November 29th 2010:</span></b> "I wouldn't mess with it. It gave me a permanent red patch on part of my cheek. [..] that last time I really slathered it on, and left it on all day and it was after that time that I noticed the permanent red patch."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_EzkqdMyYG3dt1es_qqNGgB33fBTxp4Wf6BeYWdcz_9xcUCsPbllun-Urx9mmPoiqyDW-Gjiqy-_IQeCsVwT0JB5QOGOtokNJIl0SbBbUkmB_073mM-Yjv9psW2jS_e95zZyaGDrY4tjG/s1600/388250_10151311794593996_1951810795_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="800" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_EzkqdMyYG3dt1es_qqNGgB33fBTxp4Wf6BeYWdcz_9xcUCsPbllun-Urx9mmPoiqyDW-Gjiqy-_IQeCsVwT0JB5QOGOtokNJIl0SbBbUkmB_073mM-Yjv9psW2jS_e95zZyaGDrY4tjG/s400/388250_10151311794593996_1951810795_n.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Byu/bearble_lightness</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/5pc0pg/allergan_announces_fda_approval_of_rhofade_for/">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> in 2016:</span></b> </span>"Allergan Announces FDA Approval Of RHOFADE for persistent rosacea redness (x/post from r/SkincareAddiction). [..] That's funny, it's the same active ingredient that's in Afrin and other decongestant nasal sprays (Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride), although it is at 1% in RHOFADE versus 0.05% in the sprays. I know I had seen someone in a rosacea forum say they had used the nasal spray before and it worked. The active is a vasoconstrictor (shrinks blood vessels), so you'd expect it to work to combat the redness. There's actually a study (of only TWO patients) [link] where they used the "commercially available preparation" at 0.05%, so I would figure it would be the readily available nasal sprays. Here's another PubMed review of using the nasal sprays for rosacea, it seems it may include the information from the JAMA study on two patients, although it notes both 0.1% and 0.05% (never 1% like this new Rx). I wouldn't be surprised if some people started using the nasal sprays as topicals, but I would definitely warn to patch test and ABSOLUTELY AVOID any of the sprays containing menthol since it could aggravate rosacea. I know when Soolantra came out, I'd read of people without insurance trying out the ivermectin solutions used for mites on cows instead of handing over $300 for the Rx. I wonder how costly RHOFADE will be since it is brand new.<br />
<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/654421"><b>https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/654421</b></a><br />
<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3839519/"><b>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3839519/</b></a><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Byu/</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/5uadrr/rosacea_and_afrin/">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> in 2016:</span></b> "Rosacea and Afrin. Hey guys, I have mild rosacea (subtype 1). For a while now, I have been applying Afrin onto the affected parts of my face twice daily. I have had exceedingly good results with this and controlling my redness. I got the idea from a study I read online where they used the same thing and the recent FDA approval of a Oxymetazoline cream for erythema. I haven't had any rebound flushing or any negative effects. I follow the application of Afrin with some facial oils and then a heavy duty moisturizer. Just wanted to share this! :)"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Danielgo88</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/5uadrr/rosacea_and_afrin/">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> in 2016:</span></b> "How much Afrin do you apply on your face? [..] I just squirt some in my palm and then apply a thin layer to my cheeks, nose, chin, and forehead. Once it drys I put moisturizer on. It's not really a defined amount."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">sSamoo</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/5uadrr/rosacea_and_afrin/">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> in 2016:</span></b> "Does it help prevent flushing? or does it mainly work for residual redness? I usually start off normal colored by the day but get red quickly when things get hectic at work"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Someone</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/5uadrr/rosacea_and_afrin/">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> in 2016:</span></b> "Actually this is exactly how my skin is. I find that it keeps the flushing down significantly. [..] Also here is the study I am referring to for anyone curious:<b> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3839519/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3839519/</a> </b>"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">BitsofGeek</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Rosacea/comments/5uadrr/rosacea_and_afrin/">wrote</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> in 2016:</span></b> "It's oxymetazoline hydrochloride. If you're getting the nasal spray, make sure you check the other ingredients and avoid menthol."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Emily47 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38101-Weird-success-with-CeraVe-and-Afrin&highlight=oxymetazoline">wrote</a> on November 14th, 2017: </span></b>"Weird success with CeraVe and Afrin. I went to my dermatologist today and had to tell here that the Metrogel that she had prescribed didn't do a thing for my redness. So she said there is a VERY expensive treatment that is about $1200 and insurance won't cover it BUT people are getting the same results with a mixture of CeraVe PM and Afrin. Mix a whole jar of the CeraVe with a small bottle of Afrin (or drugstore brand) together. The Afrin is a gel, believe it or not. It takes pliers to get to top off the Afrin. Anyway, I made the mixture, put it some on my face and, MIRACULOUSLY my face redness faded to almost normal! I'm ecstatic!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38101-Weird-success-with-CeraVe-and-Afrin&highlight=oxymetazoline">wrote</a> on November 14th, 2017: </span></b>"Hi Emily. If you search the forum for afrin, oxymetazoline, rhofade you'll find some more info (maybe too much info!). Did the "expensive treatment" refer to laser treatments? Do you have issues with flushing or just background redness? I'd be curious if there are rebound issues... but hope your progress continues. Some people do have rebound issues with oxymetazoline -- when used for rosacea or for "regular" use (nasal decongestant) I too was prescribed metrogel that did nothing for me (flushing + redness). But topical vasoconstrictors like topical timolol leave me with rebound (when I was assured it wouldn't be an issue). best wishes. PS - Slightly off topic and not specific to this thread, but I wonder if there's a way to have a poll or something on this forum (like for each treatment) to synthesize everyone's experiences in a quick and dirty way? Maybe there already is something like that going on ... eg the rhofade/vit D/ etc threads are sooo long and all over the place I don't think many can make it through to the end lol."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cHUv1GtM1uG3hcDhrcq_Mb4ca9LUx1Puc8bjcv3UQ55K1S_NrBVqZYBcD5inzRFocE_GMxIK4wI7Auh4BfdWXoqkRU-jmjDsTShc08cJNQRriSKcq5Eawu9nMsCG3-5MkZAPHgcw6piA/s1600/c_woodman_francesca.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="355" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cHUv1GtM1uG3hcDhrcq_Mb4ca9LUx1Puc8bjcv3UQ55K1S_NrBVqZYBcD5inzRFocE_GMxIK4wI7Auh4BfdWXoqkRU-jmjDsTShc08cJNQRriSKcq5Eawu9nMsCG3-5MkZAPHgcw6piA/s400/c_woodman_francesca.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">man_from_mars <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?30974-Allergan-AGN-199201-Rosacea-Clinical-Trial&highlight=oxymetazoline">wrote</a> on April 22nd, 2014: </span></b>"From the past member's posts back in 2008? who were experimenting using Afrin nasal spray with Oxymetazoline. The outcome was basically the same as the current Mirvaso rebounds as far as I can tell. I just have serious doubts they have come up with some exclusive anti-rebound formula. Some users were even trying "Nasonex" Nasal spray - thinking they are all the same except this stuff is actually a medium potent steroid (Mometasone Furoate) which is even worse to use on your face."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Johnabetts <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?30974-Allergan-AGN-199201-Rosacea-Clinical-Trial&highlight=oxymetazoline">wrote</a> on April 23rd, 2014: </span></b>"I have looked up the various Allergan patents and patent applications for the topical use of oxymetazoline but found nothing extraordinary in the formulations that would give anti-rebound properties, apart from the oxymetazoline itself. What I did find interesting was a statement (but not a claim) that the oxymetazoline formulations might act: In some embodiments, the therapeutic effect of cream formulations described herein may be maintained for at least about 30 days, for at least 25 days, for at least 20 days, for at least 15 days, for at least 10 days after stopping the administration of the cream formulation. In some embodiments, the therapeutic effect may be maintained for at least about 7 days, for at least about 5 days, or for at least about 4 days after stopping the administration of the cream formulation. Also, if there was some novel activity of the product base, that would have IP protection as well. It doesn't! If anyone is sufficiently interested, I can post the patent references but, be warned, they are not easy reading and contain some of the most verbose, obfuscatory text I have seen - and boy, patents are a powerhouse of obfuscation."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Kook <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?30974-Allergan-AGN-199201-Rosacea-Clinical-Trial/page2&highlight=oxymetazoline">wrote</a> on November 19th, 2014: </span></b>"I'd be interested to know the mechanics of flushing.. You'd think they could design a molecule that does what mirvaso etc do but largely irreversibly. Or something along those lines- like a irreversible inhibitor of whatever hormone receptor mediates flushing provided that this is in the blood vessels of the face. Not really much other than massive speculation though unless you want to get into some heavy books."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Wiry <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?30974-Allergan-AGN-199201-Rosacea-Clinical-Trial/page3&highlight=oxymetazoline">wrote</a> on November 23rd, 2014: </span></b>"Again, the active ingredient was tried a while back by forum members. Just like the active ingredient in Mirvaso was tried a while back. <span>In both cases, the results were unfavorable.</span> It doesn't matter what gel they put it in or if it gets FDA approval, its the stuff that hasn't worked. It is not going to work so just leave it alone."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Forsberg <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36555-Interesting-piece-about-oxymetazoline/page9&highlight=oxymetazoline">wrote</a> on March 6th, 2017: </span></b>"Regarding Galderma, I got impression from the posts that people put a case against company which lied about Mirvaso, this is why I asked. I wouldn't be surprised anyway. I know this product well from bad side, my derm gave me sample when it came on the market. She said me that product was not much known but some people got nice effect and I may try it. I tried and later had reddest red color on my face ever. <span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>Used it twice. Then I put that into trash bin. What a piece of crap</span>.</b></span> This is why I do not believe in any topical thing which claim to remove redness without serious side-effects - like Mirvaso's. Against redness I believe only in laser, IPL, LRT and daily routine with makeup. It works for me in some way, at least half."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3L448p2_upJwGjrEPYnZRGlFRtzjajbo0z2HQrNDr6C-A2rhoh2jUCjLVJgsQw-VVfvkK6VvazGxXpQ9bP1kgWe3JqHwvk97uIqBs55Qm4TXTzMobDmUZRBFC-dQXz4KqeU_kfsiKPvN1/s1600/AR00359_9.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="730" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3L448p2_upJwGjrEPYnZRGlFRtzjajbo0z2HQrNDr6C-A2rhoh2jUCjLVJgsQw-VVfvkK6VvazGxXpQ9bP1kgWe3JqHwvk97uIqBs55Qm4TXTzMobDmUZRBFC-dQXz4KqeU_kfsiKPvN1/s400/AR00359_9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Brady Barrows <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36555-Interesting-piece-about-oxymetazoline/page9&highlight=oxymetazoline">wrote</a> on March 7th, 2017: </span></b>"<span style="color: #783f04;"><b>Galderma finally acknowledged the possibility of rebound issue</b></span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span><span>with this post </span><span>and making sure the rebound issue is noted in the insert.</span> So if anyone chooses to accept Mirvaso from their dermatologist Galderma has itself covered themselves. Of course, you can still hire a lawyer and pursue this, but you probably don't have enough money to go through the process and Galderma has lots of money for lawyers. It is more important to be informed about taking any prescription and know the benefits, risks and possible side effects. It is called informed consent. However, most rosacea patients trust their physicians implicitly and don't bother to ask about the risks or possible side effects. And of course, Galderma and your dermatologist will point out that there are reports that Mirvaso works for some. If it didn't work at all, it would never have been approved by the FDA. Read the positive reports. Some rosacea sufferers rave about Mirvaso. But based upon the anecdotal reports collected the odds are it won't work for most rosacea sufferers."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">RaymondS <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36555-Interesting-piece-about-oxymetazoline/page10&highlight=oxymetazoline">wrote</a> on March 8th, 2017: </span></b>"It seems to calm background redness but not my actual broken caps / veins at all. But then some areas works better than others. It's weird in the way it doesn't seem consistent at all. Maybe rhofade might be more consistent."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Poppe <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36555-Interesting-piece-about-oxymetazoline/page10&highlight=oxymetazoline">wrote</a> on March 9th, 2017: </span></b>"Hello! I'm still a night cream is applied. I do not see a great difference, but after night, during the day my face is calmer. At least I think so. 0.5% Oxy does not cause me rebound. I use how much? A week, maybe two ... That's a good sign. Later I will try 1%.<br />
Ben, told me impose one layer of cream, and for half an hour the next layer. I tried, it is heavy application! Cream it has hyaluronic acid, which is quite sticky!"<br /></div>
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Rhofade has been touted as the next best thing for rosacea redness, but is more like a case of the New Emperors Clothes: it comes after Mirvaso which does more or less the same thing (but is stronger), and just like Mirvaso it has some serious issues with rebound worsening of the rosacea. Not all users have rebound problems, but a significant group does. Rebound flushing or redness worsening is a common problem with these types of creams that are constricting the small blood vessels for a certain amount of hours. For many users, the body then wants to 'correct' the problem and abnormally dilates the facial blood vessels again, making someone temporarily more red and flushed than before. It seems to work fine for some rosacea patients, but the rebound problem has been mentioned by many users, unfortunately... Like with its competitor Mirvaso, Rhofade has done nothing to counteract the rebound problem. It simply comes down to how reactive and severe the blood vessel instability is of the user. So tread with caution with this product!<br />
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Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-61244616818554503122019-03-01T13:26:00.047-08:002024-01-31T05:48:07.073-08:00 Ongoing post, Update day to day life XIV, March 1th 2020 - February 25th 2020 <p> </p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;">General updates about day to day life</span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPokZNQxj_DaJCWWp27lkQXT_owuJ1mN6dNfPEyGOtPxKFBiZ81WkTkzzOjHwud1SLdnqEM5yDIEd4e-rKiWpj0Jg_YVA9jIuYsk6I6RSjejtECOZ1YYt9aCIa68RNzmA_bd7VRuiyn77/s500/20W7.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="500" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPokZNQxj_DaJCWWp27lkQXT_owuJ1mN6dNfPEyGOtPxKFBiZ81WkTkzzOjHwud1SLdnqEM5yDIEd4e-rKiWpj0Jg_YVA9jIuYsk6I6RSjejtECOZ1YYt9aCIa68RNzmA_bd7VRuiyn77/w510-h374/20W7.gif" width="510" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">March 1st </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN6l6917d2n9fwXhPn6QqyLmbLXwAbhwTHm4e_tzfkoSsKY4wN_Tg0poZOf35z9dbD_MiOUIX6lF9-kH_tLm1cwPB-F_BIXozMTbPA-Is6DTtAYVy8EC64qDSGUJgpsTqd1JkKO1w57aO8/s1600/angiogenesis.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN6l6917d2n9fwXhPn6QqyLmbLXwAbhwTHm4e_tzfkoSsKY4wN_Tg0poZOf35z9dbD_MiOUIX6lF9-kH_tLm1cwPB-F_BIXozMTbPA-Is6DTtAYVy8EC64qDSGUJgpsTqd1JkKO1w57aO8/s400/angiogenesis.jpg" width="400" /></a>I watched <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjkzfeJz66o">this very interesting Ted Talk</a></b>, from scientist and doctor William Li. He explains how certain foods can increase our chances or developing cancer in life, and others can reduce those chances. Now, he emphasizes that cancer can have different causes and some people have a genetic predisposition. But each and everyone of us endures gene mutations throughout our lives and especially once we are over the age of 40. William Li explains that these cell mutations can remain small clumps of cells and then be cleaned up by the body's immune system, <i>or</i> they can continue dividing and turn into cancerous tumors over time. Now scientists have discovered that certain foods can help speed up this process, or help undo this process. Dairy products for instance contain a substance which promotes it, whereas foods like specific mushrooms and soy beans can help reduce these chances. How? <b><span style="color: #444444;">Through new blood vessel mechanisms; angiogenesis.</span></b> Cancerous tumors can grow due to the body creating blood vessel systems for them. Without these blood vessels, the tumor cannot grow. <b><span style="color: #444444;">And here a link with rosacea emerges. Because for us rosacea patients who have issues with red or flushed cheeks, the angiogenesis mechanisms have gone haywire too. </span></b>The human body has a certain set of blood vessels, formed in the uterus, and we are set with those vessels through life. But the body can also create extra blood vessels during very specific circumstances, for instance during wound healing of a skin injury, or when a woman is pregnant and has to develop extra vessels in the uterus to form the placenta. After pregnancy, the body reabsorbs those extra blood vessels again and brings things back to the status quo through naturally occurring angiogenesis inhibitors in the body. Regulating the amount of blood vessels through a system of stimulators and inhibitors of blood vessel growth. Or so it should be. And there are other situations where this happens. Dr. Li even shares an image during his Ted Talk where he mentions rosacea as one of the possible medical conditions of which patients suffer due to angiogensis going rife, and the body not cleaning up the excess blood vessels. Dr. Li then focuses on cancer and how trimming down the bodies ability to grow blood vessels for the tumor is a promising treatment mechanism for early stage tumors. He explains the mechanisms and interesting for us people with rosacea; he names potent angiogenesis foods and medication. Something we blushers and flushers may also benefit from. I cut the 20 minute long video up a bit to show you specifically what dr Li says about these blood vessels, I recommend it as it is extremely interesting I think. <b><span style="color: #444444;">First the trimmed video in 2 parts (due to limited size options on blogger), then the full 20-minute video, also including info about cancerous tumors: </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYIRke5UgsHqlb4HNBY-wOiO4WK-xeeS4hkjqFkHuuGjndynkgHQAS9ACwgZe2IqTqOdBCYbZHRUwiI9h0obcY_GraDA42oClVF_wNzjV9PHoidHVa605g7gkSM_s4dFil69WJgqTGyqRy/s1600/Untitled-2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYIRke5UgsHqlb4HNBY-wOiO4WK-xeeS4hkjqFkHuuGjndynkgHQAS9ACwgZe2IqTqOdBCYbZHRUwiI9h0obcY_GraDA42oClVF_wNzjV9PHoidHVa605g7gkSM_s4dFil69WJgqTGyqRy/s400/Untitled-2.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpppqFQZzboJsF6oC8s9B9AAwwTarV6vF118DKQ7A46BlndQKfpStczT6vM5Kz6f_v8T9uaaLaoGP7vyFExPvmqVf-CsPAyUXRmBs46Qvs_F9SeSyeqgV-wBU6g3s51KaMuF3ceuhy-rXD/s1600/anti+angiogenesis+foods.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpppqFQZzboJsF6oC8s9B9AAwwTarV6vF118DKQ7A46BlndQKfpStczT6vM5Kz6f_v8T9uaaLaoGP7vyFExPvmqVf-CsPAyUXRmBs46Qvs_F9SeSyeqgV-wBU6g3s51KaMuF3ceuhy-rXD/s400/anti+angiogenesis+foods.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">So, Dr. Li mentions a number of natural anti-angiogenesis foods, which help the body prune back excess blood vessels.</span></b> </div>
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Taking some foods together can cause food synergy and enhance the anti-angiogenesis effects. He mentions: <br />
-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Soy products </span></b>such as tofu and tempeh, (which contain the inhibitor "genistein")<br />
-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Agaricus subrufescens mushrooms</span></b> (contain the inhibitors sodium pyroglutamate and ergosterol)<br />
-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Black raspberry</span></b> (Rubus occidentalis) extract<br />
-<b><span style="color: #444444;">(Green) tea </span></b>(catechins)<br />
-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Lingzhi mushrooms and Maitake mushrooms </span></b>(via inhibition of VEGF and TGF-beta)<br />
-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Trametes versicolor mushrooms</span></b> (Polysaccharide-K).<br />
-<span style="color: #444444;"><b>Parsley</b></span><br />
-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Turmeric</span></b><br />
-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Lavender</span></b><br />
-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Citrus</span></b><br />
-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Red grapes</span></b><br />
-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Garlic</span></b><br />
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-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Liquorice</span></b> (glycyrrhizic acid)</div>
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-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Red wine </span></b>(resveratrol) -> -<span style="color: #444444;"><b>resveratrol</b></span> 60% reduces unnatural angiogenesis!</div>
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-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Royal Jelly</span></b> (Queen bee acid)</div>
-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Berries </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Tomatoes </span></b><span style="text-align: center;">(lycopene)</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Vitamin E</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">-</span>Tranexamic acid</div>
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-Ellagic acid (strawberries)</div>
-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Bok choy</span></b><br />
-olive oil<br />
-<b><span style="color: #444444;">Grape seed oil</span></b><br />
-dark chocolate<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8K3MTk2_DzvLNX6-zWtpIXmuuSuOR-_Cr7tN7AIGjv1uQTXTwxSf10l5SkFBgqwX-5l4fcs3YM36JqRM93G-nbceOh_XCsYmZ5ZnHIDSi0gn8ZOTx73AD53GSTpImYYaVKsdaVDvxsyc/s1600/Paper+5.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="1099" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8K3MTk2_DzvLNX6-zWtpIXmuuSuOR-_Cr7tN7AIGjv1uQTXTwxSf10l5SkFBgqwX-5l4fcs3YM36JqRM93G-nbceOh_XCsYmZ5ZnHIDSi0gn8ZOTx73AD53GSTpImYYaVKsdaVDvxsyc/s320/Paper+5.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwpWdhhGQR7EC0grReWeC0W1gztEBCDlvfMuzq0IfVhRXdK32Zilsm8ovMHXPnITuMUibOBDgg7vUyVEusTeEDIUbRtT6lC4uBGMJdtDjgiCKF0QSuHyTQ_VX-hIGZkHibfizu747hcpsV/s1600/paper+4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="912" data-original-width="1110" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwpWdhhGQR7EC0grReWeC0W1gztEBCDlvfMuzq0IfVhRXdK32Zilsm8ovMHXPnITuMUibOBDgg7vUyVEusTeEDIUbRtT6lC4uBGMJdtDjgiCKF0QSuHyTQ_VX-hIGZkHibfizu747hcpsV/s320/paper+4.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1891166/">this NCBI research </a></span></b></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1891166/">paper</a>, you can read more about the potency of natural health products to reduce angiogenesis.</span></b> </span>It highlights several supplements which have a proven record for reducing angiogenesis: "The herbs that are traditionally used for anticancer treatment and that are anti-angiogenic through multiple interdependent processes (including effects on gene expression, signal processing, and enzyme activities) include Artemisia annua (<span style="color: #444444;"><b>Chinese wormwood</b></span>), Viscum album (<b><span style="color: #444444;">European mistletoe</span></b>), Curcuma longa (<span style="color: #444444;"><b>curcumin</b></span>), Scutellaria baicalensis (<b><span style="color: #444444;">Chinese skullcap</span></b>), <b><span style="color: #444444;">resveratrol</span></b> and proanthocyanidin (<b><span style="color: #444444;">grape seed extract</span></b>), Magnolia officinalis (<b><span style="color: #444444;">Chinese magnolia tree</span></b>), Camellia sinensis (<b><span style="color: #444444;">green tea</span></b>), <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Ginkgo biloba, quercetin, Poria cocos</b></span>, Zingiber officinalis (<b><span style="color: #444444;">ginger</span></b>), <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Panax ginseng, Rabdosia rubescens hora (Rabdosia), and Chinese destagnation herbs.</b></span>" The article also mentions western medicine used to reduce angiogensis, such as bevacizumab (Avastin) and heparin. Interestingly this research paper also mentions <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Vitamin D </b></span>and <b><span style="color: #444444;">bovine cartilage</span></b> as scientifically proven anti-angiogenesis sources. There have been many rosacea patients who improved from increasing their (typically low) vitamin D levels, and drinking bone broth (containing bovine cartilage usually) has also been mentioned often as beneficial by rosaceans.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2HFSMfUqNlONAXmSztS4_Kz94NDEZC3M-Cs9wnWGiZD7zoN__qjZmBbS6HK2sjkVTEcRHHanvZDLlBncZ9vI03eUni7jse0F9nAaqC8fXv4ZxCXaSbiMjs2XkFgMP95L-nl6KYQXr48s/s1600/Paper+1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1239" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2HFSMfUqNlONAXmSztS4_Kz94NDEZC3M-Cs9wnWGiZD7zoN__qjZmBbS6HK2sjkVTEcRHHanvZDLlBncZ9vI03eUni7jse0F9nAaqC8fXv4ZxCXaSbiMjs2XkFgMP95L-nl6KYQXr48s/s200/Paper+1.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGWFQkSx68VUBs1Vb_JVmqk5uBYxg2jqwaqZOyDNy2b1e7OxhSO0OvmNLEAH-yX1SlS7LbQVzgcTW00kqqeJpM-R_EgVIqxts15EfoY67FpG5qU1ONkZydWRlFgdQttY6lnUe2AaCl_4Tu/s1600/paper+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="905" data-original-width="1251" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGWFQkSx68VUBs1Vb_JVmqk5uBYxg2jqwaqZOyDNy2b1e7OxhSO0OvmNLEAH-yX1SlS7LbQVzgcTW00kqqeJpM-R_EgVIqxts15EfoY67FpG5qU1ONkZydWRlFgdQttY6lnUe2AaCl_4Tu/s200/paper+2.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJX8mdJvaSx2tD_Yw6OO3g739YxOryEId-HlLQd7Htjw0bcPHXdO-DLRriZ8SmYBPkiWTguIF1zqwW63GgYLL0W-OUw80t2tGDncydVM5IiBQzyFv-R8o-vuuHrgGpZPuKIegGOMCk9ev/s1600/paper+3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="1253" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJX8mdJvaSx2tD_Yw6OO3g739YxOryEId-HlLQd7Htjw0bcPHXdO-DLRriZ8SmYBPkiWTguIF1zqwW63GgYLL0W-OUw80t2tGDncydVM5IiBQzyFv-R8o-vuuHrgGpZPuKIegGOMCk9ev/s200/paper+3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9WpuL12R3r94j9tzTTFRaGezeHCGbS7iSNjnmdU2d31T9LRoC48ghen1kY0IUZ6z0HQtSyAixXuEFxB5dPfZloaUvL61M1frS8eG0CteuRmqLWgLhGFy-LCqh3zvHcjqz1r5KkNj6fUK/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="256" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9WpuL12R3r94j9tzTTFRaGezeHCGbS7iSNjnmdU2d31T9LRoC48ghen1kY0IUZ6z0HQtSyAixXuEFxB5dPfZloaUvL61M1frS8eG0CteuRmqLWgLhGFy-LCqh3zvHcjqz1r5KkNj6fUK/s320/download.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18071725">This </a>is a study of the pathogenesis of rosacea: how angiogenesis and mast cells may participate in a complex multifactorial process </b></span></div>
I myself have an issue with mast cells, and in thus study it was established that mast cells together with angiogenesis play a role in rosacea. When a biopsy sample was taken of the skin of rosacea patients, scientists found that the skin samples contained mast cells, as well as statistically important differences in angiogenesis: samples taken from skin with active rosacea (and high vascular density) showed more factors of angiogenesis than skin which clinically showed no rosacea symptoms. Researchers also found serum antibodies against H.pylori in the skin samples of rosacea patients. Also interesting: microvessels density (skin with a lot of extra blood vessels) and total vascular area showed no correlation with the degree of prolonged and excessive sun exposure the skin received, nor with inflammation or with the Demodex density. Which underlines once again that people with rosacea flushing and skin redness (without pimples) often do not suffer from demodex infections which cause the rosacea. The researchers concluded that <i>"<span style="color: #444444;"><b>Angiogenesis seems to play an important role in the pathogenesis especially of the more severe clinical form of Rosacea</b></span>. Mast cell numbers in the skin seem to participate in evolution to disease chronicity by contributing to inflammation, angiogenesis and tissue fibrosis."</i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30578968">This</a> study proves that tranexamic acid ameliorates rosacea symptoms through regulating immune response and angiogenesis</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6Rj8pEONdlruu9t6ZA3aFSBHaubj4rDp_PtPayV8Lh1b1UncA5vRYE2fowsslaUafg0gYgtyFHht7k7nHq5cRG-MZVBBVJygvP36MLGCb0Exf1rEl1zYgDeJg1MdoXzCTWwPijkNM4Do/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="224" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6Rj8pEONdlruu9t6ZA3aFSBHaubj4rDp_PtPayV8Lh1b1UncA5vRYE2fowsslaUafg0gYgtyFHht7k7nHq5cRG-MZVBBVJygvP36MLGCb0Exf1rEl1zYgDeJg1MdoXzCTWwPijkNM4Do/s320/download+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a>The 2018 study confirms that rosacea is immune system influenced:<b><span style="color: #444444;"> "Rosacea is a chronic </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">inflammatory cutaneous disease characterized by immune system anomalies and vascular hyperreactivity."</span></b> Recently, therapy of rosacea has improved substantially with the approval of <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tranexamic_acid">Tranexamic acid </a></b>(TXA), an antifibrinolytic agent. Rosacea-like symptoms including skin erythema and histopathological alterations, as well as the elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNFα) and MMP9 expression were significantly ameliorated by TXA treatment. In addition, TXA reduced the expression levels of innate immune gene (TLR2, KLK5 and Camp) and neutrophils relative gene in rosacea-like lesion. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory effects of TXA were associated with the inhibition of TLR2, pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNFα) and chemokines (CCL10) expression in LL37-activated HaCaT cells. Finally, TXA repressed the angiogenesis by reducing the number of CD31+ cell and downregulating the expression levels of VEGF in rosacea. In conclusion, our finding defines a treatment mechanism by which TXA ameliorates rosacea symptoms by regulating the immune response and angiogenesis." - In other words: <b><span style="color: #990000;">Tranexamic acid</span></b> is a medication used to treat or prevent excessive blood loss. Side effects are rare and may include changes in color vision, blood clots, and allergic reactions. There is however a small risk that tranexamic acid may cause a clot in another part of the body. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>This research found that Tranexamic acid ameliorates rosacea symptoms through regulating immune response and angiogenesis.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNUZTuE9zgiGLvGCDX7TrLwkfyEi2XWpy6LvubN3Hhalhq2rsYMhawwHU0ayYxolsrQcvPG0zsBqXU8mL7n0mHnx3G9ScgyjEjC6_p1id210kRpUuo3ilVZroyaZSqWAYF-PVS5o4aB4Y/s1600/1-s2.0-S0753332219310339-gr1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="661" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNUZTuE9zgiGLvGCDX7TrLwkfyEi2XWpy6LvubN3Hhalhq2rsYMhawwHU0ayYxolsrQcvPG0zsBqXU8mL7n0mHnx3G9ScgyjEjC6_p1id210kRpUuo3ilVZroyaZSqWAYF-PVS5o4aB4Y/s200/1-s2.0-S0753332219310339-gr1.jpg" width="151" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332219310339" style="font-weight: bold;">This</a><b> study proves that artemisinin is a potential option to inhibit inflammation and angiogenesis in rosacea</b></span></div>
Artemisinin, an anti-malaria drug, was reported to have several effects including anti-inflammation and anti-angiogenesis activities. When this drug was tested on rosacea skin, the skin erythema (redness) improved. Elevated pro-inflammatory factors and inflammatory biomarkers were also significantly improved. Artemisinin also reduced rosacea-like inflammation and repressed angiogenesis. In conclusion, artemisinin improved rosacea-like dermatitis by regulating immune response and angiogenesis, indicating that it could represent an effective therapeutic option for patients with rosacea. Artemisinin derivatives are known for their ability to suppress immune reactions such as inflammation. One derivative, SM934, was approved in 2015 by the China Food and Drug Administration for clinical trial as a drug for systemic lupus erythematosus. Experiments in animal models have given good results. It can regulate T cell subsets, inhibit the activation of B cells, block the production of inflammatory cytokines and NF-κB signal transduction pathway.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-zj-b0QdadPW4AfUYzikyFtfHWLJvpAxfmCV2iStXtHqRvouL-vQNqm-djR-ngHaMtxyCNbEwnLeZhbMGtKT5uw9CE6BnCupDUkXllxLZv3HPvrFmxZKyUp8xUtZ09He7XMHJ2aioU0/s1600/DSC01642.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-zj-b0QdadPW4AfUYzikyFtfHWLJvpAxfmCV2iStXtHqRvouL-vQNqm-djR-ngHaMtxyCNbEwnLeZhbMGtKT5uw9CE6BnCupDUkXllxLZv3HPvrFmxZKyUp8xUtZ09He7XMHJ2aioU0/s320/DSC01642.jpg" width="237" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">February 29th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020 </span></span></b></div>
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All's going so so. I haven't had too many issues with cold urticaria this winter, but this must surely be due to the abnormally high temperatures. Too col and these itchy raised welts show up on my face. I had a couple during the coldest month, which was January I think, I don't even remember anymore as it was all so minor compared to previously colder winters. Been very tired lately, but trying to just keep ploughing on. I still have the same issues as ever with skin redness, flushing and burning. I just try to keep matters under control by cooling my skin and trying to eat healthy and exercising. I tried fasting lately, because there has been some talk that not eating for 24 hours, or for two or three days ideally, can reset the immune system. Supposedly. By affecting bacteria in the gut, which play a role in basically all important body functions. I have no issue with eating one meal a day, at set times (so having a 23 hour 'fast' for the rest of the day), but must admit that not eating for two or three days has been ... unappealing. I know, it's about a bit of discipline, and I'll really try to muster it and do a 2 day fast at the very least. The one time I managed two days, I didn't notice any difference in my rosacea. I also don't really notice much difference with the once a day meal either. Unfortunately. But there is documentation on the benefits of reduced amount of meals on immune function and inflammation even. I'll write some more about it soon I hope.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbImxH3fokGmHxufL0GC7-Z1QXPoWUK4rmRFLN18c2Bm5JxwVXicPE6AOC2Dq9_YIFLA5Nrza5aFpyZGC3JMA_1FWI6E_iVH6mi6Ys_dl9_8ejynklA7kx1OuzsD14pYparmOrr7mXHmsJ/s1600/t0ddyrhlwmpdhqiycxth.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbImxH3fokGmHxufL0GC7-Z1QXPoWUK4rmRFLN18c2Bm5JxwVXicPE6AOC2Dq9_YIFLA5Nrza5aFpyZGC3JMA_1FWI6E_iVH6mi6Ys_dl9_8ejynklA7kx1OuzsD14pYparmOrr7mXHmsJ/s400/t0ddyrhlwmpdhqiycxth.jpg" width="400" /></a>What else... Some stuff I have seen, watched or found interesting then. I knew for a long time already (because she was very beautiful, also in death, and has inspired some artists in the past, as such) about this DEATH MASK of a young woman who drowned in the River Seine in the 1880s. It was believed she had taken her own life, but since she was never identified, no details of her life were known and the events leading to her demise remain a mystery. As was customary in those days, before her remains were disposed of in an unmarked pauper’s grave, her corpse was put on display in a chilled room in the Paris mortuary, in the hope that someone might recognize her and claim her body. Back in 1881 this was a custom and it attracted many Parisians, who would pass the glass window to have a look. The pathologist on duty became entranced by the beautiful girl with the enigmatic half-smile, and so he commissioned a plaster cast made of her face. It is unclear if this was done in furtherance of attempts to establish her identity, or purely because the pathologist was so taken by her face that he wanted to make a memento of her beauty. The death mask of this serene beauty soon took on a life of its own, becoming a “must have” object in the souvenir shops. This mask was replicated many times over. She became known as "L'Inconnue de la Seine,” or “The Unknown Woman of the Seine.” Now I read that her<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCC9SmQuTA1TwtIXRL0Lcc6g5dG7sB-WefuZ1uAiGGgUrF7mkcR5s0MR6qJ1H9zjdAejyaNEwQZ0HDp2iIx5o6ezYPj0pSqOsedeGegEBCOVc5RIsfY-1I9eab4IbEVEYTHuVeepxLh6v/s1600/84475909_3103422349742243_1479040119443816448_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCC9SmQuTA1TwtIXRL0Lcc6g5dG7sB-WefuZ1uAiGGgUrF7mkcR5s0MR6qJ1H9zjdAejyaNEwQZ0HDp2iIx5o6ezYPj0pSqOsedeGegEBCOVc5RIsfY-1I9eab4IbEVEYTHuVeepxLh6v/s320/84475909_3103422349742243_1479040119443816448_n.jpg" width="300" /></a>face was also used as a model for the 'CPR doll': the life-saving technique used in medical emergencies such as heart attack or cardiac arrest. In 1955, a toy maker named Asmund Laerdal created what we now know as the CPR doll. He did so in commission of Dr. Peter Safar, a pioneer in emergency medicine, who had developed a method of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation combined with chest compression in the mid 1950's. Asmund Laerdal wanted his life-sized mannequin to have a natural appearance. While there are many CPR dummies or mannequins on the market, the face of the one most widely used model, Asmund Laerdal's "Resusci Anne", was a model of this anonymous Parisian young woman, whose body was fished from the Seine around the turn of the 20th century. It is quite a lovely thought I think that this tragic girl who drowned in the 19th century and who's life was so short, has in death been responsible for saving so many lives all over the world. It is said that she has the most kissed face of all time.<br />
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day</span></b></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">Something else</b></div>
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I saw this touching short animation film called "The Life of Death". Hand drawn, about the day Death fell in love with Life. It really touched me, the animation, and reminded me also a bit of some of the animation done for one of my favourite books, Watership Down:</div>
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Regarding that lovely Life of Death video, as I interpreted it, Death fell in love with this beautiful deer. But everything he touches dies. Therefore Death refuses to embrace this deer, because he loves her so much. But then at some point eventually the deer becomes old and starts to suffer and she approaches him, asking him for an embrace. And thus and end of her suffering. Which death does, but it pains him. I guess the message is that sometimes even death can be gentle. And welcomed. One youtube commentator summarized it much better. MoonShimmerDragon wrote: "Death floats around the forest, touching the animals he sees to end their life in a quick and painless way. While he is flying through the forest, he meets a beautiful deer who he loves. He is about to touch the deer, when she turns around and he falls in love. The deer runs away, back to her family, and Death doesn't want to hurt her, but he doesn't want to lose her. He flies after her, and he watches over her, until she is comfortable enough to were they walk side by side together, almost touching. He and the deer live together for many years, until the deer is so old that she can hardly walk. She goes up to death and tries to touch him, but he backs away, not wanting to lose her, but somehow he understands that it is her time. The deer touches her nose to his hand and they hug each other tightly, until Death gently lies her on the ground. He stays with her until nightfall, when he leaves to mourn her death."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5hGnN8C5laXp107RiI_YYa5c4445dVSLM_r5-HkrcuMCB1QuLtGlGcJa3nFm8R7yTSCfdG_i06vVIJuvceyAQM6d8dIkM8qCP1ibWpK8lgomgUpg8VnPftE3urqfkb4yKXb-dOyGICH4/s1600/TheLifeofDeath-still-Onderstijn-animation.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="600" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5hGnN8C5laXp107RiI_YYa5c4445dVSLM_r5-HkrcuMCB1QuLtGlGcJa3nFm8R7yTSCfdG_i06vVIJuvceyAQM6d8dIkM8qCP1ibWpK8lgomgUpg8VnPftE3urqfkb4yKXb-dOyGICH4/s400/TheLifeofDeath-still-Onderstijn-animation.jpg" width="400" /></a>Death can sometimes be a relief, when the time comes. We just have this overwhelming fear of it in our culture because we live in a technocratic world where we thrive on control. As such, we are more removed from the natural cycles of life than most of our forefathers. But it's all for naught in the end; living 20 years or 40 or 80, in the big scheme of things it does not matter all that much. Either you use life to enjoy yourself as much as is possible for your specific personality type and circumstances, or you try to leave something behind somehow, and work towards that goal. A friend wrote me that <i>"I have talked to...and comforted...a few people just days....and minutes...prior to their death. I reminded them that death is a part of life, that an artificially extended lifespan does not necessarily equate to improved quality of life, that the most precious possession one has are memorable happy experiences, that one is simply returning from whence one came."</i> "For the more pragmatic--which I have yet to encounter at their final moment--I would state similar, but perhaps add that....IF one could live forever, boredom would be a fate worse than death, that death is a release from being trapped on this rock with a bunch of knuckle-dragging Neanderthals 😏" - Regarding boredom, Nietzsche said that "Is not life a hundred times too short for us - to bore ourselves?" But indeed, would life be endless for us, boredom is the thing to fear. We're already at an age where most mundane things have been experienced already; most First Times are for the youthful. Except for the experience of old age and death of course. </div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>Another animation I liked:</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">I also saw this series last night, it comes in three parts. Heart warming! Some wonderful people interviewed here, from the Jewish community in Manchester. Just love Joel and Jack and Bernette, all so down to earth and funny or touching:</span></b></div>
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We took a friend to a buffet restaurant for a birthday, and we had a very good time. Lovely food, and so much choice that in the end we managed to taste perhaps 2% or so of what was on offer. Despite not eating much meat and fish anymore thee days and mainly eating vegetarian, I did enjoy some different food this evening, including lobster, milk-cooked lamb, dorade fish fillet, spaghetti and then I may have tasted up to 5% though of the desserts available :)<span face=""roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #0d0d0d; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>You can see the video and photos of the deserts below. Unfortunately it was quite warm in there and I did flush quite a bit. Had brought two small neck fans and cold packs, but we were seated right next to other restaurant goers left and right, and it was quite brightly lit so I just didn't want to look or feel a spectacle. Once I could cool my face in the car and at home, it wasn't too bad anymore.<br />
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">I love British comedy</span></span></b></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">February 25th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2020</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFeyiL-LWChLtdX3XonA_k9vVOXP2-ci6v6QSb4BE3NscSccwtYB_JCKNOmaKwhQXf-K9R4bMBswZSX6L_vKuCGIMpYznbmwIoImdQdcb_OGogaPTUAGTO7HUzf3PgXDPF11n69leB6tyJ/s1600/48da31e7c185bb6ce3bf8f1583be070f.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="300" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFeyiL-LWChLtdX3XonA_k9vVOXP2-ci6v6QSb4BE3NscSccwtYB_JCKNOmaKwhQXf-K9R4bMBswZSX6L_vKuCGIMpYznbmwIoImdQdcb_OGogaPTUAGTO7HUzf3PgXDPF11n69leB6tyJ/s400/48da31e7c185bb6ce3bf8f1583be070f.jpg" width="400" /></a>I must admit that I have a dislike for political correctness (nothing new probably). And by now also a dislike for the word of the year of 2019; 'woke'. Originally meant for people who are sensitive and observant to social injustice and racism within society. Which is in itself wonderful. But like so often is the case with human behaviour, it has turned a good intention into a dogma which stifles debate and sometimes flirts with thought control. A well intended initiative which has become synonymous with an obsession with the pursuit of grievances – real or imagined and which has the ability to take celebrities hostage in a way, forcing them to publicly support the woke rage du jour, or else... Lose your job/business/reputation/costumers. <br />
I find it hard to understand why there are scores of people out there who seemingly are fine with that sort of extremism.<br />
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Social media help magnify and spread these things, and create echo chambers for like-minded people. And thus in 2020 there are more grievances than ever. People have developed the habit of scouring through everybody's past, sometimes many decades back, looking for behaviour which we today no longer accept. So that in retrospect, people can be punished for their early wrongdoings. Yes, some people misbehaved horribly in the past; think of movie moguls, directors, people in power (let's not exclude women here), as well as historical figures. But people thereby also stamp our own 2020 cultural/ morality view on a completely different era. Without seeing things within the context of the historic times in which they occurred. Because in a black and white world, wrong = wrong and right = right. History is also being vilified now, with our modern day (morality) goggles on. So statues of historical figures need to be taken down, when we perceive things in their past which we no longer condone today. To me that reeks of hysterics and iconoclasm. We can also allow history to remain history and learn lessons from it which we implement to make today a better place, without having to destroy cultural heritage and rewriting (and thus censoring) history. Just let history be, and let the past represent habits and actions which in today's world are no longer accepted. What annoys me is this attitude from people that what they feel and believe is the Right thing. And should be imposed on the rest of the world. You are either with them, or against them. Difference of opinion is not taken kindly or respected. No, you are the enemy if you don't agree with them. The concept that their current beliefs on right and wrong are culturally and historically determined in their own right, and may be old news and become obsolete and objectionable in the future, just doesn't seem to cross their mind. </div>
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And the issues people have today and feel passionate about, and are debating like missionaries are numerous: race, privilege, identity, gender, politics, religion, sexuality, cultural background, morality. People are supposed to think broader and more open minded thanks to the wealth of information on the internet, but instead the opposite seems to be true; people form more narrow and rigid alliances defined by their race, sexuality or cultural background as ever before. The omnipresent influence of social media plays a huge role in this, with its ability to segregate people in online communities of only like-minded people. It is all linked to a phenomenon called ‘Groupthink’: a group of people sternly fixated on a particular view of the world, regardless whether or not there is any evidence to support it. People can wholeheartedly and sometimes even aggressively defend a certain empathic (emotion-fueled!) stance, without even having it fully thought through or investigated. <b><span style="color: #444444;">So convinced are they that their opinion is correct that they cannot believe any sensible person would disagree. </span></b>This leads them to treat all those who have different ideas and opinions with contemptuous hostility. Emotions are a very powerful vehicle and the fact that their opinions can be based on emotions above anything, only encourages them to insist even more vehemently and intolerantly that their views are right. You can witness Groupthink all over the internet these days, in comment sections and even in every day face-to-face life. Even politicians pander to the Groupthinkers, often throwing nuance out the window. It spreads like an oil stain and infects many people who like the warm bath of 'belonging' to one group or another. A new tribalism perhaps?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRi8a1v6cnDDrEpaWF9UP-lhxTuy-HR2fH6wPXlPvpfzyxx7_rzPPzOuXQC1GHEJtv5EAfm3Xd1BWW5Vw_v6N-BZfGQ9LY8ApLhcsfS7NGW3NtymjDh2CZSGbZoL1SCrWaX70Gdwx5l25L/s1600/download+%25283%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRi8a1v6cnDDrEpaWF9UP-lhxTuy-HR2fH6wPXlPvpfzyxx7_rzPPzOuXQC1GHEJtv5EAfm3Xd1BWW5Vw_v6N-BZfGQ9LY8ApLhcsfS7NGW3NtymjDh2CZSGbZoL1SCrWaX70Gdwx5l25L/s320/download+%25283%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTApCJKgV-YQJCdpCMwuFqud5t4t0-Sw4GOBeWjyEIHwWzyZRlZsEf3_Bb07V937oO57WEguCuvZh98hu8P2MTl3CXrmDtQ_eSkTYEbCz1fkqI7LdJ9q0-UklMZREc1_QH2h57vZEagrMs/s1600/download+%25284%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="227" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTApCJKgV-YQJCdpCMwuFqud5t4t0-Sw4GOBeWjyEIHwWzyZRlZsEf3_Bb07V937oO57WEguCuvZh98hu8P2MTl3CXrmDtQ_eSkTYEbCz1fkqI7LdJ9q0-UklMZREc1_QH2h57vZEagrMs/s320/download+%25284%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a>There is a striking example of one of the earlier example of modern day Groupthinking: In January 1987, around 500 students and staff of California’s Stanford University in the United States listened to a speech by the civil rights campaigner Jesse Jackson. He riled up his audience to no end and when he was done talking, angry students headed to a meeting of the university’s governing body, chanting the infamous words: ‘Hey, hey, ho, ho, Western culture’s got to go.’ They demanded that the university's Western culture course, which introduced students to history, ideas and literary classics, was axed. Everything about it is was deeply offensive suddenly for the students. Things we still hear today were uttered: why did they have to learn about classics from ‘dead white males’ such as Plato and Shakespeare? Mind you, this stuff is hardly heard over here in Europe, where (to my knowledge) we still respect the great classics. But in the United States it was all deemed highly offensive suddenly. Writers, scholars, scientists, philosophers who all stood the test of time due to their progressive and important works, now were suddenly deemed 'too white' and 'too masculine'. As if these things are in reality equally divided between men and women, white and black people. Well, even if they are not, <i>they should be</i>. If not conserved by natural historical selection based on quality, then universities themselves had to artificially install works by women, black writers and other racial and cultural groups into the echelons of greatness. Under force. As a result of the protests, and in the name of the new buzzwords of ‘diversity’ and ‘multiculturalism’, the universityn course was swiftly redesigned and new ones such as ‘gender studies’ and ‘feminist studies’ were introduced. Political correctness as we now know it had been born. All with good intentions of course. But did it really improve the quality of Literature or Philosophy studies? These ideas swept across the channel to the United Kingdom too by the way. Not yet in the Netherlands and I don't believe France is yet willing to sacrifice its great cultural (white, male) heroes. But who knows what will happen once Frances population becomes more diverse in time. For instance, the philosophy faculty of Oxford University announced in 2018 that in order to attract more female students, its ‘diversity and equality officer’ should draw up a new reading list. The result was that after 2,500 years of civilization, during which all but a tiny handful of the world’s leading philosophers had been men, 40 per cent of the authors on the new Oxford reading list were now to be female. To make room for the new additions, eminent philosophers from down the ages had to be ditched for LESSER (yes I dare to say it) female thinkers. Utter madness, you may think, and you would be right. But both of these events are a perfect example of Groupthink at work.<br />
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I love the books from George Orwell. In his epic book 1984 (about an imaginary totalitarian state of the future that tries to brainwash all its citizens) he introduces the term Groupthink, which had to be achieved through propagandistic language marked by euphemism and the inversion of customary meanings. There were hate sessions installed, aimed at anyone who strayed away from the rules. Orwell based his works often on a communist model, which equally brainwashed the masses through state propaganda. Groupthink works through the same mechanisms usually; first some people consider themselves an authority on some matter, and formulate a specific view. When they gather more people who share the same view, they form a group. Their beliefs are usually emotionally fueled, so not fully objective and they therefore also cannot be checked and corrected like one would do with objective scientific views. But nevertheless Groupthinkers go out of their way to <span style="color: #444444;"><b>insist that their view is so self-evidently correct that all right-minded people must agree with it. </b></span>Even though in reality, their view is ultimately subjective, and based on a picture of the world as they imagine it to be, or how they think it should be. Any contradictory evidence proving them incorrect and any views of anyone who does not agree with them, are disregarded entirely. Or mocked and ridiculed. Then there follows the rule that in order to reinforce the conviction that the viewpoint of the ‘in-group’ is right, they need to treat the opinions of anyone who questions it as wholly <span style="color: #444444;"><b>unacceptable</b></span>. In effect, these people are in effect incapable of engaging in any serious dialogue or debate with those who disagree with them or who have slightly different points of view. Instead, they need to be demonized, marginalised or ignored, and if necessary their views must be mercilessly caricatured to make them seem ridiculous. And as if this is all not enough, other thinkers must then also be attacked in the most violently contemptuous terms, usually with the aid of some scornfully dismissive and wrongly applied label – such as ‘bigot’, ‘prude’, ‘xenophobe’, ‘racist’, ‘fascist’ or ‘denier’. Dissent in any form cannot be tolerated, as is seen too often in daily life today.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEiJf1OgE6s9YF17jGa-CJsF_Z0uxCtP3wP5S0YLLIVn2CNqdiweHgqY9Lh-Nweo2TdRtk_KkIQ2TOqRIz_ZgCVY8ZD3WcVOoSAEKM667cDz88AP3fI5A-TqnIES2XtflqUIyVqCuGlew/s1600/download.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="179" data-original-width="281" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEiJf1OgE6s9YF17jGa-CJsF_Z0uxCtP3wP5S0YLLIVn2CNqdiweHgqY9Lh-Nweo2TdRtk_KkIQ2TOqRIz_ZgCVY8ZD3WcVOoSAEKM667cDz88AP3fI5A-TqnIES2XtflqUIyVqCuGlew/s400/download.png" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVbLuojXN5ubAp2yiYCuoFNqzqiGPFkIaNvA3r56g6vWiFmKoqA6O5-NpVbq9Z1oPkJtPKb-D-XvmaPkmMqgV-qMWC6Jl1cWM4P6-Y_BtLwbd2JYw3sbuo_mYXmoki44VBmbTsFEx51EfY/s1600/Blog_infographic_4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="905" data-original-width="1600" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVbLuojXN5ubAp2yiYCuoFNqzqiGPFkIaNvA3r56g6vWiFmKoqA6O5-NpVbq9Z1oPkJtPKb-D-XvmaPkmMqgV-qMWC6Jl1cWM4P6-Y_BtLwbd2JYw3sbuo_mYXmoki44VBmbTsFEx51EfY/s400/Blog_infographic_4.jpg" width="400" /></a>And thus holiday names are altered, because they may offend people. A Leicestershire market trader was warned by the council in 2017 that following a complaint, she had to stop selling ‘offensive’ pottery mugs decorated with images of 12th Century monks, the Knights Templar, because they had murdered Muslims during the Medieval Crusades. And any Muslim shopper passing the stall might be offended. Refusing to stop selling, she ended up having her license withdrawn. And it works in the other way also; in Rotherham there was an utterly disgusting sex ring active, where Asian men mass raped English teenage girls. Police knew of this but did nothing (and admitted as to that now also), because of fear of 'stigmatizing' the Asian and Muslim community. Positive discrimination therefore, at the expense of innocent young teenagers who were let down and traumatized over many years. Fear of the public calling the police force 'racist'... See <b><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-51160707">this</a></b> BBC article on the matter for instance. If you do not agree with the latest political correctness craze, you commit the horrible offense of 'hate crime'. Like political correctness, it originated in America. Society seems polarized to the extreme in this respect. One group with a rigid mindset about what it is permissible for people to say, think or do. is constantly on the lookout for anyone or anything likely to give offence, and they express their disapproval in a series of all-too-familiar cliches. The other group, meanwhile, stares at them in utter amazement, baffled as to how anyone could be so obsessively blinkered and so humourlessly intolerant – and to have departed so wholly from the dictates of basic common sense. Anyone who disagrees with the One group can be openly accused of 'hate crimes'. And thanks to the internet and social media, that news spreads like wildfire. With social media such as Facebook and Twitter, the internet has given a powerful new platform for people to spread their views to others. More than many people are willing to endure, because these (unfounded) accusations can ruin careers and relationships, depending on how vicious the accusers do their work. Because ‘online hate crimes’ are often treated just as seriously as offences committed ‘in person’ by today's police force. And so we witness what is known as ‘virtue-signalling’ – the desire by people to highlight a view to demonstrate that they side with those who they consider to be morally ‘virtuous’.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ruNitU-GK1aHgJxohJPwpGQoMVJIcUPhOsVEjD5Fc953IBoZr6Q6fNfveNgZduuvr3zP8jHHxYCbRC3PuoVkngAMdp2p9lqXyj6oBcQWuSnuTKF2iBuMq-AVaSSuiGIe_PxQBcbxj8mZ/s1600/33387594_10214120112535684_6402598436381655040_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="411" data-original-width="376" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ruNitU-GK1aHgJxohJPwpGQoMVJIcUPhOsVEjD5Fc953IBoZr6Q6fNfveNgZduuvr3zP8jHHxYCbRC3PuoVkngAMdp2p9lqXyj6oBcQWuSnuTKF2iBuMq-AVaSSuiGIe_PxQBcbxj8mZ/s320/33387594_10214120112535684_6402598436381655040_n.jpg" width="292" /></a>Often resulting in.... personal abuse at anyone expressing contrary opinions. Many universities these days are so vigilant to avoid any controversy, that they ban any lecturers or visiting speakers whose views <i>may</i> be considered offensive. Which in my view is outrageous and completely contrary to what universities should offer their students; difference of opinion and challenging new views; the capacity to debate and defend your point of view against other thinkers. <i>Welcome to the real world! </i>America also invented the mind-boggling concept of ‘safe spaces’, where students are guaranteed protection from anything which contradicts their rigid views on all the issues of the politically correct lexicon. This can include not just statements about race and gender, but also opposing political and cultural ideas, and even climate change denial. And also coming from America: ‘trigger warnings’. Universities, dealing with adults intending to learn, now censor passages in books that adult students might perhaps find ‘disturbing’, such as Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, because it includes scenes of ‘violence by men against women’, or even fairy-tales. Gob-smacking pampering and mollycoddling. And don't even think about dressing up in a pretty Chinese dress during Halloween if you aren't Chinese yourself, or wearing a Mexican sombrero when you are white; you will be slapped with ‘cultural appropriation’ and ‘patronization’.<br />
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It all stems from the same problem: this absurd wish to be protected from anything that contradicts these ultra-sensitive people's own rigid ideology. They demand protection from any challenging other opinion. And the rest of the world needs to bow and change. Its craziness to me that instead of modernizing the world and abolishing oppression, these political correctness warriors have created their OWN oppressive 21st century system. A completely new social, psychological and ideological prison of intolerance. Oh the irony, and these people don't even see it. Who would have thought we would go back and act so regressive in this modern day and age. I don't follow the tune of that flute, but then again I am called a 'hater' online many a time already. Who cares.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis6bApxLNjRFzyLnkALK9x6Ie99A-vkwehdlpgwvEf99bSnWfcN5A3fB4RF74MXPV5Ppxzhew5tmY0ylphBmL-5P39UAXheS2qvyGW6JYZwxdzMnoYBE6cOFMqr4ik0CdH94PqxtB-Vmxx/s1600/roman-polanski-est-nomme.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis6bApxLNjRFzyLnkALK9x6Ie99A-vkwehdlpgwvEf99bSnWfcN5A3fB4RF74MXPV5Ppxzhew5tmY0ylphBmL-5P39UAXheS2qvyGW6JYZwxdzMnoYBE6cOFMqr4ik0CdH94PqxtB-Vmxx/s400/roman-polanski-est-nomme.jpg" width="400" /></a>This weekend, things got heated in Paris, when French-Polish film director Roman Polanski was awarded a César award for best director. Actress Adèle Haenel stormed out of the awards demonstratively when Polanski's name was read out loud. Fine, adieu. And earlier the woman presenting the awards refused to say his name and instead referred to renowned director Polanski who made countless laureated movies as 'Sneezy', from the movie Snow white. Very rude. But respect and sensitivities only are a one way street for political correct people. You're either 'in' or you are 'out' and then none of the self-made rules apply to you anymore, and they can do exactly the opposite of what they preach. The César commission deemed his work important enough in its own merit for an award so that is what counts I guess. Horrible as he has acted in the past; these awards are not a political tribunal. His artistic works, I think, should be judged on their own merit. It's not his first award nor will it be his last. Roman is a director and a very good one too. Although that is, of course, subjective.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2yd961MPcsV83huoj2-0bV4HxtDIK0n4jS-r44klLdaOVdDiavBmXGEJWTJu4ZInyFOUGuGp5oPm9Vg7RQdMRyES2IgYk5fq5PpiKDcxks3P7oNrREAG4y_ggXQadHwUS48P_PVcEQBSX/s1600/5e59a9502300005d0d0bf5e2.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="630" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2yd961MPcsV83huoj2-0bV4HxtDIK0n4jS-r44klLdaOVdDiavBmXGEJWTJu4ZInyFOUGuGp5oPm9Vg7RQdMRyES2IgYk5fq5PpiKDcxks3P7oNrREAG4y_ggXQadHwUS48P_PVcEQBSX/s400/5e59a9502300005d0d0bf5e2.jpeg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87B3dssy87yTsmoNzZaswZq5uIkH6pC_TPyccG8O4YANkl7eGRTCsQgkTLcVumxR2pkPxf3Doq-3p_Uzsp4ylxRsSSanxswVlzU1ToxlVA7hIf3UfBNHuRTF2Xgzq2j_QOkLI6_zUhCQu/s1600/Haenel.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1240" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87B3dssy87yTsmoNzZaswZq5uIkH6pC_TPyccG8O4YANkl7eGRTCsQgkTLcVumxR2pkPxf3Doq-3p_Uzsp4ylxRsSSanxswVlzU1ToxlVA7hIf3UfBNHuRTF2Xgzq2j_QOkLI6_zUhCQu/s400/Haenel.jpeg" width="400" /></a>Although I completely understand that there are people who don't want to watch his movies as a result of the controversy surrounding his past, or who would never vote for his movies to win any academy prizes, people should also try to understand that their feelings and views are not the only ones. And that others may have different ideas, and still be decent human beings despite that. Just accept that people may differ in opinion and that this does not mean a personal dismissal of <i>you</i> and your personal beliefs. So there is no need to start cursing and demonizing or ridiculing or blocking those with different views. My view on Polanski: well done to the César organizers for having the guts to put artistic integrity first. Roman has by his own words, as far as I understand, acknowledged that he made a horrible mistake in the late 70's, raping a teenage girl. Back then it wasn't picked up on but now it has been highlighted and fairly so. He escaped justice by fleeing the United States. But there is more to Roman Polanski. This does not diminish what he did, but there is additional information about his life. He was in Warsaw ghetto as a child. He lost his mother in Auschwitz and had his 8,5 months pregnant wife Sharon Tate (and child) taken from him in one of the worst slayings in history, from the hands of Charles Manson sect fanatics. And the American judge who locked Polanski up, let it slip during a party while Polanski was out on bail again, that he intended to lock him up for 100 years. When a friend overheard him say this and told Polanski, he freaked and considered that no justice, and fled the United States. None of this is an excuse for the crime he has been accused of, but part of the bigger context is that this man has also been traumatized and went to hell and back in his own life. Yet still makes amazing movies. My view is that these award shows are not political tribunals. If the jury of the French César awards decided that Polanski deserves an award for his latest movie, then it is what it is. Then he gets awarded a prize by the movie industry for his <i>artistic work.</i> Completely understand why people don't want to view his movies, as a result of Polanski's personal life. But I myself believe that art (including music, books, paintings and movies etc) should be judged on its own merit and not based on the personalities that produced it. Perhaps this is a culturally determined view partly. I'm Dutch (well part Polish also), European, and over here we also don't judge politicians typically on their extramarital affairs for instance. That is more an Anglo-American/ Anglican thing perhaps. Here many look at peoples professional record above anything else, and tend to separate the private life from the professional life. While respecting the law of course; criminals should be tried. So in this case; people can boycott Polanski's movie if they despise the maker (same with Woody Allen), but that is not (only) what is happening. No these film makers need to be publicly vilified in comment sections and on social media, and anyone who has a different opinion gets attacked. Because it is simply too much asked these days to <i>agree to disagree</i> and to respect someone else thinking differently. That challenges someone's own set of ideas too much, and thus those other-thinkers need to be shamed and ridiculed. Entire comment sections online are shouted and cursed full. BAD bad baddddd mannnn who should be spat out by the whole world. <i>As if</i> appreciating someone's work equals condoning rape. People make grave mistakes in life but that doesn't mean that they can't work for the rest of their lives. Some people cán separate art from its maker. I'm fine with people not wanting to see his movies. Fine, each to their own. But don't tell me what I am or think just because I happen to appreciate his movies. Besides, the hypocrisy can be annoying. These social justice warriors rarely practice what they preach; many still watch the scores and scores of (often excellent) movies which someone like Harvey Weinstein has produced (or where Kevin Spacey features in, for instance). Inglorious Bastards, Kill Bill, Scream and the list goes on and on. If these nay-sayers are consequential, they also boycott all those movies. But then they would have to skip a lot of good movies. I still read Céline's books, even though he was wrong in the war, as long as he doesn't sprout his fascist nonsense in his books. Art stands on itself. You do not have to destroy all the good someone did in order to be certain about the wrongs he also did. Glad many people are more nuanced over here in this part of the world. You just boycott his movies then and other people will decide for themselves if they want to see his movies or not.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHEWg03hJ9SmxYlQ3RkTJbf2haAl9rleWgWN5iwyoC6bIp45PYzrsT_U-IdqDZFAPc4m6u0Vt42UQdjlsg5y-t5CMBNEeGqHTjNXvD6UZCPeJ5XQdVc2ZAd8FgNUJDW8BIAAteJmfnEqj/s1600/16877906-7319919-image-m-5_1564939769177.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="634" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHEWg03hJ9SmxYlQ3RkTJbf2haAl9rleWgWN5iwyoC6bIp45PYzrsT_U-IdqDZFAPc4m6u0Vt42UQdjlsg5y-t5CMBNEeGqHTjNXvD6UZCPeJ5XQdVc2ZAd8FgNUJDW8BIAAteJmfnEqj/s400/16877906-7319919-image-m-5_1564939769177.jpg" width="400" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">Update: Stephen Glover <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-8075873/STEPHEN-GLOVER-boycott-Roman-Polanskis-new-film.html">wrote</a> about this topic on March 4th 2020: </b><br />
"It seems to me there is a distinction between on the one hand expressing personal distaste for Polanski and electing not to see his film, and on the other hand stopping everyone else from watching it. The sins of an artist should not be confused with the work of art which he or she produces. It is a hard truth to swallow that many proficient, and even great, artists are bad people — sometimes very bad. The wonderful Italian painter Caravaggio was often violent, and, in 1606, killed a man in a brawl. He fled after being convicted of murder. Like Eric Gill, he produced works of great religious art. Paul Gauguin, the 19th-century French post-impressionist whose fine portraits were exhibited recently at the National Gallery in London, took three under-age wives in Tahiti, and infected them all with syphilis. He eventually died from syphilitic complications at the age of 54. Writers are sometimes no better. The 16th century playwright Christopher Marlowe was frequently in trouble with the law before being stabbed to death in a brawl in a Deptford pub. Charles Dickens anatomised unforgettable rogues in his magnificent novels. In his own life he dumped his wife Catherine (who had borne him ten children) to take up with the young actress Ellen Ternan. He even publicly accused Catherine of having a ‘mental disorder’. And so it goes on. The American novelist Norman Mailer stabbed his wife with a penknife in 1960, and nearly killed her. His compatriot, the great modernist poet Ezra Pound, was a fascist and a supporter of Mussolini, as well as an anti-Semite. Nor are composers exempt from moral failings. German Richard Wagner was a virulent anti-Semite whose views influenced Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Is his music any less sublime? Whether a wholly wicked person could produce a great work of art may be seriously doubted since art demands a high degree of human empathy, of which very bad people seem incapable. But it is surely incontrovertible that many great artists, whose works we revere, have been no better than the rest of us, and sometimes a lot worse. And yet I suspect that most people can see that we should try to appreciate a work of art without dwelling on the moral imperfections of the person who produced it [..] Abominate the man, or his act, but let Roman Polanski’s film be watched — that is my message. It is simply one of the mysteries of life that bad men can produce good, sometimes great, art." <b><span style="color: #444444;">Of course the Daily Mail commentators (right wing and conservative as a whole) disagreed with him. </span></b><br />
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: 700;"><b style="color: #990000;">I have continued writing my day<br />to day life updates in </b><b style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/10/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-xv.html" target="_blank">this blogpost</a>.<br />Or read older updates <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/01/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-xi_31.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</b></div><div style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: 700;"><b style="color: #990000;"><br /></b></div><div style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/s1600/0%252C2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/w435-h435/0%252C2.jpg" width="435" /></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div></div>
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Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-49069054852439010622019-01-31T23:30:00.049-08:002024-01-31T05:48:55.510-08:00Ongoing post, Update day to day life XIII, November 7th 2019 - January 1st 2020<br />
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<b style="font-size: 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;">General updates about day to day life</span></b></div>
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<div style="clear: both;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9l1a1o2Ki9zbxn7P8Fylzo006yURcDhZaPlNzV3ThdN3-GNJWzQ4GOqXC84kwmaW407w68ijGvZxXQmrePuH2IY4AmikpsIvs5x_dKXXfJb_bveYPxlrrWrO1s5a02hT2fpPPFQKjG0nX/s1600/DSC01539.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1341" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9l1a1o2Ki9zbxn7P8Fylzo006yURcDhZaPlNzV3ThdN3-GNJWzQ4GOqXC84kwmaW407w68ijGvZxXQmrePuH2IY4AmikpsIvs5x_dKXXfJb_bveYPxlrrWrO1s5a02hT2fpPPFQKjG0nX/s400/DSC01539.jpg" width="335" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">November 7th</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2019 </span></span></b><br />
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Had a lovely birthday present from my family; a 4 day trip to Valencia, in Spain! They intentionally planned it in the first days of November, anticipating the weather to have cooled down enough to make it comfortable for me. But of course we hit the town during a warm spell; it was 28 degrees (Celsius) all throughout our stay. A bit warm for me and the hotel was wonderful but had air fresheners and perfume dispensers in the main hall, also making its way into the air conditioning systems somehow... So I opted for open balcony doors instead. Making the room fairly warm... These Spanish folks actually have perfume dispensers everywhere, I soon found out. In most shops and in front of entrance doors of rich peoples apartments too. Reason 1: the Spanish love perfume. Reason 2: Valencia has a penetrating sewer stench naturally... With my rosacea I more so prefer temperatures at or below 18 degrees, but what can you do.. Luckily it wasn't raining at least. And the town has so many old narrow streets that there seemed to be shade mostly all throughout the day, except for a small time window of 12:00-13:30 perhaps. So it was a lovely few days. <br /><br /></div><div style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkMu39ikjsEINWYBTawmrV2YMnUh6_S1ct5DLtXt9ExjXJzT7LfBPlegFOoAbPxn82sSM1rC7jnX0zj_AjAMZPM1UilW6esuP5B13RbxDBpKbRoWom3m-iGdQLfYYAvKJ4VM-3GxO_hAv_/s1600/DSC01654.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="389" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkMu39ikjsEINWYBTawmrV2YMnUh6_S1ct5DLtXt9ExjXJzT7LfBPlegFOoAbPxn82sSM1rC7jnX0zj_AjAMZPM1UilW6esuP5B13RbxDBpKbRoWom3m-iGdQLfYYAvKJ4VM-3GxO_hAv_/w219-h389/DSC01654.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>Not wanting to sound spoiled but Spain never appealed too much to me as a whole. Barcelona is hyped enormously, but it pretty much a tourist cesspit and crossed through by cars, even in the city center. Valencia lies further south, on the east coast. 3rd biggest city in Spain famous for its oranges, but a bit less touristic. It seemed more like a city where actual inhabitants roam the street primarily. Which was nice. Evening of arrival there were kids in Halloween outfits and face paintings all over town. The next day was a national festive day so all the shops were closed, but people were out and about everywhere. The town has so many old narrow streets and cheap but nice restaurants and shops. We went out for lunch and dinner every day, trying to eat Spanish and tapas primarily. Bit more heavy and greasy than French food, but good nonetheless. had some nice stone grilled beef, potatoes, fish, melon with ham etc. Some foods I had to avoid, as the Spanish cuisine can be spicy and laden with pork meat (both make me flare up), but enough to still enjoy. And very affordable. The prices of everything except the hotel were so much lower than what we are used to. For instance, you could have an excellent 3 course meal for 15 euros (17 US dollars). Drinks were cheap too. In any bakery you would buy delicious pastries and such for a euro. This just made us enjoy things even more. We rented bikes and a guide for the first morning, then had lunch, explored the old city center a bit where our hotel was situated also, had drinks again, an hour of rest, then out for dinner again. I also visited a national museum in the city. There was a very large and pretty market hall in town. And the city was very lively, with everyone seemingly out and about during lunchtime as well as for dinner. You would see entire families with young children out on the streets until 23:00 easily. Shops also stayed open rather late. And the nice warm weather probably helped there. On the Thursday it was Halloween also and kids were dressed up, roaming the streets with their parents to collect sweets everywhere, and the next day was a national festive day, so shops were closed but people were out and about in large numbers. </div><div><br /></div></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtJZ0btgwjcgLqcm4YpUrMJ8-sZggsEPJZvAeyxIzlVqw3LzWWp8xxhTll9sOLK6rKDEr7-EN3-uceWoGhCfbGWKqO0vLfk2YJTZTBj1I6P3EKgcjP3qqFQ3ra6bkORvDK4mww1d1GAA58/s1600/DSC01551.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtJZ0btgwjcgLqcm4YpUrMJ8-sZggsEPJZvAeyxIzlVqw3LzWWp8xxhTll9sOLK6rKDEr7-EN3-uceWoGhCfbGWKqO0vLfk2YJTZTBj1I6P3EKgcjP3qqFQ3ra6bkORvDK4mww1d1GAA58/s400/DSC01551.jpg" width="300" /></a>I mostly liked the old center and the narrow streets and shops and restaurants, it had a cool vibe I suppose. I saw Donald Trump also in the museum of fine arts! Well he was painted on a 15th century artwork. Spitting image, wouldn't you say? I added the photos down below. I do notice how different my sister and I are, for instance. She and my mum also actually love company; love to socialize. they get energy from getting together. Whereas socializing and being out and about actually drains my energy. They understand that, luckily. But still called me from my room for another get together around 17:00, despite us already having had breakfast together, gone on a day tour together, and had lunch together :) Same with after dinner drinks. Super lovely and it was nice to have the time and space to talk for a longer time than in every day busy life, but I'd need some unwinding alone before bed. My rosacea was not too bad. Although I did flare up and flush at times. But I brought my <a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51k43bemzOL._SX425_.jpg">portable neck fans</a> and they are just great. Most people either don't notice them or think they are headphones for your music device. But they kept me comfortable even with the warmer weather, I had the thing running while out for dinner too. What a great invention.<br /><br /></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">October 7th</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2019 </span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCfbG9NK3tRL-Vzlz-ear5NIsIuHL09hN88yHVGzKx3izkAaBEi0Jo1DZrMPyMj3oNr7Qn6dYQE5m5ROTyLA3kh1kDIVxVhHUBFeg0qhdFmobKXU8Qy2ZRZGz47NQW3t5n9CfuMRU0aVc/s1600/182d64e9c134f79add8173acbbcf6561.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1212" data-original-width="1600" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCfbG9NK3tRL-Vzlz-ear5NIsIuHL09hN88yHVGzKx3izkAaBEi0Jo1DZrMPyMj3oNr7Qn6dYQE5m5ROTyLA3kh1kDIVxVhHUBFeg0qhdFmobKXU8Qy2ZRZGz47NQW3t5n9CfuMRU0aVc/s400/182d64e9c134f79add8173acbbcf6561.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqx1VaLQEmdLeW1LfxU_r_vMMARW2hTdvwVX9IWOCVb7ZVgMWfZJz-AomjqcUvjko4RICoG7cibfpkHzM2XKUrrD93He0OuSThZTxPT1uXfqqcIGGg35GRTYXkeh41HYGfWrtlCf1XwmFp/s1600/358464.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="1050" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqx1VaLQEmdLeW1LfxU_r_vMMARW2hTdvwVX9IWOCVb7ZVgMWfZJz-AomjqcUvjko4RICoG7cibfpkHzM2XKUrrD93He0OuSThZTxPT1uXfqqcIGGg35GRTYXkeh41HYGfWrtlCf1XwmFp/s400/358464.jpg" width="400" /></a>Ugghhh, had an unpleasant experience on Monday. I had woken up around 03:10 AM and was sleeping on the couch of my living room with the window open a bit, as the housing corporation had been working in my bedroom all day to replace a wood floor. And the bedroom was still smelly of all the off-gassing and new products and such. I've got a ground floor house, and just after 3 in the morning I woke up and looked through the curtain and window outside in the garden, and I saw someone standing at the gate at the back of my garden! Some man with a dark parka jacket with a hoody up.. He was pushing my gate, walking back and front. Trying to get in, pulling himself up on the gate etc. I had put a bike chain lock around that gate's door earlier, the week prior actually, unrelated, but for my sense of safety. By now I was wide awake and so frightened. I got up, closed and locked the window right away and called 911 (well our Dutch equivalent) and police came round within 10 minutes. But by then the person was gone. They said they would patrol the area and the back of my gardens for a bit that night. Said it could have been an opportunity burglar who noticed an open window. Even though it was pissing down with rain and not quite the wealthiest neighborhood of town. Even though my alleyway is locked from the streets and only accessible for those with a key... They also advised me to switch a small light on for the rest of the night and keep windows locked. - Darn, I didn't dare to sleep until the sun rose. And was afraid to sleep the next night also! Just feels so unsafe that someone tries to get into your garden and your house at that hour of the night :( What is someone doing there in the rain in the dead of night? Maybe a junk or something.. I don't even want to think about what had happened if he had managed to get into the garden, he could have stepped right into my living room through the window and then what.. I hadn't locked that gate for years actually, despite sleeping with a window open usually, because of that other locked gate at the ends of the alleyway. But turns out it's not safe :/ </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC7CtHVy0DWwC8dzl2P9D51mLUqShZRqf_4stV1ni9PiHTMvYZ6JA_L4uHn_7m54TBvSrwnSTTCp1SSAfdRaL3V1AMd6X7Frd6-NoKAbnecHh1Tt8Ir5Avc-aumaes6CGj-m0DmM8SJvrZ/s1600/Schirn_Presse_Magritte_L_Heureux_donateur_1966.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC7CtHVy0DWwC8dzl2P9D51mLUqShZRqf_4stV1ni9PiHTMvYZ6JA_L4uHn_7m54TBvSrwnSTTCp1SSAfdRaL3V1AMd6X7Frd6-NoKAbnecHh1Tt8Ir5Avc-aumaes6CGj-m0DmM8SJvrZ/s320/Schirn_Presse_Magritte_L_Heureux_donateur_1966.jpg" width="263" /></a>Uggghhhaaaghhr I just hate whomever tries to burglar <i>anyone</i> at night. I read that when sentencing burglars or attackers in court, the fact that it happened at night in the dark is an aggravating factor. I understand why. Thought of keeping a bat or a hammer or a knife besides me at night, but seems rather pointless as I often can't even open a jar of applesauce. Any guy with bad intentions will just laugh, take the weapon off me and hit <i>me</i> on the head with it instead. I'll defo install some things soon though. Like some sort of bars in front of that main window and a better light that goes on when someone passes a sensor. It may flash a lot with the neighbouring cats using the gardens but well. If this happens another time, I'll just have to smuggle my real <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZtyD-CKNNI&fbclid=IwAR0UR-pO6s91K7sfhEdtJYvn3s9KiBme0tOsfwOkKVt0jUxUKbET7dA960Q"><b>WW2 Walther P38</b></a> into the country. Its in .. lets say the family countryside abode now, and I'm feeling like a Bible belt redneck now for saying this, but it is a good feeling carrying something like that on wilderness walks, in the middle of nowhere.</div>
I looked up videos about how to handle with intruders in the house, but they are all from Americans saying (thick Texan accent) <i>"First thing; get your gun!!"</i> May buy an air riffle for my home there, it's legal supposedly. I don't live in a wealthy area, not a poor area either though... Seems someone walked by for some reason in the rain at night in the alleyway and saw an opportunity; an open window. Will try to get some safety stuff installed. But its just keeping me thinking.. You would think people had heard of return-on-investment. My home is not an especially lucrative prize for burglary. At the most, what could a burglar really expect to lift from an average home? Small amounts of cash, electronics that are becoming harder and harder to fence due to the ever-present internet and IP identification, etc. It is not like he was going to carry off my furniture or the refrigerator. A smart burglar would head for an affluent neighborhood! What I find to be infuriating about the situation is that most people are small targets for criminals. Some dickhead that ransacks my home would likely pick up a decent amount of electronics, but nothing special otherwise. This is not how a thief becomes set for months. Pull the heist and the dickhead is right back where he started, having to burglarize more houses. Yet the devastation on a number of levels for the people he’s ripping off can be catastrophic. Not worth the hassle. Although, if you are unlucky and come eye to eye with these thugs you risk getting a good beating, or worse. Some force you to give your bank passes and pin codes and go straight to the bank with it. I honestly think burglars or invaders should get tough high sentences. So many people deal with this shit on a daily basis (statistically I mean), and as a result feel no longer safe in their own home. I'm uncomfortable at night as well now, that sucks. Zero tolerance to that scum. (I'm getting more intolerant with age I find, in some ways even right wing, brrrrr).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBGh5QgMV5AU8qVWvGEXbhaADZYKew_OY2xTGpbHmuCE6N3urPNQNdrm5IryU11By8cGqaeS34EDnZWOg7nyKJefWAPVPFUXtE7IntbjKdq3Lcwb94BUlAL9mrMWYSNg4vyRwXIz4t_sF/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBGh5QgMV5AU8qVWvGEXbhaADZYKew_OY2xTGpbHmuCE6N3urPNQNdrm5IryU11By8cGqaeS34EDnZWOg7nyKJefWAPVPFUXtE7IntbjKdq3Lcwb94BUlAL9mrMWYSNg4vyRwXIz4t_sF/s400/download+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdvzHsRPiOkyFdhIfc8rQf2s13-tO7cqpIqkoePPdK466EI_eWQk0xm-2q36o13un3hU3aQTpo5pnOFnL6EUorFgH9LPufpC0DJaabLMtItbu10HY54B1eRIgTR3JvO9mF4QUqe5GAOBcm/s1600/download+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="336" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdvzHsRPiOkyFdhIfc8rQf2s13-tO7cqpIqkoePPdK466EI_eWQk0xm-2q36o13un3hU3aQTpo5pnOFnL6EUorFgH9LPufpC0DJaabLMtItbu10HY54B1eRIgTR3JvO9mF4QUqe5GAOBcm/s400/download+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">Something more uplifting, have </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">seen a movie which you may have already seen yourself, or </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">perhaps not. It's called Er ist Wieder Da.</span></b> Was very interesting. Hitler comes back to Germany, straight from 1945. But now it is 2014. He is still in uniform and seemingly just like the Hitler we all know. A TV maker with problems at work takes him under his wings, they travel through Hitlers beloved heimat (Germany) and Hitler decides that he needs to go back into politics after talking to many Germans along the way, and finding out about the immigration crisis and the demoralization under his people. Its interesting, this actor never falls out of his role and the movie is half documentary, because the way people respond to him out in the streets or pubs is all non-scripted apparently. They're not actors, but real people, who truly look 4 times at him, taking selfies with 'Hitler' and talking with in pubs about their grievances. Soon he gets invited for many more TV appearances and within no time he is popular again - that part is scripted movie. But the interesting aspect of it all, is that you are more or less shown how he gains that sort of popularity all over again. Hitler looks at modern day living in a super non-PC manner; he is very honest. And he names the things which the media and the PC-mobs out there are pretty much prohibiting people nowadays. That creates friction with some people, but also a vacuum where demagogues and rabble-rousers like Hitler can jump into; he himself is just downright honest about what he does and doesn't like. For instance, he discovers the existence of commercial TV; "a wonderful invention", he says, "another sign of the superiority of the white race". But why is there so much crap broadcast on it? Cooking shows, soaps series, advertisements; crap crap crap for the masses. When this invention could also be used to bring so much knowledge and enlightenment to the people... And he has his opinions on a lot of stuff, he gives space for those criticizing aspects of the immigration policies of Germany for instance; listens to their grievances, acknowledges their feelings (no matter how abhorrent they are to many viewers), and says out loud where he thinks things go wrong for "his people". Of course he turns in no time into a crafty manipulator all over again, but he is not painted like the archetypal Bad Guy; his person is not viewed merely through the fog and smoke of the Holocaust in the way Hollywood tends to do this. That level of nuance, as well as the humor that it put in the movie, is quite interesting to see. And the way in which even some sympathy for Hitler is created by the movie makers. Not a lot, don't worry. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguQgZZDyd0NBLkDVi9Jka-wmTRvWliHPaW_6srMkeTcLnKidnI0XT-BLeBo5Bb3lsfw32Qyf5zM0m8UKD9-MfPKRIebB5hsSiUBwsouWsPopJ6bmZz01V8h1aCaCg8aCyJgd5nDWV-03CV/s1600/41tDSTsfRUL._SX351_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="353" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguQgZZDyd0NBLkDVi9Jka-wmTRvWliHPaW_6srMkeTcLnKidnI0XT-BLeBo5Bb3lsfw32Qyf5zM0m8UKD9-MfPKRIebB5hsSiUBwsouWsPopJ6bmZz01V8h1aCaCg8aCyJgd5nDWV-03CV/s400/41tDSTsfRUL._SX351_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="282" /></a>So the movie creators show a less black and white "Auschwitz-Hollywood-view" of Hitler. It also shows him like he was said to have been in real life by some historians; Austrian charm, courteous to women, sharp; witty even in the eyes of some. He rarely fell out of that role and also liked to gossip with his own secretaries about the other Nazi headpieces for instance in real life. He loved to eat Sacher torte and his personal wealth turned out to be a fraction of what modern day dictators amass. Apparently 90% were royalties from his book. . He loved to watch Laurel and Hardy movies. Could also (unlike entirely paranoid people like Joseph Stalin) tolerate some level of differences of opinion. The rows with his generals and Wehrmacht are legendary, or so I read. And they weren't by default murdered for disagreeing with Der Führer; many of those generals came from Prussian military families and they didn't let even Hitler over-scream them. Ernst Röhm was gay and kept in high position for instance by Hitler. And when you look at the Hitler-era TV, aside from the Riefenstahl propaganda, you also had Deutsche Wochenschau, which showed the war sometimes rather factually. Until March 1945, and everything also kept functioning. In May 1945 they still gave out medals for bravery in Berlin, despite capitulation being minutes away. And the typed documents to go with such medals were also still typed out. That's the German Grundlichkeit of course. Absurdity to me and don't get me wrong, we grew up with significant hatred for Germany, with my grandparents having been active in the resistance and having gone through quite a lot with that, so that is the context for me personally to look at this historical figure. But that doesn't mean this movie cant be enjoyed as a daring and interesting project.</div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">Emily Brontë poems</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>And here is some religious music I've been listening to recently, it may not be your cup of tea! Religious or not, I find it so beautiful (Russian orthodox)</b></span></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">September 17th</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"> </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2019 </span></span></b><br />
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Here all's OK. Flushing is up and down, some decent days, some flushed hot days. I'm just working mostly and use the good days to meet with friends and family and to do some fun things. Temperatures are slowly but surely going down here; I'm glad we're heading to winter again. - I read something about people even worse off than us flushers and burners. <b><a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/scared-brit-blogger-interrogated-solitary-20052712">This vlogger couple</a></b> got arrested in Iran for flying their drone there illegally.... Near an aerial base... Which was pretty silly if you ask me. But I just read what sort of shithole prison they are now in... Out of curiosity. Some of the stories from there make your blood boil. Makes our very restricted lives seem cushy in comparison though. I watched some of their youtube videos too, they seemed to enjoy life and made pretty videos with their drone. But nothing about their videos stood out from the other army of travel vloggers. Well, that is, until they went beyond the beaten paths and into dangerous territory. I bet there are hundreds of videos of the beaches and coasts of Thailand, from people just like them. But Iran on the other hand... 'Influencers' like them (ohhh the smugness of that term/work title alone) see all this as a business model for them. We all know people who are willing to fall off a cliff for that 'perfect instagram photo'. Now these subsidized vloggers make a few hundred dollars per video, so they are traveling ('working') on someone else's purse.. They get money for their videos and sponsoring pays for their world trips... So to keep all of that up, or to widen their scope and possibilities, they need to garner new subscribers to their online channels. And they won't get them by going over the beaten paths. So some bloggers are taking all sorts of risks, going to dangerous countries, 'edgy' places. These two wanted to <b><a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jolie-king-and-mark-firkin-adventurers-dreamt-of-ending-stigma-around-iran-but-ended-up-behind-bars-t8k0lx3p9">'break the stigma' of places like Iran'</a></b>. Well... I guess they failed! "Our biggest motivation behind the vlogs is to hopefully [..] try to break the stigma around travelling to countries which get a bad rap in the media', they said in a post." They probably now realize exactly why some countries get "a bad rap in the media". So, one star for Iran then, I suppose.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIl5WHumbNAWe3soEPs1WkU2pax35XiI42MY3UnyeowOftJ9nSvP5l08QHJPH_s3SdguxsLs4p9fFA9p_HzyMhXt1Z3ZM_yQTAqVrKuQ-bD3T927DMAkW_40UfhJCRZQvrkPyiBECTwFL6/s1600/oiio.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="187" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIl5WHumbNAWe3soEPs1WkU2pax35XiI42MY3UnyeowOftJ9nSvP5l08QHJPH_s3SdguxsLs4p9fFA9p_HzyMhXt1Z3ZM_yQTAqVrKuQ-bD3T927DMAkW_40UfhJCRZQvrkPyiBECTwFL6/s400/oiio.jpg" width="278" /></a>But in Iran's defense; not that I am a fan of radical religious sects and Ayatollahs suppressing women and intellectuals, or anyone who undermines their holy book.. But did the bloggers really think it wise to fly a drone (for those <i>awesome</i> insta videos) in Iran? Near a military airport base, of all places? Despite this being illegal, as well as highly suspicious at this moment in time, with Irans extensive political conflict in the region and with some Western countries? Did the vloggers even check the rules of the host country or follow the news outside of the facebook timeline updates? It's frightening what happened to them, because they have been jailed for quite a few weeks already now, in one of Irans most infamous jail hellholes. I can only imagine the shock, anxiety and horror that engulfed them after that innocent jolly drone flight, capturing them frolicking around with gooey smiles in the beautiful playground that is the Iranian countryside. Only to be interrupted by... serious policemen. Arrested on suspicion of espionage.. But the planet is more than a pink bubble of revenue possibilities for the influencers of this world. Doesn't everybody know that drones have no go areas, especially in Iran? But.. but... that drone was <i>needed</i> to get pretty shots, so that their sponsors would be happy, so that more people would notice their videos and subscribe -> aka; more revenue. As my friend put it: <i>"Flying a drone at a military complex or airport is just an act of warfare .. certainly in Iran". </i>I guess diplomats are now meddling on the highest level to get them out of that prison; basically trying to put them above the law, in other words. But just in this specific case, it may perhaps work against them that they are half baked 'celebrities'. Because Iran can perhaps use them to bargain with countries like the USA, who have Iranians in their prisons. And to see your future lying in the hands of diplomats and negotiators... must be frightening.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYSzLGtKCm2f6m8Fb6BGBnftzd2WQ1afoutAHJp4cNTmWNz2JwYdArcKabTwza0AfmdDrjwyw4RPhu72NkmYweBNXJUrK2fS6tkeIkO5kIdx-Saaew_Lo4tkAlmGVBg7x7rKspQ0s3_zi/s1600/18392582-7456149-image-m-4_1568288485867.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="634" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYSzLGtKCm2f6m8Fb6BGBnftzd2WQ1afoutAHJp4cNTmWNz2JwYdArcKabTwza0AfmdDrjwyw4RPhu72NkmYweBNXJUrK2fS6tkeIkO5kIdx-Saaew_Lo4tkAlmGVBg7x7rKspQ0s3_zi/s320/18392582-7456149-image-m-4_1568288485867.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPa4YDP8JXQSOe3gOTPft8xSbchGcQP015WqOICkupaskjhvO1EZv8V6jePPt_JEMSEShlstlNNyuIZ82D5S68PmiV7hEj4Law6RrK3H6LiNT5wCajoU8Vdp719FFKmtzCxJsKPtOvoFz/s1600/0_IRAN-TEHRAN-Our-picture-shows-the-Evin-prison-in-Tehran-and-the-Elburs-mountains.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="615" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPa4YDP8JXQSOe3gOTPft8xSbchGcQP015WqOICkupaskjhvO1EZv8V6jePPt_JEMSEShlstlNNyuIZ82D5S68PmiV7hEj4Law6RrK3H6LiNT5wCajoU8Vdp719FFKmtzCxJsKPtOvoFz/s320/0_IRAN-TEHRAN-Our-picture-shows-the-Evin-prison-in-Tehran-and-the-Elburs-mountains.jpg" width="320" /></a>And Tehran's <b><a href="https://www.insider.com/iran-evin-prison-australian-travel-bloggers-foreigners-held-conditions-2019-9">Evin Prison</a></b> does sound like a terrible place to end up in... I read a couple of articles about that prison, and they are frightening. In life we usually get second chances to correct our errors, but some errors have dire consequences.. I suppose Iran will now use them as levy to get their own Iranian prisoners abroad free. Not sure how much Australian diplomats can change about the situation. I understand entirely how appalling normal daytime jobs are, and anyone who wants this lifestyle of traveling and being 'free'; but in the case of influencers, they are not entirely free of course. They travel at the expense of the advertisement industry and of patrons who make this new type of work possible. - Like my friend said on the topic: "It used to be journalists who took these type of risks in countries of turmoil. But they did so for newspaper articles, and they knew the risks they took. But now we have social media people, not only acting ignorantly, but also not informing themselves of the laws, restrictions, customs and history of the culture they want to “report” on. Ego Ego Ego. As many times in the last few years that people have been detained, imprisoned, killed in other countries, there is a mass of young social media people that seem to believe they are invincible. In today’s world of info screaming around the world like a nuclear rocket, I hope they get out soon. And I hope that their egos are permanently tempered. I’m not a supporter of Iran and countries that blatantly violate human rights, but if you are a guest in any country you must behave with respect to their laws. True, there are many people who don’t want a regular job these days and who want an online media life. Wanting the perks of travel most humans can’t afford. Life is tough. Life is work. Maybe they will get out, tell their story. For more money.. and we will watch it on Netflix. 😧"</div>
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The cynical thing is indeed that <i>if</i> they get out any time soon (and they may just as well if Iran makes a deal with Western countries about prisoners swapping), then they WILL most likely have a surge in subscribers, aka a rise in bankability, aka a surge in advertisers and income. Perhaps even a netflix deal in the pipeline. But for now it seems they took a risky gamble though..</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-13/what-it-is-like-inside-iran-prison-evin/11506214">What it's like in Tehran's Evin prison</a></b></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2019/04/female-activist-in-very-poor-health-after-nine-months-and-counting-of-solitary-confinement/">Report on one of the prisons female prisoners who has been in solitary confinement for nine months now</a></b></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Some upbeat music (yeh I'm liking </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Maître Gims at the moment :P)</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz8OebspNsjiMnP_kzB7hnA0CuhOB090dwARu14yfcFQAxAr33RJE6gzfN1S5TGqS2_fJKoe7xvZ7YbkoF3rgzXrVEK3mebknAWoHV2XK1PvzMlLEaYamF6RIr7d6j3Sc2PkbK76xeifvW/s1600/69253764_2379362742331921_8749657751359062016_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="550" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz8OebspNsjiMnP_kzB7hnA0CuhOB090dwARu14yfcFQAxAr33RJE6gzfN1S5TGqS2_fJKoe7xvZ7YbkoF3rgzXrVEK3mebknAWoHV2XK1PvzMlLEaYamF6RIr7d6j3Sc2PkbK76xeifvW/s320/69253764_2379362742331921_8749657751359062016_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkbBJK7WasVhiZ0si2ABPzfZO0KRYElyQpALH_g76t82iIcSX7dbG_q-ZLRrsbPw1FjTuSmasIBGfs9v8uVweHQi6aLqWrBdE6069Aq-GkEqjMsKn71tKTeWUTHXZO-lu5pJmG3vtN8q_T/s1600/68638641_2379362825665246_1172112453572493312_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="410" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkbBJK7WasVhiZ0si2ABPzfZO0KRYElyQpALH_g76t82iIcSX7dbG_q-ZLRrsbPw1FjTuSmasIBGfs9v8uVweHQi6aLqWrBdE6069Aq-GkEqjMsKn71tKTeWUTHXZO-lu5pJmG3vtN8q_T/s320/68638641_2379362825665246_1172112453572493312_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">August </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">22nd </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2019 </span></span></b><br />
Referring to the last update --> Not that the state of the literary market these days is really that very important, in the big scheme of things. Not at all really. I'm currently so upset about the large Brazil rain forest <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/08/21/753140642/tens-of-thousands-of-fires-ravage-brazilian-amazon-where-deforestation-has-spike?t=1566432519933">fires</a>. Deeply depressed about it to be honest. Brazil's right-wing president Bolsonaro apparently has more interest in the countries economy than in their responsibility to protect the Amazon rain forest. Tens of thousands of forest fires are raging currently all over Brazil, partly started deliberately by farmers who are allowed to steal more jungle terrain for agricultural land. More land for their cattle, fattening their cows, so that us Europeans, Americans and other first world members can stuff our faces with their prime steaks. Unbelievable what is going on there in Brazil right now. I heard one of Hollands correspondents living in Brazil talk about how Bolsonaro was elected in 2018, mainly as an 'anti-vote' after the Left had disappointed the people by being entangled in a corruption scandal. A very costly anti-vote, as Bolsonaro has one main incentive; letting the economy grow and he is willing to put the interests of the farmers above those of the native people living in the jungles. They already went to parliament to protest in a magnificent way, but their lands are reduced and stolen as we speak. And valuable rain forest and all its many plants and animals are burnt before our eyes. I'm not a fan of the modern day Left and their identity politics and political correctness hysterics, but the Right and their lust for MONEY and economics over the environment gets me more upset.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxto4yME2uR-SJsxQLcLFjrM5IB-0iRt70DfEeeU6gVUmPxAN3KCONHWk4PLMPYHHxUf_0CkSmwauhYKZJqE6JDzDKXsD8l8nJNml1KJ9Ah94ynshfZ4ZBvKad6UxQZgR1KGrv4a2E2L_/s1600/69286016_2379362795665249_6649512111909109760_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="720" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxto4yME2uR-SJsxQLcLFjrM5IB-0iRt70DfEeeU6gVUmPxAN3KCONHWk4PLMPYHHxUf_0CkSmwauhYKZJqE6JDzDKXsD8l8nJNml1KJ9Ah94ynshfZ4ZBvKad6UxQZgR1KGrv4a2E2L_/s320/69286016_2379362795665249_6649512111909109760_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38kpVSLrbXR-9iRV1UhFwsjb0xHfVyuSUqfB9DSmRN0qQifMBDcfgLY1drQJ7LfqcbMy6dkNTh0mDHsr2pY2b1B5DYDUbuknqw7o8wgdkmeHVDwwidniSXSXfYg91IH4ZXq8IS6bjKKVJ/s1600/download+%25283%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38kpVSLrbXR-9iRV1UhFwsjb0xHfVyuSUqfB9DSmRN0qQifMBDcfgLY1drQJ7LfqcbMy6dkNTh0mDHsr2pY2b1B5DYDUbuknqw7o8wgdkmeHVDwwidniSXSXfYg91IH4ZXq8IS6bjKKVJ/s320/download+%25283%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88jrMS7gnlgGqaYYRQhL6Js9hJzeAxGYJRhyphenhyphenYd7FrrPZfjL6CMpwYMXQBfCn75gMdAelbZFjPVNHf9XFNOQszfzAUX_vs1wM_QAhaAbrKQoPnJ1Qd2YgqFDIaNUBoCmU82sbEe4xBYsdT/s1600/download+%25284%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="151" data-original-width="334" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88jrMS7gnlgGqaYYRQhL6Js9hJzeAxGYJRhyphenhyphenYd7FrrPZfjL6CMpwYMXQBfCn75gMdAelbZFjPVNHf9XFNOQszfzAUX_vs1wM_QAhaAbrKQoPnJ1Qd2YgqFDIaNUBoCmU82sbEe4xBYsdT/s320/download+%25284%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">And it's easy to point to Brazil now, but each and everyone of us who eats not just meat but also soy products is also to blame.</span></b> Because it is not just the meat farmers who require these ever expanding pieces of land for their cattle and for the food for the cattle, but soy production also has a big impact on the ecosystem. Soy demand has increased around 70% in the last ten years. 300 million hectares of tropical forests have so far been felled for the soy. In Brazil alone 20.4 Million Hectares are occupied by soy. GM soy occupies 185 million acres of land. 260 million ton crop is fed to animals or converted to biofuels. So if we want this to stop, we should all look closely to our own tapping into the food chain. Etc etc. (That, and they should bomb that right wing scum Brazilian president). The whole world should also pay more subsidy money to countries like Brazil, and have solid contracts with them about maintaining the rain forest; we should all fund this, not just them. As its in everyone's interest (transcending countries economic interests). I understand what some of the Brazilians say: 'Why should we we the only ones who have to take care of the rain forest?? When its existence and maintenance is in everybody's best interest. Yet Europe and the USA for instance have hád their industrial revolutions; have already destroyed most of their natural habitats in order to stimulate the economy. And now WE in Brazil need to put our economy on hold to protect the rain forest?' They have a point. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>All the countries in the world should agree on an annual donation for countries like Brazil, in exchange for an ironclad contract.</b></span> Brazil gets compensated by all of us for loss of earnings and in return they leave the rain forests alone. The international funds can be used to pay farmers and to use for their own economy and social systems. That needs to be organized soon... I can literally cry thinking about all the wildlife that has been burnt to death in the rain forest right now, due to that gangster in power there. Farmers needing more ground for their cattle so that us posh fucks over here can have our daily piece of steak, or those fancy soy-late whatever macchiatos. It makes me livid, how the rain forest is sacrificed and also how hypocritical we all are, including everyone who buys their daily meat from the supermarkets, who buy it in turn from countries like Brazil, who keep burning the rain forest down to get more ground for their cattle. Its just horrendous 😭<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7abMqBWkYSI/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7abMqBWkYSI?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: right; float: right;" width="320"></iframe>But humanity won't stop until they abused every piece of earth and wrung every last bit of oil, gas or energy out of it. Killed off all the wildlife for their fur or horns or whatever else humans think they 'need' it for. All the while the human world population is booming and everybody seems mainly busy with leading that ultimate 'meaningful' life, including grabbing everything it has to offer. Globalization and decadence will ultimately ruin it for everyone of us. Like a friend of mine often says; a meteorite making humanity extinct would probably be the most humane thing for <i>planet earth</i> at this stage. That, or send most of humanity into space, on a one way track. And with that peaceful thought I'll go to sleep now.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlslZXqE_caRdA7T1RswrxCcQIjVC0IsScxbzcHpzoYiqMJhAl9TUbgnWstlo_i9O2t48gQjO7qWMK349pjXTYOUtxAyCI6i0mLMW6p8YVQ0s_19QlLmoZXrvAecyM3vg5prVaP3Ao1iDw/s1600/z2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1596" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlslZXqE_caRdA7T1RswrxCcQIjVC0IsScxbzcHpzoYiqMJhAl9TUbgnWstlo_i9O2t48gQjO7qWMK349pjXTYOUtxAyCI6i0mLMW6p8YVQ0s_19QlLmoZXrvAecyM3vg5prVaP3Ao1iDw/s400/z2.jpg" width="300" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">I read some more interesting things. Mostly </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Jung-related ideas.</span></b><br />
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so... apparently being in love is largely about projection. We project the most noble and good qualities on the other when we are in love; often also features that we ourselves do not possess (enough). It is only when you get to know the other person really well, by entering into an intimate relationship and by spending a lot of time close by that person, that the scales almost always fall from your eyes. Only then will you find out what was real and what was ultimately your own projection with this person (and a lot is usually projection). That sometimes also explains why people continuously fall for the wrong people; they just don't see what we see from a distance (that, or they look for familiar patterns). People can soon think: Yes, but I know him/her quite well by now. I knów that he/she also has bad sides, just like everybody else. But that does not mean that you are rid of that magical projection. No one is an all round, full person, we all have things that we are good at and things that we do not personally possess. So the people we feel most attracted to, often possess thóse characteristics and behaviors that we ourselves lack or have the most difficulty acquiring. Traits which we experience as supplementary to our own personality. You will be automatically attracted to those.<br />
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And irritations and jealousy towards others are also often projections. It is precisely those things that we are jealous of in others, that are often areas in which we ourselves fail, but for which we do have talent; talent that remains unused. (Or we are just downright annoyed by people who work against us, or who hurt us or who are simply annoying). But even jealousy and the personal irritations we have can be multi-layered. Jealousy is also linked to projection often. For example, someone who has a lurking musical talent, but who doesn't do much with it, sometimes cannot stand hearing a friend play the piano or guitar exceptionally well. And will find fault all the time. The spark for this jealousy and pettiness is often a deep sense of unpleasantness (and confrontation of the ego) when being confronted with this friend. The own shadow side as they call it gets triggered; the knowledge that she herself does too little with her own music talent; hearing the other play then triggers her jealousy, because there is nothing more confrontational with regard to your own inabilities than to see its fulfillment elsewhere. (The same goes for a woman who, for example, does not succeed in losing weight, and then meets with her skinny girlfriend. That in itself generates jealousy and annoyance, and the fat woman often starts scoffing at the slim friend: "She only eats lettuce leaves anyway!'). The real trigger is a sudden feeling of inferiority flaring up. The unconscious saying that you are worthless. It is even possible that people project their own uncertainties on objects or superficial appearances; the ego urging them to buy way too many nice clothes and shoes etc. Or yet another new car. Or that it spikes them to obsessively earn more and more money. All of which only gives short satisfaction; it is often a remedy patch for the insecurity which people feel (sub)consciously. When contained and in balance, all that is fine. But when its out of balance, such an obsession for external symbolization can be detrimental and urge people on to buy or obtain more more and more. For the wrong reasons.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXdOjBj3hHogj3ZTd0vDPJuksTzmFoNNhpEoRpOHxJ03XPrm1iwMD827H8K8BXzJcKqogKt57Jt58VERN5QMz1xlXncp2IjwA6qDl2tBGejs1_x-KdP_xCXrPYIzW9LV5PJg1y-Z0VZ6g/s1600/1_gEHRP_tMh3fE9xa0n6Kmlg.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="376" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXdOjBj3hHogj3ZTd0vDPJuksTzmFoNNhpEoRpOHxJ03XPrm1iwMD827H8K8BXzJcKqogKt57Jt58VERN5QMz1xlXncp2IjwA6qDl2tBGejs1_x-KdP_xCXrPYIzW9LV5PJg1y-Z0VZ6g/s400/1_gEHRP_tMh3fE9xa0n6Kmlg.jpeg" width="400" /></a>So on the surface, people seem envious of each other over external things; but in essence it is often about inner possessions. A. is not so much jealous of B., because he earns more, but because he apparently has the capacity to do so; possesses capacities that are then also utilized. Thát causes jealousy, especially when you yourself also possess those same capacities ... but don't do anything with them. The inner consciousness then feels hurt by the realization of an error; through the awareness of a defect. The gaping emptiness created by a totally neglected talent, gives a feeling of dissatisfaction, which..... is then often soon projected onto someone or something else. If only I had this or that... If only that person did more such and such.. Tricks from the ego! So every person has a shadow side. It is made up of repressed weaknesses, shortcomings and instincts. They can also be primitive animal instincts, which have been replaced by the conscious mind during early childhood. This shadowy side is often considerably suppressed by 'civilized man'. Which can lead to problems; emotional flatness and lack of spontaneity, sensitivity and creativity. Artists draw from that shadow side for their creative works. But as an artist you must always take good care that this reservoir of darkness does not get the upper hand. Hence... why so many artists suffer from addictions, depressions and what not.<br />
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Well.. that's the theory. And Jung has some strange mystical side-effects on some of his followers apparently, which I find off-putting. A friend of mine said that 'being in love' is in his opinion actually one level more complex--and detrimental to the individual--than 'projection'. That an individual unknowingly pursues, and ultimately 'falls in love', not solely with a data set; a projection of qualities he or she lacks, but that the individual is essentially in pursuit of a version of his or her self, and any relationship that develops. And in any and all interaction that occurs, the individual consistently anticipates the desired response...in accord to his or her consciousness...or subconscious. Thus, the individual may 'be in love with 'X' ', but in actuality, 'X' is, in many relationships a layer of abstraction, an instrument of 'physical necessity', 'X' being but a reflection of the observing individual; the individual whom, at the subconscious level, is satisfied (transitory as the coupling may be), with the imperfect composition of his or her self. Thus, when the behavior of 'X' is incoherent or becomes incoherent in comparison with the <i>behaviour of the individual</i>, the dissonance between the individual and the imperfect doppelganger 'X' becomes apparent, the mirage of 'love' evaporates, and conflict is made manifest - conflict between the individual and the imperfect composition that is 'X'. "That was my conclusion to the question as to why individuals pursue 'love'. (The theory omits conflict caused by external factors, such as infidelity, etc.)"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr-kjKMWEzZ0JelOP-oWS5M9VHikOZx8aWf4ZiBZV7McI0YJNW5XUmW6SYtvCM41EX3LWAVrO5cY7H0FKPHY2mB5N6HxQcAMOD4AEKusZeswaRDiEJ6_f3A6uw-SEq5B12zx4wIXPhEjre/s1600/1921e73017ec.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr-kjKMWEzZ0JelOP-oWS5M9VHikOZx8aWf4ZiBZV7McI0YJNW5XUmW6SYtvCM41EX3LWAVrO5cY7H0FKPHY2mB5N6HxQcAMOD4AEKusZeswaRDiEJ6_f3A6uw-SEq5B12zx4wIXPhEjre/s400/1921e73017ec.jpeg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR6jm263Zu9qWmgPBCBbpTV1xf7jwd8gH26cns04E2uS30q18iV1XMefrelDxjyHa9-wajd7RjiTtP9hnUX50qVJt15oFF4LRbowNV-jtFALqPAaSjbrCTsxXnG5dmCyeHGakedaiEVtk_/s1600/960x0.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="960" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR6jm263Zu9qWmgPBCBbpTV1xf7jwd8gH26cns04E2uS30q18iV1XMefrelDxjyHa9-wajd7RjiTtP9hnUX50qVJt15oFF4LRbowNV-jtFALqPAaSjbrCTsxXnG5dmCyeHGakedaiEVtk_/s400/960x0.jpg" width="400" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">August 18th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2019</span></span></b><br /><br />I watched the HBO series Chernobyl lately. I think it's unbelievably good. Only has 5 episodes and am still numb after watching the last one. Don't miss this, it's truly a 10/10. It's a very intense experience, that series, and so well written and acted that I'm still thinking about it now. In 1986 the wind came from the East so I was nearly 7 then and remember it being all over the national news. We couldn't drink milk for weeks in the Netherlands, as the clouds passed over western Europe. A lot of fear. You may also like that this series shows most of all the human errors that were made, and the ways in which the USSR used to deal with errors. There is a hero Russian too though, trying to oppose the system. But it's not your average Yankee doodle approach to "Bad Russians". Its all super realistic and without scapegoating Russia as Americans tend to do. Or so I felt. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/s9APLXM9Ei8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s9APLXM9Ei8?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: left; float: left;" width="320"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">August 14th 2019 </span></span></b></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW__PWD-ayA_sp-e-eDwXbyQMY7xGS_hLRVk4zVikpvS4WIwgcuA3hB2-8qYgcf8Xt1LP-xf_PIm38Av18RnQm3O2JnURgoyCDsnAnWqLZZb1ftiNyosfAx8IfQ8n94IadbmQFNY6ycCia/s1600/633457.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1076" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW__PWD-ayA_sp-e-eDwXbyQMY7xGS_hLRVk4zVikpvS4WIwgcuA3hB2-8qYgcf8Xt1LP-xf_PIm38Av18RnQm3O2JnURgoyCDsnAnWqLZZb1ftiNyosfAx8IfQ8n94IadbmQFNY6ycCia/s400/633457.jpg" width="268" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">August 10th 2019</span></span></b>
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Health wise I'm ok. Took 10 days of penicillin and antibiotics and my face and rosacea got progressively more red and flushed and on fire as I neared the end of the course. But my arm became nice and pale again and I don't think my arm infection is returning at the moment (knock on wood). It did take some time for the pinkness of the skin to go away entirely. And the alcohol dressings helped, but also made the skin dry and scaly so the new skin under the scales that are coming off may be more new and weaker and therefore less pale looking, perhaps.. When I go outside where it is warm, or when I have my arm under the blankets at night and it gets hot, the skin looks more pink patchy still, which once freaked me out into thinking the infection had returned. But when I just have it cooled normally during the day, it looks normal. So should be fine. Also no signs of tetanus yet, knock on wood. Ugh... I am just OCD worrying with these things; used to look at it 10 times an hour in different lights and rooms etc. haha. I'm just constantly on egg shells not to have any other body issue that needs treatment, as my rosacea is so volatile. Like my friend with similar flushing wrote back: "Yeh exactly, when this bad you don't want to leave the house for anything and definitely not a warm doctors office or hospital." But all seems to go back to normal now and my rosacea is calming down a bit too now. I drank kefir in the days after I finished the medication course, but the histamine in it (its fermented) just made my flushing go through the roof, so I stopped taking it again..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qMzn_W8QJMmsAhrlauCZJfoFTQXDjfrLZ7vRxAur8i1ZPIjYImDTRdIhVkYz78yLoh_BfRXHA0RG35redqjjc-nzkrQ3vIM0_iTy3tftwiRsEa2KpsbhO-42AVj3nKTMzqHYlOvDHAO0/s1600/2_f34728cc-e488-4164-8b3a-d4cfbc443a51_530x%25402x.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qMzn_W8QJMmsAhrlauCZJfoFTQXDjfrLZ7vRxAur8i1ZPIjYImDTRdIhVkYz78yLoh_BfRXHA0RG35redqjjc-nzkrQ3vIM0_iTy3tftwiRsEa2KpsbhO-42AVj3nKTMzqHYlOvDHAO0/s200/2_f34728cc-e488-4164-8b3a-d4cfbc443a51_530x%25402x.jpg" width="200" /></a>I also bought this AMAZING small neck ventilator. Its truly so good, I carry it everywhere now. It gets charged easily with a little cable to your computer and it has 3 speed settings. The slowest is good enough for me, it cools, you have your hands free, I don't think it looks too freakishly, or at least not more freakish than holding a hand fan in front of your face when out in public :) And it makes much less noise than my hand fans; not like you are about to take off in a helicopter. I bought it for only 14 euro's and I can see me using this thing not only in public transport, but even when I am in a restaurant or something.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3OLVHD5skRn1zRSMwCiRCg8LbCEhwBC5-ZCXOleiGoJSpzWIqi6eJ17CzZJKQMWJsCcyFNWE8x4z82jaPUaAglUEzYbR6tUaP8cYX_ru7KrZv_7ay0atREHSEVORY__IGTUH_RBHUqKYc/s1600/celestina+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="630" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3OLVHD5skRn1zRSMwCiRCg8LbCEhwBC5-ZCXOleiGoJSpzWIqi6eJ17CzZJKQMWJsCcyFNWE8x4z82jaPUaAglUEzYbR6tUaP8cYX_ru7KrZv_7ay0atREHSEVORY__IGTUH_RBHUqKYc/s400/celestina+%25281%2529.jpg" width="322" /></a>Just in the news: Jeffrey EPSTEIN found dead in his cell... Suicide, apparently.... How relieved Bill Clinton and his elite palls must be that they won't have to testify in court now, or see how more files are declassified. As well as the other people <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epstein-unsealed-documents-name-powerful-men-in-sex-ring">named only a few days ago</a> by one of the victims, who are high profile, but who were never charged and therefore extra nervous probably for this Epstein trial to start and unearth all their sodden affairs: <i>"Bill Richardson, Britain’s Prince Andrew (whom she has accused before), wealthy financier Glenn Dubin, former senator George Mitchell, now-deceased MIT scientist Marvin Minsky, and modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, as well as “another prince,” a "foreign president," a well-known prime minsiter" and the owner of a “large hotel chain” in France."</i> Although some say that even President Trump has an interest in all this, regardless of the fact that he most likely first approved these new charges of Epstein before they came out (hence; I doubt he has much to fear from in-depth investigations into Epsteins sex-ring shenanigans). This sinister man amassed a fortune and during the upcoming trial, the public could have finally found how. It is claimed that he filmed and documented his wealthy and powerful friends, after inviting them to his private island, while using the young women there who he paid or forced into sexual acts. Often underage, as the accusers of him state, some forced against their will. And that by blackmailing them with said evidence, he in the end became so rich. Something that is now in the spheres of speculation, but which this upcoming court case would dig further in and make public. But... without a suspect, this court case won't take place. Isn't this all very strange, considering Epstein was said by many news sites to have been on suicide watch (and most certainly very carefully monitored, being the high profile prisoner that he was), and in a near bare cell after his previous 'suicide attempt' - from what I read an attempt to strangle himself with his bare hands. Anyone who had biology in school will know that this is physically impossible to die of. Although it has not been confirmed whether Epstein attempted suicide, or whether he may have been attacked inside his prison cell. In fact, one of his guards has <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7344785/Jeffrey-Epstein-told-guards-tried-KILL-weeks-hanged-himself.html">told the press</a> that someone tried to kill him then, and that it wasn't a suicide attempt. And that Epstein himself told staff at the prison as well that he feared that someone had tried to kill him. Aaiiii.... *Update; he is now reported <i>not</i> to have been on suicide watch anymore. Which angers people possibly even more, as there was the serious incident that got him hospitalized with strangulation marks on his neck only a couple of weeks before, and he was held in a very high security prison. How come he wasn't on suicide watch, considering what happened recently and considering the extremely high profile prisoner that he was? And how is it possible in the type of bare cells these high security prisons are said to have, with special sheeting you cannot hang yourself from, that this happened once, twice possibly if that hospitalization 3 weeks ago was for a failed suicide attempt perhaps? <a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/former-mcc-inmate-no-way-jeffrey-epstein-killed-himself/5686162?utm_campaign=magnet&utm_source=article_page&utm_medium=related_articles">This former inmate</a> says it is completely impossible, unless you get help one way or another.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibfy0RqoJqp-hZCVw9nzfaj66dj__iCFn_qLsDDnOgARd1yaHrWBTxcH4EknmT7oKTRtZX7EpDSOnPr33z8iy-BJyOvIfFHqJxO8EJMLSDO33xaD-NPPkAYX8JEeXL_k61Sbava6YhEZIf/s1600/images+%25286%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="318" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibfy0RqoJqp-hZCVw9nzfaj66dj__iCFn_qLsDDnOgARd1yaHrWBTxcH4EknmT7oKTRtZX7EpDSOnPr33z8iy-BJyOvIfFHqJxO8EJMLSDO33xaD-NPPkAYX8JEeXL_k61Sbava6YhEZIf/s400/images+%25286%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a>So he is dead. But how exactly? How can someone of his political importance and high media covering caliber die like that in a high security cell? And was this truly a suicide? Or did someone perhaps pay for his demise? Is he even really dead? Its speculation but the facts as presented to us are startling almost everyone who hears them, also politicians form the Left and Right alike. Of course it is possible that Epstein bribed someone, somehow, and had such a fervent death wish that he could not wait a little longer for this very important and most likely revealing court trial to start. But it does sound all too strange that one of the most important prisoners at the moment, under strict surveillance, after already having gone through a previous attack of sorts, was allowed clearly to do this, when so much was leaning onto him making it to this trial alive. Some people online had already predicted that the Epstein court case was never going to make it to court; too many people high up with too many interests involved. I discussed it with a friend and we also said prior to this; he will have an 'accident' while in jail. Bill Clinton was recorded by pilot data to have been on Epsteins Lolita Express plane with underaged girls being used for sex no less than 26 times. He himself admitted to 4 such trips. <b><a href="https://moneymaven.io/mishtalk/economics/epstein-sex-scandal-flight-logs-show-clinton-not-trump-more-likely-involved-3onx7WVPwkydxT8j--LwOw/">Here</a></b> you can see the flight records mentioned and shown. And Prince Andrew was going to be humiliated even more (again), with his frequent trips on Epsteins 'Lolita Express' and love for wildly underaged girls. Some of his victims have already spoken out in the past few days. See <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epstein-unsealed-documents-name-powerful-men-in-sex-ring">this Daily Beast article</a> on the case, for instance. Its horrible and infuriating in a way, thinking about these poor women who have their chance of justice and of being heard in court taken away from them now. If we are lucky, investigators may reveal what truly happened here, although there is already talk online that those surveillance videos of the prison, normally recording 24/7, may have been out of functioning order that night. Lets hope they'll get to the bottom of it all, but for now its gob-smacking to read that someone who had not long before been on 24/7 suicide watch, was first found 'strangled by his own hands', and then managed to kill himself while in an isolation cell with guards, surveillance and all, being such a high profile prisoner. Especially when 2 prominent politicians were named involved in this pedophile case on the same day. They could as well have aired today: <i>Breaking News: Jeffrey Epstein commits suicide with three gunshots in the back of his head. </i>That would raise just as many eyebrows as what we heard today. The fact that they kept him in NYC where he was so close to so many higher ups who had dirt on him, just blows my mind also. Couldn't he have been kept somewhere further away until actual the actual time for his trial?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuBVfLjOJtSaJUiFZQ_VyRIcbQnzqPniKf28ULFLJKBzf_rPWRW-1QZltz1M5MNUc5EOKGzVjchQsPcb1QHKdTgKGS-A7CS0GXb66y-wdMwuujiERjb3IouFnRj0L6ijksbo0NkLedVoSi/s1600/17135482-7344837-image-a-70_1565465408138.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="634" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuBVfLjOJtSaJUiFZQ_VyRIcbQnzqPniKf28ULFLJKBzf_rPWRW-1QZltz1M5MNUc5EOKGzVjchQsPcb1QHKdTgKGS-A7CS0GXb66y-wdMwuujiERjb3IouFnRj0L6ijksbo0NkLedVoSi/s400/17135482-7344837-image-a-70_1565465408138.jpg" width="400" /></a>And I bet #Arkanside will be trending on twitter now (oh yeh, it already is I now see, and someone posted a picture of the pavement in front of Epsteins house, with a message scribbled in crayon). Next we may see a whole list of #metoo victims start disappearing all over the country now. Whomever raped and has money is going to want to avoid ending up like Epstein and will simply silence his victim(s). If you followed any of this, what do you think, truly a suicide? Or did someone help him? <b><span style="color: #444444;">My friend wrote:</span></b><i> "I wonder if he did a Joseph Goebbels. He had a pill stashed away. Maybe someone slipped him in a pill.. Ann Coulter will be shattered. She has reported on Epstein for over a decade and was finally pumped about justice being served. Even skeptics must be raising an eyebrow at the Clinton body count. It’s unbelievable. Everyone just knew this would happen. And today news came out that an ex governor and ex senator were involved in underage sex of a girl. </i><i>How can a inmate high profile status get access to tools or instruments to self harm himself? Was it a inside hit to cover up high profile names? Was it the Clinton mob do him in?" </i><b><span style="color: #444444;">Another friend of mine wrote me:</span></b><i> "</i><i>I haven’t been following this much since I have stayed away from the news for the most part the past month so I am mainly gleaming the following insights from what you wrote and the little I know. </i><i>In my opinion I think he was snuck out of that facility. Funny how the cameras go off right when he commits suicide. Was there a little light that showed when the cameras were on and he was watching it closely all the time, saw them go off and then strangled himself? </i><i>There have been way too espionage movies made in the past few decades for anyone with half a lick of common sense to fall for this being a suicide. There are countless movies plots with almost this exact scenario. I think this is why so many that don’t normally go the conspiracy route chimed in early that Epstein would “commit suicide”. </i><i>Of course the elites would get him out. He is probably on some island somewhere. He probaly has so much dirt on all the people he dealt with. I wouldn’t be surprised if he told a few of these “elites” that if anything happens to him that he has some “unknown person” that will be release all the goods on them. </i><i>I think Epstein’s “escape” is why he had his first failed suicide attempt, to set the stage, to make it look like he was trying to do that...then when it did happen nobody would doubt it. </i><i>Is this the plot line of a Jason Bourne movie?</i>"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">Elie Honig, a CNN Legal Analyst who previously worked for 14 </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">years </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">as a </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">federal and state prosecutor, stated the following:</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJNtKtVq3dJKpcSQtKZyKB1bznYn_jvW2ZRb4oybjcb9NR3sW5w0es8E68rxN4nmYD5EugXGySZNSkHR0aG-hwaI84z9dXx01uUeCyJgw-TS33EgbQZwlMIgSgRdz4z01t-nCI-gRwGsZj/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="761" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJNtKtVq3dJKpcSQtKZyKB1bznYn_jvW2ZRb4oybjcb9NR3sW5w0es8E68rxN4nmYD5EugXGySZNSkHR0aG-hwaI84z9dXx01uUeCyJgw-TS33EgbQZwlMIgSgRdz4z01t-nCI-gRwGsZj/s320/Untitled-1.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-67KT-RuU3za8hcQFD8ztpw1OSEhlGaXh81ZKYLO213kHbwEQvysTEQdV_8D5u73FtsAP7w8beLzLox5qhjSBBw8O-zGqwwXpLujbztXoYzqhoOWxmOOSaKmZDXiN3v72I_qDIlGVtLy/s1600/Untitled-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="242" data-original-width="754" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-67KT-RuU3za8hcQFD8ztpw1OSEhlGaXh81ZKYLO213kHbwEQvysTEQdV_8D5u73FtsAP7w8beLzLox5qhjSBBw8O-zGqwwXpLujbztXoYzqhoOWxmOOSaKmZDXiN3v72I_qDIlGVtLy/s320/Untitled-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury and Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal, from the Paul Craig Roberts Institute for Political Economy,</span></b> <b><span style="color: #990000;">has held numerous university appointments, wrote the <a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/epstein-mystery/5686276">following online article</a>: </span></b>"[..] Last week those who said that Epstein would not make it to trial because so many prominent people would be implicated were dismissed as “conspiracy theorists.” This week we know the “conspiracy theorists” were right. Epstein did not make it to trial. But we don’t know that he is dead. This report on Intellihub might be a fabrication posted to attract readers. Or it might be a false report put out by the deep state to distract attention from a suspicious suicide. James Jesus Angleton, head of CIA counter-intelligence, once told me that when the CIA pulls off something, it muddies the waters by placing different and conflicting stories in the media. The result, he said, is that there is too much to investigate, and people end up arguing with one another over which story is correct, and the facts of the event are never investigated. Today with the Internet all sorts of stories can be put into play in order to cover an event in confusion. When you hear someone trying to discredit a view by calling it a “conspiracy theory,” be suspicious. The CIA invented “conspiracy theory” in order to control the explanation of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination by discrediting skeptics of the official explanation. Much will be done to add to the confusion and doubt. Already we have a delayed autopsy report, and involvement of a pathologist who supported the unbelievable single bullet explanation of President Kennedy’s murder. Contradictory information grows by the day. Now there are reports, allegedly from official sources, that Epstein was taken off suicide watch shortly before his “suicide.” This report is necessary to support the verdict of suicide as suicide is not possible in a suicide-proof cell."<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr4gGttmDmHcGgNtQOR0PB9nZvseOQdKpl2TGT5Kmdiw1bsEI4mQXM1_nK1IfasZwPpn8c0_Eg3v3Wo81QKpyzv3pnPxvBcUdbOnxOcFBrQ-P8E2gAOJopeZqVpGzrBmp89hMmdIrpsQA5/s1600/23476490-7894685-image-a-16_1579178342819.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="634" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr4gGttmDmHcGgNtQOR0PB9nZvseOQdKpl2TGT5Kmdiw1bsEI4mQXM1_nK1IfasZwPpn8c0_Eg3v3Wo81QKpyzv3pnPxvBcUdbOnxOcFBrQ-P8E2gAOJopeZqVpGzrBmp89hMmdIrpsQA5/s400/23476490-7894685-image-a-16_1579178342819.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0vmqDrjgcflTLACevFcfl_lAhL_ZULvgODgWx8qdHeVotHmzTfB7So9-nj4TRILeTN70SWtykMg6BSKsBGFz20HnXs6kNi5tHnq5z8BVJl0npG8TtMUpgIQspWFYpAR8goL9OVA9k6Ux9/s1600/23476360-7894685-image-m-15_1579178243875.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="634" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0vmqDrjgcflTLACevFcfl_lAhL_ZULvgODgWx8qdHeVotHmzTfB7So9-nj4TRILeTN70SWtykMg6BSKsBGFz20HnXs6kNi5tHnq5z8BVJl0npG8TtMUpgIQspWFYpAR8goL9OVA9k6Ux9/s400/23476360-7894685-image-m-15_1579178243875.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7894685/The-burst-capillaries-Epsteins-eyeballs-pathologists-say-suggests-murder.html">Update</a> January 16th </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">2020: Jeffrey Epstein had </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">burst capillaries in his eyeballs after he died which pathologist tells Dr. Oz suggests he was STRANGLED and did not hang himself</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #444444;">"Dr. Michael Baden was among pathologists who examined Epstein's dead body . In an interview on The Dr. Oz Show on Thursday, he explains why his death is suspicious. Dr. Baden shared never-before-seen photos of Epstein's eyeballs and the burst capillaries in his eye sockets. He said they are consistent with manual strangulation and not hanging. He also says the bottom of Epstein's legs should have gone purple or maroon if he'd been hanging from his bedpost but they were pale. Dr. Baden also says the 'noose' Epstein used is inconsistent with his neck injuries</span></b><br />
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A forensic pathologist has claimed that Jeffrey Epstein was likely murdered and did not hang himself because he had burst capillaries in his eyes which is consistent with manual strangulation and not hanging. In an exclusive clip from a Dr. Oz special set to air on Thursday, pathologist Dr. Michael Baden examines photographs of Epstein's eyes and other parts of his lifeless body taken during his autopsy. Dr. Baden was among physicians in the room when Epstein's autopsy took place. He says it is highly unusual that the cause of his death went from being undetermined - when it was first ruled - to suicide by hanging five days later. He said he believes there are many 'red flags' which suggest he was murdered and did not kill himself. Chief among them are the burst capillaries and the fact that the color in his lower legs was pale and not purple or blueish which, he says, would have likely been the case had he hung himself from his bunk bed as officials say he did. 'In a hanging, the arteries and the blood vessels, the veins are both clogged off and the person is pale. The face is pale,' Dr Baden said. 'It suffocates you, no blood goes up there,' Dr Oz continued. Dr. Michael Baden went on: 'That’s right. No blood coming in or out.... with a manual strangulation, there’s a backup of a pressure and the little capillaries can rupture and they’re best seen in the eye.' Dr. Baden also revealed why the pale color of Epstein's legs raises another question for him. 'The blood settles after we die. The so-called lividity, if your hanging, the lividity is on the lower part on the legs. 'These would be like maroon/ purple, front and back and they aren't.' His interpretation of the autopsy backs up claims from Epstein's estate and conspiracy theorists that he was murdered in August in his cell in the Metropolitan Correctional Center and did not hang himself. At the time, Epstein was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Dozens of women have accused him of trafficking them when they were underage girls and pimping them out to his wealthy and well-known friends. Dr. Baden says it is 'very unusual' how Epstein's death was ruled.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4jZwkz8RG61YEZfcmk4CYDd9HfEOD-kU3I1mgCYODENyb3VtoBSBjdMTzHbLA4UACoaUl5wLn5YvTUodIbsIMKeqESNnEAw1n6mUolJKXeMhb_yn1Vz_O7BbAMT2sKTQcdZv0Rw5zdZM8/s1600/23476938-7894685-image-m-23_1579178508908.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="634" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4jZwkz8RG61YEZfcmk4CYDd9HfEOD-kU3I1mgCYODENyb3VtoBSBjdMTzHbLA4UACoaUl5wLn5YvTUodIbsIMKeqESNnEAw1n6mUolJKXeMhb_yn1Vz_O7BbAMT2sKTQcdZv0Rw5zdZM8/s400/23476938-7894685-image-m-23_1579178508908.jpg" width="302" /></a>'The initial death certificate was issued at the time of the autopsy, it's pending further study, getting more information. 'Five days later it was changed to hanging suicide and one of the things the family wishes to know, the estate wishes to know is, what was that additional information that caused them to change it when five months later and the family still doesn't know what happened to in the first encounter and what happened to him when he was found dead. 'Is that unusual, that you have a five month gap?' Dr. Oz asked him. He replied: 'It's very unusual, especially in a prison situation.' Dr. Baden also examined the 'noose' Epstein apparently used to kill himself and said it was inconsistent with his injuries. 'Doesn't follow the furrow, number one. Number two, there's no evidence that there's any blood or tissue on any of the part of the loop. Most of all, this little area shows a pattern that wouldn't be made by this smooth surface of the sheet that was torn to make the noose. 'The problem I think why we're here today, five months later, is that there's been a total lack of transparency in what happened to Epstein,' he said. On the night he died, Epstein had already once tried to kill himself before and had been moved into suicide watch in the prison. He was inexplicably removed from suicide watch and put in a cell without a cellmate. The night he died, prison guards Tova Noel and Michael Thomas failed to complete multiple mandatory checks on him. They have been charged with falsifying documents for lying about performing the checks. Prosecutors say they were in fact surfing the internet and napping at their desks."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWTZiYwxFrQhzKDgIJ1rz7f51O-PlC704IfnyH5toIDzGQ3Fb5liT3e6ii51uz6AkTcVdUrou5QJbEhU4g7MD2lq6fE6e86rKqituuOukdCprm2jYGQaQhxqtRGb1464IrrfOyMZx1gR7/s1600/Shmuel_Ben_David_Vaknin.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="1317" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWTZiYwxFrQhzKDgIJ1rz7f51O-PlC704IfnyH5toIDzGQ3Fb5liT3e6ii51uz6AkTcVdUrou5QJbEhU4g7MD2lq6fE6e86rKqituuOukdCprm2jYGQaQhxqtRGb1464IrrfOyMZx1gR7/s400/Shmuel_Ben_David_Vaknin.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">I also watched <a href="https://youtu.be/PHzwMLx-rKc">this very interesting </a></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://youtu.be/PHzwMLx-rKc">documentary</a> this week. Some very interesting things in it. I like Sam Vaknin's videos anyway</span></b>, as a professor he has great insights into narcissists and borderline personality disorder and other mental disorders, but he also suffers from narcissistic personality disorder himself. And here in this documentary he chimes into the ways in which social media channels are all based on envy and validation. He states that social media designers want to isolate people from normal every day interaction, by gluing them to the screen for as long as possible. But they also manage to do that through evoking hatred and annoyance in their users. Its no coincidence he says, that twitter for instance only allows for very short messages to be made, knowing that aggressive speech acts are so much shorter than positive, nuanced messages. And social media also influences the way many people are thinking, by rewarding them for being controversial: these users are often conditioned and addicted to 'likes' and approval signs, Vaknin says, and being bland is not giving you the same approval rate as being bold in the things you state and post online. He deems it thought and behavioural control and a real addiction all in one. He also highlights the public social ranking systems that all these social media platforms have, even twitter, which was introduced to further "shame you and further motivate you to the toxicity" of the medium, the self perpetuating loop. Vaknin even calls the people who are addicted to this psychotic, and says that they are everywhere. And that the basis (often subconscious level) of all these mediums is pathological envy. The amount of likes and retweets other people get (and to see for the rest of their friends or the world), the content that is published that warrants those likes and retweets. Envy which then in turn has to motivate the other users to spend even more time on the social media medium, and share even more.<br />
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I found it interesting how Vaknin described 3 groups of social media users; the oldest people, who are in their 20s, 30s or 40s when the internet came on, use social media as a form of communication primarily. They use social media as a natural extension of the mail and telephone; swapping of information essentially. My friend (same age group as me) said about this:<i> "I am glad Vaknin included this observation. For the older group, the internet is simply another utility. For me, the internet is a repository of boundless data more than anything else (inclusive of mounds of errors and misconceptions and garbage)." </i>But the younger users are much more attached to their mobile phones and social media, sometimes having it all but near completely replace real life social interaction. I was in my mid teens myself when the internet came up, but in my late 20s when social media started, so I reckon I'm in the old farts group. And it's true that I don't use much social media, other than facebook messenger with some friends; I got an instagram page that lies dormant as I can't be arsed with it and may have made 3 tweets overall (not a fan of the shouty, smartass outlook of twitter). I don't have or want a smartphone and neither whatsapp, as the daily time demands of email and messenger are big enough as it is now and I hate the mobile phone pings demanding attention. But I am an ancient fossil already, that much is clear.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienGyKTOA9OJp2QUiAeIV1ez1E1yE1tVNI22jpI6E84mSYsMghy9AmOfuFM_5dyZ0ewzGcRVUoygdWlsgJO5gRiVEa_PqcDK6TF-BTkX1pfBsHuwn3EQYhdn_Dz2p7W9Coo2L9yJoN2zoG/s1600/download+%25284%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="235" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienGyKTOA9OJp2QUiAeIV1ez1E1yE1tVNI22jpI6E84mSYsMghy9AmOfuFM_5dyZ0ewzGcRVUoygdWlsgJO5gRiVEa_PqcDK6TF-BTkX1pfBsHuwn3EQYhdn_Dz2p7W9Coo2L9yJoN2zoG/s400/download+%25284%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a>Like the youngsters who were interviewed in that video say: it has become so normal among their peers to meet up in restaurants, and then for everybody to grab their phone and be immersed in it, <i>while out with each other</i>. That many don't even realize anymore how absolutely absurd, rude and sad it all is, or SEEMS at least to old farts like me. And also perhaps to those stepping away from it all. My friend said to that: <i>"Many know... or eventually know... but prefer the glow of the ever-validating mirror (the adoration of 'friends' and 'fans' that are essentially strangers). I perceive communication via text to be partly dehumanizing, as such communication filters crucial aspects of what is the complete personality of an individual.</i><i>"</i> And that by giving their phones and online persona so much time and energy, the real human life relationships suffer... making people feel even more isolated and lonely, which in turn makes them grab for their phones even more. Online life has become a reality of its own, far away from every day reality in many ways, and of course this will not go away anymore, despite what some old whiners like me and some others are saying about it. The future IS virtual reality. As the planet will become more overpopulated and grim, more and more people will flee into the virtual reality online world, until we are living complete parallel lives there. Once virtual reality becomes inextinguishable from real life, or even better than reality, it may for a lot of people even replace reality in the future. I suspect kids will just put on their headsets and consoles in the morning, and spend their entire day in the Virtual world in 50 years from now, living in a massive simulation. Like Sam Vaknin says is already happening today: these people are interacting with digital renditions of other people, of objects, of places, of events. Like in the Matrix. These people often hardly see the people they interact with in real life. But what will that do to our psyche? Because abandoning reality in any shape or form has mostly always caused humans depression and anxiety eventually. And how will it affect our freedom of thought, our creativity etc? I'm glad I won't have to live through most of that shit myself, to be honest.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OLg3QJmgPcrz3RYJMCP7VPcmd0xxwbjTImfINzCvfNTsKILJpZ6EPKjFg22BQgqLtfT-OKkkGOb29JWjnaltP-HUTwzdDD_0yKmlp-AF6mWB7PGzsW2YLrj9E4qQNzeE0VozxjPDUoGF/s1600/images+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="204" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OLg3QJmgPcrz3RYJMCP7VPcmd0xxwbjTImfINzCvfNTsKILJpZ6EPKjFg22BQgqLtfT-OKkkGOb29JWjnaltP-HUTwzdDD_0yKmlp-AF6mWB7PGzsW2YLrj9E4qQNzeE0VozxjPDUoGF/s320/images+%25282%2529.jpg" width="264" /></a>Sam Vaknin: "Selfies today constitute 60% of all activity on social network. We don't have statistics for the beginning, but I remember the beginning. And I remember when social networks started, it was never about selfies. I don't remember selfies. The selfie became very prominent in 2015, 2014. And today it is 6 our of every 10 posts. In other words: 6 out of every 10 times, we interact with ourselves. We watch ourselves, we shoot ourselves. I'm looking at me, you look at me. Me. So we have a situation of making love to ourselves, literally, psychologically, falling in love with ourselves. I mean you take photos of yourself all the time, you must be in love. Developing emotional investment in ourselves. This is known as cathexis. Cathexis is emotional investment. Object relation theory and psychology told us that we start (in life) with being emotionally invested in ourselves, and then we learn to externalize this investment, and invest in others. And this is called object relations. We invest in objects. But social media reverses this progress and creates regression. Indeed, social media encourages very primitive, infantile, baby-like defense mechanisms. Such as splitting; you are either my friend or my enemy. You don't like me, you are my enemy. You like me, you are my friend. The like/dislike is very binary." - A brilliant, concise observation of narcissism and engineered regression. My friend said about this: "<i>One discipline Taoist, Buddhists, Stoics, and other ascetics practice--keep any such 'investments' at minimum, and always be prepared to let go of any and all things... all things being transitory. I find it unfortunate that to present date humanity has not evolved as a civilization to the extent of accepting--and practicing--this irrefutable conclusion. The obsession with possession, with subjugation, with control, with power persists relentlessly toward yet one more cycle of auto-destruction. How... regressive."</i><br />
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The big corporations also want to keep growing and org's like facebook and google etc are already so powerful, they can do what they want. Google now according to a whistle-blower manipulates what you see in a search, and suppresses right wing news channels. Just like facebook pushes certain news during the elections to manipulate users to read certain news over other news. We already found out they were selling our data to other corporations and what were the legal ramifications? Zuckerberg fronting up to Congress and answering questions like a robot and then going home. Oh, and then everyone went back onto their FB. And no one's stopping them. The Circle, that book I read; its a very simple book in the way its written and not really a masterpiece at all, but what I did like about it, is that it predicts just that in the near future; a facebook/google like multi corporation, where everyone is checked 24/7. A corporation which makes you only able to vote politically through their social media company. Which checks every-bodies health with wrist meters; everything will be digitized and controlled. This mega corporation took over normal parliaments etc in the book. It might actually truly be the direction in which these mega companies are heading in real life too. They're already above the law; get tax breaks, abuse personal data. They do what the fuck they want. But now membership or use of their services is still voluntary. In the future, they may intertwine their services so craftily with every day functions such as health checks, voting, means of personal identification, police assistance, welfare receiving etc etc, that there is no real choice left anymore for those who are in any way linked to society. Unless you want to live in a cabin in the woods (which one of the characters in The Circle also tries to). At some point in time it will be illegal NOT to have a social media account. You'll be followed everywhere; health insurances will see all your medical data from your special wristband which measures everything.<br />
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">Happy and healthy 2020 </span></span></b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: 700;"><b style="color: #990000;">I have continued writing my day<br />to day life updates in </b><b style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/03/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-xii.html" target="_blank">this blogpost</a>.<br />Or read older updates <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/01/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-xi_54.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</b></div><div style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: 700;"><b style="color: #990000;"><br /></b></div><div style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/s1600/0%252C2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/w435-h435/0%252C2.jpg" width="435" /></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div></div></div></div></div>Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-49671328893445928202019-01-31T19:06:00.010-08:002022-08-15T18:01:02.629-07:00The disappearance of Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon in Panama, Boquete 2014 - an ongoing mystery (Basic forward page)<p> </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 33px; text-align: left;">The missing Dutch girls in Panama<br /><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimB6odAms3_X5SqMX_70gENrlmtKK7E-hAhmSFLqWIeZNIhSh4cQhm9esi0CjDvdWsW9A-EQg_rlAp5VjqhitSPwgbkn2m20Wzfsg2a9mf5RM2qyFKmhbMadN3eNh7fD5Rv0Uyz3DA5wqh/s1600/Lisanne+Froon+and+Kris+Kremers%252C+Panama+Pianista.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="918" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimB6odAms3_X5SqMX_70gENrlmtKK7E-hAhmSFLqWIeZNIhSh4cQhm9esi0CjDvdWsW9A-EQg_rlAp5VjqhitSPwgbkn2m20Wzfsg2a9mf5RM2qyFKmhbMadN3eNh7fD5Rv0Uyz3DA5wqh/s400/Lisanne+Froon+and+Kris+Kremers%252C+Panama+Pianista.jpg" width="366" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;">On March 15, 2014, </span></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dutch students Kris Kremers (21) and</span></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Lisanne Froon (22) boarded a plane from Amsterdam to Costa Rica.</span> </span></b>They made a stopover in Houston. From San José, Costa Rica, they travelled by bus to Bocas del Toro, Panama. A boat took them to the Panamanian island Isla Colon in the Bocas del Toro archipelago. Lisanne; tall, 184 cm, athletic and just graduated from her university studies in Applied Psychology. She was born on September 24th 1991 and said to be thoughtful, intelligent, empathetic and a little bit shy. She loved the music of Coldplay and kept a diary, which she also brought along to Panama. Lisanne's brother Martijn has read passages from her diary aloud in a Dutch TV program called <a href="https://www.npo3.nl/break-free/07-04-2016/BNN_101378781" target="_blank"><b>Break Free</b></a> (if you are interested in viewing this program, scroll further down this post for an upload with added English subtitles. If you want to read the diaries, go to <b><a href="https://koudekaas.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-disappearance-of-kris-kremers-and_11.html" target="_blank">part 3 of this blog series</a></b>). Kris, a middle child with an older brother Sjors and a younger brother Tijn, was less tall than her friend, measuring 167 cm. She had just completed her studies in cultural social education and the University of Utrecht. She had decided to study art history when she came back from Panama. She had previously done work in psychiatry, dealing with people with severe addiction diagnoses. Born on August 9th 1992, she was sparkling and extroverted; cheerful, intelligent, spontaneous and outspoken, with striking red/strawberry blonde hair, she loved theater and the artistic world. She also enjoyed festivals and music from Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. She had a boyfriend in the Netherlands and kept a diary, just like Lisanne. The two friends had saved for a long time for this trip, which was supposed to be part of a gap year. They knew each other from their work in cafe/restaurant <i>'In den Kleinen Hap'</i> in Amersfoort and the girls also both rented rooms in the same student house - Lisanne had in fact only started living on her own several weeks before her trip to Panama. They planned to not only sight-see around Panama, but to also do <b><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140112200737/http://www.spanishatlocations.com/volunteer/volunteer-in-boquete/" target="_blank">volunteer work</a></b> in a local children's school* (also named a nursery or a daycare center in the media, but I will call it a children's school in this blog) and to learn Spanish. They didn't just want to go on one long holiday, but also do something for local children. In Holland they gathered money from friends and family to buy children's toys for the Panamanian kids they would teach. They would return home on <b><a href="https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20140623_01151909" target="_blank">April 21st</a></b>. (*Kris' brother Sjors always mentioned April 29th though). Kris developed a love for South-America after a holiday in Peru with her parents. Lisanne had never travelled further than southern Germany with her parents. - [*I call kris and Lisanne often 'girls' in this blog, even though they were young women of course. But in Dutch we'd call them 'meiden', which is somewhere in between women and girls I suppose and it is a term of endearment for young women. Here I translate it as 'girls']. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 33px; text-align: left;">Continue reading <a href="https://koudekaas.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">here</a>, </b></span></b></div><div><b style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 33px; text-align: left;">where the main story continues</b></span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"><div><span><div><br /></div></span></div></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjwSc6QddrD_Ue8tsTGbneTMc9K-K4YUIHRLhgNF9YufuMk60xp6jjo7xwL3JpE4P5XOMN2OYZVLU9SPoqsGtjMA9eSf1cu5JsRmryKUl3cVFrs6AHuEMbyhczT5MtbSzxRM93NNvHPSd/s1600/Lisanne+Froon%252C+Panama%252C+Il+Pianista.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="887" data-original-width="1375" height="411" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjwSc6QddrD_Ue8tsTGbneTMc9K-K4YUIHRLhgNF9YufuMk60xp6jjo7xwL3JpE4P5XOMN2OYZVLU9SPoqsGtjMA9eSf1cu5JsRmryKUl3cVFrs6AHuEMbyhczT5MtbSzxRM93NNvHPSd/w640-h411/Lisanne+Froon%252C+Panama%252C+Il+Pianista.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><b style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDWSUJ44xulNo47PTA4vFkHVpc6sxtIAdXOBoYChqdurp5x3JX_bj40VLH1r9tCBkuzV-kmWhuow8u4gTCtuyC09SyX9bLaBNGCx6DhAeVtTSGwXQJRe0Rfh2fIioE8n_vA8bl-_vxq0g/s1600/Kris+Kremers%252C+Panama%252C+Il+Pianista.jpg" style="clear: right; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1600" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDWSUJ44xulNo47PTA4vFkHVpc6sxtIAdXOBoYChqdurp5x3JX_bj40VLH1r9tCBkuzV-kmWhuow8u4gTCtuyC09SyX9bLaBNGCx6DhAeVtTSGwXQJRe0Rfh2fIioE8n_vA8bl-_vxq0g/w640-h336/Kris+Kremers%252C+Panama%252C+Il+Pianista.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></b></div>Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-62247421701080345092019-01-31T18:28:00.070-08:002024-02-21T14:01:30.369-08:00Ongoing post, Update day to day life XII, June 1st 2019 - December 18th 2019<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 36px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;">General updates about day to day life</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 36px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8TzSK-RxNSAjqHoYew4xlFZ2v1cehLT9yz7hkkKN40gNQHaoVGnN7J82dmJhf_PIoSWsMt0D3nXYpaxMoZSOiOw24QzIU7Ad-mCE6k3kK-8xcvqr1Rb0ysM04gBn4C8oGxY5j84Cvtcj3/s1600/hopper-compartment-c1.gif" style="clear: left; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1089" data-original-width="942" height="723" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8TzSK-RxNSAjqHoYew4xlFZ2v1cehLT9yz7hkkKN40gNQHaoVGnN7J82dmJhf_PIoSWsMt0D3nXYpaxMoZSOiOw24QzIU7Ad-mCE6k3kK-8xcvqr1Rb0ysM04gBn4C8oGxY5j84Cvtcj3/w624-h723/hopper-compartment-c1.gif" width="624" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></b></div><div><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: xx-large;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: xx-large;"></div><div><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">December 18th 2019 </span></span></b><br style="font-size: medium;" /><div style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLpgH9cXZbyF61Q3a64Rna2Injx5Zc2-4R_smWxBPPHVuPmcW2oM0r29mtX7p1f7w0shNgXLS4RhedO5v5CJpQ58MZ6tZ9EHEiM1-WjL2Wal-tC7txA4eVBZnO4yeAomfvS-VzzPQDcXaV/s1600/20181104-img_9474-edit.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="224" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLpgH9cXZbyF61Q3a64Rna2Injx5Zc2-4R_smWxBPPHVuPmcW2oM0r29mtX7p1f7w0shNgXLS4RhedO5v5CJpQ58MZ6tZ9EHEiM1-WjL2Wal-tC7txA4eVBZnO4yeAomfvS-VzzPQDcXaV/s320/20181104-img_9474-edit.jpg" width="213" /></a><br />Sad news; the wonderful <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/03/visiting-dr-chu-in-london.html">Professor Dr Tony Chu</a></b>, dermatologist extraordinaire, <b><a href="https://professortonychu.com/">is retiring</a></b>. I first saw him back in 2005, with the help of the wonderful Peter Waters who took me there when I was at my wits end. Had been flushing and burning 24/7 at that point for almost a year, after a <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/disastrous-ipl-in-2005.html">really bad IPL treatment</a></b>. I had seen several dermatologists in different Dutch hospitals by then, as well as GP's and emergency weekend doctors, yet nobody knew what to do with my violent and very painful flushing problem. I would look beet red most of the time and be on fire, stuck to a ventilator and cold packs. It was Dr Chu who suggested I'd try a combo of anti-flushing medication. He said that my desperate plans for more IPL or laser would best be delayed. That the flushing cycle first had to be interrupted. He was right; taking clonidine, propranolol and low dose mirtazapine did put the breaks on the horrible flushing tsunami. I always said it cut down about 60, maybe 70% of them, as long as I stay away from my triggers and literally keep my cool. It was enough to start some sort of normal life again. I continued to see Prof Chu once yearly and then twice yearly eventually. I would have loved to see him twice yearly actually, but the cost of travelling to London and staying there, on top of the consultation costs for private outbound patients, made that impossible for me. Nevertheless he was always consulted during difficult skin times and gave valuable advise always. I still use the same medication he prescribed me back then, and still use his wonderful medical letters when I see other doctors. Even during travelling I carry one, so that I can bring coldpacks along on the plane.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsY4fh-riLduGzlNIsMjhC2e9u9j-5l2gVQOWzXIfb1cT_9aVpOO_I7TGNU2drFcvHuMabnOri5u7DJ6vjZlOXYu3IA8LTLHBa0sLZ5gH8jLe1KkyA71DXAhHWpp04Yr7UBgfyZqxantgn/s1600/31086422-thank-you-vintage-metal-sign-.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="1234" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsY4fh-riLduGzlNIsMjhC2e9u9j-5l2gVQOWzXIfb1cT_9aVpOO_I7TGNU2drFcvHuMabnOri5u7DJ6vjZlOXYu3IA8LTLHBa0sLZ5gH8jLe1KkyA71DXAhHWpp04Yr7UBgfyZqxantgn/s320/31086422-thank-you-vintage-metal-sign-.jpg" width="303" /></a>Very sorry to now hear that he is retiring. I am worried a bit too, because I am only halfway through life (if all goes well that is) and still facing so many potential skin emergencies. I know only one other dermatologist who knows a lot about rosacea, and he is at that age of possible retirement soon too. Every other derm I have seen over the years (dozens in total) knew nothing about facial flushing and burning :( How often I have been told to try oral antibiotics again.. I heard from Gina that a lady called Sue May Ang is taking over from Dr Chu however, and that she has been trained and instructed by him. So my hope now is that she will know a lot about subtype 1 rosacea also. Perhaps she is even in touch with her mentor and can contact Prof. Chu in case of doubt. Or in case of very 'difficult cases'? That's my only hope then. I am planning to see her at some point. I just wished I had booked a (last) appointment with him this year. I realized too late about the retirement. Either way, THANK YOU Dr Chu for decades of dedicated care for not only rosacea patients but also those with bad acne and other skin problems. I know many people from The Rosacea Forum went to see you and most have been very happy with your in-depth knowledge, kindness and progressive approach when it comes to treating rosacea.<br /><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">December 17th 2019</span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjA9FxyEqDjS4u3beZMtThI5Ac6V1jaLC6d8sb-dps0BeGcxgSm9X9E0gfbiM82YBffYL8M_2Ez70udhX_47eriirbuZrRdmzheKl9a62nYpMyFz1Ds6h9eArC1S6S5-1QwhUmBxA0ijm/s1600/MV5BZGVmY2RjNDgtMTc3Yy00YmY0LTgwODItYzBjNWJhNTRlYjdkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjM4NTM5NDY%2540._V1_UY1200_CR90%252C0%252C630%252C1200_AL_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="630" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjA9FxyEqDjS4u3beZMtThI5Ac6V1jaLC6d8sb-dps0BeGcxgSm9X9E0gfbiM82YBffYL8M_2Ez70udhX_47eriirbuZrRdmzheKl9a62nYpMyFz1Ds6h9eArC1S6S5-1QwhUmBxA0ijm/s400/MV5BZGVmY2RjNDgtMTc3Yy00YmY0LTgwODItYzBjNWJhNTRlYjdkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjM4NTM5NDY%2540._V1_UY1200_CR90%252C0%252C630%252C1200_AL_.jpg" width="210" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_jWV8oaneo6WvvfS7azXkrZjGmWg4_jDj_CMHjRx9dP-eaZYL5iMUVE41aVxg3wbsc7gpej-_Y1RfjLOe2LXBGhw5y-pVa7tGP94W4T1ZUraNXB5iguLYRnAQKyis9aEhsaa6JC0i7YP2/s1600/Marriage-Story-2019.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1081" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_jWV8oaneo6WvvfS7azXkrZjGmWg4_jDj_CMHjRx9dP-eaZYL5iMUVE41aVxg3wbsc7gpej-_Y1RfjLOe2LXBGhw5y-pVa7tGP94W4T1ZUraNXB5iguLYRnAQKyis9aEhsaa6JC0i7YP2/s400/Marriage-Story-2019.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>I watched this movie called Marriage Story. It has good actors, that Scarlet Johansson and Adam Driver, and it's basically about two artistic (truly privileged) self centered people getting a divorce. It seems to aim to be a 21st century update of Kramer Versus Kramer and I also think it tried to compete with the infinitely more brilliant Ingmar Bergman movie Scenes from a Marriage.<br /><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/c4IYHAns4RU/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c4IYHAns4RU?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BHi-a1n8t7M/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BHi-a1n8t7M?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: right; float: right;" width="320"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div>I think this Marriage Story was well acted and had great extra's also but it was all in all a bit shallow perhaps. No great depth to the characters or their motives or the conversations. Very modern day, thus... But really good acting and it was also enjoyable even to see Laura Dern combat with Ray Liotta in the court room, both were delicious vile lawyers. But it never becomes very clear why these two really divorced. Johansson tried to make it known through ongoing repeating that he never really 'saw' her for who she was, never did whatever she requested from him. But then again she behaves like such a self centered, navel-staring nightmare herself, dragging her child to the other side of the United States and I won't spoiler everything else she does, but it comes down to two very self absorbed adults behaving like youngsters. I felt more sympathy for Him, simply because She was more insufferable. Best parts about the movie I'd say where the opening, the parts with Laura Dern (especially her explanation for why mothers in our Judeo-Christian culture are more harshly judged than fathers was great) and when Adam Driver starts to sing. </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJeRzNNUWmPbmBFSaoSQquudJ8nUQw1CZ9QK5RID5G8bOnu07_s9HPBWNXtQr5uqbMkJzRT7-8V-BrHYqgE0PhI_RhWLl5BRBR8iAdMqViMPyqPsTnw5D1XdxEU-2xHXF28R2GbbdiCvAB/s1600/SafeElectricAfricanwilddog-size_restricted.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="444" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJeRzNNUWmPbmBFSaoSQquudJ8nUQw1CZ9QK5RID5G8bOnu07_s9HPBWNXtQr5uqbMkJzRT7-8V-BrHYqgE0PhI_RhWLl5BRBR8iAdMqViMPyqPsTnw5D1XdxEU-2xHXF28R2GbbdiCvAB/s400/SafeElectricAfricanwilddog-size_restricted.gif" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe4FRiVE4xkXx9ZOXGWHJtxFhegpyhwfVX5ZOjLpu8FYMtaygt_cEY0bNWrarKc2NbWM-nxmrbZWqSwhmQqi2nrf3TlRZfPCZs1MeNO8zXs9sG8FxdScpbFpZvJ953ogloW-6b61Sy27VQ/s1600/giphy+%25282%2529.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="480" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe4FRiVE4xkXx9ZOXGWHJtxFhegpyhwfVX5ZOjLpu8FYMtaygt_cEY0bNWrarKc2NbWM-nxmrbZWqSwhmQqi2nrf3TlRZfPCZs1MeNO8zXs9sG8FxdScpbFpZvJ953ogloW-6b61Sy27VQ/s400/giphy+%25282%2529.gif" width="400" /></a><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">Joker </span></span></b><br style="font-size: medium;" /><span style="font-size: medium;">I also went to see 'Joker' by the way. It caused a storm of SJWs to protest, so I had to go see it for myself. See what all the fuss was about. As so often, a whole lot of ado about nothing, in the sense that it was a great movie I thought, and some reviewers' whining about 'unnecessary violence' was... just that; unnecessary whining. Wow, what a movie experience. I don't know a whole lot about the Joker character and his brand of nihilism, aside from the bare basics and having also seen dark Knight in the past, but think that I am 'getting' that he is some eternal adversary in popular culture. But this film went way beyond mere comic book homage. I liked it a lot, even though it was kind of... bleak. Almost the entire movie is watching life beat the mortal shit out of this guy. You do feel bad for him, which is what some people were protesting also. That we shouldn't humanize an evil archetype. That creating sympathy for the man does on some level serve to normalize or rationalize what he becomes, they say. Fuck that, this movie is about so much more than the Joker character. Joker is a terrorist, a kidnapper, a thief on a grand scale. He murders, and is generally considered to be the arch-nemesis of Batman. But I think this is a powerful non-PC movie about the way society deals with its less fortunate citizens, which is brutally. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">I also thought that it was a fantastic character study that speaks to the viewer in lots of ways, though the film itself is set in the 1980's. It focuses on the damaged ones and the callousness of our culture. Social anomie, and the way in which anger and (societal) abuse can give rise to the destruction of the mind and soul. I couldn't keep my eyes off of Joaquin Phoenix to be honest, such gripping acting. Phoenix is a phenomenal actor, superb, and it's rare (for me) to see such dark yet on point character studies in movies these days. It was a breath of fresh air. Joaquin Phoenix was the charismatic center. He shined brighter than anyone else would have in this role. I may have found the movie as a whole too dark and depressing with any other actor in the lead role (although someone like Thomas Hardy or Cillian Murphy may have done an equally thrilling job). As a friend pointed me to: it was beautifully written and filmed, especially when you consider the guy who made this movie is both the writer/director of Old School and Due Date, as well as the first director and creative influence behind Borat. Seriously, that is the guy that made the Joker.</span><br style="font-size: medium;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: medium;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiARPojqDuE1ybWyJX3EOBRuHRh5bVDrrBJov91foDr-WywBfcAoweHFZyA5o1AT195KzjIrat3icVbIK_b_Kfb9zReEbAbHe8RC7t6s-Y-2pMC-FqSEVCqZDQsadMwjQ-2a8vdgFcOYwkG/s1600/giphy+%25281%2529.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiARPojqDuE1ybWyJX3EOBRuHRh5bVDrrBJov91foDr-WywBfcAoweHFZyA5o1AT195KzjIrat3icVbIK_b_Kfb9zReEbAbHe8RC7t6s-Y-2pMC-FqSEVCqZDQsadMwjQ-2a8vdgFcOYwkG/s400/giphy+%25281%2529.gif" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-K-TTITxLj2yhlK2sOOkanIZfn3fofb19v3EwARZeHU8wuNMaUIVQbHJa5wbh0UEj4K7Dv4mD-Ht9flq3BlERNF0JZFynpq3M7zqKYw_uDZI6BNQzZWTtdNm-tlc-7r5tkcXICc6lV966/s1600/le-joker.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="500" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-K-TTITxLj2yhlK2sOOkanIZfn3fofb19v3EwARZeHU8wuNMaUIVQbHJa5wbh0UEj4K7Dv4mD-Ht9flq3BlERNF0JZFynpq3M7zqKYw_uDZI6BNQzZWTtdNm-tlc-7r5tkcXICc6lV966/s400/le-joker.gif" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: medium;">Some New York Times reviewer branded it a film on race and racism and blabbered about how if Joker had been black he wouldn't have "gotten away" with what he did. Seemed an obsessed race-seer to me, and totally besides the point of this movie, which to me was much more about what happens when cultural nihilism takes over a society, and strips value out of a culture. When only consumerism matters, creating a haves and have-not's situation, and how some people are then going to end up at the bottom. Isolated from everything and with no-one caring. That seems (?) to sum up America very well. The whole 20th century idea of consumerism. I was reveling in the movie tbh, just like the dark characters tend to appeal most to me anyway. If you aren't watching the tv series Peaky Blinders yet, there is another great protagonist with very dark edges. Also a great actor. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">I saw these excellent videos on the Joker movie, going into the psychological problem the Joker has. VERY good and simple straight forward analysis. I know such empty people... craving to be seen.<br /></span><br style="font-size: medium;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bSPOhTp5rgA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bSPOhTp5rgA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cB8eGClvE8s/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cB8eGClvE8s?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div></div></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyoHOjlfpXR36-LRVMrcTVh7LjeyvUoA2CkI5ZXAGFuaYbcVyDzz__70UOyykAT7og8YntRBoirY6PDRvuAbK5aYscarrYu9xA39MsjMuw5qPQ7-lv_HxNbWYg1RcgV6ervQ9wumdGCIfQ/s1600/famous-paintings-shown-in-a-totally-new-light_11.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="630" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyoHOjlfpXR36-LRVMrcTVh7LjeyvUoA2CkI5ZXAGFuaYbcVyDzz__70UOyykAT7og8YntRBoirY6PDRvuAbK5aYscarrYu9xA39MsjMuw5qPQ7-lv_HxNbWYg1RcgV6ervQ9wumdGCIfQ/s400/famous-paintings-shown-in-a-totally-new-light_11.jpg" width="315" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWlxzGvWCwrt0I7uPh8xyyPq4atStBA5Jc_hYxDy07M0txISCht7R5X15BILp0JRYiFu3mop6B5y0qdQoU6cq-6Wx7lVlxdME6F9CBG7LBxcjD4oDqgeVxlWNfmwHQE-_WPI16umZVr9GC/s1600/fatcatart-18.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWlxzGvWCwrt0I7uPh8xyyPq4atStBA5Jc_hYxDy07M0txISCht7R5X15BILp0JRYiFu3mop6B5y0qdQoU6cq-6Wx7lVlxdME6F9CBG7LBxcjD4oDqgeVxlWNfmwHQE-_WPI16umZVr9GC/s320/fatcatart-18.jpg" width="320" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">July 29th 2019</span></span></b></div>
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Had a rough week. Busy with friends and their kids, and then on Wednesday I contracted <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphangitis">lymphangitis</a></b> :( The friends had left the window open accidentally, so Piotr the cat escaped in the evening. When I got back to the house around midnight with one of the kids, I tried to get Piotr the cat, but while I tried to pick him up while he was already agitated (yeh, not wise of me) he was spooked by the kid coming up to him and as I was still holding him tight, he bit me really hard and deep in the arm. Not Piotrs fault but my own for not letting go of him, despite his hissing and wriggling and other signals. I didn't think much of it initially, rinsed some chlorhexidine on it, then later some antibiotic cream on the little bite mark and left it at that. The next morning, I saw that a red raised area had appeared around the bite mark. And within hours the redness started to spread and widen out. I decided to go to the GP with it after reading online that cat bites can cause infections sometimes, due to their sharp hooked teeth easily trapping bacteria deep in the arm. The GP was friendly, said he thought it was just some impact inflammation and that all would be fine. But he prescribed me some Augmentin antibiotics just in case the redness would spread further.<br />
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Within 24 hours I got a roaring infection. The redness got worse every hour it seemed and red streaks were forming all over my underarm. The next day I went back to the doctor, just to be sure as it spread so quickly. he said ai... yes that is infected. Lymphangitis; the lymph vessels in the arm had been infected with bacteria as well as the soft tissue around the small puncture wound and that's why it was spreading so quickly. In 24 hours or so my whole underarm was getting red in streaks and filling in more and more. Anyway, no worries, he would give me an additional antibiotic to take with the Augmentin, called pristinamycin, and said I should to to the ER in hospital once I got a fever. I lost my sister to sepsis so I was pretty worried and on high alert by then. Asked the doctor about sepsis risk with this lymphangitis thing and he said that yes that could be a complication of it, but that I would get a fever then. If the redness would spread further upward on the arm I had to go to the ER myself (it was Friday by then so the doctors office was closed over the weekend). Of course, it was just my luck that that night the redness spread even more and I had a temperature so we went to the hospital Friday night late, just to be sure. I was feeling sick in general by then, nauseous, brain fog, headache, well you never know how much of that was due to me worrying of course :)<br />
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The ER waiting room was full with families with children, elderly, people with head wounds. I had to wait an hour or so and was then seen myself. The emergency doctor said it was a pretty bad infection and that I most likely needed to get my arm cut open to have all the infection cleaned out or cut out. Or else it could turn into sepsis. I was taking the right antibiotics and penicillin already however she said, the GP did a good job there. I needed to come back to the ER at 9 AM on Saturday morning for this thing and then they would see what had to be done. Of course by then I started to freak out and started to wonder if I could get sepsis overnight, while sleeping and waiting for the 9 AM appointment.. In hindsight it is easy to think of myself as a bit silly with my hypochondriac tendencies, but I was honestly already passing round my head what the chances would be for me to have a case of resistant bacteria perhaps and die? I had been taking these very strong antibiotics and penicillin at the highest dose (6000 mg a day) for the past 36 hours already, so how come the redness had kept spreading so quickly, instead of it stagnating?? It was frightening. I am a bit of a control freak anyway when it comes to my health, so to literally see this swollen redness spread before your eyes was not easy. I didn't even dare to really sleep very deeply and kept checking every hour with the alarm clock if the redness had already gone to my upper arm and arm pit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOU81_7MkhlCvs-w12KtlGfbXURXtA8q-O8xPk5AJbyOzo6byl52lb0cKQ46W3Qp0lDNtFlZbbo2spa5O704NDBN5UucBeHP_WieWD2bmr-dHqbgJu9fluuzpFkCLcgYfx-MrSS-gikDT/s1600/fatcatart_17934471_231099020704506_5159440016778199040_n-5b162c4860f4a__700.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="700" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOU81_7MkhlCvs-w12KtlGfbXURXtA8q-O8xPk5AJbyOzo6byl52lb0cKQ46W3Qp0lDNtFlZbbo2spa5O704NDBN5UucBeHP_WieWD2bmr-dHqbgJu9fluuzpFkCLcgYfx-MrSS-gikDT/w268-h335/fatcatart_17934471_231099020704506_5159440016778199040_n-5b162c4860f4a__700.jpg" width="268" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvhSY3vfpSQ1iS7VKh80nw5uCJBTiqQB6CQbPCJbFktGZeFeBS-wPV8g9M8yzcU1oasmsB0-kDWC4hGFAUdhhKcEgegm_gn1O5KyQ1YZAHy0K6GIAjqlHo53OzHalMI7_hRSfLcC244IG/s1600/famous-paintings-shown-in-a-totally-new-light_10.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="677" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvhSY3vfpSQ1iS7VKh80nw5uCJBTiqQB6CQbPCJbFktGZeFeBS-wPV8g9M8yzcU1oasmsB0-kDWC4hGFAUdhhKcEgegm_gn1O5KyQ1YZAHy0K6GIAjqlHo53OzHalMI7_hRSfLcC244IG/s320/famous-paintings-shown-in-a-totally-new-light_10.jpg" width="269" /></a>So the next morning I went back to the ER again at 9 AM but was told there that it was a night of carnage there with some serious injuries so I could be seen a little bit later. It didn't take too long though. Then was prepared by a nurse who gave me an IV thing in my hand (painful, I don't think she put it in very well, it seemed to crush a nerve), and they took off blood samples. Two ER doctors then visited (handsome both!) and they looked at the arm and said yeh that's a complication of that cat bite, confirmed it is lymphangitis. The night ER doctor had last night discussed it with the specialist at work last night when I first went there, and said it needs to be surgically cleaned in the morning. But she made photos too and between midnight and 10:30 AM which is when these doctors saw me again, it had spread only about 10% further and seemed to have slowed down a bit. And I had a 38.5 high(er) temperature when I went to the ER the night before, while now gone down to 37.8 which they saw as a reassurance, as I hadn't been taking anything that reduced fever. No aspirin or NSAID medication or anything like that. So they wanted to see if these antibiotics/penicillin cocktail, at the highest dose may have finally started to kick in now. They said it was broad spectrum, so whatever bacteria caused this should be covered. They thought there is still a chance that the antibiotics could work but had been slow working for me for some reason. So I had to continue the meds and they also wrapped my arm in tissue soaked in medical alcohol, and I had to replace them regularly. That should help extract some toxins from the outside of the skin. Blood work was ok, there were no bacteria in the blood at that moment. Phew, relief. They said that if in a few days things weren't stabilizing or improving, and as soon as I got a fever or once the red streaks that now reached my arm pit would go any further upwards on my upper arm, I had to come back to the ER and then they needed to start IV antibiotics and cut and clean the area surgically. But that gives new possibilities for more infection from the wound, especially with my auto-immune problems and new inflammation created then.<br />
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So that was Saturday and by now, two days later, the redness is starting to reduce for sure. Phew, happy with that. My rosacea is also not too bad, I am a bit more flushy but nothing dramatic, despite the medication or spending 6 hrs in a hot stuffy hospital without fan or airconditioning.. Crazy stuff this though, all that from a cat bite.. The drs said, in some ways cat bites are more dangerous than dog bites. Dogs do more damage as they tear skin, but those wounds are more superficial and easier to clean and disinfect. Cat fangs carry bacteria and they are hooked and deposit those bacteria deep into the soft tissue, and then the blood often quickly seals it off again so you won't rinse it out as easy. With higher risk of these type of infections coming up rapidly and spreading from benign to even life threatening sometimes if the lymph system or blood supply is affected. If this ever happens again the junior dr told me on Friday night, I need to rinse the wound aggressively with water (hard running) or a disinfected syringe and to flush out the wound deeply, then letting it bleed a lot, then apply the disinfectant to it and then the most important thing to do she said, is to start immediately with preventive antibiotic pills. Before there is any sign of infection. Because then you stop it in its track. Hmm.. You need to have the antibiotics in the house already then I suppose, because waiting 8 hrs overnight for a doctor in my case was already problematic. It seemed just a harmless little puncture wound but within 8 hours the redness was spreading and spreading, then my underarm seemed infected for 2/3 or something. All within 2 days :/ I thought for a moment that my dear cat Piotr could have killed me haha. So that was a bit of a scare.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTzfqfHGrEfJyHjmhM4QB96iMgi0hY3uvSRR0hkUJh0EjUEyACZuKYO1gSv3SsoQpnvXVu0JDFRHT986PwxiD6hyGTztp4cwiU2rg3mCkXkz_5OUE-zswegC8sidqXHoJ9dd_JxvY3pca/s1600/fatcatart-42.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTzfqfHGrEfJyHjmhM4QB96iMgi0hY3uvSRR0hkUJh0EjUEyACZuKYO1gSv3SsoQpnvXVu0JDFRHT986PwxiD6hyGTztp4cwiU2rg3mCkXkz_5OUE-zswegC8sidqXHoJ9dd_JxvY3pca/s200/fatcatart-42.jpg" width="160" /></a><span style="color: #660000;"><b>Lymphangitis</b></span></div>
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<i>"If antibiotics are given without delay, the infection, inflammation, and redness will usually clear up within a few days. However if left untreated, the same bacteria that infected the lymphatic system can spread to the bloodstream. From there the infection can invade nearly any organ in the body. This widespread, systemic bacterial infection can quickly overwhelm the body's defenses and cause sepsis. Sepsis can be life-threatening. Lymphangitis can spread very quickly. In less than a day, it can become a medical emergency. If the red streaks begin to spread and once red streaks are seen leading away from the site of the broken skin or abscess, the condition is becoming serious and should be seen by a medical provider as soon as possible."</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOb2R7y_CVGxnXXkFw4tFm7K5IQfS7SFAofZcSvjCmrwwzWnb8QWicx6nOg2p1L1rWtkDxT5c36-hPFNSlsiYJJTNfboGvjoEWfi6J47hjpvUGpYHveaHzPHl9P5wBc4wYOshC-MKkZYZV/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOb2R7y_CVGxnXXkFw4tFm7K5IQfS7SFAofZcSvjCmrwwzWnb8QWicx6nOg2p1L1rWtkDxT5c36-hPFNSlsiYJJTNfboGvjoEWfi6J47hjpvUGpYHveaHzPHl9P5wBc4wYOshC-MKkZYZV/s400/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZxeaQChqwVLsG8j-XYcsMCH9O2FY4bIHS0_cV08SDSdvO1C6Eo4QGo5qQpeXGpcEaxezqvc_zdFW_tj1jJ_FN0Cc7IHwLD8RrgN5mL8Eq_6NbOe05VWyiPr-SO5x83Y58gc02rb9eSOA3/s1600/Titian-Venus-a-the-mirror-cat-1miniature.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="800" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZxeaQChqwVLsG8j-XYcsMCH9O2FY4bIHS0_cV08SDSdvO1C6Eo4QGo5qQpeXGpcEaxezqvc_zdFW_tj1jJ_FN0Cc7IHwLD8RrgN5mL8Eq_6NbOe05VWyiPr-SO5x83Y58gc02rb9eSOA3/s400/Titian-Venus-a-the-mirror-cat-1miniature.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #660000;"><b><span>While back home and reassured, I googled a bit about cat bites</span></b> </span>and found some information about cases where non-treated cat bites like the type I got, does lead to death. <b><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-48596508">Here</a></b> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3720010/"><b>here</b></a> for instance. And <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/one-third-of-cat-bite-victims-end-up-in-the-hospital/">this article</a> states that one-third of cat bite victims end up in the hospital. <i>"A study published in the February issue of The Journal of Hand Surgery showed that 30 percent of patients who had a cat bite on hand ended up staying in a hospital for more than three days on average. The dogs' teeth are blunter, so they don't tend to penetrate as deeply and they tend to leave a larger wound after they bite," senior study author Dr. Brian Carlsen, a Mayo Clinic plastic surgeon and orthopedic hand surgeon, said in a press release. "The cats' teeth are sharp and they can penetrate very deeply, they can seed bacteria in the joint and tendon sheaths. The researchers identified 193 patients who had went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. over the course of three years due to cat bites. Fifty-seven of them had to be admitted to the facilities, with an average stay of 3.2 days. Out of the patients who had to take a hospital bed because a cat gnawed on them, 67 percent needed cleaning and removal of dead, damaged or infected tissue. Eight of the patients needed more than one operation. </i><i>Other injuries including erythema, a redness or rash on the skin due to damage to deeper skin layers, and swelling were linked to a higher chance of needing a hospital stay. Complications were also common in these cases, especially for those who were bit over a joint like the wrist or a tendon sheath. People who were smokers and had immune system problems were also more prone to having additional issues from a cat bite. "It can be just a pinpoint bite mark that can cause a real problem, because the bacteria get into the tendon sheath or into the joint where they can grow with relative protection from the blood and immune system," Carlsen said. “It takes only a very superficial bite,” said Carlsen. “So, if you have symptoms, don’t ignore them.”</i><div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglvEj8vXmIq763B-r6og_pYf3RXYWKA-bKt_Z-6ys99aAEfXx2nNWSfMGniB4weNxc1tyizyt6MpRBUKTeOnyqO2pKNa7yqIUdAv4Fz8hIYUtu7BVfO1Z2pZzhTBhHPmENEHvBLVlct01J/s1600/famous-paintings-shown-in-a-totally-new-light_12.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="800" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglvEj8vXmIq763B-r6og_pYf3RXYWKA-bKt_Z-6ys99aAEfXx2nNWSfMGniB4weNxc1tyizyt6MpRBUKTeOnyqO2pKNa7yqIUdAv4Fz8hIYUtu7BVfO1Z2pZzhTBhHPmENEHvBLVlct01J/s320/famous-paintings-shown-in-a-totally-new-light_12.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMzavEsPjAHAFyuzjngINqBWTgh9hABBO4k7bJn5PjQnPduroHERj4cRByNUt9Shi59KNZWeikG7rNGK0E7cD1DtRlX0w09fXS1Kbw7K6ZrHEvUepcMkhfbvnfn8giNVyUN6jTcvQDNAdz/s1600/fat-cat-photoshopped-into-famous-artworks-9.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="800" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMzavEsPjAHAFyuzjngINqBWTgh9hABBO4k7bJn5PjQnPduroHERj4cRByNUt9Shi59KNZWeikG7rNGK0E7cD1DtRlX0w09fXS1Kbw7K6ZrHEvUepcMkhfbvnfn8giNVyUN6jTcvQDNAdz/s320/fat-cat-photoshopped-into-famous-artworks-9.jpg" width="320" /></a>And <a href="https://eu.rgj.com/story/life/wellness/2018/05/08/keep-close-eye-cat-bite-wounds/590632002/"><b>here</b></a> it is stated that: "There are various organisms that can be contracted from cat bites." "The most common are the same bacteria found in any skin infection: staphylococci and streptococci. These normally cause a cellulitis or superficial skin infection with symptoms of redness, pain, and puss in the wound. However, there are bacteria that are specific to cat bites, as well, and these can be serious, too. One of these is pasturalla, which can cause a superficial skin infection but can spread to the joints. Capnocytophaga is another and this bacteria can lead to an infection of the internal organs." "If any of these infections are left untreated they certainly can spread to the blood stream causing sepsis, organ damage and even death," said Torvinen. "Cat bites often show signs of infection very quickly — within the first three to 12 hours — so patients will want to check the wound frequently and seek medical attention early if redness or increased pain develops." Care Right After a Cat Bite - Because cat bites — and even scratches — can become serious, it is important to treat a wound immediately after a bite by stopping the bleeding, according to Torvinen. This can be done by applying pressure to a wound to help to get the blood to clot. The next step is to assess the extent of the wound and to make a decision about follow-up care. "If the wound is very large, such as 2 inches or greater in length, deep enough to see fat or muscle through the wound, the edges are not together, or it does not stop bleeding easily you should seek medical attention immediately," said Torvinen. "In some cases, bites or scratches require stitches." If the wound does stop bleeding and is not too large in size, following-up with normal wound care treatment is a next course of action, she recommended. This includes washing the wound out with plenty of water and then cleaning it with a gentle soap, alcohol solution or even a commercial wound wash. "This is the most important step in preventing infection," said Torvinen. "A bandage with triple antibiotic ointment should be placed over the wound to keep external bacteria out and the wound should be monitored daily for signs of infection." "The statistics show about 37 percent of moderate cat bites become infected," she said. "On average, I see five to 10 bites per year from various types of animals," she said."</div><div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis6SiJOs4Le7ZJOpCWA8OLeUszrVHxwT8ZFB4p0xxkeVrBWbkAgO4j6fyXs7PqLgU5HJ3ONp9HFk0NQkaYLmghjRX3TH1T7P-91tsui4MY1SRJicgYsjSV8WjM0eehPdyKrlEnbEgXdZu7/s1600/tumblr_ojdgxtiLNY1tbcxe8o1_1280.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="937" data-original-width="750" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis6SiJOs4Le7ZJOpCWA8OLeUszrVHxwT8ZFB4p0xxkeVrBWbkAgO4j6fyXs7PqLgU5HJ3ONp9HFk0NQkaYLmghjRX3TH1T7P-91tsui4MY1SRJicgYsjSV8WjM0eehPdyKrlEnbEgXdZu7/s400/tumblr_ojdgxtiLNY1tbcxe8o1_1280.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #660000;">And below the <a href="https://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2014/02/cat-bites-hand-can-cause-serious-infections-mayo-study-finds/">article</a> were many patient testimonials. I selected a couple: </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">Cat sitting</span></b></div>
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"I was cat sitting for my sister while she was on an extended vacation. She had taken my dog last summer while I was on vacation. The cat and dog did great together. To make a long story short, I was holding the cat when my dog put her nose in the cats butt. I am sure you all can guess the outcome of that. I was the loser. I was bitten in my left hand and knuckle with scratches across my face, arm, hand, chest and thigh. I was told by a co-worker that a cat bite can be dangerous and I should be seen by a Doctor. I went to the Urgent Care and was seen. I was sent home with antibiotics and was told if the bite started to swell, got red or hurt to go right to the ER. The Urgent Care Doctor said I would probably have “Cat Scratch Fever”. I had to giggle, thinking that was a Ted Nugent song. Boy was I wrong. Not only did I have a fever but the pain, redness and swelling started in less than 6 hours after being bitten. Feeling really stupid for going to the ER for a cat bite, off I went. Once there they put me into a room and started an IV of high dose antibiotics. From the time I was bitten to the time I was in the ER the red streaks had traveled past my wrist. After 4 hours in the ER, I had to be admitted for IV meds every 6 hours until this bite cleared. On the 3rd day of IV antibiotics given every 6 hours the infection was not clearing and a hand surgeon was brought in. The bite had penetrated the sheath of my knuckle. Surgery was the only way to clean the infection. It was done as an emergency basis due to how fast the infection was spreading into my hand and wrist. The surgeon had to clean out the knuckle and bite marks and put in a drain. My hand started to look and feel better. I was still kept for a 4th day due to the IV meds and pain management. 4 days in the hospital plus another week off work due the an open ” wound” where the drain was put in. A week later the drain came out and my hand started to feel better with less swelling. I am now back to work, but still have a little pain in my hand while typing. The hand surgeon said this could take up to 4-6 weeks to heal. Moral of the story~ Have ALL bites checked out !!! It could be a life or death situation. Or just stay away from cats."<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRjHdjHEUDDwB9I_WxgOompviBBh7wIOzm7xMIhBi7RPoA9SfQTFxEL1glrCobyKrKpjVHrESA1DbiuMTd_o-Ze_hGyp6bpwwwTCm9fe4EBzd_9NEc7vANVe1fX1yeE1Jen0ie-X8UQ3ME/s1600/famous-paintings-zarathustra-fat-cat-new-art-svetlana-petrova-fb5__700-png.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="700" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRjHdjHEUDDwB9I_WxgOompviBBh7wIOzm7xMIhBi7RPoA9SfQTFxEL1glrCobyKrKpjVHrESA1DbiuMTd_o-Ze_hGyp6bpwwwTCm9fe4EBzd_9NEc7vANVe1fX1yeE1Jen0ie-X8UQ3ME/s400/famous-paintings-zarathustra-fat-cat-new-art-svetlana-petrova-fb5__700-png.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3q6gc2klh6VLtfj2Sq4ux42NQcwhU2uPhp5mrUAs00eMaA4duibdxrPdhr8Pj6KgWuMwY3tR1SW8I4QweQXrf-Tq9TUZ63-94xz4a6mpC1RXIXJHpE8lN8BVDfilrwi7MBfFqooxKuPc/s1600/fatcatart-69.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="900" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3q6gc2klh6VLtfj2Sq4ux42NQcwhU2uPhp5mrUAs00eMaA4duibdxrPdhr8Pj6KgWuMwY3tR1SW8I4QweQXrf-Tq9TUZ63-94xz4a6mpC1RXIXJHpE8lN8BVDfilrwi7MBfFqooxKuPc/s400/fatcatart-69.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">This could have been written about me - </span></b>"Trying to get a feral cat out of my garage basement, I got bit. Went to the clinic first thing next morning, and got oral penicillin and an appointment next day to see a hand surgeon. By the time I got in to see the doctor, my hand was like the Pink Floyd song – a balloon. I was immediately admitted to the hospital and put on IV antibiotics for the next four days, with surgery on the third day. I was extremely lucky, as the bite was in the meaty part of my hand, next to the thumb. No joints or tendons were involved."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">Serious cat bite</span></b></div>
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"A month ago, my Siamese was sleeping on my lap, the kitten at my side. All was well for about 15 minutes when the Siamese launched herself at the kitten. I put my hand out to stop her and she bit right through the finger pad on my left middle finger. We squeezed it, ran it under water and put betadine on it. Next morning I went to get oral antibiotics as it was throbbing, within three hours of taking them my finger had swollen to the second knuckle and I went back to the doctor who admitted me for Intravenous antibiotics. Next morning it had tracked into my hand and I was taken for surgery as the area where she bit through had gone black. In total I had 4 surgeries, 2 procedures with morphine in the ward ( pretty gross) a week with a vacuum suction on my finger and a skin graft. I was in hospital for 3 weeks. I had the dressings off today and I need occupational therapy and a special protective dressing for my finger, oh and I still can’t bend the middle joint. So my advice to anyone with a cat bite, go straight away to hospital for treatment, I would hate anyone to go through this and I had it attended to within 12 hours of the bite. As a footnote, they grew Pasteurella Multoceda."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #660000;">I also wondered while in the ER what all those people in the waiting room may be there for... </span></b>What would be the top reasons to visit the ER? I assumed number 1 being trauma from accidents or violence or something like that, severe accidents. Then 2nd maybe broken bones and limbs. 3rd perhaps pneumonia or asthma or other respiratory infections. Skin infections would then probably not be all too common in the ER. <span>These are the actual the top 10 most common</span><span> ER visits:</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDcR9qv64lsAt-ZGG7c3lKAxlsh6QAploGBG0fPHiA96xBRqocwpFHGp2MnTGpZhPs2YUmje4eLcuIu8y3-oLXYESXXVFSc5d_tGVT6WjvVebxIRNetP_1UABRarNtU_nuaSLbuDVik6-2/s1600/fatcatart-22.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="1000" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDcR9qv64lsAt-ZGG7c3lKAxlsh6QAploGBG0fPHiA96xBRqocwpFHGp2MnTGpZhPs2YUmje4eLcuIu8y3-oLXYESXXVFSc5d_tGVT6WjvVebxIRNetP_1UABRarNtU_nuaSLbuDVik6-2/s400/fatcatart-22.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NN5tjrO8uceiOug5XJT566Mh5iXWsGu_uMVcXwaStxgua_io8J4JISEeKCxC-UZYOQnLdtg3p2cxuWTlFGY9929XXOCxBEryY9cohEPqDPo33q7s1l5q78u-hdXWMpVxgpQg5QzKbLs7/s1600/fatcatart-21.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="1000" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NN5tjrO8uceiOug5XJT566Mh5iXWsGu_uMVcXwaStxgua_io8J4JISEeKCxC-UZYOQnLdtg3p2cxuWTlFGY9929XXOCxBEryY9cohEPqDPo33q7s1l5q78u-hdXWMpVxgpQg5QzKbLs7/s400/fatcatart-21.jpg" width="400" /></a>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">1. Chest pain</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b><b>2. Stroke symptoms</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">3. Trauma</span></b><br />
A bad car accident, a fight that escalates, a fall, and more can all lead to traumatic injuries that require a 911 call and an ambulance trip to the ER. With a traumatic brain injury, vomiting, speech difficulty, and unresponsiveness are some of the most common symptoms.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">4. Sinus infection</span></b><br />
While a sinus infection seems simple, it can actually lead to something more serious that might require an ER visit. A bad cough can accompany a sinus infection, and if it’s not properly treated, it can turn into pneumonia. Plus, it’s not always easy to diagnose a sinus infection, so those who go to the ER for it might think it is something worse.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">5. Breathing difficulties</span></b><br />
An asthma attack, allergic reaction, heart attack, and more can all cause troubled breathing.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">6. Back pain</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">7. Injuries and accidents</span></b><br />
Anything from spraining an ankle during a basketball game to getting a concussion or breaking a leg in a car accident would fall into this category.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">8. Abdominal pain</span></b><br />
Abdominal pain that sends you to the ER might be appendicitis, a gallbladder infection, a hernia, or other serious problems affecting the stomach.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">9. Infections</span></b><br />
Infections encompass many things, from a urinary tract infection to a sexually transmitted disease to a skin rash.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">10. Lacerations</span></b><br />
Any kind of cut, wound, or puncture is the number 10 reason for yearly visits to the ER. Whether it’s slicing your finger instead of slicing the veggies or falling and getting a more serious puncture, lacerations are a big reason why adults and children alike end up visiting the ER during the year.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPCDHm5eNfcoUKrl0pqhbhDlm6MNR30Y2M3r7MhlZWgXMtqaehIR5wuq1vIHXP5TlfJU3KBX94xj_39VRCRI0tFIwXMC6b-Kwl5b78bHHQAhDh83XyQtIBBa9RFPh1NO8J-Uh58VcQPNb/s1600/fatcatart-3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="819" data-original-width="819" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPCDHm5eNfcoUKrl0pqhbhDlm6MNR30Y2M3r7MhlZWgXMtqaehIR5wuq1vIHXP5TlfJU3KBX94xj_39VRCRI0tFIwXMC6b-Kwl5b78bHHQAhDh83XyQtIBBa9RFPh1NO8J-Uh58VcQPNb/s320/fatcatart-3.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIqzWC6dUbJ6kOITev36lM10Sqoc27ZjhEr7rg8SMUYlcQsxzjLMbHlc5RTwk1if-b0QVEyGehGMu4Yt8L8uoGNbYVnHH_wnyuXoiWLkGhyphenhyphenaoCtkxwGGzPvl5tbimb4VP9fvvpbpXGl5kf/s1600/fatcatart-4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="924" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIqzWC6dUbJ6kOITev36lM10Sqoc27ZjhEr7rg8SMUYlcQsxzjLMbHlc5RTwk1if-b0QVEyGehGMu4Yt8L8uoGNbYVnHH_wnyuXoiWLkGhyphenhyphenaoCtkxwGGzPvl5tbimb4VP9fvvpbpXGl5kf/s320/fatcatart-4.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #660000;">But <a href="https://beaumontemergencycenter.com/ten-common-er-visits/">this site</a> has other statistics again.</span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="color: #444444;">1. Headaches</span></b><br />
The number one and the most common ER visit is due to headaches. They are the most common ailments amongst people and it stands to reason that headaches are the most common reason for a person to visit the ER.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">2. Foreign Objects in the Body</span></b><br />
Emergency room centers all over the world report that one of the most common ER visits is due to foreign objects inside the body. There aren’t any stats regarding the number of doctors that have to deal with foreign objects but a recent analysis has shown that there are roughly 1,500 deaths per year due to foreign object problems.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">3. Skin Infections</span></b><br />
Skin infections can cause abnormal reactions in the body and in the majority of cases they require urgent emergency care. A skin infection can also bring on other symptoms and can spread rapidly over the body in severe cases. Symptoms may include:<br />
Nerve damage<br />
Muscle weakness<br />
Lesions on the body<br />
Rashes and blisters<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">4. Back Pain</span></b><br />
Another increasing reason for visiting the ER is due to back related issues. Back pains or muscle strains in the back can be due to an accident or physical injuries while playing sports or by lifting heavy things. It was regarded as the number one reason for visiting the ER in the past, but the number has declined in recent years.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">5. Contusions and Cuts</span></b><br />
Cuts and contusions are one of the most common reasons why people visit the ER. They can occur through any activity and often require urgent emergency attention. The majority of cuts and contusions are due to accidents with a glass or a knife and in case of severe bleeding, a trip to the ER becomes necessary.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">6. Upper Respiratory Infections</span></b><br />
Infections and viruses are another common cause of people visiting the ER. The flu and common cold are fairly widespread diseases and unlike other illnesses, may require emergency treatment in severe cases.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5QyEetee7oROW948ObhJjJcxVwBfK9LHzXRbo0XS2FfI7P0JE57chgPYfnwR6rtEyG_AcAvWHl8z-9tr32qFAQxTXC9Eu2N8BLmQIzlrPLFFndtHfYuX1Zmh7BnLLNnina6CZd3WbHYcR/s1600/famous-paintings-shown-in-a-totally-new-light_5.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="684" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5QyEetee7oROW948ObhJjJcxVwBfK9LHzXRbo0XS2FfI7P0JE57chgPYfnwR6rtEyG_AcAvWHl8z-9tr32qFAQxTXC9Eu2N8BLmQIzlrPLFFndtHfYuX1Zmh7BnLLNnina6CZd3WbHYcR/s400/famous-paintings-shown-in-a-totally-new-light_5.jpg" width="272" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9oiXEnk2t9ILvNuD3SgaCrMmGPM_vYzJPGF1SSdqWs-LZ3dtoSTU8N-cbWKIeoR_SpZob14ADCWtfCFgeTZF2G5An68HSjCVM1A2IQWXvMfjkeErtdzEKSzw0N0DRz3v4_tokukqmMTI7/s1600/fatcatart-5.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="720" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9oiXEnk2t9ILvNuD3SgaCrMmGPM_vYzJPGF1SSdqWs-LZ3dtoSTU8N-cbWKIeoR_SpZob14ADCWtfCFgeTZF2G5An68HSjCVM1A2IQWXvMfjkeErtdzEKSzw0N0DRz3v4_tokukqmMTI7/w272-h341/fatcatart-5.jpg" width="272" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">7. Broken Bones and Sprains</span></b><br />
Broken bones and sprains are a common occurrence that can happen to any individual regardless of their age or condition. They can be caused due to accidents or twisting an area of the body while playing sports or other physical activities. Not all sprains require ER treatment although broken bones need to be looked at immediately, particularly if they pose a risk to other organs. Some key ways to determine if the injury needs medical attention are:<br />
Discoloration<br />
Swelling<br />
Visible bone<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">8. Toothaches</span></b><br />
Most people will not relate tooth-related issues with the ER, but an increasing number of people are pursuing emergency treatments when dentist offices are closed. The majority of patients report abscesses, and gum tissues problems.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">9. Abdominal Pains</span></b><br />
Around 2000 people visit the ER every single day due to abdominal pains. Most likely, bacterial and viral infections are the cause of abdominal pains. The culprit of abdominal pains can be a factor to several different diagnoses.<br />
Food Poisoining/Allergies<br />
Kidney Stones<br />
Stomach Virus<br />
Appendicitis<br />
Ulcers<br />
Irritable Bowel Syndrome<br />
<b><br /></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">10. Chest Pains</span></b><br />
Chest pains are one of the most common reasons why people visit the ER. Cardiac arrest situations are common in the ER and although chest pain visits are declining in recent years, still nearly half a million people die each year due to heart complications.</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><span>I'm also a bit into Spanish music at the moment after binge watching a great Spanish TV series called <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8297022/">The Pier </a>(Le Embarcadero in Spanish)</span></b> </span><br /><br />It has 'The Professor' from that other Spanish TV series I wrote about before, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6468322/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1">La Casa de Papel</a> and that actor is truly great. I love his smoldering looks and good acting. So there have been several good Spanish TV series made lately, all directed by Álex Pina. This one is too. Nice. Unfortunately trailers these days reveal way too much about the plot of the series, I liked going in without knowing anything, but here it is anyway for those curious for the series but not planning to watch it necessarily:<br />
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day</span></b></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">July 21st 2019</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7XtlXjRt5U5pICQIupYvAlwZV6_5rJwu44K8k_2sG-g9zohdeFAEeDjmmIW4Yq92OwzXeggXKID4vhF3ym8vxTrxwjgfKfPM_QtxkHDyhzGlz13kunIDGnkFLL6Obha87wWzO9k9Xdzt/s1600/e410d83df694fa55e8d98bb7a7a218a0.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="564" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7XtlXjRt5U5pICQIupYvAlwZV6_5rJwu44K8k_2sG-g9zohdeFAEeDjmmIW4Yq92OwzXeggXKID4vhF3ym8vxTrxwjgfKfPM_QtxkHDyhzGlz13kunIDGnkFLL6Obha87wWzO9k9Xdzt/s400/e410d83df694fa55e8d98bb7a7a218a0.jpg" width="295" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpm_2jMNXTwIc9v8lD_XZvX58AfOfqoK4FQlq0MVyM5WGlrSUmS3bRjntxmrhUbZ1vSijC_eOha0XTEMgA-_9xufgDm3aQkzPYZMQu-mknnI9mfB7PwjlBl6uZ9jEyOJk_fkkl9ucFuhKc/s1600/2559c344f995dd89b60434a8dc5c5dcc.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="500" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpm_2jMNXTwIc9v8lD_XZvX58AfOfqoK4FQlq0MVyM5WGlrSUmS3bRjntxmrhUbZ1vSijC_eOha0XTEMgA-_9xufgDm3aQkzPYZMQu-mknnI9mfB7PwjlBl6uZ9jEyOJk_fkkl9ucFuhKc/w295-h444/2559c344f995dd89b60434a8dc5c5dcc.jpg" width="295" /></a>Ugh its been just unpleasant the past months basically. The warm weather with alternating high humidity or very low humidity all pose their own challenges for my skin and face flushing and burning. It likes medium humidity and temperatures between 10 and 18 degrees best and above that temperature the burning is really triggered. And with the recent five summers all having broken warmth records here and mostly everywhere, summer is becoming more and more unpleasant. I run the airconditioning in the house if needed (which is often) and have ventilators to keep my skin calm. When I go out to meet people I have to insist on sitting in the shade and trying to avoid cakes and chocolates and all that stuff I like so much but that make the flushing even worse. Shopping and geese feeding are done at the cooler times of day. Its just a shitty time of year basically. I haven't been feeling very good either, not very productive. All round deflated and low on energy. Its been hard to motivate myself to work as normal, and I didn't even feel particularly motivated to finish watching TV series I started. Just meh.. Have a week with friends and their kids planned next week so I hope that will be manageable with my reactive skin. Its basically neurogenic rosacea what I have, with active subtype 1 on top. Even when my skin looks normal to pink (well lets face it, it never looks normal pale unless I have cold air blasting on it), my skin always feels tight, tingling or mildly burning. And as soon as a flush starts or my skin goes more pink to red, then my face feels really hot, burning and sometimes almost on fire. That usually means; back to an airconditioning and a cold pack too. <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html">Due to the medication I've been taking for the past 13 years</a>, the flushing has been really much better managed and I can function much better. But it's still far from normal and I wonder if my skin will ever just feel normal, non-present (the way it is supposed to feel; you don't think about it then). What helps me most are clonidine and mirtazapine (Remeron). The burning seems as hard to treat as the flushing, however. For the burning I used both plaquenil and gabapentin in the past. Gaba worked for 4 weeks for me, then made me flush terribly. Doc said that it can dilate blood vessels as a rare side effect to which my hyper-reactive and way too many blood vessels seem sensitive :( Plaquenil I tried on 3 different occasions and every time it made my eyes so extremely dry and painful that I couldn't go on. Saw an eye doc for it and seems I am too sensitive to that one as well. Oh, what luck. Remeron and clonidine are still doing a good job for me though and I take low dose propranolol too without any side-effects. Only the mirtazapine gives me side-effects unfortunately. Aside from wonderful sleep, disappearance of anxiety and better mood, it also causes weight gain. Which is a daily struggle for me, to keep that in check and to exercise and diet. I used to be able to eat a lot, my entire family is naturally skinny. I always ate more than my ex boyfriends and stayed slim, but due to this antidepressant, that is all a thing of the past. Its frustrating to suddenly have your digestion brought to a near standstill and I don't want to downplay this side effect. But other people I know who happen to take this same med do not necessarily have this eight gain problem. My dad takes it too coincidentally and hasn't gained an ounce. I wished I could find something as effective without the side effects but it is what it is and the pro's for me personally outweigh the cons. I read about people having IPL treatments and laser treatments but for me that is a passed station. I tried IPL several times and it made everything so much worse for me. Laser test patches didn't show any improvement either so I'm not risking it basically, despite the good patients results and reviews from others. Bleh, annoying to have to wait for the Next Big Break through. Which may take another few decades, at the rate we're going now.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHnb-NhckvS_mcca-fn04O1BVE4SYgbZqxTQHT_yF3qX-WxZSMNKzYSmqGXXboFAQH7CtfliQweh3o41a1yuQVHWWzeiVJPvnnBT-4FPRvI7S1p24ebVNUBO2pk94j_y8LwW_iM2F7bKNP/s1600/fbf306e64dc4ea5730da66633406d76f.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="409" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHnb-NhckvS_mcca-fn04O1BVE4SYgbZqxTQHT_yF3qX-WxZSMNKzYSmqGXXboFAQH7CtfliQweh3o41a1yuQVHWWzeiVJPvnnBT-4FPRvI7S1p24ebVNUBO2pk94j_y8LwW_iM2F7bKNP/w285-h418/fbf306e64dc4ea5730da66633406d76f.jpg" width="285" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2jwaEmXWg9PCdHQvCU04tknIswWjcpYYjYRcClAs5BFxrRymxT_chtmeLG-fzdFxtqJKv8s1G3X6vEPXR95chkLU4-CcdAuv9PTL3jOSTvFnzYtEiFfRYn7PxfEDSfuoSm83wXU2JFke/s1600/53426fbb16273bc82ab11b565500214a.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="503" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2jwaEmXWg9PCdHQvCU04tknIswWjcpYYjYRcClAs5BFxrRymxT_chtmeLG-fzdFxtqJKv8s1G3X6vEPXR95chkLU4-CcdAuv9PTL3jOSTvFnzYtEiFfRYn7PxfEDSfuoSm83wXU2JFke/s400/53426fbb16273bc82ab11b565500214a.jpg" width="286" /></a>A friend of mine suffers from the same burning skin due to rosacea; also got much worse after an IPL treatment that went wrong. He deals with friends who do not understand him and think that he stays inside to avoid being seen. That his problem is a psychological, a psychosomatic one. This is painful and insulting also because he tries to explain all the time that he is not hiding from public life due to how his skin may look. But because his skin (like mine and many like us) cannot handle heat, or many other triggers. We're not alone, one American friend of mine is housebound and doesn't even go out to pick up the post as its too hot outside... Another has her house full of airco's and fans and has it at 15 degrees Celsius and doesn't leave the house until November. I know many more stuck like us. Its so rare and so hard to see or understand from the outside, that some people just don't get it, especially not when they are not around you to actually to see the flare ups. How many times I have heard: "Oh the pinkness looks cute on you, just live your life." No that's not the problem... They clearly don't hear or read what I think I am trying to say all along.. Someone once wrote me:<i> "Life is too short to spend it dwelling on redness. Also, why in the midst of the splendor of life would you wish to yield to the mental imprisonment that is insecurity. Yes, the world overwhelms us with images that we need to have the 'perfect skin' to be happy, I put this in quotes because there is no perfect skin, but that doesn't mean we have to give in to this.</i>" I understand it is very well meant advise, but it goes past the whole message I am trying to give in this blog; that people with this subtype of rosacea are not just obsessing over how it looks. But are struggling with physical pain that flares up at the slightest trigger. Would you tell someone with trigeminal neuralgia or other severe nerve damage that they just need to get over it and live their life to the fullest? To be told it is basically all in your head is not very uplifting and factually beside the objective truth. For me the first years that I dealt with this shit, my parents and sisters all thought that I had lost the plot. Ánd the GP doctor too by the way. Because I just had rosy cheeks. It didn't look painful, so I must have exaggerated when I said that my skin felt like it was literally on fire, or severely sunburned. But you do not 'see' the nerve endings in the skin being inflamed or irritated, sending pain signals to the brain. Only once I started to go really very red during flare ups, did they come round and start to understand that yes, something was wrong here. Its painful to be taken for a vain fool. This lovely woman, I know her from social media also, is suffering severely of a condition that mimics our type of rosacea, only worse because she gets the burning and flaring up not just on her face. I showed it to friends and family at some point, so that they hopefully understand better what sort of daily stresses and pain people like us are going through. I do not have it this severe. But I live in the same way basically, even with half her symptoms. And the same goes for many others with this condition. Not something anyone would do unless there is a real physiological reason for it. </div>
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It's often well meant, but some people don't really listen or hear what we are saying about our health problem. So we need to understand it more, or better. If someone tells me or writes about having horrible burning face pain, and I would say: "Yeh but hey, look at the bright side; you are drop dead gorgeous!" Then that goes pretty much besides the point, and what does that mean to someone suffering deeply anyway? Nothing. In a way it is like people saying to me: "Oh I feel SO bad for you, having these medication side effects and not being super slim anymore, how <i>horrible for you</i>!" That's always coming from women by the way haha. I never heard a man say that to me. But then I say: well don't feel sorry for me, because I used to be stick thin and miserable to the point of struggling to cope with life, and now I feel much better and more normal again, my skin is burning a bit less and I feel so much better. Sure, now I have to look after my weight suddenly, which is a nuisance but not that big an issue for me. I am always surprised to hear these things from people relatively close to me, who know how bad things went at some point, and who know the pain issues I had. How come these people pick out of all this the conclusion that I am worse off now in a way due to one side-effect? (I know why; they are petrified to gain some weight themselves, and project that aghast onto my situation). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7fPGzatuNlOS1-y9AP-WvYxhCxNW0GTm7JjZU-LSkdOptfGg-mbik2KLoWkEPIHgpO4Y_F36zALwzeHhFh46iV8ClwN-eivG4egjE0ZRmG33FOydpIcqWqmnqhONbpURwlLvk1cfUgr0u/s1600/2147c9eafeb122a69163f4187905cd6f.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="564" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7fPGzatuNlOS1-y9AP-WvYxhCxNW0GTm7JjZU-LSkdOptfGg-mbik2KLoWkEPIHgpO4Y_F36zALwzeHhFh46iV8ClwN-eivG4egjE0ZRmG33FOydpIcqWqmnqhONbpURwlLvk1cfUgr0u/w284-h282/2147c9eafeb122a69163f4187905cd6f.jpg" width="284" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6YnrjbYOSsjZOZwl2wh4mgGvR124I_0Ws3bZBrL-TZUY2yZZadeei0RC5oEePo-wa83Jn-2CHjYdxEr2GfbSqVtebtzlS7RqMnnPn3eR5vSCjygvOTP3_WHpcqFF3NZzrwCC53EME8JmY/s1600/z2+-+kopie.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="492" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6YnrjbYOSsjZOZwl2wh4mgGvR124I_0Ws3bZBrL-TZUY2yZZadeei0RC5oEePo-wa83Jn-2CHjYdxEr2GfbSqVtebtzlS7RqMnnPn3eR5vSCjygvOTP3_WHpcqFF3NZzrwCC53EME8JmY/w285-h281/z2+-+kopie.jpg" width="285" /></a>Anyway. Is there some good news too perhaps? Yes there is some good news too. A wonderful and lovely lady from the USA emailed me not long ago and for some time as she was in the same boat as me; violent face flushing and burning. But there was a special pattern in her symptoms. Where I flush from warm temperatures, stress, sun, hot drinks and then a plethora of other triggers, every day of the month, she only flushed for 2 weeks out of 4. Which were the 2 weeks before menstruation. That is the time when progesterone hormones soar for us pre-menopausal women.<span style="text-align: center;"> </span><b style="color: #444444; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">And after trying everything, her doctor finally suggested that perhaps, she could be "allergic to progesterone"? </span></i></b>This is a rare thing but apparently not thát rare and the face flushing could be linked to it, the doctor thought. Now, her flushing was really quite profound, going by her photos; deep red, full face, very very painful and debilitating. It required cold packs and fans and the whole shebang. Because she is already in her mid to late 40's, the doctor agreed with a hysterectomy. No more progesterone hormones are released now by her body and she takes supplemental estrogen hormones, and I consider it a miracle but ever since the operation her flushing and burning and skin redness is as good as gone. Only drinking alcohol and very high temperatures caused a very mild pinkness once as far as I know, but the horrible bad flushing is gone. Now, I repeat that her trigger was only this progesterone hormone, linked to the last 10 to 14 days before period starts. But I like to highlight this amazing story, in case there are more women who may read this and who have the same specific flushing pattern as she had. It may be something to bring up to your doctor then, the possibility of this progesterone-induced rosacea.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbrAfQcItbwZglD3hEfKeTphyphenhyphenQFL4G9XgtrEHWJEJoRFrHXnLRM_hyH0dr3B9GtQOd8NjHmsCOcrUfd4kULmI6H1ey8e34qPQsrpIdU5w7iIaYdFeFABwzeAJMkce9ichkB0aPaP-mUuiC/s1600/d1tqlux-ee4afaa1-8a9c-4476-bd84-fdb76e371082.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="954" data-original-width="700" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbrAfQcItbwZglD3hEfKeTphyphenhyphenQFL4G9XgtrEHWJEJoRFrHXnLRM_hyH0dr3B9GtQOd8NjHmsCOcrUfd4kULmI6H1ey8e34qPQsrpIdU5w7iIaYdFeFABwzeAJMkce9ichkB0aPaP-mUuiC/s400/d1tqlux-ee4afaa1-8a9c-4476-bd84-fdb76e371082.png" width="292" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">July 17th 2019</span></span></b><br />
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I've also been digging through Fyodor Dostoyevski's book Crime and Punishment lately which was good and am wrestling through his last book - which was impossible to warm up to in my student days - The Brothers Karamazov now, and it is still quite dry but I'll persevere. A lot of theory about religion at that time (mid 1800's) in Orthodox Russia, versus the Roman Catholicism of the West. But interwoven is also the story of three brothers (2 with the same mother - Alexei (Alyosha) and Ivan (Vanya), one half brother Dimitri (Mitka) I'll add some quotes soon once I am a bit further into it. Back to Crime and Punishment. I read this book first as a student and it was good because the main character is a student too. Back then I loved the elaborate writing style and the "crimi" element of the story. It is about a student called Raskolnikov, who at the start of the book decides to kill his landlady. For specific reasons. Then a cat and mouse game starts with a detective and with people in his direct surroundings, and he has to keep up his feigned innocence. But he is not entirely of sound mind and the way you are written into the head of this antihero protagonist is fascinating. It's interesting how your perspective changes as you age, so reading it now, almost 20 years later (and older), I recognized some things again but also looked quite differently at the characters in the book and the dilemma's as they unfold. This time around, there are other things that struck me in this book. For instance, that it now seems to me that Dostojevski used the crimi/detective genre for his book, but that in fact.. he probably centered it around his theories about guilt and crime and punishment. There are sections in the book that read like a thesis almost, like a philosophical debate. But the Master makes sure to not let the theoretics of it all overpower the readability of the story. It's a tough read, but so good. He really can pull you into a story like so few authors can. After reading Dostoevsky its hard to read any other authors, many seem so juvenile in their writing. Well, a lot of authors have their own unique style of course, which is good too.. but I mean, read Crime and Punishment than pick up a Tom Clancy novel and it is like reading a book from 5th grade. What he does so well is creating extremely lively and life-like characters, with deep psychological layers to them, yet they seem extremely human. Not cardboard 2-dimensional protagonists and side figures, as seems the case in so many modern books I read. Also he takes a lot of time to create a very intricate psychological game, which never becomes predictable. It's a great book, one of my favourites, also after re-reading it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIq254JLjA5l52Ba-zh2D2R_C82kWCOtvZg-FH2awtaeKRDpovxHM0X2qIU_XZTvAjBMMyqyvDApPZJ7hiW4KlvqAsVjqHOwJSrVOMGQP1tPpHMntH3bYltw98FvZ7PgtAsSJKJouKU5QS/s1600/crimep11-400x266.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="400" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIq254JLjA5l52Ba-zh2D2R_C82kWCOtvZg-FH2awtaeKRDpovxHM0X2qIU_XZTvAjBMMyqyvDApPZJ7hiW4KlvqAsVjqHOwJSrVOMGQP1tPpHMntH3bYltw98FvZ7PgtAsSJKJouKU5QS/s400/crimep11-400x266.jpg" width="400" /></a>One example of an interesting (highly politically incorrect by today's standards!) theory from the book is the following. In the book, <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Raskolnikov wrote an article that got published, in which he divides all men into two groups: those that are ordinary and those that are extraordinary. </b></span>Ordinary men have to live in submission and have no right to transgress the law in his thesis, because they are ordinary. But extraordinary men have a right to commit certain crimes and transgress the law. Thanks to their extraordinary nature. Although extraordinary people are not always bound to breach laws etc. But, an extraordinary man has the right, an inner right, to decide in his own conscience to overstep certain obstacles. And only if it is essential for the practical fulfillment of his idea. An idea that sometimes is to the benefit of the whole of humanity. For instance: If the discoveries of Kepler and Newton could not have been made known except by sacrificing the lives of one, a dozen, a hundred or more men, Newton would have had the right.. (Raskolnikov thinks); would indeed have been<i> in duty bound</i>, to eliminate the dozen or the hundred men. For the sake of making his discoveries known to the whole of humanity. But it does not follow from that, that Newton had a right to murder people right and left, and to steal food every day on the market. All, well, legislates and leaders of men, such as Lycurgus, Mohammed, Napoleon and so on, were all without exception criminals, he continues. From the very fact that by making a new law, they transgressed the ancient one. Handed down from their ancestors and held sacred by the people. And they didn't stop short of bloodshed either, if that bloodshed, often of innocent persons, fighting bravely in defense of ancient law, were of use to their cause. It's remarkable in fact that the majority indeed of these benefactors and leaders of humanity were guilty of terrible carnage. All great men, or even men a little out of the common - that is to say; capable of giving some new word - must from their very nature be criminals, according to Raskolnikov. More or less, of course. Otherwise it is hard for them to get out of the common rut. And to remain in the common rut is what they can't submit to, from their very nature - again. And Raskolnikov thinks that such people ought to indeed not submit to the status quo and the general rut.<br />
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Simply summarized: some men are extraordinary; they have insights or talents that only very few humans have, and if they can invent, create or execute their talent in such a way that the whole or a greater part of humanity at least benefits from it, then they are also having more rights to break the law for it, Raskolnikov states. Think of great scientists who came up with scientific laws that marked the advancement of society. Or think of great leaders in war, someone like Alexander the Great or Hannibal, who were mighty visionaries who changed history and the way we knew how to do warfare. Well such men are rare, Raskolnikov says. The majority of people out there are wired in such a way that they want to <i>follow the herd</i>; do what mostly everyone else is doing, and as such they are not great changers of society, because they do not shake up the boundaries much. Whereas a small group of extraordinary men can not help to look outside the box and Raskolnikov debates that in order to come to change (may it be new and better laws, or a change of geographic boundaries, or a new philosophy, for instance), there are usually casualties made. Napoleon had many good soldiers from the opposition killed in order to achieve his great victories. Scientists had to make enemies and sometimes casualties too during their experiments and battled against what was considered 'the truth' at any given time in history. Raskolnikov thinks in this book, that the benefits which these type of people can bring, warrant the victims they make. Because those victims are mostly all ordinary men. Which in his view are.... interchangeable. Replaceable. Not unique. So for the whole of humanity, he rather sees more extraordinary men been given the space to do their great things, even if we have to sacrifice some ordinary men to get there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4nZBl7xVAZIepeaJ6mmQEjx5neyLU3CVDEFxFw_p6vdhrDunpuCmS22EbqAgsSzDr9lqzpNh-xixokIYO91m1dVSFuqAZXwJvaTFoKYKHyuqbcZR8v2izHywR1E3Aa6mJ6LZKgl6BWDZv/s1600/crime-and-punishment-176.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="477" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4nZBl7xVAZIepeaJ6mmQEjx5neyLU3CVDEFxFw_p6vdhrDunpuCmS22EbqAgsSzDr9lqzpNh-xixokIYO91m1dVSFuqAZXwJvaTFoKYKHyuqbcZR8v2izHywR1E3Aa6mJ6LZKgl6BWDZv/w298-h477/crime-and-punishment-176.jpg" width="298" /></a>he rather gives up a 100 lives to spare the 1 life of the genius amongst us. For the greater good. That is seen as a mind boggling concept in the book by some others, who think that every human being, regardless of his or her IQ, capacities and level of brightness and inventiveness, has the same human value and rights. They think it immoral to make such a distinction. Raskolnikov is thinking practically however, and not ethically (and in the book he becomes fairly deranged soon after.. Or maybe he is already when he states all this haha, that is something the author lets you decide on). But it is an interesting dilemma, one you see throughout real time and history as well; would you be willing to sacrifice some, to save more? Would you give up 10 people to save a 1000? Practically: terrorist organizations like the IRA in northern Ireland, or the ETA in the north of Spain, felt that their goal was more important than the individual lives of some. They fought for independence and survival of either culture or ideology, and were willing to bomb and kill <i>innocent</i> victims from the opposition to achieve this higher goal. Some only targeted military men from the other opposing party, but others also bombed civilians; people who had nothing to do with it all and were just doing their weekend shopping, or traveling to work in a train. Their human rights were sacrificed, in order to gain power as a negotiation party. I wouldn't have wanted to be one of those victims. But had these parties just protested peacefully with some signs in front of buildings of those in power, one could argue that they would never have achieved much, sadly enough. That is the awful reality. Same with an organization such as FARC in South America most likely. In order to become a faction that the opposition will feel the need to negotiate with, there must be something on the table first. In these cases: an attempt to stop the bloodshed, often with concessions and giving in to some of their real, political demands. Raskolnikov, had he (and thus his creator Dostojevski) still been alive today, would have most likely argumented that the bigger goal of these organizations (independence for the Basques, a better balance between the rights of Protestants and Catholics in Ireland) would have been a worthy bigger cause, and would indeed have warranted the human lives that were taken en thus sacrificed in the process. But Raskolnikov was slightly crazy... What also hoovers above the story is the question whether or not the poor student Raskolnikov actually counts himself as one of those geniuses with extra rights. Considering he killed an old greedy landlady, thinking there was some greater good to this. Important to add that this fictional character Raskolnikov is quite an arrogant and at times delusional man! He is not some heroic protagonist, although some might see that in him anyway, as he is ruthlessly honest and does not follow conventions when it comes to... well mostly everything haha. That makes an interesting anti-hero. I couldn't get enough of him but I like the villains in books, movies and TV series in general.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfh8jRUy7BwiJBKUWTUz0H4sTsHcCBDLdkpKDgHeyJPd1KwqL6ICneNdqSuJFjk4-Idck1n5u372YtX8qeW6IIMWpBThi1NDqz1T_-HSvVoFeUu01vdLopjgST2RPGlcbebewxaLEG9UC/s1600/download+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="193" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfh8jRUy7BwiJBKUWTUz0H4sTsHcCBDLdkpKDgHeyJPd1KwqL6ICneNdqSuJFjk4-Idck1n5u372YtX8qeW6IIMWpBThi1NDqz1T_-HSvVoFeUu01vdLopjgST2RPGlcbebewxaLEG9UC/w301-h410/download+%25282%2529.jpg" width="301" /></a>In the book, Raskolnkov continues to say that his division of humans into ordinary and extraordinary people might indeed...be a bit arbitrary. But that he does not insist on exact numbers. He just beliefs in his leading idea that men are, in general, divided by a law of nature into two categories. -<i>Inferior - ordinary</i>; they are material that only serve to reproduce its kind. In other words; the majority of humanity, who do nothing special during their lifetime and follow the predictable path of finding ordinary jobs, making a couple of ordinary kids and then retiring; these days with a camper or something along those lines. People in this category (the majority of humans) are conservative in temperament, and willing to respect and follow the law. They live under control. And they - deep down - love to be controlled; be told what to do and how to do it. One might even say that it is their duty to be controlled, because that is their vocation and there is nothing humiliating in it for them. <i>And then there is a small group of men who have the gift of talent</i>; to utter a new word. There are several subdivisions of these gifted men, but their distinction is well marked. Men in this (smaller) category all transgress the law; they are not mere followers, but instead destroyers. Moving towards destruction, according to their capacities. The crimes of these men are relative and varied; for the most part they seek in very varied ways the destruction of the present, for the sake of the better. If he has to step over a corpse for the sake of his idea, or wade through blood, then he can find within himself and within his conscience the justification for wading through blood or stepping over corpses. It does depend on how grand and important this idea he has is for humanity. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>So the more important their ideas are, the more of a right to crime they have in Raskolnikovs view. </b></span>Their achievement is so important for humanity as a whole, that people may be sacrificed for it. Legally, at least. Of course, this legal right will not be put into action normally, as the masses do not see it that way, and in reality rather hang or kill such visionaries for breaking human laws. And this is to be expected from them, as these are ordinary men, who are conservative by nature and law abiding. So they are very willing to be the executioner of these laws they hold so dear. But.... the surreal thing is, that these same ordinary men, the same masses, set these 'criminals' on a pedestal in the next generation! Once it dawns on them what greater ideas they had at the time. And then they worship them more or less. (Examples I can think of now: Jesus Christ. Lenin. Monet, Van Gogh, Ghandi? Che Guevara.etc). The first group, the ordinary men and women, is the group of the PRESENT, therefore. The second group, the extraordinary men and women, is the group of the FUTURE. The first group preserves the world, the second group moves the world, and leads it to its goal. Each class has their own right to exist. But, to speak with George Orwell; "All animals are equal. But some are more equal than others." Another point of discussion in the book, is that some of these extraordinary visionary people are executed in their lifetime by the masses. But others survive, and not rarely start executing people themselves then. Not the artists or scientists usually, but the warlords and political leaders of the past surely did, as well as the religious leaders.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQAbSbUT99sOEKziRrEosjvpG_lpC3QxycEC0I5PJAaakLb1cSsjuRjTvCQjSW3I94xrZgLxGlaHQPs88WXEEfxvPzReoJBstGV72qrEVmWb5Otz39dUIKIOHaPqKs86KLDKmjxrzwec6/s1600/87825-83772.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="386" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQAbSbUT99sOEKziRrEosjvpG_lpC3QxycEC0I5PJAaakLb1cSsjuRjTvCQjSW3I94xrZgLxGlaHQPs88WXEEfxvPzReoJBstGV72qrEVmWb5Otz39dUIKIOHaPqKs86KLDKmjxrzwec6/w416-h302/87825-83772.jpg" width="416" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">But how do you distinguish these <i>extraordinary</i> people from the ordinary ones? Are there signs</span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;"> of it at their birth?</span></b> Are there no clear external definitions? Given the amount of privileges they are given... ("How about a special uniform for them?", asks the opposed man, not without sarcasm). And what if an ordinary person wrongly imagines he belongs to the other group? Not a rare thing either... given how many people deem themselves extraordinary, even if there is no evidence to support this. Raskolnikovs discussion partner is constantly playing the devils advocate in their dialogues, giving the author free reign to explain all angles of this idea. Raskolnikov says that this mistake of identifying with the wrong subgroup, can only happen in the first category of ordinary people. Even though these people are predisposed to be obedient, some of them (through a playfulness of nature) like to imagine themselves to be advanced people, destroyers. And to push themselves into the new movement, and this quite sincerely. Meanwhile the really New People are very often unobserved by them, or even despised as reactionaries with groveling tendencies. But Raskolnikov sees no real danger into some ordinary men pretending to be extraordinary ones. Because they never go very far. They may get a thrashing sometimes for letting their fancy run away with them and to teach them their place, but no more. And even a trashing isn't really necessary, as they castigate themselves, for they are very conscientious. "It is a law of nature..." The opponent goes on: <i>"And are there many people who have the right to kill others...? These extraordinary people? I am ready to bow down to them, of course.... But you must admit that </i><i>it is alarming if there are a great many of them, hmmm?</i>" Raskolnikov tells him not to worry. People with new ideas or the faintest capacity for saying something new, are extremely few in number. One thing only is clear; that the appearance of all these grades and subdivisions of men, must follow some law of nature. That law of course is unknown at present, but Raskolnikov is convinced that it exists... one man out of a 1000 is perhaps extraordinary, with a spark of independence, he thinks. Or no, 1 in 10.000 perhaps approximately, is born with some independence. And those with greater independence come down to 1 in a 100.000 people. The men of genius is one of millions. And the great geniuses, the crown of humanity, is perhaps one in many thousand millions. In fact, there must be a definite law. It can't be a matter of chance. Another friend joins in: <i>"So you sanction bloodshed in the name of conscience?? What fanaticism. More terrible in fact than the legal sanction of bloodshed."</i><br />
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The devils advocate has one last, sarcastic, question then: he worries about some youth mistakenly thinking they are the new future version of Muhammad or Alexander the Great, and in thinking so, assumes he has the right Raskolnikov has mentioned before; standing above the law. And what if he starts removing all obstacles to achieve his dream position of the new Muhammad? Yes, Raskolnikov says: the vain and foolish are prone to fall into that trap yes. Young people especially. But that's not Raskolnikovs fault, he thinks. That is how it always will be, with such brazen youth being misguided. But society is well protected with many prisons, legal punishment, criminal investigators, judges. Penal servitude. There is no need to be uneasy, therefore. All you have to do is catch the thief. And if you do, he gets what he deserves. And most men will suffer also through their conscience. As well as the prison. But the real geniuses, those who have the 'right' to murder; he will also suffer if he is sorry for his victim. "<i>Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a person with a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men, I think, must have really great sadness on earth."</i><br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0wJeI6T_jlayKxdYeSMMtJ_dfQsiW8POVxarbX7883-pupflQB333D0piNq4t2n9ofD7S9zx_3MZvPzfm217xKK2XNvTyDPCuV7wsMJRu7TyTA7j1zNVTeT0y9Rw3Y8HDgILG5Ou7r6nV/s1600/dostoyevsky1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="600" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0wJeI6T_jlayKxdYeSMMtJ_dfQsiW8POVxarbX7883-pupflQB333D0piNq4t2n9ofD7S9zx_3MZvPzfm217xKK2XNvTyDPCuV7wsMJRu7TyTA7j1zNVTeT0y9Rw3Y8HDgILG5Ou7r6nV/w286-h359/dostoyevsky1.jpg" width="286" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHI1GB7qrtCQYqad6z02R6Cw2wZqkfDb90UQgpiyh-eRMqu-Pm2UV-NqL1zLnqOHF6DW0l_-T_hliCjQOLJk4nQU0lkxPgZOMwdMlpX8xgocjw46rkuMWrO47mUIrbzJKQNUPVJTbPFfPk/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="181" height="445" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHI1GB7qrtCQYqad6z02R6Cw2wZqkfDb90UQgpiyh-eRMqu-Pm2UV-NqL1zLnqOHF6DW0l_-T_hliCjQOLJk4nQU0lkxPgZOMwdMlpX8xgocjw46rkuMWrO47mUIrbzJKQNUPVJTbPFfPk/w287-h445/download+%25281%2529.jpg" width="287" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">Oh and a last short bit from the book, a scene I liked </span></b>-The detective tries to catch Raskolnikov making a mistake. He asks him cunningly if he saw the two painters when he visited the old landlady, which was two days before her murder. Raskolnikov thinks for a moment and then answers "No". However, he did see them, on the actual day of the murder, as he was the killer (I'm not spoiling anything by revealing this as it is what becomes clear at the start of the book; what unfold afterwards is the story). But if he had answered "yes" instead, the detective would have said: "Aha! The fact you have seen the two painters must mean that you were present on the day of the actual murder, two days later. As they were not working on the days prior!" Raskolnikovs friend, who at this point knows nothing yet, says to him that he found it a weird question by the detective. Raskolnikov tells him that it was a trap, to which the friend replies: "How was that a trap? You say that the question about the workman was a trap, but if you had DONE thát <murder of the old woman>, could you have said you had seen them painting the flat? And the workmen? On the contrary, you would have seen nothing. Even if you had seen it. Who would admit it against himself?" Raskolnikov (speaking with reluctance and some disgust) tells him then: "If I had done that thing, I should certainly have said that I hád seen the workmen at the flat." Friend: "But why speak against yourself?" Raskolnikov answers: "Because only peasants, or the most inexperienced novices, deny everything flatly at examinations. If a man is ever so little developed and experienced, he will certainly try to admit all the external facts that can't be avoided, but will seek other explanations of them will introduce some special unexpected term, that will give them another significance and put them in another light. Porfiry Petrovitch might well reckon, that I should be sure to answer so, and say I had seen them to give an air of truth, and then make some explanation." Friend: "But he would have told you at once; that the workmen could not have been there two days before, and that therefore you must have been there at the day of the murder at 8 o'clock. And so he would have caught you over a detail." R: "Yes.. That's what he was reckoning on. That I should not have time to reflect, and should be in a hurry to make the most likely answer. And so would forget that the workmen could not have been there two days before." Friend: "But how could you forget it?" Raskolnikov answers finally: "Nothing easier. Its in just such stupid things that clever people are most easily caught. The more cunning a man is, the less he suspects that he will be caught in a simple thing. The more cunning a man is, the simpler the trap he must be caught in."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicL7fGjjSyjItgVKyzissJ1XhnhQX7Hb8m0TIB8i-xy198x3MYbo9FWQyD-78FCMTHdrVvMGSXmCpegDS5dVlQ8Lt3y5zyN-XekvI-0LO56z_vTX6NDwLQDThIYRqkw3mP8fNUSXhMoxxf/s1600/notdostoyevski.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="271" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicL7fGjjSyjItgVKyzissJ1XhnhQX7Hb8m0TIB8i-xy198x3MYbo9FWQyD-78FCMTHdrVvMGSXmCpegDS5dVlQ8Lt3y5zyN-XekvI-0LO56z_vTX6NDwLQDThIYRqkw3mP8fNUSXhMoxxf/s320/notdostoyevski.jpg" width="265" /></a>What becomes clear in the book I think, is that what makes being human so extraordinary, is that we can understand our own suffering and by doing that we can understand others. We are given the apple of knowledge so that we can overcome suffering, but at the same time, we know it exists on a deeper level. Animals are constantly at risk of suffering...never knowing if hey will eat, always on alert for predators, but they live in the now. Now is all that counts, may it be suffering or contentment. We on the other hand can feel joy and excitement in looking forward in time, or melancholy and sadness in looking backwards. This can play against us in the sense that since we know what suffering feels like and what causes it, we can also know how to hurt others. And since we know that when we hurt we are more apt to doing whatever it takes to get out of it, we can persuade others to do what we want them to do, if only we could find the right way to make them suffer. But we are also the only animals (probably) that can transcend our death while we are alive.. Not through artificial intelligence, like Silicon Valley is trying to do, but though our minds. Or by writing a great book about all this.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>But the real geniuses, those who have the 'right' to murder; he will also suffer if he is sorry for his victim. "Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a person with a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men, I think, must have really great sadness on earth."</i></span></div>
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**I admit that I do love that last quote. And I wondered sometimes myself if people with a sunny character and an intelligence level that is not abnormally high, are therefore not being hindered by endless minds questions about the universe and existence, and might in fact be the happiest humans of them all? I doubt many cats for instance reflect on what happened to them before birth, or what will happen to them after death. Or what 'legacy' they must create while being alive. Of all the creatures that have walked the earth, humans and our direct ancestors (Neanderthals perhaps) must have been the only ones with brains as developed to reflect on oneself and on abstract concepts like life, death, meaning and destiny. It is almost a cruel trick by some invisible God: you give them a beautiful planet to explore, other human beings to love and interact with, animals to surround you, the sun that shines, etc. Yet you also give some the predisposition to constantly reflect on their own mortality. What a party pooper! It probably did spike many people before us to do something excellent with their life. Create things, compose music that will stand the teeth of time. Books, inventions. If death wasn't chasing everyone of our shadows, would anyone be as pressed as we are now to do things, make things?<br />
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">July 16</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">201</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">9</span></span></b><br />
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This made me crack up today, its from the 90's I think so from the time where people didn't cry about being offended about everything and anything. Made for great humour, especially coming from the English. Well, not everyone's cup of tea probably..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTzYErQCQWffmtk8nDG2Vk7Ry0ZMm14AYXA-w61s_gI5Lx9S78Ol5Sb_dCW9Cf1V6Wj74inyzD1sDGmy-_5QHJES9whg_-qOO0_WkvlV37J3sHRyVV1Tm6qFFaOmfB2iOW0BsY5fNSEDQ/s1600/source.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTzYErQCQWffmtk8nDG2Vk7Ry0ZMm14AYXA-w61s_gI5Lx9S78Ol5Sb_dCW9Cf1V6Wj74inyzD1sDGmy-_5QHJES9whg_-qOO0_WkvlV37J3sHRyVV1Tm6qFFaOmfB2iOW0BsY5fNSEDQ/s320/source.gif" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPDw4PgUMj8_s2kIpJmKnzGBidtWiXfvmRHJRTyr907N0vqng9tPFBD5_7zF1515tpFJjaXGBja-UX_GbTGeaaWwg2N5_Ip49crSlca5GQxYc43QC50uYzRVqABOUmP_0yK20l21ZZY4q/s1600/16030566-0-image-a-58_1563111078236.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="962" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPDw4PgUMj8_s2kIpJmKnzGBidtWiXfvmRHJRTyr907N0vqng9tPFBD5_7zF1515tpFJjaXGBja-UX_GbTGeaaWwg2N5_Ip49crSlca5GQxYc43QC50uYzRVqABOUmP_0yK20l21ZZY4q/s320/16030566-0-image-a-58_1563111078236.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtMITpP8tJr09Qbdtpl4zRP9oi8R7uIL5AXMg9tTbbN9GCORwFFTBZp3xy1umg8BzNjSunj7VriGJUyom0SOHTTKym5t0NCm9SDa4vfQckCCTrnqRvd-kz6pj7ZPgJ0zjX5xOK4T068ve7/s1600/980+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="980" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtMITpP8tJr09Qbdtpl4zRP9oi8R7uIL5AXMg9tTbbN9GCORwFFTBZp3xy1umg8BzNjSunj7VriGJUyom0SOHTTKym5t0NCm9SDa4vfQckCCTrnqRvd-kz6pj7ZPgJ0zjX5xOK4T068ve7/s320/980+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">July 15</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">201</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">9</span></span></b><br />
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Waaahhhhh, watched so much great tennis the past few days. Best skip this if you happen to find tennis boring. But the Wimbledon men's semi finals and yesterdays men's final were just fantastic. I'm a big Novak Djokovic fan so wasn't impartial. I love Djokovic and followed his grand slams since... he started I guess. Wonderful player, he is like a jaguar in the field. His semi finals against Spanish Roberto Bautista Agut was already very good and nerve-wrecking. And Roger Federers semi final against Raphael Nadal was also great. But the big one was today. I remember watching the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Wimbledon_Championships_%E2%80%93_Men's_singles_final">2008 Wimbledon finals</a> live too at the time, and it had Federer play a young Nadal, when Rafael won his first grand slam title on grass. Epic battle of two giant tennis players with unbelievable tennis, lasting 4 hours and 48 minutes. Well this years final was almost as good, and lasted even longer - a new Wimbledon record. It turned into an instant classic, and it ended with a 122-minute deciding 5th set, that culminated in a first singles tie break at Wimbledon**. It was that close after 5 sets.<br />
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Extraterrestrial tennis in a blood-curdling marathon of almost five hours. And with a heartbreaking outcome for Roger Federer after two match points. Probably his most painful defeat ever on Sunday, as the margins were so very close. Beforehand, it seemed an impossible mission for Federer to defeat both Nadal and Djokovic for his ninth grand slam title at Wimbledon. But then there was the moment of glory, when Federer forced two "Championship Points" (match points) in the fifth set. The Center Court, with the audience being unfortunately massively on Federers hand, was heaving like a ship on high seas, with mostly all the spectators screaming for the old Swiss king to show one more ultimate masterpiece. All those London puff toffs with their Swiss bank accounts supported the Swiss player, forcing Djoko to mentally be the stronger one against FedEx more or less playing a home game. Before those two match points for Federer, Djokovic and Federer had already played a blood curling first set, which ended in a tie-break. Federer made some fantastic points, looked at a 3-5 lead in the tie-break, but then made several (un)forced errors, allowing Djokovic to win the tie-break. The BBC commentators (Boris Becker and Tim Henman among them) kept saying to their audience that Federer played his best tennis, showed perfect tennis all round, but in reality he had a strong service but made too many unforced errors on the return. Brilliant drop shots were alternated with simple errors and imprecision. Djokovic simply made less mistakes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkILBnmAlBQ89r0lT1n8J5XeKxbLvria4rtXZU-lHehxb5iNfGTKDsTZTdrzjhgBxcqPTCJGXSbqzD3PuAy8Ero6-esVNkC8emISNPgnDU_G_OLaawC3E1Tu8PsQu5pvi9SRm0LeUc02-K/s1600/giphy+%25282%2529.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkILBnmAlBQ89r0lT1n8J5XeKxbLvria4rtXZU-lHehxb5iNfGTKDsTZTdrzjhgBxcqPTCJGXSbqzD3PuAy8Ero6-esVNkC8emISNPgnDU_G_OLaawC3E1Tu8PsQu5pvi9SRm0LeUc02-K/s400/giphy+%25282%2529.gif" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqOJ26Nr__zCFhhZuBy_z1wRuyjaI_gTP-Y97PYNKaw4l9SR-ulmieS1B48yQlvWr-Q2ccV6cynq3FAIUWXMaT3D1iZMXPrsZRVCzRc7Sg17PM2PH0w-S594-aFkQTkLnE_ftYBE3oqFF/s1600/giphy.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqOJ26Nr__zCFhhZuBy_z1wRuyjaI_gTP-Y97PYNKaw4l9SR-ulmieS1B48yQlvWr-Q2ccV6cynq3FAIUWXMaT3D1iZMXPrsZRVCzRc7Sg17PM2PH0w-S594-aFkQTkLnE_ftYBE3oqFF/s400/giphy.gif" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6eh9wUCcd_h4NkUMvHo5xMNcXberp83gYJ67HHUDtffgnzvecrnN_liqfeP3lIPA0pkcRgFUYCiDjULoMSBKyOYTPKORXFOT46pMw3MSayRp6ZOhgVkFZBQEdwArzRZ063OGfxr9IMUwY/s1600/giphy+%25281%2529.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6eh9wUCcd_h4NkUMvHo5xMNcXberp83gYJ67HHUDtffgnzvecrnN_liqfeP3lIPA0pkcRgFUYCiDjULoMSBKyOYTPKORXFOT46pMw3MSayRp6ZOhgVkFZBQEdwArzRZ063OGfxr9IMUwY/s400/giphy+%25281%2529.gif" width="400" /></a>Then the second set Djokovic seemed in a daze and before he knew it he lost two of his services, looking at a 0-4 backlog. Soon it became 1-5 and Djokovic seemed to have already given up on this second set. He seemed absent minded, perhaps due to the sensational bias of the Wimbledon audience, who for the most part cheered on Roger Federer. Very uncomfortable to watch to be honest, as Novak is not only a friendly charming man who builds local schools in his home country of Serbia, but also one of the greatest tennis players of all times, <i>making</i> that Wimbledon finale right there and then. In front of a very undeserving crowd. Luckily he regained his control on the game in the third set. At 4-5 Federer had a set point, under load roaring from the grandstands, but he squandered it and allowed Djokovic to come back with 3 simple points. Federer chose a mix of slice and top spin on the backhand to disrupt Djokovic's game. It worked against him more often than not however, especially at the "big points" in this sublime battle of the titans. Then Federer did not dare to tackle Djokovic's second service and opted for the safe slicer return. Federer always makes the same mistake. He is too passive after already having made great points at the net. His attack modus is simply too often switched off. The same thing happened in his lost Wimbledon finals against Djokovic in 2014 and 2015. Djokovic is a superb 'goalie' in the backfield with his elastic wrists and also has the best, double-handed backhand. Give Djokovic a millimeter of space and he finds the emergency exit, even when he is facing two match-points against him. As soon as Federer reverses back, he loses his hard earned points. Every service turn was won by Federer; Djokovic did hardly ever break his service all match. But it never got the Serbian fighting machine and number 1 of the world down. In another tie-break he demolished Federer again. 2-1 in sets! No idea what happened to FedEx during those tie-breaks, but he made so many errors and seemed to lack power; perhaps it were the nerves. The problem for Federer, I think, is the decreased amount of time you have to carve out an advantage in a tiebreak, where you only get two serves before the switch. He dominated in the regular games because while his high-risk style contributes to an error or two per game, he can dominate enough with his serve and his winners to win out in those. But in tiebreaks the one who makes fewer errors will win as long as they can keep pace, and that's always going to be Djokovic because he's content to get the ball back in play and let Federer make the error. His wife in the mean time, seated in the staff box, was biting her finger nails. For 5+ hours. Then in mystifying logic, Federer was back onto it in the 4th set. He dictated the game, broke Novaks service. It became 2-5 in sets for Federer. Novak was unable to turn it around and clearly let it come down to the all deciding 5th set.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_x8HLrWAgMmrH63LQ5oigSOYy1LeOOkcKlU4N-p0_SJvqtbiCyyKdCXJbOARTFfK5CPoFIk88DUWVSBrittILFuylxVD24BaX94HitfyPv5-d-mjhyphenhyphenW253EbdIBJTPatAXOhUQwzR0ON1/s1600/download+%25283%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="694" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_x8HLrWAgMmrH63LQ5oigSOYy1LeOOkcKlU4N-p0_SJvqtbiCyyKdCXJbOARTFfK5CPoFIk88DUWVSBrittILFuylxVD24BaX94HitfyPv5-d-mjhyphenhyphenW253EbdIBJTPatAXOhUQwzR0ON1/s320/download+%25283%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a>The 5th set was the best of the entire match I think, both players were excellent. Novak was able to hinder Federer more during his service turns and he even managed to break him at 3-2. FedEx broke him back the next opportunity already however. We were all watching the match at the tips of our seats by then, it was so exciting. It could go either way. You didn't see in their play that they had already played nearly 5 hours on end by then. The audience was super vocal, which annoyed me due to their partiality. I think that Novak somehow got strength from being the underdog in terms of popularity. At 7-8 FedEx had broken Novaks service and could serve for the title; 2 match points. But again he started to make silly mistakes and didn't push through. Perhaps Federer's dilemma is that he becomes entangled in doubts about which strategy to follow. He surprised his arch-rival Nadal in the semi-finals by fighting him from the baseline, which is actually suicidal against Djokovic. Besides, Novak Djokovic is a mentally tough survival artist, who is by some compared to Iron Man or a robot even, for his mental resilience. And here he showed that once more, at the backdrop of a roaring pro-Federer crowd he made 4 good points, broke in return, and it was 8-8 again in no time. They battled on until it was 12-12. A new Wimbledon rule went into action; players weren't allowed to battle on into the evening or night, looking for that 2 point difference, but now had to play yet another, final, tie-break. For which Djokovic had the better cards, as he won the previous two as well. And again he was the supreme one, breaking Federer almost immediately, ending up with 3 match points, of which he grabbed the first right away.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8o9ClZmzK62JwtTZnCy_UHDFO5UAEBFUnzqPr4i92pba2gv8Gw4zRfXOAr3w3qaZCOPNyx4vDWCtT_BH_8Xz-zKgdPmS7ToUjodTVFviDKl-gAeYNGHsuAN9YboaugyitnWWVQKeVUH5e/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="694" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8o9ClZmzK62JwtTZnCy_UHDFO5UAEBFUnzqPr4i92pba2gv8Gw4zRfXOAr3w3qaZCOPNyx4vDWCtT_BH_8Xz-zKgdPmS7ToUjodTVFviDKl-gAeYNGHsuAN9YboaugyitnWWVQKeVUH5e/s400/download.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisAJHQSrGozdNesb202Yuggj9YiXT_eER-Y8F1QZr_hGd2_SCCMmSQMJ_zTLEgmuM7Q2AgMN30iJhR0zV89iz6ph6oJYPo0pDRehKJymQ6wET-HPvqMTcfT0sWlLzu3ZcpFkuqwh3qf_Cv/s1600/16031990-7246005-image-a-73_1563114152320.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="962" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisAJHQSrGozdNesb202Yuggj9YiXT_eER-Y8F1QZr_hGd2_SCCMmSQMJ_zTLEgmuM7Q2AgMN30iJhR0zV89iz6ph6oJYPo0pDRehKJymQ6wET-HPvqMTcfT0sWlLzu3ZcpFkuqwh3qf_Cv/s400/16031990-7246005-image-a-73_1563114152320.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>The unsporting </b></span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Wimbledon audience. </b></span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Afterwards Djokovic said that "It is mentally the toughest game I have ever played"</b></span>.</span> <i>"The Federer game is made for grass and I was one ball away from defeat."</i> But he also had to battle the Wimbledon audience, who were clearly supporting Federer on Center Court. Federer, according to Djokovic, benefited mentally from this. <i>"At times I try to ignore it, which is quite difficult. When the audience shouts "Roger", I pretend to hear "Novak". It sounds pathetic, but it is</i>,", he said afterwards. "<i>Roger, Novak, it doesn't matter that much."</i> <i>"Hopefully I get the same encouragement in five years."</i> Then he himself is 37 years old. I found it all rather shocking really. Not only were all the cheers and most of the more abundant applause for the Swiss, regardless of what he did correct, on 11-11 in the fifth set for instance, the audience booed Djokovic because he disputed a "challenge" from Federer. (I thought Roger could have spoken up when he heard the boo's). They cheered en masse when Djokovic made double mistakes, and even when he slipped and fell. The mob cheering his missed first serves, double faults etc. Shameful behaviour from the audience really. It swayed a lot of neutral viewers to the side of Novak. But within the stadium, these riff raff fans basically lost Novak a game in the final set with inappropriate cheering. (I would have gone round after winning the match with my ears cupped like Eric Cantona did, but luckily Novak is a far more humble and gentle person, although he did show a good broad smirk after winning). Novak has won five out of ten last Wimbledons but you would not think it the way British media disrespects him. The Wimbledon crowd treated Pete Sampras the same way as Djokovic back in the days, but he still continued to come back and kept on winning. I hope Djokovic will do the same in coming years and I expect him to surpass both Nadal and Federer in terms of grand slam titles. I personally don't understand this antipathy towards Djokovic. Or maybe it is more a huge sympathy for Roger Federer 'because he makes the impossible possible at a late age'. Or as he said it on Center Court: <i>"I show that you can still play at the highest level at the age of 37."</i> But Federer has rarely been a killer, he is too much the artist to follow his feelings. Which is why I like Djokovic so much; he is passionate, expressive. He roars over the tennis court like a jaguar, so athletic, such an alround and passionate player. I'd pick Rafael Nadal for that same reason over Federer too who I'd compare to a decent, highly functional but more boring Swiss clockwork. Just a matter of personal preference.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfU2vpommBB4C3yq9Pxm7cc4FYl8RHOUX05MHzYiBKTECYJOr7BPWSRtr6t7XuMPsylipqF3mnuTJ5dnxBrZena8z01lcOz0_T5xMWVp_KXAT7LatJYqsOMjk5FRp7xh-b1G9R40aMWMNg/s1600/16040332-0-image-a-122_1563129473521.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="962" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfU2vpommBB4C3yq9Pxm7cc4FYl8RHOUX05MHzYiBKTECYJOr7BPWSRtr6t7XuMPsylipqF3mnuTJ5dnxBrZena8z01lcOz0_T5xMWVp_KXAT7LatJYqsOMjk5FRp7xh-b1G9R40aMWMNg/s400/16040332-0-image-a-122_1563129473521.jpg" width="400" /></a>But regardless of personal tastes, as a host city, with no English player in the finale, it makes for very bad vibes for the reigning champion and number one of the world, to consistently be met with that sort of hostility from the audience. He encountered the same thing in the semi final against a Spaniard the London scene didn't even know yet as he is a newcomer. Just show some warmth and respect to not only one of the greatest players of all time, but also a warm hearted, good guy who plays fantastic. Its players like him who provide Wimbledon with such thrilling matches! I have to applaud Novak mental strength, he knew himself that most were cheering for Roger and to come back from 2 match points against you, to win it, was amazing to see. Novak is just a man of steel.. his mentality is second to none and that was the the difference today. How many times did he come back from the brink of disaster? Amazing performance, especially given the fact that the crowd was ridiculously biased towards Roger. He didn't lose his confidence, his nerve or his stamina. The mark of a true champion. Of course everyone loves Roger but give Novak a break....he was superb. Djokovic shows other players that you don't need to come from a rich family like Federer and Co, to be a tennis player and to be a successful one. He and his family dealt with the Kosovo war in the 90's, they put everything aside and bend over backwards to have their son get a tennis education. He is among the GOATs as Boris Becker calls him: one of the Greatest Of All Time. How is Federer the greatest according to his very vocal fans, but Federer is lucky he had a few years with no competition to get most of his grand slams back in the days. What a cracking game. It's going to be a sad day when the big three retire. Novak, Federer and Nadal gave us the best matches of the year.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">If Beethoven created a tennis player - Federer </span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">If Picasso created a tennis player - Nadal </span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>If Nikola Tesla created a tennis player - Djokovic</b></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEYZieNIt1zMNnqnCPKg6Dk3vpLXX0gJhFgbqA64ukAzGdPxGBgTA5RF2TIpA7mkgzPkDM5nRMo4_zvk_Bg0KO8BIpM55c03oew2uoC12tzeqef9VwSPdKFJvcNq4ZufgCyxCHKdjD0yX/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="694" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEYZieNIt1zMNnqnCPKg6Dk3vpLXX0gJhFgbqA64ukAzGdPxGBgTA5RF2TIpA7mkgzPkDM5nRMo4_zvk_Bg0KO8BIpM55c03oew2uoC12tzeqef9VwSPdKFJvcNq4ZufgCyxCHKdjD0yX/s400/download+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a>All 3 are GOATs in their own different way. Its just been a huge privilege to have been able to witness an era where 3 of the greatest players ever have played at the same time and all 3 having unique styles. Federer is poetry in motion, Nadal the matador and Djokovic a replicant (explains why he doesn't get the credit and love he deserves). For me the Djoker is the best, with the strongest mental fortitude, the best athleticism, chasing lost causes and resolved to never give up and with a wonderful technique. But who cares. Novak is a player who will get the full appreciation he deserves after he has retired. Novak's game is absolutely pleasing to the eye, which is just absolutely apparent to everyone not biased against him. No one paints the lines like Novak, resets points, retrieves lost points and has this level of elasticity. Novak's return is not just widely regarded as the best in history, but has also revolutionized the way this shot is played, neutralizing the hard servers and putting almost everyone else immediately on the defensive. Moreover, Novak has revolutionized the way the game is played strategically. No one has ever developed the almost chess-like system and shot selection to build points like that. And then he not only doesn't rest on his laurels but goes off and transforms his previously relatively average serve into a killer weapon! Nadal may have his furious defending and Fed his litany of offensive weapons, but of all three Novak is by far the most complete package. It is a shame the ignorant tennis public cannot see greatness right in front of their eyes. Prost had much the same problem when he raced against Senna. It was only afterwards people fully realised how good he was. The public seems to have difficulty recognising two greats simultaneously. They can only appear to process one at a time. With tennis we have 3 greats and we are lucky to be able to watch their era. Lets just savour these moments and hope these 3 guys can defy human nature and keep going for years to come.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNCLzqc1qcD0Kl8lDRGHwlQHJ65Ji8NpSxYy0eZS47IOEcgutDBium10APpegMB_WU6NlS2-lHXmKsXHLwViu-SQHlLZMJc3d2b0clvGef4kNvFnDShyphenhyphenSjBTktrmXgqJZTA2b6l9PaULf/s1600/980.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="980" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNCLzqc1qcD0Kl8lDRGHwlQHJ65Ji8NpSxYy0eZS47IOEcgutDBium10APpegMB_WU6NlS2-lHXmKsXHLwViu-SQHlLZMJc3d2b0clvGef4kNvFnDShyphenhyphenSjBTktrmXgqJZTA2b6l9PaULf/w460-h320/980.jpg" width="460" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">**The Wimbledon management introduced the tiebreak in the fifth set</span></b>, after the match between Kevin Anderson and John Isner in the semi-finals of 2018 was decided finally at 24-22 in set 5. They played into the evening for it and Anderson was so drained and demolished afterwards that he was used as a floor mop in the final by Djokovic. Tennis players are now protected from the infinite agony, like Isner's 70-68 against Mahut in 2010. But somewhere, the third tiebreak on 12-12 also felt like an anticlimax, especially as it was decided with a bouncing error ball in the case of Roger Federer. So, I understand that they had to install it after that poor South African Andersson last year played a semi final of 9 hours or so. He could hardly run across the field during the final, so they want to prevent that from happening again and draining any future finalist prematurely. <i>But in the final?</i> Hmmmmm... Let them battle until they are spent.<br />
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">July 11</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">201</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">9</span></span></b></div>
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It's cricket time again :D Here the rules are explained in a simple manner</div>
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(make sure to also read the comment section below the video for extra laughs):</div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">June 30</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">201</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">9</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLTTq2MpZMiDbJiEUjgTpcUBqW7Fh2QOoc868oVdE_VfXfQYy_dGsHl7C8S7IQQYbXQwVIZeDzBECtz7w4NvudDlpMnR7pQfOLUqk1VTnZpSpa7MGbOHVSNNJLkLbHojbQDGlfRQME8uI/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="197" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLTTq2MpZMiDbJiEUjgTpcUBqW7Fh2QOoc868oVdE_VfXfQYy_dGsHl7C8S7IQQYbXQwVIZeDzBECtz7w4NvudDlpMnR7pQfOLUqk1VTnZpSpa7MGbOHVSNNJLkLbHojbQDGlfRQME8uI/s400/download.jpg" width="307" /></a>So its very hot and I am housebound mostly because of the intense heat outside. As the car's airconditioning broke down once again (cry). Had it repaired only 6 weeks ago and now I need to go back in the heat without airco to town and get it checked again. Its a nightmare as it gets 40+degrees Celsius in my black car. Oh well... A friend struggled with the heat + rosacea combination and asked how I stay positive in all this/... I'm not all that positive in general I must say, but I grew used to the rosacea induced house arrest over the summers.... Taking mirtazapine helps me too; that drug has helped take care of any anxiety I may have had since 2006 for me and then its a mild antidepressant too and makes me sleep really well. Other than that... maybe because I'm introvert and don't like social gatherings. My friend used to work all summer behind the bar in a local food truck in the past. and I used to have to drag myself there some evenings to say hello. I'm rather home with the cats and a book or work than in that "cesspit" of drinking and shouting and 'see and be seen". But overall yes it can be very lonely.. Its true. I have some online friends that are in the same boat, health wise and that also helps. Dealing with a friend with health issues isn't easy either either. So keeping hold of all your friends may also be a challenge. Some may not appreciate your backing out of fun outings. Or you talking more than average about your own health. I remember something about one friend from my youth days. We're still friends but when we were in our 20's I had this really bad spell. Very depressed, struggling badly with my skin and my fears and worries. She said flat out at some point to me that she couldn't cope with my state of mind. She had a rough childhood herself with her parents and just couldn't cope with dealing with me and my down mood. That was very painful to hear. I was already deflated and down, and then that was said.. But bc I knew her family while growing up, I respected her honesty at the time and even understood it. We picked things back up after I improved with medication. But it was not fun to hear that... And I understand that some others would have called it quits on the friendship right there and then. But some people are just not good with these things; dealing with depressed and desperate people.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHZFyXS9J1C5L5CTPwKrjv2lYXUcNucFy6W0uVAVUpECar7Efo7Iy2Fut-tXSx8-cRpuBYmAsNVSu5oTIRS_rmhaXkFU2R_69g1DyvFn8jijw28toB1RNKIvlpk4njwO9bOci4TtZ81TU/s1600/images+%25283%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="255" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHZFyXS9J1C5L5CTPwKrjv2lYXUcNucFy6W0uVAVUpECar7Efo7Iy2Fut-tXSx8-cRpuBYmAsNVSu5oTIRS_rmhaXkFU2R_69g1DyvFn8jijw28toB1RNKIvlpk4njwO9bOci4TtZ81TU/s400/images+%25283%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnz7W8GnnaFxIplxLiXkY_uAVX8CImVbs-cHgIkiei8mang7WNrA5jteTZMYL74VDn3rD5AKHRfzN9t25ykpqpukxjPwPSSRv2lT_LEtcqP_JWwEbUp8mV2QYxksAlJ8kTIU7_ApRfEiL/s1600/images+%25285%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="170" data-original-width="296" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnz7W8GnnaFxIplxLiXkY_uAVX8CImVbs-cHgIkiei8mang7WNrA5jteTZMYL74VDn3rD5AKHRfzN9t25ykpqpukxjPwPSSRv2lT_LEtcqP_JWwEbUp8mV2QYxksAlJ8kTIU7_ApRfEiL/s400/images+%25285%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a>Control of your health problem, of a burning flaring skin in my case, was the first step. So even though I deal with this problem constantly and have painful episodes daily, I do feel some sense of control because I can calm things down with my little aid kit; a ventilator, a coldpack, airconditioning. Sipping ice cubes. Avoiding the sun. When my skin is then not flushed and behaving, this gives me so much happiness and sense of calm, that I don't even long for those situations where I know it will flare up again: parties, drinking alcohol, sunny beaches (never likes them anyway). I discussed it with a friend who is in the same boat and he agrees that for us the hardest part has always been to be able to accept our limitations and restrictive lifestyle. Having kids makes it so much tougher I assume, but neither of us has any so that leaves a lot of time and space to just dedicate to ourselves, our health management and also to spending our free time as we wish. But finding a level of acceptance and maybe modifying your life to live within those constraints brought a lot of peace of mind and more happiness. It’s that acceptance, but in no way giving up. Once you find that acceptance it opens up opportunities for happiness in our experience. And having interests and hobbies and passions that can be met within these confines (so for me I read and write and all that stuff, listen to music, make videos, converse with <b><a href="https://www.interpals.net/">penpals</a></b>, which can all be done in front of a ventilator...). The best thing was being able to fully accept my limitations and carve out a life within those condiments. If that means refocusing your interests or taking up different hobbies, then that’s what needs to be done. If it means going for walks at night, catching up with people when the weather is cool, then I accepted that and make the most of it. It has helped me over the years to have readjusted life and expectations I guess... But I still also get periods where I'm down or grumpy or dissatisfied.. That's normal. There is a lot we have to give up in life. I try to look at the alternative and then imagine me having to work in an overheated stuffy office (horror, shudder) for 40 years, and with all these people I may not like, having a 9 to 5 job I hate. And then I think of all the free time and space I now have due to this rosacea beast... My middle sister passed away 15 years ago and and I try to remind myself of all I have been able to experience and enjoy in those 15 years myself, despite being so handicapped in a way by the constant skin burning and flushing :( She had none of that. Maybe that perspective has helped me too. Just looking for the positives, my life goes very slow, whereas my sisters life passes by so quickly as she is always on the go. So I experience life more slowly too, there is another plus, in a way :) And I have simple pleasures now, such as following a TV series I like. Eating something really nice that day. My cats, my loved ones. Its sad in a way to live like that at my age but it is what it is.. I can still travel and also do so regularly, although its no fun in itself with my hand fan and coldpacks. But I do it anyway. Once the heat passes again, there will be more time for shopping and out the door appointments and travel and long walks. Now it's just airconditioning, fans, books, the computer, movies and house cleaning (hate that). My friend with rosacea who is a former sportsman wrote me in that respect: "<i>For all my life, I’ve dreamt of retiring on a beach with 33 degree temperatures all year round. I once saw a report on a kid who was allergic to the sun and I vividly remember thinking that that would be the worse thing to ever happen. I NEVER thought that I would ever dream, which I do now, of moving down south to the coldest parts of the country to find a secluded beach where I could walk alone with my dog late in the afternoon. Eight years ago I would have told you that would be a nightmare. Now I think of it as bliss!" </i>I also cant think of a better place either than clouded 13 degrees windswept desolate beaches now haha.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">I finished that book HHhH and it was honestly one of the best books I've read on the war</span></b>. I've read a lot on it in the past, also big serious biographies on Hitler and on the NSDAP, but this author really did something unique. Heydrich, <i>Überrrrrgruppenführer van die Einsattttzgruppen und Rrrrreichsprotektor</i>. Such an arrogant and power tripping man, but highly efficient in his job. If the English had given him antibiotics he would have lived. But he was left to perish from the infection that resulted from the attack. The ending of the book nearly made me cry, I was out in public transport and had to control myself not to start bawling. Once the author Laurent Binet got onto steam 1/3th into the story when the the attack on Heydrich and the heroes Jozef Gabčík, Jan Kubiš are described. I mean no matter how you look at the whole political thing, on a human level it was like a Greek Tragedy, this whole operation. Operation Anthropoid. The way in which this Gabčík and Kubiš and some others who were with them and involved got literally smoked out was an impressive story. Including the villain snitch. My own grandparents were deep into the resistance work and underwent some gruesome stuff so it does get to my heart. I tend to think that today's hedonistic self-centered bunch wouldn't be as brave and heroic as that generation sometimes was but one WW2 veteran was asked this same question and he answered that without a shadow of a doubt, he knew that also this generation of today would have done the same things during WW2; that their sense of injustice would have spiked them to act. What a lovely answer. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitMqOz57BaYD6Z2Wfz5l1911RiebokYvSAD3diMP67yd4OGXdxL7hgV46JhLdmqSisTjpWC9_2rfzbRFKAXBS1JCTqt7wNl3FHP7tIB5hy1oUBkEu6v35EBZLpM3DdAY5T0bXhtlGCNvk1/s1600/IMG_20190628_133912.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitMqOz57BaYD6Z2Wfz5l1911RiebokYvSAD3diMP67yd4OGXdxL7hgV46JhLdmqSisTjpWC9_2rfzbRFKAXBS1JCTqt7wNl3FHP7tIB5hy1oUBkEu6v35EBZLpM3DdAY5T0bXhtlGCNvk1/s320/IMG_20190628_133912.jpg" width="180" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">I write with an inmate in an American jail, already for about five years now. </span></b>Not a frightening criminal mind you, but stuck there for a valid reason nevertheless. It is 'snail mail' as they call it; written letters. So with weeks of time between posting the letter and its arrival, and on top of that every day life getting in the way of writing, that amounts to maybe one letter every few months. But consistency is key and I'm not the type of person to suddenly stop writing or to cut off long standing contact. There are many differences between our lives, but there are also some similarities. Being locked in, for instance. Being often bored with being locked in. He sometimes wonders what the world will be like once her gets out. Interesting question and I don't always know just what to answer to it. But modern culture is certainly different these days than what he was used to, I suppose, as these things change so quickly nowadays. I'll use some excerpts from my latest writing for a blog post now: "It has been warm here, close to 35 degrees Celsius today (95 F), but hotter in the sun obviously... I have air conditioning blasting, but how do you stay cool in jail? Do they have airco in there too? Or are you suffering in the summers? Life is OK here, albeit warm. I know that my life is very different from yours, but in a way it is also alike I think, or suspect. Because with the sun and heat out there, I am trapped also, in a way. Not even my evening walks are possible anymore as its so hot outside. So I am stuck behind a ventilator blowing cool air and then I have my computer. Like with most people these days, life plays out for a big part on these computer or phone devices. It is a sad state of affairs, as in my youth (and yours too I'm sure) we were out the door all day. Playing football in the streets, running wild with other kids from the neighborhood. Now even my little nephew and his friends are glued to their tablets and gaming devices. You rarely see kids playing out in the streets anymore in the cities. Helicopter parents are partly to blame for that too perhaps, as they prey over these kids like falcons, or drones, ensuring that nothing happens to these poor mites. Of course, what made life good back in the days was exactly this opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them. Adventure. </div><div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
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But also out in public; you may get a small culture shock once you are out in the real world again. People are sitting in public transport like zombies, glued to their mobile phones. Mesmerized by the 'pings' it makes when a message or notification comes in. There is real life ('boring') and there is online, virtual life, where people can sometimes pretend to be something else entirely. There is a site called Instagram, which allows people to post photos. But it also has inbuilt filters, making you look like your absolute best self. Or even better than yourself. Which causes stress for some, especially younger users. <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/selfies-pushing-teens-plastic-surgery?fbclid=IwAR0HjNdhk3lxDCGlty8o3q7gSnRa_wgQUjk8c-C4g2vRlGPGmBdJ4aXp3vE">Or so I read</a>. Perhaps that is partly why many young people these days go to plastic surgeons or beauty salons for a little botox or fillers here or there. Older people do it too by the way. Not all of them of course. If it is done well, you won't even be able to spot much of a difference. If you do see a whole lot of difference, it is sometimes not a good thing. These girls were pretty to start with and some now look... very odd.. But since so many are doing it, it is almost becoming the new normal. Check <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/selfies-pushing-teens-plastic-surgery?fbclid=IwAR0HjNdhk3lxDCGlty8o3q7gSnRa_wgQUjk8c-C4g2vRlGPGmBdJ4aXp3vE">this link</a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizs0DU-ymI67HUufEghwdBo5hBhf7ahMWIwkdPQ20tXwrarRS62bEOKaC8Dbzzj0czEuDPu6Q46gsduWhuZaS6AkacGy-4O2q59__KQQkJYYQAMeiHfg45W9lew1jbJxkGiGZUT4So93t0/s1600/WbYG5DI.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: -webkit-center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizs0DU-ymI67HUufEghwdBo5hBhf7ahMWIwkdPQ20tXwrarRS62bEOKaC8Dbzzj0czEuDPu6Q46gsduWhuZaS6AkacGy-4O2q59__KQQkJYYQAMeiHfg45W9lew1jbJxkGiGZUT4So93t0/w216-h216/WbYG5DI.jpg" width="216" /></a>So well... a lot of people seem depressed these days, it seems. Life is fast paced over here, people mostly work long hours and then go all loose on the weekends, trying to feel 'free' and <i>happy</i> of course, that one is very important to feel on a near constant basis. So some people frequent some of the hundreds of annual music festivals, get high on laughing gas balloons or coke, or binge drink themselves into a Sunday slumber, then drag themselves back to work and the rat race on Monday morning. Mostly everyone here wants to own the latest technological gadgets. Divorce in this day and age is quite normalizd. There are online dating sites such as 'Tinder' to meet a lot of new people, if you wish. Or so I have been told :) <br /><br /><br /><br />
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicJTTjYSlAbs08vv6sv0ynLA2R5n_KVipgJ6k-vGmoi8cXISd9BVj2glfWgJ695M385-ZMTMFgVo5ZmU3OTDFBA8Wi5eUjDD_Cl7r09aei_Lg9QQQPoAHE9lUPOzPZ-uryoNZlvYYbtHh2/s1600/download+%25284%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicJTTjYSlAbs08vv6sv0ynLA2R5n_KVipgJ6k-vGmoi8cXISd9BVj2glfWgJ695M385-ZMTMFgVo5ZmU3OTDFBA8Wi5eUjDD_Cl7r09aei_Lg9QQQPoAHE9lUPOzPZ-uryoNZlvYYbtHh2/s1600/download+%25284%2529.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Political correctness and marvel</b></span></div>
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Something else that is going on in this modern day society: political correctness. Us (still referring to this penpal here) both growing up in the 1980's, we never really got used to this mass-imposed and aggressively promoted blueprint on how to think and act. And it most likely makes you recalcitrant just as it makes me. But you can't open a newspaper anymore, or watch a TV series or movie anymore (let alone read a comment section online) or you are slapped in the face with the ever more pressing message of how to handle, act and think. If you refuse to, you are deemed “not woke”. Woke then stands for being appropriately up to date and on board with the latest political correctness imprint. Students have been given an abnormal amount of influence over the curriculum and position of professors, seemingly overnight, and fueled by the fear of public opinion and ratings from these schools. Just like movie studios are constantly worried about the public opinion and ratings.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilk4KiSgtMnLSZlp4l_0rkxgdmuU_LR8uSlErkGwVxRuBtwbOMIepnEpN7T7O61FKkk-GdMUNqaymvbNaefxDiC8WqkGS5mTMxvLh43GcTlIBtt7U1v1nlR2Q2UtvLyM2YTNb9FKe_e0ji/s1600/14804.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="571" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilk4KiSgtMnLSZlp4l_0rkxgdmuU_LR8uSlErkGwVxRuBtwbOMIepnEpN7T7O61FKkk-GdMUNqaymvbNaefxDiC8WqkGS5mTMxvLh43GcTlIBtt7U1v1nlR2Q2UtvLyM2YTNb9FKe_e0ji/w304-h320/14804.jpg" width="304" /></a>Something interesting these days in that respect is a movie genre called 'marvel'. <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-e5bptEFIM">Here</a></b> a very funny Scot is giving his 'review' (short) on the latest franchise movie. He basically rants in a very sarcastic manner in light of the latest Marvel/Disney studio-made superhero movie (pretending to be the first of its kind that gives a female a superhero role). From what I understand from a friend who is a fan, Marvel comics, the company that created the original Spider-Man and Hulk and so on sold out to Disney a few years back btw. The Scot says more or less – covered with a heavy sauce of mockery as I said – that yes, of course things were <i>horrible</i> back in the days. In the 60's, 70's, 80's, no females were given any powers in movies; they were meek submissive wimps, bitch-slapped by evil white privileged men. He shows examples in the background of movies who pretty much show the opposite and where women for many decades had strong roles. Underlying just what a bulshit movie this Marvel thing is in that respect. In reality, this 'Captain Marvel' film is called a fiasco by the critics. They got complete control and used the medium to create this ultra-woke far left platform to mangle the stories, mangle the characters that have been beloved by fans for generations. As I understand it, for the last 10 years they did well in the cinema with the whole Avengers phenomenon. They mostly kept the wokeness out and it did well but now the actors are getting old or bored or their contracts have run out so they've done away with most of them and introduced Craptain Commie. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYSNWHEVZWE518M0nG1kGtJYNzfhuXe9SUqEK25WzR438IsrwL5YE76AUBuDK_yVSt2kCdaUf3TPgGuDfJP6UYcx0mmU-7DIsYEqVvW4Qo0toKkCWHjY8ngmMKnUWHjEZhJsvnmics_il/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="694" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYSNWHEVZWE518M0nG1kGtJYNzfhuXe9SUqEK25WzR438IsrwL5YE76AUBuDK_yVSt2kCdaUf3TPgGuDfJP6UYcx0mmU-7DIsYEqVvW4Qo0toKkCWHjY8ngmMKnUWHjEZhJsvnmics_il/s400/download.jpg" width="400" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">June 13</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">201</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">9</span></span></b></div>
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Am reading a good book called HhhH, from writer Laurent Binet. It's about a World War 2 Nazi head piece called Reinhard Heydrich, one of the architects of the Holocaust and a truly fascinating character for a book (albeit a revolting villain). And about the a group of Czech Resistance fighters who tried to assassinate him. Despite this rather niche-like topic, his book has become a best-seller. Mostly thanks to the writer probably, who really brings this story alive. He doesn't shun the gruesome details but his cynical sense of humor shines through and I find that very pleasant. And, sprinkled throughout is a fictionalized account of Heydrich, Gabcik, Kubis, and the assassination of Heydrich in Prague. Some people criticize his decision to include some personal musings about his choices while writing the book, but it can also be seen as refreshing and adding to the overall story. His descriptions of his reasons for writing this work, and his travels to the places discussed, give a sense of presence to readers today. The authors voice really comes through often and there is no doubt about how he feels personally about these historical characters; his hatred of Heydrich and admiration for the Czechoslovakian parachutists who risked everything to rid the world of the Hangman of Prague. And when there is doubt about a (historic) version of events, we can be sure that Binet tells us about it, and why he chose one version over the other. It adds colour to his writers voice and credibility too I find. Very well written and the story is told with a certain urgency, never getting boring. I highly recommend it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYxWeFW9DMVkjo5UeOUVvlZ8GV1wI3G6fZjwlwAE1DEIfYxlEQdTOxg5RudL1c4B1jEebqoZHgreRMo0OdOBVOsClBbcG_u7pev0-lk3P1TgYbtqRDH6BzCmZphvMLpMaESsleAQ9ZfF3D/s1600/nikolai-trusevich.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="219" data-original-width="180" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYxWeFW9DMVkjo5UeOUVvlZ8GV1wI3G6fZjwlwAE1DEIfYxlEQdTOxg5RudL1c4B1jEebqoZHgreRMo0OdOBVOsClBbcG_u7pev0-lk3P1TgYbtqRDH6BzCmZphvMLpMaESsleAQ9ZfF3D/s200/nikolai-trusevich.jpg" width="164" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">One quote from the book, which</span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;"> I </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">read yesterday and stuck with me, is a bit about the </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">famous </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">Death Match.</span></b> I type over directly what Binet wrote about this: "I've just learned about an extraordinary story that took place in Kiev, during the war. It happened in 1942 and none of the main characters from Operation Anthropoid is involved, so theoretically it has no place in my novel. But one of the great advantages of the genre is the almost unlimited freedom it gives the author. In the summer of 1942 Ukraine is governed by the nazi's with characteristic brutality. However, they wish to organize soccer matches between the various occupied and satellite countries of the east. Now, it happens that one team soon distinguishes itself with a series of victories over Hungarian and Romanian opponents. FC Start, a team hastily assembled from the bones of the defunct Dynamo Kiev, which has been banned since the beginning of the occupation, but whos ex players are reassembled for these matches. Rumours of the teams success reach the Germans, who decide to organize a match in Kiev between the local side and the Luftwaffe's team. The Ukranian side are told they must make a Nazi-salute when the teams line up. The day of the match the stadium is full to bursting. The two teams come out on the pitch, and the German players lift their arms and shout 'Heil Hitler!". The Ukrainian players also lift their arms, no doubt a disappointment to the crowd who see the match as an opportunity to show some symbolic resistance. But instead of shouting 'Heil Hitler!', they close their fists, bang them against their chests and shout: "Long live physical culture!" This slogan, with its Soviet connotations, sends the crowd wild. The match has hardly began when one of the Ukrainian strikers has his leg broken by a German player. At the time there were no substitutes, so FC Start have to play on with only 10 men. Thanks to their numerical superiority the Germans open the score. Things are going badly but the Kiev players refuse to give up and they equalize to loud cheers. When they score a second goal, the supporters explode with joy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFHmT2juZzFvV2Sf0-0C2Mn6e8awrzZHKvV2g8UwvPTxzvLT0GRz0IOUBP8lhxD6Sl9pzIYha4bXE27qLlMCAMkfF3EUFJXdPSvVJ7XUKVEaIya1VNdKriaaqxHCN9RJBT73NPEusv5VCv/s1600/Untitled-design-62-1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="800" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFHmT2juZzFvV2Sf0-0C2Mn6e8awrzZHKvV2g8UwvPTxzvLT0GRz0IOUBP8lhxD6Sl9pzIYha4bXE27qLlMCAMkfF3EUFJXdPSvVJ7XUKVEaIya1VNdKriaaqxHCN9RJBT73NPEusv5VCv/s400/Untitled-design-62-1.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnQDuRmzV-BKUWzQbf6SJj__B_p26CrswADVthZ7tXq2jH5M-mVyMs7oLyY_V1CPJSG12C5ambpxVa2fa5sQhyphenhyphenv1JqRt6jbSwex4x5OEkIMGLvXlbziZHBp_1s8nYLA5ka33LxdSvTO30/s1600/m.1770_match-of-death.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="467" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnQDuRmzV-BKUWzQbf6SJj__B_p26CrswADVthZ7tXq2jH5M-mVyMs7oLyY_V1CPJSG12C5ambpxVa2fa5sQhyphenhyphenv1JqRt6jbSwex4x5OEkIMGLvXlbziZHBp_1s8nYLA5ka33LxdSvTO30/s400/m.1770_match-of-death.jpg" width="400" /></a>At half time, General Eberhardt, the superintendent of Kiev, goes to see the Ukrainian players in their changing room and tells them: "Bravo. You've played an excellent game and we've enjoyed it. But now in the second half, you must lose. You really must. The Luftwaffe team has never lost before, certainly not in any of the occupied territories. This is an order. If you do not lose, you will be executed." The players listen in silence. Back on the pitch, after a brief moment of uncertainty and without discussing it, they make their decision: they will play to win. They score a goal. Then another, and end up winning 5-1. The Ukrainian fans go crazy. The German supporters mutter angrily. Shots are fired in the air. But none of the players are worried yet. Because the German players believe that they can avenge the insult on the pitch. Three days later a return match is organized and promoted by a poster campaign. The Germans send urgently for reinforcements. Some professional footballers come over from Berlin to strengthen their team. The second match kicks off. The stadium is full to bursting again. But this time its patrolled by SS-troops. Officially they are there to maintain order. As before, the Germans score first. But the Ukrainians never lose faith, and they win the match 5-3. At the final whistle the Ukrainian supporters are ecstatic. But the players look pale. The pitch is invaded and in the confusion three Ukrainian players disappear. They will survive the war. The rest of the team is arrested, and four of them are are sent immediately to Babi Yar, where they are executed. On his knees, on the edge of the ditch, Nikolai Trusevich - the captain and goalkeeper - manages to yell, before getting a bullet in the back of the neck: "Communist sport will never die!" The other players (Olexander Tkachenko, Mikola Korotkykh, Olexi Klimenko and Ivan Kuzmenko) are murdered one by one. Today, there is a monument to them in front of Dynamo's stadium."<br />
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I also found out some natural skin filter option. I don't have a smartphone (just an old fashioned flip phone) and my digital camera is old too and has no filter options, but the walls in one room in the house are yellow/orange and the light bulb is also yellow. Despite having pink cheeks today, making a photo in that space with the light on masks the entire thing! Not the most flattering outcome of course, it looks like I have liver disease now.<br />
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">June 11</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">201</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">9</span></span></b></div>
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Something uplifting :) Gosh how beautiful</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-fNc-olNdCoskjFzPkrNbiWPhp9KGS7d5KyxxOsMOwiCBDmuwPzSHdu9hc8ihBQod0ZeTk48J-71VgHIW7iCWpg-tU9YBUZ-DGCfVtqGDYMf9XROU3xaHZrSSSXYSiZt7DKrBc9MUWcF/s1600/robert-capa-3.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="470" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-fNc-olNdCoskjFzPkrNbiWPhp9KGS7d5KyxxOsMOwiCBDmuwPzSHdu9hc8ihBQod0ZeTk48J-71VgHIW7iCWpg-tU9YBUZ-DGCfVtqGDYMf9XROU3xaHZrSSSXYSiZt7DKrBc9MUWcF/s400/robert-capa-3.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfv4t6FxIsya-49coE7Zj4bxLutxAaM6g164dlnQObwCV9XfUJIdbYd64txCi-Hr1d6B7MwKdZpRHfxK8EGWYBCwaIBUDhyphenhyphenmxl51Q7V6feSud3GAjbQ4cje5mG-bwTxsDqTJ0DLr69dq2O/s1600/ML00110.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="600" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfv4t6FxIsya-49coE7Zj4bxLutxAaM6g164dlnQObwCV9XfUJIdbYd64txCi-Hr1d6B7MwKdZpRHfxK8EGWYBCwaIBUDhyphenhyphenmxl51Q7V6feSud3GAjbQ4cje5mG-bwTxsDqTJ0DLr69dq2O/s400/ML00110.jpg" width="400" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">June </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">6th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">201</span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">9</span></span></b><br />
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Today is the 75th memorial of D-Day. Of the time of the Greatest Generation. I made a short and a longer memorial video on it, mostly material retrieved from a 6-part Dutch TV series on it that has been airing lately. It's a lot of footage but I selected some touching and interesting testimonies from veterans and also real footage of that day, and put some music under part of it too, to give a little bit of an image of this very special and bloody day in history. I'm sure mostly everyone already knows the basics about it, but some interesting things are this.<br />
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The assignment to supreme commander Dwight D. Eisenhower was simple. Make sure you reclaim the European mainland from Nazi Germany. But if he knew what was awaiting him in 1942, before it came to D-Day, he might never have started it. Nothing was ideal. More than 6 thousand ships, 10 thousand planes and nearly 130 thousand soldiers were ready for it on 6 June 1944. Operation Overlord was about to start. The originally planned attack, on June 5th, had to be abruptly canceled due to bad weather. Something very risky; that could have led to total chaos if, for example, not everyone could be reached on time to cancel the mission. Or if the Germans had noticed that there was activity. Such a decision at the very last moment gives even the highest general stomach ache. Because it would have been a disaster for the liberation scenario if the invasion details would have leaked out prematurely. All details of the attacks had been worked out to the minute. It had been worked on in the deepest secrecy from 1942 onward, under the name Operation Roundup. Not an enviable job. If you look at the map, it is immediately clear what challenges the generals faced at the time. Carrying out an attack via Southern Europe was not an option because they would have to cross the Alps to get to the Ruhr area. But going via the North was also not easy because there had never been large-scale amphibious landings there before. So they started with nothing at all on the script.<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>A short videos I made</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_5hKXwjL1Bsaf0yktHZ-Yo4Wjzshb5egLc8OX-TjheBV03mV35_bwxYm6Sdlx0fy1nRWP7MntJ5_eZu64Oana5XYpnJY_GIYLtueHZDl_32U9UhbSlJm3TrBKXFixLGbBhyphenhyphensSTrlUC64/s1600/62065616_10214718290776974_1173044989756702720_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="880" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_5hKXwjL1Bsaf0yktHZ-Yo4Wjzshb5egLc8OX-TjheBV03mV35_bwxYm6Sdlx0fy1nRWP7MntJ5_eZu64Oana5XYpnJY_GIYLtueHZDl_32U9UhbSlJm3TrBKXFixLGbBhyphenhyphensSTrlUC64/s400/62065616_10214718290776974_1173044989756702720_n.jpg" width="400" /></a>The only thing that was quickly established was that it had to be an amphibious invasion. There was actually no alternative to quickly build up a large army force. You can drop troops from the air, but such an action must be followed up quickly. That is only possible when you attack from the sea. The choice for a crossing from the sea did not make it easier either to work out the plans. ,Many people do not realize that you can only land on a limited number of coasts. For example, if you look at Norway, with all those cliffs, you can hardly do that. The Dutch, Belgian and French coasts offered more opportunities with their sandy beaches. But one of the major problems in the 1940's was was that the Allied Forces knew very little details about that coastline. The latest detailed French maps dated from before the First World War. But the Allies also needed to know for instance what the area behind the beaches looked like. They tried to map the coastlines with the help of the local Resistance; even holiday snapshots were welcome. One question that the resistance also couldn't answer was where you could possibly reach with ships? Eisenhower had to know what the sand strip exactly looked like when the valves of the ships opened. What lay on the seabed? What was the slope of the beach like, which determines whether ships could moor there? Could the ships put on enough pressure to stay ashore? What the current was like?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3jNCmrNBqcs01g-ns6NKlkIXuFlymO9xuAQ-U4EWiVFj8qNoZscIrrmqTSa4Ur8TQCCO9kC7jvDfV9xhr9X9qLWGFH9QncujMVLSYpDrGU8E_vjeboIEY05CZeiYo2_6xR3dLXCYPbBf-/s1600/e93c0aa960a9a5a14f84b1e59da95c14.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="550" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3jNCmrNBqcs01g-ns6NKlkIXuFlymO9xuAQ-U4EWiVFj8qNoZscIrrmqTSa4Ur8TQCCO9kC7jvDfV9xhr9X9qLWGFH9QncujMVLSYpDrGU8E_vjeboIEY05CZeiYo2_6xR3dLXCYPbBf-/s400/e93c0aa960a9a5a14f84b1e59da95c14.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZXmGs7FTeygzn0-BhZt9cj2B-huOqLULA8NzKXx904zH1f3G3Kww8E3mJCsludW8I9VFGtXl0PNADxsqDaIGDu2bvqJqpGL_5BMbvSd5ndQYZdnal2g6nxVMqWR75q5q7SKYPRmis_8xG/s1600/download+%25286%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="276" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZXmGs7FTeygzn0-BhZt9cj2B-huOqLULA8NzKXx904zH1f3G3Kww8E3mJCsludW8I9VFGtXl0PNADxsqDaIGDu2bvqJqpGL_5BMbvSd5ndQYZdnal2g6nxVMqWR75q5q7SKYPRmis_8xG/s400/download+%25286%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">Frogmen</span></b><br />
Even the type of sand was important to know. Where there pebbles, or was it perhaps rocky? Did the seabed move with the tides or was it stable? All that had to be sorted out first. And so it became that a shovel of sand from the northern European coast suddenly became invaluable for the intelligence service. The navy even used special mini submarines for frogmen, who could then take soil samples. Even with all that knowledge about the coast, the choice for the final landing could still not be made. The line of defense of the Germans, the Atlantikwall which ran from Norway to France, also played a crucial role in this. An amphibious landing with or without heavy guns makes a world of difference. This was experienced first hand by the Canadians who wanted to capture the French harbor town of Dieppe in 1942. The landing went well, but then it turned out that so much resistance obstacles were placed on the beach, that the heavy equipment could not be offloaded on the beach. Infantry had to move into the city without backup fire support, which led to heavy losses. To make things even more complex, Eisenhower first had to know exactly what Hitler could do once they had hit a bridgehead. Not an easy question to answer for the allies, because the Germans did not have one clear strategy. Two senior German generals both had different views on how to best deploy their armored divisions, and things could go either way therefore. What was clear however was that Germany had a much stronger army on paper, with more than 60 divisions in France alone. Eisenhower had nearly 40 divisions at its disposal. The Allies did have a tactical advantage: air superiority. The German air force and aviation industry had already been largely destroyed during bombings. Normandy was certainly not the dream location to go ashore, but it was the best of all other options. Norway was scratched because the Allies would have to cross water again at Denmark before they were in Germany. The Netherlands and Belgium were heavily defended and not an option with their many waterways, which would make a rapid advance more difficult. Both countries were also within the reach of German airports. France was in a good position, but no region was optimal there either. Calais was closest to the built-up force in England, but after the debacle in Dieppe, the Allies preferred to avoid heavily defended port cities. Brittany was attractive, but again too far out of reach of allied fighter aircraft. Normandy was also not ideal. It had a coast with many cliffs and was heavily defended, but it also had a few beautiful, wide sandy beaches. The big advantage here was that Eisenhower was able to deploy many landing craft across the board in order to be able to move many troops quickly. But nothing was ideal. The only thing the Allies could do was try to turn disadvantages into advantages, with smart operations. For example, by carrying out a lot of bombings before D-Day on strategic targets. Or by deceiving the Germans..<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vquwCHbHZR-pgpKvydtoZVXOJX0GrO_CLfPV_nBajKmlJZwg1Q-DSVsKDaLiKaJKM4e3n8rnIaSUYHkFPald-1ucEcKvFKArkoYXcvnvfxBdU2bx_QWXULcYcT_JAzVU3nhDA2rFqEWJ/s1600/download+%252810%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vquwCHbHZR-pgpKvydtoZVXOJX0GrO_CLfPV_nBajKmlJZwg1Q-DSVsKDaLiKaJKM4e3n8rnIaSUYHkFPald-1ucEcKvFKArkoYXcvnvfxBdU2bx_QWXULcYcT_JAzVU3nhDA2rFqEWJ/s1600/download+%252810%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">Greatest trick in military history</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpXsa6xGQu3Ui5PGv_k4pfWVxG_FsAT_ODkm6lD_IB1NzkQPs_ct3SQVXmqqdr27lcv-LedzaiJ9dA_fT1EXrCeYtVeRjAk1a73w-kP47ahaP6tHC4Isbiywm-ism1HkAsJor7bxen3bH/s1600/download+%25289%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="254" data-original-width="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpXsa6xGQu3Ui5PGv_k4pfWVxG_FsAT_ODkm6lD_IB1NzkQPs_ct3SQVXmqqdr27lcv-LedzaiJ9dA_fT1EXrCeYtVeRjAk1a73w-kP47ahaP6tHC4Isbiywm-ism1HkAsJor7bxen3bH/s1600/download+%25289%2529.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vquwCHbHZR-pgpKvydtoZVXOJX0GrO_CLfPV_nBajKmlJZwg1Q-DSVsKDaLiKaJKM4e3n8rnIaSUYHkFPald-1ucEcKvFKArkoYXcvnvfxBdU2bx_QWXULcYcT_JAzVU3nhDA2rFqEWJ/s1600/download+%252810%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="271" data-original-width="186" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vquwCHbHZR-pgpKvydtoZVXOJX0GrO_CLfPV_nBajKmlJZwg1Q-DSVsKDaLiKaJKM4e3n8rnIaSUYHkFPald-1ucEcKvFKArkoYXcvnvfxBdU2bx_QWXULcYcT_JAzVU3nhDA2rFqEWJ/w197-h286/download+%252810%2529.jpg" width="197" /></a>What the Allies did very cleverly was to make the Germans believe that the invasion would happen somewhere else, for example in Norway. Or in Calais. They constantly tried to throw sand in their eyes. For example, by camouflaging tanks as trucks. Or to disguise jeeps as tanks. Even the British film industry was used to make fake decors. In fact, it was a magician who was at the head of this deception operation. Quite an interesting story within this story. <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pebOqjm1W5A">Jasper Maskelyne</a></b> was a professional illusionist, coming from a long line of magicians. He wanted to use his skills to fight the Nazi's: if he could deceive people in the theater, while in the bright spotlight and having their undivided attention, then why not succeed in deceiving the Germans observers who would be a mile or more away? He proved his worth in the 1941 Allied campaign in North Africa, when he succeeded in conning the Germans spectacularly. With the help of artists, prop makers, an engineer and even a chemist ( The A-team), he managed to cover the city of Alexandria in complete darkness. Then they built a mock up version of Alexandria with self planted lights, three miles down the coast in no man's land. Fooling the German bombers into attacking an empty bay instead of the real city. They also made jeeps look like tanks (with fake material built around it), and tanks like trucks. Creating a fake army and making the Germans think (from air) that the Allied Forces would attack from the south instead of the north. And then his ideas were used to further strategic use. They used his help to hide the real landing site for the invasion of Europe in Normandy, by creating a fake one. They make the Germans believe that the invasion will in fact happen at Calais. With the help of Maskelyne, a fake army is built on the English mainland near the Channel of Calais, with fake buildings, fake landing crafts, fake inflatable tanks and fake army material. They invited a real war officer, hoping that German spies and intelligence would pick up on it, and hoping that German planes would spot it, which they did. Germany thought the Allies were building up for an invasion in that area, when in fact it never existed, and in the months before D-Day the Germans moved most of its feared tank divisions and much of the infantry up north, towards Calais. 150 miles away from the real site of attack. And the few tanks that were in the area weren't used, because the Fuhrer was a notorious late sleeper, and nobody dared to wake him up that morning. With him being the only one who could order the tanks into action, there were none. Allies later claimed that had even a couple of tanks been used by the Germans, it would have wiped the American soldiers at Omaha Beach back into the sea without a doubt. Now, only 1 division with about 600 men was left behind in Omaha Beach... And if it had stayed that way, most of the Allied soldiers would have come out of D-Day alive...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUZdXc62imw25USC-0HBua4CCJMEmaIGdUctA9SzBXCHKgPyPlTxcPyD63hEkPXnvwkiTm-lL39rh-kNCThGStRL8DymsYZ7DD_Iy_WUrtDzJZZ_pr8_XmitX0DdRvJUMEKVrElypoPIrZ/s1600/51-1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="800" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUZdXc62imw25USC-0HBua4CCJMEmaIGdUctA9SzBXCHKgPyPlTxcPyD63hEkPXnvwkiTm-lL39rh-kNCThGStRL8DymsYZ7DD_Iy_WUrtDzJZZ_pr8_XmitX0DdRvJUMEKVrElypoPIrZ/s640/51-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRWZN0-IN1ppP7XOTt_ygx1TwA1ENLScDs0Q0sX2d1wPnwifXcZZB6joFGrbcFJuDTNabqiuKwh8YS3lL6iu5mBIXonQuX-kvOy67GdjHwr5WQ2lhsTZ10Q2FNRUU2tapA0O3iDg5j5kyZ/s1600/download+%252812%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="183" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRWZN0-IN1ppP7XOTt_ygx1TwA1ENLScDs0Q0sX2d1wPnwifXcZZB6joFGrbcFJuDTNabqiuKwh8YS3lL6iu5mBIXonQuX-kvOy67GdjHwr5WQ2lhsTZ10Q2FNRUU2tapA0O3iDg5j5kyZ/s400/download+%252812%2529.jpg" width="265" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYONQ7Ipms1jda4AeCJi6he0soVen4QTHpRojiePSwQmhLikG2rtH6Gy4-ee5FmnOrB6Dv1jSEHMYaVh9Oy1_-AK6ci7Zbh6vugIZ5Pvl6rWCizUAzAfwEECEjCHQgdacddMbeUuHxfGa0/s1600/portrait-of-general-erwin-rommel-c-1942_a-G-13707858-9436061.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="325" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYONQ7Ipms1jda4AeCJi6he0soVen4QTHpRojiePSwQmhLikG2rtH6Gy4-ee5FmnOrB6Dv1jSEHMYaVh9Oy1_-AK6ci7Zbh6vugIZ5Pvl6rWCizUAzAfwEECEjCHQgdacddMbeUuHxfGa0/s400/portrait-of-general-erwin-rommel-c-1942_a-G-13707858-9436061.jpg" width="266" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">Unfortunately, a certain Erwin Rommel spoiled that </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">party.</span></b> He was the commander of all German defenses on the north French coast. He was a boogieman for the Allies; a frighteningly able and brilliant commander with a vast amount of experience, and the creepy ability to get into the opponents mind. He had fought in the desert, with minimal resources, and defeated the Allies time after time. He was not just any military, but quite an unorthodox one, playing the violin, loving his dachshund Ajax and he loved taking photographs. But most of all he was a master strategist. And when he visited the Omaha Beach site half a year before the Invasion, he did not like what he saw. Soldiers acting as if they were on holiday there, clean cut beaches without any defense works up. In fact, he got one of his infamous revelations there, while looking out over the sea. He was struck by the similar outlay of it, compared to a certain Italian beach: Salerno. The beach where the Allies successfully started their invasion of Italy the year prior. It was an amphibian assault that surprised the Germans. And the beaches struck him as very similar indeed: both have the same broad sand strips, the same gradual curve to the shoreline. Both have a shallow gradient, ideal from landing craft approaching the beach. The exact type of features which the Allies might choose again when invading France, he thought. As a result he whipped his men into shape quickly and heavily reinforced the beach. Bunkers became fortifications, 3700 obstacles were placed on the beach. And many experienced troops were sent there too, doubling the forces there to 1200. His transition from quiet beach to stronghold has most definitely contributed to the gigantic human losses during D-Day. Yet, Rommel acted on a feeling. A hunch. There was no intelligence on the specifics of this Invasion That the Allies have been able to keep the exact location of the landing secret for so long is almost a miracle. Even when the first ships appeared off the Normandy coast, the Germans did not sound a big alarm. had they had a 100 Rommels, it would have panned out differently, but given that they had only one, the Germans as a whole thought it was a diversion for the real Calais invasion. The invasion started around 6:00 am, but Hitler was only woken up in the middle of the morning, and around noon they were still not sure that the invasion had really begun. Operation Overlord became a success and heralded the liberation of the whole of Europe. An incredible achievement. Such a complex and large mission cannot be practiced. They had to think out everything at the drawing board, and everything had to go right in one go.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqe3ZHtMGZA-6caw4ZGOFDAODIDTuSFZV2bHhCNW17-n_CTlKtRxn8JWrVTCas2X8WCBV1fcyDWUyR180OfxUX7ATgTaaBKsJJgGvRPsO6kQ_6QS9GT8LiGkAhPjZ8CgFyQIuAaimncufW/s1600/russian-beauty-makovsky-painting-17.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="841" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqe3ZHtMGZA-6caw4ZGOFDAODIDTuSFZV2bHhCNW17-n_CTlKtRxn8JWrVTCas2X8WCBV1fcyDWUyR180OfxUX7ATgTaaBKsJJgGvRPsO6kQ_6QS9GT8LiGkAhPjZ8CgFyQIuAaimncufW/s400/russian-beauty-makovsky-painting-17.jpg" width="300" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">June 5th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2019</span></span></b><br />
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I finished the Ted Bundy Tapes, I loved it. Very well made and it was edited in a marvelous way. It is unlike the movie made about Ted recently, with a great <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdMtnvMJcDA"><b>Zac Efron</b></a>; Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy tapes is a documentary in 4 parts. It zooms in on his life and all his victims, and its not graphic in imagery but very graphic in what is told about everything. They used real life audio tape recordings from Ted, real life footage from him, video material from the 70's and early 80's showing the streets, campuses, the police work at the time. It's a trip down in time. What becomes most clear of all, is that the concept of the Serial Killer didn't exist yet around the start of the 1970's when Ted began. And he moved states too over the course of his murder spree, and since the police force was organized per state at the time and had virtually no communication with other states, Oregon and Utah and Colorado and Florida all thought at some point that the killings had stopped, or that the killer died or something, not realizing that he had just changed states. It took years and years before they realized they had completely similar murder cases going on, even the looks of these women were eerily similar; slim, brunettes mostly, same type of face and beauty. Just gobsmacking in today's time with DNA data banks and inline information sharing etc... What also stood out in the documentary was the way in which Ted unraveled in the court room with his hypo-maniacal narcissism on full display was so interesting to witness. And the judge he faced was still allowed in those days (80's) to be so un-PC. I loved that too. He just flat out sent Ted to the electrical chair and then right after said how he wished him truly the best. And he expressed things in a way that showed us that he really seemed to like Ted in some way as well; he called him bright and said that he could imagine that he could have seen him in the courtroom as a good lawyer, had he chosen another path in life. I could relate to that, it crossed my mind too while seeing Ted in his element in the court room. Granted, he made a mess of his own defense lol, but he had the swagger and the intelligence for it probably. He also was quite a (frightening) enigma as he was quite funny also, very charming and had a distinct own, intellectual almost, view on the world. I suppose that is what makes him 'famous' (infamous) until this day, that combination of evil madness monster with the gentleman's demeanor in public. A frightening man. You could tell that the judge was intrigued by it as well. But of course, with 30+ victims and the beastly obsession to kill, this monster had to go. But imagine a judge saying something like that in this day and age.... he'd be hounded by the social justice warriors and the press.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj17gARgt0clEqv1tvyhgQF3Lp7dVprwuNyw4JFqeVcTxlerXPOZzcY4LC2QVsaI3b68Ul4JIUDvsYUi8Wjx672CchAetgv-5Iu0Nx582b0HxhwCEylW9KBYH25Nk9MZmQ3lPqlHeOaYZa4/s1600/images+%25284%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="242" data-original-width="208" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj17gARgt0clEqv1tvyhgQF3Lp7dVprwuNyw4JFqeVcTxlerXPOZzcY4LC2QVsaI3b68Ul4JIUDvsYUi8Wjx672CchAetgv-5Iu0Nx582b0HxhwCEylW9KBYH25Nk9MZmQ3lPqlHeOaYZa4/s400/images+%25284%2529.jpg" width="343" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">June 1st </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2019</span></span></b><br />
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My skin has been doing not all too bad. I still have some hours in the day when I flush no matter what it seems, which is usually around 18:00 PM. I think it is due to the body core temperature then rising a little bit (in general with everybody) and I tend to start cooking dinner too around then which never helps. The temperatures have been soaring too here lately, so I have started using the airconditioning again, in the bedroom at night but if need be also in the rest of the house. Until now it has been relatively cool so I cannot complaint this year. Last year(s) it was already super warm in April and May. I pretty much allowed for a layer of dead skin to build up on my cheeks, which upon close inspection does look like... just that haha. A layer of dead skin. But from a step or more distance, you don't see it and it just looks like upper skin in a normal skin colour. Someone else may think I have sun pigmentation perhaps, but what it does for me is allowing my skin to look less red and more yellow. It puts a layer over the redness, it masks some of the flushing and it makes my skin less sensitive. It just needs to go at some point and my skins barrier function is not as it should be. So I'll need to scrub it off myself eventually. Which is then followed by at least 3 weeks or super red, thin, reactive, burning hot skin :( So I'm not looking forward to that. Instead I now peel off some dead skin flakes here and there, but not too much. And am trying to do all this in stages. If that makes sense. It's so weird that I sometimes wonder if anyone else out there has this same thing going on.. Crazy anecdote; when I was 22 or so (will be 40 this year!!<i> Ohhh myyyy gaaawd</i>) I had this same thing already going on. I still used a moisturizer at the time, one for sensitive skin from Biotherm, and I would also have this dead skin cell build up at some point. But I didn't realize it really. And I was at the bus stop and an older man was standing next to me, in the bright day light, and started chatting. And then he said: "Do you have some skin condition perhaps? Your skin looks like reptile skin!" I got so red and embarrassed! Got on the bus, started fretting, got off at the next stop and rushed back home. Then saw what he meant when looking in the mirror in the daylight (instead of the bathroom) and scrubbed my whole skin clean. Flushing and redness for weeks of course.. (phot is a close up..).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6G268g0cllF7-T_ZlIy0EQfEDXg3btY3Bn7ZOa-CK81jLbZaBWqsadJJiBJcuS947OORC6QpYXklklAHd8WKx5NPoKMAkCGpJvs5IjnZMK5gglZvK1fEgY1Bm56RwE80N6q1RYQgkuDuB/s1600/d6a43f98e671f18833a5a3970cb000cf.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="966" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6G268g0cllF7-T_ZlIy0EQfEDXg3btY3Bn7ZOa-CK81jLbZaBWqsadJJiBJcuS947OORC6QpYXklklAHd8WKx5NPoKMAkCGpJvs5IjnZMK5gglZvK1fEgY1Bm56RwE80N6q1RYQgkuDuB/s400/d6a43f98e671f18833a5a3970cb000cf.jpg" width="241" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtv5XXcl5uKxJrFXHyNvps_PsG4JoUkeUFaJ5KxoooMWj4TDumjTlt29fjUgt6HBh02PjTJr4077PDdrlVrXPJdRoBPzFenCz0rVrzjB8CR-emk_oD0Kw5hVB80dCHS7-fTn7dkae3DsFb/s1600/2018_NYR_16387_0018_000%2528john_william_waterhouse_ra_thisbe%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="972" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtv5XXcl5uKxJrFXHyNvps_PsG4JoUkeUFaJ5KxoooMWj4TDumjTlt29fjUgt6HBh02PjTJr4077PDdrlVrXPJdRoBPzFenCz0rVrzjB8CR-emk_oD0Kw5hVB80dCHS7-fTn7dkae3DsFb/s400/2018_NYR_16387_0018_000%2528john_william_waterhouse_ra_thisbe%2529.jpg" width="241" /></a>Also had friends staying over for over a week. Which was a lot of fun, let's start stating that. But it also was very long.. I'm happy as a fish with the house to myself and my own time and head space to do the things I like to do, so to speak. People staying over is fun for some days but then I want my own space back. I find it tiring to entertain others, or have long nights with meals and conversations. One night of that a week is more than enough for me, but with people staying over a week+ I more or less need to be 'on' all the time. And then there is the rosacea on top. I have my own way of living with it, but despite having grown used to that for 20 years by now, I still don't feel comfortable about letting others see that. So in this case; I will not get out my ventilator during dinner, simply because there are people there who may find it strange. So I rather burn up and be in pain than to adjust the room to my needs. Hence, being relieved when everyone is gone again haha. My mum tells me regularly; <i>DON'T do that! Don't accustom to the rest of the world. You're nearly 40 years of age now, it's time you stick up for what you need and to let others take that into account, if you were in need of extra oxygen and needed an oxygen tank on your back, would you apologize for it? Or take it off, just because it looks better? No. This is who you are and this is what you have, medically speaking, so just let people work around that, not the other way around. Put that ventilator on the table and open the window when you need fresh air. </i>I am glad with my mother saying things like that. But sometimes I do get away with 'normal living'. Just drinking cold water with ice cubes while having dinner with others. It does feel like a victory then at the end of the night, that I could just sit it through without coldpacks or ventilator. I hope for that always but some days I just get super red and on fire very quickly without them. What didn't help either last week was that the weather was more or less perfect for me; around or below 20 degrees Celsius, clouded, cool breeze. Just perfect. But one of the guests is an older artist and eccentric man and he is very thin. And ageing plus no body fat results in his case in feeling cold all the time. Yeh, great combination with me haha, who is always feeling too warm. I have had him over in the past some times too and after that winter visits were abolished, so to speak. Because he wanted the fireplace on and sit right next to it all the time, whereas my rosacea flares badly from indoor heat. So end of May seemed a safe time period... Nope. Even with 20 degrees outside he is cold, so the fire place was on some evenings and afternoons now too. I was working upstairs with the window open during those times, but after 4 days I needed to have a heart to heart with him about it. He just didn't realize how indoor heating makes my face burn. He knows I have "a skin condition" but as usual; despite me telling people about this specifically and explicitly and despite my mind being nearly 24/7 conscious of my skin's needs, <i>other people</i> pretty much take it for a fact and forget about it again. Which also works like that when you are thinking that the rest of the world is looking at you and your skin, and is thinking alll sorts of things about it. No.. most of the time, people are only preoccupied with themselves and their own things in life. May that be a reassurance :) Only in my case it means I need to repeat and re-explain my rosacea now and then. Which I don't want to really, I don't want to put any emphasis on it, and rather pretend I am completely 'normal' and that it is all no big deal. Only the people I have lived with in my life, lived together with I mean, know truly what it entails and how draining rosacea (in my case a constantly burning hot skin) really is.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHcfiMEbuYj4ME_KMYpKzz0sSX0_uskHsFGHEpkw-UKz3rK1HF6edJlMwdOHS01lDm5wtV89Bk4J6AEV2lQ7pTMtMHING0YgH0u-SFpBtQlDkUF9XaA2_yqrGScy6T3t4-ciJ4Y79xhJy/s1600/DSC00721.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="528" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHcfiMEbuYj4ME_KMYpKzz0sSX0_uskHsFGHEpkw-UKz3rK1HF6edJlMwdOHS01lDm5wtV89Bk4J6AEV2lQ7pTMtMHING0YgH0u-SFpBtQlDkUF9XaA2_yqrGScy6T3t4-ciJ4Y79xhJy/s320/DSC00721.jpg" width="263" /></a>And then there was the alcohol thing... I never used to drink that much but in my teenage years and student days I did like to go out dancing with friends and drinking alcohol. In the student days I already had a flushing problem, but certain types of alcohol were less bad for me than others. White whine was usually ok, vodka too. In the places we went at night we could also order a large cocktail (flower bucket size) with many straws in them to share within the group. I was OK with that drink too. So when we went dancing in rumba dance cafe's or places with alternative music or pop music, I'd always be able to join the rest and get loose a bit. I need that to be able to dance without feeling self conscious, and to snap out of the observation modus. But nowadays, I have zero tolerance towards alcohol, unfortunately. Even white wine diluted with water and ice is giving me huge red flushing flares. It's simply not worth it anymore, and I am not going to dance parties anymore either, so well. But of course the people around me do like a drink. Which is fine. But this past week there was heavy drinking every day, starting during copious lunches and continuing into the evening. By day 3 of this I was already fed up with it. The other friend being the artist type, he drinks a minimum of one bottle of wine a day, but usually two. And when it is a particularly enjoyable day, there is no limit. Now, I am not the alcohol police and only notice the excess through peoples behaviour; not by checking their alcohol consumption. But it puts a strain on friends coming over, to be honest. And there is always an excuse for it (nice weather! Nice company! Hey its holiday!) and me of course drinking zilch, they just keep going. When you drink along, you all slide in a similar pace into a happy, churting mood, and you all drift off together into corniness. But with one staying dramatically sober, the rest only appear to become increasingly more loud, obnoxious and sometimes even rude. There's no point by then debating topics you may have a difference of opinion on, as it always escalates with a drunk person.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyymYB2Tm9eCXcHDvvCunPM9xpkZkwVUOkdA9SLXT7h0F62n78iLPvRgBgTnTVzodTvoasCElr7bWhJXwxxI8pJ_Txcq112vRO3YF1mbYx7fY8_hZ8uIPsduntBj9Q1DrAO4k1OjvCSKqL/s1600/81rS6WUn-LL._SY679_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="427" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyymYB2Tm9eCXcHDvvCunPM9xpkZkwVUOkdA9SLXT7h0F62n78iLPvRgBgTnTVzodTvoasCElr7bWhJXwxxI8pJ_Txcq112vRO3YF1mbYx7fY8_hZ8uIPsduntBj9Q1DrAO4k1OjvCSKqL/s640/81rS6WUn-LL._SY679_.jpg" width="401" /></a>Hehe my fellow rosacea friend wrote me back about this: "Plz forgive my laughter.. in any language. Here we have a saying “fish and guests stink after 3 days.” Perhaps it is a Japanese motto we have adopted. Having rosacea has stolen my drinking life, which was never huge, but I do love a few alcoholic drinks. And you too. Now know that it is not a part of your life which makes ( I think) the frustration level go up to be around people hooping it up. Yuk Yuk. It’s a real loss of a part of our lives. The food, the drink, the laughing stupid jokes. I do drink distilled water with a shot of a very light white wine on ice to make me feel a part of the party. But I made huge mistake at street party a few weeks ago. Had never had a mint julep. This gal made the real thing with fresh mint. A few of those and the next week my symptoms went sky high. Skin was RED and peeling. Drinking is so universal. So those of us that are spectators to it see only the pathetic and ridiculous scenario. And sometimes the utter frustration that we can’t join in. We share also the same coping strategy on life: a little outing here and there is enough. Calm in House is calm in body. Loss of Calm structure = chaos in my body. It is maddening to be this way and it has taken X years to finally adapt to it and for me; medications. I’m finally willing to agree to consume to help me when I’m not in my happy calm predictable environment. And actually as I write this, a huge PLOP of acceptance on my part of all my limitations while the rest of the people around me are having a fun time. I hope this helps. Do you have an Aircon in another room or can you get one for a bedroom space that is just for you? A fireplace going now would have me throwing glass saucers at people like they were frisbee targets."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlI3z62MaQ5U152bClU1hQiek3niGD12RxW11xONa-Intx1kx0BPcAF4-uP0gCtnrHpn9Kc8ESVQTQbI44kPPTc-MJc9gOxmuC8yq-4c0arDMCFS-xwIbMr79SWgDJzPhZpfYmPCJpDeBv/s1600/cd792020824eb7d40b29d5818dff9e2c.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="445" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlI3z62MaQ5U152bClU1hQiek3niGD12RxW11xONa-Intx1kx0BPcAF4-uP0gCtnrHpn9Kc8ESVQTQbI44kPPTc-MJc9gOxmuC8yq-4c0arDMCFS-xwIbMr79SWgDJzPhZpfYmPCJpDeBv/s400/cd792020824eb7d40b29d5818dff9e2c.jpg" width="220" /></a>Lol the other day, this lovely guest knocked on my door in the morning, I was still asleep. <i><b><span style="color: #444444;">Emergency!</span></b></i> Could I drive him to the supermarket (fair bit away), because he needed anchovies for the lamb dish he had in mind for lunch. Now I love my sleep and once I do get up I always need some down time to cool my face after waking. So this was not a pleasant wake up call. And we'd said to him on Saturday - big shopping day - to plan ahead and get everything he'd think he needed for the week, please. That was 1,5 days ago lol. I said, do you really need anchovies for this meal? YES! I asked, what are you making then? A lamb stew. I commented that those can be made without anchovies too... No no, I didn't get it: he had seen it <i>on a youtube recipe</i>, it hád to be added. Grumble grumble, ok ok... So drove him there (had already been driving him around for a long time the day prior to find a tobacco place open for his cigarettes - all closed for whatever holiday it was then) and he bought what he needed and then in the kitchen he put literally the tiniest hint of anchovies in that huge lamb meat stew hahaha. You couldn't even taste it lol. One tiny anchovies was taken out of the package he bought :D Oh welll.... (reminds me to never live together with pensionados). Granted, it was a lovely meal.<br />
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Regarding the drinking, As at some point I sometimes do get irritated with the lame double tongue talking and the lack of self restraint and the 'doughyness; as we say (meligheid); their churting mood. At the same time, I also don’t want to be that partypooper. I will try to adopt the advise from my friend Bren next time; quietly and indiscreetly distance myself as soon as I know or feel the group is getting obnoxiously drunk. Be inconspicuous and don't inflame anyone by stamping off with an angry face, just excuse myself due to tiredness/ work to do/ whatever. The problem is that we're all sitting together, eating, its a nice evening.... and you just see and feel the atmosphere changing as they all get more and more drinks in. I find it difficult to get up and go upstairs mid-dinner... Or during or just after desert.. Because I already spend quite some time upstairs to cool my face when people are over for longer periods of time. But once I notice things are going over the edge, drinking wise, I should probably just excuse me and go to bed early.. It sucks, bc I don't want that, I want to stay with the group. But not when it drags on and the rest are just blubbering on. And my face is quite vocal I suppose, my resting face looks like grumpy the cat (RIP). So imagine what a slight annoyance looks like. So best, apologise by then for being unsociable and go upstairs. After one more drink they all will have forgotten about me anyway. I probably should get the attitude of “I don’t give a fuck what you think” when it comes to situations where I don’t want to drink or don’t want to be around drinkers. In the morning I feel much better than them of course. No hangovers. But drinking for a few days straight is not that unusual for some people I suppose, unless you have high blood pressure or something.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsU29adeYNb7bujBU0tqZcqnB7r5GHNvGt3CpBtsOuXyfX42lSuqo-ngMKpcB1XwIrz2fbKxxfVhhSMX0Ty2gXncXjSG6wdQHZgHaaG9eQcxs1P1LSSCtivvunuU_qskOLdJNDhSN9t5mr/s1600/ted-bundy-smiling-for-the-camera.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="600" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsU29adeYNb7bujBU0tqZcqnB7r5GHNvGt3CpBtsOuXyfX42lSuqo-ngMKpcB1XwIrz2fbKxxfVhhSMX0Ty2gXncXjSG6wdQHZgHaaG9eQcxs1P1LSSCtivvunuU_qskOLdJNDhSN9t5mr/s320/ted-bundy-smiling-for-the-camera.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh63jevcKvyo2f45s9pMn3rLp23lO7tTNd8uOaGLFj3lMJsQW8o6LpN7edZJrFhBNPQecmtrw00iOTrO8eq2K_vj3tMfotjpf1TmLj7zT0wKjMJ3DOGf0IlVjKoVoeGuc3YvL2i5_oM-A4x/s1600/ted-bundy-in-court-1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="693" data-original-width="900" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh63jevcKvyo2f45s9pMn3rLp23lO7tTNd8uOaGLFj3lMJsQW8o6LpN7edZJrFhBNPQecmtrw00iOTrO8eq2K_vj3tMfotjpf1TmLj7zT0wKjMJ3DOGf0IlVjKoVoeGuc3YvL2i5_oM-A4x/s320/ted-bundy-in-court-1.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">What else.. I am </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">watching The Ted Bundy </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">tapes, a great Netflix <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9425132/">series</a>. </span></b>(The original Ted Talk, you could say lol). Its very good. Bren and I have a penchant for documentaries on serial killers and air crash disasters, as I already wrote about previously I think. So I knew about Ted already, but this Netflix series (4 parts) is really very good indeed. Made with historical material, Ted's own story, taped by a journalist in the very early 1980's. They then use this historical evidence, and a lot of original footage from those days, combined with people who have been interviewed just recently about Ted and they mix it into a very gripping interesting documentary format. It all looks great. Ted is quite a unique serial killer in some ways, as the series also highlights. He's a charming creep, a smart sharply dressed student, a master manipulator. But he's just a normal guy according to himself. Its interesting. He invited this journalist into his cell around 1980 and he wanted him to make a book about him basically. I suppose he realized that he was never going to get out of jail at that point (he was eventually <a href="https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a27363554/ted-bundy-extremely-wicked-execution/">executed</a> in 1989 on the electric chair). So the deal was; he was going to tell stuff and the journo was going to make him his book. But Ted was such a psychopath, he only wanted an idealized story about his upbringing; his wonderful life prior to the murders. Which he denied committing by the way. And even when detailing his youth, he lied about everything. So the journalist and his mentor quickly figured that out and in the series you also see real life youth friends saying what really happened during his childhood. He was a misfit, he was different, he didn't fit in at school, not with the kids playing in the street, he couldn't get a girlfriend; well the whole shebang basically that you see often see with serial killers like him.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAgR8DcT7yhBfLFjPTk3vYWj_qT2KhEps_JvV8kzmFehVEFMqelbAA6psaA1vqfAak17-QchsVoT05wSJQzR1p23cibxDfGBDlo_KY2NlsVaDJZlKj2iqNkJJJlr7Yji1VRHCBY63UiU7b/s1600/4c3a5a1b4bd6578477084fe032410cff.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="467" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAgR8DcT7yhBfLFjPTk3vYWj_qT2KhEps_JvV8kzmFehVEFMqelbAA6psaA1vqfAak17-QchsVoT05wSJQzR1p23cibxDfGBDlo_KY2NlsVaDJZlKj2iqNkJJJlr7Yji1VRHCBY63UiU7b/s320/4c3a5a1b4bd6578477084fe032410cff.jpg" width="199" /></a>Then this journalist thinks about ways to persuade Ted to start talking about the murdered women. Until then he has flat out refused to and keeps romanticizing his childhood days in the tapes that are recorded of the talks. Then the journo tricks him and says:<i> Ted, you studied psychology. What do YOU think has happened with these murders? What sort of a person would have done that? Can you analyze what sort of a person you think has done this? From your expertise as a psychiatrist? </i>That's the golden move, as it strokes Teds ego and at the same time allows him to talk about the murders in the third person, without admitting anything directly that can harm his case. And then he starts telling in the third person about all he thinks this killer would have been motivated by. All these recordings are used in the documentary series. Quite fascinating. In general there seems to be a new interest in these serial killers perhaps too. There are many popular podcasts at the moment about them and about crime. The new Quentin Tarantino <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELeMaP8EPAA">movie</a></b> will also feature Marilyn Manson and Sharon Tate for instance. No idea why suddenly the rest of the world also seems interested in the most prolific serial killers :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilv8GcpcJG_O0ji9kRPfC0bMYhKTrf33yJiN5aAuwjKsstUs1oQL_7ziNJFpQBA_xcxmTYRW7Hv_1WVI5wAgpIGlhhqr9TDD7xTYy45W-VWTH2QeYL5aPD_HjXAXaJJ96fXGAydl-epigv/s1600/13944782-7069797-His_death_caused_a_queue_to_the_summit_of_the_world_s_tallest_mo-a-7_1558852024229.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="962" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilv8GcpcJG_O0ji9kRPfC0bMYhKTrf33yJiN5aAuwjKsstUs1oQL_7ziNJFpQBA_xcxmTYRW7Hv_1WVI5wAgpIGlhhqr9TDD7xTYy45W-VWTH2QeYL5aPD_HjXAXaJJ96fXGAydl-epigv/s400/13944782-7069797-His_death_caused_a_queue_to_the_summit_of_the_world_s_tallest_mo-a-7_1558852024229.jpg" width="400" /></a>Saw this ghastly image of the summit of Everest recently? Everest, the new bucket list destination... Everest now looking like a line-up for a buffet. The poor Sherpa's have to play for cleaning ladies often to clean up after these climbers and pick up their plastic food wrappers, used oxygen tanks and excrement. My dad (ever the nuanced guy) said about it: <i>The whole troop should actually crash from that mountain. Then maybe this sad sight of this climbing crowd will stop. What a madness to climb a mountain like that. </i>Quite something... I've read several mountaineering books in the past, the best one was Into Thin Air, by John Krakauer about the 1996 Everest disaster. I honestly like K2 climbs even more, as that mountain is not accessible really to tourist wannabe climbers, with a death toll of over 25%. And it being the most difficult, dangerous climb of them all, according to many. Everest is now being climbed by what some say are unequipped, unprepared climbers, who only push others aside for the perfect selfie on the summit. About 11 climbers died last week during that traffic jam time window, and it seems shocking that Nepal has given off so many permits for climbers this year, over 300. All great for their economy and all that, but that poor mountain.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: center;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b style="color: #990000;">I have continued writing my day<br />to day life updates in </b><b style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/01/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-xi_31.html" target="_blank">this blogpost</a>.<br />Or read older updates <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/01/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-xi.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</b></div><div><b style="color: #990000;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/s1600/0%252C2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/w435-h435/0%252C2.jpg" width="435" /></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;" /></div></div></div></div></div></b></div></b></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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</div>Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-79047487603813690992019-01-31T09:14:00.040-08:002024-01-31T05:50:56.331-08:00Ongoing post, Update day to day life XI, May 24th 2019 - March 26th 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiIiWvRCSbKEfg19qauKO8Rd3oPNW_1kDOfZ3ieOZ0-UPxrRSMVVOG9-WWmqERHIMJnnBLs_PTOvFE0FSgM6ZISi-I5iHs_OMf2pjrEJhvB_6Hb-p-PzGEtbk5qXnxrNZ4RLLP49CFiPOb/s1600/source+%25281%2529.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="450" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiIiWvRCSbKEfg19qauKO8Rd3oPNW_1kDOfZ3ieOZ0-UPxrRSMVVOG9-WWmqERHIMJnnBLs_PTOvFE0FSgM6ZISi-I5iHs_OMf2pjrEJhvB_6Hb-p-PzGEtbk5qXnxrNZ4RLLP49CFiPOb/w518-h518/source+%25281%2529.gif" width="518" /></a><b style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I try to give an insight in my own life and dealings with rosacea. I also try to gather information that might be useful for everyone with rosacea, especially subtype 1 with burning, flushing and skin redness. I happen to be a bit unfortunate in that I have this condition for a long time already, and unlike many others, I haven't been able to get it into remission. I know it is more uplifting to read about someone who has beaten rosacea, but I like to write about the struggles that come for those who haven't achieved this. I also blabber here about everyday life topics. </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyAw1QiO-qM3lqed6Vo1f8PFYWXiq0sOT44K-MuGpsDSw-B6BVsbP_4IyrVwUVhbQ_5Dc7BdQ33imTQr_IMZFCJXL_7yK1MgOt2_bQIXgW-zW41bwFZXbeS_e182_Q6VastfbjB54BN-bL/s1600/46199556_374264730046943_4276395009213736555_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="424" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyAw1QiO-qM3lqed6Vo1f8PFYWXiq0sOT44K-MuGpsDSw-B6BVsbP_4IyrVwUVhbQ_5Dc7BdQ33imTQr_IMZFCJXL_7yK1MgOt2_bQIXgW-zW41bwFZXbeS_e182_Q6VastfbjB54BN-bL/s320/46199556_374264730046943_4276395009213736555_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">May 24th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2019</span></span></b><br />
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My skin has been doing OK. Still flushing and burning at certain times a day (especially in the lat afternoon and early evening, regardless of eating yes or no). Only the past two days the weather had been warming up and pollen counts were high and I was more flushed than normal. My skin feels super hot and uncomfortable then. I made a few photos (sorry for the sun glasses on but I had red eyes from allergies) and I did look more red when looking in the mirror, so it doesn't look too bad in these photos. Do look a bit puffy however. The stupid white thingies on the bridge of the sunglasses I attached myself, they are actually for blisters on the heel of your foot but every single pair of adult sun glasses slides off my nose otherwise. Need to get some better looking little thingies on them but haven't found a shop willing to do this on the cheap glasses I bring along. Oh well.. Having a friend stay over for a little while. In the past we had some issues over the heating in winter. But now its warm here so no problems. We got ourselves some cherries the other day and worked a bit in the garden of a friend. I did get flushed unfortunately, but it burned more than that it looked bad, well it did look red but not as red as I felt .. :/ Still having a silly red chin however.<br />
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqwyalmyIqnry_3xk_H9Hw4fwy2YlItKyfw5APaN0BqT49EDmTz7MaGIZU_jqxBFVx6WFTjYKLbNhE72owEK2cKYdCFd8WfAS_Q2mJ-djSHbB_9l8XjBgvz9SVgQr1Q6eGqCCleDe3bE3/s1600/83b4f3c5353071e9092696147f80a9af--elegant-lady-portrait-paintings.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqwyalmyIqnry_3xk_H9Hw4fwy2YlItKyfw5APaN0BqT49EDmTz7MaGIZU_jqxBFVx6WFTjYKLbNhE72owEK2cKYdCFd8WfAS_Q2mJ-djSHbB_9l8XjBgvz9SVgQr1Q6eGqCCleDe3bE3/s1600/83b4f3c5353071e9092696147f80a9af--elegant-lady-portrait-paintings.jpg" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">May 19th </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2019</span></span></b><br />
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Ahhhhhh, one of my mother and my guilty pleasures, the Eurovision song festival was on last night and... after 44 years the Netherlands finally WON it again. I had backed myself and possible disappointment by making bets on Russia, Switzerland, Norway and Sweden winning instead. Just a few tenners but with the odds being immensely in favour of the Netherlands with the bookies, it would bring up a few hundred euro's in case of a win. So a win/win situation. But I shouldn't have bothered as they won anyway. With the Eurovision song festival, European countries and a couple of non Euro ones (Australia, Israel, Russia, Azerbaijan) can join with a national song of their choice. In the past the song had to be sung in the countries own language, but that rule has been let go over time and now everyone can choose whatever language they want. Most switch to English, but countries like Italy, France and Spain mostly always sing in their native tongue, luckily. Same for many Balkan countries.<br />
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The winning Dutch song was written by Duncan Laurence while he was a student at what is called 'Rock Academy' in Holland, but it needed a lot of refining before it was ready for the Eurovision contest. he wrote it after a very good friend of him died at a young age. She had always loved a man who had left her. her death impacted Duncan a lot and he wants to portray the message of finding your own way, and creating your own happiness. Here is the Netherlands with the win:<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJFtbYsn6eY"><b>Azarbaijan</b></a> had a catchy song with a good singer and did well, but probably didn't have enough friends in the jury or in the EU to get the votes they deserved. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKR2GiorZuQ"><b>Sweden</b></a> was boring I thought, but did well with the Jury votes. Poorly with the audience votes however, and they are divided 50/50 for the end result. I loved the Norway song tbh (added below), energetic and fun with a typical Songfestival chorus and sprinkled with some ethnic minority authenticity with the traditional <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joik"><b>Joik</b></a> chanting from the Sámi people in the middle. They received the <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2019/05/19/norway-won-eurovision-public-9598213/"><b>most votes</b></a> from the audience, but were let down by the jury votes. Apparently there was a technical problem when they performed independently before the Jury, but were refused a 2nd performance... Had the Eurovision song contest depended on audience voting alone, they would have won. Problem with the Jury voting is that they were installed to prevent prejudice under EU audience voters... only to end up way more corrupt and predictable than the audience votes ever were! (Especially in this day and age of globalization and everyone streaming their favourite songs online anyway). But the jury votes are so partial. Always the same shit; Greece and Cyprus always voting for each other (the Tel Aviv audience even booed when this happened again last night). Balkan countries usually backing up each other, Scandinavian countries traditionally so too. Former USSR states idem dito. Just rigged in that respect. Luckily the audiences no longer do this as much, and go for the song they like best. Italy had a great song but it sounded crap live I thought. So I'll add the studio version of it.<br />
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And then there was a live act... It was announced already days in advance during the semi finals (yes this entire circus involves three long evenings of two semi finals and then the ultimate finals). MADONNA was going to come. <i>"It was a cliffhanger. Madonna had been in Tel Aviv since Wednesday and occupied the entire top floor of one of the city's luxury hotels. Rumor had it that the Russian delegation had to relocate to make room for her entourage of roughly 100 persons.</i>" Still, for days, the contract hadn't been signed. Would she or wouldn't she? Only after midnight Thursday did Jon Ola Sand finally confirm that the Queen of Pop would perform at Eurovision. Now the Eurovision song contest is dubbed "The gay man's Champions League (football/soccer) equivalent", so Madonna would be a huge crowd pleaser. She was given a huge sum of money, over a million dollars, and was going to be the spectacle piece of the show. <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/madonna-steals-the-show-at-eurovision-for-the-wrong-reasons/a-48791453"><b>Didn't</b></a> exactly pan out that way though. It could even mean the official ending of her career some people wrote, it was so bad.. Poor Israel, organizing this festival, having a huge team to make it all look flawless, no effort was spared, and this is what Madonna showed up with:<br />
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OK the last youtube link was removed again due to copyrights, but I downloaded and uploaded it again on here - the video right next to it - just in case, so you can still watch it, just press the play icon in it twice). She sang that first song without auto-tune. (Correction; she did use auto tune for it, but the result still was off). A shiver went through the audience. So out of tune... panting at some point despite only descending a couple of stairs...<i> "Worse than your average drunk pub karaoke singer</i>", my sister sent me. It even upset my mother: <i>"What happened to her, what a horrendous performance!!</i>", she complained. Then the <a href="https://youtu.be/Dsx4pVjUth0?t=10879"><b>second song</b></a>, producers in sheer panic turned on the auto-tune, hard.. Making her sound like a robot. And still off key some times, which was a real achievement. What a shame. But it would get even worse than this. During rehearsals she stuck to the Festival rules: NO political messages or other bulshit. This show is about music, not political blabla. But then during the real performance, she sneaked in dancers with a Palestinian and Israeli flag on their backs. Making them turn full fledged to the camera, hugging (and before that even shooting) one another. Her dancers also wore gas masks, very subtle.. Poor Tel Aviv festival producers.. Israel was so livid that they refused to put any of her performances on their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/eurovision/videos"><b>youtube channel</b></a>. (Other in between performances <i>were</i> added). It's almost as if all she focuses on now is trying to be controversial and rebellious. "Thank gawd for the auto-tune in the end", the Dutch TV commentator snubbed her live on air (and even that sounded out of tune, what an achievement). Tel Aviv producers must have been so embarrassed by what this turned out to be. Oh and this soft slow song was my guilty pleasure, bit off key also but sweet melody:<br />
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Update: LOL and Madonne had mostly all recordings of <a href="https://youtu.be/Dsx4pVjUth0?t=10555"><b>her original LIVE on air, live sung performance</b></a> eradicated from youtube, only to officially upload this version herself. Which sounds nothing like the original performance :D Like everyone also states in the comment section under it. Brave new world, suddenly she sounds ok. They edited and auto-tuned the hell out of the recording. SO brave of you Madonna, what a rebel. And update 2, she wás using auto-tune even during the first song it now turns out. And it still sounded off tune. Last video on the right on it, seen from the perspective of a vocal coach (and with the original sound, not the remastered veneer version Madonna has now uploaded).<br />
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Aggghh seen such a fantastic game of football the other night with my parents. We were watching the match of the century I think, it was exhilarating. In the Champions League, our own Dutch team Ajax had beaten Tottenham Hotspurs last week and are playing the return semi-final tonight. (Fingers crossed). But the OTHER semi final was a true thrill fest. Last week, Barcelona (well, Messi basically) beat Liverpool at home with 3-0. Now was the return match. Liverpool had to make 4 goals, and any good made by Barcelona at Anfield would weigh double basically, as an away made goal overrules a home made goal. So these lads came on the pitch with the heavy task to not let Messi score, ánd to have to make a string of goals themselves. Some top players were injured also, to make matters worse. Well check out how it unraveled for yourself here: due to limited file size options here I cut the summary up in 4 small videos. <a href="https://1drv.ms/v/s!ApmtjkecGyhRhhUXALIuT0Tktz8N"><b>Here</b></a> you can directly watch the whole recap video in HD.<b></b><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Liverpool - Barcelona, May 7th 2019, Anfield, semi-final Champions league</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 30px;"><b>Episode 5 of season 8</b></span></div>
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Hilarious, accurate recap on youtube :D Like the rest of the past seasons, this episode was yet again madness; plot holes keep stacking up. I mean, aside from all the Dany craziness and destruction, which I did like, the rest made zero sense, again. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisyDO8jH546rJ7r_gd8FFBjruZ1ckHdZ-bSZiWaLPSV9-UCICe2WjTvQzU2BRNMOCjyQ48PJMSG6egGCaM0Uq8A_v50K52_85vOqcKipzo_BtPl9qMNaSY441stMPmO7xTTroSfxDcwp3O/s1600/download+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisyDO8jH546rJ7r_gd8FFBjruZ1ckHdZ-bSZiWaLPSV9-UCICe2WjTvQzU2BRNMOCjyQ48PJMSG6egGCaM0Uq8A_v50K52_85vOqcKipzo_BtPl9qMNaSY441stMPmO7xTTroSfxDcwp3O/s400/download+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkohWWh9Jby06BAApPMs-haMnSdozW-DJ-NgjudhMuNcS8-RVDBWyFim1_hiElk99xHK1nFHw7pY2huy4PRGvxp9iHMrzbIyVwyY7MYU-GMthGlBhBZlnDrhXbsRmTQeCXElpoesaf3vR8/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkohWWh9Jby06BAApPMs-haMnSdozW-DJ-NgjudhMuNcS8-RVDBWyFim1_hiElk99xHK1nFHw7pY2huy4PRGvxp9iHMrzbIyVwyY7MYU-GMthGlBhBZlnDrhXbsRmTQeCXElpoesaf3vR8/s400/download+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">-The Mad Queen</span></b> - I personally did like her going crazy and into full destruction mode. One of my favourite former characters was Ramsey Bolton, so yeh... A friend wrote me about that: "You really hate the GOT now don't you? haha. It's like your World War One? haha. Is there a Ramsey poppy you can wear? ... <i>remember Ramsey with pride</i>." So anyway, a bit of deranged madness is fine. Fan girls are complaining online that she 'turned' too suddenly but she always had a mad side to her. She had grown increasingly more cocky and erratic in the past seasons, with her condescending ways and delusions of grandeur. Burning anyone who didn't bend the knee (including the Tully's), but even in the beginning she didn't bat an eyelid when burning her own brother alive with melted... what was it, gold I think. All she had to bargain with, for anything really, were those three dragons, so with only one left... well.. she was getting on edge! :D That must have triggered her inner Patrick Bateman lol. That and Jon rejecting her, realizing everyone loves Jon and no-one loves her, Jorah dead. Buuut... she always wanted to sit on the iron throne though, so by burning the whole place down, incl the poor subjects of Mad Cersei.. she kind of signed her own death warrant. It made less sense that Dany went from '<i>Save all the Slaves'</i> to <i>'Lets burn men women and children alike, and pets, after the surrender bells have started'</i>. When Kings Landing surrendered, why would she throw her entire legacy and chance for the throne away and burn every house in the city? If she was so "mad" then why not go for Cersei and destroy the Red Keep only? - this would be a bad move anyways due to some collateral damage but manageable and nothing on the scale of torching an entire city (1 million people?). Given her experience in power, she would not be so stupid to burn a city she was trying to save, effectively committing suicide since nobody will support her now. So was pretty illogical. But hey, since when are mad deranged mental patients always acting logically.. And then to think of all the people who named their babies Khaleesi or Daenerys hahaha. Curious if they will change the names now.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">- Granted, the visuals this episode were impressive.</span></b> And the dragon-Blitzkrieg.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyXHlRUKs_n9Al1oLOFL4PyVIiogKLI5gwXekf4WqNfnzKBkaQ_ALLR25ijIOCylZLpTyQb5cilG1Lq7mDMhPkWmGUdP0wVTOQBG1bKJV5UD6E7OTlCVFOEMzbaB6tp-6cN90dZrLc7tlV/s1600/game-of-thrones-season-8-episode-5-easter-eggs-references.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyXHlRUKs_n9Al1oLOFL4PyVIiogKLI5gwXekf4WqNfnzKBkaQ_ALLR25ijIOCylZLpTyQb5cilG1Lq7mDMhPkWmGUdP0wVTOQBG1bKJV5UD6E7OTlCVFOEMzbaB6tp-6cN90dZrLc7tlV/s400/game-of-thrones-season-8-episode-5-easter-eggs-references.jpeg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHKSewdeyc1FDYQ6XnqxTgz5CSlYdxVRpgqb4m621LSknSb2GdK1XWc8d2QU6wx_iU2raeOBMEb5Ry-wIxbOwohT5dT8XukpzUBIkUAqPtlIUPQzbKDeP3gZf73jpt4r5uixYgYdFpjsY/s1600/240fb8a7e648057ca8f557ef1c089f3385bae6efea2141a923ce2fb172cc06259064dcfc52b4b2323372a6fd8e03d735.0.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHKSewdeyc1FDYQ6XnqxTgz5CSlYdxVRpgqb4m621LSknSb2GdK1XWc8d2QU6wx_iU2raeOBMEb5Ry-wIxbOwohT5dT8XukpzUBIkUAqPtlIUPQzbKDeP3gZf73jpt4r5uixYgYdFpjsY/s400/240fb8a7e648057ca8f557ef1c089f3385bae6efea2141a923ce2fb172cc06259064dcfc52b4b2323372a6fd8e03d735.0.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">-The battle itself was just silly. </span></b>They had hundreds of overpowered scorpions on boats and around the city and now only ONE target. A dragon siege should have been impossible. They clearly made that obvious in Episode 4 where Drogon narrowly avoids getting arrowed but now, all of a sudden, the scorpions were suddenly useless, to the point where they didn't even matter. Burned in seconds. Big inconsistency in two consecutive episodes. How the heck did Rhaegal die when Drogon was able to destroy the Golden Company and the whole of Iron Fleet in a manner of seconds? Not to mention he topped it off by burning the whole of King's Landing SOLO. What's the point in build up to an epic battle when all they needed was a single dragon? What's the point of an army that enters the first 100 meters of a city and then just stands there and does nothing? And why couldn't the Night King simply destroy Winterfell in the same way with HIS dragon? You say dracarys and all the walls tumble as if they were exploding with dynamite.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;"><br />-The Clegane-bowl was fine. I did like the ending of Jaime and Cersei</span></b> and that in good GoT tradition they showed the more rounded character arch. She was pregnant, she wanted to live, she got a bit emotional. That was believable to me and they acted it well too. Bit less convincing was how Cersei basically stood and watched the destruction from her Red Keep with the same sour look on her face as ever. Not giving orders really, not having a back up plan. They could have given her some more credit there. Thinking of it; if they had restrained her with duct tape on a stretcher, she would have done just the same as now. Nothing.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">-What was the point of Jon Snow and Arya in this episode when they just enter a city to a certain point and then turn around and walk back? </span></b>Of course Arya comes out without as much as a scratch, whereas Jaime and Cersei crumble in the destruction, yawn. They call that plot armour I think; protected by the plot writers haha. Great term. I mean, Arya was at Cersei's front door literally, and after having already killed a bunch of people, incl the Nights King, she is about to face her Numero Uno enemy; the one on the top of her kill list; the one she had all those faceless assassin lessons for. But the Hound tells her; 'just go home kid'. And Arya is like: 'Yeh cool. I'm at her front door but I'll just turn around.' She is there for one reason, and one reason only: because D&D wanted her there to serve as a Point of View character for the audience. You know, seeing the carnage in King's Landing through the eyes of someone who we care about. So that we actually give a shit about the burning of the city. Another plot driven character decision, and there are countless these days. Logic out the door, bye bye.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhX1ipBsAhzzd2IH7QH3tha6RAfLl8DVjwqnrB2yk41QXhu6phI6Xh1TULWrur7kP489INxlTp3aMEi5pd4-mzh29MXZhYWL-U53xDrl1XHMavTBVF6XsSBsfFAqHYSthdLlVMCHR5dtMX/s1600/13433088-0-image-a-90_1557739850257.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="962" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhX1ipBsAhzzd2IH7QH3tha6RAfLl8DVjwqnrB2yk41QXhu6phI6Xh1TULWrur7kP489INxlTp3aMEi5pd4-mzh29MXZhYWL-U53xDrl1XHMavTBVF6XsSBsfFAqHYSthdLlVMCHR5dtMX/s400/13433088-0-image-a-90_1557739850257.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxITQRdt4LNnVWhHR0C3J8LWYNwCCsZd48sBr4sfuAJ3BURizhoAoM6erJ_-mHEn09a6Oo8ZOCkDo28xPD3MjRJ7z5rSbHvJ6lcZgG2lg1oMMQWAqyxidsmAR6fXp0g3fwMOu18Vca-mxg/s1600/got-s8e5-1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxITQRdt4LNnVWhHR0C3J8LWYNwCCsZd48sBr4sfuAJ3BURizhoAoM6erJ_-mHEn09a6Oo8ZOCkDo28xPD3MjRJ7z5rSbHvJ6lcZgG2lg1oMMQWAqyxidsmAR6fXp0g3fwMOu18Vca-mxg/s400/got-s8e5-1.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">-B&B are no pur sang writers, </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">They were GREAT at adapting the original book story</span></b> to the screen, I give them that. It's easy to say: 'Yeahhh but they had the books'. But summarizing a story and bringing it on TV in a way that works, is no small feat, they have a talent for that. But that doesn't mean they can actually write their own material and be even in the same league as the master himself. What's worse, they ALTERED the original story arch that Martin thought out, set up, and worked towards. So you get very strange things now suddenly (things Martin said he would have done differently). For instance: it <i>"didn't seem right"</i> (yeh that's a quote) for D&D to have Jon kill the Night King. Like my friend John said: Bad decision.. The only thing that would have been right is for Jon to kill the NK. It was his war and his fight and Arya came out of nowhere to fuck it up so they could say, <i>'We got you! Surprise! Ha! Nobody expected that!' </i>Yeh, nobody expected it because it's a shit ending to the NK story. Jon had a long standing history with the NK, Arya did not. Arya had a long standing story with CERSEI. She was at the top of her hit list. Buuut..... D&D also didn't feel it was right for her to kill Cersei last episode. All those years of training with the faceless assassins...</div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Littlefinger was another favourite of mine. </span></b>I think Martin molded him strongly on Thomas Cromwell, a fascinating figure. I read the excellent novels on him by Hillary Mantel (recommendation!), she did a fantastic job in bringing him to life and making him more than a clever schemer. A man from humble background and simple means who worked his way to the top through his intelligence. The way Martin writes himself is so realistic I think, so surprising yet.. logical. That's why his books seem like historical works in some sense. I've always been laughed at when I said that (<i>dragons?? Fictional characters? C'mon!</i>) but I really felt that when reading the first books and then seeing those first 4 brilliant seasons. Its interwoven so well with super believable, realistic human interactions, scheming, plotting, etc. No wonder if has so many historic links, from Greek mythology to European history to Norse mythology to the War of the roses. Its realistic enough to become very believable. Well, that is very difficult to achieve. Just picking up a pen and starting to write about dragons and fictional characters... that's not the hard part. The hard part is to bring that alive and make it seem human and giving us actual lessons about real life, and real human interaction. Millions try each year but not many can actually do that. Neither can D&D unfortunately. All these plot holes... all these tactical errors, inconsistencies, impossibilities, are all eating away at the believable universe Martin wrote. You accepted those dragons before as real because the rest of the story is so realistic. Errors are punished. No plot armour. You can actually learn from that. Now it is slung in the realm of TV action heroes. No disrespect but they go by different rules of logic. It never used to be like that with GoT.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXY-Fsk4T904Qy1xvFfoCzEZeE9heLJyF5ztpODEoGyUkf6X3uo4AX2qiHzSEK0CumrsKqCDYpZ7XMrGoZRcA8I27Rv4bPn3WICmqiujehENGbAvH-LImiUjUHdHCVVqd8Z9KQ4hKApYsH/s1600/13476438-7026853-image-a-90_1557829618220.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="634" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXY-Fsk4T904Qy1xvFfoCzEZeE9heLJyF5ztpODEoGyUkf6X3uo4AX2qiHzSEK0CumrsKqCDYpZ7XMrGoZRcA8I27Rv4bPn3WICmqiujehENGbAvH-LImiUjUHdHCVVqd8Z9KQ4hKApYsH/s320/13476438-7026853-image-a-90_1557829618220.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">-Bran most certainly knew about Dany's turning</span></b>, because he saw the dragon shadow over King's Landing, so he knew and he didn't tell anyone. Bran is still a passive useless cripple. None of his powers are used and you know what? They might just put him on the throne next week. Lame too. I suppose he knew Jon and Arya would survive so why spoil their fun. In fact, it was probably him who warged into that horse that Arya rode off on lol. Honestly, could the writers not have squeezed him in somewhere last episode? He can warge into an animal; why didn't they warge him into Drogon the dragon? My friend John agreed: Bran - yeh, fairly useless in the series. He'll probably get some high function in the end though. It makes sense in a way for Bran to sit on the throne even, if you think about it. He knows just about everything. He is an empty shell who has the 'universal memory' or whatever in his mind. He has no personal lust for power. He doesn't have any real personal wants or needs (other than his wheelchair and someone to push him around) and he already sits all day anyway so he's perfect for the role. With a good council he could be the best King ever. Nah.......fuck all that. Jon should be King and anyone else would only be chosen because no one would have predicted it. Again..... they'll probably go with unpredictable instead of what makes sense. So I can totally see Bran getting the throne because who in their right mind would ever have predicted it?</div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Tyrion and Varys who were once so clever</span></b> and so scary in their cunning are now terrible at everything they do. For now it's all about glorifying Arya and Jon Snow (the lap dog who can't see past his nose). No other character matters, only those two. I was a bit sad that Varys just cooperated with his own execution. No trial, no reasoning for mercy. Neither from Tyrion, on his behalf. They have been friends for... as long as I remember almost. But Tyrion just shrugs his shoulders and says 'Sorry mate!' and Varys shrugs back and is like: <i>"Yeh no problem mate"</i>. Cmon.... And Jon, who has been turned into an effeminate little wuss, just stands there and watches it all. With zero objection.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">-I liked John best <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmua0ieAauQ">here</a></span></b>: Put music at full blast! GoT is great at their portrayal of those Luftwaffe spitfires in flight. Making these monsters look alive and beautiful, well done. How bad is it that I feel most emotionally touched by the animals in this series? Ghost the direwolf being left alone without as much as a hug from Jon. And Drogon who will be all alone now, without his brothers (or master, soon).<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">A lot of people seem to be defending this season using strawmen that it's just anger about how the plot is going down</span></b> and how it's not how they imagined it to be, and how their favourite characters are not the good guys etc. But the people I speak to are critical less about the major plot beats and more about how rushed it all seems, how bad the writing is, how the main players are suddenly acting out of character to hurry along the plot, and the Hollywood-isation and plot armour. Which I think are all valid and justified criticisms of a show that's appeal was it was the antithesis of all these things. I am disappointed that a show that had so many excellent seasons (1-4) and a couple of OK ones (5-6) has faltered so much on what could have been an epic and devastating finale because the showrunners seem to have wanted to get it all wrapped up quickly and move on. The shocks and twists don't have much of an impact without good writing and development to back them up. I mean, really.... Imagine having instead the night king erase all the living.. That would have been a way better and shocking ending than this character and plot assassination we have to endure. The decay in the quality of writing is mesmerizing. Please put GRRM on suicide watchlist because D&D just butchered his life's work.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9H6DWo-lBRDOSiT8jSrPJIjy8D41Im5-pWpa5LWG81I4qpbroYq5xxAbZxhfcRia9U7DswixtDa1lpqBFp40HQCls2nS1w-bZPgpzu4AZi4WNe8m3w0lp9Iln8chp5tY5KV21dyVMCXz/s1600/images.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="197" data-original-width="255" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9H6DWo-lBRDOSiT8jSrPJIjy8D41Im5-pWpa5LWG81I4qpbroYq5xxAbZxhfcRia9U7DswixtDa1lpqBFp40HQCls2nS1w-bZPgpzu4AZi4WNe8m3w0lp9Iln8chp5tY5KV21dyVMCXz/s400/images.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguydnMN7NZuOhSSmSLyK4nDvirwQT339Pt2fGt6HJ5C44aZ_MZsRBaUiq8ZCtAgRMw-sGxinxUtvljnc8hBo4xquwA0_DZJ-FOCY_cgYe4KQb59Jk2IxmXArrHgzUa3sHF302_3RIQZnEw/s1600/download+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguydnMN7NZuOhSSmSLyK4nDvirwQT339Pt2fGt6HJ5C44aZ_MZsRBaUiq8ZCtAgRMw-sGxinxUtvljnc8hBo4xquwA0_DZJ-FOCY_cgYe4KQb59Jk2IxmXArrHgzUa3sHF302_3RIQZnEw/s400/download+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Episode 4 of season 8: Can't help to bitch another time about Game of Thrones' last episode.. Truly the last time I hope. </b></span>If GoT season 5, 6 and 7 were considered "bad" by GoT standards (according to a minority of über-fans), season 8 so far is "bad" by all T.V standards. It is also finally sinking in with the general fans that this series has gone down the sharks (no not Starks). We saw it from season 5 or at least 6 onward already; the cheesy writing, the bad plots and dialogues, but right now it is so bad that even the uncomplicated viewers cannot miss it. This episode was utterly absurd. I didn't think it could get worse than episode 3, but it actually did. So many things wrong with it.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">-The unexpected ambush by Euron (possibly the worst GoT character ever).</span></b> If you think too long about the realism of that scenario you'll probably suffer a brain aneurysm. How could Dany not have expected this? She's in a war against a literal pirate in his waters. As if she wouldn't have seen his ships from above on Drogon. How high does she have to go before she gets a bird's eye view of the waters? If a large group of ships can see you, you can see them. But let's ignore that. I mean, are you kidding me? Dany's dragons got ambushed by a fleet of ships that they couldn't see from miles up in the air.. To make it even worse, Rhaegal gets pinpoint laser-sniped by 3 ridiculously accurate shots, then Dany's dragon Drogon matrix-morphs it's way through 20 crossbows and avoids them all whilst much closer than Rhaegal was. (?) The scorpions were impossibly accurate when the writers wanted them to be, then moments later, impossibly inaccurate. And after one dies, the other dragon suddenly became Neo from Matrix, avoiding 100 spears per second. Horrible Hollyweird nonsense. How are you gonna kill a dragon that easily, target the heart and the neck & wing with 3 Qyburn scorpions but miss the other dragon when you launch almost 30 scorpions at it? (And how come a dragons armoured skin is so weak?) Those Scorpions are cool. Except that class of weapon doesn't work like that. It is not a sniper rifle. It is not accurate in real life. First two shots are lasers. The next 15 or so miss. Why? Because it's convenient. That, or Raegal forgot his plot armor at home. Poor thing. Then; why didn't she fly Drogon behind the ships and take them out instead of attacking from the front? Why would the dragon queen attack the enemy ships head on, into the path of the crossbows when she could have gone in from behind low? The scorpions were at the front of the ships. My friend corrected me that they can in fact be turned, but that didn't happen with an electrical super fast click of the button; that took time and manpower. Either way, it's so silly. She just had to fly behind them and 'dracarys.' And after all that, Dany could easily have circled back and destroyed that fleet after it fired on her, since the guns clearly only pointed in one direction. But no... Also, how do you suddenly write-off a dragon (a dragon, ffs) in 30 seconds of screen time? Idk, maybe if we got less scenes about drunk people getting more drunk, and more build-up towards a dragon dying... I get that they wanted to even the odds and give Cersei the upper hand in the war, but find a more creative and believable way to kill off the dragon.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Then Dany turns up to the gates at King's Landing with a skeleton army that's within firing range of Cersei's army.</span></b> Dany and her army of 50 soldiers; outside the King's Landing walls which are mounted with these over-powered crossbows. Cmon... Cersei could have just killed them all right there and then at the gates. They were all in range including the dragon. Why after her other dragon just got obliterated by one these things, would she endanger the last one like that? The scene between Daenerys and Cersei in front of Kings Landing was borderline pathetic, the more I think about it. Daenerys and at the most 80 unsullied asking Cersei to surrender? It's as if an ant asks a scorpion to surrender. Why go there anyway? Just send ninjagirl to get rid of Cersei. Cersei could easily have killed Dany, her queens guard, and her last remaining dragon as they stood totally exposed beneath battlements lined with scorpions. But Cersei decides not to do so for ... no reason. Lazy writing, just like when the dothrakis were just charging at an invisible enemy like fools with no plan... they're rushing everything just to write some plots off, which makes no sense. D&D; you had 2.5 years for this.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Then there was Bronn's scene with Tyrion and Jaime.</span></b> That whole scene just does a massive disservice to the Bronn character. I mean he's still all about prestige and money and not on-board as a friend to both Tyrion and Jaime. Really? Now he trusts them to keep their promises after he threatened to kill them? Everyone is acting like the soap opera version of themselves. And then that other new thing; every part of the plot is being told through love stories. The cherry on top is Jaime and Brienne (because Jon and Dany were already cheesy). Hard to believe that George Martin would have made Brienne and Jaime Lannister lovers. When Brienne stands next to Tormunde, she towers above him, but when she stands next to Jaime, they are supposedly the same height.. while Jaime and Tormunde most definitely don't differ that much in size. How can HBO make so many mistakes? Jaime's scene with Brienne when he left turned her into a bawling mess. She's a Knight for Christ's sake and she's crying like a lovesick teenager.. Jaime sudden switching personalities was also odd and maniacal, like the rest of the episode. The writers just added it to create some last minute melodrama. How many times in your life you have seen movie/TV show character says: "I'm not drunk", and then get up and almost falling over, adding: "Maybe a little"? Ugh.... GoT unworthy tbh..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsskEzGhx1C1_jBaCBP-V59IKjbl1S2JJzDEOwFukwzrRNbfTqOKfaylR9ma3dw8GqcHa9zRZD3XESfoxMTTIo0_HadNmyJl-GN0Qro6mGQFDeJpJJRgpqhBWJcpk7ddi9hGXHxGDvXfy1/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsskEzGhx1C1_jBaCBP-V59IKjbl1S2JJzDEOwFukwzrRNbfTqOKfaylR9ma3dw8GqcHa9zRZD3XESfoxMTTIo0_HadNmyJl-GN0Qro6mGQFDeJpJJRgpqhBWJcpk7ddi9hGXHxGDvXfy1/s400/download+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIhLJb7HImurR89q-A8XLj-OSSKTHr771wcs-GyjcKcZJrgiGWBL7SPW1NgEjrlvnlo9xYonYnqrUJe3HV0FNeER77uF3XNhezdWrZQ21FKzA8vn46CSzgqxXx7W1n9WLJNb_jQO4a1uzz/s1600/download+%25284%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIhLJb7HImurR89q-A8XLj-OSSKTHr771wcs-GyjcKcZJrgiGWBL7SPW1NgEjrlvnlo9xYonYnqrUJe3HV0FNeER77uF3XNhezdWrZQ21FKzA8vn46CSzgqxXx7W1n9WLJNb_jQO4a1uzz/s400/download+%25284%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">-After the war with the dead our </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;">heroes came out looking pretty good if you ask me</span></b>, as much as a little scratch on Jon's cheek. 7 seasons of build up to the Night King, who gets destroyed in one episode - at the very least we could have been given an explanation about what he wanted and who he was, etc? Nope - not a single mention of him in this episode. What a waste of a build up. He and his army of the dead were completely useless. Bran's usefulness is over too. We still have the most hyped character Bran doing nothing. Other than sitting still and gazing in the distance meaningfully. You bet they make him the master of the throne in the end, totally undeservedly.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Probably the most important piece of information in the entire show, Jon's true identity</span></b>, was finally revealed to his supposed sisters Arya and Sansa... Finally we get to see their big reaction to this earth-shattering news! Or did we.. Oh, no.. it cut off before we even got to see their reaction... Jon throwing a bombshell at Arya and Sansa, and suddenly the TV switches to black screen. Great way to not put any effort into showing the reaction of something this big. You let the reveal between Jon, Bran, Sansa and Arya happen off screen. That is what you do when you're incapable of coming up with something meaningful and original. You can't kill a dragon (or an entire Dothraki army) in every episode after all. So just cut it. This would have never happened in the first seasons. This was an important conversation. Good thing they swore secrecy though. Took Sansa a good 5 minutes or so to break.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Then there was the Starbuck's cup in the show. </span></b>No explanation needed. Product placement allll the way. I wouldn't be surprised if for the last episode, everybody was wearing sneakers and T-shirts, that's how bad it is. I also noticed one of the Dothraki 'corpses' breathing on the funeral pyre.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">-How was Missandei kidnapped? </span></b>Shooting a bunch of ships from afar is one thing, going in there looking for one particular person is another. None of those important details were shown at all. It's like the script said: "ambush, dragon dies, Missandei kidnapped. Back to Kings Landing, Missandei is in chains". I bet the real script wasn't much different.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Jon barely looks at Ghost, the Direwolf</span></b>. Who's barely bigger than a sheep nowadays. There's so much wasted potential there. Nothing compared to the King of wasted potential himself. Or was it Night King? Can't seem to remember, because he was gone in 50 or so minutes.<br />
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Guess what D&D, no one remembers how you started - everyone will remember how it ended. This show had been so superior in writing for 4 seasons and now it's just cutting corners for the sake of setting up some cool shots or dramatic takes, and it's an extreme disservice to not only the fans but also to GRRM himself. Logic is completely out the window. All the character development is completely gone. The main characters have turned into the dead - lifeless and boring. The great writing has gone and the scenes are so staged and predictable. I could go on and on, but am already repeating (and repeating..) myself. This show has, amazingly, gone from one of the greatest shows ever to truly cringe-worthy, fan fiction, "gone Hollywood" absurdism. I honestly cringe every time Danny portrays some of her newly acquired feminazi tyrant traits. They continue their Hollywood schmaltzy take on it all. It's play-by-play Hollywood mediocrity. > Step 1. Achieve important victory. > Step 2. Remember Danny has a dark side, aaaand Immediately create artificial drama because people like Jon. The plot holes are ridiculous at this point. I really have been a super fan for several years, and remember discussing with my friend John how bad we felt for people who ended up dead due to accidents or illness etc; not just because they were dead, but because they would never know <i>who would sit on the throne</i> in GoT eventually. Not kidding here. That's how invested we were and how enthusiastic about this show. That feeling has sunk below freezing point for me (and a bit for John too frankly, although he is a little bit milder.. Just a little bit). Next episodes battle better be good. The only one who deserves the throne is Ghost. I can only hope George R. R. Martin doesn't watch this season. He'd probably die of a heart attack if he did.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhT8RW854KLvGZKcKrc95N7HzZu_WXe07OCSTCuJRrNV2eREK-H8JpJVBs891rnBCCs8PvS-AfYpRhStCLl7B7GS8fYKeJQLchLGZBieVfW7CSioeiPkEr-JltuX47jef5lhgKaS5QUj90/s1600/58383321_10157169954923996_3695705417020604416_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="821" data-original-width="1600" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhT8RW854KLvGZKcKrc95N7HzZu_WXe07OCSTCuJRrNV2eREK-H8JpJVBs891rnBCCs8PvS-AfYpRhStCLl7B7GS8fYKeJQLchLGZBieVfW7CSioeiPkEr-JltuX47jef5lhgKaS5QUj90/s400/58383321_10157169954923996_3695705417020604416_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_50SrdFKae8k2T6Asx0wE2H-Te3oWuGUsffdjrgENcE6l9w1utlcvh1MRkLaCJFLF2MPKbyoCE5uAp8gKv6O07PQ9VZ8x_0luch8vbNg6PXOioPxUNjB71A9uuLZQiB7a2RTcbXzfcot/s1600/58380673_10157169950273996_253773807746023424_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="883" data-original-width="1600" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_50SrdFKae8k2T6Asx0wE2H-Te3oWuGUsffdjrgENcE6l9w1utlcvh1MRkLaCJFLF2MPKbyoCE5uAp8gKv6O07PQ9VZ8x_0luch8vbNg6PXOioPxUNjB71A9uuLZQiB7a2RTcbXzfcot/s400/58380673_10157169950273996_253773807746023424_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">May 1st </span></span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">2019</span></span></b><br />
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Ughhhh, sorry but can't help to have a little bitchfest about Game of Thrones... Again! I've been raving about it here some years ago and explained why. But things are dire these days. So episode 3 of the last season aired this weekend and I had pretty much high hopes for this Battle of Battles. A friend wrote me afterwards that ok ok, it is not the old Game Of Thrones anymore but they are literally making it up as they go along now, as the writer of the original books, G.R.R. Martin never wrote an official ending. He didn't think it's bad by any means but yeah, it's maybe a little Hollywood in places. And he linked me to a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeHghI4-b8U">youtube channel</a> that has a critical voice about the series. "<i>There's one video maker who goes into explanations and makes comments bemoaning the slip into Hollywoodian cliches that made me think of you. I liked his thoughts on why Tyrion seems to suck now and why Euron Greyjoy in the TV show is shit compared to the character in the story. Also he didn't like the way Arya popped up deus ex machina to slay the Night King who was more like a comic book villain at the end (to use his words) as in 'Is that it?' ... Which despite my love for Arya I also felt. I thought the last episode with the battle at Winterfell was good to be fair but yeah ... some things were a little too pleasing. If you know what I mean.</i>" -- Well... I do know what you mean. In fact, I've already subscribed to that channel for some years :) I'll try to not rant too much and explain it rationally then, but I don't like what GoT has turned into. I never wanted to watch GoT at all initially, fearing it would be a stereotypical crowd pleasing tale of Good versus Bad. No offense, most people I love and have high opinion of do like that genre, so it is most likely just a defect in me. But I only started watching GoT a few years after it was first on TV because my Aussie friend kept hammering on that this show was different. So I was so pleasantly surprised: great dialogues and intrigue, unpredictability and when you make errors, you pay a price; GoT-style. Just fantastic. But ever since show runners Weiss and Benioff ran out of book material, the show has gone down the sharks I think. Did a big 180 turn on itself and everything it stood for. They just can't write. They can't continue in the spirit of G.R.R. Martin. Its really annoying, as I have also invested a lot of time in following it. Back in the days I was obsessed with a TV series called 'Lost'. Really good. Until the last season! It is actually famous for what happened then, it even has its own meaning, a Lost ending. All the awesome trails that were set out over the course of that series, all the open endings, the mysterious side trails, everything that would have had to come together in the finale season.... was just trashed. Like the makers just suddenly had enough and allowed their teenage kids to write the finale. People were absolutely livid, youtube was full of videos complaining and people going out of their minds. It was bad. Same reason, people invested years of weekly free time into getting absorbed into that world, and then they were taken for a fool in the end. Now, GoT has grown from nerd niche into a huge mainstream circus. So the grey majority is happy as a clam with the good old Heroes versus Villains. But not everyone shares this feeling. I'll try to explain why based on the last episode (just skip if you can't bear this whining of mine lol):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZizSkSI225iIC9UiPC5bBwmN8DEOnMrRFs9SbyRG6m4f5bOH8E_-cLazuRikKdSAhK1xHdc_GekHBP1ePX3EHGKkgPgI-qf4hlD_7qyIV85avC_CGLkLd79G3uovyBe44aiSHGo4fF6Tr/s1600/58375748_10157169956658996_4062259349358116864_o.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1319" data-original-width="1600" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZizSkSI225iIC9UiPC5bBwmN8DEOnMrRFs9SbyRG6m4f5bOH8E_-cLazuRikKdSAhK1xHdc_GekHBP1ePX3EHGKkgPgI-qf4hlD_7qyIV85avC_CGLkLd79G3uovyBe44aiSHGo4fF6Tr/s400/58375748_10157169956658996_4062259349358116864_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZtYApZCLQh-X3dKE6yedOZ3hhAIqrZkyIa6EPkn_bDMZ-QpU7E040xsvR4mRol5ACligENbABeHNAuTc768SofESCf3f38P-wqkcsgkxkpcaSeL3R-RdLR_Yv5DVz-SrKhyphenhyphenhArdfAITm/s1600/58443681_10157169931073996_7698176837343510528_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="880" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZtYApZCLQh-X3dKE6yedOZ3hhAIqrZkyIa6EPkn_bDMZ-QpU7E040xsvR4mRol5ACligENbABeHNAuTc768SofESCf3f38P-wqkcsgkxkpcaSeL3R-RdLR_Yv5DVz-SrKhyphenhyphenhArdfAITm/s400/58443681_10157169931073996_7698176837343510528_n.jpg" width="400" /></a>-They are doing exactly what George Martin always said he wants to avoid in his story. Even if you'd throw a nuclear bomb on Jon and Dany & Co, they'd still get back up with as much as a scratch. Blue dragon fire crashes walls but cannot touch Jon lurking behind the tiniest of rock. Brienne and others fighting surrounded by 10+ opponents, and the camera changes position and boom, all the opponents are dead. This show was always more or less realistic, now its just Hollywood. Spectacle over substance.<br />
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-Rhaegar deliberately got an annulment and married Lyanna to have another son to fulfill his prophesy. Jon was supposed to be some sort of Promised Prince; he is of Ice and Fire. All this potential and.... nah. Lets forget about it. Lets just forget about that and let him just claim the Iron Throne like the rest of them. Not for a higher purpose of saving the living or confronting a foe that's going to destroy his home. Nope, it's just a superficial pursuit of a metal chair that no one cares about anymore.<br />
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-Arya killing the Night king, who was protected by 1/10th of his army while approaching Bran... The Night king who fell 10.000 meters or so off a dragon and just stood back up. Who withstands fire. Gets clubbed by little Arya, who had to be the female hero of course as GoT has gone all woke. The night king, who had a huge backstory that we were going to find out more about.... Ahh no. Lets just make him a stereotypical non-speaking bad villain suddenly in the end, who just wanted to kill Bran. Because that makes any sense. When the night king stood in front of Bran, the first thing I wanted to listen to was his voice. Maybe it would show a little more of who he and his men used to be. What curse he was under. Use that hour plus or another episode for all I care, to explain some more of how that whole universe works. Who are the other sentient races and why did they become that way? I wanted him to be some desperate soul trapped inside this curse of undeath for a thousand years, lashing out at the world to find a way to change his fate. Which he does by pursuing Bran and using him in some way to go back in time and alter history so that he never even became the night king. But no, they just had to go world war Z. Sucked.<br />
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-And Bran is reduced to a wheelchair limp. He is the three-eyed-raven! Make him use his powers for something meaningful! Nah, that story line is cut off too. They just don't have the imagination for it.<br />
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-GoT is just rushed, anticlimactic, filled with stupid decisions and plot armour now. How can those useless defenders not shove the invaders down the walls? That's basic military pragmatism. If you have a higher point of attack you are stronger. That's why cavalry is like the tanks of the past. Then you have the superheroes fighting off hordes of opponents suddenly. Even the pesty Mormont kid couldn't just simply die. She had to be a hero. Why did the Dothraki just charge kamikaze style? Even they don't know how to fight when their numbers are lower. Then there is Arya going ninja, and why did Theon had to die so pointlessly? Why would you charge like that? Why didn't he at least wait until the guy got at least some closer? I know why, for dramatic effect. But it was illogical, and given that this show for many seasons leaned on logic and eye for en eye when you make a simple mistake, it now has gone fully 180 and we can just get up and make a cup of tea in the mean time, and then another few, because it is guaranteed that the Heroes win and the Villains lose. Yawn.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESGY8xt-xs0UOouW5391uEk2K3b6xwvQxzO05I_Wy-CphBN5Of2JDpElvGvLtTXYNZkaN1tmNJjZPf_GQjJAVEiN15RsqCKFaaqaWJ9h2hXL_v3qUIepkQDsOm6Yf0axJWuV0V1PDg6lq/s1600/DSC00854+-+kopie.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1410" data-original-width="1590" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESGY8xt-xs0UOouW5391uEk2K3b6xwvQxzO05I_Wy-CphBN5Of2JDpElvGvLtTXYNZkaN1tmNJjZPf_GQjJAVEiN15RsqCKFaaqaWJ9h2hXL_v3qUIepkQDsOm6Yf0axJWuV0V1PDg6lq/s320/DSC00854+-+kopie.jpg" width="320" /></a>-They didn't even have the balls to kill off some realistic amount of important cast members... just the minor ones. Jaime and Brienne survived... a zombie group gore attack. I almost had hoped for some serious death toll, to keep it GoT style. Because that is what happens when humans cannot cooperate in the real world, and get slaughtered for their failures. Even Dany is still alive. Hopefully she lost all of her army and will stop being the queen of the bitch fest...<br />
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So yeh... At least the dragons are cool, that's something, but I had high expectations of this battle. Cercei and her clan, whatever. I don't care. She turned from rounded 3D figure into the cut out cardboard evil queen of snow white figure now, frantically pacing her room all day looking cunning and thinking of evil plans. So I lost interest there long ago. Jaime will kill her, of course. They ruined Euron too. I love my TV psychopaths. They got Ramsey Bolton right in the past, but Euron could have been so much better. But that Night king was something else entirely, that was supposed to be the highlight of the series, something we worked towards for 7 whole TV seasons. What a waste, the makers killed that story line by turning it into a superficial darkness versus light thing. Just my opinion.., I appreciate that many viewers enjoyed it at a lot. Production was great although I could only see half of it as it was so dark. Well, I will be more mild later on no doubt. I have restarted with the books of Song of Ice and Fire. Sigh of relief compared to the tv series nowadays...</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48z1WHhnGwBhJARdM7le9iQE8dwwE9r8xzbwjsyvW2VLQrdBsbEngK6McdsylWB0Ovf4mgm6ZMV9LNEwpYnK_H_C3vsdq0z_y4pYuJ_qMOX5FJyaQIpGOOZi8MMK5VDyS-ftAOtkrazR5/s1600/31269704-notre-dame-de-paris-france-vintage-postcard-style.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="944" data-original-width="1300" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48z1WHhnGwBhJARdM7le9iQE8dwwE9r8xzbwjsyvW2VLQrdBsbEngK6McdsylWB0Ovf4mgm6ZMV9LNEwpYnK_H_C3vsdq0z_y4pYuJ_qMOX5FJyaQIpGOOZi8MMK5VDyS-ftAOtkrazR5/s400/31269704-notre-dame-de-paris-france-vintage-postcard-style.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;">Notre Dame</span></b><br /><br />A friend from the States wrote me about the Notre Dame fire and said that despite liking that church, he was being somewhat less than sympathetic about the entire affair. Understands the cultural and historical importance to the structure, but was quite disgusted at how swift the rich were stepping forward to fund an immediate restoration. Raising a billion dollars overnight to fix a cathedral 'when there are so many better ways to spend such resources'. Of course, I disagree. On the topic of gargoyles, he'd never actually seen one! He'd seen a limited number of grotesques, but never one that served a purpose for carrying rainwater. 'I should install some at home'. Wondered also how a building made from stone catches on fire to begin with. -- I myself was happy that so many people donated money for the rebuilding of the church (of which it is still not known or revealed whether an accident or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQL8uv--hn0&list=PLeXffK8R0Qx5xmOlJnygwNhJ9wP_b8Gh2&index=12&t=132s">arson</a> perhaps caused the major fire). But I understand that people get all cynical, that money is easily given for a pile of 'bricks', while people suffer from poverty. But that is not something so straightforward that it can be solved as easy as one rebuilding project can. And rich people often donate to humanitarian crises too, without running to the newspapers over it. "Yeh but they can deduct it from their taxes..". Yeh but the money ends up in a good direction nevertheless then, doesn't it? But perhaps cynics are right, and some rich people in France finally saw a chance to do things the American way perhaps? Instead of buying themselves a museum wing with their name on it in the Guggenheim museum, or in the Harvard school buildings, they now made themselves immortal by funding such large portions of the Notre Dame. Not anonymously, of course. I doubt the French will go as far as adding name plates to the different church aisles but who knows.... maybe small and hidden somewhere :D But then again the Notre Dame has a historical worth and is deeply buried in the hearts of mostly all French people.. And Europeans too I think. Most of them. Some of them? Europe is full of old buildings that people feel deeply connection with. Perhaps it's a European thing even to be so emotionally attached to a pile of bricks. 800 years of history, revolutions, Napoleon being crowned, the end of the revolution and war being celebrated there, etc. Built by the people, by the community with bare hands and no big tools back in 1200 minus some years. She is a symbol of Paris for the Parisians, more than the Eiffel tower is. Almost considered a person, the Lady of the city she is. <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-6929555/A-N-WILSON-power-human-spirit-Godless-age.html?fbclid=IwAR26gK2vyoegEpe3naEfwcvX8O0wBhJaMYkCOlN3Bgqz6LSFXyOYxcDtpSI">Here</a> an English person tries to explain the sentiment:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOtluB22YpVuavZH54Dey-0-0-8oLk1a8Dczx5OJuuB5RCu2awtNnald6_joFL18uBtFRkNiiCEwgX1TpPEMbnNB2ZbjzGZck87W1yC53qFhCYna57U6SESFm9svI5cC-39C2dosK4F56M/s1600/52686117-paris-notre-dame-cathedral-vintage-effect.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="923" height="423" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOtluB22YpVuavZH54Dey-0-0-8oLk1a8Dczx5OJuuB5RCu2awtNnald6_joFL18uBtFRkNiiCEwgX1TpPEMbnNB2ZbjzGZck87W1yC53qFhCYna57U6SESFm9svI5cC-39C2dosK4F56M/w299-h423/52686117-paris-notre-dame-cathedral-vintage-effect.jpg" width="299" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpNKDRgURgcgMpE5AuZPJLczLOLCVxsNQOjQY6sSROTwc6wlkgCEMdzQvnH34LoO0h3wSsB_aQFdBRekFqZR83obo0ABK3l66HbcBb0_fpRIN1HDR8JFbUwYAowyUjlnKVCrfhGLYGEhWX/s1600/retro-bike-next-to-notre-dame-cathedral-in-paris-france-vintage-michal-bednarek.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpNKDRgURgcgMpE5AuZPJLczLOLCVxsNQOjQY6sSROTwc6wlkgCEMdzQvnH34LoO0h3wSsB_aQFdBRekFqZR83obo0ABK3l66HbcBb0_fpRIN1HDR8JFbUwYAowyUjlnKVCrfhGLYGEhWX/w299-h199/retro-bike-next-to-notre-dame-cathedral-in-paris-france-vintage-michal-bednarek.jpg" width="299" /></a>And the rich seized the moment. Although I'm happy they got the costs for the reconstruction together now, it was a little bit ironic yes because that same evening French president Macron was set to hold a big national speech on TV... Announcing far reaching political measurements against the<b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_vests_movement"> 'yellow vests'</a></b>, who are still going strong. They keep causing mayhem each Saturday in big cities and are especially opposed to the 1% and macron and his banker pals. So what do the 1% do? That same evening they use the opportunity to show France their importance by donating (I mean 'releasing') such vast sums of money. Macron looking smug and taking the chance to sound like napoleon himself, speaking to the nation with cheesy superlatives, calling for unity. He couldn't have 'planned' it any better way if he had been in House of Cards. And the Notre Dame cathedral went up in flames like that because the whole roof of the cathedral (so not the 2 front towers) was made from 4000-something, 800 or so year old big oak trees. Although this French former head of the Notre Dame <a href="https://youtu.be/yQL8uv--hn0?t=132">says</a> here that he finds it very strange how such thick sturdy wood could go into flames like that. Because it's not like you can hold a match stick next to it and those super condensed wooden ornaments combust instantly... Besides, there are always two guards in the place, night and day, to be on patrol for possible fires. Something of this scale, so short after closing time for the public, is really peculiar given all the precautions that are constantly in place there. But yeh, there was quite a bit of wood in that stone building. It was all century old wood under that roof and then inside the cathedral there was wood everywhere too. Famous medieval wooden decorations all against the walls. So that went up in the end. The stone itself was kept wet by the firefighters and survived it and even some stained glass windows (very old famous ones) survived the heat. But now the mortar between the stones of the whole structure are softened and weakened and it has no roof partially either, so IF they have bad luck and a storm and rain wash over Paris any time soon, the whole structure may still collapse... (Luckily spring has started here). They constantly check its sturdiness now and hope for heat and dry weather. Hehe, first thing my dad said after that fire broke out: <i>"Why can't those gangsters in the Vatican not cough up some billions?? God knows they have plenty</i>" He has a particular dislike for organized religion however, and Catholicism in particular. My mothers side of the family is religious but even as kids he forbade us to go to church masses or read the Bible.<br />
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All's well. My skin is not too bad at the moment. Been busy with work and not been all too social the past weeks and don't have much to tell here at the moment either I'm afraid. Did go out for some walks again lately. A friend with rosacea asked me about exercise; <i><span>"At what level of flushyness are you prepared to walk? My plan was to have started walking by now because of the nightly drop in temperatures, but I am flushy all the time at night, especially my nose. I know that walking will only aggravate everything further and I can't afford to get any more damage than I have now. I just always have that burny/flushy feel and it prevents me from walking. It also really puts a downer on my motivation to walk knowing that I am going to need ICE packs for the following few hours to cool me down. Frustrating.."</span> - </i>So yeh I have such a dilemma all the time too.. Although I don't have nose flushing myself, but I have bright red chin flushing as a new thing the past years. But most of all the cheeks. So when it comes to deciding whether or not to go out for long walks, I have almost a rating system in my mind, depending on how much my skin burns or not, which usually coincides with what level of red it is on the eye. So with no burning (which is more like minimal burning as my skin always feels off), I usually am not flushed in the face and then I go for a walk IF the sun is down or clouded and if there is a breeze. Completely wind still days are a no-no, as I heat up so quickly all over from exercise. I also need to wear shorts and bare arms or else all the heat goes straight to the face for me. Then from a scale of 1 - 10 I'd say that I do go for a walk when my face burning and redness are in a 1-3 scale of severity. So a bit skin pinkness but no flushing is OK for me usually. Some mild burning sensation is also not a problem as the wind outside kind of acts like the ventilator at home. I try to stay on relatively flat ground, which isn't always possible but hills and mountain climbs just add flushing potential as they are more intense and generate more heat plus put more pressure on those facial blood vessels. But when I am having a medium or full strength flush, I won't go out for a walk. I just cool at home until the flush is down and then the rest of the day is useless as the flushing threshold is so low then that anything can trigger it to flush again... Usually I have spells where I go for walks; a good week with only evening after-dinner flushes for instance. Then I eat really healthy, no cheating with chocolate and such in my case, so my skin is at its least bad (I won't say 'it's best' lol) and then I can walk more often.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqni2RV0U1xRQohqCXx0PxvpN4ljS2ryDbz6nJ4ECmLbwVNdfawJrbIsbSJaK4RgjyXzKpoIk8gqldy13jQD_TAW0AXoP-R1lUFfPQzACY_6WP3bEiVGo45yp3ZyWnAQQg3VpTpo-7Y8j7/s1600/download+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqni2RV0U1xRQohqCXx0PxvpN4ljS2ryDbz6nJ4ECmLbwVNdfawJrbIsbSJaK4RgjyXzKpoIk8gqldy13jQD_TAW0AXoP-R1lUFfPQzACY_6WP3bEiVGo45yp3ZyWnAQQg3VpTpo-7Y8j7/s320/download+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSp5Jla7PpoAY-ZgT_vr8E2wcOTNSEBlwhi7-TDXlnhyphenhyphenKfEQ8T4JVyw94-wxOGBtBd_KTTl05WqE_XDYE-B962urx1EOVO3joSxJwFCTOm_Uv3Z3ix6o4o4F39_1nQqX0A2TctAy2z4NT/s1600/5c3cb8e501c0ea121208c305-750-562.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="750" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSp5Jla7PpoAY-ZgT_vr8E2wcOTNSEBlwhi7-TDXlnhyphenhyphenKfEQ8T4JVyw94-wxOGBtBd_KTTl05WqE_XDYE-B962urx1EOVO3joSxJwFCTOm_Uv3Z3ix6o4o4F39_1nQqX0A2TctAy2z4NT/s320/5c3cb8e501c0ea121208c305-750-562.jpg" width="320" /></a>But there is always one week a month that is sheer misery regardless of what I do, as it coincides with hormonal peeks. Am usually too sore and flushy to go for long walks then, only short evening strolls perhaps. But as soon as my face lights up and the flushing and heat are creeping up, I go back home to relax and cool down.... So all in all I can't exercise every day, just some good days. And even then, when coming back home, I need to put a fan on right away or I get rebound flushing from the sudden stop in walking and going into the warmer house without wind any longer.... I also have bought a treadmill. I don't use it as much as I want to but it's upstairs and I can walk during the day too then, as slow or fast as I want, with a fan aimed at my face... I understand completely why any flushers will have problems with exercise.. When full work outs or power training or even long walks are flaring your rosacea up too much, perhaps consider very short strolls in the evening? Just up and down the street and then back home. And just see how long you can do that? The more you walk, the less energy it also costs and the less heat your body produces I find. Walking for a long stretch after doing jack shit all month for me is also a struggle. I feel like lead and so heavy and it takes more effort but after a while your muscles seem to get adjusted to it again and it takes less effort also? Or even walking round the house for a certain time each day perhaps. Just being active with house chores and cooling regularly in between.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7o46omESsGK7PFSayEzcH9UP_AROLuMuBVQkAUSpD9CPcR2u1wZf6AV5WF7lriG7cIwpfmFfOeLdPbLpM9kNMnz9vTfBBzbmnphuR4KiW41PH9wB7RPgWwiE6cfkljlquWI7dLSJXDJZ/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="299" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7o46omESsGK7PFSayEzcH9UP_AROLuMuBVQkAUSpD9CPcR2u1wZf6AV5WF7lriG7cIwpfmFfOeLdPbLpM9kNMnz9vTfBBzbmnphuR4KiW41PH9wB7RPgWwiE6cfkljlquWI7dLSJXDJZ/s400/download+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a>I'm still watching Game of Thrones and am about to watch episode 3 of this last season now. I cringed my way through the past two episodes, as the dialogue has turned so bad once the show makers ran out of book material to rely on. Some characters were pretty much intellectually slaughtered, especially Tyrion and the late Littlefinger. So this next episode will be a battle one, at which the show makers are usually fairly good. Little dialogue expected, so it may be a good one. I still hope that the villain of the story eats all the heroes alive, but small chance... A Portuguese friend of mine wrote about it: <i>"That last episode got really woke... REALLY FAST. That's what happens when you get rid of the main writer. I was waiting for this to happen a long time ago but they had to take Martin out so that it goes fully fledge woke fest. Have you noticed the 'weeee wimiiin' stance plus the evil white racist kids giving the blacks the stink eye suddenly? Amazing. They managed to kill this whole series as soon as they got rid of the main writer. This episode has been the worst so far with all it's strong powerful independent weeemen complaining that they rule a world of men. The woke fest begun. I believe that the whole remainder of the series will be a single battle consisting of nothing but slow/drama infused killing of the remaining cast... and I'm also hoping like you that the chief zombie kills a bunch of them! Hopefully they wont do the sequels (I bet) they were planning on doing. They may even get in some big propaganda company like Disney to pick it up and shove more PC crap down the viewers throats." </i>I did also start with another series, which hasn't disappointed yet. It actually was my own mother who kept jabbering on about how good this Spanish TV series "Casa de Papel" (Money heist) is. The first episode was really very good I thought. No dumbing down, in fact I had to keep my 100% attention with the screen and what was unfolding. Its cool, its smart so far and the actors are nice to look at. I'm actually looking forward to watching ep 2 of it tonight. If I had to compare it with anything, for now it reminds me more of a much more modern approach to Quinten Tarantino meets The Usual Suspects, but then different and with some Ocean's eleven but then much less smooth and more edgy. But hey, I've seen episode 1 only, so they may still fuck it up further down the line of course. That same Portuguese friend wrote about it: <i>"Yes La casa de Papel. Haven't seen it yet, but everyone says it's pretty good. I'm just afraid that this casa de papel will turn out to be some woke shit too ha ha (yeh there I go again), which as you know is really making me cringe lately with modern movies and TV-series..." </i>I've only seen episode one of the money heist last night, but I thought that it was very good. There are two tough lead females within the group but they are cool and not spewing political correctness lessons; in fact, they are mostly silent or say very little so far, which adds to their coolness at this point. Go see it for yourself if you like this genre of TV making.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTgnpkpGQ_ChA4pE8uo0G5fpOfTqSXXIgrLiZXdM_E5E7R7wTg6ssJexARlUlnV2PviJaHZoCxVPDPsXHiyyp9JIIZCtn1vBdk4jeKPr56j4PalaLKl6nYPLS8_Z1OjS6O8S4sY540g-P/s1600/z+ischia+5.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTgnpkpGQ_ChA4pE8uo0G5fpOfTqSXXIgrLiZXdM_E5E7R7wTg6ssJexARlUlnV2PviJaHZoCxVPDPsXHiyyp9JIIZCtn1vBdk4jeKPr56j4PalaLKl6nYPLS8_Z1OjS6O8S4sY540g-P/s320/z+ischia+5.jpg" width="240" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Oh and a while back I read a series of four books called the Napolitan Novels</span></b>, by Elena Ferranti. About the two friends Lenu and Lila. Now one of my girlfriends with rosacea also reads the same books and luckily she loves them too. <i>"They’re absolutely the best! I love how she writes, I love the story, and her narrating voice even reminds me of my own voice and how I think in my head lol. I think many people might say that too. She is so honest and a beautiful writer. I am dreading when I finish the last book, I want them to go on forever... :’( Did you go to Ischia on your first vacation too? How BEAUTIFUL, that’s a nice similarity with Elena in the book. Nat, do you have any pics left from that time? I’d love love love to see them. Did you go alone with friends or with family? ❤️ I couldn’t even tell you the geography of Italy or where it is but I have a lovely picture in my mind about it from reading." </i>I went to Ischia myself in 1995. It is a small island on the coast of Naples, in the center of Italy. I had been saving money from jobs in the cleaning kitchen of a restaurant and went with a school friend, Céline. Her parents went too but they stayed in a 5 star hotel there called Punta Molino. It still exists I saw some time ago. And we stayed a bit further down the island in a little holiday cabin. 3 whole weeks and it was nice but my school friend and I did not see entirely eye to eye at some point, as we had agreed to combine culture with beach and going out in the evenings. But all she wanted to do when there was sun lounge, swim sleep and go clubbing :) Logical for a 15 year old! It was me who was the odd one out. I was a bit homesick then as I wanted to see stuff so eventually her dad went along with me to see Naples and Pompeii. I looked up some old photos of that trip for my friend and will add some here too :)<br />
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Who doesn't hate parties..</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX1j92AH_TYYqXoRh5yO417a0Ek7HdAM-iYaGK19imuLRK1cF4kdfRNxrUUKc0bC8ghnOWY318AYhWze4RmqqDsYls2DXszIqhdxM3cfIHj-LXFgUZ9IfwnUxUIcjg_1MzMZkCG5glA0aG/s1600/57162501_10162062191365019_6679310607893659648_o.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="1440" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX1j92AH_TYYqXoRh5yO417a0Ek7HdAM-iYaGK19imuLRK1cF4kdfRNxrUUKc0bC8ghnOWY318AYhWze4RmqqDsYls2DXszIqhdxM3cfIHj-LXFgUZ9IfwnUxUIcjg_1MzMZkCG5glA0aG/s400/57162501_10162062191365019_6679310607893659648_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2DXAzddbQpS6LXltuYcvcveBuVfMpD3WzDmCuI_wXbeU8x6CHthRU0ChU5KykyuGMyhlmPv6h7dI3tGENtgVOvkWj7boWszfIgcUdQgzbHn5Hw6yQPf3Dbz3yDqMS19gPYcCK57_1YhcK/s1600/57213741_934915766899622_698271797254029312_o.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1600" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2DXAzddbQpS6LXltuYcvcveBuVfMpD3WzDmCuI_wXbeU8x6CHthRU0ChU5KykyuGMyhlmPv6h7dI3tGENtgVOvkWj7boWszfIgcUdQgzbHn5Hw6yQPf3Dbz3yDqMS19gPYcCK57_1YhcK/s400/57213741_934915766899622_698271797254029312_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">April 16th 2019</span></span></b><br />
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Bit of a sad day after that awful fire at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.. Everyone seems shocked in this part of the world. She is seen as the grand old dame of France, almost like a person. One of my favourite elements of the Notre dame are the gargouilles (or gargoyles); the little stone creatures placed all over it, looking down on the city from high above. I'll add some photos. There are two cats (well, cat-like creatures) too. They were historically placed there to protect the Notre Dame, that's why they look so menacingly. They are supposed to scare anyone with bad intentions away and ward off evil. Ok and some of them also help drain rain water.. I hope most of them are saved from destruction, but its not yet sure what happened to most of them. I watched most of it live on TV and it was pretty saddening to see.. I've been inside the Notre Dame so many times. To see those flames blast up so many meters high and for as long as it did was disheartening. That monument is not just important for Christians but also for the French as a whole, and probably for people all over the world. It has withstand 800+ years of history; of wars, floodings, changes of kings, regimes, the worst epidemics of mankind, two world wars. And now a simple spark of someone and something destroyed it within hours. Luckily not all of it, and luckily the outer structure is still there. It will be rebuilt. But the old materials and the authentic cathedral itself will be gone and be impossible to replace with the historic materials it was once built with. Having a modern replica is just not the same.. Guess it will be second best. I understood the call for fire extinguishing planes to drop waterbombs on it, yesterday, but that could have damaged the outer structure. Now that structure has been preserved.... luckily. Not all of the glass stained windows unfortunately, which were so famous 😞 Some made it but most in the main cathedral are gone.. Luckily the <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/skbaer/notre-dame-fire-rebuild-pinault-donation-french-billionaire?fbclid=IwAR0t-R_IXL7F_2RYZ83Rt_6jeFs_P7xWTTQqSZ74XiutncjsUzxOrZYMmlo">über-rich</a> have already donated some money. And if you are interested, this video is great I think and shows not just the construction of the Notre Dame but also how Paris evolved throughout time, especially the Ile de la Cité, the heart of Paris where the Notre Dame was built from the year 1160 onwards.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECi6O_FvDoee5OIlPZJzeVA4dLY7orQYEFRuSToZIs_pWiSyTXqYrF45arZyvGKMohktL9fEyHDCOnDXhleR7IlNYfyR39yG_Ew96rrGJIx8eWW4tcLwA2_a6hM2Qzl1ZIxPQKyL1fyUr/s1600/les-gargouilles-sur-notre-dame-de-paris_ba4aeb02c30a32c58a7a13d1405fccf1741cd720.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="480" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECi6O_FvDoee5OIlPZJzeVA4dLY7orQYEFRuSToZIs_pWiSyTXqYrF45arZyvGKMohktL9fEyHDCOnDXhleR7IlNYfyR39yG_Ew96rrGJIx8eWW4tcLwA2_a6hM2Qzl1ZIxPQKyL1fyUr/w247-h279/les-gargouilles-sur-notre-dame-de-paris_ba4aeb02c30a32c58a7a13d1405fccf1741cd720.jpg" width="247" /></a>It's not sure yet what sparked the inferno. The fire started very shortly after the last tourist visitors were gone out around 7 PM. But there was major reconstruction work being done on the tower (from Viollet-le-Duc which has been destroyed now), so perhaps something went wrong there. Someone smoking a cigarette sneakily, while that is actually forbidden.. Or some electricity connection that wasn't great. Or someone making sparks while using tools. Who knows. Although such operations are done at least partially by specialist and you may assume that they take very strict safety precautions, as the roof they were working on was all wood. The workers are said to have left the site over an hour before the fire started. But a 50 man strong investigation team is looking now into the cause of the fire. I hope they can find it and rule out foul play.<br />
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Song of the day</span></b></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">March 26th 2019</span></span></b><br />
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My skin has been doing fine some days and terrible on others. Very strange. On Saturday I woke up pale and finally not burning for a change, and spent a whole day in town with a friend, shopping and going in and out of places. Even spending an hour in a warm cafe. When I checked what my skin looked like in my pocket mirror, it had a normal colour. I didn't go in overdrive with my diet or anything; didn't become over-confident, instantly grabbing the nearest chocolate bar (which... has happened some times in the past I must admit). Yet, the next morning I woke up super red, flushed and on fire again. Had another social 'event' planned for that day, which was a drag with my sore red face. Its depressing how much the state of your skin (and pain levels) can interfere with everyday normal activities and moods. A friend with rosacea (also the flushing and burning subtype like me) wrote something related to this to me:<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span>"My face has felt quite normal for the past few weeks when I wake up. My nose still stings a bit, but it is pretty much as normal as I have felt in 7 years. I had forgotten how good it feels. I found myself laughing openly and loud at something and I just felt super hyped. I realized it was because for a few days I felt normal (no constant skin burning and flaring) and like I used to feel. It was such a good feeling - I really missed it! The pain has always lurked beneath the surface of my face and I always felt like I was constantly balancing the burn."</span> </span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUCtFO1a3iVw3cJjhhCYGddPJymx-OpRO0IpXXlXVnG2naNo8SrKepdDlUROqG1ZDstXE9bAv0h6X04Ndb37KFrMnPF2EwHFaeJku1IWwGtoa09oxZkrhss5VDsL1qHLi55QmQqnkBmcPL/s1600/6c5e7ad552e14943450603e1842384f1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1472" data-original-width="1181" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUCtFO1a3iVw3cJjhhCYGddPJymx-OpRO0IpXXlXVnG2naNo8SrKepdDlUROqG1ZDstXE9bAv0h6X04Ndb37KFrMnPF2EwHFaeJku1IWwGtoa09oxZkrhss5VDsL1qHLi55QmQqnkBmcPL/s400/6c5e7ad552e14943450603e1842384f1.jpg" width="320" /></a>I feel just the same. I had to travel the past week and spent quite a lot of hours in hot stuffy trains. In the past I could sit on what they call the trains balcony, outside of the heated carriages, and be sort of OK. But these days, Holland has ultra modern trains, that are stripped of fresh air vents, windows that can open, unheated balconies and such, but instead are centrally heated modern machines. It is hot everywhere you go, even in the high-tech toilets (I remember them being draught-holes of cold air.. Not that I would hang around in cold toilet cubicles, mind you!). So how do I travel with my severe rosacea? I bring a couple of things; firstly I put a small plastic water bottle in the freezer overnight. It becomes solid ice then. I put it in a special insulating cooling bag and add about 3 frozen gel packs. I also bring small hand fans but lately just can't be arsed using them as it draws so much attention from fellow travelers, which makes me feel self conscious, which spikes the flushing as well. So i leave them for 'emergencies', or something. And I just sit in a normal train carriage, a 2 seater spot instead of a 4 seater one, at the window. I use my laptop or read a book, but wrap one of my cold packs in a clean (non-perfumed washing powder) t-shirt and lean with one cheek onto the cold pack. I can doze off a bit too that way, but always make sure to wrap the gel pack up properly. They do go soft and warm quickly in a warm train, but tossing and turning the thing around does keep me cool-ish for a good hour usually. I also try not to eat before or during the train travel, as most foods and the food digestion makes me more flushy. But I always bring some food just in case, often prepacked melon pieces you can buy at the station store here (100% fruit, no preservatives added) or I bring some food from home. By the time I need to go back with the train I still have the frozen water bottle, which takes a very long time to warm up or melt. Even 12 hours into my trip, it often still has a core of ice, and the charm of it is that even the water that melted is cold enough to cool my cheeks (wrapped up in that t-shirt again). I can prevent a bad flush or mega burning of my face this way and people don't look too much at me this way (not like the constant head turning by others to locate or identify the zooming noise these hand fan make). When on the go, I also use the time in between trains, or while waiting on another train to catch, to find the windy cool spots in the station, cooling down. They are usually not hard to find when you leave the shop areas or just wait near the platforms.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidnbJhlfcJBldusLKxT7BRiPgvFFHKl3-S3U6Pwow_NIP4NxFJGE5XMMBrGL2rV1n-AgWyAGw3lbJkc86jv35e_8L-OyIGWrdtzf6APXWMr1-K1Y92ixplSY0WBPjD2BzQvvU5JQBbxhdr/s1600/la-1530128659-3gvu8u05qv-snap-image.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidnbJhlfcJBldusLKxT7BRiPgvFFHKl3-S3U6Pwow_NIP4NxFJGE5XMMBrGL2rV1n-AgWyAGw3lbJkc86jv35e_8L-OyIGWrdtzf6APXWMr1-K1Y92ixplSY0WBPjD2BzQvvU5JQBbxhdr/s400/la-1530128659-3gvu8u05qv-snap-image.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">I watched an intriguing documentary called </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Three Identical Strangers</span></b><br />It investigates the story of a set of triplets, who never knew of each others existence until they were 19 years old. (*Spoilers following now!). Robert goes to college for the first time in 1980; Sullivan County Community College. He is welcomed warmly by the students there. Too jovial, perhaps. They clap him on the back, hug him, girls kiss him. They say how good it is to see him back. When Robert ('Bobby') tells them this is the first time he sets food on the campus, they laugh and clap him on the back. Then a guy named Michael Domnitz knocks on his door and is stunned to see a double of his best pal Eddy. Eddy left school that summer, and wasn't returning, so Michael knew this had to be Eddy's double. He said that this guy had the same grin, the same hair, the same expressions. The similarities were uncanny. With some clarity of mind he starts interrogating Robert about his date of birth, his year of birth, his birth place, whether or not he was adopted, and they soon realize he must be Eddy's twin brother. Robert and Michael call Eddy and they rush to his house, a few hours drive. When Eddy opens the door, these two boys seemed to be looking in a mirror. They are close right away. The story and photos of the reunited boys makes the newspaper, which is when friends and relatives of a certain 'David' realize that he must be related to them also, as he looks also exactly the same. Up to the club-sized meaty hands they all share. That's when the story went from great to amazing, and the three are invited in talk shows all over the country and became celebrities. They feel instantly connected, start wrestling on the floor the moment they meet and find out there are many similarities, despite them all having grown up in different circumstances: they all smoke the same brand of cigarettes, they all have wrestled professionally, they sat and moved the same way, they finished each others sentences; same interests, same personalities, they liked the same type of foods, fancied the same type of women (older ones!). They even came up with the same ideas or thoughts, only to find out that the other had just told a friend something similar just prior.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoUrs0HSlXQvGJ0dSVDnt07lyudq8IW_-uOI5elGBYvevyt14tif7HlfGbDcOGL-9RX84NrOrHeIu9XSPWfZO0waOA-9bz5ftZiQ6EYfyBcKBRXw5pTYLSZ66l54BAMKKJJ1zPtaEc3j3E/s1600/image.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="630" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoUrs0HSlXQvGJ0dSVDnt07lyudq8IW_-uOI5elGBYvevyt14tif7HlfGbDcOGL-9RX84NrOrHeIu9XSPWfZO0waOA-9bz5ftZiQ6EYfyBcKBRXw5pTYLSZ66l54BAMKKJJ1zPtaEc3j3E/s320/image.jpg" width="320" /></a>The most interesting part was that they all three grew up in very different households. The boys are Jewish and were placed with Jewish adoptive parents. But that is about where the similarity stopped. David grew up in a blue collar family (not educated immigrants running a little neighborhood store), Eddy in a middle class family (father was a college-educated teacher) and Robert in an affluent family (a medical doctor and an attorney). Davids father was a very warm, larger than life personality, always smoking a big cigar. All three boys loved him, calling him 'bubala', because he was so loving and effectuate. He would say: "I have two more sons now". The boys were excited and started hitting the town together, buying a bachelor pad in New York together and living it up. But their parents were angry; why hadn't the adoption agency told them that their sons were part of triplets? And what had these boys been put through, unbeknownst to them? All parents recalled having dealt with inconsolable boys during their baby phase, all three would hit their head against the wall as a baby to pass out and one would hold his breath until he passed out. Now, they started to realize that these three boys had been sleeping together side by side in their cot until they were six months old; until the moment they were adopted. One relative said; 'What a terrible deprivation for them'. All three were adopted from Louise Wise Services. They catered for New Yorks social, intellectual and financial elite back in the days, dealing with Jewish babies and clients. The parents together went back to this agency, demanding answers. They were told that Yes, they had separated the boys at birth. But the reason being was said to make it easier for them to be adopted; apparently a set of triplets was too hard to place. So the splitting up was in their 'best interest'. The parents said it was rubbish, as all of them would have adopted all three, if they could. But that was the official response they received. Eddy's father then, on the way out, remembers that he forgot his umbrella and walked back in, only to see the Agency top toasting a glass of champagne among each other. "As if they had just dodged a bullet". They didn't manage to make a lawsuit of it, as the law agencies they contacted refused to charge Louise Wise Agency, as a number of their own clients were trying to adopt through them. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5NQHg0vtmYo5-HQTqJWiox0mlZs6Q-RYrdd0ddpS2RmJ58VIuzyzhitGJ-fVB0cYhS-RMcLC7hdiehLx-noiiZO6VO1eiJ2ccs4Rv5t6aANlbSMK7Ez706Td1Z0vynOnnP7pkzTmk955q/s1600/MV5BZGIxNjBjYWUtYzExYS00NGFhLTkwYmQtZTZkNTcxYTY5ZTQ1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXRzdGFzaWVr._V1_UX477_CR0%252C0%252C477%252C268_AL_.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="477" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5NQHg0vtmYo5-HQTqJWiox0mlZs6Q-RYrdd0ddpS2RmJ58VIuzyzhitGJ-fVB0cYhS-RMcLC7hdiehLx-noiiZO6VO1eiJ2ccs4Rv5t6aANlbSMK7Ez706Td1Z0vynOnnP7pkzTmk955q/s400/MV5BZGIxNjBjYWUtYzExYS00NGFhLTkwYmQtZTZkNTcxYTY5ZTQ1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXRzdGFzaWVr._V1_UX477_CR0%252C0%252C477%252C268_AL_.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_yECP7NgJ1QtC49I1Reufekoa0XIZq3_g-YR8dc-ns3m3OrLdGvsuYGqJyisF0JCnEwI4zYlb3eF9udG-wO2_QaclmEhb_gJCHCSePWEK-qiak0NI280gZ6Mkrxj-ZwPshMP6YN3aguV/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="1600" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_yECP7NgJ1QtC49I1Reufekoa0XIZq3_g-YR8dc-ns3m3OrLdGvsuYGqJyisF0JCnEwI4zYlb3eF9udG-wO2_QaclmEhb_gJCHCSePWEK-qiak0NI280gZ6Mkrxj-ZwPshMP6YN3aguV/s400/Untitled-1.jpg" width="400" /></a>The boys go back to their flashy lives, find partners, Eddy has a baby daughter. Then a New York Post journalist gets onto the case, and after investigation he stumbles onto information about a never published but nevertheless infamous psychological/ social experiment in the 1960's, separating identical twins or triplets before adoption and placing them in distinctively different social backgrounds. All these babies came from one and the same adoption service in New York City. Once the boys and their families learned about this in the paper, they were livid. And started telling about childhood memories they had, about a young man and woman coming to the house, regularly, to take tests. IQ tests, personality tests, eye hand coordination tests. Filming them while playing, while doing Rohrschach ink tests, doing other tests. The parents were told that this was general standard research to follow up on the development of 'adopted children'. After all, none of them were told that their son had twin siblings. Finding out that these test people went from brother to brother to brother, within a 100 mile radius, for years and years, without having the boys know how close by their brothers were living. So what was this study about? It was set up by Dr Peter Neubauer, an Austrian Holocaust refugee and distinguished psychiatrist in New York. Developed into Freuds ideas. There were other sets of identical twins who had undergone the same fate. Strangely enough, this long standing, intensive study was never officially published in any official Publication. Why were they concealing their test results? A friend of Peter Neubauer explains in the documentary what she knows about his aims with this study; he wanted to make a difference into children's lives; he wanted to find out how much of a child's development is nature and what is nurture. This is a classical 'dilemma' in psychology; how much of what we do, like, achieve, think, want and so forth is down to the way we were raised (so environmental, social and psychological etc influences) and how much of that is wired down deep inside us, in our genes? Dr Neubauer thought that when you split up identical twins or triplets, with the same set of genes, and you place them in radically different families, changing the nurture aspect of their lives; then we will find out the answer to this question. That is why all three boys ended up in such different adoptive families. Today the notion of this thing sounds absolutely horrific. But, his friend explained, in the 1950's and 60's people didn't think like that; it was an exciting time for research and scientific opportunities. It was a pressing question back then; how much of nature and how much of nurture makes us eventually who we are. You can imagine that if one identical twin, for instance, is dealing with alcoholic or abusive parents, whereas the other has a warm and supportive set of parents, that both kids will develop into very different adults. One may be worried, cautious, introverted, while the other could be care free and confident. But scientists needed to actually test this to be sure, and back then, apparently it was not such a big deal to split up and follow up identical sets of twins and triplets. And what this experiment showed with the three brothers, is that an astonishing part of who we become, is down to genes. Despite their very different upbringings and social backgrounds, the brothers were eerily similar in many ways. from preferences to life choices to behaviours to opinions. And another set of identical twins found - two girls - underwent the same treatment and also ended up very alike; both independently of the other were newspaper editors in their respective schools, both went to a film academy and so on. For scientists, this outcome was not what they expected, and neither what they had wanted to see. We all like to have the feeling that we are in charge of what we do and where we go in life. That we have influence over our own lives, some control. Turns out that no matter what you do, a lot of what we end up doing and choosing is already wired down and predetermined for us. And most humans don't like that :D So why weren't these results published? Dr Neubauers friend also does not know why the results weren't published, and she thinks they should, because this study was never done before, and will never be done again (most likely).<br />
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The boys went into business together, opening up a New York restaurant at some point that was very popular ("Triplets"), but once Bubala, Davids father passed away, the connecting link between them died too and their different work ethics started to make tears in the friendship. Their relatives explained that when you didn't grow up together as brothers, but instead were thrown together during your young adulthood, you also never learned how to resolve conflict together. How to adapt to the other, compromise, or keep the peace. Those things are usually learnt while growing up. And they missed out on all of that. They simply never learnt how to life with each other. Bobby had enough at some point and left the business. Eddy and David felt betrayed and their relationship was negatively affected by it. Especially Eddy felt very upset, being the one brother who did not handle conflict well. He developed psychological problems, experiencing long highs and lows. Charming on the one hand but dealing with anger and darkness on the inside on the other hand. Eddy was diagnosed with manic depression and had to be admitted to a psychiatric ward. Then it turns out that the other brothers were also under psychiatric care during their teenage years. All three had been "very disturbed" as kids, dealing with a challenging and dysfunctional adolescence. Then the documentary makes a grim turn and shows a clip from an 80's talk show, where one of the boys (just after they reunited and became celebrities) is asked; 'One of you was involved in a murder, is that right?'. Robert answers and says "No, in fact I was accused of being involved in a murder. And it was me, who never met his person who was killed. It was peer pressure, friends pressuring me into covering for them, telling a story for them to the police. That pulled me right into it, but I have never hurt anyone in my life."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBThyhQcyMhpw1lPYj432Cyqv8WyzC5xjQrbabIkcjBnANaFC3fubM2cGGJC-VlPzHtnjHjElZbYqJ8YV4fbLX0sLVhT_M20aiVdeArWEtLxDe0CDK5icliKisp-cAq1Y5XXiwPeTftXn/s1600/ThreeIdenticalStrangers1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="229" data-original-width="310" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBThyhQcyMhpw1lPYj432Cyqv8WyzC5xjQrbabIkcjBnANaFC3fubM2cGGJC-VlPzHtnjHjElZbYqJ8YV4fbLX0sLVhT_M20aiVdeArWEtLxDe0CDK5icliKisp-cAq1Y5XXiwPeTftXn/s400/ThreeIdenticalStrangers1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
At this point it is revealed that in fact, a lot of kids in this particular study ended up having dysfunctional childhoods and mental problems. One wonders if this was something the Doctor was actually setting them up for to test this. Also the female twins suffered from depression. They found out that their birth mother had mental health problems too, and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. And then a sinister pattern starts to show. All the triplets/twins in the study had a birth mother with mental health problems. The boys met their own birth mother while they were in their 20's, and noticed she was drinking them under the table, and seemed an alcoholic. The adoptive parents had never been told about this. At this point, the question becomes; have the scientists purposely selected children from parents with mental illness, to see if placing these kids into different homes can affect the hereditary force of mental illness? With regards to the triplets; Eddy ends up taking his own life.. And there is more than one suicide within the test group, within this group that these triplets also belonged to who were separated at birth and studied subsequently. The New York Post journalist did manage to speak to Dr Neubauer before he died. But he didn't want to say much about the research, stuttering and saying that until the study was published, he didn't want to say much about it. Of course, this things has never been published. He did say that only a small group of identical twins was used and that the research was stopped because it was simply too expensive. When asked who supported the research financially, he mumbles "Oh, some private family foundations. And we got some money from Washington." Could it be that some powerful people like this story to be silenced? The research data is under seal and kept at Yale university. Nobody can access it until 2066. But some information is known; Yale keeps study results dating from 1960 to 1980 and it contains video material, text, records. It appears the study radically is stopped around the same time that the triplets find out about each other and go public in the media. The only way to get access to the files beforehand, is with a written approval from the Jewish board of Family and Children's Services. A powerful organization, run by Dr Neubauer. Some of the twins involved in the study have tried to get access to the results of this study, but none have been given approval for access. Which is pretty ghastly, considering it was they themselves that were studied. So it is still not known what the researchers were exactly looking for and what they found out?<br />
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But then the documentary makers found the only living research assistant who worked on the study, who is still alive and is willing to talk; Dr. Lawrence Perlman. He jokes that yeh, it was tempting sometimes to joke that he had seen someone "who looks just like you!" the week prior. (Laughs...). He admits that in retrospect, it was probably ethically wrong what he did, but he was just a work aide in the whole process. He gets out some old notes he made on the triplets and reads out that one was already having aggression issues as a child, and that he noted that his respective parents were not very tuned in to his problems or able to stop it. But he left the studies after 10 months and so never heard anything about the study results..... He says that there was never a mention of mental health being studied. But that instead differences of parenting was what they were focused on. And how they affected development. The thing was of course that they needed a second adoptive kid in these new adoptive families, to actually already know what these family dynamics were like (and thus to know in which 3 different families these triplets had to be placed). But all three boys had in fact an older adoptive sister, two years older than them. Who were also all placed by Louise Wise Services. Making not only the kids lab rats, but the adoptive parents also. Comparing the three families, it turned out that Davids father (Bubala) stood out as the generous, warm guy; everything his son did was wonderful. He could do no wrong. Bobby (Roberts) father was very busy as a doctor and didn't have the same time to be with Bobby as Bubala had with David. But he was very devoted to Bobby nevertheless. Eddy's father was rather strict; he made the rules, he was the boss. He had a strict, conservative militaristic approach to life. A strict teacher. And they didn't have a great relationship. He didn't talk much about him. And Eddy always said he didn't feel he fit right in with his family. Like he wasn't in the right place. They didn't discuss problems with each other, but were a rather quiet family. Some people are just not a good fit. So depending on the families they were given, dealt with by fate (or scientists), their lives turned out differently. Yeah they liked the same things superficially and smoked the same brand of cigarettes. But deep down, they were very different; the result of nurture (over nature). We drift into the direction that our genes tell us to go, but it doesn't mean you are destined to be one person or another. Some parents gave some of the brothers more handles to deal with life than others. Eventually after this documentary, the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services allowed David and Robert to look into the sealed files, and despite having 10.000's documents it does not contain a clear conclusion on what exactly was investigated. And neither the identity of all the other twins in the study. So there are still twins out there who do not know about their other twin existing...<br />
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<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b style="color: #990000;">I have continued writing my day<br />to day life updates in </b><b style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/01/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-xi_54.html" target="_blank">this blogpost</a>.<br />Or read older updates <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/02/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</b></div><div><b style="color: #990000;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/s1600/0%252C2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/w435-h435/0%252C2.jpg" width="435" /></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div></b></div></b></div></div>
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Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-36078253630436553012019-01-30T10:41:00.076-08:002024-01-31T05:51:33.901-08:00Ongoing post, Update day to day life X, January 31st 2019 - February 25th, 2019 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2-CDE3fcz2Z-0ByiOYZDttD1p6wdU5xTw38ZEJY_nuM7TJXDfaXLCgW1Y6FwwSUjHPaGjwaATQGZknii1tQuVetzQnvhAsP8gscXh9HZ6EQlEgsmDDsQSZH5tSZZo_grOM_3pv83lpHN/s1600/giphy+%25281%2529.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="469" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2-CDE3fcz2Z-0ByiOYZDttD1p6wdU5xTw38ZEJY_nuM7TJXDfaXLCgW1Y6FwwSUjHPaGjwaATQGZknii1tQuVetzQnvhAsP8gscXh9HZ6EQlEgsmDDsQSZH5tSZZo_grOM_3pv83lpHN/w469-h469/giphy+%25281%2529.gif" width="469" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b><span>I try to give insight in my own life and dealings with rosacea. I also try to gather information that might be useful for everyone with rosacea, especially subtype 1 with burning, flushing and skin redness. I happen to be a bit unfortunate in that I have this condition for a long time already, and unlike many others, I haven't been able to get it into remission. I know it is more uplifting to read about someone who has beaten rosacea, but I like to write about the struggles that come for those who haven't achieved this. I also blabber here about everyday life topics. </span> </b></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMivdpjhHakospePyR-PQ19iAz-nWzEjhTQzNO2vnPyIja6M494LXppPRcmcJQlRXwWoOat30_7vuruNAaNjtUdKHnHPJbHrNG-a7aljfGmABZNjWxLUaIC99eqeKauMvVmk7c47wN0N6g/s1600/53c575aeb13c4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="659" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMivdpjhHakospePyR-PQ19iAz-nWzEjhTQzNO2vnPyIja6M494LXppPRcmcJQlRXwWoOat30_7vuruNAaNjtUdKHnHPJbHrNG-a7aljfGmABZNjWxLUaIC99eqeKauMvVmk7c47wN0N6g/s320/53c575aeb13c4.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">January 31st 2019</span></span></b><br />
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Aaaaghhhhrr..I had to change the whole lay-out, background and colours of this blog. I don't like changes so this was no fun. But it appears that half the visitors here use not a laptop, but a smartphone. I don't have one, so never really understood the criticism that the old font wasn't easy to read. It was perfectly readable on my laptop. But the light letters.. the coloured busy background... I was told. I borrowed my friends smartphone tonight and yeh.. I see the problem finally. (About 5 years too late probably). It <i>is</i> hard to read. On a small screen. So there you go, a changed look. Might take me half a year now to get used to. WARNING: I have to manually change every single posts colouring schemes, as what used to be written in light grey or light pink (standing out against the former dark background), now has become unreadable (oh the irony :D ), so I have been busy the past 5 hours changing the colours to fit with the new light background. But since most was done by hand and isn't following a specific base colour, I cannot quickly update it. So some posts are simply unreadable now. I'm working on it, next couple of days. I am still awaiting the large batch of test results from the immunologist/ rheumatologist. Will receive them on February 11th. In the meantime, Laser_cat from the <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/forum.php?s=18826aff7e358153f6ba443403fc680c"><b>Rosacea Forum</b></a> advised me on some things. First, I have been tested for mastocytosis in the past (and they are looking for it again this time), which has to do with too many mast cells in the skin / body causing too much histamine to be produced. Histamine is a substance in the body that dilates blood vessels. It is involved with allergic reactions too. I am already avoiding <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/10/food.html"><b>foods</b></a> that are high in histamine, because they make me so badly flushed. Some of those foods that are high in histamine are for instance fermented foods (sauerkraut to name something. but also old ripened cheeses), tomatoes, smoked meats or fish, canned fish, beans, nuts, vinegar, yogurt, spinach, eggplant, strawberries, cinnamon, most citrus fruits, alcohol and last but not least...... CHOCOLATE. Brbbrrrr... Read for more info on mastocytosis as a cause for face flushing <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/08/facial-flushing-due-to-mastocytosis-or.html"><b>this blog post</b></a> of mine. So to test for mastocytosis, doctors usually look for tryptase in the blood. They can also carry out a biopsy, where a small skin sample is taken and checked for mast cells. But I won't have pieces of skin taken out of my retched rosacea face :) Had it done once, back in 2003 in hospital and nothing came out of the biopsy. So anyway, Laser_cat - who has bad flushing and burning of the face as well - said about this tryptase testing that her tryptase is always a little high too when tested, but not high enough to be worrisome. And that patients with <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/04/do-i-have-rosacea-or-erythromelalgia-em.html"><b>erythromelalgia</b></a> (another condition that can cause flushing and burning of the face, as well as hands and feet) also sometimes have elevated tryptase levels. Despite not having mastocytosis. She suggested that perhaps the elevated tryptase levels can be linked to<b><span style="color: #f4cccc;"> </span><span style="color: #783f04;">neurogenic inflammation</span></b> in fact. It is known that inflammation can affect all sorts of blood values. The same could be happening to ANA blood levels; antinuclear antibodies, which are often seen when people suffer from an auto-immune disease. Often ANA blood levels can be a bit elevated with patients who have an inflammatory disease, like rosacea. Mine are borderline positive too (1:80 last time, am waiting the new and updated test outcomes at the moment), and all the specialists I saw about it said the same; that in itself is not worrisome to them. Because these levels can fluctuate over time and a true positive value is much higher. But it does show antibodies being active, which can be linked to auto-immune conditions. Well, I have some haha. Not the types that raise ANA super high like a condition as Lupus does, but still.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWz2D2fJp_M6ikieAMofL7QR3ETyNNxIQ3iXtTUb07CHTG6dHr7bdJXDukgzJMRiww4CBN7pOP6QGhcycnyDI8h0uy1WdJn_W-mNMkJPMSVHEgaMJ1lhaE9vjeg1wZQpwSynKtdaTTr7Ej/s1600/DSC09701.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="1600" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWz2D2fJp_M6ikieAMofL7QR3ETyNNxIQ3iXtTUb07CHTG6dHr7bdJXDukgzJMRiww4CBN7pOP6QGhcycnyDI8h0uy1WdJn_W-mNMkJPMSVHEgaMJ1lhaE9vjeg1wZQpwSynKtdaTTr7Ej/s400/DSC09701.jpg" width="400" /></a>But even patients with erythromelalgia apparently suspect mast cell and histamine issues sometimes, and can have their flushing improved quite a bit by taking antihistamine medication, such as zyrtec, zantac, benadryl, Xyzal (the one I use), as well as by following a low histamine diet. Laser_cat linked me to <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/dc0c/ac6b060e1eebc72b0df0cc34e41067de22af.pdf"><b>this</b></a> research article, which describes how a man with erythromelalgia (EM) and small fiber neuropathy on his feet and hands, also had mastocytosis by biopsy. So an interesting link between masto and flushing and burning. Just like mastocytosis sometimes pops up in rosacea and feet EM. If you yourself flush a lot and have never been tested for mastocytosis or histamine overload, perhaps it is interesting to see if you can get tested for it. I am always on the lookout for ways to reduce inflammation, without wanting to take steroids of any type. I took diclofenac (NSAID) for several years but at some point developed heart cramps whenever I exercised and didn't want to keep taking them therefore. I also felt they stopped working and paradoxically might have made me more red eventually. I now heard about <b><span style="color: #783f04;">IVIG (Intravenous immunoglobulin)</span></b>, which means that you get intravenously (IV) provided with extra antibodies, which stay in your body for several weeks and help your body fight off a large variety of infections. Unlike steroids, you can do this treatment long term. IVIG has <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2118416/"><b>proven</b></a> to be effective in the treatment of various autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, lowering inflammation in the body. So, considering that rosacea is also an inflammatory disease (and some forms of rosacea quite possibly being an auto-immune related issue), you would think that it could improve rosacea in theory as well. However, apart from being anti-inflammatory, IVIG also boosts your immune system. Which paradoxically can worsen auto-immune related inflammation again. Anyway, the person who tried it for rosacea flushing found IVIG had absolutely no effect on the rosacea. Bummer.. I also read <a href="http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=260354.msg4461361#msg4461361"><b>this account</b></a> from a pregnant woman with rosacea who had a doctor suggest IVIG for her rosacea, and wrote:<br />
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<i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>"My rosacea started to blow up and Dr G did not want to take any risk. He is one of few who thinks the rosacea is an autoimmunological disease. After 16 weeks I got very awful reaction on my face and Dr G suggested me to try IVIg (just because of the facial condition). I did not take IVIg since 5 of the experts in Sweden refused to help me with that and I did not want to take a risk to fly to London in the worse flew-time in Sweden. However with help of a sulphur creme and the time my face become better."</b></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16490849"><b>This</b></a> scientific article also states that: "High-dose intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs) are increasingly used to treat inflammatory and/or autoimmune disorders. In dermatology, they provide therapeutic benefit in Kawasaki disease and certain cases of dermatomyositis." But it goes on to warn for adverse reaction, such as 4 patients who developed severe eczema after IVIG treatment: "<i>We report 4 cases of a characteristic severe extensive eczematous reaction that occurred approximately 10 days after IVIG infusion for polyradiculoneuritis.</i>" The scientists did not understand the exact mechanism behind it but were clear that its onset within days after the IVIG treatment, implied it was a direct reaction to it. Which goes to show that your immune system does get a boost.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfOfdXAmv0C0_LgpKakoybJgWcY9Sdz2ujyPvSJx9FKzJ7sLrUSYtSsX3I8k_tHNKQUiLkdAOjMJ9flQodPWMH6haHg5tcbZEiT807yP3mMoLAKlr1NZi4J79V3KkSaqVzIk0bG97Lj6x/s1600/z22.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="331" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfOfdXAmv0C0_LgpKakoybJgWcY9Sdz2ujyPvSJx9FKzJ7sLrUSYtSsX3I8k_tHNKQUiLkdAOjMJ9flQodPWMH6haHg5tcbZEiT807yP3mMoLAKlr1NZi4J79V3KkSaqVzIk0bG97Lj6x/w206-h387/z22.jpg" width="206" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_EnbH9wNtEors3km_iT7WNGVXd4z5i92emKQOAqQKOnftZYuR-Kb8A9zTpnIBWN_FHA-WKDh_cH9JeHzhSMQ_aFFfekYR9FgeiS5CiWcz4BsY33GBQ5moDqJ31oHRPsrbpGPzJHkr247/s1600/z21%252C5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="399" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_EnbH9wNtEors3km_iT7WNGVXd4z5i92emKQOAqQKOnftZYuR-Kb8A9zTpnIBWN_FHA-WKDh_cH9JeHzhSMQ_aFFfekYR9FgeiS5CiWcz4BsY33GBQ5moDqJ31oHRPsrbpGPzJHkr247/w206-h387/z21%252C5.jpg" width="206" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinofWHrTbqkj-NPWsTd4ewfH-B7gdBwwT4UxeDofIFcdL0D_lUsgw4VGd56Y4JiCDix_Q_WDQVJ-QTHAExh_H9PIdBUkhEZ3uY0v7rbd823Bf1ovNnZMTEm9gwZLCmHO8qZceR_mBTim7z/s1600/DSC00872+-+kopie.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinofWHrTbqkj-NPWsTd4ewfH-B7gdBwwT4UxeDofIFcdL0D_lUsgw4VGd56Y4JiCDix_Q_WDQVJ-QTHAExh_H9PIdBUkhEZ3uY0v7rbd823Bf1ovNnZMTEm9gwZLCmHO8qZceR_mBTim7z/w290-h386/DSC00872+-+kopie.jpg" width="290" /></a><br />
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<b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">However, there are more anti-inflammatory options</span></b><br />
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I was suggesting a couple of other anti-inflammatories in addition to NSAID's and steroids (not suitable for rosacea, can make it worse). <b><span style="color: #783f04;">Methotrexate</span></b> is one, which lowers the immune system. I have talked with Professor Tony Chu about this in the past. He recalled several patients with rosacea who had very severe cases and responded well to methotrexate. However, he warned, it is a very serious medication which lowers your immune defenses not only in favour of auto-immune diseases and immune related inflammation, but also makes you much more prone to complications from a simple flu or infection. Flu can turn easily into dangerous pneumonia for instance, infections might not heal properly and the immune system in the long term also helps us clear up cancerous cells, if all goes well. So there you have a heap of potentially very serious side-effects, and thus.. he wouldn't prescribe methotrexate to me. I understood. Some other meds that might be interesting for rosacea inflammation are <span style="color: #783f04;"><b>CellCept </b></span>and <b><span style="color: #783f04;">azathioprine</span></b>. These are non-steroidal medications that are broadly immune suppressive and anti-inflammatory, BUT have the same downsides as methotrexate; by suppressing the immune system they also increase potential risks of infection and even certain cancers in the long run. But, they are definitely safer for rosacea itself than prednisone (a steroid), which can cause vasodilation, permanent blood vessel damage, flushing, thinning of the skin and worsening of symptoms. The problem with steroids is that they can be super effective for certain other conditions, that can overlap in symptoms with rosacea, or can be misdiagnosed as rosacea.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqDLTJixeI6sfEKSusSzM6mGWMNnQqK-c6WieGX6Z5nyQDPrE_jV7XlfwGxaUunNvw9G-yIrixoZompADGRuNPutBJ9BVYHWkxkRVz8KUZFqze0PcfgzhWRC87LpaZRawPRaQtHMmN848/s1600/images+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="171" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqDLTJixeI6sfEKSusSzM6mGWMNnQqK-c6WieGX6Z5nyQDPrE_jV7XlfwGxaUunNvw9G-yIrixoZompADGRuNPutBJ9BVYHWkxkRVz8KUZFqze0PcfgzhWRC87LpaZRawPRaQtHMmN848/s320/images+%25282%2529.jpg" width="186" /></a>Think for instance of lupus, dermatitis, erythromelalgia and even <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/05/seborrhoeic-dermatitis-seb-derm-in.html"><b>seb derm</b></a> and quite a few <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2014/05/other-conditions-that-cause-facial_29.html"><b>other conditions that can cause flushing</b></a>. Some doctors can determine through the use of steroids that someone in fact has an auto-immune disease, as corticosteroids will lower the immune response and improve your symptoms, as well as inflammation. Doctors are often easily swayed to throw some steroids your way when your symptoms are inflammatory and vague. But one always needs to be cautious with them when it comes to rosacea. Even short term use of a steroid cream can trigger rosacea (as it <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/what-happened-in-last-13-years-sigh.html"><b>did</b></a> in my case). And existing rosacea can worsen due to steroid creams or pills. But some dermatologists prescribe steroids regardless, as they will help initially to make the skin less red and inflamed. I am of the opinions that steroids, both topical or in pill form, should never ever be used as a rosacea treatment.<br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><i>"Never, never, never, ever prescribe steroids for</i></b><b><i>rosacea" Dr.Kligman (Dermatology-University of Philadelphia) & Dr. Pleig (Dermatologische Klinik Und Poliklinik der Universitat Munchen, Germany) state in their 1973 book, entitled Acne & Rosacea, First edition. Likewise, their second edition in 1993 harshly criticizes dermatologists that prescribe steroids for rosacea. - </i></b></span><b><i><span style="color: #444444;">al Steroids For Rosacea. <a href="http://www.internationalrosaceafoundation.org/steroids.php">Source</a></span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8LIT6exigXSBj-Shuud4SD5ewF7gLBUytcUVDZVYcGJw_UQF1IdU4WwtHB6ZJwCeaWwBxX5KSZuA5QYsYfnxK9fUrO1u5GWlm6BwbrUrQG6hENQICRin5vJOVUDgXc_0g2oWYeCW42Tw/s1600/DSC09612.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8LIT6exigXSBj-Shuud4SD5ewF7gLBUytcUVDZVYcGJw_UQF1IdU4WwtHB6ZJwCeaWwBxX5KSZuA5QYsYfnxK9fUrO1u5GWlm6BwbrUrQG6hENQICRin5vJOVUDgXc_0g2oWYeCW42Tw/s400/DSC09612.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="color: #990000;">P</b><span style="color: #990000;"><span><b>almitoylethanolamide (PEA)</b></span></span></span><br />
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I was also tipped on the supplement palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) for the treatment of pain, inflammation and even of mast cell instability. I ordered it this week and will give it a try as soon as it comes in. So far I have had bad reports with mostly all supplements however. Only Alpha Lipoic Acid seemed to help slightly, the rest either did nothing (a few) or made my flushing worse (most). But will try it anyway. So what is palmitoylethanolamide (PEA)? It is a fatty acid, produced in the body to combat pain and inflammation, by boosting your natural cannabinoids and protecting the nerves throughout your body. My rosacea is both vascular and neuropathic, meaning it shows itself through constant dilating of the blood vessels - flushing, redness - as well as giving me a lot of nerve pain in the face; my skin always feels tight, burned up and uncomfortable. And when I get massively flushed or more red than usual, it feels on fire, literally like someone threw something hot or acid-like on it. So the nerves in my facial skin have become hypersensitive after twenty years of rosacea flushing, inflammation and swelling. hence, this supplement sounds good so far :) What else? Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) can also be found in soy lecithin, soybeans, egg yolk, peanuts, and alfalfa. However, most of these might not be a suitable option for people with food sensitivities (soy can be a trigger for rosacea as well as the high-histamine peanuts. Eggs can also be a trigger for some). As a supplement, PEA is available in tablet, capsule, and powder form and is considered a strong and safe natural painkiller and anti-inflammatory. More than 30 clinical <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5094513/"><b>trials</b></a> so far have confirmed it can relieve complex pain (but also stated that more large-scale scientific research is needed). <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3500919/"><b>This</b></a> scientific article concluded:<br />
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<i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>"PEA represents a promising addition to our therapeutic armamentarium for neuropathic pain, with potential for good tolerability and a low propensity for side effects."</b></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtw8OV0bJcFN4-vmbL9qUWxTudmjqntp6JrOqQ6-nDrKUPBzpIHV9XnQwAX54w0kKwXOEq5xdmsiiXoa0AjCNduj5mrzpbFx8zgsrH0DS8nbKsa9_cOOpUw0OAYzycknwkUyiBgnRXigG/s1600/DSC09733.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtw8OV0bJcFN4-vmbL9qUWxTudmjqntp6JrOqQ6-nDrKUPBzpIHV9XnQwAX54w0kKwXOEq5xdmsiiXoa0AjCNduj5mrzpbFx8zgsrH0DS8nbKsa9_cOOpUw0OAYzycknwkUyiBgnRXigG/s320/DSC09733.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
It is also claimed that PEA can activate the cannabinoid receptors, protect the brain and heart, improve mood, reduce allergies, and may help fight the common cold. PEA also activates the energy-boosting, fat-burning, and anti-inflammatory PPAR alpha. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15465922"><b>This</b></a> research paper states: "<i>Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), the naturally occurring amide of palmitic acid and ethanolamine, reduces pain and inflammation through an as-yet-uncharacterized mechanism. Here, we identify the nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-alpha) as the molecular target responsible for the anti-inflammatory properties of PEA." </i>In an analysis of 12 human studies, PEA supplements reduced chronic and neuropathic pain intensity without any serious adverse effects. It has to be used for at least 2 weeks to achieve pain relief. PEA was typically given over 3-8 weeks at dosages between 300 and 1200 mg/day. Taking it over a longer period of time strengthens its effects without causing tolerance. Normal dose is 300 or 600 mg/day, however: "At least 600 mg/day may be needed to relieve nerve pain, while doses of 1,2 g/day were used for diabetic nerve pain." You can read more favorable research outcomes in <a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/palmitoylethanolamide-pea/"><b>this</b></a> article. One important benefit of it I like to name here is that PEA is said to reduce gut inflammation. I have a chronic low grade inflammatory condition of the gut (microscopic colitis) and it appears that many people with rosacea have in fact some issue or another with their gut and bowels (you can read my blog post about the link <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/12/rosacea-and-bowel-or-digestive.html"><b>here</b></a>). AND also depression! For what it's worth, I am truly not sure if this is really the wonder supplement that article makes it out to be :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtpfssqM39QQaTK0Lmfs_FUw2nv_VjnFunBbViSLg-eerse-X_NB_Z0KRgmW-kwp_rEpXc0vRZnMhBnXjixX9UNcuXkPtVdTwfdlnEYiwR3mmhl3REpzLFW5Nul24ZCgSYtzg6fiJoRd2u/s1600/23971558602_7ab386df79_b.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="718" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtpfssqM39QQaTK0Lmfs_FUw2nv_VjnFunBbViSLg-eerse-X_NB_Z0KRgmW-kwp_rEpXc0vRZnMhBnXjixX9UNcuXkPtVdTwfdlnEYiwR3mmhl3REpzLFW5Nul24ZCgSYtzg6fiJoRd2u/w365-h365/23971558602_7ab386df79_b.jpg" width="365" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">PEA Reduces Gut Inflammation</span></b><br />
"PEA was successfully used to relieve symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBS) in animals. Mice with chronic gut inflammation have low PEA levels, while PEA supplements normalized bowel movement and prevented damage to the gut lining. In tissues taken by biopsy from people with ulcerative colitis, PEA lowered inflammatory cytokines and the buildup of neutrophils, immune cells that worsen symptoms and contribute to gut damage."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">PEA Reduces Depression</span></b><br />
"In a recent study of 58 people with depression, PEA (1,2 g/day) given over 6 weeks greatly and rapidly improved mood and overall symptoms. PEA was added to antidepressant treatment (citalopram) and lowered symptoms by an impressive 50%. This clinical study was a follow-up on numerous studies in which PEA improved symptoms of depression in animals."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">PEA Reduces Histamine and Allergies</span></b><br />
"PEA is a safe histamine-release blocker. People with allergies, histamine issues, and Th2-dominance will likely benefit from it. In animal and cell-based studies, PEA improved eczema and skin allergies by lowering mast cell activation and blocking the release of histamine. [..] In dogs with eczema, PEA helped soothe symptoms by reducing skin inflammation and itching. PEA reduced inflammatory substances (TNF alpha) and increased endocannabinoids in the skin (2-AG), which altogether strongly diminishes the allergic response." And there is more scientific info for now... Boring boring! But I want to share it anyway:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRelVh7_TYY0P0IO75-thpOTJe8gNb8Q7Rhx3Gs11DMSF-P1xjiSXZkLn29ZPAqrIphDs49qxqXNjFusBYsxDI6VVsHz7zwgVYNHNa4RpaJSWErsk04JI1amrEF9fCDeHvIoN-20fZqRAR/s1600/z21%252C6.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="340" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRelVh7_TYY0P0IO75-thpOTJe8gNb8Q7Rhx3Gs11DMSF-P1xjiSXZkLn29ZPAqrIphDs49qxqXNjFusBYsxDI6VVsHz7zwgVYNHNa4RpaJSWErsk04JI1amrEF9fCDeHvIoN-20fZqRAR/s400/z21%252C6.jpg" width="236" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Peptide LL-37</b><br />
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I was also told about research about a possible link between rosacea inflammation and the peptide LL-37. There is quite a bit of research online available on it, so I will write a bit more about it now. Know and realize here, that the true cause of rosacea has not been discovered yet. Doctors and scientists do not know what causes <span><b><span style="color: #783f04;">the different subtypes of rosacea</span><span style="color: #f4cccc;"> </span></b></span>(subtype 1: flushing and redness, Subtype 2: skin outbreaks and inflammation, Subtype 3: rosacea of the nose; rhinophyma, Subtype 4: occular rosacea of the eyes and the recently added Subtype 5: neuropathic rosacea with nerve pain and burning). It is likely that these different subtypes may have some different underlying mechanisms. For instance; subtype 2 is often improving from topical ivermectin or Soolantra applications (see entire blog post about this <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/09/ivermectin-or-soolantra-as-rosacea.html"><b>here</b></a>). Indicating that demodex mites can play a role in this subtype. However, for subtype 1 with flushing and burning these creams rarely work well. The flushing is also not improving when using textbook rosacea treatments, such as antibiotic pills or creams. In fact, flushing is one of the most difficult to treat symptoms of all, in rosacea patients. Topicals like <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/12/mirvaso-inventory-of-patient-responses.html"><b>Mirvaso</b></a> (brimonidine) and Rhofade (oxymetazoline) have proven mostly disastrous for rosacea flushers. Large groups of people had their rosacea skin burned or deteriorated, had bad rebound flushing episodes that were often called "hellish" and long lasting. They chemically constrict the blood vessels, only for the body to compensate with abnormal blood vessel dilation rebound flushing) afterwards. It destabilizes the blood vessels in the long run and patients have mentioned their rosacea progressing to areas and severity they never had it before. of course another group states to have success with it, but it's a Russian Roulette drug, just like steroids. Better to reduce the flushing in my opinion are anti-flushing medication, or IPL or laser. (Read all about this <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/03/ipl-or-laser-for-rosacea-flushing-and.html"><b>here</b></a>). And facial flushing goes by different pathways than the spots and outbreaks that subtype 2 patients tend to get. So, one big discovery, of one single cause, might be unlikely. Nevertheless, a (faulty) peptide called LL-37 may play a role in rosacea inflammation according to some research. In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3346901/"><b>this</b></a> scientific research, it is stated that:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsbU87LP6vKcQne4hbuXrHo21aHof3i0XQ9gBtBlsEzb9M39m_veTeM20Lc8F8bD4M6UiiE3J20gi54XuA4sDCnEmc7fZwKQEM8Lj3ToDdjZ8oWBBGqCZyD2OfyDj0RgcQcGFN2TChRz3/s1600/DSC09619.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsbU87LP6vKcQne4hbuXrHo21aHof3i0XQ9gBtBlsEzb9M39m_veTeM20Lc8F8bD4M6UiiE3J20gi54XuA4sDCnEmc7fZwKQEM8Lj3ToDdjZ8oWBBGqCZyD2OfyDj0RgcQcGFN2TChRz3/s320/DSC09619.jpg" width="240" /></a><span><div style="text-align: left;">"Chronic, common inflammatory skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis or rosacea are characterized by dys-regulation of cutaneous innate immunity (aka; there is an issue in rosacea skin with the normal functioning of the immune system function). Cathelicidin LL-37 is an important effector molecule of innate immunity in the skin and atopic dermatitis, psoriasis or rosacea show defects in cathelicidin expression, function or processing. </div></span></div>
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<span>*In rosacea, cathelicidin processing is disturbed resulting in peptide fragments causing inflammation, erythema [skin redness] and telangiectasias [small dilated blood vessels at the surface of the skin]. </span></div>
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<span>*In atopic dermatitis, cathelicidin induction might be disturbed resulting in defective antimicrobial barrier function [causing infection]. </span><span>*In contrast, psoriasis is characterized by overexpression of cathelicidin. However to date it is unclear whether pro- or anti-inflammatory functions of cathelicidin predominate in lesional skin in psoriasis. </span></div>
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<span>In this review, the current evidence on the role of cathelicidin LL-37 in the pathogenesis of inflammatory skin diseases will be outlined. As cathelicidin LL-37 might also serve as a future treatment target potential novel treatment strategies for those diseases will be discussed.<b style="color: #444444; font-style: italic;">"</b></span></div>
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So the research article suggests that the skin of people with rosacea has a disturbed functioning of the LL-37 cathelicidin peptide. Does that mean that there are more of these peptides in rosacea skin? or less than normal? Or that there are normal numbers but that the peptides do not work as they should do in rosacea skin? And what is this LL-37 peptide exactly?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtdwEZiszrMPnaQmlcrasMBEvNQhbMGx0M5ETwcJyOfkEcPGUds7_Ot-BwxhvMYlMdQhYOgyWdTmE74vxMkIYnPYsqD7t_fpiJ0UIzmVbzg3AUpVw_EUQOJpRLiqJ4jy5lBiQKkVzda5-x/s1600/DSC09706.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtdwEZiszrMPnaQmlcrasMBEvNQhbMGx0M5ETwcJyOfkEcPGUds7_Ot-BwxhvMYlMdQhYOgyWdTmE74vxMkIYnPYsqD7t_fpiJ0UIzmVbzg3AUpVw_EUQOJpRLiqJ4jy5lBiQKkVzda5-x/s400/DSC09706.JPG" width="300" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Cathelicidins</b></span> in the human body play a crucial role in the bodies immune defenses against bacterial infections trying to infect from the outside. Wikipedia <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LL37"><b>states</b></a> that "Patients with rosacea have elevated levels of cathelicidin." And when wiki states that "Excessive production of LL-37 is suspected to be a contributing cause in all subtypes of Rosacea", it cites <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3346901/"><b>this</b></a> research paper, which is the same as the earlier quoted research. Its authors, M. Reinholz, T. Ruzicka and J. Schauber published in 2012 their research, stating that normal skin has three ways to protect itself from bacteria's from the outside world, trying to get in. First you have the top layer of the skin, which forms a shield (if the skin barrier functions as it should do!). This outer layer of skin has special cells that work as part of the bodies immune system, signalling when substances enter the skin that do not belong to the body itself, for instance a bacteria. They signal to the other cells of the danger once a bacteria does try to invade the skin. If this happens, the bodies immune system sends specific cells to the surface that are causing inflammation, trying to work out or kill the invading bacteria. One of these specific cells are antimicrobial peptides (AMP's), of which there are to date several hundred different types found. They can kill bacteria by messing with their cell membranes (for instance in case of a skin injury), but also fungi and viruses. So they are part of our skins little army, so to say. Cathelicidins are part of this AMP system. The precise cathelicidin involved in AMP is called Cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (CAMP). And Cathelicidin LL-37 belongs to the CAMP family. It can break up bacteria, fungi and viruses that land on the skin. But they can also give off an "alarm", which brings the skins army into action, causing inflammation to work out or kill the invading substances. They mainly get active and detectable in the skin once there is a skin injury. When all is normal and the skin functions as normal, they are hardly to be found in the upper skin. But Cathelicidin LL-37 can also trigger the immune system. Thus, it plays an important, dual, role in the immune function of the skin. And when this LL-37 peptide does not function as it should, it can in fact have the reverse effect on the skin, and cause <span style="color: #783f04;"><b>skin inflammation</b></span>. And also allow bacteria to infect the skin. The scientists found that in rosacea skin, cathelicidin LL-37 often does not function as it should, and what is worse, they found that rosacea skin has much higher levels of this LL-37:<br />
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<i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>"Indeed, cathelicidin is strongly increased lesional skin in rosacea compared to the skin of non-affected individuals."</b></span></i></div>
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Rosacea skin deals with different symptoms, but mostly from chronic inflammatory and vascular response [blood vessels dilating more than they should]. The "alarm" function of LL-37 is off in rosacea skin, meaning it calls for the help troops to come when there is, in fact, no real threat... No invading bacteria to fight off, no fungi and no viruses. And instead, it stimulates inflammation of the (rosacea) skin and dilation of the blood vessels (thanks to the help of nitric oxide and EDHF):<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i><b> "In rosacea increased levels of the vasoactive and inflammatory host-defense peptide LL-37 and its proteolytic peptide fragments are found which can be explained by an abnormal cathelicidin production and pathologic protease activity."</b></i></span></div>
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The scientists got <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17676051/"><b>confirmation</b></a> about all this, when they injected these specific cathelicidins in the normal skin of mice. They all developed rosacea-like skin symptoms then. The problem is now, that scientists do not understand yet WHY rosacea skin has these higher numbers of cathelicidins,a lthough they found 3 different 'portals' so to speak, through which the extra peptides were produced. They were retinoid-, vitamin D- and cytokine-activated. The <span style="color: #783f04;"><b>vitamin D</b></span>-pathway, for instance, could explain why rosacea is only present on the face normally, and not on the rest of the body: the body is usually covered up and it is the face that gets the most sun-exposure and therefore the most vitamin D. And therefore, the more vitamin D is made in the skin, the more Cathelicidin LL-37 (and thus the more disrupting inflammation and vasodilation). But this is only a small part of the puzzle, as many people with rosacea shun the sun and protect their faces from sunlight at all times. Also, many with rosacea have low levels of vitamin D (read more about that in <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-role-of-vitamin-d-in-rosaceafacial.html"><b>this</b></a> post). But scientists also found that cathelicidins could be triggered by keratinocytes (outer layers of skin cells), which have nothing to do with vitamin D. They found that the outer skin cells themselves can signal the making of more Cathelicidin LL-37 when they are injured, get exposed to UV radiation, or when the outer layer of the skin gets disrupted in any way. Skin Stress, one could call it. Ánd, interestingly: <span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>skin stress included heat</span>.</b></span> "<i>This again could explain why rosacea patients often report on unspecific triggers (e.g. heat) which would mediate their pro-inflammatory activities through ER stress and cathelicidin induction</i>." So when our rosacea skin gets triggered by heat, for instance you enter a very warm room, then this heat touching the skin will cause stress in the outer layer of the skin, sending of "alarm signals", which stimulate the LL-37 and other peptides to come into action and create.... inflammation. Physical stress can trigger the same response by the way, as well as alcohol consumption: Inflammation.. Just like we see happening in our rosacea faces when dealing with triggers like heat. <span style="color: #783f04;"><b>Demodex mite infection</b></span> can also trigger the skin to make these inflammation alarm reactions, as demodex mites can cause increased protease activity in rosacea skin, which does the alarm bells of Cathelicidin LL-37 go off again. Which in turn trigger inflammation, redness and blood vessel dilation in the skin. This is probably why oral and topical antibiotics (tetracyclines for instance), azeleic acid and retinoids can work for rosacea: they directly interfere with this pro-inflammatory system and reduce the inflammation or stop it from being formed altogether. So antibiotics can work for rosacea not because of their ability to kill off <i>bacteria</i>, but instead of how they reduce inflammation. And the same goes for <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/09/ivermectin-or-soolantra-as-rosacea.html"><b>anti-demodex treatment</b></a>. which can take away the prime trigger for LL-37-related skin inflammation IF you have a demodex mite infection.</div>
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And avoid sunlight on your face. <span>Vitamin D from sun is a direct trigger for LL-37-mediated inflammation and blood vessel dilation of rosacea skin</span>. </span></b>You can bronze on the rest of your body, just not your face, if you want to calm down rosacea-inflammation. (And now that I am at it, could this perhaps explain why so many people flare up from not just sun exposure, but also from taking vitamin D supplements? I get beyond beet red from them and never understood why. Maybe here we have it, the explanation). Certain supplements and herbs can also act as anti-inflammatories. Check my (still not fully finished, sigh) blog post about them <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/02/natural-anti-inflammatory-treatment_17.html"><b>here</b></a>. Think of supplements like turmeric/ curcumin or boswellia for instance. If you want to know even more detailed, microscopic information about how exactly this mechanism works on cellular level, I advise you to go to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3346901/"><b>this</b></a> science article and scroll down to the section Rosacea. You can also read more in <a href="http://www.jimmunol.org/content/191/10/4895"><b>this</b></a> scientific article. But that is not all, because these LL-37 cathelicidines are not only found in the skin. But also for instance in the bowels. In fact, LL-37 is linking to some other health issues (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3836506/"><b>including</b></a> many auto-immune diseases) that quite a few people with rosacea mention to suffer from, for instance: gut and bowel infections/inflammation, depression and anxiety and cardio vascular disease. Which could explain why this badly functioning, overabundance of LL-37 has different effects on the body, and perhaps (?) why many of us suffer from bowel issues, depression and anxiety on top of our skin problems. In other words: we REALLY need a treatment ASAP to bring these cathelicidins back under control! It might also be yet another way in which immune suppressing drugs, like the ones I discussed at the top of this blog entry, can work. When you suppress the immune function of the body, you also suppress the formation of LL-37 cathelicidin. And thus of inflammation, blood vessel dilation and redness. Wished those meds came with a better side-effect profile :) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FGv7sojPK2OJd4MMZT9KtxMxBqP6EpcE87UgmUzGF14COYGMwS7fbtTcB8cKaGZt6kPwpFyOQ8IkC5dW2hQXd0bQctJa5rI-N3kK_OdrJdK3TOen8bmoyhbMGWLkDoXEAY_96otaaUfb/s1600/DSC09705.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FGv7sojPK2OJd4MMZT9KtxMxBqP6EpcE87UgmUzGF14COYGMwS7fbtTcB8cKaGZt6kPwpFyOQ8IkC5dW2hQXd0bQctJa5rI-N3kK_OdrJdK3TOen8bmoyhbMGWLkDoXEAY_96otaaUfb/s400/DSC09705.jpg" width="400" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Last, I read something about depression </b></div>
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I heard from my penpal about a book on depression, a memoir by the author who wrote Sophie’s Choice. It was a good read and gave more insight into people who suffer from the extreme forms of depression, some that are so intense that it leads them to suicide. In my own life there have been suicides, as I have written about in some cases in my day to day blog updates. But in the media there are also what seem <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6663323/Rate-teenagers-taking-lives-Britain-doubles-eight-years.html"><b>increasing numbers</b></a> of young and relatively young people taking their own lives. Whether or not that is a sign of our modern, individualized and social-media pressured times or not... is another topic. And I have already written some thoughts on that before. But this book is probably for those who find themselves judgmental when hearing about people who have committed suicide. Wondering why they didn’t just “man up” and do whatever it took to keep on going. Why they didn’t "get" that they are leaving a trail of suffering behind; friends and family will mourn their death and might even blame themselves for not doing something to prevent it. Possibly leaving some in a state of lifelong anguish and guilt. 'So very selfish, suicide...' That is the usual message, of course, and to think long term instead of short term; to imagine yourself X years down the line, when the stuff you worry about today may in fact be long forgotten, and life will have picked you up and got you back up your feet. But this book offers some different perspectives on it all, and may change peoples opinions perhaps. The author explains the biochemical abnormalities in the brains of people who suffer from depression. She explains how even too much alcohol can make us do and think things we normally wouldn’t in our sober ways. How chemical changes in the neurotransmitters of sufferers of severe depression could in fact change the way their brain functions, and their ways of thinking. The author explains depression as a state that one can’t simply “let go of” for a momentary period of time. Most physical pain comes and goes, and is rarely constant. But depression, heavy depression, just hangs in the air like smog over Los Angeles, never letting up, never letting the sun peak through, never giving you a chance to catch your breath.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqIDsFrYN-urZ-wxGUb6L7EwZYlcrpR1EYEpbYZS_eeBmX-D7askIkZvc1zmIb13mbMwiNfo5Fve154nJle7wNeLNu_iME_6xBIA5_juTv52Zrbx0kYlNEDH_Yiwt1MP7PNQFC1AKotfWH/s1600/1980.65_retrato-mujer-cigarrillo-kiki-montparnasse.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqIDsFrYN-urZ-wxGUb6L7EwZYlcrpR1EYEpbYZS_eeBmX-D7askIkZvc1zmIb13mbMwiNfo5Fve154nJle7wNeLNu_iME_6xBIA5_juTv52Zrbx0kYlNEDH_Yiwt1MP7PNQFC1AKotfWH/s320/1980.65_retrato-mujer-cigarrillo-kiki-montparnasse.jpg" width="229" /></a>In the authors words (with a rosacea-fitting example): “What I had begun to discover is that, mysteriously and in ways that are totally remote from normal experience, the gray drizzle of horror induced by depression takes on a the quality of physical pain. But it is not an immediately identifiable pain, like that of a broken limb. It may be more accurate to say that despair, owing to some evil trick played upon the sick brain by the inhabiting psyche, comes to resemble the diabolical discomfort of being imprisoned in a fiercely overheated room. And because no breeze stores this cauldron, because there is no escape from this smothering confinement, it is entirely natural that the victim begins to think ceaselessly of oblivion.” The author himself does get better, so there is a silver lining to his story. He says there are various reasons for depression and that sometimes multiple ways of tackling it are needed, medication, psychotherapy, and I might also add positive daily routines and keeping good health.<br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">On Nothingness II</b><br />
My penpal also sent a great contribution to the whole Nothingness topic (below). I'll add it there, just scroll down for it if you want, to the update of January 25th. Also some new thoughts of my own on that topic.<br />
<br /><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Oh and a last quote</b></span>, from that book from Dostojevski I am finishing soon (Crime and Punishment, a rea treat). <i>"If two clever men meet, who are not intimate but respect each other, like you and me, it takes them half an hour, before they can find a subject for conversation. They are dumb: they sit opposite each other and feel awkward. Everyone has subjects of conversation. Ladies for instance. People in high society always have their subjects of conversation. C'est de rigueur! But people of the middle sort, like us, thinking people that is, are always tongue-tied and awkward.. What is the reason of it? Whether it is the lack of public interest, or whether it is we are so honest we don't want to deceive one another, I don't know. What do you think?" </i><br />
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Lasts me now to wish the people in the midwest and north of the United States very good luck handling the epic cold. Stay warm (without flushing too much) and don't forget the poor little birds and wildlife out there.<br />
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day</span></b></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">January 26th 2019</span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #783f04;">I have been tested for Helicobacter pylori</span></b> IgG antistoffen. Seen my general practitioner about it some weeks ago and she sent me for a blood test. This because some people on rosacea forums and groups claimed to have "cured" their rosacea after getting treatment for H.Pylori. Now, that is often an antibiotic, and antibiotics are known to help some case of rosacea, regardless of H. Pylori. Also, the symptoms of H. Pylori in rosacea skin are often said to be skin outbreaks and p&p's, which I don't suffer from. (Only severe flushing, redness and burning for me). Research like <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6042414/"><b>this one</b></a> concluded on this topic:<br />
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<i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>"Epidemiological investigations and experiments have confirmed that H. pylori infection is associated with the development of rosacea. The effect of anti-H. pylori therapy is better than the routine therapy for rosacea. H. pylori can stimulate the immune system to produce a large number of inflammatory mediators, leading to the occurrence and aggravation of rosacea inflammation.</b></span></i></div>
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It is suggested that rosacea patients should be tested for H. pylori infection, the H. pylori-positive rosacea patients should be treated with eradication of H. pylori, so as to enhance the therapeutic effect of rosacea." And <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5556181/"><b>this</b></a> research paper states: "Many studies have been performed in order to evaluate the connection between H. pylori infection and rosacea, however there is still controversy around the matter. There is a lack of information regarding the genetic features and the biology of H. pylori. It is proposed that the bacterium produces specific cytotoxins which lead to the release of histamine, prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and cytokines. Inflammatory mediators from an altered innate immune response lead to higher levels of ROS, whereas in treated rosacea the aforementioned level is lower. However, there are no distinct histological features in rosacea patients positive for H. pylori infection." And it goes on to cite different research done on this matter, with different test outcomes. Some researchers did find a link between rosacea and active H.pylori infection, others failed to find such a link. Researchers agreed that H.pylori is more related to subtype 2 rosacea with skin outbreaks (papulopustular rosacea), than it is with subtype 1 rosacea with flushing and redness:<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><i>Abram et al evaluated the risk factors of the disease. H. pylori rate was lower in flushers and higher in the papulopustular subtype. </i><i>[..] Patients with papulopustular rosacea had a better response [to H. pylori treatment] than those with erythematous (skin redness), which confirmed the results from previous studies.</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirshN92x_gWY-AaohTLfXxHsCf8Ju1i_KyN1-XTIzYs91JimxNaBcGgwyPFnrlO7PoZzSxElYv6NpctrHsNqw0xZAjYNhmxVJ9jUtjTjSIUx0OMNVqhkHHZr7DVq1xMjX5U1MIXDhQWlno/s1600/guibin-zhu-abba.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="471" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirshN92x_gWY-AaohTLfXxHsCf8Ju1i_KyN1-XTIzYs91JimxNaBcGgwyPFnrlO7PoZzSxElYv6NpctrHsNqw0xZAjYNhmxVJ9jUtjTjSIUx0OMNVqhkHHZr7DVq1xMjX5U1MIXDhQWlno/s320/guibin-zhu-abba.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5556181/"><b>This</b></a> summary of various research papers came to a more ambiguous outcome. Some researchers found that anti-H. pylori antibody levels were higher in rosacea patients. Other research found that 67% of rosacea patients tested positive for H. Pylori, and that there was a higher prevalence of H. pylori in patients with rosacea. And some (but not all!) patients who have both rosacea and H. pylori infection can to see their rosacea calm down as well when they treat the H.pylori. Other researchers failed to establish a role of H. pylori in rosacea patients, and some researchers downright concluded that the relationship between rosacea and H. pylori may be a myth. The authors concluded: <i>"Rosacea is a skin disease with an obscure and complicated pathogenesis. Many mechanisms have been described but its etiology remains an enigma. There is not sufficient evidence regarding how determinant the role of H. pylori is. According to some authors, rosacea is correlated with gastrointestinal disorders which justifies further clinical and laboratory examination. Based on the fact that the studies were not extensive, controlled studies are required. Additional research is mandatory in the field of the microbiology of H. pylori as there are subtypes with different levels of virulence. Further studies are warranted to delve into the multifactorial nature of rosacea in order to elucidate the role of each factor in the pathogenesis of the disease."</i><br /><br />
But... no harm in testing it or myself! Well I got the results back today and <span>they are negative</span>. <b><span style="color: #783f04;">No H.Pylori infection. </span></b>My blood level was 5. The doctor's assistant said that anything under value 50 is considered negative. I looked up the exact values:<br />
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<b><span style="color: #660000;">From To<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Unit <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Comment</span></b><br />
0<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>35<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>U/mL<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>negatief<br />
35<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>50<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>U/mL<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>grenswaarde<br />
50<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>U/mL<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>positief<br />
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Apart from that my face hurts and burns and the cold urticaria that had just disappeared, are now returning. Feeling really poorly and in pain, my whole right cheek is on fire but cooling it makes the cold urticaria worse, which makes the burning and heat worse etc etc etc.Wished I was Vera Ellen at the moment:<br />
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And on the topic of ABBA: Below the last update on here I added a first, rambling mess of a piano attempt at playing something that resembles ABBA. Then I heard this today and am in awe haha. Time to get the sheet music. Hope it will one day sound like this guy who does an amazing job making "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itjf4gCTvwM"><b>Lay all your Love on me</b></a>" from Abba sound like Bach -in my opinion- :) </div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">January 25th 2019</span></span></b><br />
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All's OK here. Skin is behaving mostly, although I woke up very flushed last night (too many blankets, I was overheating) and after a (too) long hot shower I was painfully flushed for a few hours too, unfortunately. I am trying to keep the temperature in the house medium; not too cold and not too warm,so around 16-17 degrees Celsius is ideal for me. Still use a fan.. Had some enjoyable communication with a penpal. He wrote about interesting topics, well to me. Said that his greatest fear in life is... death. Which he found ironic, since he spends so much time reading and studying about it. He thinks it is about not having lived life or having too many regrets or not pushing hard enough... He reads a lot though. And leaning towards Buddhism, he is mostly a minimalist and tries not to collect things, except for books, and even then if he can find them at the library he will read them that way instead of buying them. He recalled reading a book on Naikan, the Japanese system for appreciating what you have and practicing gratitude. Basically you look at your day, or at your relationship with a friend, or even at your life and ask three questions. First: what have a I received from... Second: What have I given to... And finally: What troubles and difficulties have I created. To break it down, lots of people go through life, thinking that the world owes them something. But does it, this friend wonders? Or do we owe the world something. If the world owes us, that would inherently mean that we have given more than we have received. But have we? We have air to breathe, people gave us shelter, food is grown by others that we now eat, etc... The same goes for friendships; we tend to think often that our friends owe us, somehow. But do they? Maybe we owe them? Montaigne wrote: "<i>No one distributes his money to others, everyone distributes his life and his time on them</i>." We tend to look superficially at life and without delving deeper we might miss all the “blessings” that come our way unsolicited. So lets take the earth. (Now it gets very native religiously) What have I received from the earth? Air, water, stable ground, trees to look at, an environment to live in that provides things. And what have I given back myself? Hmmm.. You may say: "Hey, but I do recycle!" Ok, but now we go to the next question: what difficulties have I created? Many will have created more trash. Consumed oxygen and given off carbon dioxide. So basically the earth has given me more than I have given it back. That is another way of thinking at out life and the world we have been born into. Not very popular in the West, with our Me me me meeeeeee attitudes (many of us at least) and consumer lifestyle surrounding having as much good times as possible. But still, an interesting way of thinking.<br />
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Happiness is not a mode of being anyway. It are crumbs on the side, it are little flickers, for most people. Regardless of what social media likes to tell us otherwise. It is not something you should expect to feel the majority of the time. I seriously feel that part of (if not half) the suffering in modern western society may be related to the wrong expectations of things. Even being ill like I am... yes it sucks, yes I am in pain a lot, but things became more bearable after 2005.There are still ways to find happiness and meaning, despite being so bound down by this flushing and burning hell. It is hard to climb out the rut and to find new ways of living, but hope should be the very last thing to die in a human life. Try medication, try natural treatment options, try new diets, other treatments. Improvement may be hidden among them.. I stopped thinking "Why me?", but instead now tend to think: "Why <i>not</i> me?". I enjoy the good skin days and grump through the bad ones. Knowing I will enjoy the next upcoming good days all the more.<br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">This penpal also wrote about having watched a documentary about gut bacteria</b><br />
The researcher involved started studying the bacteria we have in our digestive tract. There is more and more research being done on the importance of the gut flora for our health, h wrote. These are the bacteria that started out with us millions of years ago, helping us produce vitamins and other useful things. When they are not healthy or not flourishing they can even talk to us, apparently, via the vagus nerve and some say that influences even why we can feel bad at times. A lot of inflammation in the body also is linked to bacteria in the gut and even depression is linked to it. Its not originating in the gut, but gut inflammation can travel through the blood and affect other parts of the bodies, incl. the brain. They also found that heavy people have less diverse flora than skinny people. They even found one specific flora species that causes weight loss, which was proven in rat experiments. If you feed two rats the same diet, the ones who has been given these specific bacteria will show loss weight, while the other doesn’t. Scientists are looking at this for future weight loss treatments. And scientists today can even tell you personally which diet is best for you, based on the bacterial balance in your gut. Penpal wrote about a guy who is really into studying all this. He has followed many different diets, trying to find the best one to increase his bowel flora. He went to Africa, hung out with this certain local tribe there, one of the oldest still around. The tribe has one of the most diverse bowel floras on the planet, he somehow knew, or found out. He ate what they ate, drank their water, trying to see if he too could get a flora like theirs.. But he wasn’t satisfied with just that, he had to have THEIR flora. So he tested one of the villagers for HIV and other diseases and when found this man was clean, he took some of this guys fecal matter..put it in a turkey baster..shot it up his..well you know, and stood on his head for 5 minutes to let it sink in. He did this for ten days. Now I would say that is taking your research to the limits. No word yet on the results of this. Now fecal transplanting is nothing new..some people do this to help increase their flora. I think I will stick to my probiotic pills though :) I know myself of specialists in hospital being able to also also do this, the less gruesome way. Might even be by having the patient swallow sterile capsules with poo in it, which are supposed to end up and fall apart by the time they reach the bowel. I discussed it with my specialist some years ago - I have a mild inflammatory bowel disease too - and he confirmed it is actually tested and proven to have an effect. No nonsense. But it has risks, including HIV indeed and contracting other diseases. Its not as simple as it seems apparently.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxehT31S9_XE13BY8kPCj-cZaS2xxipF6u3XdxCHvwFuL8xTJOANZnbpz5H_5sIFxVha7O2e3CGDS9xlIby3AaTFI0EAeKMMULwHsR22UdBfgVxaaVbUs_FDtYPTgFXrJHEcdwkLiJq_h/s1600/images.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="204" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxehT31S9_XE13BY8kPCj-cZaS2xxipF6u3XdxCHvwFuL8xTJOANZnbpz5H_5sIFxVha7O2e3CGDS9xlIby3AaTFI0EAeKMMULwHsR22UdBfgVxaaVbUs_FDtYPTgFXrJHEcdwkLiJq_h/s320/images.jpg" width="264" /></a>But gut bacteria in general are being linked to auto-immune diseases and inflammatory illnesses.You can read an entire blog post I made about its link with rosacea <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/12/rosacea-and-bowel-or-digestive.html">here</a>. I know that one possible trigger for auto immune diseases for instance is... modern man's extreme hygiene! It might sound contradicting, but a bit of dirt in your youth is good. For instance, humans normally always went through some ringworm infections as children. Throughout mankind. What it does is trigger the immune system to attack the bad guys; those worms. But modern day kids (the city types) no longer go through worm infections, thanks to overzealous mothers waving with disinfectants. Result? The immune system has no worms to attack and by lack of real invaders, it sometimes starts attacking organs in the body itself. The basics of auto immune diseases. I know of patients with serious Crohns diseases who.... (don't eat right now)... got poo transfers (adding good bacteria to their own) and even ones who had pig worms inserted in their bowels. Which cleared up their symptoms sometimes! Because it affects their immune system. But my dermatologist tole me that it is risky, and that people can also die from these worm infections if they grow out of control. Bleh!!!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgZbQ_SJGKSwJGy9ryACrAPMxXFVQk1CsX0ytKkcHaL-7uGE3UH4LFtEix3M2pculU7dFguGwS09p6ha0JayATgwS8bSQk_r4AFQZzXkoi4qrC2YdHFzQjx5ozKHE2KSf2dO-yYgGBNg5m/s1600/ZZZDSC02739.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgZbQ_SJGKSwJGy9ryACrAPMxXFVQk1CsX0ytKkcHaL-7uGE3UH4LFtEix3M2pculU7dFguGwS09p6ha0JayATgwS8bSQk_r4AFQZzXkoi4qrC2YdHFzQjx5ozKHE2KSf2dO-yYgGBNg5m/s320/ZZZDSC02739.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Low vitamin D</span></b> is another thing in the spotlight now. (Read my blog post "The role of Vitamin D in rosacea/facial flushing" <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-role-of-vitamin-d-in-rosaceafacial.html"><b>here</b></a>). Low vitamin D levels are linked to quite some (advanced) cancers apparently, except melanoma. And many auto-immune disease sufferers are low on Vit. D. I am myself very low on it too. Every blood test I am super low, unless in summer. I cannot be in the sun with my face. The rest of my body does tan so I try to get half an hour of sun exposure on my body in spring and summer (no sunscreen!). I also have a UVB narrow band lamp, for winter, shining it for a minute a day on my body to make it naturally create vitamin D. The pills and supplements make me flushed very badly. They are synthetic. But enough vitamin D is important for good body functioning. And <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/10/food.html"><b>diet can often be important too</b></a>. Some foods are pro-inflammatory, others are anti-inflammatory. Many patients find that they cannot expect to eat a daily, weekly, yearly diet of fast food, fried foods, foods high in sugar, and still control their auto-immune diseases well. Although not everyone has food triggers. And often pro-inflammatory food can be part of the fuel to the fire to the inflammation. But curing auto-immune or progressive inflammatory diseases through diet is another matter altogether though, one I don't usually believe in to be honest. Unless you had something different altogether you dealt with, like a food allergy. Although there are miraculous cases where diet was the culprit. But it is rare. There is no known cure for most auto-immune or inflammatory illnesses yet at this point and often it is not even clear exactly what causes them in the first place :( Scientists just have not yet found cures for auto-immune diseases. They are multifaceted and complex. It sucks that regular medication can help so much, but comes with side effects often... Eating 'clean' all the time is very hard.. The best tasting things are usually not the best for our health. I get sick and tired of vegetable stir fries and fruits and meat often. I like chocolate and cakes and pizza! But am trying to be strict and only sin now and then, in small portions. Food addiction is another thing. My penpal told about his obese relative who needs a scoot mobile to move around now, and is not happy under it, yet cannot withstand fast food. And how frustrating his family finds this. "<i>Like the person who has had a heart attack, and then still eats a cheeseburger every couple weeks... Why? For 2 minutes of pleasure he or she is risking going back under the knife..or just keeling over</i>." But he continued to say that he realizes that the relative can’t do much now, and that food at least gives some instant, short term pleasure.We mostly all have some form of escapism; may it be through TV binge-watching, being too long on the internet daily or getting drunk.<br />
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I tend to think it is an addiction, a disease, and not so much (primarily) a lack of will power. Something is lacking in life, there is an emptiness, that food is literally filling for a short moment. Almost a way of medicating yourself with food. That moment you have a cream pie in your mouth, things feel good for a few minutes... Food is the only friend of some people, sadly enough, But a stingy friend for sure, considering all freedom and good feelings it takes away along the way. Some people snarl at obese food addicts and think alcohol or drug addiction is harder to beat, but lets face it; you can banish alcohol and drugs from the house entirely. But you cannot ban food entirely. You need to eat. And like an alcoholic can go on a boozer bender after drinking one glass again, a foodie has daily temptation by having to eat, but not too much and the right sort of food. Its a daily challenge and towns and cities are full of food smells, stalls, advertisements etc. They tested mice in the laboratory, who they made addicted to cocaine and sugar, and when given the choice between both, the mice all chose sugar over cocaine. Go figure how hard it is to stop :)<br /><br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">But a lot of people appear to be addicted to one thing or another </b><br />
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Overall. Maybe this is by design.. maybe nature made us this way. We are the only animals who, together with maybe elephants and dolphins, are the only ones who can envision the past and the future. Our own future and ending too. And who can anticipate things to the degree that we do. But because of this, we might have to have some kind of limiting factor build in for ourselves. We can’t always be worried about the far future, or we would drive ourselves insane and not do what is necessary for every day life and every day survival even. So nature made us have to work to see the future. So we appease ourselves with joyful things and escapism. It is almost like what the Stoics considered Fortune or Fate. By looking at Fortune and excepting it, you can relax. We never really accept dying, so we don’t think about it and live like it might never happen. We put off things we really want to do, don’t face challenges we really need to face. Anything to feel that life is under control, and peaceful, and pleasant. That is probably why most humans feel good with believing in a religion of some kind. - Many over here no longer believe in institutionalized religion anymore, but many do think that there is "something" after death. It is hard for our brain to imagine and accept eternal nothingness. I think it is more logical that there would be something else, afterwards. More soothing for sure. So religion can help most of all to stop all that wondering and fretting. Religious people can just put their worries aside, into the box of their religion, who hands them the answers they need to be calm and content. But some pessimists will say that life is suffering… Maybe not at this exact moment but then it will come. Some people suffer all day long, others now and then. All life has suffering in it, even if it is minuscule. We can’t even sit still for more then a short while without moving around, because our body’s suffer from just staying in one place too long.<br />
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But we do live often as if we have no restrictive time table hanging above our heads. As if we can live for another few hundred years. When in fact, time goes so fast. But we postpone so much. And then death strikes you by surprise and.. if you were able to look back on it all, many people might have regrets of things not done? The Samurai, I learned, expected that we may even suffer on our death beds, and they would rehearse death every day, so as to be able to handle it with ease and grace once it really knocked on their door. Like some of the Stoics would do too, in fact. That is not something you see in modern western society, for sure :) They would be aware that time is ticking and that you need to start making your life meaningful. Now that doesn’t mean we have to go sit in a cave for our remaining years, but it does mean to give something back, in my humble opinion, to help ease the suffering of others…even of cats haha. I also think not everyone is so aware of all this on a daily basis as others. I remember writing in my diary at age 14 something along the lines of: "We sat in the touring bus bringing the whole class to a day trip to Germany, and I noticed how everybody was so chirpy and chatting about nothing in particular. And I had just worried all night about what would happen after death, and trying to imagine what 'eternal nothingness' would be like. And I thought to myself: <i>They are all laughing. DON'T THEY KNOW THEY WILL ALL DIE AND BE NOTHING FOR ETERNITY??</i>"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLON5IGQIkiLsri_rxDgr0Rnwa9PnMYhVEm8jDxMD9FYt_CS9VlyCTKFFIz1dD4nDCIUji7RlJNypSo2BTKaek5OT5_T0JnUUcJf0JFg8Sc35lQNnTHEeGzzGU1rLVrEXNdaGuk86bXcB/s1600/images+%252812%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="201" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLON5IGQIkiLsri_rxDgr0Rnwa9PnMYhVEm8jDxMD9FYt_CS9VlyCTKFFIz1dD4nDCIUji7RlJNypSo2BTKaek5OT5_T0JnUUcJf0JFg8Sc35lQNnTHEeGzzGU1rLVrEXNdaGuk86bXcB/s320/images+%252812%2529.jpg" width="256" /></a>Haha teenage angst. But, in all honesty; I am still afraid of all this. I am still, pretty much daily, aware of my own mortality and very short time on this earth. Probably a strange defect, I don't know, I rarely talk with other people about this topic. There is a Dutch/Moroccan writer I like, called Hafid Bouazza, and I read an interview with him in which he explained his womanizing, boozing, free spirited year. And how at age 40 (!) he ended up in hospital as a result of alcoholism and permanent liver damage, and he described how he suddenly was made painfully aware of his own mortality. Like a light flashing on. I found that dumbfounding. That he as a writer, someone so reflective on things, needed that sort of a wake up call to even thínk about his own mortality. At that ripe old age. Just goes to show what mechanisms our brain has to ignore the obvious. It feels like a gift to me that I have the free time to read and scribble things here and there. To reflect and not live in a rushed haze. I see that as richness. Time. I like to materialize things, write it down. Always had, have diaries since age 8. It helps to trap some memories and some impressions of time, in a sense. I asked my mother the other week how many memories she has of her working days, or of our birthdays as kids. Hardly any, she admitted. She was sad to say that actually. I have this wealth of details and stories of my life. Probably only for myself haha as I don't have kids and don't plan on them either (with some regret, on some days). But for my remaining lifetime it is a great source of memories. Not not everyone likes to live in the past or even look back. I do somehow. Why would that be? What is to get out of reflections on the past, compared to focusing on the future? I am melancholic, most likely.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 40px;"><b>Last for now; coming back on the concept of Nothingness</b></span></span><br />
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My dad likes to answer my question about what he thinks will follow after death with one word: "Nothing". But what is 'nothing' anyway? In science also. For instance: what was there before the Big Bang? I happen to think there was another expanding and then imploding universe before ours, stretching out to its maximum size and then imploding into a tiny ball eventually with infinite weight, containing all the atomic building blocks for another universe, following after the explosion of that tiny ball again. Like an ongoing cycle. But others think that before the big bang, there was "nothing". And that in science something can be formed out of this "nothing". Which I find hard to comprehend,probably because my brain isn't big enough or "right sided" enough. Shouldn't there at least be something, no matter how microscopically small, to form a universe? Something to warrant a big bang? Others will say God or some type of God with another name, has created it all. But was that God always there? How can something always have been there? Given that everything around us, ourselves included, has a beginning and an end. And if not, who created God? Its an infinite carousel of wonderings. But scientifically speaking, "Nothing" can be looked into further. Here is a nice trailer of a documentary "In praise of Nothing":<br />
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You hear Iggy Pop in this intro speaking on behalf of Nothing, and the director selected images of which people had said it represented Nothing for them (a desert, a pampas, deserted spots in nature), and put them together. You hear Iggy Pop say: "<i>Am I really nothing? Or just my ego's mercenary. They say I can only be hinted at, and never shown. But I am actually there, in every shot. If you bother to find me.</i>" The poetry of these sentences links to our sense of "everyday Nothing". The way in which we use the word Nothing in our every day life and language. We tend to say that there is Nothing above the North pole. And everybody then understands what we mean with that phrase. Geographically, there is no more Earthly land above the North pole. But scientifically, that phrase is incorrect. Science also uses the phrase "Nothing", but it has a different meaning there. The scientist and philosopher Descartes said for instance: <b><i><span style="color: #783f04;">"Nothing cannot exist, because if it did we would have nothing to do with it."</span></i></b> Descartes actually meant empty space with nothingness. Descartes took a brick as an example. It has measurements, and thus it is something. But space also has dimensions. You can move space upwards or left or right. Space is real and tangible. And since Einsteins theory of relativity, it is also proven that space has dimensions, and is a building material.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVMSSJdiWS4rxi8bjcoKY6sG7L2U9D8JhluJzs1LAhJnUj6aFboH3C0vvJz_EXIRT5htDNfkb3GASJADU2Yju0nhjLG2v17nL7Cl21GxA4NTyw7tJu8Ou-25wiggg_9vJMlFIBDqX2bJOL/s1600/ZZZDSC02751.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVMSSJdiWS4rxi8bjcoKY6sG7L2U9D8JhluJzs1LAhJnUj6aFboH3C0vvJz_EXIRT5htDNfkb3GASJADU2Yju0nhjLG2v17nL7Cl21GxA4NTyw7tJu8Ou-25wiggg_9vJMlFIBDqX2bJOL/s320/ZZZDSC02751.jpg" width="320" /></a>But mathematics is a human invention and creation. The number zero was first thought out in India, and initially the western world here wanted nothing to do with it. Too close to the 'vacuum', so not something they wanted to deal with. Now we have grown used to zero in mathematics and its intrinsic referral to nothingness. But many people are frightened about the nothingness of death. That is psychological nothingness. Then there is philosophical nothingness. Philosophers have done a lot of thinking and writing about nothingness. In China, philosophers identified Nothing with the blank page. You can think for yourself that soon, a new poem will be penned down on it. But that is only a thought at that stage. Heidegger said:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>"</i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>If there is something like Nothing, then it also has to have a function and do something."</i></span></b></span><br />
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<i>"Das nichts nichtests" - Nothing does a lot of nothinging."</i> </b></span></span></div>
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You can apply nothingness also, in art for instance. John Cage made an installation that shows you silence in around 4 minutes. James Turrell <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aty4VfsgJs"><b>made a dome</b></a> in Holland, which has a valve showing the sky above you, showing nothingness in a way. Artists trying to get a grip on our daily use of Nothingness within their art. Anish Kapoor made dark holes from pigment that seem to lead to nothingness.<br />
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But the nano second before the Big Bang; many people assume there was Nothing before it. And it is very hard for our human brains to comprehend and imagine nothingness. Especially with the knowledge that something would erupt at some point. But if mathematics is a human invention, could Nothing then also be a human concept and imagination? In our universe, Nothing does not exist. And asking about nothingness before the big bang comes down to the phrase "was there". But that assumes 'being'. But time and space are not beings, they are building blocks. There is no running chronological Time, that is also a human invention and ordering principle. Black holes, a fav topic of mine, are a construction of time and space, just like a star is a construction of matter. So they are something, and even tangible. To think about the Big Bang and space and time as a running chronological time line, with nothing - BOOM - turning into something, is not reality. In science, 'Nothing" equals something that has no characteristics. No time, no space, no dimensions or colour, no mass; no characteristics. Technically, that is Nothing. But Nothing is a human invention, and if it turned out that nothing didn't exist in our universe as far as we can tell, then in our science... nothing will change.<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHLCByjZQW3jSCDMO4zoDDZPmwVwYcssKr9rSfH3CZsv-pYDHluBf064TrFsCWjc71vkyvZ-oqAd6iCJyUm4rQEqUT4Nzasu94z6QCNMWXnYlJBeAgusq68UOxICTQca1whTYItVF90cbM/s1600/a6da7b2a8138dc63b2a6ffb1797e19c4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="688" height="447" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHLCByjZQW3jSCDMO4zoDDZPmwVwYcssKr9rSfH3CZsv-pYDHluBf064TrFsCWjc71vkyvZ-oqAd6iCJyUm4rQEqUT4Nzasu94z6QCNMWXnYlJBeAgusq68UOxICTQca1whTYItVF90cbM/w362-h447/a6da7b2a8138dc63b2a6ffb1797e19c4.jpg" width="362" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Update (31st Jan.), my penpal replied with some interesting thoughts on this topic:</b></span><br />
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He said that "nothing" as a concept would normally mean that it has no causal relations. And something with no causal relationships cannot, in itself, cause a causal relationship. And the funny part is that our brains are wired in such a way, that we cannot even comprehend this concept fully. Because we by default are observing. And are standing on the outside, trying to observe something that is.. nothing. It is simply impossible. Because we are "something". I guess he means that being something, we cannot truly imagine what it is like to be nothing. We are using our brains (something) to come up with an image (something) and concept (also being something) of nothing. It will never work. He meditates and thinks it fits in with the theme of Nothingness. Because certain types of meditation are intending to make you float out of your conscious awareness. We supposedly step out of "duality" then, but you get back into the same old trouble once you want to describe your transcendental meditation experience: because you need to use language to do so which.... drags you right back into duality. Language is never going to truly capture feelings and experiences, and especially not when it is used to describe nothingness. But all we have is language, so we use it to help describe what we see as reality; or more exactly, describe what reality<i> isn’t</i>, and by doing so we come to a better understanding of the true nature of existence. Ahum.. I am not convinced that meditation is the portal to enlightenment here :) He continues that he isn't in agreement with people who think like agnostics or atheists that there will be eternal nothingness when we die. Because if we really look deeply at the world around us and at our everyday reality, we actually see that we are dying all the time. Over time, none of us and nothing around us will remain exactly the same. When we look at ourselves and the world, is there anything permanent, unchanging we can find? Some things might seem to last longer than others, but if look deeper, we will see that nothing is permanent. A mountain is made of particles which are made of more particles, which are..well.. and they are always changing. Everything is interdependent, nothing exists in isolation and everything effects everything else; everything causes a reaction of some sort in something else, over time. So if there was any one thing that was permanent, and that would never ever change, then that would mean that it could never interact with any other aspect of reality that was not permanent.. Because if it did, then that one permanent thing would have to change in reaction, and thereby would no longer be a fixed permanent thing. This would have a cascading effect and then the whole of reality would be frozen. Moral of the story; don't bother thinking about or worrying about what happens after death. It is just a blank wall, for all of us who are living. And even of that we are not sure :) But the ego is strong, and it is hard to shake off the desire, the impression perhaps even, that we are the star of the movie, the center of the universe that keeps us stuck.<br />
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But to me, the notion of “Nothing” in the end only implies the absence of "something or everything". Scientifically speaking, this is impossible as an absolute vacuum does not exist in the universe. Life is death and I am watching a tv series now called Vikings, which is quite enjoyable and their attitude towards death is refreshing - albeit coloured by their strong religion:<br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">"Up onto the overturned keel, </span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Clamber with a heart of steel, </span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Cold is the ocean's spray, </span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">And your death is on its way. </span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">With maidens you have had your way. </span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Each must die some day.</span></i></b></span></div>
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Or: <i>"When Death comes, do not fear it. Embrace it. As if you were lying next to a beautiful woman." </i>When men die in battle, they go to a special place in Valhalla (Vikings version of heaven). Odin comes in the shape of a raven sometimes, waiting to see which one of the battle men he will take to his great hall. And when a woman chooses death, to follow her dead master on his trip to Valhalla, she is seen by the Angel of Death, a tall white-blonde tattooed woman, looking like a Greek sculpture almost, who hears her death wish and sentences her to death. A priest from England who was taken as a slave does not want to watch the execution but a small kid tells him: What's the matter with you?? It's only death!" I guess only a religious person could say such a thing :D Coming back to the concept of nothing, then on earth we would probably associate it with zero. But even zero is not nothing. Because it can change the meaning of other numbers, by being placed in front or behind it. So even zero is not nothing. If you want to believe in nothing, you must first make sure that nothing actually exists. And even of that we are not sure, and I would say highly unlikely, on a molecular level. I remember being gobsmacked once at university about something quite simple. One of my teachers, a Slavic woman with a thick accent, said that facts are only true as long as new facts haven't caught up with them. I said; but a proven fact today can surely never turn out to be completely wrong? No, she said, but new facts can put the current facts in a very different light, and make us see a bigger piece of the puzzle, changing the meaning we give to them. Eye opening, I had that ah ha light bulb moment then. So that makes you look differently at facts for ever. Nothing is set in stone, everything is always evolving, changing and what is considered the reality of today, may be outdated in the future. One can collect a lot of evidence for something, or against something, but in the end, it all boils down to assumptions, associations and personal perceptions. No matter how much evidence we collect, there is always the possibility of more, that is significant enough to change one’s mind.</div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day (first = two Dutch <br />brothers, excellent pianists)</span></b><b style="color: #cccccc; font-size: xx-large;"> </b><br />
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">January 20th 2019</span></span></b><br />
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I saw the (Junior) doctor of the hospital department of Rheumatology/Immunological Diseases on Wednesday, and he took a full hour to ask me literally everything about my symptoms. And to note it all down. Never been asked so many detailed questions. From my triggers to how my flushing and burning and skin redness started and how it progressed; what triggers my skin (which exact foods, what sort of temperatures, sun? Light?). What medication is doing what for me, which ones I have already tried and what side effects they give. Whether or not I have had a biopsy taken from the skin yet. What things I was already tested on, what the test results were. My other health issues. When my hands started to flare. I had a bunch of blood and urine tests done that day and he said they would test for things like histamine, ANA (auto-antibodies), inflammation, immune function and some auto-immune diseases, including lupus. He said there is a very good chance that nothing specific will come out of it, - again - and that the existing trend of previously measured slightly elevated blood levels for things like ANA and inflammatory substances might continue; not being negative, but also not being high enough to be diagnosed as something entirely different. For instance lupus. Which requires some serious and specifically elevated blood levels. But he wants to check on anything that he things could also cause flushing in my case, as my last blood tests for all this date back to 2011. He said that lupus is very difficult to diagnose. Blood levels (ANA) not only have to consistently be sufficiently elevated, but also have to match clinical symptoms. And on any one day your bloods could be near normal unless you are flaring; doc said that these blood tests can often be downright unreliable, as the values go up and down. That you could take several ANA tests and some will eventually turn out positive. But that does not necessarily mean anything. Some of mine were negative in the past, others mildly positive at 1:80. Borderline positive he called it, but not if the previous and next test are negative, haha. Oh what a puzzle... Apparently skin biopsies can help there, but I'm not allowing anyone to take a piece out of my poor frail rosacea facial skin. Anyway, I'll hear the outcome on February 11th so a bit of waiting left. OH, and I am weighing too much! Doctor said mirtazapine/remeron (which I use successfully to take off some of the flushing problem) is renowned for this. "You can not eat or diet against it" he said. But nevertheless.. I managed for some time to keep weight in check while taking these weight adding meds (high dose of Xyzal antihistamines isn't helping either) by eating only meat and vegetables and fruits and very few carbs and no sugar, and on top by walking 10 kilometers a day, but lately I have screwed all of that back again :( Food tastes so good and 10 km is a long long stretch. Have to go back to the old formula though, all that belly fat is not good in many ways. Bleh... it's all so tiring.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wv6F0HEn5X5OIZ9ODEnFaKdN0jzka9ontjs8bnnjyFy1V99whbT3zIlHbCSqEYblCSUyuvHSsLgwQXu65w3g7EuDCAJ_77U4sohMIlU9V5PcLCUci-66g3AyH3yAkcLuq36kzx9K9Zb5/s1600/4452ecda75a037a9cc284d2ce666960a--dani-collage.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="237" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wv6F0HEn5X5OIZ9ODEnFaKdN0jzka9ontjs8bnnjyFy1V99whbT3zIlHbCSqEYblCSUyuvHSsLgwQXu65w3g7EuDCAJ_77U4sohMIlU9V5PcLCUci-66g3AyH3yAkcLuq36kzx9K9Zb5/w288-h383/4452ecda75a037a9cc284d2ce666960a--dani-collage.jpg" width="288" /></a>Otherwise I've been so so the past week. I could keep my flushing under some control during the day, but it flared up badly when I visited a friends place (too warm there) and another evening my mothers house (not too warm but she has lots of flowers and scented stuff in the house and her small dog, which seems to trigger me more than cats nowadays). I ended up with a burning hot flushed face both evenings, which took a few hours of cooling with cold pack to calm down. Coldpack wrapped in clean t-shirt, only patting it on my cheeks now and then with a fan running too; careful for overdoing it and frostbite! A friend with flushing problems also wonders, like me, if the flushing could be due to erythomelalgia. This person has very long lasting flushing episodes however, lasting days up until a whole week (with no respite) and severe burning pain. In contrast, my flushing episodes usually last a few hours tops. Then cool down again, usually by me cooling them down, or sometimes just by themselves, like a candle running out of steam. It is possible to have longer lasting redness (inflammation, background redness) though, for instance when I had a bad case of sinus infection and bronchitis, then my entire cheeks were red and inflamed looking even when I didn't flush. But that rarely happens to me normally.. The issue with erythromelalgia is that the pain comes not just from the blood vessels in the face, hands and feet excessively dilating, but also from them constricting. I know a girl with severe flushing who has erythromelalgia and she actually gets better from calcium channel blockers, which dilate blood vessels also and are top of the not to use list for rosacea flushing. In her case, they help keep her blood vessels <span style="color: #783f04;"><b>stable</b></span>. But with rosacea flushing there is usually no issue of abnormally constricting blood vessels and nerves (causing the typical white pale thing you sometimes see with cold fingers). All we need to do is prevent blood vessel from excessively dilating. So constricting them with cold air, fans, cold packs, medication even is the way to go. Not opening them up. Any medication that widens the blood vessels is a recipe to flushing hell for me. I've tried many such meds over the decades, usually prescribed by curious doctors wanting to see what my blood vessels and face flushing would do then. I guess the fact I'd flare from such a med is more indicative for rosacea flushing perhaps. The doctor I saw Wednesday also emphasized to me that the chance all this is down to rosacea and IPL/laser damage in my case is the biggest one. Lupus would be a surprise finding (in the past 20 years I was always tested negatively for it) and erythromelalgia... He said I would need extreme pain from that one, and not just during a flushing flare. My face always feels uncomfortable, I can "feel" my skin being active, burning or feeling tight or crawly even. But I only get the acid-like severe burning pain when I am red or flushed. Not when I am pale with a fan running on it.<br />
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day</span></b></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">January 16th 2019</span></span></b><br />
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I had some rough days, including a full day of traveling on public transport on Friday. All went well though, despite it being warm in the train and bus. Tomorrow I see the rheumatologist/immunologist about my burning hands and face. Fingers crossed they can help me further. I read my GP's referral letter and she wrote that she wants me checked for lupus. I doubt it is lupus though... But hopefully they can somehow check for erythromelalgia, since my hands and fingers now burn and go red too. At this exact moment, my right hand is on fire for instance, and all its fingers are glowing super red 😞 I will be seeing a junior doctor too I saw. Probably nothing will come out of it, but we'll see. I plan on explaining my abnormal flushing and burning all the time. How is has progressed, how I need a fan all the time. How IPL and laser made it worse. How standard rosacea treatments do nothing or make it worse. All my crazy flushing triggers (heat, sun, fluorescent light, perfume or strong smells, chemical scents, foods, drinks, IPL and so on). The suspicion of mast cell / allergy issues. The mild positive ANA blood tests. In fact I am busy printing out all my previous immunological blood work tests from the past, as well as my London dermatologist Professor Chu's medical letters for me. Will ask specifically about erythromelalgia, as my hands go hot and red, but never pale and white. I have been diagnosed in the same hospital with Raynaud's Disease many years ago, but I wonder now if it really is that (as my hands never go white pale in addition to red hot). And the whole extreme flushing thing might not be "just" normal rosacea either.. Every dermatologist I have seen over the years seemed to think it is all a bit extreme, this flushing and burning and redness... Perhaps my nerve endings in the face are hyper-reactive, as IPL made everything worse including the burning. Maybe it ruined my nerves in the face? Even in the train... I was hot and burning badly in my face but when I checked in the mirror I wasn't even that very red. Which is the exception to the rule actually as usually I do get very red from heat. So I hope something new will come out of this consultation.. Maybe they have a new angle of looking at it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPsSGUGe3JC2SonKibqBv9GABU6GvK-7077Fqym7K9uwZzwgyICGmx4i3k42md1O-rXL_M-gl4cErDE5niPEiLKlwh_COlWqjln1a8YVCKy1fIZrAdV4MTx0u2u72-FFNv3IfVdhwqiSZs/s1600/3df7705e41b7397b592335c4f9964096--john-william-godward.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPsSGUGe3JC2SonKibqBv9GABU6GvK-7077Fqym7K9uwZzwgyICGmx4i3k42md1O-rXL_M-gl4cErDE5niPEiLKlwh_COlWqjln1a8YVCKy1fIZrAdV4MTx0u2u72-FFNv3IfVdhwqiSZs/s1600/3df7705e41b7397b592335c4f9964096--john-william-godward.jpg" /></a>My friend who has similar flushing symptoms, but who had hers diagnosed as lupus recently, wrote me about it: "<i>It is very important that you need to make sure you tell DR. about all of your clinical symptoms. It could be lupus. Lupus is incredibly sneaky for years and years. My hands and feet do the burning </i><i>and the red and white. My skin can burn and be pale. I’m getting another MRI actually, checking for MS as it is apparently confused with lupus. The impact of a correct diagnosis is crucial. Without being on the right meds, the inflammation kills us. Tell him/ her everything. You don’t have simple rosacea. It has slowly become whatever “IT” is. I look back on my IPLs and know they put my problems on the fast track. But the DNA was already there."</i><br />
<i>PS. Be thankful you have the Meows </i>😊<br />
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Talking about the cats: I had to be away from home and a neighbour looked after the cats. One of them, Igor, had urinary tract issues a week and a half ago. Took him to the vet, who worked 2,5 hours on him. Because Igor has been a shelter cat before I adopted him, he is easily spooked and afraid. The vet was wonderful and identified the problem right away. He said that some cats have not spent enough time with their mother as kittens, and can have behavioural issues due to that. Mother cat teaches her kittens boundaries, reinforces them and keeps them confident usually. He said he could identify the cats who lacked their mother near at a young age, because of their unpredictable responses to a veterinary check up. A month prior I had seen another (emergency) vet when he had blood in his urine and she was young and ... had a different methodology.. She called another vet in who was armed with heavy gloves and they tried to pin Igor down to take his temperature. He was like a wild tiger, screaming, roaring, hissing, biting. They had to chase him all through the vet's office until enough was enough. So this time, Iggy was sedated. It was difficult to see him so afraid but once the calming drug worked, the vet could do a full body check up. Igor seemed to have sore back legs and I suspected another urinary tract infection. But the vet first ruled out broken limbs or a bowel obstruction. Then he took vials of blood and tested the urine I had brought along from Igor. He had a high white blood cell count and his urine was full of specific crystals, called struvite crystals. And it was too concentrated and had the wrong PH acidity. He was given antibiotic jabs and anti-inflammatories. Also special cat food and a strict diet. He is becoming just like me in that respect. He also has to drink a lot of water, and we're supposed to put water bowls on different spots to encourage him to drink more. He did improve a lot in the next days. No longer lethargic and grumpy and with pain when moving around. he started to play again and got his energy back. But now the neighbour had him in house to keep an eye on him as I couldn't take him along with me in the train.<br />
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And still... despite this 5 star treatment by the biggest cat lover after myself, I was worried :D Bleh.. Will she keep the doors shut? Will she check if Igor is sleeping and not passed away? Will she check if he is not having a fever again and isn't in pain with his back legs again? I did tell her all that and couldn't help emailing her briefly about it another time too... (me = Crazy Cat Lady). I tried to make it sound relaxed, but I'm sure she could imagine me clenching my jaws while typing. Probably good I never had children as I would worry day and night haha. Might have become one of those controlling helicopter mummms I always dismiss.. Saturday I went into town with a friend, which was nice. We did some shopping and had a drink somewhere. Sunday I stayed home and tried working on a work deadline. But I was very absent minded. In the evening another friend, came round for some tea and a chat. I normally have the heating on 16 degrees Celsius in the house and run a fan on my face, but because the friend is easily cold, I put the heating on 18 degrees. Felt very warm to me, but she was shivering! Had to give her a thick cardigan of mine and a plaid over her legs. Luckily she wasn't bothered and we had a nice evening. Last night I went out with my sister to eat tapas in town. That also went well, despite it being medium warm in there. I was a bit flushed but nothing too bad. I avoided the worst trigger foods (in my case spicy food and pork meat and of course <b><span style="color: #b45f06;">alcohol</span></b>) and ate dishes like goats cheese in puff pastry, carpaccio, vegetarian pizza slices, tuna and baked potatoes. All small little dishes and you can order as many things as you want from a menu of 55 items. We had a very good time. Always nice catching up on little Tim, family life, love life, work, health and the usual female topics. In the fall of next year, our mother will turn 65 years old and to celebrate, she is taking us all for several days to Valencia, in Spain! It will be around my own birthday (the big FORTY, brrrrrr), so end of October and early November. It should be nice weather then but not too warm. I am hoping for 18 degrees and a weak sun. My mum took us all to New York for her own honeymoon in 2006 and that was a fantastic trip, so we hope to have some good family time in Valencia now this year. My mum booked a fantastic palace of a hotel in the old town, with wooden parquet flooring and all that jazz. My sister is also saving for her wedding, which she wants to be some white beach fairy tale. On a Dutch beach, mind you, on one of our northern islands, but it turned out that renting a beach club for 50 or so people is something a lot of people want these days, and thus will cost you well over 10.000 euro's.... Shocking. But very hip. In her place I would probably save myself a good portion of that money and rent some old barn and do it up and hire a good band haha.<br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Oh, and how cool is this school?</b></span></div>
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We grew up on a farm ourselves, and were always outside. helping the cows deliver their calves, playing in the hay in the barn, walking in the fields, collecting wild flowers, jumping over ditches, making huts. It were different times though. Parents kicked their kids out the door without much of a worry... It did give us all a zest for nature and the wind and the trees and also self-confidence. My friend said about it: "Forest kindergartens - absolutely brilliant! Doing what every generation has basically done previous to the snowflake generation. Let kids play in the elements. We would play in the drains as kids when big storms hit or went to this massive bush land all the time as kids, where we discovered and played in trees and had fun. I think such schooling is brilliant. Tablets and I-phones are a scourge on our society and our kids. Let kids be kids and get wet and cold and especially get a few cuts and bruises. That's what growing up is all about." Well, we have easy talking, the childless outcasts who know it so well standing on the side line haha. But, that is how kids used to grow up, and that Danish teacher might be right that prepping three year olds with maths and reading is counterproductive... And too much too soon. Let them first build confidence and curiosity in nature.<br />
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day</span></b></div>
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My doctor called back and the allergist is putting me on Mast cell activation Syndrome medication for 5 weeks to see if it improves my flushing problem. Three meds; montelukast (a mast cell stabilizer), ranitidine (H2 antihistamine) and a H1-antihistamine (I can stay on Xyzal for this). Fingers crossed it works. I tried montelukast in the past for a short amount of time but will restart it now together with raniditine and Xyzal and then give it 5 weeks to see what happens... Doc told me that regular antihistamines help only a little bit for mast cell related flushing and that specific mast cell meds are needed (IF mast cells are involved..which we will now test out). These three meds should knock those mast cells down solidly, according to doc. So let the battle begin.... It is always stressful however to start new medication, as I am so sensitive and can actually flush worse from many medication, but will have to bite through this one. Who knows! I had already decided before that, that I would give montelukast another try. In <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/09/montelukast-singulair-for-rosacea.html">this blog post</a></b> you can read more about this medication for facial flushing. So I'm glad the doctor agrees that it might help a bit. Flushing of the face in general can have many different causes. For one person it can be down to a histamine related response (underlying allergies or mast cell disorders), for another it has to do with too many blood vessels in the facial skin, which dilate too easily and are not functioning properly. IPL or laser can take them out but come with all their own risks.. I wished they could just strip the excess or malfunctioning blood vessels out of our faces, like they do with varicose veins in the legs. And for another, the blood vessels dilate due to low grade underlying inflammation elsewhere in the body. In that case the immune system can be involved, and an auto-immune factor can play a role. (there are many medical conditions that cause flushing of the face, read <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2014/05/other-conditions-that-cause-facial_29.html">this blog post</a></b> about this). But it depends on your subtype and then again it can differ. And even subtype 2 rosacea with demodex mite issues is indirectly linked to the immune system overreacting... My auto-immune activity is mildly elevated, the latest blood tests revealed again. Not very high but enough to go with the low grade inflammation I also have, which can just be a small smoldering fire for my rosacea redness, inflammation and flushing. Not every immune response and inflammation shows up like a big fat exclamation mark in such tests, it can be low grade too. Eczema for instance is also linked to an immune response but wont give a positive marker in blood tests. It's all very frustrating that no actual concrete treatment is available (all in one pill ideally!) to tackle this whole thing. Having a burning red hot face just sucks. So, flushing can have many possible causes but with auto immune activity, there is inflammation that is being generated by the body itself which does seem the case with rosacea too. But scientists still haven't found the exact reason and cause of rosacea so until that, its not entirely certain it's immune related. But my bet is that it is in fact immune related in many cases. Just like most inflammatory skin diseases are, other than bacterial infections. And so foods can affect your rosacea possibly. As some foods are pro-inflammatory to the body and others can be anti-inflammatory. That one is trial and error.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpTj6DhREIO1Dj08KD9kUd7QLk4jlaT1RuBxcO9fJH_lbl8Tt8r07F3-pmf05KYIuTN1FyCdRtmmhMtm1E-_XdFey4bWub6xwox9XHrTy_H4LAHc-y2EgyyD6DHsNgTcfYOsczewXDMqda/s1600/29211725030_06341a282c_b+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="1024" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpTj6DhREIO1Dj08KD9kUd7QLk4jlaT1RuBxcO9fJH_lbl8Tt8r07F3-pmf05KYIuTN1FyCdRtmmhMtm1E-_XdFey4bWub6xwox9XHrTy_H4LAHc-y2EgyyD6DHsNgTcfYOsczewXDMqda/s400/29211725030_06341a282c_b+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a>The past weeks I've had HORRENDOUS flare-ups. I think it is the cold, my cold urticaria somehow worsening matters and yet, there have been early spring days too and there are lots of pollen in the air. Which always trigger my flushing, every spring... I also scrubbed my skin gently 10 days ago and ever since the flushing and redness are through the roof. But I had to, as so much dead skin builds up over time with me. I clean my skin obviously, but Professor Chu explained it to me as follows; my rosacea skin has a non-functioning skin barrier. Normal skin automatically sheds dead skin cells from the upper skin layer. Mine somehow stacks them up and does not let them go. I need to scrub after some months to get it off. But I rather wait as long as possible with this, as the dead skin layer serves as a buffer and protective layer for my face and rosacea. it makes me look more normal in colour, as opposed to red. It also makes me less easily flushed. But there comes a point where you just see the dead skin sitting on top of my face and it has to go.... So right now I'm super red. And on top of that, I also missed my period (not preggers!) so am having some hormonal disturbances which has set my face on fire. Its miserable, I am constantly cooling but nothing helps. Need to stay calm and get through this until face calms down again :( Normally I can keep my flushing and burning under some sort of control by using anti-flushing medication, sleeping with a small fan blowing on low, sticking to my rosacea friendly diet and ignoring the one week before my period of flushing. This probably because in that week, progesterone levels are high, which flare me up (you can read more on the effects of the female hormones progesterone and estrogen in <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2014/10/rosacea-and-pregnancy-hormones_26.html">this blog post</a></b>). I had a scare when missing a period, and it fairly sure now that my hormones are all over the place this month. Fingers crossed all will be back to normal soon. But eventual menopause is hanging over my head like a dagger.. its frightening. So I have been burning and flushing up constantly lately... bleh.. Fans, cold packs, windows open, trying to sleep it off. I was not sure what exactly was going on (probably a mix of cold/ pollen/ stress/ hormones and then some). Face was lighting up like a torch and my face swelled up like I was a chipmunk on steroids (I really am so so swollen in these photos, its embarrassing to even post them, despite this being a bloody rosacea blog!). Usually these waves do die themselves down in time so I just need to ride it out. In fact, the past two days the intensity has gone down a bit, so I am carefully optimistic the flushing may die down soon. These pictures are taken when I could be bothered stepping away from the cooling devices and are not even 1/10th of what it really looks like at its worst. Compared to photos of last summer, to see the colour difference.<span style="text-align: center;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Then in the midst of all this, my cat Iggy had to be taken to the vet</b></span> yet again (third time in 3 months, previous times he had a urine tract infection with high fever). Despite him having a very specific diet of dietary food developed for cats with these problems, he seemed to have fallen back yet again. He was in pain, couldn't walk properly, growled, was lethargic. This time he had X-rays, ultrasound, blood work yet again and urine samples at the vet; he had to be sedated. Luckily nothing too serious, he has yet another urine tract infection with high fever and they also saw a spot on his back, on his spine that does not look entirely normal. Can be an injury from the past or infection but doc said it is extremely painful for him at the moment, as inflamed. Been given 2 weeks worth of antibiotics now and anti-inflammatories and also homeopathic brew that kills bacteria in his urine tract. He pretty much improved overnight, so nice to have him back, able to walk and jump and lay on the bed without pain. His energy and naughty tricks are back as well. But he is so sensitive for these infections, its all costing me a small fortune. 300 euro last time, 400 euro this time. Gone the holiday money haha. Well, Iggy the cat is more important. I did feel highly self conscious, sitting for hours in total in that hot veterinary place. The chemical cleaning odours they have there set my flushing off right away and then the warmth and anticipation... I was looking severely sunburnt. People gave me second looks (for the wrong reasons), and I hardly dared to look the vet in the eyes while he talked to me. Had to sit outside with cold packs when I had to wait for Iggy to recover. Felt such a loony.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsXj-v5VGOnUgrQHy8RivbRdXWkQR8XipCTAgQo8yD7tNzrOGXGtDRzg3-hR2CI2Uo533rOJnD8Irr4l5wnDt3RAHcnJjs-Gkn2Nv9a1HymFhE50YyOB8r49TCnyGlCs9ZTaoUnOZxpEo/s1600/DSC00132.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="568" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsXj-v5VGOnUgrQHy8RivbRdXWkQR8XipCTAgQo8yD7tNzrOGXGtDRzg3-hR2CI2Uo533rOJnD8Irr4l5wnDt3RAHcnJjs-Gkn2Nv9a1HymFhE50YyOB8r49TCnyGlCs9ZTaoUnOZxpEo/w378-h568/DSC00132.JPG" width="378" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I also found some old photos</b></span>, will add them below; taken by my painter friend; I stood model for a ceiling painting. It shows the blue sky with angels/goddesses seen while looking up to them. I modeled for one of these figures (more so that the painter could see the right perspective and proportions of a female body when viewed from the ground looking up haha, it was a technical thing).<br /><br /></div><div><div>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I watched this documentary about people that have Bill Murray encounters.</b></span> Apparently he likes to do impromptu engagements with people. It was a good documentary. Showing how he likes to live in the moment and how these interactions really made a lasting impression on the people he engaged with. My friend told me about it, that the director/narrator of the story tried to get Bill Murray himself in the film, but couldn’t get a hold of him. So the movie is just the telling of people’s stories with him and shows some footage of these tales. The director did eventually get to see Bill at a baseball game. He went up to him, as some others did.. They asking for a picture.. it was the perfect time to pitch his documentary; to tell Bill what he was doing, but he decided not to. Just taking the picture was enough. The movie maker initially thought that he needed more, when he started making the movie (like his own Bill Murray story), but then realized that he had his own story. The making of the movie was his story, and simply walking up to Bill himself and asking for a picture was enough. He didn’t need to have a sit down with him, or have any type of special moment other than just that; seeing him at the baseball game and getting a picture taken with him after. When the people who feature in this movie had their own encounters, Bill would be there and then when he left, he just left. Totally in the moment. No dragging things out. Another lady was trying to chase him down during a movie festival. She was supposed to interview him..but she could never catch him. One moment he was there, the next Bill Murray just left without as much of a sigh. No fuss. Quite a mysterious way of behaving, especially for a 'celebrity'. At first she was disappointed. Then she realized that she did see him. A lot in fact, and that by chasing him all over the place she ended up seeing him during many different interactions with others. But on top the film maker also got to see some cool stuff that wouldn’t have been seen if he would have just talked to Bill in the beginning, and then had left the festival. So sometimes what we are looking for isn’t what we are actually looking for, and by paying attention to that, we can actually catch something really great in the process sometimes.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PAkp0h4ktf0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PAkp0h4ktf0?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: right; float: right;" width="320"></iframe>This trailer of The Bill Murray Stories made me laugh. All these guys go like <i>"And I was like, and she was like, and then I saw... OH MY GAWWWD.... yes, it was Mill Murray"</i>. And what fun that must have been not just for the unknown people but also for Bill himself. Stepping into all these different narratives. Its like I used to wonder when sitting in the train, what all the backstories were of the people around me. You don't know them, they don't know you, soon one or the other will get up and step out and that was probably the only fleeting, random connection you will have ever had with them. Maybe if you had gotten to know them, they could have turned out to be potential friends for life, or lovers, or who knows what else. Bill could taste some of that.</div></div><div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Books-wise</b></span> I finished the Dostoyevski book, which was a great (re-)read once more although he does take his jolly time to describe things. These days the average reader would have been lulled to sleep by the side-action that takes place, although the main action is a right psychological thriller. I am reading a book by Jung “The Undiscovered Self”. One thing I can comment on is his notion of the shadow-self and how we all have this dark part of ourselves.. That humanity is capable of such evil. He goes on to say that even though we aren’t perhaps the ones that ourselves caused, say, the destruction of the Native Americans for instance (just an example), the fact that it were our ancestors (talking about Americans and their ancestors here) means that we are still somewhat responsible. I don't know if I agree with that, he seems to refer to some universal guilt principle which sounds a bit like white privilege screamers. But Jung probably meant it more metaphysically; we still all have it in ourselves to commit such atrocities. Like Jordan Peterson says, think how much evil is out there and realize you could be just as evil and even worse given the right circumstances. It is the topic of many movies and books actually; what challenges one person can face in life and how circumstances can change you. or trigger latent things inside you. Why does one person thrown into a dire situation respond by collaborating and another joins the resistance movement? What do war-situations do to the human mind (Heminways 'To whom the bell tolls', the movies Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter for instance). Jung (a man of his times) argues that religion is our only safe guard against this evil that is inside all of us. By having a higher power to answer to, we keep ourselves in check. He said that this is why those in power always try to stamp out religion, because when it comes down to it, the religious person will always choose God over the government. He will die for God, but if the country asks him to do so and it goes against his morals he won’t. Now I don't believe in God myself and am not religious either, but Jung was onto something most likely. Throughout history it has been shown that humans do probably need some sort of religion to help the masses navigate through life and to hold them accountable for their behaviour. Nothing brings people more in check than worrying about your place in the eternal afterlife. And religions guiding principles have long held society accountable for a certain moral code as well. Even though people have always abused this and used it for their own personal gain (of wealth, power etc). And in today's western secularized society, which is fairly God-Loose in Europe at least, societies have been fractured into many groups - often dictated by individualism and materialism - which has weakened the whole. So looking at it from Jungs perspective, it doesn't matter whether or not you personally are religious and believe or not, the structure that religion created for societies was vital for upholding the culture. Religion could be very restraining and dogmatic in its rules, but at the same time gave humaity as a whole guide lines about how to behave, marriage, procreation, education ... all of which have come under attack lately. Sometimes for good reasons, but there is more loneliness, isolation, sense of meaninglessness and depression in the western world today than ever before. Societal structures are lost and people have lost some of the roots that kept societies in Europe (and elsewhere too I suspect) connected in the past. We need something new to replace the old religious system. And I don't believe in communes, sects and hippies haha!<br />
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day</span></b></div>
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I've been a bit obsessed with both these songs at the moment; must have watched the video clips a few dozen times already. Love love love the Azerbaijan / Russian style street dancing in the first video and the faces of the people there. And the second song is just outstanding, I like this live version more than the studio version. She gives me the same chills as listening and watching Amy Winehouse once did. Have to put down my work actually when it is playing, to watch her facial expressions and cool swagger. Then a disco dance-off that always makes me smile and a great banjo duel song from a movie I watched recently and really enjoyed, 'Deliverance' (1972).</div>
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Me when things don't go exactly my way :D There are plenty of trees in Australia apparently, but the koala wants this one. (lol someone write that the other koala can easily sing in a death metal band). This video never gets old.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">February 13th 2019 </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I got my results from hospital tests. Doctor would call during the day and I literally sat next to my phone from 8:30 AM... Nervous. By 3 PM still no call and I had checked the reception and battery life pretty much every ten minutes in between. Luckily by 5:30 I got a call. It went like this:</span></div>
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>Doctor:</span></b> </span>"I'm calling about the test results. They are all in by now, and there are actually no clear abnormalities found."<br />
<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Me:</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b>"Ahh hmm, yeh I already worried about that."<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>Doctor:</span></b><b> </b></span>"Yes. We have checked your general blood count and found no real abnormalities. Inflammatory markers were found, they were visible but around the high normal value. We looked for specific auto-immune diseases and they don't really present themselves in these blood results.<br />
<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Me:</span></b> "Ok.."<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>Doctor:</span></b> </span>"After our first appointment and the triggers and symptoms you described, I also looked closely to histamine levels. Histamine is a substance in the body that can lead to blood vessel dilation. And histamine is present in a number of the food items you described as being triggers for your flushing and red skin burning. For instance in canned tuna, strawberries, white wine. So we also checked urine for high concentrations of histamine. But we haven't found that."<br />
<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Me: </span></b>"I do use a high dose of antihistamine medication, could that have influenced the outcome slightly, in theory?"<br />
<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Doctor:</span></b> "Not really, in principle an antihistamine will block the receptors on certain cells, in a way that makes them less sensitive for the histamine, but the histamine itself does stay in the body."<br />
<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Me:</span></b> "So you would have been able to measure it. Ok.."<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>Doctor:</span></b> </span>"Yes and it does fall within normal values. And the same for specific substances that are released in the body, mast cells. They can also cause blood vessel dilation and they were also within normal levels."<br />
<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Me:</span></b> "And the ANA blood levels?"<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>Doctor:</span></b> </span>"We did an ANA screening, which has the advantage that it is super sensitive, and picks up on everything. Which is at the same time a disadvantage, as it picks up on everything."<br />
<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Me:</span></b> "So it can also give a false positive result?"<br />
<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Doctor:</span></b> "Exactly. So your ANA was just slightly positive. In the first dilution phase it showed to be positive. So we have zoomed in on it and tried to find out what exactly it was positive for. And then we found that for all the next steps and specific testing, it was negative. "<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>Me:</span></b> </span>"So no lupus or something; nothing with a specific speckled pattern or anything under the microscope."<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>Doctor:</span></b> </span>"Exactly. For lupus we looked specifically for particles that match with lupus, and that result was really zero. So no lupus. So on the one hand it is good we could exclude certain diseases, but on the other hand we still don't have a clear idea why you have this severe flushing problem."<br />
<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Me:</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b>"Yes it sounds like it really is all down to my blood vessels being over-reactive."<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>Doctor:</span></b> </span>"Yes it seems that your blood vessels are overly sensitive and are reacting to minimal stimulants. And also that your face has a lot of blood vessels. Many smaller blood vessels also. And that seems to be at least part of the problem."<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>Me:</span></b> </span>"Yes I understand. It has definitely worsened after that IPL treatment I had in 2005. There appeared many more blood vessels and redness all over my face afterwards, like the treatment caused new blood vessel formation and trauma or something."<br />
<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Doctor:</span></b> "Yes that is very possible."<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span>Me:</span></b> </span>"Is there another specialism other than dermatology, that could be of any help with those blood vessels? Because I have pretty much hit a wall with dermatologists as they just don't know how to treat the facial flushing. Maybe a vascular specialist? Or are they more for diseases like general vasculitis etc?"<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxmmYFqKatXRPytpP9bxR262iy1p0HNOeIze6WY_XS5Krzvjnkux5U2HBSSQMnsTNhafhNr8KN7RTRQj8oHK8wCXK9AFcYPeyNKSx-eoALOF399A-WUiX1T9T_4KrvKYBjhoE3JqLrUrV/s1600/DSC09813.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxmmYFqKatXRPytpP9bxR262iy1p0HNOeIze6WY_XS5Krzvjnkux5U2HBSSQMnsTNhafhNr8KN7RTRQj8oHK8wCXK9AFcYPeyNKSx-eoALOF399A-WUiX1T9T_4KrvKYBjhoE3JqLrUrV/s320/DSC09813.JPG" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Doctor:</span></b> "Yes exactly, and it is not vasculitis. Yes I understand the question. I do think that dermatology is the most obvious specialism for this problem. But I have thought about two other options perhaps. We could have a look at the blood vessel formation in your finger, and specifically in the cuticle of your nail. To see if the blood vessels are normally formed and functioning and if there is a disturbance perhaps in the forming of those smaller blood vessels in the body. That may be a different place than your face, but it is possible we get some more information from it. As you do not want another biopsy taken from your facial skin you said. And secondly I am thinking of a connection with mastocytosis. Now is mastocytosis a syndrome that can also give flushing and redness as main symptom. In your case I don't think you have mastocytosis, that has been more or less ruled out by the blood research, but I am thinking about another thing. I have a strong feeling that these mast cells are playing an important role in your symptoms. Because for mastocytosis we are testing for too many mast cells in the body. But another option is that there aren't too many mast cells in your body, but that they are much too easily triggered.."<span style="color: #b45f06; font-weight: bold;"> </span>(So basically he seems to describe the symptoms of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mast_cell_activation_syndrome"><b>Mast cell activation Syndrome</b></a> to me).<br />
<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Me: </span></b>"Ah ok, they just don't function exactly as they should then. And does that mean it is more difficult to determine something like that through blood testing and instead I would need to try medication for this, to see if my symptoms go down then?"<br />
<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Doctor:</span></b> "yes exactly. You are already using an antihistamine (Xyzal), which should help a little bit already. But we also know that it is not enough and through allergology we have ways to shut down these mast cells entirely."<br />
<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Me: </span></b>"Oh that would be nice. To see what happens then."<br />
<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Doctor: </span></b>Yes. So I think there may be some treatment options for mastocytosis which you haven't tried yet, which could perhaps improve your flushing. I am going to discuss this with an allergist who is specialized in this, to see if he can take you on as a patient to test this out and to ask if he finds it a good idea or not. I will call back when I know more."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiklwIsA0vnT2hIgpl212RiVkjpfzt0gOhlAv29oqDi7kiZ8N7oQ-Otp3yBnmIhcIW5W37079iyBcH0dbpgrg8VVwaNeJn9lSnf1RaZbTyzEEFyq7ekPXwZCI6VQC-g9sxcRDW5kidr8ONs/s1600/19b88e1f2b5016b2aca44fee39f8efee.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="412" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiklwIsA0vnT2hIgpl212RiVkjpfzt0gOhlAv29oqDi7kiZ8N7oQ-Otp3yBnmIhcIW5W37079iyBcH0dbpgrg8VVwaNeJn9lSnf1RaZbTyzEEFyq7ekPXwZCI6VQC-g9sxcRDW5kidr8ONs/s400/19b88e1f2b5016b2aca44fee39f8efee.jpg" width="287" /></a>So all in all, nothing really came out of it 😞 Only very mild positive ANA (auto immune) markers, but too low and non-specific for any other diagnosis; no patterns to indicate something like lupus. So a negative there. Also no histamine tested in urine and blood so no mastocytosis or rampant allergy issue. Only thing he can do is try to refer me to a specialist in allergies to try specific medication that calms down mast cells, and seeing then if that will improve my flushing problems. I don't have too many mast cells but it could be that the ones I have don't function as they should. Which is also what <a href="https://www.rosacea.org/rr/2017/summer/researchers-discover-missing-links-rosacea-inflammation?fbclid=IwAR3nuQJ_16VVLXTUvkb8_pF-2rYNTUR1xEYvMOsQvltwJz0QI5-CdgkwGRE"><b>scientists</b></a> found linked to rosacea flushing in general. The doc said that my high dose of regular histamine pills won't cut it, when/if this is the case, and that different, specific mast cell suppressors could make my flushing less severe perhaps. He will discuss it next week with a team meeting of different specialists and see if I can be seen by an allergy specialist and get those meds testing. So ANA was positive meaning 1:80 titre but that is low for auto-immune diseases. There is some auto immune activity but it is low grade inflammation and not lupus or a disease like that. Too low to treat, but not negative so possibly helping speed the low grade inflammation fire along. I also have lymphocitaire colitis also and that's the same thing; got a couple of coloscopy surgeries and they always confirm the same thing; colitis but low grade so not like Chrohn's disease with visible ulcers. But the lining of the bowel is in my case a bit inflamed. You need a miscroscope to see it (they take a biopt) but these low grade inflammatory substances do travel through the body and can cause or worsen inflammation in other organs, like the skin, in turn. So every blood test seems to show the same image in my case; immune system isn't fully working as it should but gives off low grade inflammation which blood markers also show, but nothing too high to worry specialists... But its not helping my rosacea one bit! That's it, nothing else going on. Just too many blood vessels, too many small blood vessels in the upper skin (thanks to botched IPL!!) and weak blood vessels that are hyper-reactive. Which is good news. But somehow I had hoped that something specific would have come up, with a specific treatment option to reduce all this flushing and burning hell. But this doctor had already warned in advance that the chances would be slim that anything would come out of these tests, as I've had them before, a long time ago but still, and this might just be one of those freak cases of rosacea. Am happy today that nothing came out, but was a bit disappointed yesterday. Who knows, maybe next stop at the allergist..<br />
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My friend wrote about it; <i>"Honestly I hope you also see the good news here. You have a Dr really </i><i>advocating for you and the hope of trying new meds and one who seems to really want to connect the dots. I found it very hopeful."</i></div>
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But I am expecting that I'll be stuck for another twenty years with this skin flushing and burning problem. The constant need to cool with a fan. The 1000+ triggers. BLEH! Really, my face never feels like nothing.. Like it should be. Its always either burning, or tingling, or tight, or about to start burning, or burning hot. Absolutely dreadful! Then the swelling of my face on top. I don't even care about the redness nowadays. Just the pain it gives me. I got this misery at age 19 and fast forward 20 years... and it still isn't curable! Not even well treatable if you flush and burn. Just disheartening. Not enough money and resources go to research I think... Whatever we have seen in the past two decades came from pharmaceutical companies who took some already existing medication for glaucoma in the eye and such and turned it into treatments. Which have a ton of side effects that make them unacceptable for many. As some may know by now, my whole perspective on life has changed. The less fuss the better. I'm lucky in a way that I've always been quite solitary and like things you do alone, like reading and listening music, movies, writing and all that sort of stuff. I spend so much time indoor, especially when the sun is out. I'd not have handled this lifestyle pre-rosacea though. I was always enjoying going out, dancing, traveling. Nowadays I'm keeping more to myself (and trusted circle of friends and loved ones). I shun most social occasions. We take for granted so much when life is going well. Nowadays, for me but also for some friends with similar debilitating rosacea, it is the simple pleasures that matter - walks, reading, listening to music, animals, hobbies, relationships. Everything slows down. But then again, out there in the real world get burn outs from being overworked. There is something good about this slow living too. Although I'm always working or walking or busy with stuff. If I don't do then I feel kind of low on energy. From doing nothing! If that makes sense. I feel lazy and unproductive then. You beforehand think the extra free time to just laze around is great, but I get energy somehow from doing all sorts of work and finishing it, which feels fulfilling. It's like working in a bubble zone where different laws of time apply. Must be a form of escapism. Unless people have this burning pain daily, they just don't understand, I found. I get so many comments about "it not looking all that bad", most of the time. But they cannot see how burned up and painful my skin is. Nerve pain doesn't light up on the skin, radioactively.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3yXfsTt7SUZHzf2j5CtBOHWhfz3kpCFqV8xD0E_2R7a1Xk-zNjBM_2mV0rzcRCTTMF-h3VQMJQ3SiRCCY2n59dQzf9S8PWM-xyPIWio6nuDC6sSgRddFI0Wrckub6enOlCLUQOgzntwX5/s1600/12f9c21aa64dfd45e836256dfa2e5847.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="831" data-original-width="650" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3yXfsTt7SUZHzf2j5CtBOHWhfz3kpCFqV8xD0E_2R7a1Xk-zNjBM_2mV0rzcRCTTMF-h3VQMJQ3SiRCCY2n59dQzf9S8PWM-xyPIWio6nuDC6sSgRddFI0Wrckub6enOlCLUQOgzntwX5/s320/12f9c21aa64dfd45e836256dfa2e5847.jpg" width="249" /></a><span style="font-size: 38px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "inherit" , "serif"; line-height: 43.7px;">Mast cell activation Syndrome</span></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">It is also possible that someone who flushes a lot does not in fact have mastocytosis (or anything other than rosacea and faulty functioning blood vessels), but instead </span><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mast_cell_activation_syndrome">Mast cell activation Syndrome</a>. </b>Mastocytosis causes too many mast cells in your body, but Mast cell activation Syndrome does not create statistically more mast cells in the body, but instead makes the normal number of mast cells malfunction, being hyper-reactive and causing symptoms such as flushing, hives, burning feeling, easy bruising, itchiness, lightheadedness/dizziness, diarrhea, headaches, pain and redness of the eyes and brain fog. To name a few symptoms (check the rest of the possible symptoms out <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mast_cell_activation_syndrome">here</a>). This is what my doctor thinks I have. My tryptase blood test came back negative, so I don't have mastocytosis. But he does suspect a histamine component to my flushing, as I flush from foods high in histamine, from pollen, from perfume and many other triggers that can be linked to histamine release in the body - which then in turn dilates the blood vessels. I am currently trying medication aimed to control Mast cell activation Syndrome: <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/09/montelukast-singulair-for-rosacea.html">Montelukast</a></b> (Singulair), ranitidine and Xyzal. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NGIlN47XfS4YKOJJ7mjZiHk-zsNrifgdK2MhqusKOf5O2omVMKA0az2Ptx15Ny74jzdlFgWu2dNOuD4JdS7iF85eZLcVyNtZLnQ1PLARlAcXCITGmWPM2DEGfq9wUGjdXdArN9HVwGNM/s1600/download+%25284%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="192" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NGIlN47XfS4YKOJJ7mjZiHk-zsNrifgdK2MhqusKOf5O2omVMKA0az2Ptx15Ny74jzdlFgWu2dNOuD4JdS7iF85eZLcVyNtZLnQ1PLARlAcXCITGmWPM2DEGfq9wUGjdXdArN9HVwGNM/s400/download+%25284%2529.jpg" width="293" /></a><span style="font-size: 38px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "inherit" , "serif"; line-height: 43.7px;">DAO deficiency</span></span></b></span><br />
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DAO deficiency means there is not enough of the specific digestive enzyme present in the body, which is responsible for breaking off the histamine that is in food. Diamine oxidase enzyme or DAO is located in the intestinal mucosa mainly, and starts working during the digestion of food. When there is an alteration in the metabolism of histamine and there is not enough DAO activity, the imbalance between ingested histamine and histamine released from the storage cells leads to histamine accumulation in the blood, which causes health symptoms such as flushing, sneezing and itching, but also possibly: migraine, headaches and/or dizziness. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (diarrhea, constipation), Crohn disease, stomach pain, nausea and/or vomiting. Hypotension, hypertension and/or arrhythmia. Hives, oedema, atopic skin, eczema and/or rach. Nose congestion, rhinitis, asthma and/or sneezing. Muscle pain, fibromyalgia and/or fatigue. Bone pain. It has been observed that most patients with low functional DAO activity present other related symptoms, especially migraine. 20% of patients experience 1 or 2 of these associated symptoms, 41.3% of patients experience 3 or 4 of these symptoms and 33.8% present more than 5. Migraine is always the most highlighted syndrome when interviewing the patients due to its disabling character. With DAO deficiency, unlike with a food allergy, the occurrence of symptoms or adverse effects is not linked to the intake of specific food; by contrast it can be related to a wide variety of food with different histamine contents (even to foods with low histamine levels). A special blood test can detect the DAO enzymatic deficiency. Once confirmed, the treatment consists in a <span style="color: #783f04;"><b>diet low in histamine</b></span> and other amines that enhance its accumulation.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Y-gwair wrote: </span></b>Quote Originally Posted by lilyian. "<i>If you did actually have a mast cell problem, it is easily controlled with prescription histamine blockers. Best thing to do is to get checked out my an allergist. People with these illnesses don't really have allergies, but the source of the problem is still mast cells which are what cause allergy problems." </i>This is not true, H1/H2s will only control SOME symptoms caused by release of histamine (like itching), but mast cells actually produce about 60 different vasoactive substances which antihistamines have no effect on. It's true that mast cell activation is not a true allergy, but there are still many allergy doctors that don't understand this and only test the limited parts of the immune system that they know about. Also many don't understand the difference between mastocytosis (which is where your bone marrow produces increased number of genetically altered mast cells) and mast cell activation (where you have a normal number of mast cells which have become abnormally over-reactive). The kind of doctor you need to see with these disorders is an immunologist specializing in allergic disease. Ideally they will test tryptase (which is a substance that stimulates the production of extra mast cells in mastocytosis), Diamine Oxidase, which is an enzyme that breaks down histamine, histamine levels in urine/blood. They also look to see if you vitamin D levels are low, as this is also a marker for high circulating histamine. If you are in the US, they will also test for prostaglandin D2 and leukotrines. They should also do a very detailed investigation of your immune system, breakdown of all immunoglobulins, rheumatological markers and many other relevant things. After quite a few misdiagnoses, I've finally found the true reason for my flushing, which is deficiency in Diamine oxidase, linked to mast cell activation causing high levels of unknown vasodilatory and neurological irritant substances. If I'd listened to my idiot dermatologist, I'd still be mucking around with clonidine and betablockers, both of which were making my condition worse. Doxepin is a tricyclic, which are a group of medications that cause mast cell degranulation, along with many, many other common medications including virtually all painkillers except paracetamol."</div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Something that made me laugh out loud</b></span> (yeh... cat related again haha). Here my cat Piotr was not amused. I went for a walk and he had to stay inside for a little while. Look at his gremlin drama faces when he realized he wasn't going out 😄😄 (Not sure this post needs a trigger warning haha, but just know that he is treated like a Royal and does not deserve any pity 😄).<br />
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A friend wrote some comments to go along with it. "Come baaaackkk", "You go without meeee??" "How dare you, turn around RIGHT NOW!!", "How dare you leave me", "You'll pay for this, my little pretty!", "Hey, call the firemen and tell them to bring the tuna treats." "Finally acceptance has set in". "Still sulking". "Incredible what humans do to poor cats". "Oh f.... I must wait then."</div>
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More cats... two posh English acquaintances visited the house and due to the cold all 6 cats were rolled up in the living room and around the wood-stove, of which 5 are ginger. The lady shouted out <i>"Oh dear, they are all MARMELADE!</i>" Made me laugh out loud. Will stop calling them gingers now and start calling them 'marmelade', tata.. Cheerio! And over the weekend a black cat came onto the football field! A commentator made a funny audio clip with it on the radio. I combined some online videos of the event with the radio commentary :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYa9Ob_Q8m2ie75oAFB6v9xhyphenhyphenXVo_gwmOYu4m5VCcoZcFSJFtpOVp1GQBXNmkJ6iigyppCLrpTKydNkyByrHgbGmmnDXnTgJScnqAi_9MJRXB60kN6Est-2Pj5DGsnzNtX3m1njjClhxgk/s1600/43066690-bdfb-11e6-8e7b-1cbf6e772f78.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="590" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYa9Ob_Q8m2ie75oAFB6v9xhyphenhyphenXVo_gwmOYu4m5VCcoZcFSJFtpOVp1GQBXNmkJ6iigyppCLrpTKydNkyByrHgbGmmnDXnTgJScnqAi_9MJRXB60kN6Est-2Pj5DGsnzNtX3m1njjClhxgk/s400/43066690-bdfb-11e6-8e7b-1cbf6e772f78.jpg" width="336" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>My skin has been so so. </b></span>Quite a lot of background redness currently. A few cold urticaria bumps. Bit of flushing. Had also another shock. Maybe TMI, but missed my period this month. Not pregnant (make very sure that doesn't happen) but am now worried I am already heading to early menopause perhaps. I had a lot of ob/gyn research done in hospital back in 2010 due to fertility issues and early miscarriages, and as usual they didn't find much wrong, other than that I have low ovarian reserve. So less than normal storage of eggs. That was when I was 30 and I'll be 40 this year. So who knows, they did warn me for premature menopause at the time, due to a low level AMH: anti-Mullarian hormone. In general I am petrified about menopause, and what hot flashes and out of whack hormones can do to my poor face. I have been reading up and perhaps I just missed an ovulation this month, I don't know. It is what it is, all might be back to normal next month for all I know. Anyway, as I said TMI but it was another worry on my mind all week. Have had a shitty anxious week. I have been avoiding the cold outside air, and the heating is on in the house (and even the bedroom, bleh) and I only go out when its mild and not too windy.<br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>And last, got pointed towards the history of the Templars. A Medieval topic this is. </b></span>Watched a docu on them and it was very interesting. here it goes: the documentary showed what elite troops these Templars were; religiously motivated knights who fought for the Catholics around 1100-1300; fighting for the capture and defense of Jerusalem in the Holy Land, and protecting crusaders from western Europe who were traveling to Jerusalem. They were like the SAS, a legendary military elite. The superheroes of Christianity. They were not amateur part-time fighters, but skilled trained professionals, who had been trained in fighting on horseback in heavy armour since the age of 7 or 8. And the Knights Templars became in effect the first standing army since the fall of the Roman empire. Due to many donations they could also have the best materials, such as large two handled sword could cut a man in half with one blow.. Even their war-horses were trained to fight, kick, and bite. And their They also carried other weapons and they could twist and turn on their horses at high speed. They were the equivalent of modern tank battalions in fact. When you had a row of these guys charge towards you, you'd run. Even against a gigantic opponent they could be victorious under the right circumstances and with the right elite fighters. But they were also dedicated group players, pledging loyalty and honour towards each other until death. Their cardinal rule was that you never ever left the battlefield until the Templar flag went down. So you didn't leave until the very end. And when one was captured, they did not accept ransom, so a Templar hostage would either be executed or enslaved for a lifetime. So there was nothing to surrender for. And therefore they fought till death. Like the Vikings they thought that if they died in battle, they would go straight to paradise, so in battle they were positively suicidal and great Islamic leaders were afraid of them. So the Templars had the same mindset to some extend as modern day Islam terrorists. Quite a scary bunch really.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTK49oE-rNWpAHYSIwLkAdB3GmUibBvc-Pq3OUrwpXFuSxtF9x04O6Zz9B8v95F9k4oM10_kpfLCk7S1iFHOV2lzSeJUeuGtGg0Su4pB7LolS57X-v3E_YnTyyYVNsBh3WsZ15xvzybMka/s1600/Cruzadas.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="325" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTK49oE-rNWpAHYSIwLkAdB3GmUibBvc-Pq3OUrwpXFuSxtF9x04O6Zz9B8v95F9k4oM10_kpfLCk7S1iFHOV2lzSeJUeuGtGg0Su4pB7LolS57X-v3E_YnTyyYVNsBh3WsZ15xvzybMka/s320/Cruzadas.jpg" width="320" /></a>It all started with 9 Knights Templars, who were French and one Flemish. They would later, around 1300, grow into a group of around 20.000 members; armed men, dedicated to God, guides and protectors to pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem and holy places. And fighting the enemies of Christianity and Jerusalem. But they became a major military force, answerable to the pope (and not the king of Jerusalem, so independent in a way). As long as their policies were in line with the worldly kings of Jerusalem, all was fine, but when disagreements started... And they had been acting closely with the French kings and their crusaders, but they had also close relationships with the kings of England incl. Richard the Lionheart. They were strict too (following monk-like rules of chastity, obedience and piety) as well as being bloodthirsty warriors and quite militaristic. Gods personal militia. And a secret society. First glorified for being on a holy path, and then accused for all sorts of evils. The Templars had a relationship to the kings of France and England. They were heavily concentrated in England and France. Their main battleground was in the holy land and Spain, but they maintained a vast network through western Europe. They initially wanted to take back Jerusalem, which was in the hands of Arabs and Turks since the 7th century. Which was symbolic but there was also the looming threat of Islam and the Turks and Arabic heading towards Europe. Jerusalem has been a sacred place for no less than 3 religions; it has a sacred spot for the Jews because that's where Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac in the book of Genesis. It is a sacred place for the Christians too, because it is the spot where Christ was crucified and it is sacred to Muslims because that is where the prophet Muhammad visited and Jerusalem was the first Qibla -- the place toward which they turn in prayer. So there was a lot of interest all round to possess this place. In 1095 Pope Urban II makes a speech, and tells Christians everywhere to rise up against the Muslims in the Holy Land. Those who had become robbers would now become Knights. Anyone could go there to fight for Christianity, whether they were knights or riffraff. And to get as many fighters going, the pope gave all sorts of extra's; debts would be dissolved, criminals would be let out of jail and removed from their crimes. Rapists, murderers, thieves. This did ensure that the first groups of fighters were hardened tough no-jokes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOaivOobWZL6Nh84dY4FqknTvB0VdLzjXgxyd2BLuqU5ExECrnYWW7KUTftIqvGPk1ixvn4KppPC4UrHxYkjiOlgIol0UcixDDIznsMBHTDq845qWRyals_GP7e5YJYek4ZBOHYQgvtAn/s1600/Incredible_Facts_Templars_knights_crusades_7-min.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="565" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOaivOobWZL6Nh84dY4FqknTvB0VdLzjXgxyd2BLuqU5ExECrnYWW7KUTftIqvGPk1ixvn4KppPC4UrHxYkjiOlgIol0UcixDDIznsMBHTDq845qWRyals_GP7e5YJYek4ZBOHYQgvtAn/s320/Incredible_Facts_Templars_knights_crusades_7-min.jpg" width="283" /></a>Three years of slaughter followed, where thousands of western Europeans headed to the east, helped by fighters from Byzantine (the eastern-European branch of Christianity at the time), heading towards the Turks, Persians and Arabs in Constantinople. And they were winning. In 1099 they reached Jerusalem and took it back. But not without a good fight. Horses were said to wade knee deep in blood. They slaughtered everybody there, whether they were Muslims, Jews or Christians. Then they settled in the Temple of Solomon. And this victory set up the large scale crusades. Many Western European Christians wanted to travel to Jerusalem to see it for themselves. But they forgot that the fighters had left town again once they had captured it, so there was no army to defend it now. On the road crusaders would be robbed at ever turn. Around 1119, an initiative was set up therefore to protect these crusaders: <b><span style="color: #b45f06;">The Knights Templar's</span></b>. A wealthy Frenchman set it up, Hugues de Payens, who had also fought in the first crusade. He wanted to protect people traveling to the Holy Land, with knights who were living like monks, but were protecting the roads. Although this version of events is now questioned by some scholars. For instance, the first written evidence of them appeared 70 years after the date of 1119, which makes it dubious if that date is actually correct, given the long blip between written proof of it. And they also doubt that protecting travelers was the only real reason for the Templar's to go east, because there were only 9 of them initially, who could have never protected all those crusaders visiting Jerusalem. And they were also never mentioned in the first several decades of their existence; nobody wrote about them protecting walkers on their holy way. So were it perhaps also promises of wealth, riches and power that got them really moving? Around the year 1118-1119 the Templars moved to Jerusalem and then weren't heard of for several years. They settled in Jerusalem, on the important Temple Mount. Archaeologists have found extensive tunnels under the temple mount, with Templar weapons and artifacts in it. And now it gets conspiracy-theoryísh because the Templars are said to have been digging for specific things. They are said to have possessed the original cross where Christ was crucified on, for instance. As well as secret relics, which were buried and hidden under the Temple mount. When the Jerusalem was invaded by the Romans in the year 70 AD, the Jews had buried treasures underground around that time, including gold and precious metals (200 tons of gold and silver were described to have been hidden by the Jews themselves). Which has never been seen since. A good chance that the Templars were the one who unearthed it all, and that that is why archaeologists found these many tunnels under the Temple Mount.It is possible that they were digging for all that by order of the Christian church. Because by now, around the year 1200 or so years after Christs death, the relics surrounding him had become a big industry. The crown of thorns, a piece of the true cross, would have had great spiritual power as well as mystical power. And then the best of the best would be the mythical Holy Grail. - (Site note: Do check out Monty Pythons movie about it, it is hilarious - (It is not even sure what the holy grail exactly is BTW. Some think it is the chalice that contained the wine, which Jesus said was symbolizing his blood. But there are other theories that the grail would be something else. A silver platter, a secret book, or the holy blood line of Jesus and Mary Magdalene and perhaps they had a child nobody knows of. (see the books of Dan brown for this). The grail has been said to have been all sorts of things.).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwawMRL4ReP_1iOp_G-xZhLKiPOPzihKnUxpJX2F6vbX17JF_GxBW5i2nLIlNnh5j1e2x1cNDNEpylhI9JLTDIGODOMPBJWNN8HJa9by__96wIWWoT6VTcMUxd9f0u27SGttVzlInkQUMH/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="205" data-original-width="246" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwawMRL4ReP_1iOp_G-xZhLKiPOPzihKnUxpJX2F6vbX17JF_GxBW5i2nLIlNnh5j1e2x1cNDNEpylhI9JLTDIGODOMPBJWNN8HJa9by__96wIWWoT6VTcMUxd9f0u27SGttVzlInkQUMH/s400/download+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a>It is also a fact that at some point, the Templars, all 9 of them at that time, rushed back to western Europe at great speed. Had they found the treasures they might have looked for during their tunnel digging? Because when they came back to Europe in 1128, these Templars became very powerful and rich in a short space of time. Whereas they had been very poor initially, so poor as that their symbol was of two men sitting on one horse. But they were not revered by everyone; some people didn't trust such bloodthirsty Monks, having such military power. Others loved them and said they were the most feared fighters, because their soul was protected by the armour of faith and his body by an armour of steel. So they were doubly armed and shouldn't fear anyone. Late 1100's the Templars got smart with PR and start asking for donations or fight-worthy sons all over Europe. Money, lands and men, to support the kingdom of Jerusalem. And despite the small scale PR they were quickly being given a lot of land and money and men. The king of Aragon for instance stated in his will that he would leave large chunks of Spain to the Templar order. Which was in itself more PR for the Templars. They attracted and trained the most ferocious fighters. They were picky too; a Templar warrior needed to be of noble birth, of legitimate descent and you already had to be a knight. You also had to give up everything you owned to the organization... In 1177 the Templars lived up to their fierce reputation in<br />
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the battle of Montgisard, against the renowned Muslim leader Saladin. Saladin had a monstrous army of 26.000 men and was heading from Egypt to Jerusalem. TheTemplars had only 500 knights with a supporting infantry. Saladin had overwhelming force and left the Templars behind him quickly to move to Jerusalem, but then allowed some of his troops to fan out in the desert for some blood sport if you will; plundering the villages there. So many of his soldiers in fact did so, that the main army got too thin. The Templars ambushed Saladins personal bodyguards at a point in time when half his army was still plundering the desert villages. And when the Templars attacked Saladin, he wass forced back to Egypt. It showed what elite troops these Templars were and that even against a gigantic opponent they could be victorious, under the right circumstances and with the right elite fighters. When fighting with the great armies of the kings (Richard the Lionheart of England and Louis 7th of France), the Knights Templars played a critical role in the crusades. They guarded the rear of the armies and also were the battering rams at the front to break the enemies armies ranks. On top of that they were a very secretive society, with strange initiating ceremonies held at night. But hardly anything is known about what happened behind closed doors. Bernard of Clairvaux described them as:<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-large;">"Strong warriors on the one hand, and monks on the other, waging war with vice and deed. A body of man need no fear. These man have no fear of death, confident that in the sight of the Lord, they would be his martyrs."</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibyoZO-fWuNDyUH9sDCG9EH7qWrFOD7py0JAFvMPMX5rHZSczUT2d46N3IDgr2DT3623EJPXnqLkIaPIFwBiwFVVSaEI6JSBqeqqaHS7lOIaD_Gzk2DYilqh2rcNFzilTWaxY1bJ_yZBl/s1600/Incredible_Facts_Templars_knights_crusades_6-min.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="770" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibyoZO-fWuNDyUH9sDCG9EH7qWrFOD7py0JAFvMPMX5rHZSczUT2d46N3IDgr2DT3623EJPXnqLkIaPIFwBiwFVVSaEI6JSBqeqqaHS7lOIaD_Gzk2DYilqh2rcNFzilTWaxY1bJ_yZBl/s400/Incredible_Facts_Templars_knights_crusades_6-min.jpg" width="400" /></a>They also thought out smart ways to make people walking the pilgrims trail to Jerusalem safer from robberies; these crusaders would leave all their possessions in charge of the Templars. And in exchange they would receive a note enciphered. Every time you had to pay something on route, you went to a local Pilgrims office and showed the letter and they would pay for everything you needed. And by the time you came home you showed the charge card they made out of your letter and told you if you received money back or had to pay some extra for made expenses. A Medieval American express card :D Robbers along the way could do nothing with the letter, as they wouldn't be able to crack the intricate Templars code on it. <b><span style="color: #b45f06;">This system was the basis for the modern banking system by the way.</span></b> Including their high profile loans; they lend to emperors, priests and kings. They charged rent. (Interest was forbidden in the catholic world of those days, but by calling it rent they could work around this). And the church looked the other way, as a concession to the Templars, despite knowing their rent system was basically the same as raising interest. And then the catholic church gave the Templars even more privileges; they were absolved from taxes, allowed to freely cross borders, and they were under no-ones authority and jurisdiction other than the pope himself. Which was exceptional in that time. Why? Officially as a thank you for them defending the crusaders. But unofficially there was probably something else behind this lawlessness status of the Templars. Hush money, instead of a reward. The sweetheart deal might have been struck because the Church didn't want certain information to get out. One theory is that the Templars had found extraordinary riches and relics and scrolls under the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. And there might have been evidence found that didn't correspond with the Catholic version of religious events. For instance proof that Jesus had a relationship with Mary Magdalene and even had a child. Or they could have found proof of a different story of what happened with Jesus and the apostles, something the Church didn't want to come out. But either way, it allowed the Templars to become bigger and more powerful. They grew and grew in importance, building castles and strongholds, running farms and vineyards, factories, imported and and exported products; anything that would make money. And they would set up intricate hierarchies within their regions. Only a small segment of these Templars actually were fighting battles at this point, some say not even 5%. And the rest was running the system smoothly, allowing for money to come in and part of the infrastructure that kept those knights fighting.<br />
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In the east, things start to dwindle as rivalries start within the different Christian factions. Their arguing weakened their position. In 1187 an epic battle marked a turning point in the crusades. Gerard de Ridefort led the Christian armies and he was a hot tempered man with not the greatest strategic military insights. But the knights were blinded as usual by obedience and faith, and all were sucked into this massive battle that signaled the end of them all. They met Saladin again, who once again had a bigger army. The crusaders needed to decide whether or not to ride ahead and meet Saladins army, or to stay put. Staying put in a well defensible position was the smart way to go about. But Gerard wasn't in favour. He was the grand master of the Templars and liked to do things contrary to what the majority of people wanted, just to get his own way. Also now, reinforced by the fact that some of his armies rivals and "enemies" suggested to stay put. And thus they rode out to meet Saladins armies. In the hot daylight, instead of the cool night. Which turned out to be fatal. When the Christian armies were wandering through the desert and made up their camp at night, weakened and dehydrated, Saladins armies found them and closed them in. Saladin set the bushes of their camp on fire, causing smoke and heat and making the Templars and their armies even more disorientated and weakened. Sparking the worst military disaster in a long time, killing mostly all the Templars and Christians. Only Gerard de Ridefort <b>broke</b> the Templars vow never to be taken as a hostage. He suddenly did save his own skin and allowed himself to be ransomed. Only a few months later, in another battle he is again captured and then beheaded. This sparked the beginning of the end. The Templars were demoralized by the actions of their Grandmaster. Morale was further lowered by rumors of the crusaders having lost one of their most important relics in the battle: a fragment of the true cross on which Jesus was crucified. The fall of Jerusalem followed, taken by Saladin. Richard the Lionheart did take the city back in 1229 but held it only briefly, when the Turks retook Jerusalem a decade or so later and that was the end of Jerusalem for the Christians. It sparked great demoralization of the Templars, and their grandiose last lost battle tainted their reputation beyond repair. God didn't bless the Templars anymore as he once did, people said. Their entire meaning had been into protecting the Holy Land, but now the Holy Land was gone. Jacques de Molay, the new Templars Grand Master, wanted to try getting Jersulem back yet another time. But no-one was enthusiastic of yet another crusade and when that didn't happen, the whole reason of being for the Templars plummeted. And their decades of privilege didn't help them either. On Friday the 13th of October 1307, the tide turned against the Templars and they were attacked and murdered. Which is why Friday the 13th has been a bad omen day ever since! I never knew. Templars had become a<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8pBnhx6xZDmc9foTigO7NbNz5lun0Qq0IPFpnPGJ4_UbTTkdJxGnd9dEMN4voq4WJFef1aHmYDb8gF00jx0bG4OwoJN7SgxvD5owFVM6JJdRYp7qXMOEEqiM0e9NqDmeshogoEAmRiEO/s1600/King_Philip.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8pBnhx6xZDmc9foTigO7NbNz5lun0Qq0IPFpnPGJ4_UbTTkdJxGnd9dEMN4voq4WJFef1aHmYDb8gF00jx0bG4OwoJN7SgxvD5owFVM6JJdRYp7qXMOEEqiM0e9NqDmeshogoEAmRiEO/s320/King_Philip.png" width="320" /></a></div>state within a state and a church within a church, answering to no-one but themselves and the Pope. King Philip the 4th from France (Philip The Beautiful) has ordered all the Templars to Paris for meetings. Many of his best knights came along with him. Instead of a meeting, they got a round of arrests by the kings army. They were mostly all charged with high crimes. Denying Christ, spitting on the cross, homosexuality, devil's worship. Typical charges for Philip the Fair, as he had laid the exact same charges onto a pope he wanted to be replaced several years before. King Philip felt uneasy and threatened by a standing army without basis or a battlefield, and one that was not under his own demand. And, also not unimportant; he owed the Templar's a whole lot of money that was borrowed to him and his father for a ton of failed military operations, including his wars with England. And he didn't have it and couldn't pay them back. But he didn't have the power over them as they only had the Pope above them. So to really be able to persecute the Templars, Philip had to replace the sitting Pope for a Pope of his own liking, so that the Templar's had no longer the protection of a pope to fall back on. And thus he thought out another way to control them; by changing the pope. So he started to spread countless poisonous rumours about the Templars as well as the sitting Pope. Which caught stream and swirled around.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGHqVt1r0aR8MsBeIxXBxDptLXURl7hWYUabD9WiAKYm6gxsGI4Sgj-QIClli1KsiKfnNPZEPRx4ZFJMll5IXiR3BzIbK_f16N8BLC89s3hUoGlvdEQFQKD5j07b67udxusT18usXrA1pF/s1600/King+Philip+IV_France.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="498" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGHqVt1r0aR8MsBeIxXBxDptLXURl7hWYUabD9WiAKYm6gxsGI4Sgj-QIClli1KsiKfnNPZEPRx4ZFJMll5IXiR3BzIbK_f16N8BLC89s3hUoGlvdEQFQKD5j07b67udxusT18usXrA1pF/s320/King+Philip+IV_France.jpg" width="257" /></a>On Friday the 13th he had the head Master and most of his best knights arrested, based on a long <b><span style="color: #783f04;">including... worshiping a black cat.</span></b> A new Templar was said to have to undergo humiliating initiating rites, including kissing his subordinates on the mouth and spitting on the holy cross. Heresy was a very serious case and the only way for absolution would be a pardon from the pope. Which he did. Nevertheless, Templar chief Jacques de Molier was given a staggering total of 104 charges of misconduct, all building up to the main charge of heresy. Which was devastating to the Templars, as they were set up to protect the Faith, not to betray it. So this charge had the power to destroy the Templar order. The Knights had given their whole life to the Templars Order. Sitting pope Clement the 6th was also attacked by Philip and his cronies, spreading false rumors about the popes heresy and assumed secret relationship with a very beautiful woman, the wife of a French nobleman. Clement wanted to go to the Vatican where he felt safer, but Philip prevented him from leaving France. But Philip wasn't going to give up and blackmailed the pope some more. Either he would indict the Templars, or Philip would break France off of of the Roman catholic church and create their own religious church. The pope and the king battled for the power here and the pope ultimately didn't want to see his church broken up. So in the end he gave the order for the abolishment of the Order of the Knights Templars. And Philip eventually replaced the Pope with a pope who he knew from childhood, and who was like a puppet in his hands. Jacques <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKp_6-NBd0AEBdK5IRgb4_-CSRx5DMO0Y3jSunHRtWRmUse3b1VBph1jT3AsG6MtzCLEiSCITjrBxhqh6Mp0FiKPYINJD1ZfeoVTdj0T7jdKv4NDFA3rs5xceBl1g1urr5Xr3tqqvsvt5/s1600/images.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="261" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKp_6-NBd0AEBdK5IRgb4_-CSRx5DMO0Y3jSunHRtWRmUse3b1VBph1jT3AsG6MtzCLEiSCITjrBxhqh6Mp0FiKPYINJD1ZfeoVTdj0T7jdKv4NDFA3rs5xceBl1g1urr5Xr3tqqvsvt5/s320/images.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>the Moleyr was imprisoned for 6 years and he and all the Templars were brutally tortured to extract confessions from them. The interrogations were aimed mostly at the secret services and initiation rites the Templars had. Back then, the Catholic church only allowed certain rituals, and then they had to be performed in a Church and by a priest. Not within Templar headquarters by a Templar's head master. That was used as a reason to persecute the Templars. They never found any actual proof for this and no witnesses, but the Templars themselves were tortured up until the point where a good portion of them confessed. Although anything under the sort of torture that the Inquisition used would have probably admitted literally anything. Grand master Jacques de Molay also made confessions under torture, but retracted them 2 months later, saying he made false statements under pressure of intense torture, and then uphold his innocence.. Philip took the opportunity to execute the old man. Burned at the stake, but then the worst possible version; cooked slowly over a slow burning fire, which would take several hours to kill him. His last words were a cursing of King Philip Le Bel and Pope Clement. Saying they should join him to be judged by their creator. Interestingly, the pope died a few months later and King Philip by the end of that year in a freak hunting accident. Divine justice? Or demonic powers? (Or just a coincidence).<br />
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The Templars were said to be very rich. They took in endless donations and had to pay no taxes. They<br />
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had lands, ran farms, mills and vineyards. They ran trade groups and had a fleet of ships. They were the first western multinational corporation. They were the first banking group in the West also. Their transactions were the modern day version of travelers cheques, safety deposit boxes, letters of credit and large cash loans. They became bankers in a big way, lending to bishops, priests, kings; to anybody who needed it. Charging interest was illegal, but charging rent was a neat little euphemism to go around it and make profit. They are said to have had two types of treasure; money and gold, versus a secret treasure, taken back from the Holy Land. Word was that they possessed sacred relics. The biggest claim in their accusation that stood out, was that they had been "worshipping a head". That was unique in the long list of generic accusations towards them. What was this mysterious head? Was it a painting or maybe an old relic and actual head from a martyr that they dug up in Jerusalem? The Templar's believed so much in the power of relics, that they even carried some along with them in battle. A cross for instance. Now, many Medieval armies did that, but the talk was that the Templars carried not just a relic from just any saint, but from John the Baptist himself. Or Jesus? In one painting of that time of the Templars, a cut off, staring head is seen in the background. But the kings armies found virtually no riches and gold, <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8IgGRZ7JZyF1XMwN4CLp3rn4NkpgktLj_T2BDVC3xZDce7D7N92e-noZ-cR5KwgiboaYA1fXwxJJaFQ87rcgjj95s8dMMe6IJbIvaEOj3uhRNurFc1GBK4ZwqLNrBezpjFphtq6XrJ0CY/s1600/14th-century_unknown_painters_-_Diptych_-_WGA23719.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1031" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8IgGRZ7JZyF1XMwN4CLp3rn4NkpgktLj_T2BDVC3xZDce7D7N92e-noZ-cR5KwgiboaYA1fXwxJJaFQ87rcgjj95s8dMMe6IJbIvaEOj3uhRNurFc1GBK4ZwqLNrBezpjFphtq6XrJ0CY/s320/14th-century_unknown_painters_-_Diptych_-_WGA23719.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>when raiding the Templars' headquarters. A small percentage of the Templars were caught, around 10%, but the rest survive. Many countries were reluctant to persecute the Templars and even if, they often were not found guilty. (also out of fear of being killed of they did find them guilty). Some joined other orders later on. In Portugal they just changed their name (to the Knights of Christ), and kept fighting Moors and protecting their country. The French Templars for a good 2/3 escaped prosecution too and drifted off, into the mountains, taking whatever treasures they had with them. They knew the Alps very well, from a hundred years of passing it back and to Jerusalem. It was easy to hide there and near impossible to raid with an official army. By that same time, changes in the rural communities of a certain part of the Swiss Alps changed dramatically, congregating together to fight their old overlord. Were the Templars involved after settling down there? These farmers became the most feared fighting troop in Europe, defeating the army of King Leopold who came round to check out what was going on there. But until that point the Swiss had had no military experience whatsoever. Folk tales from this Alp region tell how armed white knights came to help them in the battles they fought. Its interesting how generations of simple farmers very quickly turned into seasoned armies and how banking systems were suddenly set up in these rural places, just around the time the Templars left France. There can be no coincidence. They could have even' been at the basis of the Swiss Banking system. Striking similarity: until this day the Swiss banking system is famously secretive. Just like the Templars were. But the Templars could also flee by boat as they had a decent fleet of ships. And their entire fleet vanished when the persecutions started. They could have sailed to Scotland, where the Templars were completely safe. As the Scots were no longer a part of the Catholic church after Robert the Bruce was excommunicated, and when the country backed him, all of Scotland was excommunicated. So the Scots didn't care what the Pope would decreed when it came to the Templars. And Robert the Bruce might have even won his independence fight with the help of the Templars. The important Sinclair family in Scotland gave the Templars land during their crusade days and might have sheltered them later on as well. A famous family chapel is adorned with not only Christian symbols and images, but also masonry ones and even some referring to the Templars.<br />
Cool history :)<br />
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<b style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-large;">Songs of the day</b></div>
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<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: center;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b style="color: #990000;">I have continued writing my day<br />to day life updates in </b><b style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/01/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-xi.html" target="_blank">this blogpost</a>.<br />Or read older updates <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/12/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</b></div><div><b style="color: #990000;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/s1600/0%252C2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/w435-h435/0%252C2.jpg" width="435" /></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div></b></div></b></div></div></div></div></div></b></div></b></div><br style="text-align: left;" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>
Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-88206728422566403192019-01-29T10:53:00.044-08:002024-01-31T05:52:16.184-08:00Ongoing post, Update day to day life IX, January 5th 2019 - October 9th 2018 - <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">January 5th 2019</span></span></b><br />
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I promised that the next thing on here would be a positive message, but unfortunately.. it is not. A massacre of sorts, but not of the same magnitude as the thing I wrote last about. No the murderer is one of my own this time! Cat Koshka. Aka: the monster. He is the self-declared top dog in the house and despite getting plenty of quality delicious foods all day, he comes home at times with small birds in his mouth... Often he makes quite an entrance with lots of special toned miauwing, making it clear he has pray with him, and 9 out of 10 times the bird is still unharmed (strange as this may sound) and flies away unharmed when I make sure Koshka opens his mouth first. But today he had 5 whole hours when I was out doing shopping, and I found no less than 3 dead birds on the porch 😢 Bloody monster. I put three loud sounding cat bells on his collar now, so he rings with every step he takes now. Hope this was the last time he caught a bird 😞 He does it also to get extra love and attention it seems (as if he didn't get enough to start with) because he is cooing like a dove when he comes in like this with an animal in his mouth, and twirls around my legs ecstatically and proud as punch.. Ugh!!<br />
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And my sweet short-tailed cat Piotr has also been acting strangely today...</div>
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Luckily Igor hasn't turned into a gremlin.. yet!</div>
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My rosacea is a nightmare at the moment, as its very cold here, around 4 degrees Celsius, and it is a pest to avoid big temperature changes during every day life. Too warm and I flush and burn worse than normal, and too cold and I am getting my cold urticaria again; these annoying itchy/hot welt like eruptions on my face (I get them every winter, like hives). I have had them come up last month, then I managed to bring them all down again by staying in warm enough temperatures (but not too warm or I get too flushed and burned up, which is a complete nightmare to navigate). But a day outside in the cold wind and I have 4 big ones back again now. In a week and a half from now I have to go to hospital where immunologists can hopefully help with the hand and general flushing. Well, I won't get my hopes up too much, but one can always dream.</div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day</span></b></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pUkdYcgOUTo/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pUkdYcgOUTo?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PLzXZ7X7at0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PLzXZ7X7at0?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<b style="color: black; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">December 31st 2018</span></span></b></div>
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There are four hours of 2018 left in my part of the world. Almost a new year. 2018 has not been too bad for me personally. Not exceptionally good either haha, but great drama's have been spared. My skin is the same as a year ago. I've not gone into premature menopause. I'm still a year away from turning 40. My Christmas days (we have two in Holland) have been nice. I spent the holidays with my friend and her three young children. We ate Moroccan food; tajine with lamb and dried fruits and couscous. Her son (nine years old) and I are having a good bond. He is always happy and energetic to go out with me; for walks, playing with the cats, playing games outside; who can throw stones the furthest away. Who can jump the furthest. Who can destroy stuff the fastest. Her middle child, a girl, is now five and old enough to enjoy joining in. We had a lot of fun throwing stones as far as possible in the sea, and jumping over drain covers and holes in the road. Her baby is 1,5 years old and a complete doll to look at. But she is also vocal and during a shriek the cats regularly jumped up in fright from their deep sleep. Only one of the whole pack actively looked for our companion, the rest dug and ran out the way once they heard the little doll dribble towards them. Babies are lovely to gaze at but unless they are extremely sociable, they seem mostly the apple of their parents eye, haha. I was gazed at by her with a large amount of suspicion most of the time :) For aunties, slightly older children are more fun, probably. The oldest kid also has some fascinating interests in life, other than being generally overjoyed with it. He started out of nowhere about stars imploding and becoming black holes, when seated in the back of our car. I could still tell him a thing or two about it which he didn't know yet, but just.. He knew a lot already. Or his sudden chirpy comment that our (presumed) dead cat Bassie was probably already born again as 'something else'. He really didn't believe in Heaven he said, but instead that he would just become something else eventually, after death. He didn't seem very worried about any of this. So young, and already seemingly having life sorted out. He doesn't seem to have a care in the world :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0tjNiFxeRwc_ySi-dAOaXjfqgOtK6ALbRmRDioD4EEuo50zCn1X0BV5JKnX6KxbPsalA1UIDeMYjIHXYZN011e_DOiLioUaAkPjjsED_ehffOpurhs0DJ3v1ahu-FtWxCFII2o5VgBqgT/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0tjNiFxeRwc_ySi-dAOaXjfqgOtK6ALbRmRDioD4EEuo50zCn1X0BV5JKnX6KxbPsalA1UIDeMYjIHXYZN011e_DOiLioUaAkPjjsED_ehffOpurhs0DJ3v1ahu-FtWxCFII2o5VgBqgT/s1600/download.jpg" /></a>We also played board games, and this dreadfully complex board puzzle. I received it as a lovely Christmas present from my American (rosacea) friend. It 'only' has 250 pieces, but they are cut in such strange shapes often, and the amount of abstract dark areas in the puzzles picture are so large, that two adults and one 9-year old still managed to work for two days on it, with a total of at least six hours. Every good piece gave a little endorphin brain zap hit however, which kept us going. Was good fun. We watched the movie The Sound of Music and sang along. We ate a lot of food at late hours in the night. At the end of the stay, I slept for ten hours straight, and the subsequent night eleven hours. Can't imagine how chronically tired the parents of young kids must be. Although the parents I know all say that you get used to it... All in all a lovely eventful week. Despite being tiring for someone who isn't used to the humdrum of family life with several young kids roaming around haha. My rosacea was not too bad. The family is easily chilled but know to bring thick jumpers when they visit me. Despite all that, I had the wood burner on often, but the old fashioned type I have is closed and does not emit burnt wood particles or fumes into the air. So, less flushing from it than from an open fire. I managed to keep it warm enough for the rest but cool enough for me to not get a face that was on fire. I normally have a ventilator run wherever I am, so also during dinner or while doing board games. But I have done without the fan when I was with the rest of the group this week. Despite the kids also understanding why I have red cheeks and use cold packs. I did turn red and hot, but had only twice a proper overwhelming hot flush; both times while concentrating hard on that darn board puzzle haha. Must have been my competitive streak firing things up. Now the peace and quiet has returned, so back to normality now. I think it is important to keep up friendships, even when you suffer from rosacea.. Even when you have a flushing problem and a face that feels on fire, hard as it may seem, and appealing as it might be to hide it out alone.. Below I will write a bit more about the importance of this. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0fwOW-PMIJcseDG7J_mqN2eoHAw99Xm3bT77_EWbQ_Q0DwPksbuMEk64ibXnsY_M3-DRe4o9D27fR-DNwd8DnwMguw_sLUCYyf-7Gb2F5d2cXi1inqWKLUDQQNrzaWxR4OIWjp0cVtLe/s1600/cfec4ecf2b3750258867ae418db1a4b7--collage.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="236" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0fwOW-PMIJcseDG7J_mqN2eoHAw99Xm3bT77_EWbQ_Q0DwPksbuMEk64ibXnsY_M3-DRe4o9D27fR-DNwd8DnwMguw_sLUCYyf-7Gb2F5d2cXi1inqWKLUDQQNrzaWxR4OIWjp0cVtLe/s400/cfec4ecf2b3750258867ae418db1a4b7--collage.jpg" width="268" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">A friend sent me an interesting video </b></span><br />
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It details how scientists studied a very large group of people (from all walks of life) over the course of their lives, for the past 75 years in fact, to find out what makes people happy. And the end result was that good relationships keep us happier and also healthier. Social connections are important and loneliness literally... kills. The scientists found that people who are closely connected to family, friends, their community and so on, are happier, healthier, physically in better shape and they also suffer less from ailments, when they do have health issues. They also live longer than people less well connected. I instantly linked this to the ways in which rosacea can isolate people from their loved ones. Especially the subtype discussed on this blog, which causes so much pain, burning, heat and therefore often social distraction and even isolation for some people. But being socially isolated could just be the thing that makes our mental health decline faster and further, it now seems... Socially isolated people, the researchers found, have their health decline earlier and further in midlife. Their brain function declines sooner too, and they live overall shorter lives than people who are not lonely. And the sad thing is that so many people these days are said to feel lonely and isolated. Even people with large families; think of the many retired people who have a very hard time getting their fast-living, busy relatives' attention, and silently whither away.. Scientists also found that it is not so much about the number of friends that you have, and whether or not you are in a committed relationship, but more about the quality of your close relationships. You can have a long standing marriage or relationship, but when there is constant conflict, this is just as bad - if not worse - for your health as being single. Bickering in itself is not the issue, but partners need to know they can rely on each other and have each others back. Only when they are feeling lonely and neglected or structurally badly treated within the relationship does it have a very detrimental effect on your general health, your psychological state of mind and on how old you will become. The large test group showed the researchers that at age 50, the big predicting factor of their state of health later in life, was directly linked to how satisfied they were with their relationships in life. Those who were more satisfied at age 50, were also the healthiest at age 80, regardless of their cholesterol for instance. And being in a secure, stable relationship, also keeps your brain sharper for longer. It was a big message the researcher wanted to give to the youth of today: statistics show that the majority of Millennials are striving for Riches first and Fame secondly. But instead, this researcher claimed, they should perhaps strive for good social relationships first and foremost instead.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPZMsR-UKtlu6lMkxMKBLkB-HsXYhIuJYjC-_w-IdqFw2s7KsdgbWiIBHiNLmNJurlucG_5bbfedHzb52sV3CB8ftXhBHETxAFjzHxQ3ZIutHJzYgM8bgy9p7Krxnj7ufOF8rVW1alGApe/s1600/DANI+SANCHIS+17.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="557" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPZMsR-UKtlu6lMkxMKBLkB-HsXYhIuJYjC-_w-IdqFw2s7KsdgbWiIBHiNLmNJurlucG_5bbfedHzb52sV3CB8ftXhBHETxAFjzHxQ3ZIutHJzYgM8bgy9p7Krxnj7ufOF8rVW1alGApe/s400/DANI+SANCHIS+17.jpg" width="341" /></a>And most important for me personally, was how this scientist mentioned that those people who later in life had declined health and issues with <b><span style="color: #444444;">pain </span></b>due to diseases, the ones who had the best relationships would stay just as happy, despite feeling pain. Whereas those feeling isolated and lonely<span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span><b><span style="color: #783f04;">would experience their pain much worse.</span></b></span> Their emotional pain worsened their experience of the physical pain. So there you go... We have chronic pain and we endure all sorts of life-affecting symptoms, that can steer us towards greater social isolation. But always try to invest in a couple of good, loving, secure relationships. Whether with friends, family, lovers, you name it. I notice this myself. I can feel wayward about meeting up with friends when I have a very bad rosacea period. And that's not a big deal when the flare doesn't last too long. But I have also had 'flares' (call it bad periods) that lasted months, even a whole season. I did feel better emotionally, and more refreshed and mentally more stable every time I kept my friendships and relationships in a good state. Invested in them and felt the reaffirming love and connection come back from them. It might sound very syrupy, but it is something important to be aware of I think. Do not put your entire life on hold for this disease, no matter how tempting. And social media is not all it is said to be when it comes to feeling connected with others. Yes, it is easy to keep up with your dozens or hundreds of online friends from the comfort of your own house, but the other side of the coin is that social media contacts are often shallow and that they do not provide you with the same happy hormones as a physical encounter does; sitting face to face with someone, talking, laughing together, seeing each others facial expressions, and exploring the real world and creating experiences that are not online. These sites, apps and devices are created in such a way, that they make the user addicted quickly. It is done on purpose, because the more people use these services the longer, the more profit the companies can make through sponsors. I saw a very good documentary about Silicon Valley, and about the tech hotshots themselves actually en mass banning their kids for a good part from social media and high tech. These people were interviewed and explained that they know that being on your phone all the time is bad for a developing brain and for the quality of youth of these kids. So they restrict their own kids. But outside of their own private bubble, its just another business model for them; a way to make a lot of money. In fact, the way in which the social media swiping device is designed, is consciously made to mimic a slot/poker machine. Making it extra addictive. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZdP5x28VnmC8qkVR8SIXQfc72DKHzYwiYTfJoRf1jVzXHI_VvAOouhdUZ-o0CJhRw5R-SWvks7izCTidxKYBopE-hcHBZfpQ2zE0jmXrg35Nt1zhuXM5BiBVuaDm1tekbqUL51HCZQC3/s1600/d5909b96085eabe28a3a477425453c2c.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="567" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZdP5x28VnmC8qkVR8SIXQfc72DKHzYwiYTfJoRf1jVzXHI_VvAOouhdUZ-o0CJhRw5R-SWvks7izCTidxKYBopE-hcHBZfpQ2zE0jmXrg35Nt1zhuXM5BiBVuaDm1tekbqUL51HCZQC3/s400/d5909b96085eabe28a3a477425453c2c.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>
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Kids should probably be taught about the value of families, especially on fatherhood. I don't understand the current western attack on family values. Sure, experiment all you want before you settle down, but why is it so socially acceptable that very young families break up, regroup with other freshly single parents, create newly composed families with other peoples young children? In my sisters friends group it is the rule instead of the exception. And if marriages are bad, sure, that it bad for a developing child to be caught in the middle of as well. But aren't some people giving up too easily in todays fast-paced world? And all the attention for gay rights, new modern family units, gender fluid peoples rights, same sex marriages, all of that is very important. But it now feels as if men are not taught too much anymore about the importance of their role within the families they create. My friend wrote me about this: "I know from my own experience. I definitely would not have gone to uni and not played professional sports if it weren’t for my father. My friends from primary school who had non-existent fathers, were the ones who got into trouble and eventually went to prison. They were always at my house and dad would take us to watch big sports games. He would finish work early on Friday to help our school teacher drive us to different sports matches. Dad would play sports with us in the backyard. In that time of primary school, I never spoke a word to one of my mate’s fathers and the other father was never around. Both those boys spent time in prison and one of their brothers died from a drug overdose. My father has been my discipline and my role model. He has taught me so so much about respect and hard work. If I ever showed disrespect, I would get a kick up the arse. He taught me from a very young age to write letters of appreciation to people to thank them for any good deeds. In my whole life I’ve never called him by his first name. I would never dare. It’s dad."</div><div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2vmjziT-7iWcQgQ15FwMJ8BGBicz5eJh7W_fvO9NegjTGEhyW5zRSscEKiH36wYp3zV8DluhbWNDN-cuBzhijKUBc7KWQn2mXlI92E1VDy1UuPqTzPl56m-BDlEAzHWloXY4kUVlA6ObO/s1600/images+%25283%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: "times new roman"; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="188" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2vmjziT-7iWcQgQ15FwMJ8BGBicz5eJh7W_fvO9NegjTGEhyW5zRSscEKiH36wYp3zV8DluhbWNDN-cuBzhijKUBc7KWQn2mXlI92E1VDy1UuPqTzPl56m-BDlEAzHWloXY4kUVlA6ObO/s400/images+%25283%2529.jpg" width="280" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>I may turn into an old whiny woman already, </b></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>but it is hard not to reflect on modern times when you grew up yourself in such a different era, the 80's and 90's.</b></span> </span>A time before mobile phones, the internet. We grew up with parental discipline and a firm kick up the behind. Weekends, most parents kicked their brood out the door, telling them to play outside with the other kids and to be back by dinner time. We had a lot of space to explore the world and socialize with other kids. Parents in the 80's normally didn't coddle their kids and press flat every little obstacle they might face. Nobody was afraid of failure, because we learnt to figure things out ourselves and get back up every time we failed. I can't believe sometimes how hands on many parents these days are, following their kids every move with hawk eyes, fussing about their every set-back. But also: how much basic values have fallen by the wayside in many areas. For some people it seems to be all about self-centeredness and hedonism today. No doubt thanks to social media allowing us to see all the highlights of other peoples lives, but never the realistic humdrum of every day life. So now large groups of people seem to think that life should be one Happy String of Experiences. Endless holidays, parties, happy moments. It's completely accepted now that of all the kids in school, half of those under ten have separated parents. Fighting for your relationship is time-consuming and just not fitting in with this adagio that you should always feel fulfilled and content. So people drop the whole kit and caboodle and just make a suave profile on Tinder instead. Not everyone, obviously, but it seems much more socially accepted now to skip the hard parts of life.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRtKgp9lOL7B4axZGn5SQlQWNp23dgogxSmK5EEULDNol7KICavY-ACKII7ao-YW6LQdl9TW1uQPX2WTNRh5m_Nq8KkEWHNY86ycWBEdGt8s9zpCHkSFKrfa6MpTHZ2cdGgNG7MF1TF54d/s1600/4452ecda75a037a9cc284d2ce666960a--dani-collage.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRtKgp9lOL7B4axZGn5SQlQWNp23dgogxSmK5EEULDNol7KICavY-ACKII7ao-YW6LQdl9TW1uQPX2WTNRh5m_Nq8KkEWHNY86ycWBEdGt8s9zpCHkSFKrfa6MpTHZ2cdGgNG7MF1TF54d/s1600/4452ecda75a037a9cc284d2ce666960a--dani-collage.jpg" /></a>So this is me grumping here, I am stating that they should teach kids the old fashioned values again; happiness is a byproduct of living and it comes by only now and then. You should be loyal to your friends and loved ones. You should work hard for what you want in life. You should be humble and show respect to those above you. You should be taught to be responsible. Be able to accept criticism without lashing out in a tantrum. And in the ocean of attention for transgenders and gender-fluids and feminism, there should also be emphasis again on the importance of fatherhood. The value of family and the importance of a man’s role within it. Of course incorporate respect for women as well. Nowadays you see or hear about teenage boys locked in their rooms all day - their own choice - gaming all of their free time and teenage years away online. Of course, some exceptionally good ones can make a career out of it and make some money off of it too, but for the majority it is just a grand way to lose out on your formative teenage years it seems. <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6520715/Gruffalo-author-Julia-Donaldson-says-blames-parents-addicted-phones.html"><b>Here</b></a>, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6346349/Smartphones-tablets-causing-mental-health-problems-children-young-two.html"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5297679/Smartphones-creating-generation-unhappy-children.html"><b>here</b></a> are some articles about the criticism some people and scientists have on the effects of smartphones on kids' development. I don't have or want a smartphone but understand that they are handy for everybody else. But the trouble with these devices is that people are so tempted to use them for much more than they were designed for (calling, texting, checking the odd thing online). It is more rule than exception now to see people out there, everywhere, constantly pulling out their phones. Go out to have a relaxing evening or conversation with friends and company and what do you know? Nearly all can't help but check their bank accounts, work chats, slack, email, breaking news, posted pictures to Instagram, etc. etc. Anything but interacting with the actual person sitting in front of them. Just do that stuff later on your own lonesome time, and enjoy living in the moment with the ones you love and who love you. We are social beings and need social and verbal cues in the flesh, to talk face to face is important. And let's not start on the many parents of young kids who are buried in their phones (on the bus, in the train, on a terrace) while their kids are whining and twisting themselves into knots for attention. If parents act like this half of the time, how many kids will not feel like they deserve your full attention. I have it easy, talking like this while having no kids of my own, but not once do I check phones or computers with the kids of friends around. And neither with the friends themselves around. Show some control and respect. What's the point of nipping down the pub for a social evening when all they do is all look at their phones? Time for some basic etiquette put into practice perhaps. It makes you wonder why so many kids seem so sad these days. Not to speak of the epidemic of youth suicides, which is another thing that really jumps out these days; in my entire childhood and adolescence in the 80's and 90's, I did not know or hear about one single suicide from under 25's. Of course, there are many possible explanations for that awful trend, but the flight of technology in our lives is most certainly of great importance for it. It's almost all of society now that is escaping into this other world inside their phones. Even in the summer time, on holiday destinations, you see all of the couples sitting together in a restaurant or on a beautiful beach ... looking at their phones instead of talking to each other or enjoying the surroundings, the wind, the view. Relaxing, as one used to do on holiday. So bizarre to see. Science also states that modern technology increases suicide rates, and that the intrusiveness of big tech has an adverse affect on childrens mental state. Also causing addiction issues. Just to prove this, try taking away the smartphone off of a teenager and see the reaction. In some, it would be the same reaction as denying a drug addict a fix.</div>
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There are many positives about modern technology, and the possibility to stay connected with people through it. The internet is fascinating I think, and offers so much information for which you in the past had to search land and cities and their libraries for. But as usual, every positive has a shadow side too. And saying things in the order of: "Well, WE had it so much worse during the Great Wars, or the Great Depression, so stop bitching" (as well as "Don't be depressed! My aunts nephew has incurable throat cancer, be glad you're not him") might always sounds clever, but it's basically saying that'd it'd be OK if he punched you, because someone up the road got bludgeoned to death with a hammer last week and when you look at it like that, punching's not so bad. We can (and should) still criticize the particular evils of our own time. Before we know it, we live in a Terminator world where everyone lives through consoles in Virtual Reality and we have world armies of sentient robots to deal with. And what do you get from all that coddling, special treatment, all those participation prices? A generation who is abnormally anxious, depressed and fearful of failure. Study after study reveals this. In my and my friends work with students, it is clear that a larger than before portion of them has anxiety and decision-fright. I realize there are many possible causes for this and that nowadays, studying has become much more expensive and much less subsidized in many countries compared to the past. And that life in general has become very expensive, hence, giving more stress. But the rise of a technology-based western society probably plays a part in it too.<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ9qmeZFedQrgmMB70fwPeoH7o_MxlOgmBPwT6TdpiV91h54b3Yhxt-P5uuYpR-lllpCSVUOk1rnMfrsgwVkoFujMlgOLdwz1S4e5a6G4d7l4uF-IpvPBZALshyWh-3wKRJgGNz4yga4ui/s1600/DANI+SANCHIS+5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ9qmeZFedQrgmMB70fwPeoH7o_MxlOgmBPwT6TdpiV91h54b3Yhxt-P5uuYpR-lllpCSVUOk1rnMfrsgwVkoFujMlgOLdwz1S4e5a6G4d7l4uF-IpvPBZALshyWh-3wKRJgGNz4yga4ui/s400/DANI+SANCHIS+5.jpg" width="400" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Many things may be better in today's world, but I currently mostly see the downsides. Music for instance</b></div>
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Back in the 90's you had to work hard to listen to your favourite music; you had to go out to buy the CD or the cassette you wanted, or go to a club or concert and get drunk and dance like you didn't give a damn about anything. Now everything is easier (you download or stream your music within seconds), but perhaps that also takes away some of the joy we used to feel? You have everything in the palm of your hand, or with the push of a button, but could it be that this in itself makes some things lose some of their value? Now people don't dance as much and ridiculous as we did; apparently it's cheesy or embarrassing, they say. People don't flirt as much; it's insulting or harassment they say. Young people don't communicate or interact with each other as much or as long as we did, unless it's electronically. Half their experiences are experienced online, in some alternate reality one could say, instead of in the real world, with their real bodies and senses. And their lives will progress so fast, looking at a screen instead of actually living it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ZiNeJ_Cn5jckcClXkW8XLXbswfHVqwFHTxha8J4UiJBYMyclydR5a8Qij40BxFmV8nboP_lqpho74sLn-tStNx_fn8QU0fTIHWNtKDHw7DFP69oNwGIQEYM6YcOO4cn7IaAq7e3d9EZM/s1600/eroticollage5_dani_sanchis-200x260.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ZiNeJ_Cn5jckcClXkW8XLXbswfHVqwFHTxha8J4UiJBYMyclydR5a8Qij40BxFmV8nboP_lqpho74sLn-tStNx_fn8QU0fTIHWNtKDHw7DFP69oNwGIQEYM6YcOO4cn7IaAq7e3d9EZM/s320/eroticollage5_dani_sanchis-200x260.jpg" width="246" /></a>Back in the 80's and the 90's, we didn't spend a moment inside the house unless we had to. (We had no mobile phones and the internet had just gone up by the time I was a mid-teenager... there was nothing online yet). Everything was about going out the door, meeting up with school mates, friends, kids from the neighborhood. We played football (soccer) on the grass in rain or shine. We explored the countryside in troops. Later we hung out with other teenagers in the village center, pestering passers by and being generally 'cool' together. We crashed each others houses just to hang about and talk and maybe smoke too. We had such a lot of fun in those days. Seen so many concerts. Fashion was still a way to distinguish yourself from others. We had real life friends, instead of being stuck in front of a screen ,worried what your "friends" that you have never met might think of you. Thinking that your 'online life' matters more than your 'real life'. We had disco parties or music gatherings every weekend. There were many different music directions, bands, streams, subgroups you would identify with. You could go to techno parties, or R&B ones, folk, metal, pop. Bands mostly made music to express themselves artistically, not in a primary bid to score a number one commercial (popular) success. Even a 90's band like the Prodigy wrote music to express their inner demons and express themselves artistically, and not primarily to score a number one cash cow smash hit track. Now everyone hires a Swedish production team and they all streamline things in the same way.. Now most music on the radio sounds alike, a similar amalgam of computer driven mainstream pop, drifting on one catchy tune. I am currently listening to the Top 2000 <a href="https://www.nporadio2.nl/top2000">track list</a> on the Dutch radio, and hardly any contemporary music made the list. Yet the music from the past is recognizable, written by humans instead of computers and often iconic as such. Back in my youth, you had to buy an album if you wanted to hear music (or sit by the radio and hope for it to be played). But by actually buying a music album, you were usually really invested. You saved your money to buy music (unless your parents were rich or spoiled you too much). Or I would sit up all day with my cassette recorder on the ready, to record that one song I loved from the radio. It was an ecstatic feeling when I finally got it. And you would hope that the DJ wouldn't talk through the opening or ending of the song! Which they often did, and you would end up with a corrupted recording, which you then got used to as well over time. You thought you were a genius when you had blank tapes to record songs. You thought technology couldn’t get any better. We really thought this was the cats cream time; just recording your own favourite cassette through the radio. The music industry despaired, thinking that no-one would ever buy an album again in the store, now that everyone could record their own tapes, but people still wanted to buy their favourite bands music on cassette, record or CD later.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHNvDJZoZrAPojXgBlU_0uTrBFUwg_Pu5MfWpz5ZPT3tjSFIH41iXLBJNaktnXovvIp8_Ub8fkmrauVT_GbgEOV5kk5VDBHGmt8i__4d6pEGqYpgaF3bZDj4CfSBIZzVO-9Ri9NyVuiamg/s1600/equilibrioinestable_danisanchis.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "times new roman"; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="454" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHNvDJZoZrAPojXgBlU_0uTrBFUwg_Pu5MfWpz5ZPT3tjSFIH41iXLBJNaktnXovvIp8_Ub8fkmrauVT_GbgEOV5kk5VDBHGmt8i__4d6pEGqYpgaF3bZDj4CfSBIZzVO-9Ri9NyVuiamg/s400/equilibrioinestable_danisanchis.jpg" width="297" /></a>Now... you download it all. <i>Whatever, next.</i> And your music albums defined who you were in our times. As my friend said about this: "You bought certain albums or genres because that’s who you were. You knew the 14th or 15th song of an album and you loved the singer more for that obscure song that never made it but you felt like you were a fan because you appreciated ALL of their songs." - I knew the order of every album song by heart; even if I heard one song on the radio, I knew which songs came before it and afterwards. - "Nowadays you just have a song from everyone. You didn’t have a choice but to listen to all the crappy songs because you invested so much money into it. And more often than not, those "crappy" songs grew on you and became some of your favs. As long as you weren’t a pretentious prick and just picked the obscure songs from people to be “different". I used to LOVE getting a new album and opening it up and get the record out of that thin sheet. And to read what was inside the album. It was like a piece of art. And it was all so new! Buying albums was a big deal as a teen." Then later, we thought we were so cool when walkmans came on the scene: how amazing was that, carrying your favourite music around outside.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZDcDhPlRRDdVQJ3wyjImrdrjWGX6CYHGGkrt4juE_o13PVXc4ZQIj6ZL_0SeckRoa5w2HxWQ0NCjpUXbuKePwIEIVwm6q6fbGfkcqS_4jYnXK4whPxK0CzGCsG5Voi6LcD9NNpU3aktbh/s1600/dc3cf6d1b232d0042195fb4a813e726f--collage-collage-collage-photo.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="497" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZDcDhPlRRDdVQJ3wyjImrdrjWGX6CYHGGkrt4juE_o13PVXc4ZQIj6ZL_0SeckRoa5w2HxWQ0NCjpUXbuKePwIEIVwm6q6fbGfkcqS_4jYnXK4whPxK0CzGCsG5Voi6LcD9NNpU3aktbh/s400/dc3cf6d1b232d0042195fb4a813e726f--collage-collage-collage-photo.jpg" width="333" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 40px;">A research article states </b><br />
"People born in 1995 or later are unhappy, mentally fragile and leading more sheltered lives than previous generations, according to a leading psychologist. This group of young people are the first generation to spend their entire adolescence in the age of the smartphone. A psychology professor has dubbed this latest demographic as the 'iGen' - young people raised on smartphones and social media. According to Professor Jean Twenge from San Diego State University young people are probably the safest generation ever but are maturing at a slower rate than in decades past. Professor Twenge says this generation are less likely to have a driver's licence, to work in a paying job, to go out on dates, to drink alcohol or to go out without their parents compared to past teens. However, the lack of fulfillment felt by young people as a result of their screen-time has led to a spike in depression, self-harm and suicide among young people, she claims. Professor Twenge says smartphones and social media are raising an unhappy, compliant 'iGen'. Professor Twenge and her colleague Professor Keith Campbell, of the University of Georgia, studied more than 40,000 US children aged between two and 17 for a nationwide health survey in 2016. Professor Twenge said: 'They have the sense that they are missing out on something. They realize that being on the phone all the time is probably not the best way to live. 'They don't like it when they're talking to a friend and their friend is looking at their phone. 'Many of them have a recognition of the downsides of that type of living as well.' Professor Twenge said that since 2011 she has witnessed a sudden change in teen behaviour and mental health, with more people feeling lonely or left out, or that they could not do anything right, that their life was not useful. These, she says, are all telltale symptoms of depression. 'Depressive symptoms have climbed 60 per cent in just five years, with rates of self-harm like cutting (themselves) that have doubled or even tripled in girls,' Professor Twenge revealed. 'Teen suicide has doubled in a few years. Right at the time when smartphones became common, those mental health issues started to show up. 'That change in how teens spend their time is so fundamental for mental health.' In order to help young people weather the storm that comes from social media, Professor Twenge advises parents and children alike to proactively take control of their leisure time. Previous research has suggested limiting digital media use to about two hours a day or less for the mental wellbeing of 13 to 18-year-olds." Jean Twenge is an author whose works include 'iGen' and 'Generation Me.'</div></div><div style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;">
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;"><b>Back to rosacea. A fellow rosacea sufferer wrote me about his flushing, redness and burning issues </b></span></div>
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He has had laser treatments, but does not get sufficient results from them. He read <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html"><b>this blog post</b></a> and wants to try my anti flushing medication; clonidine, propranolol and perhaps also mirtazapine and an antihistamine like Xyzal. But primarily clonidine and propranolol. The problem is that he cannot find a dermatologist who is understanding of his flushing problem, and willing to let him try this meds. He asked my advise, and I think anyone in this same situation needs to offer his or her specialist or GP some research papers to convince them. If you scroll up in <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html">this post</a>, you will find a list of research papers for each of the medication discussed. Pubmed articles are particularly handy to print out and to show, as medical specialists like to see in black and white that an off-label medication is actually effective for the symptom at hand. They are often worried to go off the beaten paths and away from the textbook treatment protocols. But it is important to explain that up until now, there is no official flushing treatment. Nothing. The only thing specifically designed to control flushing, Mirvaso gel, is a liability of a product that has made many users flush worse or made their rosacea worse even in some cases. Medication in pill form is much less risky and can actually really help controlling flushing. A doctor needs to compare it to hot flushes, but then ongoing ones that are not hormone driven often, but that nevertheless widen the blood vessels of the face regularly. Causing pain, heat and worsening of the dilation of the weakened vascular network in the face. Just like with untreated varicose veins. We need to control the flushing, in order to be able to control rosacea subtype 1 or neurogenic rosacea.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaVwLlzFNdGQ5hY2ermFQ8HPjEQvpVazDkjrReMYQPmy4hdl79QaXH5OZvhvb20jZ633lbaXp8cAiveaAOYGGTNxm2-oqsGLD60NnuRvjOjUWSTRcBEB-PTVW2ILYm7N4lOWCfzwz7voul/s1600/blue-lips.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="299" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaVwLlzFNdGQ5hY2ermFQ8HPjEQvpVazDkjrReMYQPmy4hdl79QaXH5OZvhvb20jZ633lbaXp8cAiveaAOYGGTNxm2-oqsGLD60NnuRvjOjUWSTRcBEB-PTVW2ILYm7N4lOWCfzwz7voul/s400/blue-lips.jpg" width="265" /></a>I am always worried about invasive treatments like laser or IPL for our subtype of rosacea, to be honest... <i><b>If</b></i> they stir up your rosacea and make it worse (which was the case for me), you are often stuck with the outcome! Whereas with medication, anything but steroids is a temporary thing. You try them and if you feel things are getting worse on them, you stop taking them and no long term harm is done. So it surprises me always that dermatologists are more easily swayed to offer laser or IPL treatments than they want to prescribe prescription medication. After all, flushing is a very difficult symptom to treat and if left untreated, it can worsen rosacea over the years and make the problem harder and harder to tackle. He also asked about what medication to best use, or start with, to reduce facial flushing. My advise: "I would start with clonidine if I were you. No doubt about it. 0,05 mg seems a very low dose.. I take 0,150 mg every 8 hours, so 3 times a day. You could start with 0,1 mg, three times a day. This is still a reasonably low dose, but I don't think going much lower will be doing much for the flushing tbh. It is very important to take clonidine 2 to 3 times a day, I'd say 3 times as after 8 hours it can give rebound redness and flushing. This medication needs to have a stable blood level dose, and if you want to stop, you slowly taper its use off. I would try this for one month, then re-evaluate. And add propranolol then. I find it the best beta-blocker out of all the ones, for flushing and redness. But opinions differ on that one. Propranolol 40 mg pills can be taken as needed. You don't need to take them at specific intervals. No rebound issues. But I take 40 mg 3 times a day, together with the clonidine. When I have a bad flare, I take 80 mg (two pills) instead. Again, i would try this med for a month and then re-evaluate again." Hope this helps someone :) And here are two of my cats, actual brothers (Koshka and Piotr), also dubbed the Karamazov Brothers. They are real gangsters, and they look none too pleased with what they are seeing (being the youngest children of my friend, invading their territory).</div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day</span></b></div>
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<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">January 4th 2019 - Charlie Hebdo</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPXVSoMZ_D0wMwmAB1JBOA_FPS8uCjXiV6MCb6xCsbK7YHnqE4tNZKC3Bjo4O9eCfNX829I6IO33gXGak_man87k-hZd9PfgrU_uldBXSdSOGJTDpAuvq6jc9kQBO_ylCSjNvA6JUoz6RN/s1600/images+%25286%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="180" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPXVSoMZ_D0wMwmAB1JBOA_FPS8uCjXiV6MCb6xCsbK7YHnqE4tNZKC3Bjo4O9eCfNX829I6IO33gXGak_man87k-hZd9PfgrU_uldBXSdSOGJTDpAuvq6jc9kQBO_ylCSjNvA6JUoz6RN/s400/images+%25286%2529.jpg" width="257" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">Happy new year. At this time of year, I will for some time to come probably think about the atrocious murders of French journalists on one of the first fresh days of the new year of 2015. On January 7th, 2015 a good portion of the journalists and cartoonists from French magazine Charlie Hebdo were wiped out by terrorists, because they published mocking cartoons of everything and everyone, including Islamists and their prophet. Charlie Hebdo is a satirical French magazine, mocking every day life, politics and all religion. One of the very very few publishers left that dare to do so. I was sick of this event for weeks afterwards. One of those events that while they happen, you realize that they are history being formed right in front of you. Era defining events, just like back in 2001, when I was still a student and by pure chance was home during the afternoon, watching TV and seeing those two planes fly right into the World Trade Towers. Despite being so far away (I'm Dutch), I felt the urgency and the shock of it instantly. When the first plane went into the tower on TV, I called my dad right away - who is a news and history buff - who thought I was taking the piss, and initially refused to believe me and put the telly on. Only to call back a minute later in sheer shock. <i>What the fuck is going on there. Good grief, there comes another plane! </i>After the attack on Charlie Hebdo, France -without knowing it - was only dealing with their first of many shocks to come, because nation shattering other attacks were still waiting around the corner. In November of that same year 2015, 90 young people were massacred during a rock concert in Paris, and 40 more were killed that same night on the streets and in café's. And on 14 July of 2016, a truck driven by another religious zealot would mow down 86 men, women and children during a fire works show on the coast. And those are only the major attacks. It gets reported on, but the news channels are ever so careful not to stigmatize anyone and prefer to speak of 'Disturbed people', despite the purpetrators themselves being usually far from mysterious or subtle about who they do all this for.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGkCAl8XKU_ZrhgfEsQzyIu5BQcR7iZXu0AwD-LCyO2vDmWdDnaWFREuJtJCogy-tU804nrY2itNqByJNNclbdw9j5VMSKYxUzTlDbk1Jt2txMWzMcvO4nLFWiTaM1Nau9QTN3aMk37c7/s1600/nimbos_dani_sanchis-830x568.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="830" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGkCAl8XKU_ZrhgfEsQzyIu5BQcR7iZXu0AwD-LCyO2vDmWdDnaWFREuJtJCogy-tU804nrY2itNqByJNNclbdw9j5VMSKYxUzTlDbk1Jt2txMWzMcvO4nLFWiTaM1Nau9QTN3aMk37c7/s400/nimbos_dani_sanchis-830x568.jpg" width="400" /></a>At the time, most people in the free west were quick to condemn the Charlie killings, and newspaper chefs loved the limelight, explaining how shocked they were and how everyone 'was' Charlie and loved Charlie. But hardly any newspaper or magazine out there dared to publish the cartoon that got them more or less killed. Try seeing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebL1oCy6tgY"><b>this interview</b></a>, (I add the video itself below, twice, both the direct youtube linked one, as well as one I upload directly on here in case the youtube one gets removed in the future). In the interview, one of the few surviving journalists of Charlie Hebdo reflects on it all and especially on the refusal of newspapers to report properly and show the cartoon that made the news. At minute 5:52 he says:<b><i><br /></i></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><i>"Humor doesn't kill anyone. We can't be prisoners of (sense of) humor of others. There are cartoonists in France who say, "We can no longer draw things that could offend someone elsewhere in the world." But if we take into account the positions and opinions of of the whole world, we might as well tear up our drawings. It's all over. It's all over. I was pretty sad when I saw some magazine covers such as the New York Times refusing to publish our front page. Out of fear of doing some harm! </i>"</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS9q61LrXacL3UFK1IVoASR6TowF0DppZlX_HpFLMJ7hPqxesw7M2mE8H19uBduSSthN37tRXA2u6p8nrPbCBiao5mz_RwMgxKl9CyWtzn_0pwM5pOWifOu7vJ-40KIpkahRsmD_QnzFz1/s1600/giphy+%25286%2529.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="400" height="574" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS9q61LrXacL3UFK1IVoASR6TowF0DppZlX_HpFLMJ7hPqxesw7M2mE8H19uBduSSthN37tRXA2u6p8nrPbCBiao5mz_RwMgxKl9CyWtzn_0pwM5pOWifOu7vJ-40KIpkahRsmD_QnzFz1/w402-h574/giphy+%25286%2529.gif" width="402" /></a>The man has balls. One of the few who don't bend backwards to not 'offend' anyone in the process of free press. Probably not 'bon ton' to say these days but I hate political correctness; it stifles creativity and free open honest discussions. Just like i don't think it's fair nor constructive to get into hysterics over every opinion you may not agree with, and slinging the racist card willy-nilly around, or the misogyny card, or the 'hate' card. Childish ways half the time to shut those with different opinions down, and showing a grave lack of intellectual tolerance for points of view that are different from your own. So anyway, even right after the attack on his magazines staff members, all the regular newspapers refused to publish the cartoon that (ultimately) got Charlie Hebdo members murdered. Despite it being at the core of the news event itself. I saw one editor in chief of one of the biggest Dutch newspapers (Volkskrant) say on national TV that they declined to do so, because he has a small family and does not want to get death threats, or get police protection. Perhaps the man should have gotten himself another profession. Instead, people like Luz and friends are supposed to take all the risk - as the survivors live with 24/7 police protection until this day, mostly paid by themselves - for something that should be completely normal in western society. Or that used to be normal. And not wanting to offend any readers is fine in itself, but it's the hypocrisy that bucks, because it is still fine apparently to publish cartoons of Catholic priests in newspapers (after all, the days of the Catholic Inquisition and stakes and slaughterparties are long in the past now so nothing to fear from them anymore). Or most other religions. Politicians can also be mocked, but not if they come from Saudi Arabia.. Seems all a bit opportunistic and hypocritical. Either you allow it all (within the confines of the law), or you censor all religious mocking in your newspaper, and also stop publishing cartoons of Catholic priests doing bad shit. As well as stop with the publishing of all political cartoons, because everyone can get ridiculed except the Islamic politicians now. Either you allow no-one to be mocked, or you allow everyone to be mocked, as it probably should<b> </b>be in the free western world, and you don't pick and choose from religions and politicians based on the political agenda of the day or the least risks of getting your offices bombed. I think the New York Times and international newspapers operate just the same, quite cowardly. Even if mocking of those in religious or political power is in bad taste, it is still better than censorship on mocking altogether. Even those in power need to be criticized and criticized in a free society. Without risk of getting prosecuted. Unless they of course break the law by doing so (abject discrimination, to think of something. Or calling up for people to be beheaded, something we've heard and seen from religious circles in the past). My dad disagrees by the way :) He has always ranted against Christianity, as long as I can remember, but with regards to Islam he thinks that the West should just ignore them and not provoke. So Catholic satirical cartoons are OK, but not Islamic ones, because he thinks it is nothing but provocation, given that their God is not supposed to be drawn in an image.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9aU6ziuTZ8OsZPeG9ku4-ZQKxHoQCbYYHPc094PP5pqXz3n9sAczctxuav4SedZbi8DOarkwKitcFujDiqc6airn-mwQIBuSh9qZKW819tEkJoN_oGk57w461JXcnYID3JyDy8ApAcrWa/s1600/068+%25283%2529.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9aU6ziuTZ8OsZPeG9ku4-ZQKxHoQCbYYHPc094PP5pqXz3n9sAczctxuav4SedZbi8DOarkwKitcFujDiqc6airn-mwQIBuSh9qZKW819tEkJoN_oGk57w461JXcnYID3JyDy8ApAcrWa/w290-h387/068+%25283%2529.JPG" width="290" /></a><b style="color: black; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">December 20th 2018</span></span></b><br /><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">It's still very chilly! My skin has been so so. Some very sore and red days and also some days where the redness and burning weren't too bad. I blame the cold dry air outside and the need to have the heating on indoors. I have some small cold urticaria boils starting to form on my cheeks again (bleh!), despite my intention to keep indoor air warm enough to prevent them from forming, as I still use ventilators which make cold air feel twice as cold. But I can't have it too warm inside either, or my burning will get worse.... Same ordeal every winter, basically! (And every summer for that matter, with the air conditioning).</span></div>
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I have had to travel quite a bit too the past weeks, including a long trip to a funeral.. While respecting the privacy of the family, I will say that this funeral service was beautiful I thought.. Lots of people there. Person in question was in many clubs and organizations, and comes from a huge family. They rented a lovely intimate place in the forest (he wanted to be cremated), and the room was very high, modern but decorated with coloured glass, almost like in a church. Light also came in from the ceiling, allowing you to peer at the sky. The choir he sang in was there and sang some catholic songs, there was a sermon and there were speeches from the kids. It was beautiful and also emotional, also due to the music that was being played and the memories that were being discussed in speeches. The day before he passed away had been the anniversary of my sister J's passing (14 years ago), so I was already a bit more emotional perhaps. This song was played:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/N49KqV7Pp2o/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N49KqV7Pp2o?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWX9fXF2JMNgwwKTH9Jgwi_RnLiLVyc7PPJi1-nIUw9Oz0JgvJzjLJtB8ikmXwIJwe5KtcqLp78pueyg5pmXeldqtEQEcN_eZb_gBUycHuO38bk1BwDb6z0MszQpGwYTwSsCQiWWLGjrpa/s1600/473057_10201007177692122_1862857571_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="1000" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWX9fXF2JMNgwwKTH9Jgwi_RnLiLVyc7PPJi1-nIUw9Oz0JgvJzjLJtB8ikmXwIJwe5KtcqLp78pueyg5pmXeldqtEQEcN_eZb_gBUycHuO38bk1BwDb6z0MszQpGwYTwSsCQiWWLGjrpa/s320/473057_10201007177692122_1862857571_o.jpg" width="320" /></a>A French song, but everyone in the Netherlands knows it because it has a famous Dutch version (cover). Its a melancholic song, about how old times change and how modernity pushes away the memory of the old village where many people grew up in. Someone gave a short speech about his time as a scout and what habits he brought back to family life from the scouts (funny memories). Another read out a poem, which was very touching. A son talked about memories of some of the lessons his dad had taught the kids. <u>First</u>: dry your face first with your towel after a shower, before you dry your behind. <u>Second</u>: You can only dig when you know where to dig; when they went on holiday to France as a family, they would camp in a tent. And once it started to rain, everyone else on the comping would ran around like headless chickens, digging irrigation canals all around their tent to get rid of the flooding. But not father. He would wait and observe and only start digging once he knew exactly where the water was running from and to and where that ditch should be made. "And thereby he saved us multiple times from drowing".</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkgpTYlU5s6lOqVIPh3GQaXaLxHkWVdwvwl3_x8ZZIrqAXdDjVJdHoTx7xWLxug0Z3mftRIz6_9g9odQ91Bga02RGluJdSIwl40ozXwrvNHoqjwIJupIjt2d3DLqStfnMUBuU8uKST53Kn/s1600/images+%25289%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkgpTYlU5s6lOqVIPh3GQaXaLxHkWVdwvwl3_x8ZZIrqAXdDjVJdHoTx7xWLxug0Z3mftRIz6_9g9odQ91Bga02RGluJdSIwl40ozXwrvNHoqjwIJupIjt2d3DLqStfnMUBuU8uKST53Kn/s320/images+%25289%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><u>Third rule:</u> Take good care of the other. He had learnt from his own dad that the children should have it better than the parents had. And he wanted that also for his own kids. Now was that not thát difficult, he joked, because none of his kids had been born before or during world war two and the financial crisis like he himself. But he also told about how his dad had taken care of their mother when she had cancer (for ten years) and how he never left her side and always was there for her. But still he would sometimes wonder if he had done things the right way, if he had done well. Even when he tended to her grave. And that he wanted to say to his dad; "Dad, you did well." Last speech was uplifting, telling about how this relative would sneak out of his bed as a child to sneakily glance down the stairs to see the dad and mother kiss in front of the door as teenagers. And the many things he had introduced in their household, certain strong alcohol for instance. Or the first type of modern motorcycle that nobody else yet had seen. He also recalled what a social, amicable man he had been, always joining clubs and organizing things. He joked that he was sure that if there is a club house in heaven, God would have asked him right away to take over the job from him and that he would be sitting in that clubhouse right now already, most likely. Anyway, am not sure why I give all these details about a person unknown to any reader, but I guess I want to draw an image of the way funerals (cremations I should say) are held in the Netherlands. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHyem-Cnc9jVOAXafNNyzepP_YuCcHmIUwEjtVkIb__tPIpKuIVYHKPTs42PtdHRQoAJoCwiklviNXm5yLfZHDKMJnY9dJzLBRRIR-L0tSRKQNJR0hqIMsXsu5Up8_b8o432HUa1bEPzq/s1600/051.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHyem-Cnc9jVOAXafNNyzepP_YuCcHmIUwEjtVkIb__tPIpKuIVYHKPTs42PtdHRQoAJoCwiklviNXm5yLfZHDKMJnY9dJzLBRRIR-L0tSRKQNJR0hqIMsXsu5Up8_b8o432HUa1bEPzq/s320/051.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaqHPJdCGkahmIkJ5lg7TE7hQoQ59apMYqwD0EE_hvtvgmFVgfLyDwIbNXlXGNfr631j7p6iHLn9BLvejgUPh3K0IDg754f-smd44sNJY1Q5e8sprq30WikbXOjQkB8yUexPACvJ9bdFo4/s1600/057+%25282%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaqHPJdCGkahmIkJ5lg7TE7hQoQ59apMYqwD0EE_hvtvgmFVgfLyDwIbNXlXGNfr631j7p6iHLn9BLvejgUPh3K0IDg754f-smd44sNJY1Q5e8sprq30WikbXOjQkB8yUexPACvJ9bdFo4/s320/057+%25282%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipepL3bpTwLpMXmV_xXzqcpni3Bnh2bYtjnGHa5AXfzswILDGPmM9tFTlLz4WjEHv5jpFiGOyLl7QZupEPTW34gjsjkJ_zxGJ6pB8ehyKyC5aX8hFQysLJcflPwhYszv3Xf7nom1-0J4nY/s1600/10329785_10152385299688996_5728531570022072204_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1004" data-original-width="1600" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipepL3bpTwLpMXmV_xXzqcpni3Bnh2bYtjnGHa5AXfzswILDGPmM9tFTlLz4WjEHv5jpFiGOyLl7QZupEPTW34gjsjkJ_zxGJ6pB8ehyKyC5aX8hFQysLJcflPwhYszv3Xf7nom1-0J4nY/s400/10329785_10152385299688996_5728531570022072204_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Some strange things happened too</b></span><br />
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His son is very no-nonsense. He told me that some strange things had happened. He had tried calling his dads house after his death, knowing his sister was already staying there. But the line was constantly occupied. He tried the next day and it was still occupied. He then contacted his sister through whatsapp and she said the phone was not being used and the receiver was just like normal placed on the phone. It should work, and when she picked the thing up, she heard the usual beep tone and she could use the phone as normal too. Yet, every time he called it, it was making the occupied sound. Pretty much ever since his fathers passing. And the son also recalled that he has a smartphone, which he has been given by his brother and father. He has little interest in nor knowledge of phone technology and all of the past year and a half, the phone had the same background image when you start it up. Now the night he slept in his fathers house, he woke up the next morning and put on his phone... to see his normal background image gone and a large background photo of a blue sky with clouds on it. He asked the only relative in the house if she had somehow touched his phone and did that? No. Nobody did anything. He is not religious or into supernatural stuff but this was very weird... Many years ago, when his mother had died, the next morning it had been snowing and when they opened the curtains, the hill opposite the house was all white, with a huge heart shape carved out in it. Might all be coincidences but it gives their family a warm feeling in their hearts, awww.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhNRV0vz-83GltWEDcpADewdz-Un0J3GwV-XA0rc-XxP8_R_FcmaX26WxRPloV2xwl3luyGpJNwQSnoGClF5dkPSrsBPZg0MKcTNzBdHCF4tfAPxGAWtX1ka5sMFURAgLyWHtEpojCVCv/s1600/45805273_1156976617787375_7739200299075633152_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhNRV0vz-83GltWEDcpADewdz-Un0J3GwV-XA0rc-XxP8_R_FcmaX26WxRPloV2xwl3luyGpJNwQSnoGClF5dkPSrsBPZg0MKcTNzBdHCF4tfAPxGAWtX1ka5sMFURAgLyWHtEpojCVCv/s320/45805273_1156976617787375_7739200299075633152_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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When my own sister died, many strange things happened too. I dreamed about her about 2 months after her passing and she came round, very vividly, hugged me and talked to me. I said to her that it was not real, just a dream, and she kept insisting it was real and that she would prove it to me. I had 3 framed photos of her hanging in my kitchen, all stiff in line under the other. She would hang them out of line she said. I woke up, checked the kitchen right away and was really shocked to see them all hanging fully out of order. No window or door had been open, nobody could have done that realistically. And my mum had the strangest things too. Or so she says at least, I never saw it first hand. She says that she left the house the week after J's passing, and had Christmas decorations on the table. She had blown out the candles of it before leaving the house, checked twice for it as feared house fires. All out. When she came back a few hours later, the candles were burning again. Nobody had been in the house in the meantime. And she also swears that a week afterwards there had come a crack in the car window. A cracked line. She wanted to go to the repair garage with it but the next morning, while heading out, the crack was gone. Nothing to be seen anymore. Strange stuff... Although I am sure there are logical explanations for it, perhaps? Some mystery and innuendo is nice however.. Don't think I want to dig too deep finding out plausible explanations for these things :) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHmRNnZ2YFQKCbTSGLS0sF4H3Ug7u8Q2eeuKiTaf-sS_IO8O3SrGr1Evtayk_VLQKSPpPdjWy8W3irGV8LD3T_FiRNGVTSQTwVI1UtT_glA2LSTNmPK5qHlqHSDZDv_WIZyyxVk_2w91j1/s1600/21728780_10214112598999464_8105972653638189882_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="1280" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHmRNnZ2YFQKCbTSGLS0sF4H3Ug7u8Q2eeuKiTaf-sS_IO8O3SrGr1Evtayk_VLQKSPpPdjWy8W3irGV8LD3T_FiRNGVTSQTwVI1UtT_glA2LSTNmPK5qHlqHSDZDv_WIZyyxVk_2w91j1/s640/21728780_10214112598999464_8105972653638189882_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwwoH8dQEmE4joYbUg0rDx2Hse7WlCxQ96KlhguLL4kQELAzuU9TgC0l7IAJ5MXTqIqE3Us73zLCIEittQCgFhK0xIZeCv4enDSwEsG65rH08zQSRWQIlx7NTTwPQzj0J4j1PLk08yJH-A/s1600/BOSTEZO_HUMOR_DANI-SANCHIS_1-410x507.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="410" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwwoH8dQEmE4joYbUg0rDx2Hse7WlCxQ96KlhguLL4kQELAzuU9TgC0l7IAJ5MXTqIqE3Us73zLCIEittQCgFhK0xIZeCv4enDSwEsG65rH08zQSRWQIlx7NTTwPQzj0J4j1PLk08yJH-A/s320/BOSTEZO_HUMOR_DANI-SANCHIS_1-410x507.png" width="258" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Christmas is close by now </b></div>
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I am not a fan myself of the ways in which it has become so commercialized, and how weeks in advance, all you see and hear on tv, radio, in magazines etc is that darn Christmas build up. Commerce has hijacked all of it; from Valentines day to Easter to Sinterklaas to Christmas, it has all become about buying as much stuff you don't need and joining the masses in the hysteria. (Am I already sounding like Ebenezer Scrooge hehe?). But truly; its original meaning is long gone. People take every opportunity to cash and pig out. Life should be one long stream of 'experiences' and happiness these days, after all. Abundantly photographed and shared online. I don't mind Christmas, but Christmas adds already on TV at the start of November? C'mon... Just the way the world turns nowadays though, what can you do about it short of leaving the TV and computer off. I will spend Christmas with my friend Sara and her family as usual. I love her 3 kids, who always seem so happy to come round and see the cats as they don't have any pets themselves. Of course one can also celebrate Festivus instead haha (John's suggestion, thanks). Its all bogus (a pagan holiday stolen by Christians), we might just as well invent our own celebration.. How about a celebration of chocolate?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzar8g8YEq1iBio7dHqZ6LMlfl9f6-liaBfp2SVW2XSy4ahaYkHhmLKScBuNj3pDDRZ5MG8I6e5OjwESW6q-m8Ij07GHfFu3_81i-q6WTVBwIjA3XMSqB0DQ0MZMe70tjPpEE6v3Ra15ql/s1600/6263478508_4d43d6f112_o.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="693" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzar8g8YEq1iBio7dHqZ6LMlfl9f6-liaBfp2SVW2XSy4ahaYkHhmLKScBuNj3pDDRZ5MG8I6e5OjwESW6q-m8Ij07GHfFu3_81i-q6WTVBwIjA3XMSqB0DQ0MZMe70tjPpEE6v3Ra15ql/s320/6263478508_4d43d6f112_o.jpg" width="260" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">My friend John told me about an article he read a while back</b><br />
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About how our sense of time changes as we age. It appears the more we age the more time seems to pass faster. If we feel that already now in our 30's, imagine how fast time will seem to go by at 80. As a kid time does seem to crawl by slowly.. Maybe because as kids we were allowed to be bored, or maybe it is actually some brain function itself that creates that illusion of slower passing time. We have less autonomy for sure and are more reliant on parents to tell us what to do and how to and when. As a child or adolescent, you want to be an adult asap, because you want autonomy. But you tend to forget that with that comes worries and responsibilities :D From not a care in the world and blissfully happy with every new discovery made, the life of young children generally gets more grim once they head into adolescence. Bit by bit life starts to chip away at you. Heart breaks, rejections. Responsibilities. Actual consequences for actions, that are no longer caught by your parents. Knock-backs. Worries about your figure that ruin even the previously unspoiled joy of overeating chips, hamburgers and ice cream. As kids all we wanted to do was to grow up, and then once we grew up, all we wanted to do was staying young. Perhaps it has to do with time seemingly going slowly when you want to get somewhere, but it going more quickly once you are there and you want to enjoy it. Its a strange discrepancy for sure. And of course, being miserable does make time appear to go slower too. My life already feels like a very long slog haha.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhtD1Lpub1i7dGQhj71cYCXU5RJiqC2gFatk4hD4VYbV1LSoclhhdA7cIzaQPX7WTrO56TYYSm2yjyt-xiuaefFyp0u4UU4A1P9henXtK6Dyg3TR66udUr12Kk9DTVXiystGCFbk_XYlzr/s1600/b415a5df9f8610ca080fa0b1ec8b7f0d.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="563" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhtD1Lpub1i7dGQhj71cYCXU5RJiqC2gFatk4hD4VYbV1LSoclhhdA7cIzaQPX7WTrO56TYYSm2yjyt-xiuaefFyp0u4UU4A1P9henXtK6Dyg3TR66udUr12Kk9DTVXiystGCFbk_XYlzr/s320/b415a5df9f8610ca080fa0b1ec8b7f0d.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">I also read some terrible news the other day</b></span><br />
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All those nice (gluten free) rice products are apparently giving you cancer, as <b>they are so full of arsenic</b>. Science says it raises the risks of lung cancer, skin cancer and bladder cancer. Swedish government already tells parents to allow their kids under 6 years old to only eat rice products once a week. Shock.... I have literally eaten rice products every day for the past 20 years goddammit. Rice milk daily, rice crackers, rice pasta. Making my own rice cakes. Rice porridge! I am so annoyed now, as what else am I supposed to eat instead for carbohydrates? Sweet potatoes? Grains and wheat make my belly swell up too bad and give me cramps (I have colitis and some food allergies). Grrrrrr, I love my rice... I did read some ways to reduce the arsenic load, going for white rice instead of brown rice, buying Pakistani rice, rinsing it and washing it profusely. But still, there will be a good 30% of its original arsenic level in it all the same.. I don't even dare to check my blood arsenic levels. They must be high, if the advise is now to stick to one day of rice a week. I ate it three time a day basically for the past two decades. My friend John came with the solution luckily: "So that's it: I'm going on all chocolate diet just to be safe.. Not much is safe these days anymore, so best stick to Nutella. Because let's face it, that has really proven to be safe. Over 1000 peer reviewed papers confirm it."<br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>I also was sent this video by a friend and it made me laugh:</b></span></div>
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It's the ManBearPig. It's from South Park. It's the one where they are taking the piss out of Al Gore and his climate change work I think... How he lectures and then made a fortune from having an interest in the carbon credit scheme.<br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Got this interesting video from a friend: </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;">(Just click the play button a dozen times and it will start)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUe_M07pGg1TmNI9ogNWJaQhCz5m5_FFU1ypHG7fQLTldsgp_3W4ebKedzGlLmsK4U6ArV6oVVjcApR8EYwFA83H-MVdu29oWWotU3WiEAXoJtRgd4VEecZtConReQDi7Pzx2zjv7wMC5N/s1600/danielsanchis2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="620" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUe_M07pGg1TmNI9ogNWJaQhCz5m5_FFU1ypHG7fQLTldsgp_3W4ebKedzGlLmsK4U6ArV6oVVjcApR8EYwFA83H-MVdu29oWWotU3WiEAXoJtRgd4VEecZtConReQDi7Pzx2zjv7wMC5N/s640/danielsanchis2.jpg" width="640" /></a><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The message of that video is basically that we can't know for sure that we're not brains in a vat</span></b><br />
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Not if we live in a Virtual Reality world that seems so real, where the simulation solife-like, that we cannot notice the difference. I wonder IF it were true (I don't think it is, but lets roll with it for an interesting topic), if there would also be a script for any of us perhaps? Are we following a narrative? Or is it all up to chance? Rules like: don't be boring or you get written out :) But there are so many chance encounters in life, so many roads we can take and feel we have autonomy over. People dying in bad accidents, murders.... were they then also programmed to go like that? (In this hypothetical scenario of living in VR?). Maybe éven in the virtual reality simulated world-version, such deaths would be the result of some bad human choices made beforehand, leading up to the right circumstances for Game Over? Maybe they just played the game really badly, in some cases. In a way, the rules stay the same, whether or not it is real life or virtual reality. You still need to make the right decisions to avoid The End. There must be cheat codes though. In the same way in which gamers can buy themselves some extra credits (the game Quake apparently has cheat codes that provides the gamer with unlimited ammunition for instance). But I am not quite sure what the life game equivalent of that could be... Maybe the way in which gathering enough money can bring you a certain level of safety in life. Or in the way people could buy themselves absolution by giving money to the Catholic Church perhaps :) As was the case in the old days.. But imagine it being possible, that no matter where you are in the world, even in remote places, food and water just show up when you type in a specific code. The way Jesus is said to just needed to say the word to change water in wine (according to... well no eye witnesses). But either way, both in real life and in games, it only leads to richer corrupt corporations and poorer individuals. But whether or not what we perceive as reality may (or may not) in fact be a hologram, or an after-image, or simulation, or even a dream; it is really irrelevant in the end what it is called. Whether an individual is in actuality a disembodied brain, written code, or a creation within the conscience of an entity…is irrelevant. The only thing that really matters right now, is that we now experience "it" as reality. (I am aware of the fact that all matter is energy, that all of existence [reference to Nature] is composed of energy, that there may indeed exist innumerable levels/ variations of existence, that…..well, it is easy to see why I avert that ‘rabbit hole’ and elect the measurable). We have the ability to make choices and to take actions and change the outcome of things, and that in itself is probably all we need to feel autonomous and in control. Autonomy is a partial myth as well ultimately, as we are dictated more by pre-programmed patterns than we might realize or want to acknowledge (and limited by the boundaries of our actual environment). But when I face two roads, I may be more inclined to take one over the other (due to genetics, past patterns, brain structure, you name it), but I can still rebel and take the other road. Hence the suggestion of autonomy.<br />
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<b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">And I listened more closely to a song I quite like</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">It says: </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq2N6MKWISOJ8_4SffRCTbybk74SlbrGA7K9nge2st4_jkGh-w-RnR8LMcDh2ojO_fqaZUp9VoXiBqnp9pHvyvibjvVWg8IeYR01oR6A6bGRReXf3dxtSUzVH_q7Du2focRRQfx0NOYfy_/s1600/thumb_large.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="508" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq2N6MKWISOJ8_4SffRCTbybk74SlbrGA7K9nge2st4_jkGh-w-RnR8LMcDh2ojO_fqaZUp9VoXiBqnp9pHvyvibjvVWg8IeYR01oR6A6bGRReXf3dxtSUzVH_q7Du2focRRQfx0NOYfy_/s320/thumb_large.jpg" width="203" /></a><i><b>Now I understand why we die. </b></i></div>
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<i><b>The reason we die is to give us the opportunity to understand what life’s all about – </b></i></div>
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<i><b>by letting go, </b></i></div>
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<i><b>because then we come to a situation that the ego can’t deal with. </b></i></div>
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<i><b>When we are no longer hypnotize by that, </b></i></div>
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<i><b>then our natural consciousnesses can see clearly what all this universe is for. </b></i></div>
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Its a <a href="http://www.dividedcore.com/humanity/2013/10/10/alan-watts-a-natural-satori.html"><b>statement</b></a> from a British philosopher, Alan Watts, or actually, from someone he met. In 1958 Alan Watts was in Zurich, and there met a German diplomat, Karlfried von Dürckheim, who had studied Zen in Japan, and when he came back after the war, he opened a meditation school and retreat in the Black Forest. And he said to Watts: “When one gets to an extreme – that is to say to the point when you realize there is nothing you can do about life, nothing you can not do about life, then you’re the mosquito biting the iron bull." Well, so in the same way he said, “Look. You heard a bomb coming at you, you could hear it whistle, and you knew it was right above you and headed straight at you and that you were finished. And you accepted it. And suddenly, there was a strange feeling that everything is absolutely clear. You suddenly see that there isn’t a grain of dust in the whole universe that’s in the wrong place. That you understand completely, absolutely, totally what it’s all about, cause’ you can’t say what it is.” But he said in so many cases the bomb was a dud, and they lived to tell the tale.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwp_VszWvFN3IdURR1HVnsFETIGO1T7FN3UrbmIb7EUgjS895gUTXkZ9UKGK5tYiRYUWHvSW4-O8KUh0hlAcHE6EfqSi2ZaRjXJ1Bd53GReYrdyMjtIkSrsEOvpYB59h3ONpD8AnL9oTjA/s1600/e5c31795d2e3a449edecbabf0bc8658b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="472" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwp_VszWvFN3IdURR1HVnsFETIGO1T7FN3UrbmIb7EUgjS895gUTXkZ9UKGK5tYiRYUWHvSW4-O8KUh0hlAcHE6EfqSi2ZaRjXJ1Bd53GReYrdyMjtIkSrsEOvpYB59h3ONpD8AnL9oTjA/s320/e5c31795d2e3a449edecbabf0bc8658b.jpg" width="236" /></a>Or, he said, you were a displaced refugee. You had lost your family, you didn’t know whether they even existed, you were miles from your home, you didn’t know whether it existed, you had lost your job, your very identity. You were absolutely nowhere, and you accepted it, and suddenly you were as light as a feather and free as the air. Now he said, so many people have had those experiences and they’d talk about them to their families and friends, and they’d say, “Oh well, you were under terrific pressure and you probably had some hallucination, you know?” Well he said, “I am showing those people that so far from having a hallucination, those were the few, few occasions in which they woke up.” He said that this is always the opportunity presented by death. That if one can go into death with eyes open, and have somebody help you if necessary, to give up before your die, to give yourself over I suppose he means, then this extraordinary thing can apparently happen to you. So that from your standpoint in that position at that time, you would say, “I wouldn’t have missed that opportunity for the world – now I understand why we die. The reason we die is to give us the opportunity to understand what life’s all about – by letting go, because then we come to a situation that the ego can’t deal with. When we are no longer hypnotize by that, then our natural consciousnesses can see clearly what all this universe is for. But he continued to say that as a society, we are starting to lose sight of this enriching opportunity, because of the ways in which we institutionalize death out of the way, instead of having a socially understood acceptance of death and rejoicing in death. In modern western life, death is more or less ignored, pushed away; someone one does not speak or think about. It is personal also, but Von Dürckheim compares death to a rite of passage. "There are certainly some forms of celebrating a wedding which I would find a total bore, and quite offensive; other ways would be good, I would enjoy it. I’m not saying that you’ve gotta get mixed up with a lot of people coming laughing around you and giving you presents and cards and everything because you’re going to die. But, I’m only indicating a general thing, that the doctor, the ministers, the psychiatrists, and above all us – really owe it to our friends to work out an entirely new approach to death."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_bkea_NP9eUxKPsnoPx55yTQziTIeXMlL0YWwgobIkRmwQdKCHV88o42Awb9Bne8V5Hu3ZVgxR6sx_GYE9ePSLgzIIslUplBQWgALAcNf3TqUxfLEhHkr1hyphenhyphenj-CQIZ-sR51SUgh1mM-xk/s1600/images+%25284%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="185" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_bkea_NP9eUxKPsnoPx55yTQziTIeXMlL0YWwgobIkRmwQdKCHV88o42Awb9Bne8V5Hu3ZVgxR6sx_GYE9ePSLgzIIslUplBQWgALAcNf3TqUxfLEhHkr1hyphenhyphenj-CQIZ-sR51SUgh1mM-xk/s320/images+%25284%2529.jpg" width="217" /></a>He explains how Death in our day and age has nothing but negativity surrounding it. Frankly, that is how I see it too! Something to fear and mourn. But Von Dürckheim says that from earliest childhood, children nowadays learn to put on long faces and say, “Aahhhh, that’s too bad.” when someone passes away. Even Christians, who think they’re going to heaven, get absolutely morbid about it. And so, this is purely a frightful thing, to lose someone you love, or even for a dying person to worry about what on Earth the partner, the children, or whomever are going to do without me… Von Dürckheim acknowledges that he understands that there is a certain worry involved in all that, but nobody is indispensable he thinks. And there comes a point when you have to say, “I’m sorry, but I am completely going to abandon responsibility for anything, because there is no further way I can do it.” This is another way of surrender. And then a curious thing occurs he says: in that moment when all is dropped, suddenly it dawns on you that "to be important, existence does not have to go on any longer than a moment. Quantitative continuity is of no value. How long can you hold your breath? Who cares?" We would understand the mystery of life, because death is - in a certain sense - the source of life. "Just as we see in nature, when the leaves fall from the trees, they mold and rot, and this supplies hummus from which more plants can grow, it’s a cycle like that. But in every way, symbolic and otherwise, human beings try to stop that cycle. "<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX9dR0x5OSBcy6NmbUbFXupxDO9mkd8s5TDLlD3fNgHmSmwZUMaEcOa20NhN-mZxlSEYZ5Ej2G6RtIg3rKUOoWbfgGcQ7rXsenCRXUVdPSReov0DtlsQ3oSPFcDk8UgtrV1-qkkMrqD1O-/s1600/1470176_10202559307654401_1518121004_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX9dR0x5OSBcy6NmbUbFXupxDO9mkd8s5TDLlD3fNgHmSmwZUMaEcOa20NhN-mZxlSEYZ5Ej2G6RtIg3rKUOoWbfgGcQ7rXsenCRXUVdPSReov0DtlsQ3oSPFcDk8UgtrV1-qkkMrqD1O-/s320/1470176_10202559307654401_1518121004_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>Unamuno said, “Human beings are the only species that horde their dead.” "And therefore we try to make the body unpalatable to the worms, and so to stop life, as if to be eaten in due course were an indignity to the human being, whereas we eat everything else and we give nothing back. [..] More and more one regards the healthy and inevitable and natural transformations of the body as pathological. Everything about us has become over-interfered with by specialists, and less and less the province of our own preferences. It’s very very hard indeed to die in your own way, without some blasted bunch of relatives that come fussing around and insisting that you go to a hospital, that you get fixed with the tortures of being fed through tubes and things to keep you alive indefinitely and waste the family savings. It’s even a crime to commit suicide. Now this is simply nonsense. It’s this perfect panic to survive at all costs." Well, I am not agreeing 100% with all of this, but it made for an interesting read I thought.I hope it made someone out there reflect on this topic perhaps.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYG2f2kgU2LM75xnuEVAaPyAP0flXO0_oWBHb9s65lvwynEOTi4HS7vnVtcBuenpZaVr2M8Ddme5dD4AgSk6wLtnj2gjFbH2dGByl3JS1eXQVCbMi9AmZJtycc42eYYay0QUs12VIGIW4S/s1600/DSC09025.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="1026" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYG2f2kgU2LM75xnuEVAaPyAP0flXO0_oWBHb9s65lvwynEOTi4HS7vnVtcBuenpZaVr2M8Ddme5dD4AgSk6wLtnj2gjFbH2dGByl3JS1eXQVCbMi9AmZJtycc42eYYay0QUs12VIGIW4S/s320/DSC09025.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am working on a longer update blog post, </span></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">but for now, this made me feel so good, watching this the other day. I love dance contests and these kids version is adorable I think! Yeh the kids act like mini adults with their facial expressions, but their energy and the joy that they exude is pretty contageous, AWWWWWW. This</span></span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"> little professional dancer </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/jt_church/?hl=en" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><b>JT Church</b></a><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"> also looks like the spitting image of my darling nephew Tim, so extra cuteness factor watching it for us. Gosh what a little piece of licorice, as we say for super cuteness in Dutch (wat een dropje..). The super fun Honey Boo Boo also joins the show and bursts with self confidence. And below those videos, a super sweet cat video</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Another performance by JT in another show some years ago, think this choreography also won an award </b></span><br />
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The man playing seems SOOOO wonderful! He saves stray cats from the street, often wounded, and takes them home to cure them with love and takes them to the vet if needed too. Some are rehomed later, some stay with him. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sarperduman/?hl=en">His instagram</a> is bursting with love, recommendation!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5u1um3v2M_koRony882S4Q6Li8HWsSggq000mU_hMSStArfrT87Ya2gS5BYWsvokb77JtpCcjGukIY66FSDBIGdFC8ijMUCK_69hI1BNn0RORHQcdjYLpSKKHt-1ytzG-170ryn7jESxn/s1600/DSC08986.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="1560" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5u1um3v2M_koRony882S4Q6Li8HWsSggq000mU_hMSStArfrT87Ya2gS5BYWsvokb77JtpCcjGukIY66FSDBIGdFC8ijMUCK_69hI1BNn0RORHQcdjYLpSKKHt-1ytzG-170ryn7jESxn/s320/DSC08986.jpg" width="320" /></a>Also, my skin is still quite pink and sensitive. I did a big scrub and that made the burning less (had too much dead skin build up, which for whatever reason won't just flake off by itself). I am more red now but my skin feels less painful and more 'light'. (I use no make-up normally, so sorry for the shitty half gone eyebrows that are unfashionably unretouched and the lack of eye lashes and the blotchy skin and watery eyes and little birds mouth). Also, the more I read and try to write here about other flushing disorders, especially about erythromelalgia (EM), the more I start to think that this extreme face flushing and burning might not be strictly 'rosacea'. I feel there is a grey zone, where bad neurogenic/vascular rosacea falls into, as well as EM, as well as perhaps bad flushing from neuropathic pain disorders. The more I hear and read, the more it seems that it is extreme to flush this bad. And the few people I know who have it too, all seem to balance on the edge of different possible diagnosis. For instance, one of the derms I see thinks I have a <b><span style="color: #444444;">mast cell disorder</span></b>, hence the violent flushing. I also know a bad flusher who's doctor says she must have <b><span style="color: #444444;">erythromelalgia</span></b>. I joined an EM facebook group and there are many more people there with extreme face flushing and burning! More than in your average rosacea group. However they tend to also have burning hands and feet. My hands do burn but that has been diagnosed as Raynaud's syndrome in hospital. But the division lines are blurry and I might just as well have EM instead of straight forward rosacea. But... at the end of the day, they are labels and EM doctors also struggle to treat the facial burning and flushing that comes with all these other disorders, so we end up either way with a flushing problem that is hard to treat; both for dermatologists as well as for neurologists as well as for a rheumatologist, or a vascular specialist...<br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">November 27th 2018</span></span></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2IgxOnrag8Yr1ZRLxBQe52NB_w-vrnwmGunEFipIPOSiHt9v23Gg4Zr4e5k5Yom4yxiDebcpcfWdo4H_VHGepHEAkRhUWXV3vPzR8tISWIT8Qim6ZxCD4tSnEOeD-NULGkkbld9vFGpa/s1600/1938a7e26e515d99ed5cc441d5c94107+copy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="797" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2IgxOnrag8Yr1ZRLxBQe52NB_w-vrnwmGunEFipIPOSiHt9v23Gg4Zr4e5k5Yom4yxiDebcpcfWdo4H_VHGepHEAkRhUWXV3vPzR8tISWIT8Qim6ZxCD4tSnEOeD-NULGkkbld9vFGpa/s400/1938a7e26e515d99ed5cc441d5c94107+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a>It's been very chilly lately over here. Only a few degrees Celsius outside, so I'm bundling up. So far my rosacea has behaved well. I took the train to friends and went from cold to the warm indoors and out again, without big flushing issues. I asked them to not have it warmer than 21 degrees Celsius please in the house, which was fine to them (luckily!). Their young girls and I played hide and seek outside with some other neighbour kids for a long time, then played indoors and made dinner all together. I brought my cold packs but didn't need them, probably because I could cool off while playing games outside. It is also not yet too stark a temperature difference; once it starts to freeze outside, my rosacea will no doubt explode again, like most winters so far. I hope I can avoid the cold urticaria from the previous years; fluid filled itchy hives on my cheeks that last for weeks to months. I get them when my skin gets too cold. I always use a ventilator, well except for when I'm out the door or traveling, but normally when I'm home or working or sleeping, a small one is always on to keep my face from flushing and burning, and I never have cold urticaria issues in summer with the air conditioning on, but in winter the temperatures combined with that fan might mean too much cold air on my face. So I am trying to keep the indoor temperature a bit stable at 16-17 degrees Celsius. I had to be in town on Saturday to go shopping with a friend, and it was very cold that day too, while the shops had cranked the temperatures up. I live in the inner city but still have to bike about 5 to 10 minutes to get to the heart of town, and I always try to leave on time and bike calmly when it's this cold. I don't want to overheat or overexert myself, because once I step off the bike, I usually start to flush then. I also usually bike slower or walk the last bit so that my heart rate goes down gradually and my blood vessels can adjust a bit. So quite a lot to think about :( Luckily this Saturday my skin behaved and aside from pink cheeks from the cold, there was no flushing or burning. So I could enjoy spending time with my friend and buying some winter clothes and new shoes.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilUXHsqOiEIh-gvaj1tXkCzGdgweOSWQ-kE9zeO_khXiGGlG3UmmISLKlALzXOp7X-mmJS3K91AJttEgaRL3iXd6n2I99xBuG8OVmemE06-JIk9sRGbOVY1TZ7pgUPDadjHXNkfvyco3mM/s1600/10156160_10152462817008996_4315542722796290732_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="721" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilUXHsqOiEIh-gvaj1tXkCzGdgweOSWQ-kE9zeO_khXiGGlG3UmmISLKlALzXOp7X-mmJS3K91AJttEgaRL3iXd6n2I99xBuG8OVmemE06-JIk9sRGbOVY1TZ7pgUPDadjHXNkfvyco3mM/s400/10156160_10152462817008996_4315542722796290732_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>We also had hot chocolate and something to eat at the end of the afternoon and even that went OK, although I was a bit flushed when I biked back home. But putting the fan on at home calmed my face down within half an hour. I always set out with a solemn determination to not 'sin', food wise. To stick to mineral water and something healthy to eat. But then... my friends like to share the good food; they don't like eating cake alone! So they bribe me and kindly try to seduce me with chocolate or cake or something they might like eating. Because it is more 'cosy' (gezellig). Why do I do this?? Because the times I am fine afterwards feel like a victory. Another mechanism behind me doing this might be to want to join in. To want to be 'gezellig' as we say here and join the party. We flushers already stick out like a sore thumb in so many other ways (as I feel it at least). And because we already restrict ourselves so much (no alcohol, no sun, no spicy food, no sweaty intensive fitness work outs, and so on), having a treat sometimes feels like 'justice', like we earned it. And in my case; I do sometimes get away with food binges. Its not set in stone that I suffer for it. Some times, probably when rosacea is calm already, the food trigger threshold is a bit higher and I tend to remember those rare occasions instead of the majority of times when I am stuck with a flushed burning red face (would that make me an optimist after all haha?). And when my skin has behaved so far, I am much more inclined to give in. That desire to eat "bad" foods, even though I know I shouldn't, is a strong one. And then the days after I make the solemn agreement with myself to only feast on organic roasted chicken and cucumber sticks from now on! Until the next dinner occasion with others :) My friend said about the need for the use of fans: <i>"Get over the worries about needing your fan. Just do it as the old Nike commercial says. Who cares? It’s your health, so stop hiding the “cures.”</i> Up until a few years ago a friend of her constantly nagged her about not eating sweets when with her, despite knowing it would flare her. Only when she started bringing her hand fan and Avène water spray with her to social events they went to together, the penny dropped and the friend started understanding and respecting the food boundaries.. <i>"This affliction will never get the recognition and acknowledgement it deserves from friends and family. Unless you boldly go ahead and help yourself."</i> But feeling ashamed (for instance getting my fan running in a plane, in winter) makes the flushing worse too :/<div><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OYUeyDyrv_O-VpB7OvHGefNz1SnpdJ8tCX9qkz56Nw3BGr78vakm7Bx6NIC9dlswyMPsdSuSEv966dg0PI7xC9BfVKiLBGnWU4kHMn6jairGllXEMa2AvuGzmf_zvAp8HHZp18IHxdUl/s1600/984110_10152463592473996_8698402999161138744_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="721" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OYUeyDyrv_O-VpB7OvHGefNz1SnpdJ8tCX9qkz56Nw3BGr78vakm7Bx6NIC9dlswyMPsdSuSEv966dg0PI7xC9BfVKiLBGnWU4kHMn6jairGllXEMa2AvuGzmf_zvAp8HHZp18IHxdUl/s400/984110_10152463592473996_8698402999161138744_n.jpg" width="400" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">I saw my GP yesterday and told her about my burning fingers </b><br /><br /></div>She checked her old medical notes and said I was diagnosed with Raynaud's Syndrome in hospital quite a few years ago, after they put my hand in a water basin with measuring electrodes attached to the fingers, and then added ice cubes over the course of half an hour or so. Blood vessels did not respond as they should. But I discussed with my GP why I now wonder if the hands could be a symptom of <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/04/do-i-have-rosacea-or-erythromelalgia-em.html"><b>erythromelalgia</b></a>, instead of Raynaud's Syndrome. because my fingers do not go pale and cold before going hot and warm. Which is more typical for Raynaud's.. My fingers and hands just flare up red and hot, period. She agreed that this does not sound like typical Raynauds and referred me to hospital to check it all out. To be continued... I am just worried always that another specialist might start bad-talking my anti-flushing medication.... The doctor who diagnosed Raynaud's at the time, told me that I was better off not taking blood pressure lowering drugs because it can worsen Raynaud's. I replied (must have been 2007 or so) that my facial flushing and rosacea are my priority and the thing that dictate my every living moment. Compared to controlling my burning face, my hands come 2nd, so no I wouldn't stop taking clonidine and propranolol... He said he understood and fine, he just had to tell me what he would advise for his own little specialism. But now that a new doctor will look into the flushing burning hands, I am always slightly uneasy about any possible feedback my GP might get unbeknownst to me, possibly mentioning my rosacea medication one way or another. Let's hope that won't be the case and the doctor I will see will be knowledgeable and understanding.. Regarding my cold urticaria: my derm here keeps saying he thinks I have <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/08/facial-flushing-due-to-mastocytosis-or.html"><b>mastocytosis</b></a>. That this extreme facial flushing seems like something more than rosacea to him. As many doctors, as many opinions, but I am going to try the meds he gave me for mastocytosis again next week, hopefully they wont make me too flushed and instead reduce the redness and flushing. The last time I tried them, they made me more pale for several weeks and then seemed to make me more flushed. I need a new trial from scratch to be sure they are working or not... Oh and I am also getting a <span style="color: #783f04;"><span><b>H. Pylori infection blood test</b></span> </span>done! I asked my GP for it as there can be a link between H. Pylori and rosacea. Not always, not even often in fact, but always good to rule it out, so an answer to that one is in the pipe line too now.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ed6DIKXoxYSh6MTKTcA0fcSghm9DfwKXYQCh4gVGievv9QG4ogvA0qtkwUQ2lamLQ08ideoa7TjX77HtdsBXourNEhO9vRBKNqLOrzejG-lkn5OIKIgRi2dhX_QarqdS24NfszY0HihY/s1600/DSC09270.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="435" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ed6DIKXoxYSh6MTKTcA0fcSghm9DfwKXYQCh4gVGievv9QG4ogvA0qtkwUQ2lamLQ08ideoa7TjX77HtdsBXourNEhO9vRBKNqLOrzejG-lkn5OIKIgRi2dhX_QarqdS24NfszY0HihY/s320/DSC09270.jpg" width="166" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">People who don't have this flushing / rosacea related health shit, don't seem to understand easily how debilitating it all is</b></span><br /><br />I still get asked by friends about why not taking this or that job. Why not being more ambitious with work yada yada. I have to keep explaining that working in a museum, for instance, is a problem for me with my need for ventilators and climate control. I usually don't wear any make-up as it aggravates my skin, so I am not mad about public functions either. I also can't do much with the messages (pep talks) I sometimes receive about 'just getting on with things'; not putting life on hold etc. Sweet as it is intended, this problem I have has nothing to do with me being self conscious about how I look. I travel, I meet people, I don't hide inside, and I am not ashamed of what I look like, not even with a swollen red bloated face. I am, however, beaten down by the <i>pain</i>. The burning, the throbbing heat in my face when I am flushed. It is like acid sometimes, so painful, and the only thing I want to do when flared up is isolate myself, cool my face, and get lost in a book or in work, anything I can do with a fan blowing at the same time. It can be very draining. I'm too exhausted to read my emails half the time. I don't feel it has much to do with motivating myself, but more with dealing with the situation at hand as best as I can, and trying to control the flushing as much as possible. And to use the good periods to go out and be social and force myself to just partake in normal life a bit. My life kind of shifts between two extremes: calm solitude, alternated with hectic social life. Quite extreme, wham! Family and events are crammed into a week.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZTiGDZbkvtVZW7G0OXcG2kkqYnzW7Ccjlh5qeewpzyfBEzWibc9HSzepnYZWgWJV09Y4JKHXUUO85v7h6r9U_4-RFHj3axn2hRPnnj0fod36jxh_Nz-pBnYPxxznghyA4NDn2IKaE9nI/s1600/1508155_10152385434358996_1319906095418406031_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZTiGDZbkvtVZW7G0OXcG2kkqYnzW7Ccjlh5qeewpzyfBEzWibc9HSzepnYZWgWJV09Y4JKHXUUO85v7h6r9U_4-RFHj3axn2hRPnnj0fod36jxh_Nz-pBnYPxxznghyA4NDn2IKaE9nI/s320/1508155_10152385434358996_1319906095418406031_n.jpg" width="240" /></a>And it helps to have some good people around me that are caring and supportive when i'm low. There are many people I know that like to care for someone.. especially when they are not having kids in their direct life, and who flourish when they can nurture or care for someone. It is not something that gets a lot of limelight in today's individualistic society, but they do exist. But allowing someone else to come close can be scary, especially as people in general have the ability (and sometimes tendency) to disappoint us... Having a firm protective wall up is important for people like me I think... as we are sensitive and can be caught off guard and get imbalanced when someone disappoints us or turns out to be unreliable. But never let go of the ability to give another human being a chance. Time and experience are the only way to find out if the other is worth our trust. I find that normally its better to have a few people, a little support network. So you're not overloading one or two people continually. Not everyone has the energy to be a full on, constant contact and reliance person to the other, and also; not every person offers the same type of bond; has the same interests as you.. One friend can be really good to talk relationship problems with (to name something), another can have different angles to approach every day life and another might have a happy go lucky personality and be a real positive upbeat influence. Although there is often always still one person who you feel you can trust completely. And meeting new pillars of support can be hard, especially when you are in your late 30's.. People all settle down and stick to their fixed circle of people over here. Not to mention their kids and direct family.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rfYxVBUHiE20YrnJSAc5Al3NeHMTJz7UAO1MpOclXtqlgGaVSNFkc4FzodhbQdpK5U3O1BwWDdd6NhmlNFUZrq0I6SeJ0kdvJshNtRRaogYJY-F-RncwNWQGwOauEH-CUh8xwECX498Y/s1600/89008ac1-5d8f-4436-9d20-9232d03bdce6.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="696" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rfYxVBUHiE20YrnJSAc5Al3NeHMTJz7UAO1MpOclXtqlgGaVSNFkc4FzodhbQdpK5U3O1BwWDdd6NhmlNFUZrq0I6SeJ0kdvJshNtRRaogYJY-F-RncwNWQGwOauEH-CUh8xwECX498Y/s320/89008ac1-5d8f-4436-9d20-9232d03bdce6.jpg" width="318" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">A friend told me about trying to find a good psychiatrist, to discuss the psychological aspect of rosacea with</b></span><br /><br />I have seen a couple of psychiatrists and psychologists during my 20's. I think mainly because back then, it was the dermatology department of the hospital that forced young dermatology patients to see a psych. for at least 10 sessions, in a bid to reduce suicide/depression levels in this group of patients. It seemed important to me to go, also because I was very restless back then and suffered deeply from the anxiety and isolation that my rosacea gave me. Nowadays I have accepted things much more and found a balance for myself that I am more happy with. I don't know if that counselling helped with that, in retrospect. I feel it didn't but you never know. It can be hard to find a good fit when it comes to counselors: I have seen four different ones in the past and only one connected with me really. Or connected to my issues I mean. The rest didn't seem to 'get' the problems I have due to my rosacea, burning and flushing, and didn't really help me in the way I wanted to be helped; with suggestions for practical changes. I don't want to do psychoanalysis for four months and talk about my youth for 60 euro an hour. My issues don't stem from my youth, they stem from rosacea and having a burning red face since age 19.. Nevertheless I did end up talking once a week, for six whole months, about my past and had a psychoanalyst dig into it, trying to find patterns and explanations. I don't think there is anything there, other than a happy, free childhood and a difficult adolescence. Maybe some things that happened back then made me more prone to despair once my rosacea started. But for me, unraveling those threads didn't help me practically with the hardships of an isolated life and daily pain. I wanted help with that.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwtlame0UU9YixEu_KIrPZ6GMEQPSXNOtXJel6iPlsj3XTDCdIeE7cCkc131NISbeOKJdZ-LLrsTtad1yTLo5u8XYWJ98MovHpX9HXyuyhQAAspJJWtTiQm7GpjpDcnxBTfMAmStU4p3Z2/s1600/DSC09387.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="921" data-original-width="408" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwtlame0UU9YixEu_KIrPZ6GMEQPSXNOtXJel6iPlsj3XTDCdIeE7cCkc131NISbeOKJdZ-LLrsTtad1yTLo5u8XYWJ98MovHpX9HXyuyhQAAspJJWtTiQm7GpjpDcnxBTfMAmStU4p3Z2/s320/DSC09387.jpg" width="141" /></a>I didn't feel smarter than these psychologists or anything, but I did feel at some point that there was some obvious transparency regarding what text books and protocols they were following. I did not like answering the most personal questions, from a time that felt like another life almost, but whenever I asked them an opinion on something current and pressing and literally asked; what do you think? They refused to answer! They don't want to throw in their subjective opinion (aka; they want to follow the protocol) and that just didn't work for me; talking to a question shooting wall of professionalism. I always said that I knew they aren't allowed to steer my decisions in any way, but that I talked to them for hours on end about certain topics and would like at least a hint of personal opinion back. Nope... Their silent gaze, making notes, often seeming far away, lost in their heads, just alienated me further. I had a practical problem, not related to bad parents or trauma's from childhood; the reality of that day was bad enough. Frankly feel that counseling someone with a chronic, debilitating, visual illness is tricky territory and requires someone with the right balance of experience, empathy and ability to connect and talk honestly.. I was told by a female psychiatrist who I saw for a year or two perhaps even, that I should just try to be more outgoing. The fact that I missed that (I can't go clubbing or be as outgoing as I used to be with a throbbing red face mask on); she thought I had developed an unrealistic fear of it. She constantly pushed my problem in the psychological corner, when I felt it is 90% physical and as a result of this need to stay cool, and to cool my face literally, I have in effect developed psychological difficulties. Chicken or egg... But it was hard to find some councilor or psychiatrist who hooked onto that and who didn't start to dig into the past like a Freud-adept. It also helps to find a professional who has a character that matches (or complements) your own, and someone who is proactive and who can reach you. Who seems interested and dedicated to your 'case'. After the age of 27 I stopped seeing counselors all-round.<span style="text-align: center;"> </span><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWBbI-J9X6qz0I6WuYAEFrW46iJZ58a0a_WDv3pyJTAL6suFxAQCa5CeAzMkOegAgq3XLapNQjlarIlxhBxjlgc9B-VhjWCoYmoZGiAtfZBv4oqcAsRf9uz1LzU-e8dMWu7w9FST0B8yy/s1600/1975129_10152905848298996_2010031065600910848_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="799" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWBbI-J9X6qz0I6WuYAEFrW46iJZ58a0a_WDv3pyJTAL6suFxAQCa5CeAzMkOegAgq3XLapNQjlarIlxhBxjlgc9B-VhjWCoYmoZGiAtfZBv4oqcAsRf9uz1LzU-e8dMWu7w9FST0B8yy/s320/1975129_10152905848298996_2010031065600910848_n.jpg" width="266" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Not sure if you have time for real life series, but I'm watching this program called Hunted and it's pretty cool I think </b></span><br /><br /><a href="https://www.channel4.com/programmes/hunted/episode-guide/series-1"><b>This</b></a> is the UK version and I'll also add the <a href="https://www.channel4.com/programmes/hunted-usa/on-demand/66427-001"><b>US version</b></a>. Around a dozen couples or individuals have to pretend to be fugitives and have to stay out of the hands of special law enforcers. These are elite specialists and have all the usual privileges when it comes to searching for fugitives, so they can trace their social media activities, put taps on cars or in houses, take belongings they find including laptops and phones to look for passwords, emails and such. Every time these people extract money from a bank or spend anything with their bank card, the hunters get an instant notification and have access to all video surveillance films, so they can see them whenever they use a pass. That way they can often see the registration number of the car they tend to use (only the really smart ones make sure to keep that car far away from the cameras) and they have access then to a system on public roads, where cameras record and register everyone and based on the registration details of one specific car, they can follow that car all over the place, seeing where it is going as long as it stays on bigger roads. They can also ask information from the public, handing out wanted photos with a reward etc. Its a psychological game also as these contestants get increasingly more paranoid. I've seen the Dutch version for some years but Holland is very small and has surveillance cameras pretty much everywhere, so its not as exciting I think. Also, in the Dutch version the hunters can send a 'silent sms' to everyone in the network of the fugitives, so that they can follow everything on those phones, from location to incoming and outgoing communication. That is a bit much I feel. The UK version so far does not use that one, although it was filmed in 2015 so perhaps the silent sms wasn't yet in use then.. I think the way to go with this game is to:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS_J1emFiWo5XPMd1o56ITHqipw9yuLVdpE7r6E6n6_TG1hC7UD9SDCl5hCibPQDJoHX2iG4saUOhcyf4mjKk-H_tfyMYoBdMJVH2iE_5kcNZ7XaWc4LuXImx_XKzS3BPimYvZdNIpYjL3/s1600/12094991_549060518578991_296713048052449982_o%252C5.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1392" data-original-width="1600" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS_J1emFiWo5XPMd1o56ITHqipw9yuLVdpE7r6E6n6_TG1hC7UD9SDCl5hCibPQDJoHX2iG4saUOhcyf4mjKk-H_tfyMYoBdMJVH2iE_5kcNZ7XaWc4LuXImx_XKzS3BPimYvZdNIpYjL3/s320/12094991_549060518578991_296713048052449982_o%252C5.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;">1. NOT call home</span></b>. Not call anyone you know. No check ups, no homesick emotional calls, nothing. That way the hunters can not trace you.<br /><b><span style="color: #444444;">2. No use of your bank card.</span></b> You can instead ask to do chores for unknown people and in exchange for your work time, get a free place to sleep and something to eat. That way the hunters cannot trace you through bank transactions.<br /><b><span style="color: #444444;">3. If you do have to extract money, do not let someone else who helps you take out the money</span></b>. Not even with a mask. The hunters get the video footage right away and often go to the spot, asking inhabitants to identify the other person, which usually happens very quickly. Then they can go to that person, interrogate (threaten with legal actions if they don't answer), track their car, see where that car went to, track their phones and see where the fugitives were taken to. Very risky.<br /><b><span style="color: #444444;">4. Lay low. </span></b>Don't provoke the hunters because you get bored by the lack of 'action'. For some reason, mostly all contestants make an error :D<br />Of course, it beats me too why these 'fugitives' didn't just rob a bank and hold some hostages to get to their end goal extraction point 😄 There seem to be no rules put in place regarding breaking the law some more. After all, they are already fugitives and omitting armed robbery, home invasion, car jacking, abduction for ransom, and the consequential body-dissolving-in-bath-tub scenarios simply dilutes any sense of ‘realism’. Perhaps it's just me.. If the links above don't work (I think you need to watch from the UK, or have an IP location changer), here are some of the series' episodes available too: <a href="https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4lw51y">https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4lw51y</a></div></div><div><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXvJVR_Yk-U">SEASON 2 UK</a></b><br /><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7hd8BmHkZo">SEASON 3 UK</a></b><br /><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmrKlgIsN28">US VERSION</a></b></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmfRvp2SIfViEYZazVaiwDWPGMqOXRLWeYNrrJUxopEYozJbS6pyZmV3Zy28Kz9sU_bv5dPCVUjuRwKGXemI1o3-uagDR17mLY3HppOH-mG8CN48mXer1AM_XDwborpypWyAKch4Hmb8y/s1600/DSC09198.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmfRvp2SIfViEYZazVaiwDWPGMqOXRLWeYNrrJUxopEYozJbS6pyZmV3Zy28Kz9sU_bv5dPCVUjuRwKGXemI1o3-uagDR17mLY3HppOH-mG8CN48mXer1AM_XDwborpypWyAKch4Hmb8y/s320/DSC09198.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">And last for now: I ordered this surgical (?) mask thingy, after having hot oil spatters on my face while cooking, and now whenever I have to turn a chicken leg for instance, or risk oil spatting in my face one way or another, I put this thing on :) </span></div><div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day</span></b></div></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q3XssbXqKK8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q3XssbXqKK8?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/A1dQEjXKimw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A1dQEjXKimw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">My skin the past week </span></b></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUyCX6T0dAtK-B3PefjfWwYXF7dfiBthYqGr6BKZD_FR3InmMkys2MRNOSCHVil5gtAPTfb8ApDJDBv4tYjYR3e53m4D5Y1CkAfRXO0x-4ldcJsaP4hCLn3-M4lz0pudbWYI6EHZMLnAwj/s1600/DSC01411.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1140" data-original-width="1044" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUyCX6T0dAtK-B3PefjfWwYXF7dfiBthYqGr6BKZD_FR3InmMkys2MRNOSCHVil5gtAPTfb8ApDJDBv4tYjYR3e53m4D5Y1CkAfRXO0x-4ldcJsaP4hCLn3-M4lz0pudbWYI6EHZMLnAwj/w299-h327/DSC01411.jpg" width="299" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3vJVrASPUaQGLiJsRr23GSXuiEGmRObkepe-cQxsis4vQnJsLSEe3CWuwKAkm-R-nicmsAalW2ykcNrFIvpMjnV4kA2HCQZ8IXXFP5wG3IJuMMiAo1P087GcnzTuOLJygtcik8mcI8l0/s1600/DSC09331.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="597" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3vJVrASPUaQGLiJsRr23GSXuiEGmRObkepe-cQxsis4vQnJsLSEe3CWuwKAkm-R-nicmsAalW2ykcNrFIvpMjnV4kA2HCQZ8IXXFP5wG3IJuMMiAo1P087GcnzTuOLJygtcik8mcI8l0/w226-h326/DSC09331.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_UbbY_ANTKkfdBrTGfdXSeM-VZTuKGVV-rA1bIUvbOrU0jvfwakfXwxVT0teZUBUzx9MGT7G_VT8T_7cxskU3qwsoNgMm05D8EwI4ETHy3-nZDGbZuD_aIkvGh2UkmRRavq_6kO9TMhxM/s1600/DSC09390.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="702" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_UbbY_ANTKkfdBrTGfdXSeM-VZTuKGVV-rA1bIUvbOrU0jvfwakfXwxVT0teZUBUzx9MGT7G_VT8T_7cxskU3qwsoNgMm05D8EwI4ETHy3-nZDGbZuD_aIkvGh2UkmRRavq_6kO9TMhxM/w566-h398/DSC09390.jpg" width="566" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEFSUwhYEVnjIemxVkK8jVfGTiGwEUSYHrzYC9fW8ohwUiJPCYxpwgyR8yADAY9M_z0gTb_RJ1Zvd5rYjVKXO06HmRAlkY86yo6-G7Y7QJYF12rIAm1-Hr8LlOh7-1qNi18A7w9C8I1g09/s1600/DSC09293.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="891" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEFSUwhYEVnjIemxVkK8jVfGTiGwEUSYHrzYC9fW8ohwUiJPCYxpwgyR8yADAY9M_z0gTb_RJ1Zvd5rYjVKXO06HmRAlkY86yo6-G7Y7QJYF12rIAm1-Hr8LlOh7-1qNi18A7w9C8I1g09/w316-h261/DSC09293.jpg" width="316" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPl6RNI35uzr55uISEbXUlaoP8qKQ20G8GQVzqBovbfd1pt60AzS1KRHelN6xXPmedulmg8_Uv9X_llBZDlN_EtB0sw9xr1XVA5JMsd4YIq1bAvi9aSw0ahSrE-KfoRvtby_iaj-2XHPfR/s1600/DSC09303.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="444" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPl6RNI35uzr55uISEbXUlaoP8qKQ20G8GQVzqBovbfd1pt60AzS1KRHelN6xXPmedulmg8_Uv9X_llBZDlN_EtB0sw9xr1XVA5JMsd4YIq1bAvi9aSw0ahSrE-KfoRvtby_iaj-2XHPfR/w196-h261/DSC09303.jpg" width="196" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1Pa5K-j8bYXxGiH-MU1YJ8DvBKaWSf-yG9nzMIt6zh6LbIUt_vgVixPUen4fYq1lRJoNsfmLA05TMGEia5O00cQ1mrtjb6wD3WNaiqqsXX5RQg8toQz2vbojkB1x89HwL37x72eWVsZh/s1600/sebastian-bieniek-man-in-canvas-no-4-2014.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1Pa5K-j8bYXxGiH-MU1YJ8DvBKaWSf-yG9nzMIt6zh6LbIUt_vgVixPUen4fYq1lRJoNsfmLA05TMGEia5O00cQ1mrtjb6wD3WNaiqqsXX5RQg8toQz2vbojkB1x89HwL37x72eWVsZh/s400/sebastian-bieniek-man-in-canvas-no-4-2014.jpg" width="266" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">November 14th 2018</span></span></b></div><br />Have had a very busy social week. Seen my mother and sister and some other family members on Friday evening. My mum had put the central heating down when I arrived but somehow I was on fire and burned up all evening.. Had brought my cold packs along, but didn't want to put on a fan with the whole family gathered around the table. I don't know my sisters new boyfriend well enough to feel comfortable with that. But I did feel very uncomfortable and self conscious about being so red and hot all evening. I pretty much always run a fan on low in my life; when asleep, when sitting at the table, when working, when watching TV. Have been blessed so far with people around me who don't say to mind that I have the thing on, and keep the indoor heating low. But it is a right pest, I feel so crazy often for having to live like this. But all my living days are dedicated now to keeping my skin the least flushed and in pain as possible with medication and lifestyle adaptations. IPL and laser do not work for me - make matters worse in fact - and have been advised against them by now by all my dermatologist and also by the late Dr. Peter Crouch, who tried many settings and machine types on my skin. I am probably one of the <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/10/how-to-treat-nerve-pain-and-skin.html"><b>neurogenic rosacea patients</b></a> for whom lasers or light devices make matters worse. Its so tiring. I pretty much put my entire life on hold to control the rosacea.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF-82Hz-pmCCV6rPjV7mgEpTCvDjG57iSjqfQq4NMolN2NquDsx2hVn8MvzVTeWwcyVg-pjX2vTLqQxySOURJ_dobM3CXqAmjq3sBQTNqcYM3JbB5ebR4NGxUHoywu_-rxQ9JXVbuA8M2P/s1600/10849957_10152905848978996_485569495891197702_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="591" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF-82Hz-pmCCV6rPjV7mgEpTCvDjG57iSjqfQq4NMolN2NquDsx2hVn8MvzVTeWwcyVg-pjX2vTLqQxySOURJ_dobM3CXqAmjq3sBQTNqcYM3JbB5ebR4NGxUHoywu_-rxQ9JXVbuA8M2P/s320/10849957_10152905848978996_485569495891197702_n.jpg" width="196" /></a>Mum made apple pie and green pea soup (erwtensoep), which I could not eat as the pork meat in it flares me up and the apple pie wasn't gluten free. I was red already anyway so decided to eat the apple pie anyhow. It was delicious. (But flared up my bowel inflammatory disease the entire next day, ouch!). My mum also had a surprise for us; she will take us all to Valencia (Spain) next year - autumn - to celebrate her own 65th birthday by then. And my 40th (shock, shudder!). Will stay 5 days or so, nice hotel in the city center and by November it won't be too warm or sunny there for me they reckon. Looking forward to it! I've also been saving up myself for another trip, to St. Petersburg, Russia :) I also saw several friends over several evenings. Most of those evenings were the same, rosacea wise; everyone had kept the house cool without me having asked or mentioned it (awww) and had cold water for me to drink. My face was a bit pink and not fully burn-free but I didn't look like an exploded lobster at least. My fingers, especially those on my right hand, have been red and burning as well all week. Might coincide with the colder autumn weather here, I don't know. Waiting to get an appointment with my derm about it. Doctors diagnosed it as Raynaud's Syndrome a decade ago after extensive tests that included water basins, ice cubes and electrodes, but I am thinking these days it might be <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/04/do-i-have-rosacea-or-erythromelalgia-em.html"><b>erythromelalgia</b></a> instead of Raynaud's.. My fingers don t go pale and cold, only hot and red.<br /><br /><br /><br /><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">And with regards to strange news of the week </b><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">you might have perhaps <a href="https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/i-am-a-young-god-pensioner-dutchman-wants-to-legally-change-his-age-to-20-years-younger-884079.html">read</a> in the news about an idiotic Dutchman this week. Or maybe not :D</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0j63cuyJWP5prHt_13MTTeQKxEilu8chTw73uC93YWaDW7-PkdswHfh6LgE0kmujFd51iN4XTmCDGldapE_mC1cP_OSsQs4mX3hYQ-o_ca2RzlKQSlnyGlGGm7L9Woc_gUZcZ-JXin459/s1600/UZZntitled-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="811" height="632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0j63cuyJWP5prHt_13MTTeQKxEilu8chTw73uC93YWaDW7-PkdswHfh6LgE0kmujFd51iN4XTmCDGldapE_mC1cP_OSsQs4mX3hYQ-o_ca2RzlKQSlnyGlGGm7L9Woc_gUZcZ-JXin459/s640/UZZntitled-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLCaJpEd0FjcfnaxEZqgiHO1uCF3nvcvmzlVM5rTYNbX47o8GHwntBBbUxbQJQ510fvPuailoE8hcgDiEOsbxTWvbY75a702KLeqFdzLhsdURLu3I_zAmZF28-wNUvKKDRJDSAIQBtv-1q/s1600/10846456_10152905847923996_2494365522584355984_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="574" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLCaJpEd0FjcfnaxEZqgiHO1uCF3nvcvmzlVM5rTYNbX47o8GHwntBBbUxbQJQ510fvPuailoE8hcgDiEOsbxTWvbY75a702KLeqFdzLhsdURLu3I_zAmZF28-wNUvKKDRJDSAIQBtv-1q/s400/10846456_10152905847923996_2494365522584355984_n.jpg" width="238" /></a>That dude is called Emile Ratelband and he got notoriety a decade or two ago, when he promoted self help books and programs and shows about positive attitude and mantra's ("<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvYxFULjrWo"><b>Tjakka</b></a>!") Always been a hyperactive "madman". In the mean time he had some book deals, some failed marriages, some exes who took his money and kids away and now he seems to look for a restart. Sounds like he wants to lift along on the current trend of feelings over facts. He explained his action in a talk show the other night and he said he feels 20 years younger than he really is, and that doctors agree and calculated that his biological age is 49 (based on his heart health and his activity levels and so) instead of 69, and that it is discrimination to assume that he is older than he really <i>feels</i>. So he wants that legalized. Sounds insane, but then again, today I felt like a bobcat, so why can't I be? ... Just spent the day in the woods hunting rabbits. Ratelband stated: "<i>Crazy? Uhm, it bothers ME. It is my feeling. And don't we live in a time where feelings are the most important thing? Some people have feelings about their gender, about their heritage, about their name, about the colonial past, and all these feelings are taken serious as well.</i>" So I think he does it as some cultural criticism conceptual case.<br /><br />His lawyer is a well known one and said he took on this case because he sees it as a creative challenge; there is no regulation regarding this issue. Is it that very different from Lauren Southern saying she identifies as a man and getting her gender officially changed, or that white woman who says she feels like a black woman, and therefore identifies as one? Officially. Interesting changes are going on at the moment in this respect, so it is quite curious to see what a judge will make of this claim of Ratelband. About 99,9% certain it will be rejected of course, if only for the economical implications otherwise: if the court agrees with him (slim chance), thousands of people in their 40's for instance could claim they feel 20 years older, and want (and claim!) their pension prematurely :D But this case makes for interesting discussions about where the boundaries between perception/feeling and fact lie, according to law makers in today's time and place. There was also a dutch parody newspaper who made a counter <a href="https://speld.nl/2018/11/08/rechter-verklaart-emile-ratelband-dood/"><b>bit of fun</b></a> and declared on its front page that a judge ruled this Ratelband guy to be not 48 years old legally, but instead 100 years older, and thus dead: "We declare you now born in 1849, and thus you are dead by now. Dead people are not even allowed in this court room, so get out, you creep!"<br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fvYxFULjrWo/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fvYxFULjrWo?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw0mKsEr1R0akaNgdC67PCzzbxyicKC2O-of8jWPVX9M64Fc93JwwX5oZ_PI_rY1uXO6OsADK8x663Z3V-WhA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqwo3bQPKoq6lqpatLMQ47tJYASrbP5xmw5juGC8I0B_wr_5g4ZAEaDu8Nz7V7LXJWHluGfs3hynkkD3v0yUqAhuhkC4wf_PYS14NAfZE8x8qjho0D5zl10A7F1fxwYuH_h-kOv8UUlYC/s1600/10805694_10152905848548996_4497211954855771861_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="576" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqwo3bQPKoq6lqpatLMQ47tJYASrbP5xmw5juGC8I0B_wr_5g4ZAEaDu8Nz7V7LXJWHluGfs3hynkkD3v0yUqAhuhkC4wf_PYS14NAfZE8x8qjho0D5zl10A7F1fxwYuH_h-kOv8UUlYC/w155-h258/10805694_10152905848548996_4497211954855771861_n.jpg" width="155" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">And for some laughs, <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rCUJ5dOVEM&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0DZzjCbZyLGvGbQUSLkeGyN0KzoeA7IEM0dDZUCFjeeAFsr1-aGgji8bU">here</a></b> is an Aussie advert, from my friend who I do horse betting work with still. It’s not “hilarious” but so true that people speak so much bullshit when they get to the horse races. It's a little cocoon world of its own, a niche, with its own lingo and 'in crowd' terminology... and quite a few self important types :) I like the line up scene where the bloke steps forward and says “I know a bloke who knows a bloke .......” . Happens a lot at the races I was told. People always saying they know someone who knows someone else who thinks a certain horse is a special to win. In Australia they have lots of ads saying “gamble responsibly” so obviously “bulshit responsibly” is taking the piss out of that.</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5rCUJ5dOVEM/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5rCUJ5dOVEM?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxsZR898wmYN44-5Z5cxP7azk_UCAi01S3LtmWYlfqaZKjmTknlScuAx_9tgECcmfMc_T_RBQdWx-KBRrULHQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Song of the day - for the 100 year remembrance of (the end of) World War 1</span></b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sUgoBb8m1eE/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sUgoBb8m1eE?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwCzD7dPyxznbrE_0dcZLDEwu0CxE-l6zuTiu5RjLxc5WENSVG1buHVsBB1iD_7P36LyEbTBXN-MnhNW3PBbg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">November 12th 2018</span></span></b></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXC-F9558vkO6-GoykdMPakNIyzy2GdV5-Tqgd9x8pP9I77UVxnwRhWqkhaunk0F_2L-ZGCWY2zP6b_TeiYlVe3KV681sbW33y1lkV66lt9z9Tcz6j57cy_30s90bpmQEL10otJCNIeV8l/s1600/798344_10151357602603996_926471404_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXC-F9558vkO6-GoykdMPakNIyzy2GdV5-Tqgd9x8pP9I77UVxnwRhWqkhaunk0F_2L-ZGCWY2zP6b_TeiYlVe3KV681sbW33y1lkV66lt9z9Tcz6j57cy_30s90bpmQEL10otJCNIeV8l/s400/798344_10151357602603996_926471404_o.jpg" width="400" /></a>My cat Moshie likes to use this route to plant a dating add:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444;">"Young, good looking man (slightly overweight), red hair, thin mustache, owns two houses, looks for a secret 'rendez vous' with petite kittycat. Favourite food: tinned tuna, dry biscuits and bacon. Doesn't smoke or drink (only milk). Likes leisure strolls in the afternoon and late evening. No kids.</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444;">Suggested date destination; dinner parties</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444;">All communication goes through my Human."</span></i></b></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Moshie received some responses in a social cat group: </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2ZHa3ulELRdnjqvcurpcGLcBdOsg9NdmHXPTO8IxO35zc4FHG5fXjhcw3WAQSesMDBFjPAAIJJ6-bKK8vqfDWDv4ZL0K5abW1Pxa7Au8dY7bgNj4zXsCXLc5b0wqJ2KF2YhR9mAjFwSq/s1600/46059092_1865321276914396_2072228639788761088_n+copy99.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="899" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2ZHa3ulELRdnjqvcurpcGLcBdOsg9NdmHXPTO8IxO35zc4FHG5fXjhcw3WAQSesMDBFjPAAIJJ6-bKK8vqfDWDv4ZL0K5abW1Pxa7Au8dY7bgNj4zXsCXLc5b0wqJ2KF2YhR9mAjFwSq/w269-h290/46059092_1865321276914396_2072228639788761088_n+copy99.jpg" width="269" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Grasshopper:</span></b> "Hi there, my name is Grasshopper, here is my 'come hither' pose. I'm a petite calico. I enjoy naps on my faux fur blanket. I like to take my hooman's t shirts out of the drawer and put them in the litter box--I'm a fun loving gal who likes practical jokes. Maybe we could climb up the drapes together."<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">Moshie: </span></b>"Grasshopper, I love the pattern of your fur. Are you older than 6 months? (I wouldn't discriminate on age, don't worry). I would like to stare out of windows with you and talk about the crisis in the tuna tin industry, if you would like that too."<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDsvE3iWSdAcW9rV3dGK0nliFbOZxlLG6fBK5vly_IASwgiETB3SkpOhWaDQcx6yv9ZI3pgAry8fDRuRILxJRD_vLuF9ysDy8Agk3M8_A4OAlTN8_Nld5C-_Dn1OlbBK0HNUdWzU5hudNI/s1600/46058281_1865336216912902_3632894823146455040_n+copy88.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="786" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDsvE3iWSdAcW9rV3dGK0nliFbOZxlLG6fBK5vly_IASwgiETB3SkpOhWaDQcx6yv9ZI3pgAry8fDRuRILxJRD_vLuF9ysDy8Agk3M8_A4OAlTN8_Nld5C-_Dn1OlbBK0HNUdWzU5hudNI/w269-h331/46058281_1865336216912902_3632894823146455040_n+copy88.jpg" width="269" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Grasshopper: </span></b>"Mooshie, I am 1 year old now. You caught me, I posted a pic of me when I was younger....we ladies sometimes fudge a bit on our age. Although, I am a full figured gal now, and wiser to the ways of the world. Maybe we can chew on mom's kindling bucket together. As you can see, I've already been working on it. Trying to give it that "Primitive Farmhouse" look in order to help out with the decor."<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">Moshie:</span></b> "Caramba! Lets shred some toilet paper together soon. I'll treat you on some overpriced organic cat nibbles"<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">Grasshopper: </span></b>"Mooshie, you certainly know how to treat a lady."<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">Moshie:</span></b> "I am a real man: strong, soft, agile, and I leave my hair on your bed as a goodbye present. I just can't promise exclusivity."<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">Grasshopper: </span></b>"I understand. Mom brought a new ginger into the house (a boy). He's 7 months old, and I've been hissing and growling at him. I did however touch noses with him the other day and I even sniffed his butt. So, no promises."<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Mtxb5E_dHWoMJHqxCoQEkhC0NtRXvymcB1UUjq2z7IaG6ufa2mNKDz7xapTXkZlC10LLIeHdm2uLyMbB4MsLUdM1L7rnf71bcUX6mlVbL_LWIYr9f554xbvuOXegOCqrJuDxzLdnz7kT/s1600/5+hammersh%25C3%25B8i%252C+resting.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="675" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Mtxb5E_dHWoMJHqxCoQEkhC0NtRXvymcB1UUjq2z7IaG6ufa2mNKDz7xapTXkZlC10LLIeHdm2uLyMbB4MsLUdM1L7rnf71bcUX6mlVbL_LWIYr9f554xbvuOXegOCqrJuDxzLdnz7kT/w263-h292/5+hammersh%25C3%25B8i%252C+resting.jpg" width="263" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrPSAQrfFTdUrA5x0BIBs7mUX0vuJwW10YEdwH2lMYVBXDgwO1c40ZYQSe4Boq4IqnkMVYJyfr7oHWOvU7N6rIb3busTs40YXhDGEXTi6OJRoeiEpIsWINp8vck2O7wwMoe4MKIvfdQys/s1600/2PFlQ0FgqNdLQmhxGWoGMndq32dMBN1VIgPARIyj.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrPSAQrfFTdUrA5x0BIBs7mUX0vuJwW10YEdwH2lMYVBXDgwO1c40ZYQSe4Boq4IqnkMVYJyfr7oHWOvU7N6rIb3busTs40YXhDGEXTi6OJRoeiEpIsWINp8vck2O7wwMoe4MKIvfdQys/s320/2PFlQ0FgqNdLQmhxGWoGMndq32dMBN1VIgPARIyj.jpeg" width="265" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">X: </span></b>"Gingers only? We are 2 grey tabbies who might be interested. LOL!"<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">Moshie:</span></b> "I am open for all offers. Looking for no strings attached fun"<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">X: </span></b>"My Cleo would respond but she is no longer "active" if you get my drift 😽 TOTALLY up for play dates tho!"<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">Moshie:</span></b> "Dear Cleo, you sound like a real lady. I promise that I will sniff but not touch"<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">X: </span></b>"My tortie, Lexie, is a prim and proper one. But, she will unwind with the click of a laser light. She is "petite enough" (her words). She is very fond of gingers, especially gingers with tuna. She said to call her next time you would like to stroll through the woods. She's hoping you like to climb trees, thinking you two could be pretend to be stuck for hours until the ladders come out. You may hear rumors that she was involved with the superstar Billybob. But, a prim and proper kitty doesn't tell."<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">Moshie:</span></b> "I love the sound of your meow already. Do you work out too? I am a cardio guy, including bird grabbing, couch scratching and curtain clawing. You sound like you could be my catnip"<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">X: </span></b>"Hi, Moshie! It's funny that you say that you're a cardio guy. Because most days I intend to do some cardio. I have been known to couch and curtain scratch just to get a yowl out of mommy. Then I take off like a shot for a long nap somewhere quiet. Sounds like we could be a good match. But, I must ask, have you had your shots?"<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day (two versions of the same Stravinsky song, one played with a violin and one with a warmer lower sounding viola)</span></b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IR9o-HxzYEE/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IR9o-HxzYEE?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwSLz7JzGl4YZrzIBQ_oQL5fEU1VZZsk4Qk7SHmijCHS0QoKRN7b9yjk3j69t4RDVH9IGL2L761YUOyozNH_Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mngxrChcFhA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mngxrChcFhA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyRBKcRUUtSQpcWJqZEZ9rTdnVOhZuNssb_z4NoPkciVxyI4TaUOvmv4Tjga8YHc6yqbr8fCJ_jomGgm-05vw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><br /><br /><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><span><span style="color: #999999;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span><span style="color: #999999;"><b><br /></b></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmGkcVt5-5rS3NrjpCGwBBq1gCkg2_t4oJA82pb6CsdM43UxAeAn03p2ZLJATMvm9GmpDJkmiGqM2GT8QHPFM7_mI9dZ14taqUKNuKEkThn2341-MnzmyUcVEnvVxSoi4Qkmle7QCjHher/s1600/3d873ad56a53dc2c9b558799c51a242b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmGkcVt5-5rS3NrjpCGwBBq1gCkg2_t4oJA82pb6CsdM43UxAeAn03p2ZLJATMvm9GmpDJkmiGqM2GT8QHPFM7_mI9dZ14taqUKNuKEkThn2341-MnzmyUcVEnvVxSoi4Qkmle7QCjHher/s320/3d873ad56a53dc2c9b558799c51a242b.jpg" width="218" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">November 7th 2018</span></span></b></div><br />My hair is dark now, my natural colour.. I used to dye it lighter, more blonde-ish. The hair dresser I went to had a technique that prevented the dye from running on my scalp; an intriguing stack of rolled up aluminium foil all over the head. Roots were never dyed but that made it look more natural anyway (and nowadays it seems 'en vogue'). I have dyed it red in the past too and dark brown. Nowadays I do nothing with it because my flushing won't allow it and I don't want to walk with a flushed red face for months due to it. But on this site you can upload your photo and try on different hair colours: <a href="https://www.matrix.com/virtual-hair-color-try-on"><b>https://www.matrix.com/virtual-hair-color-try-on</b></a> I gave my brain hairdo a red tint and wow I love it! But in this photo I'm not red... I don't want to imagine a fire brigade red face with red hair. Oh wait I can, i'll try it on as well. Not a good look :D Normal hair colour versus red hair colour versus same red on a red faced me. Red hair seems to make the red facial skin stand out more.. Best have a cool hair shade colour to go with it I think.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpq4XR7zV_uOfyc5v7_5Gxz4DTyVEYZdzO-Yz-4xooNY5VmUThIZwTnrkUiESmIcnmQopZNvnK9nI9DX4pJcSBWp-87ctZ0q1UOoAESTsO9gBLO3ziCxip8neDPOI3-dHURh1_PYNW7us/s1600/Z2%252C5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="675" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpq4XR7zV_uOfyc5v7_5Gxz4DTyVEYZdzO-Yz-4xooNY5VmUThIZwTnrkUiESmIcnmQopZNvnK9nI9DX4pJcSBWp-87ctZ0q1UOoAESTsO9gBLO3ziCxip8neDPOI3-dHURh1_PYNW7us/w328-h319/Z2%252C5.jpg" width="328" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOtqAVM0nSpmHYVHUbfd0JWwsDHM09MsjJIJthOKSXIPUZtvwhwlIax9WWYkcO_1lR1QHSa5zNWarwvnr-ugut7xvrxVqDC1WBDaug-zTBq-Y7csMebLbXXXz7F8gL30di4w6bEJCUXstT/s1600/Z1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="646" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOtqAVM0nSpmHYVHUbfd0JWwsDHM09MsjJIJthOKSXIPUZtvwhwlIax9WWYkcO_1lR1QHSa5zNWarwvnr-ugut7xvrxVqDC1WBDaug-zTBq-Y7csMebLbXXXz7F8gL30di4w6bEJCUXstT/s320/Z1.jpg" width="314" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXuOAxk2B0T78qvbfsJA2zNdj72rUvf8y9iCulonK92j08iaTfKoNiPUl6vcgUF3sW_JB0bwSXYA3TyI07909nVCvWKb29j9nJbqSDsnkm7u_Ki9nuSPQMnGz_7CiqeRiymxXqcKm2FTG/s1600/Z6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="689" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXuOAxk2B0T78qvbfsJA2zNdj72rUvf8y9iCulonK92j08iaTfKoNiPUl6vcgUF3sW_JB0bwSXYA3TyI07909nVCvWKb29j9nJbqSDsnkm7u_Ki9nuSPQMnGz_7CiqeRiymxXqcKm2FTG/w334-h317/Z6.jpg" width="334" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4vLkVCQD1NM8D5Z6MTEGxcQ9D4T1-orYEdApiB4d8qWU6la0gQtriTZTfc7Zd07PkEAZGxoY2ALX51EnSlQ4_3a2mOlQH-XXku1wobz466ODizKWBdIACKLEndj875dpr6U9K4najhyphenhypheng/s1600/Z5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="650" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4vLkVCQD1NM8D5Z6MTEGxcQ9D4T1-orYEdApiB4d8qWU6la0gQtriTZTfc7Zd07PkEAZGxoY2ALX51EnSlQ4_3a2mOlQH-XXku1wobz466ODizKWBdIACKLEndj875dpr6U9K4najhyphenhypheng/s320/Z5.jpg" width="315" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span><span style="color: #999999;"><b><br /></b></span></span><div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><br /><span><span style="color: #999999;"><b><br /></b></span></span><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36hOQ8vKnvJDYjlSnkWUFkdPKgcKNGo2b27kemSZd96qtZFT8MZnSJgXfC_gSllTL3zNEWY8ILnURgOI4EHV8cmJ13pVkxAoM_8G1TSqy_uoxS902_zlRmDjbE4lglE_s4hRuX65IQBk9/s1600/images+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="275" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36hOQ8vKnvJDYjlSnkWUFkdPKgcKNGo2b27kemSZd96qtZFT8MZnSJgXfC_gSllTL3zNEWY8ILnURgOI4EHV8cmJ13pVkxAoM_8G1TSqy_uoxS902_zlRmDjbE4lglE_s4hRuX65IQBk9/s320/images+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">November 5th 2018</span></span></b><br /><br />Heard the good old folk tune Scarborough Hill tonight played in a classical version (no lyrics) and that sent me into a worm hole of Scarborough Fair song versions on youtube. Picked a couple that I like and been messing about on the piano a bit improvising with the base melody (I can't play and don't read sheet music either, so its a real mess, but possibly identifiable as Scarborough Fair - only audio basically). </span>I can't play anyway. Bought one in adult life without ever having had any lessons so rambling anything that hints towards a melody is the best I myself can do.<span> </span><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw0eWCyTEsC6q70nOwXBZcGB4Q5Iix0rJM3HxgjIgWxe6xnBW7_vWQz_javYOYFZuMuxFzTRwQ9-q19AVjlXQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjadaUyOPqXYBZfYS0rOKBOolpjVVr_biyxIJYVEhCqsUGyYkm276aWyz5KYMRQmHSyRxolhaitJKj6s-y1406ceKmJKgGH5w4RynhcCW8mn5yoHA-P4Rg7u3L6tCjoeR9aCaua1RO_5yl1/s1600/Jordan+Sokol6.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="567" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjadaUyOPqXYBZfYS0rOKBOolpjVVr_biyxIJYVEhCqsUGyYkm276aWyz5KYMRQmHSyRxolhaitJKj6s-y1406ceKmJKgGH5w4RynhcCW8mn5yoHA-P4Rg7u3L6tCjoeR9aCaua1RO_5yl1/s320/Jordan+Sokol6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">November 4th 2018</span></span></b></div><br /><div>Unfortunately my hands (fingers) have been burning a lot the past weeks. I need to see my derm again, I'm starting to wonder I could have <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/04/do-i-have-rosacea-or-erythromelalgia-em.html"><b>erythromelalgia</b></a> instead (or on top of) rosacea perhaps... They diagnosed my hands with Raynaud's syndrome in the hospital, but frankly, my fingers never go pale white; they only get swollen, hot and red; especially in winter or when encountering big temperature changes. That seems to match erythromelalgia better. And in<b> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3976166/">this article</a></b>, they describe a female with my type of extreme face flushing and said it was EM as well. Need to discuss this further with my dermatologist soon. I also read up on a potential rosacea treatment: <span><b><span style="color: #783f04;">low dose naltrexone.</span></b></span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span>In <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38793-My-Low-Dose-Naltrexone-Journey-(so-far)"><b>this</b></a> Rosacea Forum post, rosaceans discuss their trials with low dose naltrexone. I want to write a bigger post about that one, but need some free time for it first, so soon hopefully. But I am going to try to get some of that somehow, through one doctor or another. At a very low dose it can reduce inflammation and calm down auto immune diseases, research has found. It is also used off label now for neuropathic pain. So that sounds like a three-double whammy, if it works! (i've got inflammation issues with my skin and auto-immune disorders ánd I have neuropathic pain).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK7FPOZeLJTqrvG4uklDgmlXV_o4uHfjSH_FvwYD_frIDIbLwceuW10lo7x7X_rdyRQSYgY1Ertl8-WGysIwrQaT00ybmyDkSrtD-Pq9TZ9zdUA7tRk6wLk_3PrXWNIq_cG-nkM2HkoHCR/s1600/5762674-6352375-image-a-12_1541367802699.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="741" data-original-width="962" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK7FPOZeLJTqrvG4uklDgmlXV_o4uHfjSH_FvwYD_frIDIbLwceuW10lo7x7X_rdyRQSYgY1Ertl8-WGysIwrQaT00ybmyDkSrtD-Pq9TZ9zdUA7tRk6wLk_3PrXWNIq_cG-nkM2HkoHCR/s320/5762674-6352375-image-a-12_1541367802699.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I also read <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6352375/Unseen-pictures-lion-cub-bought-Harrods-1969.html"><b>this</b></a> LOVELY story of the good old days: I knew the video of the reunion with the lion Christian (see below) but these photos and this written account is also wonderful. Nowadays there is a ban on the sale of exotic animals in shops like Harrods (luckily), but how amazing that these men saved Christian the cub from a life in captivity (and from that horrible city store). While raising him, and before setting him out in the wild, they were allowed to play and wrestle and play football with Christian in an enclosed church yard, while the neighbors were looking and cheering on from their balconies. Not a single complaint! Imagine this happening today, the police wouldn't get a breath while handling all the complaints from angry residents and hysterical parents. (London seems more dangerous today without lions anyway). They also took small (-ish) cub Christian on daily drives in the car through London. Everyone was happy at the sight of this magnificent cutie in such an unusual setting. So he was released in the wild eventually, and then his two papa's returned a year later, to see how he was doing (tissue at hand please):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aOLqVshIM4w/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aOLqVshIM4w?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw6NUpmXqX-V7zRHwX1iGZcqcPRlzsGDFAWCNuVIcjpaE_fTQQctgAV8zGAI1C4DeiLdp4Dkk1Aww0gXXYF-A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiMNqHUfJLuZktIlt-3N9qpnG1B8FT4te4y8Ulj-CLCr6iAeh1hCuiMsgN_Ei-mDEipkLIJhfwASh96mQC5nKidzz2OdKdQl_aUyvcaSsSbnizspm0JJ4VNEsMtMgX1tLy5sGwXI1RXVNd/s1600/5762666-6352375-image-m-8_1541367705025.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="962" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiMNqHUfJLuZktIlt-3N9qpnG1B8FT4te4y8Ulj-CLCr6iAeh1hCuiMsgN_Ei-mDEipkLIJhfwASh96mQC5nKidzz2OdKdQl_aUyvcaSsSbnizspm0JJ4VNEsMtMgX1tLy5sGwXI1RXVNd/s640/5762666-6352375-image-m-8_1541367705025.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WyXYBTBapRU/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WyXYBTBapRU?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwn_J5tMzvHUmeN5rWazzr7_-m5_cnS5z6zegQ8IZChB2Kxa7if2sbk6KRAsKqbrgmR-tI8PCtMoGcyAVeZug' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/L4iDAqTglzQ/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L4iDAqTglzQ?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz5UJfCqfXaFL6LzsDzr8lzOmHdADeVbDirhj1jm5AyrplX2jxkWcR-6Z0kB8w2Z-2Ax3f_T81qxKv78cfn' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<br /><div><div><span><span style="color: #999999;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b style="color: black; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">November 3rd 2018</span></span></b></span></span><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhosycQYqBJ1mPoSMWzBo4rHz-m4tkfjqX2GIkFvgxRhNAE3GwNu1iZOIETfTgnKgLrl6AwpnZM_Dg5rKt6jnABDC493fdGDo5ysutItdH1Jr-JMmI8y1hqlO2bNYUZg3z_CUlVsApFtpzU/s1600/b141abb4b0e63b860dae5e3faab57daa.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="396" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhosycQYqBJ1mPoSMWzBo4rHz-m4tkfjqX2GIkFvgxRhNAE3GwNu1iZOIETfTgnKgLrl6AwpnZM_Dg5rKt6jnABDC493fdGDo5ysutItdH1Jr-JMmI8y1hqlO2bNYUZg3z_CUlVsApFtpzU/s320/b141abb4b0e63b860dae5e3faab57daa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Tonight Catherine takes us to a theater/dance show and then out for a meal. I've been trying to calm my face down for days now, its a huge stress factor to know I have to go out, as my skin has been flushed and very sore again lately. Last year she took me out also for my birthday (so sweet!) and I sat burned up and badly flushed in the theater that year too. I brought cold packs but sat front row in the light so I felt too ashamed and self conscious to put cold packs on my face.. Hopefully tonight I can cool properly and am seated at a less visible spot in the crowd. I wonder if it is the cold weather that stirs it all up, I think it might be. Its been 6 degrees or so here, and both my cheeks, chin and right hands fingers have been flaring up red and sore for a while now. I have to have the heating on a bit, to avoid the<span><b> <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-warm-room-theory-and-how-being-in.html"><span>warm room theory</span></a></b></span> flush, but warm air is dry air, and dry skin in my case means (also) red skin. I can't put any moisturizer or oil on it, as it makes me flare up too bad. So I'm humidifying the air in the house again.... I'm so tired of all this. So sick and tired of another year of this madness. Despite all the pills and lifestyle adaptions, I'm still red and burned up and fed up with this horrible life. I'll add some photos below.<br /><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I've been listening to some fantastic podcasts the past weeks</b></span>, they are all dealing with real life crimes. One is called <span><b><span style="color: #660000;">The Ratline</span></b> </span>(<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04sj2pt/episodes/downloads"><b>here</b></a> you can download the individual audio episodes for free) and is about a research into the life of nazi member Otto Wächter, who managed to flee nazi-Germany after the war, but not with the desired outcome. The interviewer is Jewish and lost most of his family during WW2 in the exact region where this Otto was ruling over: Galicia; on the border of Poland and current day Ukraine. (My grandmothers family also come from that region!). And his friend is the son of Otto Wächter. He is also interviewed and its all very interesting I thought, built up like a crimi almost. I listen to them on my mp3 player while doing chores or going for a walk. The other podcast I just finished was mesmerizing but very eerie; it's called <span style="color: #660000;"><b>'West Cork'</b> </span>(I found a free torrent for it) and is about a 1996 murder there of a French (beautiful) woman who was on holiday. It still hasn't been solved but a lot happened and I found it such an atmospheric and interesting listen; you are thrown back and forth between suspicions of possible perpetrators. Very well made, a real in-depth psychological and crime based saga. But also more intense than seeing a documentary, because you only hear the voices and the recorded wind and the waves and the desolate wild nature of that place. Making up images and scenes in your own head can be more frightening than seeing it on TV perhaps. (You can download the entire West Cork podcast series <a href="http://extratorrents.gdn/torrent/20806/West+Cork+Sam+Bungey+amp+Jennifer+Forde+2018+True+Crime+Audiobook+miok+W"><b>here</b></a>). And see <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I105AWwT3_U">this youtube link</a></b> for part 1 (all 8 are uploaded, yayyy!).<br /><b><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">Update:</span></b> they were taken down, BUT I have written a blog post about this case in the meantime and uploaded the entire podcast series on the blog too: <b><a href="https://koudekaas.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-murder-of-sophie-toscan-du-plantier.html">The murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in her remote house in Cork, Ireland</a></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCWZJjt0V5KpDUPteRSle3n9sYWKNgVs38LfsbeLaEacBvxqWfXA7cgTcsKYzqRi4-dBmdkRCczC9egS9Kuo73DaqADb3eg6ajnWidmd9JGxQczgcm9poyOJenZj3N1Y0ksTJ86j2dpLO1/s1600/Affaire-Toscan-du-Plantier-vers-un-proces-en-France.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="620" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCWZJjt0V5KpDUPteRSle3n9sYWKNgVs38LfsbeLaEacBvxqWfXA7cgTcsKYzqRi4-dBmdkRCczC9egS9Kuo73DaqADb3eg6ajnWidmd9JGxQczgcm9poyOJenZj3N1Y0ksTJ86j2dpLO1/w293-h147/Affaire-Toscan-du-Plantier-vers-un-proces-en-France.jpg" width="293" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-L3scY2gbeh0GYVYgFMthKbpazl2ESRyU6IOR42ECiaMrWmYPpPbo2jb5pZoYzJFuAdbhQ7tETRKAAFH5HD-woLbzi53CQ6OGGk1lVTHnJLISKLNmaN_o931x_9B0FUpaVnJK_WlPdOOC/s1600/image+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="620" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-L3scY2gbeh0GYVYgFMthKbpazl2ESRyU6IOR42ECiaMrWmYPpPbo2jb5pZoYzJFuAdbhQ7tETRKAAFH5HD-woLbzi53CQ6OGGk1lVTHnJLISKLNmaN_o931x_9B0FUpaVnJK_WlPdOOC/w274-h146/image+%25281%2529.jpg" width="274" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Am now listening to another great murder podcast, called <b><span style="color: #444444;">Death In Ice Valley</span> </b>(you can download the episodes for free <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p060ms2h/episodes/downloads"><b>here</b></a>). Its about the forensic and detective reopening of a (real life) murder case from the 70's, where a mysterious woman -possibly a spy- was found murdered in Norway. They called her the Isdal woman. Nobody claimed to know her and nobody later came round to claim her identity. There are many cryptic clues attached to the murder. Eerie and interesting also.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4qCCw08yt2OkmoLaqESi2SAi6DtB1S_RdxYxibfiU2UILBZiDHNwfdirVGiUqcT-O8y726TOXsJh1dCZWwW3sf2xEKxkAbM6K6Rlhfd5DMkMU3lkrpfBz1RNvpeZl3uAISSqs7XQ53y_/s1600/Jordan+Sokol7.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="921" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4qCCw08yt2OkmoLaqESi2SAi6DtB1S_RdxYxibfiU2UILBZiDHNwfdirVGiUqcT-O8y726TOXsJh1dCZWwW3sf2xEKxkAbM6K6Rlhfd5DMkMU3lkrpfBz1RNvpeZl3uAISSqs7XQ53y_/s320/Jordan+Sokol7.jpg" width="287" /></a>I'm going out for walks a lot more now that it is cooler. Friend with rosacea asked me how my skin is when I get back from a walk. If I am able to walk and come home without burning? For me, it depends; when the weather is cool enough and there is some wind, I usually come back with pink cheeks, sometimes red, but my skin usually feels cold to the touch. So not a hot burning flush, but the type of winter ruddiness you see with regular northerners. Maybe a bit more ruddy than normal. I have to make sure though not to strain myself a lot by climbing things or having a super high pace; that will make me flushed. Otherwise, if it is cool enough outside and when I don't make the walk too strenuous, I usually don't burn, but I do need to put the fan on low as soon as I come home and sit down, or else my blood vessels start to flush from the difference between speed to rest, and adjusting from some wind outside to no wind and warmer temperatures in the house. And if it is too warm outside, or if there is absolutely no wind blowing at all, I can come back badly flushed and in pain. I avoid sunny days also. So I need to pick the right time of day and weather type. Today I went out for an hour long walk with a bit of a climb included but it was 8 degrees or so and some wind, so my skin felt very cool and despite a red blush, it felt cold and it didn't burn; my face always feels tight and tingling however, on the verge of burning. Even when it isn't flushed. I also try to slow my walking down and unwind before I reach the house, so the very last part I walk slower and relaxed and breathe deep and already adjust my blood vessels in the face to a slower pace. And then as I said; as soon as I get home and sit down, the fan goes on low and I slowly let the face adjust to indoor temperatures and conditions again. Sometimes I do come home flushed, then its full fan, cold packs and bringing it all down. I always adjust myself once I feel a flush or a burn crawl up to my face while walking: I wear layers of clothing and get off my top layers and just wear a sleeveless top then (helps to get rid of the body heat through skin other than the one on the face) and I also reduce my speed then. Ideally I wear shorts or a skirt or something that leaves part of the legs bare; good way to not overheat for me.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-aGc0a_PYTy4OrXzYwpHf51IDkZhW2dxaH6liVNGMMDKzcH-t8dCqVHxk5HGEXZpKLsAw5Sj3RPpAwqFD1dzdhmZvREoVhhfTTqjT0N7wnFsOgy8Jt6jbctm4HwBi_At-vGaJVH4P_f1/s1600/Jordan%252BSokol%252C%252B%2527Solstice%2527%252C%252BOil%252Bon%252BLinen%252C%252B2016.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-aGc0a_PYTy4OrXzYwpHf51IDkZhW2dxaH6liVNGMMDKzcH-t8dCqVHxk5HGEXZpKLsAw5Sj3RPpAwqFD1dzdhmZvREoVhhfTTqjT0N7wnFsOgy8Jt6jbctm4HwBi_At-vGaJVH4P_f1/s320/Jordan%252BSokol%252C%252B%2527Solstice%2527%252C%252BOil%252Bon%252BLinen%252C%252B2016.jpg" width="267" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zj3mylPAbMbP6FJWn6EvjKJ3OMqi6gtCF8HVvtDuYrRG1pviVtBVpZJ3NGeqkssrK4d2kIkh7SZ0YVfRoGbOvSxlbg6G0kQrszzoKCMI09MQE9uu2vp4HUQm0B-45Rx_RA4Pv3ZufoSz/s1600/Mazi-Oil-on-Panel-822x822-1200x1194.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1194" data-original-width="1200" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zj3mylPAbMbP6FJWn6EvjKJ3OMqi6gtCF8HVvtDuYrRG1pviVtBVpZJ3NGeqkssrK4d2kIkh7SZ0YVfRoGbOvSxlbg6G0kQrszzoKCMI09MQE9uu2vp4HUQm0B-45Rx_RA4Pv3ZufoSz/s320/Mazi-Oil-on-Panel-822x822-1200x1194.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Song of the day</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gTnVh-pEM6o/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gTnVh-pEM6o?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhfgDn6SCp-hzBffVdC6EOjztzllN9wG2M_aImKoFP4OClPbJ4SqDM6dSHjknk6uy5d9Vvmu1-3b3A6Zt9Gz-AayoirSUtpXDj0NvjKqu3FAstqNqju7CkNaB4DhYGsn-wI6e4JhLf9mvU/s1600/DSC09177.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="784" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhfgDn6SCp-hzBffVdC6EOjztzllN9wG2M_aImKoFP4OClPbJ4SqDM6dSHjknk6uy5d9Vvmu1-3b3A6Zt9Gz-AayoirSUtpXDj0NvjKqu3FAstqNqju7CkNaB4DhYGsn-wI6e4JhLf9mvU/w286-h366/DSC09177.jpg" width="286" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhurhaUpAWaGG-V12lgkEgulZR7d0jhwctBNY23Fi5CLI89eU75T6A-4X-VJL3jpZNkMcv3jWt6UjYmuiq-Gk7BqJa0QO8wtmQ706Xg5LMwRTB4S2SOGZUg0ODmIypAy1-hAEUmzkStdvnn/s1600/DSC09174%252C5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="418" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhurhaUpAWaGG-V12lgkEgulZR7d0jhwctBNY23Fi5CLI89eU75T6A-4X-VJL3jpZNkMcv3jWt6UjYmuiq-Gk7BqJa0QO8wtmQ706Xg5LMwRTB4S2SOGZUg0ODmIypAy1-hAEUmzkStdvnn/w151-h367/DSC09174%252C5.jpg" width="151" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmonF-fSQwGcyczpBDaF-ydqrNiaURMibT9s78H_Uvh9PezT19JYGqrXzJ0oyrVCdRUV7Z08E6QyigXhRj0tEho4eMVRAiq23jz1XXPkoeYvOP5IsWeyj6b7LTvyqRpL3VYHwA8Q5zG8ZH/s1600/42694367_10155723505095911_5664896193650491392_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmonF-fSQwGcyczpBDaF-ydqrNiaURMibT9s78H_Uvh9PezT19JYGqrXzJ0oyrVCdRUV7Z08E6QyigXhRj0tEho4eMVRAiq23jz1XXPkoeYvOP5IsWeyj6b7LTvyqRpL3VYHwA8Q5zG8ZH/s400/42694367_10155723505095911_5664896193650491392_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The theater play was amazing. It was warm in the theater and I did flush, but I sat through it and after an hour or so, the worst seemed to die out by itself. Play showed a male and a female dancer in a white box like podium setting. They danced, sang (she had an amazing baroque voice), there was a pied crow (named Gus) who joined the actors regularly. It was funny and melancholic. The walls seemed white but whenever the actors scratched their bodies or an object over it, a dark underground became visible. I think they gave the walls a chalk powdery thin white layer over a dark basis. As the play moved on, the walls started to become a canvas therefore. The actors seemed to be exploring opposites (black and white - the same colours as Gus-, equilibrium and imbalance) and as I saw it the evolution from stability to instability and back again in a relationship. The actress has an amazing classical voice, very warm and deep with a Baroque sound, and a lot of the communication and back and forth between them two, revolved around sounds, often seemingly exploring the limits of the human voice. Often this created a comical effect (on purpose), for instance when she mimicked the sounds an aroused woman makes, and he was first bewildered, only to join in for the male part soon after. Without making any physical contact, they were intimate only by voice. (Some people brought their young son along, who was seated behind me. He must have been around 8 years old by the look of things, and he kept nagging his parents when 'the circus' would start; he expected a circus act with multiple animals, not a audible sex act :D ).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW70ll1g4QTFiRrz4fcvRdfywF7ffQnXv4L2af0tavJOXzz3gKBDtWCESdbD7bj8hfB2JHKflCele-LVXnw1nSdYr96sUW24YvH6mH6Jnc0GsJSwEHMBJuFukBViLIqQOKGfPHhrJjWzVu/s1600/images.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW70ll1g4QTFiRrz4fcvRdfywF7ffQnXv4L2af0tavJOXzz3gKBDtWCESdbD7bj8hfB2JHKflCele-LVXnw1nSdYr96sUW24YvH6mH6Jnc0GsJSwEHMBJuFukBViLIqQOKGfPHhrJjWzVu/s400/images.jpg" width="400" /></a>The stage was beyond minimalist; it's as if the makers asked themselves what would be left if everything is taken away. Whiteness.. Later black is added. These two colours are all we see during the play, maybe they symbolize the polarizing aspects of the characters on stage. They surely match the colours of the pied crow Gus, who flies by in controlled fashion and rips a note out of the actors hand, just as he wants to start a speech to the audience. Despite being followed by the actor, the crow is meticulous when it comes to shredding every little piece of the paper, to great amusement of the public. During the first scene, the male actor makes a vertical opening in the wall, which we then see is made of paper. He crawls through what can be seen as a vagina, feet first, dragging a microphone on a stand with him, which friction against the ground makes a strange music. The microphone is black, his clothes are black, with a hint of white paint already visible on his back. After talking in a humoristic gibberish to the audience, (with Charlie Chaplin-like gestures and grimaces, which triggers laughter in the audience), the female actor crawls through the vertical opening too, head first, with her hair covering her entire face. They start interacting with each other as if they are clueless about a shared language; like fresh chickens from the egg almost. Soon they form rhythm and their clownish first attempts become more streamlined and intertwined. Between the two artists, a relationship is forming full of tenderness and clumsiness, but later becoming volatile. Beautiful music is sung; she has a superb voice (I wished I had recorded some of it, but recording a play is a no go here). But after a while, harmony turns into disarray again, and by now erratic physical movements leave their physical marks on the walls.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4IZVp0r8s6WN4kejbkolMdchnBp8CKOUhHVJAFbNsFP_QfIjeye7cEVrzCNJ_zuCcTQjE9yx0hF4e9npCPz4Ry_d1NDoCE4BHHhlPbsOq4rzudC-ut9zMr6J4SPB86C9lVkFQME4Al3_5/s1600/La-Destacada.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="620" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4IZVp0r8s6WN4kejbkolMdchnBp8CKOUhHVJAFbNsFP_QfIjeye7cEVrzCNJ_zuCcTQjE9yx0hF4e9npCPz4Ry_d1NDoCE4BHHhlPbsOq4rzudC-ut9zMr6J4SPB86C9lVkFQME4Al3_5/s400/La-Destacada.png" width="400" /></a>It was amazing how two actors (well three with Gus) managed to create such a small universe with so little means. They portrayed hopes and desires and conflict and solitude through minimal use of language and a lot of physical interaction and dance, in styles ranging from circus to pantomime to burlesque. Intertwining, mimicking, rejecting, transforming the other, being moved by the other. This might sound pathetic but it really was an impressive show I thought. It was like being in a warped dream, and it took me a little while to feel like I woke up from it, after I had left the theater and walked through town. And everything they do leaves a trace. Everything we all do leaves a trace. In real life, we don't see these traces visualized however, as we do see it on the walls of this stage. Gus, the pied raven, regularly comes onto the stage. Sometimes to explore what is going on, sometimes to rip pieces of paper up, but also to sit on his masters rolling body, or rotating head, thus becoming part of the choreography. This is a preview of the second installment of this performance (coming next year). In the version I saw there were only 2 actors and one pied crow.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyGLy28V3Wv6k1kWMC8NGkPDxBJCA3wAsFu4-uBGh7E1oJuU_J6k8JxK06-qMY1NQtHoOoVQjxstyoZ3Vjm7A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Afterwards we went to a Cambodian restaurant and had some great food. Nems, all sorts of fried things with meat and bean sprouts, grilled chicken and king scallops with noodles. They were a bit spicy, but so nice. I flushed from the spiciness but enjoyed it anyway and tried to ignore my hot face. It didn't look as bad as it felt, when I checked in the mirror.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijR5SkZV3EL9l5ThtdrcmmprtaI2cgQn6QvilQI6NGKr6Qn4S4KyQyaKCoxMtbuio9JR9dYrTQg8HDd3aC4sZsnBXoDav8Kbh7I3bZWmxyToEN73r7txcMU6xlTvfGzz5NamUcnyOdSqcQ/s1600/44828933_1908029849293000_7746210785214332928_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijR5SkZV3EL9l5ThtdrcmmprtaI2cgQn6QvilQI6NGKr6Qn4S4KyQyaKCoxMtbuio9JR9dYrTQg8HDd3aC4sZsnBXoDav8Kbh7I3bZWmxyToEN73r7txcMU6xlTvfGzz5NamUcnyOdSqcQ/w386-h257/44828933_1908029849293000_7746210785214332928_o.jpg" width="386" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMNRq5VYZzSS6w6BecaEafERa8QBbnkAcfCIiMZJOjM7Yp-KrXUuMLXyDL_qllGFNk9J8ukvx-Ehyphenhyphenso7DzlQA-FkVLA1WAMHsdo3Hj65Q9ULX_AOtQOlUYPn6KC8xK6npaYCEmu1s5C_G/s1600/44920427_1908028272626491_5434843975611580416_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="768" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMNRq5VYZzSS6w6BecaEafERa8QBbnkAcfCIiMZJOjM7Yp-KrXUuMLXyDL_qllGFNk9J8ukvx-Ehyphenhyphenso7DzlQA-FkVLA1WAMHsdo3Hj65Q9ULX_AOtQOlUYPn6KC8xK6npaYCEmu1s5C_G/w206-h258/44920427_1908028272626491_5434843975611580416_n.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJehgVJF4c1Hxm6CLfBK4ItRMnodpqushUCpr72_Ph8ddf9dt0lKW-jjTZQ4yMxxZ0Mkf7IMMF6pF6VoNwLCPmxLwFcBD6f4amzwJqR862_T7ckpIGG4wFcPfAwDWvrjtw71BG_dgMkcE/s1600/La1%25C2%25A9FrancoisPasseriniGallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="1100" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJehgVJF4c1Hxm6CLfBK4ItRMnodpqushUCpr72_Ph8ddf9dt0lKW-jjTZQ4yMxxZ0Mkf7IMMF6pF6VoNwLCPmxLwFcBD6f4amzwJqR862_T7ckpIGG4wFcPfAwDWvrjtw71BG_dgMkcE/s640/La1%25C2%25A9FrancoisPasseriniGallery.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDuMRpLR20Hd-u3Lhsx3Jpt2KJ8ksrxZCoEZVYTUlQxwJAiU96LAhB8D2m3AFyPj455aes16BLTvRfn-1xyo2-UgJnUCVhT_Jia6QmLI0fWC8G_aigk7b_MJu4HWUUss4SNdmUxjKZvw6/s1600/safe_image.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="540" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDuMRpLR20Hd-u3Lhsx3Jpt2KJ8ksrxZCoEZVYTUlQxwJAiU96LAhB8D2m3AFyPj455aes16BLTvRfn-1xyo2-UgJnUCVhT_Jia6QmLI0fWC8G_aigk7b_MJu4HWUUss4SNdmUxjKZvw6/s640/safe_image.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div><span><span style="color: #999999;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span><span style="color: #999999;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div></b><div style="color: black; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b style="color: black; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">October 25th 2018</span></span></b></span></span></div><br style="color: black;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyphenhyphenuJQYcj3cnN5HsCcsW4XDIHyDGYDc1fe3NgO3B9xMF0kCFZsNURgf9ld2bgJSy50LFou5amwXAfUxT0GA0C8ynHuZpl45F_KVsSwtrCdOgSZa-Ly8Sl0V9sgMGQn6MTtUA8LkwRRire8/s1600/1_QYjaleCUffhIPMWQ9xVfqA.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="1136" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyphenhyphenuJQYcj3cnN5HsCcsW4XDIHyDGYDc1fe3NgO3B9xMF0kCFZsNURgf9ld2bgJSy50LFou5amwXAfUxT0GA0C8ynHuZpl45F_KVsSwtrCdOgSZa-Ly8Sl0V9sgMGQn6MTtUA8LkwRRire8/s320/1_QYjaleCUffhIPMWQ9xVfqA.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: black;">Noticed that some words are devaluing with time. Think of the 'hero' status. Once something only used for people who risked their own lives and safety to save someone else; someone who doesn't show fear in a dangerous situation (so objectively established situations that are dangerous; not what your own neurosis and obsessions tell you is dangerous). Think of firefighters running up the steps of the World Trade Towers, despite consciously knowing there is a risk they might never get out again. These days, everyone and anyone is called brave. Even people like me, who put their rosacea faces online to tell a story of sorts. Kind as it sounds, I don't think people like me are brave for putting some red faced photos up. There is no risk of safety in doing so, unless you'd call the risk of being ridiculed that. Showing off an overweight body, or an inflamed face voluntarily can be inspiring perhaps, as most people don't go against the grain and stick to the specific rules of decorum of time and place of what is beautiful or decent to show. But going against the norm, or being slightly controversial even, is not brave, not here at least. Being openly transgender in a favela in Brazil could be brave however, considering how many risk their lives in doing so. I wouldn't call doing something you find scary brave either; that is a subjective sliding scale and some people find the most mundane stuff scary. For me it is daunting to go to a party where I know no-one. Daunting to start talking to a group of strangers. For my sister however, it is a challenge to stay all alone for several days in a row, without other people around her. Neither of us are 'brave' however for doing those things we find hard. It won't kill her to be without other people for some time and it won't kill me either to get over my own solitude and step out of the trusted circle of people. We only risk getting our feelings hurt somewhat.</span><br style="color: black;" /><br style="color: black;" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwXG3Lv5pReqOllKQuhMZxXOGRik5NNMQRBiTuL9spIcQCmtqgUk7Sc0NaMoaVixU0jUqnvm1EXx6tXB6D079oFGk3-f2RekvDhOhloHP3WqnMtfHriFcU0sfIOKETEuOXs_fLdOBNKgl0/s1600/1_2BfiVKZ9oui2ZjHQFod84g.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="638" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwXG3Lv5pReqOllKQuhMZxXOGRik5NNMQRBiTuL9spIcQCmtqgUk7Sc0NaMoaVixU0jUqnvm1EXx6tXB6D079oFGk3-f2RekvDhOhloHP3WqnMtfHriFcU0sfIOKETEuOXs_fLdOBNKgl0/s320/1_2BfiVKZ9oui2ZjHQFod84g.png" width="204" /></a><span style="color: black;">Blogging is by nature a navel-staring activity (I'm raising my hand here!). A lot of talking about yourself, and hoping there is perhaps something in all the blabbering that can be of use for someone else out there. This is not brave; it is an activity that comes with the risk of social embarrassment, and the possibility of a pay-off in the form of respect, gentle responses from people reading it, or for some people monetary rewards. Mostly anyone who blogs, or keeps websites up, gets a pay-off from it, one way or another. Sometimes it is the reward of having a platform to tell your story to an actual audience, anonymous as the readers numbers may be. For others it is a way to build up an instagram personality and to get the chance to promote the odd product here and there for money. Influencers they are called these days I think. I even came across blogs where people ask donations through paypal or wefund. (It does take a lot of free time to keep blogs up, I get that people try to get something back for it). Or people blog because it gives them a sense of meaning and purpose. So calling it brave.. I am not so sure that is the right word for it, if you go by the strict definition of it. I came onto that topic after reading </span><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6299607/Military-dogs-unfit-service.html#commentshttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6299607/Military-dogs-unfit-service.html#comments"><b>this</b></a><span style="color: black;"> news article, and the top comment below it stating:</span><br style="color: black;" /><br style="color: black;" /><div style="color: black; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>"I am ex-military, but maintain a sense of realism and accuracy regarding situations. The word HERO has now lost its true meaning. Dogs are not hero dogs, and every person in the military who is injured in any way whatsoever is not necessarily a hero, although in our snowflake society they are now termed as such. Using the term hero inappropriately demeans its true meaning and importance."</b></span></i></div><div style="color: black; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="color: black;">Now I do think these military dogs are brave for being put into dangerous situations involuntarily most likely, as they can't give explicit agreement to it. I have massive sympathy for animals in general and also for these well trained dogs. That some are discarded when they are found unfit for their job, is very sad.. But the comment interested me more because it linked into the changing definitions of words, like hero. A woman who posts a photo online in a bikini, with some unflattering flabs sticking out, was also called 'brave' and put that criticism down in </span><a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/sunday-style/who-are-you-calling-brave-the-real-meaning-of-bravery/news-story/d452a815586a54f906aeade637081ea8?nk=cd5b86ec8321122a44a9dad29b6a5cbd-1540374763"><b>this</b></a><span style="color: black;"> article.</span><br style="color: black;" /><br style="color: black;" /><div style="color: black; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>“This was not brave. I’ve been told how brave I am for not having a cover-up, but going without a wrap would only take bravery if I cared what others thought of me, but I don’t.” </i></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Kane’s ‘brave’ act in question was choosing not to cover up while swimming. Oh boy. Have we become so obsessed with the perfect body that going to the beach sans sarong is considered “brave”? We need to talk, world. The word is spread way too liberally in the language we use.</i></span><i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></i></span></b></div><br style="color: black;" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2QDwgJPjxQGPUoCl7T8ErnZQWEn-8WudB7_ziEaaPenK28xZwAc5NVz6Eu-ck89kNoFELvI-gcPPeTjKvh5JP9OtXmA7r-9pIyn9ZcoANY1tfKnEZJmYYVC9o93VZ82OhtbwfnQQR_OJ8/s1600/1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="640" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2QDwgJPjxQGPUoCl7T8ErnZQWEn-8WudB7_ziEaaPenK28xZwAc5NVz6Eu-ck89kNoFELvI-gcPPeTjKvh5JP9OtXmA7r-9pIyn9ZcoANY1tfKnEZJmYYVC9o93VZ82OhtbwfnQQR_OJ8/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: black;">Maybe if you want to stretch the definition, it can also be brave to make a choice in life that has a very uncertain outcome, but that can have life changing consequences. I think a person who wants to be a novelist, and gives up a well paying job and a city apartment to go live in some shed in the woods to achieve that dream, could be called inspirational. Or a big risk taker. Not sure 'brave' would apply here though, strictly speaking, but I can see it being stretched that far. Generally, the worse the potential consequences are, the closer it comes to bravery. But blogging? hardly brave. People are blessed these days that the internet exists. Before the net, you would need to have an actual book deal and tons of talent to publish anything to reach an audience. Now everyone and their pet dog gets going and can put something out there, that might be actually read (the same goes for me). Do these writers stick their neck out? Often yes. That comes with unpleasant potential side effects. Some are trolled, some or mocked, some are judged for it by others. But that comes with the job, everyone who creates and puts out there anything that is even slightly off the beaten tracks risks that. So end verdict: Not Brave. (And putting up photos with no make-up on is not brave either; I just don't care and don't want to risk a hot burning face in exchange of some eye liner or mascara. I've got a crazy immune system that goes haywire all the time from the stupidest things).</span><br style="color: black;" /><br style="color: black;" /><div style="color: black; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Song of the day</b></span><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kvm1Ii-YGjs/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kvm1Ii-YGjs?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz7N6F6smAtz8BB3ejqwIHVGn18kU7wXktet4ReirP1b25A_3wE2nnLAWwdRQ_NJhrZACTFYeIA5Jz9kvx2Nw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br style="color: black;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_tBYtnglZzuLy6khPiI-IlpLnYrJMPmBklhhVtVbU_7tr7YEuE2S-N4yX46JZl36W9FcMLHWkI3gpDkKHo15OkE98j6YH9ysJK2suCA6mAZ9ATqYD_cUtKcWmcdAvElvNgk-3_dHthmT/s1600/large.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_tBYtnglZzuLy6khPiI-IlpLnYrJMPmBklhhVtVbU_7tr7YEuE2S-N4yX46JZl36W9FcMLHWkI3gpDkKHo15OkE98j6YH9ysJK2suCA6mAZ9ATqYD_cUtKcWmcdAvElvNgk-3_dHthmT/s320/large.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqy_Z7YaWtY-MoE-JTMC-Otpj6YFL6RNcQiBSVZ7ZqaYDFnXryS-KlVwYEvxnhgcSuiBnYT7ehvER4Hhft9rfDScQaTgydqRR9iYIObXrBm2i1SLkq_l_kAmlci0RC3NYvZG7VV4YSFYfP/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="748" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqy_Z7YaWtY-MoE-JTMC-Otpj6YFL6RNcQiBSVZ7ZqaYDFnXryS-KlVwYEvxnhgcSuiBnYT7ehvER4Hhft9rfDScQaTgydqRR9iYIObXrBm2i1SLkq_l_kAmlci0RC3NYvZG7VV4YSFYfP/s320/download.jpg" width="319" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="color: black; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="color: black;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></span></span></div></div></span></span>
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">October 17th 2018</span></b></div>
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I saw something really interesting. The director of Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson, has a new wonderful project, where he took World War 1 footage and has coloured it in, frame by frame. He used six hours worth of WW1 footage and remastered it into a 1 hour documentary (also to interest younger audiences). It looks amazing. The Imperial War Museum in London contacted him about this idea. Jacksons grandfather also fought in WW1. The footage that exists is grainy and not of the best quality, but Jackson has had a company since 1993 that specializes in special effects, and he has used his technology now to bring it closer to life. They didn't experience their world in black and white either of course, but in colour too, so he wanted to bring the material available back to its highest possible quality. It makes their faces so much more lively; no longer grainy figures of a past century. They really thought about the right colour shades when they did this. Army green is the right green, the time of day alters the colour of light and thus the shades of their faces, frame by frame. The makers really made the skin tones and colours as realistic as possible every frame. And for scenes where they are in the trenches for instance, heavily packed and full of adrenaline, they gave their faces a little bit of a warmer tone, some have ruddy cheek colours there, also around the nose and the tip of the ears. So very realistically done.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1C_2KAI9kkIgmcYo0XUyM7GsLpLKX2Orr2ncSSxgrZhgEoh2vUgz2AVt1ESxO2mFg5BStLUm8nM65GiH-Gtaa60QIxkfUjPfkj8vHy_yeJVFtvj5dXJCVuISxk0MhjwFuH50_gFgnL2Ws/s1600/DlhcsToX0AE_Pac.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="1200" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1C_2KAI9kkIgmcYo0XUyM7GsLpLKX2Orr2ncSSxgrZhgEoh2vUgz2AVt1ESxO2mFg5BStLUm8nM65GiH-Gtaa60QIxkfUjPfkj8vHy_yeJVFtvj5dXJCVuISxk0MhjwFuH50_gFgnL2Ws/s400/DlhcsToX0AE_Pac.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
He also adapted the film to a normal pace, meaning he had to add extra frames sometimes. Now film has 24 images per second, but back then film had 16 images per second. Sometimes even less around the time of WW1. When you have to make 24 images from 16, that is a lot of work. But at 16 frames per second, parts of movement are missing, so that gives old footage that 'comedy' effect; not a fluent movement, but jumping from frame to frame often. Not anymore now. And he put realistic sound under it. Sounds of warfare, of the wind, but they also made sure the filmed people say exactly what they actually said in reality, for which he hired lip readers. They also picked up on regional accents of those filmed, how amazing is that. The result is wonderful. Amazing how black and white grainy footage can suddenly seem so every day and like you are there now. And it strikes even more how young all these men were :(<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #444444; font-size: xx-large;">Here is the trailer:</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='265' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxZ9ll386lu_TZL_p-oBa1aaHyZkr2nZOZc2aqHw7P3yqyshbiznORXgqK_aAaZ3Ez3CMLf5NCsHE5aTMQg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PdY-1u-rk_M/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PdY-1u-rk_M?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #444444; font-size: xx-large;">Here is a behind the scene clip, </b></div>
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #444444; font-size: xx-large;">explaining how he went to work: </b></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QfomV9GrL6c/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QfomV9GrL6c?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy5PixZpCyHeLqY2HUsGQVbAE1yFh0LlUH4d-O-94jr4cEu5QwMYlbqR2fDouJWqPTkow9Gp9SHJ3TQACOAkA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div>
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That was time and effort well spent I think, how amazing it looks now and what an important historic human document it has become. He has remastered literally all the material available, not just the stuff he selected for his end project.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I also read a story about an angry man, who built a Killdozer.</b></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Bo9Vu_X6lKw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bo9Vu_X6lKw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyIBRwSHpwt3rUxdzayA89atKdR8OYlVyPB4XrQnDBllUE6ukaYjPa5x9Sw_uM1ppPRZcueX4O5yG0m5HTfYQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Reminded me strongly of that movie with Michael Douglas, where he goes on a rampage through LA. "Falling Down". Sometimes a logical man just snaps, facing the idiocy of the world<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XkwQ6EjLdMQ/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XkwQ6EjLdMQ?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzjshRtQD9qbRkDafgEfG2yNk399i2oJBlfTYKGDiuLN3q3RSPEHsBQlBoLajpVA89mE9jm6pFMpyVU1UIetA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgaW2WM89mf3F-e7EyO549CLGYtAd6Cs5wfDm0Afq_IcbNnMWq-gwBRDeby5Ieeva1Ffe4IU2U_jS4RbP3km_H8a7TDQmLh4okIsVU1ZFhaVB6dtUB7rJirT-GJQmNWePOCEwbOSqLU4ZM/s1600/cea89a5c28c5f6670f394f07d3d1be3e--art-faces-art-paintings.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="236" data-original-width="236" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgaW2WM89mf3F-e7EyO549CLGYtAd6Cs5wfDm0Afq_IcbNnMWq-gwBRDeby5Ieeva1Ffe4IU2U_jS4RbP3km_H8a7TDQmLh4okIsVU1ZFhaVB6dtUB7rJirT-GJQmNWePOCEwbOSqLU4ZM/s400/cea89a5c28c5f6670f394f07d3d1be3e--art-faces-art-paintings.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>A friend told me a story about a local man in northern England</b></span>, who was driven to something like that too. He did kill someone though.. He was in prison for years for shooting dead a councilman live on camera. He had built a little cabin himself, sunken into the ground on far away land that he had bought. He wanted for his elderly mother to spend time in it in the summer months. But when the council heard about it, they told him to destroy it, as he never received a permission for the little build. The man refused and there was a long stand-off with the authorities over it all. After endless back and forth communicating, council members eventually showed up with a bulldozer, ready to smash his fence down and flatten the cabin. This man was tormented to the maximum at this point, and had bought a WW1 Webley pistol... He made his own ammunition for it. When the debate at his fence got heated, he pulled it out and started shooting. Killed the bloke from the council. Now, killing someone is rarely a just outcome. But a lot of people had sympathy for this man, who they felt was hounded by the authorities. He got a lengthy prison sentence for it, but mouth to mouth stories were of admiration apparently. A small man who didn't take it, that sort of thing. A nobody who got stepped on, and who unlike many others bit back. The media painted him as villains, understandably, but every-day people can have some sympathy for the ones driven to the edge. That don't go quietly. <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/w/wsfh/0642292.0031.020/--jose-bove-vs-mcdonalds-the-making-of-a-national-hero?rgn=main;view=fulltext">Here</a> is another parvenu who did not <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ldtZoATJdc">like</a> the system and took some action :)<br />
<br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">And there is a series on youtube, called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMseH1ZPtQQu-u7EB4ehyyw">The Skin Deep</a>.</span> </b></span>It features people who are remarkably honest, when challenged. I saw this one the other night, these two I should say. People tend to normally have so many layers of decorum and perceived expectations that filter everything.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu2NyV5tpHPO3bzqxtPy52VIdBVZQW7xCaKiNAYSOltPPXAI84BJU-ogCzmeWO1XJnZqKPmZEiaRQV7SfA3aZHT7_qqsQxhEAOMWPkO9JZ7cAk4CZZS8ghJRJ-2Tw363vo0gEw3q_XO7tU/s1600/cb1b10e3ae1181710e4c854f59c461d1--portrait-paintings-art-paintings.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="659" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu2NyV5tpHPO3bzqxtPy52VIdBVZQW7xCaKiNAYSOltPPXAI84BJU-ogCzmeWO1XJnZqKPmZEiaRQV7SfA3aZHT7_qqsQxhEAOMWPkO9JZ7cAk4CZZS8ghJRJ-2Tw363vo0gEw3q_XO7tU/s320/cb1b10e3ae1181710e4c854f59c461d1--portrait-paintings-art-paintings.jpg" width="273" /></a>The concept of being more honest when a camera is aimed at you, is a strange one to me. I am not sure they are 100% honest in these videos, despite seeming to (exception for the kids, they tend to be most pure almost always). I think mostly everyone is aware in the back of their mind, how things are perceived by others, and what is socially acceptable to say and what not. The main reason they seem so honest nevertheless, might be because of the provocative questions on the cards. The set up is to break through the superficial talk, and ask them things that make these people open up. Which is interesting and nice sometimes to see. Perhaps this series touches a nerve with some audience, because the world seems in parts to have turned into a social media swamp of fakery, happy moments and covering up harsh realities. We all know what life is really like outside of the filtered facebook posts, but we rarely get to see it anymore from the people around us. Unless they are close friends who confide in us, going by social media presence, we are usually bound to believe it's all roses and unicorns out there. Everywhere <i>but</i> in our own lives. As a result, young people who didn't grow up in a time without the internet, perhaps think that others really have it so much more wonderful than them. I feel they do this project to show some real emotions, real issues. It did struck me that the producers are quite selective in who they invite for it however. I haven't seen rednecks yet, no farmers either. No salt of the earth people, but mostly educated professionals and progressive students with a high level of self-awareness.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_8zdljh3lFmajaLAe9J5wDetdjAbZP3GEGG1VpPX0WRZ16i5MH5pwlCpF8wW6LVm1q8iNZBAg543DxiGzDLMmf3lT7KeGrtFmGj7mozd4NLtJ_ivaBXk3gN84WP5CMvcfm7XtcVtmHE0/s1600/ZZDSC08967.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="954" data-original-width="722" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_8zdljh3lFmajaLAe9J5wDetdjAbZP3GEGG1VpPX0WRZ16i5MH5pwlCpF8wW6LVm1q8iNZBAg543DxiGzDLMmf3lT7KeGrtFmGj7mozd4NLtJ_ivaBXk3gN84WP5CMvcfm7XtcVtmHE0/w197-h260/ZZDSC08967.jpg" width="197" /></a>My dad also sent me some old photos he found in some box. Me around age 14 (so in 1994) compared to skin looking flashed and feeling painful today. I can't even remember what it feels like to just have normal functioning skin, like I had back then. Normal colour, no problems with warm weather or sun or general burning pain. It seems like literally another life, looking back at them. Although in many ways I actually feel happy, getting older. There are a lot of worries and insecurities which become less with age, for many people at least. You feel that you get a better grasp on life and the people in it. But I'm still glad that I kept diaries throughout my teens and young adult life, so I can remember that other life if I want to. My skin has been flushed and painful and all-round horrible this entire week. Partly hormonal driven. Am SO SICK of it. My pityriasis rashes are almost entirely gone, some stubborn spots are still healing but I don't even think about it anymore. It was strange, my rosacea was so calm during that ordeal. Makes me think again that my immune system plays a role in all this; when it was too preoccupied dealing with that rash, my skin went calm.. Wished it stayed that way for ever. Got some advise from my lovely friend:<br />-Don't deny yourself too many foods in attempt to control your rosacea. Denying yourself too many foods can spike depression too, so treat yourself now and then a bit (not full out splurge).<br />-Go somewhere fun. Really fun. Forget yourself. Let the wind blow on your face and hair. Feel it for a few minutes. Love that advise.. The last picture is just making me happy: crazy aunt trying to cuddle cat who is always subtle when expressing how he feels :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd9tGF9R8ez_tBwMMPrauPOvZiBc0-1M44t0Vo5jsFTD0ckPiX9EbtFCDEsEOQhCgMCnF_nSTa-IDDr8w5BuuyAdq_p1oMpi3q_Z06QDR4e9F-22k8wE7Se8fRw6erdHMOywa6lhCrqJT2/s1600/ZZZDSC08840.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd9tGF9R8ez_tBwMMPrauPOvZiBc0-1M44t0Vo5jsFTD0ckPiX9EbtFCDEsEOQhCgMCnF_nSTa-IDDr8w5BuuyAdq_p1oMpi3q_Z06QDR4e9F-22k8wE7Se8fRw6erdHMOywa6lhCrqJT2/w511-h384/ZZZDSC08840.jpg" width="511" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFEVYzZrivpi7BO09xgI6aOA0AaOije83-hBOLrnuus6VPuWeKPOwHr7x0w_kMyKMSfK0Z6HNvFMncFvx0ymkZ8-2wSINZDZm3XKdObaRqjZZ_PSkd5lTPB2qtIMaZpeHenOeZVf_62ted/s1600/DSC08839.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFEVYzZrivpi7BO09xgI6aOA0AaOije83-hBOLrnuus6VPuWeKPOwHr7x0w_kMyKMSfK0Z6HNvFMncFvx0ymkZ8-2wSINZDZm3XKdObaRqjZZ_PSkd5lTPB2qtIMaZpeHenOeZVf_62ted/s320/DSC08839.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF2XmqriviDxj6Xq5TLmfl3QYtQBevhaI6Sr5c4biAtH8gVbxmaUKku_ebuYIDXXK7HVgWJ2HD0xVG5yGUaAw_O6bxwDnJ-T1X-Rdu6tHvlWyypqvcZ5MDY5ZIjB2IPeN4EuiDAyhXPxRs/s1600/10313358_844169455611063_4403990452820699684_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="625" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF2XmqriviDxj6Xq5TLmfl3QYtQBevhaI6Sr5c4biAtH8gVbxmaUKku_ebuYIDXXK7HVgWJ2HD0xVG5yGUaAw_O6bxwDnJ-T1X-Rdu6tHvlWyypqvcZ5MDY5ZIjB2IPeN4EuiDAyhXPxRs/s320/10313358_844169455611063_4403990452820699684_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Music clip of the day</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">October 13th 2018</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpoJ6bg8zHfnFe4rZZbBsINoqxf6pPIcKRXWBEt7N8qwb2xaE3whcNrTF1MFIvDWiJHrK-SNTNJQ2zn_5O5NtrMKH_j1c6eeF6VGoqAFeabmjqPruBl3jrGPInuigoKw5NKkdxPMihXn7/s1600/bfeea2422a01d3fa73c2b0921b508a93.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpoJ6bg8zHfnFe4rZZbBsINoqxf6pPIcKRXWBEt7N8qwb2xaE3whcNrTF1MFIvDWiJHrK-SNTNJQ2zn_5O5NtrMKH_j1c6eeF6VGoqAFeabmjqPruBl3jrGPInuigoKw5NKkdxPMihXn7/s1600/bfeea2422a01d3fa73c2b0921b508a93.jpg" /></a>I had a good day today. A trip to the market and the coast with an older eccentric friend, and a long walk at the end of the day. I woke up with one flaring cheek, but managed to cool it down with a cold pack and then was good to go. The market is always nice, with familiar faces and fresh fruit and vegetables. I bought a bag full of stuff, carrots, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, green beans, a pumpkin, apples and pears. We had a drink later and talked about what sentimental value one could put on old houses. Larger families who inherit a family home, and decide to sell it and share the profit. She thinks it is practical common sense, because what are you going to do with an old family house, that should be shared by multiple siblings? I find it a shame, and like continuity and for some things to last, even in modern times. But practically speaking, my suggestion that such a place can always serve as a holiday home, made her laugh: "You know, like everyone has 3 weeks off in August and all want to stay there". True.. I remember my grandparents house being sold at some point, after their passing, and it is sentimentality for sure but I always loved that house, growing up, and spent every summer holiday there with my middle sister. It had been in the family for over a century and then their kids (6 in total) couldn't come to another decision than to sell and share the money. Friend asked what other solution there reasonably would have been? Well... the way it always has gone lol? Give it to the eldest child! (I'm the eldest myself hehe). <i>"Primogeniture! Totally archaic and unfair!" </i>I suppose it is.. It is mythical thinking, but I imagine houses to have characters too. Passing an old beautiful house I used to work in an old house at some point in time, and seeing it uninhabited and disheveled made me so sad.. As if that house was suffering and forlorn suddenly, without someone to take care of it and inhabit it. Anyway, silliness. I had a nice day, and then I went for a very long walk, one of the first after months of hot weather and inability to go out long hours for exercise, and it was lovely. It was as if the nature spot I walk was greeting me and had missed me coming round :D Jokes.. </div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Music clip of the day, well there are two, will hopefully shoot you back in a time capsule to the 1980's, as is space rock/80's style electronic synth :)</b></span></div>
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I like to do a shabby robot dance on them and also listen to them regularly when out walking, to keep up the walking pace! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1_kv2I8udFf_wG8cItshWDfsh25exGvh9Axqohajadk9v14M3moMOOTD5l-MqY0ixK_Assb-HFCKvn2B5nIewkKQkC9ikn-FQtcLyJQJB0a-BaJuKei_OMdg7GOTUcOAr6JrDZXoobKY/s1600/images+%252813%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1_kv2I8udFf_wG8cItshWDfsh25exGvh9Axqohajadk9v14M3moMOOTD5l-MqY0ixK_Assb-HFCKvn2B5nIewkKQkC9ikn-FQtcLyJQJB0a-BaJuKei_OMdg7GOTUcOAr6JrDZXoobKY/s400/images+%252813%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">October 11th 2018</span></b></div>
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I've been flushing and burning for the past 10 days or so. I have no idea what triggered it... Shouldn't yet be hormonal/cycle flushing.. I have eaten fairly clean, as in; no fast-food, sugar, gluten, dairy.. Maybe the warm-ish weather and high humidity caused it. Or maybe it is just one of those random rosacea flare-ups. It's hard doing my normal rounds when my skin is so painful and feels burned up and hot. I don't even look deep red, more pink, but my cheeks feel really sore. Wished I never had that stupid IPL treatment back in 2005.. I'll add some photos of it below. In one my lip is swollen because my cat was overly enthusiastic about a toy mouse game and slashed my lip with his nail haha. As usual I try to just show a close up of one cheek (I find my photos back on all sorts of rosacea related sales and business pages nowadays, never with permission so I try to make them as useless as possible for such purposes), and I use no filters or whatever, and don't have a smartphone so they are made with a regular camera. I have been feeling a bit low the past weeks. Mostly because my sore face just keeps me in lock-down, and interferes with some social things I wanted to do, and also because I worry sometimes that this is going to be my reality until the end of my days. It's been nearly 20 years since I developed this and so far practically no new treatments have come on the scene, and nothing that has helped me. I spoke with someone who is in the same boat rosacea wise and also has other auto-immune diseases, like myself. Also tied to the house a good deal of time, when illnesses flare, and also for many years already. We share good and bad days and similar struggles mostly. We discussed how to mentally deal with it all, especially during bad spells. When our skin is calm, we are OK with it all and go out, meet with other people,, travel etc. But the bad periods with severe flare ups and staying in the house so much, makes us struggle. Also the lack of perspective, the lack of respite and control. Of ways to just forget about it all and go out and enjoy ourselves when we're doing poorly, like most other people out there. Instead we need to live in controlled spaces, avoiding warm temperatures, sun, bright lights. It is severely limiting, and the worst aspect I find is that even while doing all that, or not doing so much in fact, I still sit here with a burning red face.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTI5gO5kS95JUHT6SUAyexnN5GSPiU0OuSyLUf3umOmb_-Tfasp8KXtD8r3Shl0mxjgj5D5GMm7EMtgEQRNgz0gnZ0NmTnK2rQNyXrv0eIHtwC6JgPerA_WuoK9chHvo8GnC9Ho607KPk/s1600/1460098131_large-image_ramoncasastaggedovermydeadbodylg.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTI5gO5kS95JUHT6SUAyexnN5GSPiU0OuSyLUf3umOmb_-Tfasp8KXtD8r3Shl0mxjgj5D5GMm7EMtgEQRNgz0gnZ0NmTnK2rQNyXrv0eIHtwC6JgPerA_WuoK9chHvo8GnC9Ho607KPk/s320/1460098131_large-image_ramoncasastaggedovermydeadbodylg.jpg" width="261" /></a>Despite not being the social butterfly by nature, I still find it all claustrophobic and limiting. This friend encounters the same things and at the moment struggles to find comfort in life. And to suppress dark thoughts at times. You need to dig so deep within yourself when you are housebound in order to find ways to push the darkness away. And still it can wash over you unexpectedly and suddenly, this wave of negativity that can be so strong that it kills your thoughts, heart, etc. The more negative it makes you, the deeper you spiral downwards. Some call it the black dog concept. In our case, the lack of control we have and the severe limitations in life are probably causing it. And the pain and discomfort. These things we suffer from make so many demands on our every day life. Going out to dinner or dance with friends is often no option when your face feels and looks on fire.. Usually I end up sitting with cold packs at friends houses, or in a restaurant during such spells. I still go out regularly, but it all depends on how bad my flushing and burning is, and appointments can be altered at the last minute sometimes. Friends invited me to come to a theater play I particularly look forward to and have a bite to eat afterwards; we did the same thing last year and I was beet beet red and on fire all through the performance (luckily it was dark) and during the dinner. I tried to just ignore it, the others know about my skin and health issues... It was mostly a lovely experience in retrospect, when I was back at home, cooling my skin and collecting memories. Outings in general are limited in a lot of ways.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFeojhR-oxdxjcsWCCcYt-LBTW5WdM9XkjxJA2a_J2kyXiCewYxSoURa5p4T4FLapKmGqUe1KgSJ_rV7VES6qrrW8z_dY5QvR_a-jXJyncCIbRpYO9pyaFTcMEX7b8gZ7b5uX54AhZH_yT/s1600/images+%252818%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="192" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFeojhR-oxdxjcsWCCcYt-LBTW5WdM9XkjxJA2a_J2kyXiCewYxSoURa5p4T4FLapKmGqUe1KgSJ_rV7VES6qrrW8z_dY5QvR_a-jXJyncCIbRpYO9pyaFTcMEX7b8gZ7b5uX54AhZH_yT/s320/images+%252818%2529.jpg" width="234" /></a>We both sometimes think about the why question. Not just 'why me', but also what is the meaning of suffering in general? Is there even any meaning to it? And how to deal emotionally with a situation you cannot change, but are unhappy with? A situation that has become pretty hopeless in some respects (hopeless especially with regards to outlook on new better treatment options). I keep looking and reading about new rosacea developments here, but I honestly don't expect anything groundbreaking to occur in the next ten to fifteen years... Not trying to burst anyone's bubble, but this flushing and burning thing is a lousy condition to suffer from and a complex one to treat.. It takes a lot of energy every day to be positive and energetic and keep hopeful and trustful in the big scheme of things. I like to get lost in things; writing, reading, exploring. <i>Vee are zhe lucky onesz weeth zhe internet running as iet ies. </i>To speak in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGNVU5ZjlgA"><b>Allo Allo</b></a> language. I'm counting myself lucky to live in the internet age; having information, movies, tv-series, documentaries, college classes and penpals at the tip of our hands. But I can't sit behind the computer screen all day either, as that <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/03/could-computer-screens-or-phonetv-ones.html"><b>makes me flushed</b></a> too. Spirituality is one of the last things (or for some people the first thing) to go when one feels hopeless, and badly treated by the universe. I'm not sure I have ever been very spiritual, my friend was, but consistent beatings down make it easy to lose your spiritual sense. After all; why would the universe be out to make you suffer? While others around us seem to sail through life? (With emphasis on '<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/oct/09/age-envy-be-happy-everyone-else-perfect-social-media"><b>seem to</b></a>'). Suffering can make everything seem harsh, and cold. Some even say that it makes them feel like life is laughing at them. With so much adversity it is hard to be religious or even spiritual. My mum is quite spiritual and I asked her often, in despair; what did I do to deserve all this bad "karma"?? Was I some monster in another life? Why this relentless constant stream of troubles, illnesses, hassle. Then the dental issues again, then the cat dies, then more health issues... She doesn't know the answer to that she says, whether or not there is any meaning to suffering. There might be, or there might not be. She thinks that all adversity has an upside, brings us something good as well, or pushes us in a direction where we are confronted hardest with our own 'learning points' in life. In my case, I would need to learn to let go of control. And let go of vanity regarding physical looks. I just like to think that there is some sort of purpose to it all, even when I know it most likely is a little trick of the mind; wishful thinking that is not that different from religion. But it helps me to see it as a challenge from the cosmos or something; and to imagine some sort of enlightenment as the eventual reward, at the end of the line. Despite looking for facts in every day life, I do believe there could be more than just atheistic version of things. Not a traditional God. I'm more wondering why this highly unlikely chance at life (if you go by the mathematical calculations in favour of your own birth, the odds are staggeringly against the whole thing... yet it happened) could not happen twice. It makes no sense to me to assume that if something could happen once, it could not happen twice. I don't mean that we can be born again in the way and shape we are now. But I'm only referring to the spark of consciousness. I mean, my cats have consciousness too. They might not be aware of this, but they exist, they experience emotions and pleasure and pain. They live. That thing in us that is like the light and the awareness; I don't think it is 100% tied to our specific DNA. I don't see why we couldn't be something, somewhere and some time, again. In all honesty, I also find the thought of never being or experiencing anything after death too frightening.. I can't even imagine it, eternal nothingness. It's freaking me out. Anyway..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3HaBw9c8XfXsYgr6uEQOgeGR0PaJOACKVwaDcKQ5fXpJPhxTFSTMrYWucovXpAcwNAwkC1nI2CE0JZQQPHL1xe4g4A5NGP_gQhghRSeFwpsoNuRI3bWc6wpE4EQWaZBuQ4T2NhSb51j8A/s1600/images+%252820%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3HaBw9c8XfXsYgr6uEQOgeGR0PaJOACKVwaDcKQ5fXpJPhxTFSTMrYWucovXpAcwNAwkC1nI2CE0JZQQPHL1xe4g4A5NGP_gQhghRSeFwpsoNuRI3bWc6wpE4EQWaZBuQ4T2NhSb51j8A/s320/images+%252820%2529.jpg" width="253" /></a>I know that suffering is easier to bear when you find a purpose for it. I wrote about this psychiatrist Esther Perel earlier in this post, and she also touched on those topics. Finding meaning in life and in adversity, in order to move on. So with regards to our current suffering... perhaps we are tested in some ways and we have to show our strength through this very difficult moment in time and in this life we now lead... Again, I realize this is akin to religious, mythical thinking. But we didn't do anything to deserve this, so why are we dealing with this for so many years now? I somehow feel we need to find the strength to carry it all and develop as human beings, improve in whatever ways we can, and that perhaps there is something after this life which we aren't aware of yet.. That thought gives me strength. The possibilities out there and just the feeling that we need to be strong now, to perhaps get the 'rewards' of it later on. Which funny enough is a deeply Christian (or religious in general) concept haha. But maybe that is what age and adversity does to me; finding more understanding for other peoples beliefs and motivations and coping mechanisms. It can also be hard to stay warm and understanding and not cynical and hardened when life is so rough and you see others have it so much easier. And when you suffer without hope or respite year after year after year. All of that pain adds up.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">I find a lot of comfort and solace in friendships, my cats, books, stories and art.</span></b> Travels too. Information, staying in wonder of new things you learn. Being creative in one way or another can also be a great coping tool. When you create something and get in that zone - may it be writing, painting, composing, whatever, a creative thing - then sometimes time falls away and you are in a cloud, away from every day stuff. It is escapism and it feels useful because you have something created at the end of the line. Nietzsche said that in the end, only music transported his mind away from the ever grinding mechanisms of the brain. (He ended up in an asylum with a mental breakdown in the end). I also get strength from knowing I have battled through this physical pain for almost two decades now, and I feel proud of myself for this. I'm not someone who is critical of myself in the traditional sense; 'Oh you're too fat, too ugly, too boring, too different'. Maybe it is due to my upbringing.. My dad is an artist and eccentric, my mum is an einzelgänger too and very glamorous but not afraid to be different and to stick out from the crowd. We learned early on that conventions are strong in most people and people who are different catch a lot of wind in a storm. I don't suffer under being different now either, therefore. Different as in; less of a social butterfly than my friends, less uncomplicated with my health limitations, less living by the current norm of those around me, which is a very busy professional and social life, juggling with 8 balls in the air, having the latest gadgets, being both partner, mother and good social friend. I'm probably less optimistic than most are. But things are as they are. We are who we are partly by nurture, but also partly by nature and there will always be people out there who appreciate you for just that; your own individuality. Nobody will be liked by everyone else out there. You shouldn't strive to be loved by everyone either. So for everyone dealing with this shitty condition and with feelings of self worth and such; try to be proud of yourself, for battling through all this, and finding the will to look for solutions and improvements. Be proud for the ways in which you keep going, look for new and better treatments of your skin issues and for keeping to find the positives in life. And try to just take things one day at a time. Maybe set yourself small challenges instead of throwing all problems on one pile and expecting to solve them all at once. It can be easier to just oversee what you need to do or can do during the next day(s). And try helping others, as that is the fastest way to feel gratification.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_cYP5qNcZu01A6lso6ZxNU8yjnl2a4Edo_LYHNeZy6WCTL8i68Fq2HUfcw0SiAQEvpFk20jNX4B_ikLMLTNzPIS9wT-ivyP00gE7pAH602ustL1q0rQoOtV2fTHU4HBBn4dTR88n0vUt/s1600/teaserbox_2465450852.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="584" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_cYP5qNcZu01A6lso6ZxNU8yjnl2a4Edo_LYHNeZy6WCTL8i68Fq2HUfcw0SiAQEvpFk20jNX4B_ikLMLTNzPIS9wT-ivyP00gE7pAH602ustL1q0rQoOtV2fTHU4HBBn4dTR88n0vUt/s320/teaserbox_2465450852.jpg" width="266" /></a>I have these bursts of energy, I need to force it, but then I can write and have meetings and do a ton of stuff in a few days, like some hurricane, and then they are always followed eventually by several days at least of mental exhaustion, apathy and a low(er) mood... Just getting up and looking after the cats can feel too much then... I tend to just binge watch TV series or documentaries or listen to music and read on such days 😞 I think half of my exhaustion stems from my own racing mind and thoughts. I saw another beautiful little program the other day about Japan. Over there, people are said to live for society. Not for their own happiness in the first place, but for the well-being of the country. So the effect of this attitude is that a lot of people can feel bowed down once they no longer feel that they can contribute to society. Think of illness, but also old age for instance, or when being made redudant at work. That can be very hard to bear for Japanese I learned, as they are so focused on finding self worth in meaningful jobs. Japanese also apparently love the ephemeral and fleeting nature of the Japanese cherry-tree blossom. Japan has a word, 'mono no aware', which means something like things of fleeting beauty; watching something that is beautiful, but which you know will decay. A cherry blossom in full bloom is beautiful, but Japanese also find it beautiful when the blossom leaves are starting to fall. A bit like our own poppy flowers, which only last a short while and who drop their petals the moment you try to pick the flower to take her home. And the fact these cherry-tree blossoms only last for a short while, makes them extra beautiful in melancholy-filled Japan. Sadness and change go hand in hand. Strangely enough, peoples own ageing and weathering down is not seen as equally beautiful. Japanese culture more or less dictates that people should keep their sadness to themselves. You don't talk about your own losses, adversities and sadness in life, because you don't want to burden another person with your own struggles. (Which could just be making the inner problems bigger for people). We all need ways to express our emotions and grief. In the program, they took the viewer to a special phone boot, placed by someone in his back garden, at the foot of some mountain, where people can call with their loved ones. He called it 'the telephone of the wind'. The old fashioned telephone is not attached to anything, you can see the wires being unplugged, but people can express their grief to loved ones who died, by pretending to call with them. Some of those calls were recorded and could be heard in the program. One went like this:<br />
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<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">-If you are out there somewhere, then please listen to me.</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">-I miss you so very bad</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">-Sometimes I don't know what I am still living for</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">-I have built a new house</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">-But without you, it means nothing to me</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">-I want to hear your voices, but I can't</span></b></i><br />
<b><span style="color: #444444;"><i><br /></i>
<i>-I don't know where to start</i></span></b><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">-It feels as if you are still alive somewhere</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">-There were so many things I still wanted to do with you</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">-Are you there, Hiroaki?</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">-It is such a shame</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">-I don't know what to say</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">-Every time a car passes by I think:</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">-Is that you? Are you finally home?</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">-It just does not get through to me</span></b></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTDwna_JTDFaTW-mRTHRxZ0XfZ0faK62kTtUNe9pxqC_eriX6RYXVs7NALisS197zk7UmsGKETNkBdqoGkzTwgm7Aoo0wHP3wIABI4umVQMonimSY7DQNam4g6L7upYwnWNxTZgGCucTB6/s1600/images+%252819%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="197" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTDwna_JTDFaTW-mRTHRxZ0XfZ0faK62kTtUNe9pxqC_eriX6RYXVs7NALisS197zk7UmsGKETNkBdqoGkzTwgm7Aoo0wHP3wIABI4umVQMonimSY7DQNam4g6L7upYwnWNxTZgGCucTB6/s320/images+%252819%2529.jpg" width="246" /></a>The owner, an eccentric older man, placed the phone boot there to help introverted Japanese with their mourning process. Some 30.000 people already traveled to his garden to make a call like this. This man believes that humans have a soul, or a spirit, and that it lives on when someone dies. He believes that a soul is flowing out of the connection between living and deceased humans. That the soul of the deceases makes a connection between those left behind on earth. And the wind telephone helps to establish this connection. He also understands that the people using his phone aren't really talking to the deceased, but more with their own memories. Japan also have a saying 'ichi-go ichi-e', referring to how you have to treasure every encounter you have with anyone, because it may never recur again. You may not see this person another time. It means a once in a lifetime meeting. And when Japanese have a party, there is always an official end to it. I love that.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rtH-1RJSWe8y8nIEA4qI_IXTTImyVOuIbSIaw2VXar5ZNvSifRMLeom9SJYIBFBH2eIqPSHPuZcEJXxq_dC74xCfe4mUusFIaOLPWQnfSK7tx9OEMxOXaOvIJzJC30pl-b8TNMveclfP/s1600/images+%252814%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="183" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rtH-1RJSWe8y8nIEA4qI_IXTTImyVOuIbSIaw2VXar5ZNvSifRMLeom9SJYIBFBH2eIqPSHPuZcEJXxq_dC74xCfe4mUusFIaOLPWQnfSK7tx9OEMxOXaOvIJzJC30pl-b8TNMveclfP/s320/images+%252814%2529.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>I also talked about suicide with this friend.</b></span> Not something either of us contemplates by the way, not at all. But it seems to happen more often in society, and over seeming (but we never know the true circumstances) futile things like a fight with a loved one or a relative, or the loss of a job. For those suffering physically or mentally, suicide can perhaps be a comforting thought sometimes; there is always an exit door, in case the suffering we endure gets too much to bear... I think most people don't want to die, but they want another life, a better one, and to get control back over their suffering. Its a painful thing. I said to my friend that something as dark and eerie as suicide should never be allowed to take away you. And all that is lovely and kind and smart and beautiful about you. To not allow such a dark cloud to make you think any other way. And to also realize that such an act burdens a lot of people likely with the trauma of such a loss. The what if feelings, the guilt, the self doubt and grieving. Sometimes I wonder if we can better handle and deal with these mental and physical hardships by changing our expectations? I can get really down myself from living inside the house so much and being so awkward socially that I don't want to connect with anyone else but a handful of trusted people.. But then I try to look at the things that do are there; friends, family, pets, a lot of interests, work. Finding purpose in the entire mess can help to make it feel less of a senseless daily pain enduring exercise. And there are of course also antidepressants. I can't stress enough how important and helpful they can be in reducing depression and anxiety, for those unable to control them in another way. I take a relative low dose of mirtzapine (Remeron), first and foremost to help battle the facial flushing, but it also helps me to not go down that rabbit hole too deep anymore... It takes the deepest depths of low moods out, I feel. I remember before taking it, I would sometimes feel dragged into that sort of very intense, bottomless depression, and it zaps all your energy and willpower. Nowadays, there is always still melancholia and I'm not a bouncing ball of optimism and happiness suddenly, but the extremes seem to have been taken off. It is a calming thing. It also gives me amazing deep, wonderful sleep. I think it is a chemical thing in the brain that causes it all, spurred on by things we endure in every day life. For instance; having no control over red painful skin, over other health conditions, and feeling just like a ship on a stormy sea. Every day it is up to chance or good or bad luck whether or not it will be a good or a bad day, pain wise, rosacea wise. This instability is hard to handle for most. When I started mirtazapine, I had pushed it off for years, too afraid of making things worse; of dealing with the disappointment of yet another failed trial perhaps. Fear of making things even worse rosacea wise, which I feared could potentially push me over the edge. Afraid of side effects too (which it has). But when an antidepressant does work, it can clear things up and make you think straight again; like you used to think. Just correcting a chemical imbalance in the brain and (in my experience with mirtazapine) not changing your personality. Just lifting the clouds.<span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">Some things I read or discussed that lifted my spirits</span></b><br />
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Kid with nuclear reactor in his basement:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G0QMeTjcJDA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G0QMeTjcJDA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwqW9J_1nW3Bj1KIAN4-0kZ0dcbCY5yHti7-BYQuL0A30dMiIKS1LcXIENYFklEBNYicmvqd8ScrTHXb_Vd' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
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Here's what this dude did. Hahn built a bloody nuclear reactor on his mom's shed. Mind-boggling. Ok it's crude... but he made it himself. He was able to get hold of radioactive materials by pretending to be a college professor. He also got radioactive materials from smoke detectors. Who thinks of such a thing? He ordered some Uranium from Czechoslovakia because why the hell wouldn't that be possible 😊His parents never cared much for him, but instead of embracing drugs or a delinquent life, he wanted to solve the energy crisis by replicating a type of experimental nuclear reactor. The bridge between understanding theory, and implementing it in reality is a significant one for many. (Scientist Michio Kaku tried to make a particle accelerator on his parents garage when he was six. All he got was a hefty power bill and a reprimand from his father). I reckon he most probably died of radiation poisoning. </div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Like one of my friends likes to give off on Baby Boomers and always rants about boomers, I like to watch the odd video bashing Millennials:</b></span></div>
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JP is so funny to me. Some good comments below the video too:</div>
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-<i>"How dare you lump all us millennials together! I'm starting a petition as soon as I finish my caramel double shot tequila soy latte."</i></div>
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<i>-"Never has a generation so diligently documented themselves achieving so little."</i></div>
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<i>-"You forgot to mention you like to travel to exotic locals, as part of your college internship, to take selfies with brown, impoverished children and post them as your profile picture."</i></div>
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<i>-"As a millennial, I'm offended that my comment does not even have any likes. Just because I'm still typing it doesn't mean you can't like it. FR"</i></div>
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<i>-"As a gen Xer I am offended that I am no longer getting all of the negative attention. Enjoy your 15 minutes of fame millennials."</i></div>
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<i>-"I don't like anyone, that's why I'm always friendly. I always try to engage people enough to not be disliked, but never enough to make a real connection. I'm my friend. My thoughts make me laugh- on the inside."</i></div>
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<i>-"Sad but true. Thanks selfish baby boomer, helicopter parents. You've created a whole generation of these self-congratulatory, narcissistic monsters."</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJB7dIkIWhbcSq5HTi1CJKt12rPIWrXDXDdDKvtZY7PJiTgnf60Lq8UWgQD2QDio4bzGT8nrRGFZT3DFzAEKK2WL8EqWoCfZaZQXLeJWOKzz8mjL377lJfDyM7F8ZKbXPqmfksF9BnoA5/s1600/3038ee9c31233662b601bacf0cc519b9.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1370" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJB7dIkIWhbcSq5HTi1CJKt12rPIWrXDXDdDKvtZY7PJiTgnf60Lq8UWgQD2QDio4bzGT8nrRGFZT3DFzAEKK2WL8EqWoCfZaZQXLeJWOKzz8mjL377lJfDyM7F8ZKbXPqmfksF9BnoA5/s400/3038ee9c31233662b601bacf0cc519b9.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><a href="http://reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/9fstdh/history_professionals_of_reddit_what_is_that_one/?st=jmpc1uu9&sh=39c1b7c2">Here</a> you can read a funny facts reddit post, where </b></span><b style="color: #990000;">someone asked other people for the strangest facts they know. Some favorites</b></span><br />*"Notorious Pirate/Pirate hunter Benjamin Hornigold Once attacked a ship just to steal all of the crew member's hats. His men had gotten drunk and lost their hats during a party the night before and decided to board a ship to get replacements."<br />*"Julius Caesar was once kidnapped by pirates, and when he found out how much they were ransoming him for, he was offended at how low the amount was and told them to raise it. Meanwhile he spent his captivity annoying the shit out of his captors, holding poetry readings and generally being a pompous dick. Oh, and he also joked that he'd eventually hunt them all down and crucify them. The ransom was paid, Caesar was released, then he hunted them down and crucified them."<br />*"Daniel Steibelt, a top pianist in his own right, challenged his contemporary Beethoven to a musical improv duel. Steibelt did believe he had a shot; he was no kid, and had already composed for Marie Antoinette and operated a successful version of Romeo and Juliet. He showed up to the improvisation and played one of his own works, for which he'd brought the sheet music. Once it was his turn, Beethoven turned the sheet music upside down and beautifully fucked the piece sideways and backwards, overturing Steibelt's style all the while like a cat teasing a particularly boring mouse. No one ever challenged Beethoven to a musical improvisation again, least of all Steibelt, who never again set foot in Vienna."<br />*"There once existed an alleged theoretical state of war that lasted 335 years and 19 days, and was between the Dutch and an archipelago off the coast of southwest England called the Isles of Scilly. What's more, there were no casualties (because the Dutch forgot that they were at war with the Isles). It wasn't until a Scilly historian contacted the Dutch about the "war" in 1985, and received the information that the "war" was still technically ongoing, that a peace treaty was signed in 1986."<br />*"After her ninth child, Queen Victoria's doctor advised her not to have anymore. She responded with "Oh Sir James (doctor), am I not to have anymore fun in bed!". She was very much in love with her husband and when he died she kept the last glass he drank out of in the same place on the night stand for the remainder of her life (like 40-ish years or so). She meant proper mental after he died though. Half of London is named after him as a result If a Brit has ever so much as glanced in the general vicinity of a city, there's a Royal Albert something or other."</div>
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*"Melbourne <a href="https://www.blogger.com/source%20https://www.melbournehistoricalcrimetours.com/melbourne-historical-crime-tours-blog/valentine-keating-and-his-north-melbourne-gang-the-crutchy-push-c1900%22"><b>was once</b></a> terrorized by a crime gang that consisted exclusively of men with one leg and crutches. "“The Crutchy Push, with one exception, consisted of one-legged men. The exception was a one-armed man who kept half a brick in his sewn up empty sleeve. He led his followers into battle swinging the weighted sleeve around his head. Behind him came the men on crutches – each one expert at balancing on one leg. The tip of the crutch was used to jab an opponent in the midriff. With the enemy gasping for breath the crutch would be reversed and the metal-shod arm rest would be used as a club.” It gets better. After several incidences of their member outrunning cops sent to track them down, the police got together the ten most violent police officers in Australia, called them "The Terrible Ten" and sent them to beat up the Crutchie Push with hoses, because Australia is clearly one giant Carry On movie. sometimes I get to thinking that Australia isn't just a giant practical joke and then I hear stories like this.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtkqdhpQyM2KgX4cCzRKsbgfBIit1dRm2XfCbopkVmePKxsJXR-2FvLit4IxWQzCOqVbv4cjMyeYNEOWlPpVFJp3jU96DFiuinddOV2rSZvUq5mUvXPuuXSufa34X9KhLKmvrXGAbRVIpo/s1600/Untitled-10.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="818" data-original-width="647" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtkqdhpQyM2KgX4cCzRKsbgfBIit1dRm2XfCbopkVmePKxsJXR-2FvLit4IxWQzCOqVbv4cjMyeYNEOWlPpVFJp3jU96DFiuinddOV2rSZvUq5mUvXPuuXSufa34X9KhLKmvrXGAbRVIpo/w162-h205/Untitled-10.jpg" width="162" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I also love this girl and her channel</span><span style="font-size: 42px;"> <br /></span></span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">I think she is Polish, am pretty sure of it thanks to her giveaway Polish fashion throughout the years video. She has great style and wit I think. I am almost in love with her quirkiness. (As usual I upload both the original youtube video and an uploaded video version, because sometimes videos I share on this blog get taken down in the mean time and I forgot what it was exactly and cannot replace it. And at the same time I want to link to the original youtube video as well, as it contains more info on the maker and comment section). </span></div>
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I also love it when she is critical and slashes historical incorrect videos in that genre of dressing up historically. She knows a lot about historical dressing styles and going by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/karolinazebrowskax/">her instagram</a>, I'm actually jealous of her life haha. I'm finally jealous of someone ❤ The dressing up balls and events she goes to, I love it so much. Here are some photos of her classical party going; this is Karolina Żebrowska. And <a href="https://www.willowandthatch.com/polish-costume-period-dramas-karolina-zebrowska/">here</a> is an interesting interview with her. </div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;">October 9th 2018</span></b></div>
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<b>Some Nietzsche quotes:</b></div>
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<u>“The Thought of Death. </u></div>
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It gives me a melancholy happiness to live in the midst of this confusion of streets, of necessities, of voices: how much enjoyment, impatience and desire, how much thirsty life and drunkenness of life comes to light here every moment! And yet it will soon be so still for all these shouting, lively, life- loving people! How everyone's shadow, his gloomy traveling companion stands behind him! It is always as in the last moment before the departure of an emigrant- ship: people have more than ever to say to one another, the hour presses, the ocean with its lonely silence waits impatiently behind all the noise-so greedy, so certain of its prey! And all, all, suppose that the past has been nothing, or a small matter, that the near future is everything: hence this haste, this crying, this self-deafening and self-overreaching! Everyone wants to be foremost in this future-and yet death and the stillness of death are the only things certain and common to all in this future! How strange that this sole thing that is certain and common to all, exercises almost no influence on men, and that they are the furthest from regarding themselves as the brotherhood of death! It makes me happy to see that men do not want to think at all of the idea of death! I would fain do something to make the idea of life to us to be more than friends in the sense of that sublime possibility. And so we will believe in our even a hundred times more worthy of their attention.”</div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">“The most common sort of lie is that by which a man deceives himself: the deception of others is a relatively rare offense.”</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">“It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.” </span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.” </span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.” </span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">“The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.”</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">“Every deep thinker is more afraid of being understood than of being misunderstood.”</span></i></b> </span></div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Songs of the day</span></b></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hqZGvkF00DI/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hqZGvkF00DI?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxmLDQjUZJ4Mu0Avdi1mpTaLcQYWMyPBVYsqoP1FtZ4l2Fm-QuM8rq1aZ83mfMZvpxM4tW-_XuT_pS6qt4Llg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ae6tTD78H7c/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ae6tTD78H7c?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxXLneY5EtzTLzYU8lGxjGJqIEPSgmHXCb8RaXjS-GPXDsFZUR0kQZPq40TXAtkA2G7TMybwGD6g9ZrgMZaew' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b style="color: #990000;">I have continued writing my day<br />to day life updates in </b><b style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/02/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life.html" target="_blank">this blogpost</a>.<br />Or read older updates <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/05/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-vii.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</b></div><div><b style="color: #990000;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/s1600/0%252C2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/w435-h435/0%252C2.jpg" width="435" /></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;" /></div></div></div></b></div></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: left;"></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: 700;" /></div></div>
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</div></div>Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-60018098528997468002018-12-20T15:37:00.068-08:002024-03-14T20:38:29.742-07:00Neurogenic Rosacea: how to treat the nerve pain and skin burning? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmqaz9Bf1thJwb9w2ZL78FwPnDl_40sXlAHhql4JlLkqOiOBuXxfvTcAzMzwWmhIfgHr4V62cvSFu1pfHUsVb5LNOCimnCag42Iu1JO94p_E5i46x7iAi_1VKRFYO7MuGAnQhI3e1nrBM6qyB-GiR4tWg5AEuUw7zjlswNUPhCY1diUY95y4nk3fo8IzEm/s819/Untitled3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="819" data-original-width="683" height="574" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmqaz9Bf1thJwb9w2ZL78FwPnDl_40sXlAHhql4JlLkqOiOBuXxfvTcAzMzwWmhIfgHr4V62cvSFu1pfHUsVb5LNOCimnCag42Iu1JO94p_E5i46x7iAi_1VKRFYO7MuGAnQhI3e1nrBM6qyB-GiR4tWg5AEuUw7zjlswNUPhCY1diUY95y4nk3fo8IzEm/w479-h574/Untitled3.jpg" width="479" /></a>One of the worst aspects of my rosacea, I feel, is the burning pain it gives me. My face most of the time feels tight, stinging, hot and like it has a sunburn. Even when my skin looks pink or leans towards pale, I still usually have that same burning tight uncomfortable feeling. And when a flush breaks through - which happens still often, for instance when I enter a warm room, or when I don't cool my face with a fan for a significant time, or from stress, or catching sunlight - , this burning pain gets worse and washes over the face. Some compare it with an acid sort of burning pain. It is hard, dealing with the burning hot pain daily.. I take one day at a time and try to stay cool and keep my face from flushing. So this burning pain, this nerve pain almost; what is it and what can be done about it? Recently (2011) scientists<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3692271/" target="_blank"> <b>suggested</b></a> a new subgroup of rosacea: <b><span style="color: #660000;">neurogenic rosacea</span></b>. A key characteristic of neurogenic Rosacea is the burning sensation and chronic facial pain it gives, both while the face is flushed or inflamed, but also in the absence of flushing and redness. It is something that is mostly seen with people who have subtype 1 rosacea, with redness of the face and flushing, and less so with subtype 2 patients with skin outbreaks and pimples (p&p's for rosacea). Constant flushing especially, but also inflammation of the skin and blood vessels, can cause the neurogenic onset, as it puts pressure on the small nerve endings in the face. And these nerve endings get hypersensitive and possibly even damaged from this. Inflammation of the trigeminal nerve, which is located in the facial skin, and helps create our facial sensations of pain, can also be affected and play a role in burning pain of the skin. Chronic inflammation can both affect existing nerves and nerve roots, and can make nerves hypersensitive. And long term nerve pain can not only make the area of skin that is painful bigger with time, but it can also create a nerve 'memory' for this pain, making it very hard to stop. The constant stimulation of the nerves in the facial skin from the pressure of dilated blood vessels and sometimes also from the edema -swelling- that rosacea flushing can give, sometimes leads to a condition called <span style="color: #660000;"><b>dysesthesia</b></span>: an abnormal unpleasant sensation felt when the skin is touched, caused by damage to peripheral nerves. If the nerves are irritated, hyper-sensitive or damaged, it also can alter the way certain sensations, such as light, touch, and temperature, are felt. But there are also other ways in which the nerves in our face get sensitized more, for instance because organic chemicals like norepinephrine are released by an overactive central nervous system.</div><div class="separator"><br /></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Actually damaged nerves (think of damage after injury for instance), can sometimes also affect the way the skin looks: it can cause a change in color or texture, or making the skin more pale, red, purple or spotty, or looking thin and shiny. In my case; I used to flush and go red in the face without having the additional burning feeling. This was in the early days of my rosacea, around age 19-21. But now it only takes a little redness and blood vessel dilation to make the nerves of my face angry and for my face to feel on fire and with uncomfortable pain. Chronic sinus infections, the holes on both sides of the nose right under the most sensitive rosacea areas of the cheeks, can also fire up rosacea skin and nerve pain in the area. Think also of chronic nasal allergy symptoms here, which can inflame the sinus area. If you want to read how pain signals are exactly passing through our body to our brain, and how it all exactly works, scroll down; below I explain it in more detail. There is discussion by the way about whether or not rosacea inflammation comes first, and stimulates inflammation from the nerves, or if it could be the other way round, and if the systematic nervous system can inflame the nerves of the face - in a way in which auto-immune activity can create inflammation in all sorts of areas of the body when things go wrong - and that as a result of that, rosacea skin becomes painful and blood vessels start to dilate (in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5536341/" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> interesting research paper, trigeminal nerves were found to be very effective at generation neurogenic inflammation). Chicken, or egg? Which came first and which was a secondary result? At this point we don't know for sure and it can be case dependent also, but uncontrolled rosacea has proven in trials to be causing trigeminal nerve pain. It is also possible that the nerves themselves become inflamed, in this entire inflammatory/ blood vessel dilating cycle. If the trigeminal nerves in the face become hypersensitive or inflamed (for instance as a result of poorly controlled rosacea inflammation of the skin), they can not only give off pain signs in the skin of the face, but also generate inflammation. That can negatively affect rosacea, but also increase the incidence of migraines and headaches for instance. Inflammation can even increase the risk of depression (which is recently <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5542678/" target="_blank"><b>linked to</b></a> inflammation) and anxiety, and is also thought to be behind the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27121663/" target="_blank"><b>increased risk</b></a> of rosacea patients to develop dementia/ Alzheimer's disease...<br /><br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUl5SNNgFzLY5KE2ro8cbXASiXUPS7Y2hdp9ZuLz2e_UvxikeOL9Zqw19cwjnW1Gkfc5Rl725KcOd1CJUiVolIjubS1rPEkjoRwwBbDCMWMqwbhaZbwmef4ta4K07KlmiEjowt5ps1SH0711Bg2JueB4UrC1cpF7-lgFzemtxk6aq3NEI3dvDfY3vTObt9/s684/8bd967eb4a606eda3e31255824749e5d.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="564" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUl5SNNgFzLY5KE2ro8cbXASiXUPS7Y2hdp9ZuLz2e_UvxikeOL9Zqw19cwjnW1Gkfc5Rl725KcOd1CJUiVolIjubS1rPEkjoRwwBbDCMWMqwbhaZbwmef4ta4K07KlmiEjowt5ps1SH0711Bg2JueB4UrC1cpF7-lgFzemtxk6aq3NEI3dvDfY3vTObt9/w381-h462/8bd967eb4a606eda3e31255824749e5d.jpg" width="381" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMMUzapCrXcgnUOm59QG08yEO8we_HThpWv8FV9o9xge8kyjjr7ol-ybJ-UL3T1HqRfCq1h-teZQiAiyPgyMa7BKnX7isy71Rb4tzS9b1SdMDS7akZma7QrlJEqyCeDk8aJHQJFXABrpi/s1600/images+%25286%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a>In <a href="https://f1000.com/prime/8839957" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> small scale study, 14 patients with rosacea were tested. The majority of them were Caucasian females. They had what is called classic rosacea symptoms (burning and stinging, erythema, flushing, facial edema, telangiectasia, pruritus and papules) as well as neurological symptoms.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">"Within this group, 43% had neurologic symptoms and 50% had neuropsychiatric symptoms; these included complex regional pain syndrome, essential tremor, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder."</span></i></b></div><br />Researchers called these patients sufferers of a special rosacea subgroup: neurogenic rosacea. They suffer from redness of the skin and facial flushing, and some have visible blood vessels on the skin's surface, and they also <span style="color: #660000;"><span><b>suffer from stinging, burning and nerve pain of the skin, often even when their face isn't directly flushed or inflamed.</b></span> </span>They also have a higher risk of suffering from headaches and depressions, or OCD, tremors or complex regional pain syndrome. They emphasize that this subgroup of rosacea patients often has a hard time finding any treatment that really works. Because traditional rosacea treatments often do not work. Many of these trial patients had already tried more standard rosacea treatment options: topical metronidazole, topical steroids, and oral antibiotics with no or limited success. The researchers found that these patients had in fact more benefit from neurological treatment options, including gabapentin (5 of 11), duloxetine (4 of 6), pregabalin (1 of 4), tricyclic antidepressants (2 of 3) and memantine (2 of 2). Some of these patients also saw improvement from topical neurological treatments: Topically formulated neuroleptic agents including doxepin, glycopyrrolate, amitriptyline, capsaicin and ketamine, were effective in some cases (3 of 7). Hydroxychloroquine (3 of 5) and vasoactive agents including beta-blockers and alpha-1-adrenergic receptors (2 of 5) were also helpful in some patients. Photo below is taken from the research article it has the caption: <i>"Facial erythema is seen in most patients at baseline and uniformly during flares. Inflammatory papules and pustules and rhinophymatous change are unusual in this subset of patients."</i></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmOQJRfXufw8FWJJ6KroWnCLfI2DIcHPUBFGSXTNkrT-pResrB1Qb3k8PexnKQPhbtTWQl65cBlo4PorpOFrR6tAuL5XJmWcI5gQJUKXOWVNjqz3MEctHP3ymO64w7J9mrL3roRYyVipX/s1600/nihms479644f1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="530" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmOQJRfXufw8FWJJ6KroWnCLfI2DIcHPUBFGSXTNkrT-pResrB1Qb3k8PexnKQPhbtTWQl65cBlo4PorpOFrR6tAuL5XJmWcI5gQJUKXOWVNjqz3MEctHP3ymO64w7J9mrL3roRYyVipX/w358-h406/nihms479644f1.jpg" width="358" /></a></div>
On top of that, researchers found that these patients reacted well to medication like beta blockers, but also to a group of drugs which do not constrict the blood vessels but in fact relax them and widen them a bit, called<span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-weight: bold;"> </span>alpha-1-adrenergic blockers and calcium channel blockers.</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span>Only when patients have pimples (p&p's) or skin outbreaks, did the researchers advise the use of traditional topical or oral antibiotics. In <a href="http://www.helpforpain.com/articles/understand-neuropathic-pain/understanding.htm" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> medical article, clonidine is also said to have some positive effect on nerve pain. Another very important warning from these scientists, which I wished I had heard of sooner than now, is that neurogenic rosacea patients have a heightened sensitivity to heat and sunlight, which can make laser- and IPL treatments more problematic; there is a bigger risk for these patients that IPL and laser do not give the desired results or in fact worsen matters, and they advise these patients to be very careful when wanting to use IPL or laser for their rosacea. Buggers, if only I had known this <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/disastrous-ipl-in-2005.html" target="_blank"><b>back in 2005</b></a> :( IPL made my rosacea so much worse... In the above mentioned research paper on neurogenic rosacea, scientists <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3692271/" target="_blank"><b>wrote</b></a>:<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>"Finally, patients with dysesthesia out of proportion to flushing or inflammation can be difficult to treat and require a unique approach first used to treat disorders such as complex regional pain syndrome and neuropathic itch. [..] Because of the associated heightened sensitivity to heat and sunlight, laser- and light-based interventions should be used with caution."</b></i></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlimFi_XQwU5uuzUNbhLqqJlOBHgOamsevBUQv5clZRgVDse2ippZre5cXyNMdCQ2cCFvs35Q9S5S2G4qTYQxJZwdljV8o9uieSzK1151fwcIx5Ew4VSdhUustaQoAXHFRVAggvrb-s_bRQYQ98-pC0iIoK1IyO_fBqajpjfju3VaxSRi6rM_FYXosottH/s920/3069685abe3560afa9d16b818f74c574.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="920" data-original-width="736" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlimFi_XQwU5uuzUNbhLqqJlOBHgOamsevBUQv5clZRgVDse2ippZre5cXyNMdCQ2cCFvs35Q9S5S2G4qTYQxJZwdljV8o9uieSzK1151fwcIx5Ew4VSdhUustaQoAXHFRVAggvrb-s_bRQYQ98-pC0iIoK1IyO_fBqajpjfju3VaxSRi6rM_FYXosottH/w357-h446/3069685abe3560afa9d16b818f74c574.jpg" width="357" /></a>Also check out <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/04/do-i-have-rosacea-or-erythromelalgia-em.html" target="_blank"><b>this blog post</b></a> I made about erythromelalgia; if explains the blurry line between rosacea flushing and burning, and Erythromelalgia (EM) flushing and burning, as well as the frustrating difficulty of treating its symptoms. A lot of meds and treatments mentioned in this blog post for the treatment of neuropathic pain, are also tried and sometimes tested as EM treatments. The more I read and try to write here about other flushing disorders, especially about erythromelalgia (EM), the more I start to think that this extreme face flushing and burning might not be strictly 'rosacea'. I feel there is a grey zone, where bad neurogenic/vascular rosacea falls into, as well as EM, as well as perhaps bad flushing from neuropathic pain disorders. The more I hear and read, the more it seems that it is extreme to flush this bad. And the few people I know who have it too, all seem to balance on the edge of different possible diagnosis. For instance, one of the derms I see thinks I have a <span style="color: #660000;"><b>mast cell disorder</b></span>, hence the violent flushing. I also know a bad flusher who's doctor says she must have <span style="color: #660000;"><b>erythromelalgia</b></span>. I joined an EM facebook group and there are many more people there with extreme face flushing and burning! More than in your average rosacea group. However they tend to also have burning hands and feet. My hands do burn but that has been diagnosed as Raynaud's syndrome in hospital. But the division lines are blurry and I might just as well have EM instead of straight forward rosacea. But... at the end of the day, they are labels and EM doctors also struggle to treat the facial burning and flushing, so we end up either way with a flushing problem that is hard to treat; both for dermatologists as well as for neurologists as well as for a rheumatologist, or a vascular specialist...</div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFnnOFKn3UENqeny9AnS8e5vZjRKhB_DcW6yp2As6YRM3Qlrqb82o88a3FdpCeOTC1H2x606PsBf6l-1o2jNkBbWHUz6hMBpb_UMF5nXLqiq81_sRfh36mhMRZLsMhTL51dicXZIk0TiwRxwe5qTV1YTFxo6ZAx6NxbZDB6RAzCdkoVjnDJt1wj_I9Hg/s950/rosacea6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="950" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFnnOFKn3UENqeny9AnS8e5vZjRKhB_DcW6yp2As6YRM3Qlrqb82o88a3FdpCeOTC1H2x606PsBf6l-1o2jNkBbWHUz6hMBpb_UMF5nXLqiq81_sRfh36mhMRZLsMhTL51dicXZIk0TiwRxwe5qTV1YTFxo6ZAx6NxbZDB6RAzCdkoVjnDJt1wj_I9Hg/w260-h209/rosacea6.jpg" width="260" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1b569acBUDXTGNxCCQKLn1fTlhaKHgzdnE8DCeRuiiyJyKSgNpqeTE8eWSOf_ueVhPsYCKraYPZ3y61ulfGsdMqU9c8fynxRoUw4hhoTAYl-mWIF063DMY3cQoR6V8sXOuVVm01ArpZW6Yt0WcjE3kTFSWr_RvjUoCGbHGFgDpZkbgmD1i4meiQhIXw/s952/rosacea2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="952" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1b569acBUDXTGNxCCQKLn1fTlhaKHgzdnE8DCeRuiiyJyKSgNpqeTE8eWSOf_ueVhPsYCKraYPZ3y61ulfGsdMqU9c8fynxRoUw4hhoTAYl-mWIF063DMY3cQoR6V8sXOuVVm01ArpZW6Yt0WcjE3kTFSWr_RvjUoCGbHGFgDpZkbgmD1i4meiQhIXw/w335-h209/rosacea2.jpg" width="335" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8khNRHQj_jQGl_-YgNc4GjdCL5_xzj4ztXMtqmc2_1SJ7uk52As3vWxeNOZE9B38mPfq-BXihJITAz4XQ_f6LALUz_uSPRYKzroEm9dp54N6T30kfyKbqC7GDcvQ8UsW5xoOZzMo0V265KjO79fZavyJmz5tqxH0XMP7nDg2U-LXWOsXsHy767DduQ/s938/rosacea3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="938" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8khNRHQj_jQGl_-YgNc4GjdCL5_xzj4ztXMtqmc2_1SJ7uk52As3vWxeNOZE9B38mPfq-BXihJITAz4XQ_f6LALUz_uSPRYKzroEm9dp54N6T30kfyKbqC7GDcvQ8UsW5xoOZzMo0V265KjO79fZavyJmz5tqxH0XMP7nDg2U-LXWOsXsHy767DduQ/w353-h256/rosacea3.jpg" width="353" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPQfw-BSY3TuJG7pcZ-cAuLa-ZoOSY3xWeVgosRAtvFgWlnLOpjBd2aQLpp1MlZS0Y92AmX3ZgY89jQScnUcPj3S_8rzllai8DFOXSu65Q83fY0uPNrVn4y6Ta0RY6E-xt6PR0-HOFx6cokJo17YRGMYcZp-p1VpY-qx5FW-n4-N3kVFK6owzDgH_bYQ/s1015/rosacea5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1015" data-original-width="923" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPQfw-BSY3TuJG7pcZ-cAuLa-ZoOSY3xWeVgosRAtvFgWlnLOpjBd2aQLpp1MlZS0Y92AmX3ZgY89jQScnUcPj3S_8rzllai8DFOXSu65Q83fY0uPNrVn4y6Ta0RY6E-xt6PR0-HOFx6cokJo17YRGMYcZp-p1VpY-qx5FW-n4-N3kVFK6owzDgH_bYQ/w238-h262/rosacea5.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><br style="text-align: left;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPeNX3UXDwNojTQQH1DtXI_UP2f3Y-gBjsTtdWiPcTRPfNyY07_dVWb49XqEeYPVxfEBqZJ_m3PxYVaXy4O9zChQnyB6SQsS3Bse6ndKYEom928wCUcLj6d60mzCMDivysy_CQy421CldVrHxydmMAqg5DFfKK3c0PLz5Ry33fzHUMFVFTmPzql_Sd68yP/s1581/MP-DONAK-00350-A-300.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1581" data-original-width="1200" height="530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPeNX3UXDwNojTQQH1DtXI_UP2f3Y-gBjsTtdWiPcTRPfNyY07_dVWb49XqEeYPVxfEBqZJ_m3PxYVaXy4O9zChQnyB6SQsS3Bse6ndKYEom928wCUcLj6d60mzCMDivysy_CQy421CldVrHxydmMAqg5DFfKK3c0PLz5Ry33fzHUMFVFTmPzql_Sd68yP/w403-h530/MP-DONAK-00350-A-300.jpg" width="403" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 35px;"><b>So, Scientists stress the problem of traditional rosacea treatment modalities not working well for neurogenic rosacea</b></span><br /><br />So rounds of tetracycline antibiotics will most of the time do nothing for these burning and stinging symptoms. Instead, doctors should look in a different direction if they want to treat this condition, and try to calm the neurological pain instead. Scientists <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3692271/" target="_blank"><b>suggest</b></a> neuroleptic agents, tricyclic antidepressants, and pain-modifying antidepressants. But another very important step in calming this burning pain of the skin down, is to <span><b><span style="color: #660000;">control facial flushing first.</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></span>Because it is the flushing and inflammation/redness that fires this problem on most of all. I have written an extensive <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html" target="_blank"><b>blog post</b></a> about the prescription medication that is available for the treatment of facial flushing, and after trying practically anything and everything to control my flushing (ranging from a host of rosacea and neurological medications, prescription creams, to acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal therapy, traditional Chinese medicine, diets, tea's.. I even got a healing crystal from my mother!). Some anti flushing medication that has a decent track record for rosacea subtype 1 are clonidine, propranolol (or another type of beta blockers, for instance carvedilol), certain antidepressants, <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-antimalarials-mepacrine-and.html" target="_blank"><b>antimalarial anti-inflammatory medication</b></a> and also antihistamines. Antidepressants and clonidine are also tested and found effective for menopausal hot flashes, which are not exactly the same as rosacea flushing, but which go through some similar pathways and often are also effective to reduce flushing of the face. So getting your flushing under control is an important first step. There are many ways to try to achieve this; <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/03/ipl-or-laser-for-rosacea-flushing-and.html" target="_blank"><b>IPL or laser</b></a> have also helped people with facial flushing and redness, there are <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/02/natural-anti-inflammatory-treatment_17.html" target="_blank"><b>natural anti-inflammatory supplements</b></a> that sometimes help, and avoiding triggers and <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2016/09/how-to-cool-down-facial-flush.html" target="_blank"><b>keeping your skin cool</b></a> can also make a lot of difference. But medication like Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine) or Mepacrine can also really help some people with rosacea redness (and burning and flushing sometimes too). They can reduce skin inflammation dramatically for some. Read more about my own trials with both meds in <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-antimalarials-mepacrine-and.html" target="_blank"><b>this blog post</b></a>. Low dose Roaccutane is another treatment for rosacea, which can really alter the skin inflammation for the better, but it comes with potential side effects.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlzJKB3lzluWE2znNWXwoB_CLlMySM6-hvATNznjANfwZ0PTHfey1dUhLuPREZN9wvti-lrwYffMhsWw7w7N_nau-v0fu2kP6e8ExqUswJvL1l1XM8NZ01aG6U-KYnL_A8FiqBinBg5q1k9eqVex9N8eP7vq2a9BG3NrEtpcFIc8S43BRV-W4G8EC7c0Eb/s1280/KD-19-04-965x1280.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="965" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlzJKB3lzluWE2znNWXwoB_CLlMySM6-hvATNznjANfwZ0PTHfey1dUhLuPREZN9wvti-lrwYffMhsWw7w7N_nau-v0fu2kP6e8ExqUswJvL1l1XM8NZ01aG6U-KYnL_A8FiqBinBg5q1k9eqVex9N8eP7vq2a9BG3NrEtpcFIc8S43BRV-W4G8EC7c0Eb/w301-h400/KD-19-04-965x1280.jpg" width="301" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 35px;"><b>If these adjustments aren't helping enough</b></span><br />a proactive dermatologist or a neurologist, can look into specific medication that lowers the nerve pain we can feel in our faces and skin. There are a couple of first line meds that can be tried:<br /><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><b><span>-Neurontin (gabapentin) </span><span><span><br /></span><span>-Lyrica (pregabalin)</span></span><span><span><br /></span><span>-Carbamazepine</span></span><span><span><br /></span><span>-Tricyclic antidepressants (nortriptyline for instance, and amitriptyline)</span></span><span><span><br /></span><span>-Pain-modifying antidepressants (e.g. duloxetine)</span></span></b></span><br /><br />Then there are also other treatment options, which should be reserved for when the above do not work, the researchers <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3692271/" target="_blank"><b>stated</b></a>: "<i>N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor antagonists (eg<b> </b>memantine), systemic antibiotics, and other topically formulated medications (eg, ketamine, glycopyrrolate, capsaicin) may be helpful in certain cases. Because of the associated heightened sensitivity to heat and sunlight, laser- and light-based interventions should be used with caution." </i>And the natural supplement <b><span style="color: #660000;">PEA (Palmitoylethanolamide)</span></b> is also tested and proven to be effective for neuropathic pain. More on that one at the bottom of this blog post.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhed5OkQOVZwcue1YiKcgi8jTgA4tZxAiwlyObSR3TRJiCQ4PSaYlez7dKyfbBDoGlGyv7y4XAK6Daz29QcRwiHIWzjss9TGmBoJw5d6aPtHl7M-PgAYvQ3y7XLBn-S7lxTQ1n8a1md4msUzCsySZKWN5RCXCl9L-uHvV63Wt_LegjLR3vaUnPP4SuGqQrz/s761/54bb039dd4e68daf6d1bef61ca7be913.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="564" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhed5OkQOVZwcue1YiKcgi8jTgA4tZxAiwlyObSR3TRJiCQ4PSaYlez7dKyfbBDoGlGyv7y4XAK6Daz29QcRwiHIWzjss9TGmBoJw5d6aPtHl7M-PgAYvQ3y7XLBn-S7lxTQ1n8a1md4msUzCsySZKWN5RCXCl9L-uHvV63Wt_LegjLR3vaUnPP4SuGqQrz/w389-h526/54bb039dd4e68daf6d1bef61ca7be913.jpg" width="389" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 35px;"><b>Usually when a dermatologist diagnoses you with rosacea</b></span>, he or she will do this based on both the clinical symptoms you present (how your skin looks and feels, what your triggers are etc), as well as (ideally) ruling out other conditions that can give a red or flushed face. In <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2014/05/other-conditions-that-cause-facial_29.html" target="_blank"><b>this blog post</b></a> I describe some other conditions that can cause facial flushing and redness. Ideally, a derm. rules out at the very least Lupus and Carcinoid Flushing. Both can be tested with blood tests (unlike rosacea). Depending on your triggers, a doctor can also test on allergies, mast cell disorders and hormone or thyroid disorders. I also had <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/i-saw-immunologist-for-infertility.html" target="_blank"><b>full immunology blood</b></a> work done, which resulted in some indications for systemic autoimmune related inflammation issues in my body, but which were not conclusive of big issues. The same for my tests for lupus; I had them three times now over a ten year time span, and my ANA levels (one of the things they test you on; antinuclear antibodies) have been doubling since, now at 1:80, which indicated some autoimmune issues, but the level is not high enough to diagnose me with something like lupus. So, there is a good chance that your test results are either negative, or vaguely elevated. It is mostly important to have these tests, to not miss a blatant positive diagnosis of an autoimmune disease like lupus, or one of the other mentioned health conditions. But there are also neurological tests that can be done, in the search of a solid diagnosis, for instance MRI/CT testing, X-rays or lumbar punctures, to look for serious infections of central Nervous System conditions. In reality, VERY few rosacea patients get one or two of these tests, let alone all of them. You have to be blessed with a wonderful proactive dermatologist or general practitioner, or be very loud about what you want from the medical community. And then there is always the issue of costs. Even in this part of the world, with wonderful (but expensive) health insurance, doctors are hesitant to spend too much money and time on diagnostic testing of illnesses that they do not already suspect you might suffer from.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiN6Zs6GEkPR6loye5SVatb9PRTSHXVQXPh1uCangIt5IFuO57UHKzlAus_VQSZlpzwPsSCbh23nLrvobXBb3oRLpeY_Kfb0KJ-G4lcFgODWEC1fWL_Cwc8UuE3Az5d_AHzIUS3mc1w0FWmxuZGz5r_AmclAu4OmYaMGI6cH-4U9mAUStWAY74Sr1dqOEF/s751/a6ceae669c00623143ab287f7c3d089a.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="751" data-original-width="564" height="519" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiN6Zs6GEkPR6loye5SVatb9PRTSHXVQXPh1uCangIt5IFuO57UHKzlAus_VQSZlpzwPsSCbh23nLrvobXBb3oRLpeY_Kfb0KJ-G4lcFgODWEC1fWL_Cwc8UuE3Az5d_AHzIUS3mc1w0FWmxuZGz5r_AmclAu4OmYaMGI6cH-4U9mAUStWAY74Sr1dqOEF/w389-h519/a6ceae669c00623143ab287f7c3d089a.jpg" width="389" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;">Neurontin and Lyrica</span></b> are brand names, their generic names are gabapentin and pregabalin and are fine as well to use instead (and cheaper). Both medications are 'neuromodulators' (changing nerve activity - like botox by the way; a messenger released from a neuron that affects the transmission of the signals between neurons). They quiet pain signals from your nerve cells and change the way in which your body senses nerve pain. Both are nerve calming meds, tackling pain signals in your brain and nervous system. They stabilize the electrical activity in your brain, and affect the way your nerves send messages to your brain. More specifically, Neurontin and Lyrica, but also carbamazepine for instance, cut down transmissions of ectopic nerve impulses and independent nerve firing, caused by damaged nerves. They also alter sympathetic feedback loops and microneruomas at damaged nerve sites. These type of medication also block sodium channels (which helps lower nerve pain), enable GABA reuptake inhibition, Non-NMDA glutamate receptor blocking, GABA synthesis, and GABA sub-receptor stimulation. Note that both meds take a while to build up in your system and start working. Multiple weeks or sometimes a month+ for users.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 30px;"><b>Neurontin</b></span> (gabapentin) is a widely used medication to treat neuropathic pain, but also hot flashes and restless legs syndrome. It is one of the very first medications which doctors/neurologists often prescribe for the treatment of neuropathic (nerve) pain. Think for instance of nerve pain caused by diabetic neuropathy, postherpetic neuralgia, or central neuropathic pain. But rosacea can also cause the nerves in the skin of the face to become hyper reactive and painful, especially when a person flushes a lot and has red skin with a lot of inflammation of the blood vessels. In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3734907/" target="_blank"><b>research</b></a>, Neurontin (gabapentin) was found to reduce hot flushes in test persons. However, a common* side effect of gabapentin/Neurontin is high blood pressure, flushing or dilation of blood vessels..(*Common; may affect up to 1 in 10 people - See <a href="https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/5002/xpil/print" target="_blank"><b>information leaflet</b></a> of this medication). This does not mean you will get it if you try gabapentin/Neurontin. But it means there is a risk for these side-effects to occur (sometimes also temporarily, only at the start of treatment).<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 30px;"><b>Lyrica</b></span> (pregabalin) is also a medication used to treat neuropathic (nerve) pain, fibromyalgia, and generalized anxiety disorder. It was developed after Neurontin. Where Neurontin was originally also designated as a treatment for epilepsy, Lyrica on the other hand is specifically approved for use in diabetic neuropathic pain, and in 2007 was also approved for use in fibromyalgia. Unfortunately 'flushing' and 'hot flashes' are mentioned as a possible side effect for Lyrica. It is estimated to be a less common side effect for Lyrica/pregabalin than it is for gabapentin/Neurontin however, and is <a href="https://www.drugs.com/sfx/pregabalin-side-effects.html" target="_blank"><b>listed</b></a> as "Uncommon (0.1% to 1%)". Which does not mean you need to flush from it, but it is possible... And strangely enough, in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3734907/" target="_blank"><b>research</b></a> Lyrica (pregabalin) was found to reduce hot flushes in test persons. <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090515093225.htm" target="_blank"><b>Here</b></a> is another positive test result. Acclaimed forum poster Laser_cat also <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?39356-Male-Any-help-advice-appreciated&p=345938#post345938" target="_blank"><b>suggested</b></a> interestingly another reason why Lyrica (and Neurontin by default) can make the face hotter: "I think any membrane stabilizer has the potential to increase heat in the face (adrenergic nerves might be stabilized too, which would otherwise be releasing norepinephrine to constrict the blood vessels)." In <a href="https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(15)00347-3/fulltext" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> medical article, it is reported that neurogenic rosacea symptoms including swelling and redness responding to lyrica. However, Lyrica is a strong anti-nerve pain medication and there are many people with rosacea burning who have taken or are taken it with success.. Like with Neurontin, it works by decreasing the number of pain signals that are sent out by damaged nerves in the body. It offers similar efficiency at treating nerve pain with Neurontin, and also the same as the antidepressant amitriptyline, which will be discussed below. All three meds showed clinical effect in trials, but most professionals keep Lyrica as a last resort; for when Neurontin and amitriptyline do not (sufficiently) work. But it can depend entirely on each individual pain patient which of the three medications works better for them. As stated above, with both Neurontin and Lyrica it may take several weeks before you notice the nerve pain reducing effects. <b><span style="color: #990000;">Dosis</span></b> should be discussed with your doctor. One doses that is mentioned more often to be effective for neurogenic pain is 150 mg pregabalin, twice daily.<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUc2_SfoCH8_ZPB1mI9Ar7CnE0Pbr7-u-vkcQN0iBrhGDmROm9-Nm6hPH2cAJp3RPZ9iXnb_G-Tgxhzlz9BjVSQFhkfUNpNh9KzMmW08hEHVcNMIiaUPs0dU2fmY_AMK4uhY4YldJpnkt_PVLF_rIlH_XEp1pLwp3wKY-F9ZUO1EQ2dRpETkhCS9E7ob2o/s531/67d078c6c10a0583871e1b46efe66ad4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUc2_SfoCH8_ZPB1mI9Ar7CnE0Pbr7-u-vkcQN0iBrhGDmROm9-Nm6hPH2cAJp3RPZ9iXnb_G-Tgxhzlz9BjVSQFhkfUNpNh9KzMmW08hEHVcNMIiaUPs0dU2fmY_AMK4uhY4YldJpnkt_PVLF_rIlH_XEp1pLwp3wKY-F9ZUO1EQ2dRpETkhCS9E7ob2o/w301-h400/67d078c6c10a0583871e1b46efe66ad4.jpg" width="301" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 30px;">Carbamazepine</span> </b>(Tegretol) is a neuromodulator too, and I used that drug for a period of time as well. I stopped it when I got more flushed and red and hot on it. Carbamazepine is more effective for a specific type of nerve pain; trigeminal neuralgia. Tiagabine, Gabapentin and Lyrica are more effective with a broader range of neuropathic pain disorders. They also tend to have a lower side effect profile. They can help to eliminate burning, abnormal, piercing and electrical types of pain. My pharmacist said about Carbamazepine that it shouldn't induce vasodilatation, flushing or hot flash as a side-effect, but that it acts an an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticholinergic" target="_blank"><b>anticholinergic</b></a>, working on the central nerve system and that it can therefore cause drowsiness, as well as increased blood flow to the face. Other anticholinergic side effects that can work against us flushers, is that they decrease sweating (dry skin = often more red skin), and can increase body temperature. They can also cause red skin in some cases. You can also read about my own experience with carbamazepine in <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/summary-from-last-years-iii.html" target="_blank"><b>this blog post</b></a>. I only used it short term and felt it made my skin more red, so stopped again... Not a good trial period, by all means, so my verdict should not count at this point I feel. I wrote about it on December 2006, after finding that Neurontin made me flush too much:<br /><br /></div>
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<i>"So I'll start trying another painkiller by Monday; Tegretol (carbamazepine). Carbamazepine doesn't have vasodilatation, flushing, hot flashes or anything mentioned as side-effect. Flushing is mentioned with all the tricyclics, and my pharmacist explained that these drugs can widen the little blood vessels in the face; modern SSRI antidepressant (which give facial flushing as well often), anticonvulsants like Carbamazepine, phenytoin, gabapentin (or Lyrica) and lamotrigine and eventually certain antiarrhythmics, such as lidocaine and mexiletine. Also there are opioids, but they can cause facial flushing AS WELL (SIGHT................). So for anyone else I would bet on either gabapentin, which is registered as helpful for menopausal hot flashes as well (does something with the calcium channels and regulates body temperature, which is promising for us), or the carbamazepine, which I will try myself by next week, so I'll update on that one as well. Then there is Trileptal (oxcarbazepine), which is a derivative from carbamazepine (Tegretol), like Lyrica from neurontin, but Trileptal has a high incidence of facial acne and depression, and I rather give the Tegretol a fair chance first. Besides: Tegretol has a proven track for the treatment of neuropathic pain and Trileptal has still studies running for this." </i><i>[...] "On Sunday I took 75 mg of carbamazepine. My skin was pink by then. At night I had a bad flushing attack however. Maybe I ate too many white beans! When I woke up my right cheek was burning and pretty red. And my left cheek was red and swollen too. I don't know now if the carbamazepine is helping, or making me more flushed than normal."</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZl2EYbF-g0AyFVfCMcUa-00sN-grJQyVjHo87dSpbucbb-Nio97tHyL9srEcoy0tFPJ3Iyx4XtCFOEx4r5VU0PwNI5IXWWAYdZH9b0fkD5vrWR4xVjzhTf3FngEqvFtkdElNPD8Sd5FWjd8hkfWgFTQDLQk6WpZE8j6l-d9TQ6InCZu39m2kc_BNZ25RA/s707/e7c3f0d3e97bd2d3ef3765d0a1a5812e.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="707" data-original-width="564" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZl2EYbF-g0AyFVfCMcUa-00sN-grJQyVjHo87dSpbucbb-Nio97tHyL9srEcoy0tFPJ3Iyx4XtCFOEx4r5VU0PwNI5IXWWAYdZH9b0fkD5vrWR4xVjzhTf3FngEqvFtkdElNPD8Sd5FWjd8hkfWgFTQDLQk6WpZE8j6l-d9TQ6InCZu39m2kc_BNZ25RA/w319-h400/e7c3f0d3e97bd2d3ef3765d0a1a5812e.jpg" width="319" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 30px;">Side effects</span> </span></b>of these medications are generally mild, but may include nausea, dizziness or drowsiness. Both antidepressants and anti-seizure medications like Neurontin and Lyrica can also in rare cases worsen depression or cause suicidal thoughts; usually at the start of treatment and temporarily. Doctors often let you build these types of medication up slowly to reduce side effect risks. If they make you drowsy, take them before bedtime. Both Neurontin/gabapentin and Lyrica/pregabalin have been tested for efficiency for both rosacea and hot flashes. In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25731204" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> research, scientists concluded:</div><div>
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<i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>"The patient could not tolerate gabapentin, but within 2 months of starting pregabalin, her symptoms improved dramatically, with a reduction in facial burning sensation, redness and swelling. She is currently being maintained on pregabalin 300 mg in the morning and 225 mg at night."</b></span></i></div>
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And in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1627210/" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> pubmed research, 420 women with hot flashes (which are comparable in essence in some ways to face flushing, also in shared treatment efficiency) were treated with gabapentin. Those treated with the highest dose of 900 mg a day of gabapentin showed a significant reduction in hot flashes. Those treated with a placebo or a lower dose of 300 mg/day gabapentin showed no such improvement. However a subsequent study <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3075822/" target="_blank"><b>showed</b></a> that gabapentin at a lower dose of 300 mg/day did show moderate improvement of hot flashes in<i> their</i> test persons. In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3734907/" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> pubmed research pregabalin (Lyrica) was found effective as a treatment for hot flashes. Please scroll down in this article to read reviews and posts from rosaceans about their experience with gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica)!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXwgjsa2Vv82PlNMS6pInb1hjGGbMvyvcSovLXZDgoxAuBzJZMRVau59HoYKQ7cTjKMkgulnxJXigd3kJj-Fkhok7CGNjX6KIizV20FSbpUHEDqxidoFlQ-f6jPpRlgyPakOWbjLp4ehHocEQxyOZNjys-7Q8Tfgjmf-Bv6vQ6yFts9pU2jdI-xGGVbDF/s739/Untitled4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="739" data-original-width="553" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXwgjsa2Vv82PlNMS6pInb1hjGGbMvyvcSovLXZDgoxAuBzJZMRVau59HoYKQ7cTjKMkgulnxJXigd3kJj-Fkhok7CGNjX6KIizV20FSbpUHEDqxidoFlQ-f6jPpRlgyPakOWbjLp4ehHocEQxyOZNjys-7Q8Tfgjmf-Bv6vQ6yFts9pU2jdI-xGGVbDF/w313-h418/Untitled4.jpg" width="313" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><span><span style="font-size: 35px;"><b>I tried both Neurontin and Lyrica myself in</b></span></span></span><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 35px;"> the past</b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Neurontin especially seemed to help my rosacea for a couple of weeks, until I started to get more flushed from it. Mind you, I have really unstable reactive blood vessels and flush from practically half the things life has to offer lol, but when I discussed it with my doctor at the time, he said that in rare cases, neurontin can give vasodilation (blood vessel dilation) as a side effect. Both seemed to make my face feel more hot as well.. I have read a lot of positive rosacea user reviews for both Neurontin and Lyrica however. I used both meds back in 2006, after I fell asleep on a (frozen) gelpack on holiday in Ireland. I had been flushed and my face was burning when I stayed over with friends there, and half sleep-drunk fetched a gelpack which I had stored in their freezer. Mine at home never made the gel packs rock solid hard frozen, but this one did. I intended to just cool my face for a few minutes and then put the packs away again, but instead I fell back to sleep, while resting one cheek on the cold pack.. It was wrapped in a t-shirt, but the cold came through nevertheless and I ended up with frostbite on one cheek and very piercing nerve pain, which lasted half a year! The neurologist pain specialist I saw at the time for this, had predicted this time frame from the get go. He explained that nerves take a long time to recover and resettle. That I had to expect 6 months, but at the same time that if things hadn't recovered by then, there was a slim chance that they ever would normalize! It was a nervous time, and I tried several types and brand of nerve pain medication in my quest to stop the nerve pain without blowing up my rosacea flushing. My neurologist put me on neurontin first and Lyrica later. My experience with neurontin was that it did numb the nerve pain, and that initially I felt also less flushed and red on it, but this changed after a week or so, maybe two weeks, when I started to notice that I had more background redness all over my face, and that I would flush more often and longer than normal too. Went back and discussed it, and one of neurontins side-effects turned out to be vasodilatation. This is rare and I reckon it can only be a problem for people who have really reactive blood vessels. But I stopped using it after about 4 weeks for this reason. You can read more about this in <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/summary-from-last-years-iii.html" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> blog post.*Below, at the end of this post, I will copy my blog entries from 2006, where I detail my trial with neurontin.<br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2ZMqZDGhkU8Lm8L5hcsL-io7c962hYB6N4wASUveHrefwEhbJ0grlTWIzItVWJX-TTF1tZxwjm5XEiqkBj7pfB_ha9U8TO-jA-2yk_-8uFMNWXI0yngZ535byapXxm1AZ_R59KVW49TWvZg6ElzdJT68hIRP8EoKw6y2OjI5vbBgtJrxvM_aRJEITRdU/s752/f29386e76c720fe9a41a3b72204acb45.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="564" height="605" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2ZMqZDGhkU8Lm8L5hcsL-io7c962hYB6N4wASUveHrefwEhbJ0grlTWIzItVWJX-TTF1tZxwjm5XEiqkBj7pfB_ha9U8TO-jA-2yk_-8uFMNWXI0yngZ535byapXxm1AZ_R59KVW49TWvZg6ElzdJT68hIRP8EoKw6y2OjI5vbBgtJrxvM_aRJEITRdU/w454-h605/f29386e76c720fe9a41a3b72204acb45.jpg" width="454" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;">More about Lyrica</span></b><span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2015, a scientific <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25731204" target="_blank"><b>publication</b></a> called "Neurogenic rosacea: an uncommon and poorly recognized entity". </span></span>It read (and I put some clarifications of terminology between brackets now and then): <span style="text-align: center;">"We present a case of neurogenic rosacea, a distinct variant of rosacea that has </span><span style="text-align: center;">only recently been described, and which we feel is probably under-recognized. A </span><span style="text-align: center;">61-year-old woman presented with flushing, facial redness and burning. She had </span><span style="text-align: center;">been diagnosed with rosacea in her early 20s, and it was thought that this presentation </span><span style="text-align: center;">was simply an exacerbation. The patient was otherwise fit and well, and was treated </span><span style="text-align: center;">with a prolonged course of lymecycline 408 mg daily and topical applications </span><span style="text-align: center;">including metronidazole </span><span style="text-align: center;">gel and azelaic acid. The patient became </span><span style="text-align: center;">increasingly distressed as</span><span style="text-align: center;"> the erythema (red skin), oedema (swelling) </span><span style="text-align: center;">and burning sensation gradually </span><span style="text-align: center;">developed over her cheeks, and reported </span><span style="text-align: center;">suicidal tendencies. She was taking</span><span style="text-align: center;"> mirtazapine and saw a community </span><span style="text-align: center;">psychiatric nurse for weekly for psychological </span><span style="text-align: center;">therapies. Investigations for lupus, </span><span style="text-align: center;">porphyria, carcinoid and pheochromocytoma </span><span style="text-align: center;">were </span><span style="text-align: center;">negative. </span><span style="text-align: center;">The patient had carried out internet searches for possible cures, </span><span style="text-align: center;">and was ready </span><span style="text-align: center;">to consider sympathectomy (a cutting of the sympathetic nerve, for </span><span style="text-align: center;">instance done in ETS surgery). She underwent a course of intense pulsed light (IPL) </span><span style="text-align: center;">treatment for the facial redness, which was partially effective. We also tried the patient </span><span style="text-align: center;">on clonidine and beta-blockers for the flushing without </span><span style="text-align: center;">any benefit. Given the additional </span><span style="text-align: center;">severe facial burning sensation and oedema, and failure to respond to standard </span><span style="text-align: center;">treatments, the condition was diagnosed as neurogenic rosacea. </span><span style="text-align: center;">The patient could </span><span style="text-align: center;">not tolerate gabapentin (Neurontin), but within 2 months of starting</span><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span><span style="color: #444444;">pregabalin </span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">(Lyrica)</span></b><span style="text-align: center;">, her symptoms improved dramatically, with a reduction in facial burning </span><span style="text-align: center;">sensation, redness and swelling. She is currently being maintained on pregabalin </span><span style="text-align: center;">300 mg in the morning and </span><span style="text-align: center;">225 mg at night.</span><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
Rosacea is classically divided into four main subgroups: erythematotelangiectatic, papulopustular, ocular and phymatous. Neurogenic rosacea was first described by Scharschmidt et al.2 in 2011, and since then, there have been very few reports of its existence. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Neurogenic rosacea</span> </b>is characterized by dramatic facial redness, with burning, stinging and dysaesthesia (an abnormal unpleasant sensation felt when touched, caused by damage to peripheral nerves) that is out of proportion to the flushing or inflammation. A relatively high number of patients have neurological or neuropsychiatric conditions, including complex regional pain syndrome, essential tremor, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. Treatment is difficult, and a poor response is typically seen with standard treatments used in rosacea. Some success has been seen with neuroleptic agents (e.g. pregabalin, gabapentin), tricyclic antidepressants and duloxetine. Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS surgery where bundles of sympathetic nerves are cut in the torso area) has also been used with some success in treating debilitating facial flushing. Over the past decade, we have encountered three patients with neurogenic rosacea, all of whom had partially successful treatment with pregabalin. Given the paucity of reports on its existence, neurogenic rosacea is probably under-recognized. It should be suspected in any patients with rosacea where the predominant symptom is pain and/or burning sensation out of proportion to the flushing. We hope our report raises awareness of this potentially treatable clinical variant of rosacea, which requires a different therapeutic approach to that of other variants." <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3234&d=1429469837" target="_blank"><b>PDF copy</b></a> of original research.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJrDa7QkI792GosUTwqspDCV_s7FMQSn2qRJsr6GPXyV0JwQ2CEJFFSVshROH8dqOmxJWu-9zqyTPBNyk9LTKKbJsXkA58a1d0yd-yOJ35xJFX-saqP6QPYPQNWvL_TrBh8aSBlYAjpoSeNwDqPLA3wxk29zzAj5P-jY5z3KwPO1JnpT3UFXWEsX6pYjpL/s708/974b49b575a6b09e3af60514b162833b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="564" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJrDa7QkI792GosUTwqspDCV_s7FMQSn2qRJsr6GPXyV0JwQ2CEJFFSVshROH8dqOmxJWu-9zqyTPBNyk9LTKKbJsXkA58a1d0yd-yOJ35xJFX-saqP6QPYPQNWvL_TrBh8aSBlYAjpoSeNwDqPLA3wxk29zzAj5P-jY5z3KwPO1JnpT3UFXWEsX6pYjpL/w413-h518/974b49b575a6b09e3af60514b162833b.jpg" width="413" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;">Amitriptyline and nortriptyline</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;"> (tetracyclic antidepressants)</span></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Amitriptyline is a tricyclic antidepressant and is often used to treat chronic neuropathic (nerve) pain, especially pain due to nerve damage but also for fibromyalgia pain. It is recommended as a first line treatment for nerve pain (it is considered most effective in combination with acceptable side effect profiles) and in a dose that is lower than the dose at which it is normally prescribed to treat depression. But in the medical <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3692271/" target="_blank"><b>article</b></a> "Neurogenic Rosacea: A Distinct Clinical Subtype Requiring a Modified Approach to Treatment", amitriptyline is mentioned as a treatment option for neurogenic rosacea with only limited success. It has been used in a 15% cream formulation in the mentioned research, as well as when taken orally. Amitriptyline and nortriptyline act as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticholinergic" target="_blank"><b>anticholinergics</b></a>, working on the central nerve system and can cause drowsiness, as well as increased blood flow to the face. Other anticholinergic side effects that can work against us flushers, is that they decrease sweating (dry skin = often more red skin), and can increase body temperature. They can also cause red skin in some cases. Dose should be discussed with your doctor. One doses that is mentioned more often to be effective for neurogenic pain is 80 mg amitriptyline, once daily (taken at night). I tried amitriptyline in the dreaded year 2005, when I had severe flushing after a botched IPL treatment. I was flushing a lot so it was very hard to pinpoint whether or not this drug helped me, but I felt it made me more flushed at the time. And it did not help me with my nerve pain. But, I was flushed so much that no pain med would probably have really helped, short of a horse drug like opium or something. I <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?7948-Amitriptyline" target="_blank"><b>wrote</b></a> about it at the time on the Rosacea Forum.<br /><br /></div></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuPIaMAAgGg6WjZ5A2hBuREnE3S8Bmh0FnAa87YXdQhdNu1Ovtk6lqmqGMNuZywZc0yrirnWQN6FMDa9y9IJb2YGTxgd2rratIj4am8t09JKSw_pwhziZt1peWVnjXzUSPiSCX_1n2hYUTq6WLv9Ku4NYi9gTHNzst2Mbg186fVVUV8g1YLEJGrwcy3Dn6/s705/191518cf03a493ae6d6d5e773e672501.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="563" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuPIaMAAgGg6WjZ5A2hBuREnE3S8Bmh0FnAa87YXdQhdNu1Ovtk6lqmqGMNuZywZc0yrirnWQN6FMDa9y9IJb2YGTxgd2rratIj4am8t09JKSw_pwhziZt1peWVnjXzUSPiSCX_1n2hYUTq6WLv9Ku4NYi9gTHNzst2Mbg186fVVUV8g1YLEJGrwcy3Dn6/w266-h333/191518cf03a493ae6d6d5e773e672501.jpg" width="266" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">I wrote on 14th August 2005:</span></b> "Hi all, I’m having a bad time lately (again) with very uncontrollable and painful flushing. The doc. prescribed me an anti-depressant named Amitriptyline, that is used for nerve pains in small doses. Side-effects can be hypertension and it can effect medicines like clonidine and moxonidine. I wonder if anybody is familiar with this drug and has good or bad experiences with it? I can tell all I want about rosacea but usually docs don’t really listen to me and give the med anyway. A while ago I had an colon examination for example and they gave me morphine, of all drugs. Even though I almost refused to take it (flushing!!). Intravenous and it gave me the most horrible flushing ever. Like to avoid this if possible next times… Thanks, Nat"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Keisha06 replied on 14th August 2005:</span> </span></b>"Hi Nat, my doctor prescribed this when my Rosacea first came out (really bad flushing) but he prescribed it to help me sleep because I kept waking up at about 2:00 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep (was just flushing, and flushing and flushing). As I understand it is an older style antidepressant and quite a bit can be taken (he started me off at 5 mg but said I could take up to 70 mg - I think I ended up taking about 60 mg a night for a week to break the sleep cycle problem, then tapered down and off it. If anything it helped my Rosacea as I was getting more sleep, it certainly didn't adversely affect it. One effect I did notice is it tends to make you sleep longer and you can be a little tired in the morning (but I was taking it at night)."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">I replied on 15th August 2005:</span></b> "Thanks Diana, so no extra flushing and night sweats etc? Might give it a try myself! Nat"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Mermaid replied on 15th August 2005:</span> </span></b>"Hello Nat, I truly hope that you are feeling better and looking forward to your IPL treatments at the end of the year. I think it will make things so much easier and it really frustrates me that you have to go through all of this pain. I am assuming that you will be taking the Amitriptyline in an oral form. The reason I ask is that Dr Nase mentioned a little while ago that 2% Amitriptyline in an emollient cream base for sensitive skin (not PLO base), in which clinical studies showed that it could relieve neural burning and pain sensations. Dr Nase also mentioned 6% Gabapentin in an emollient cream base for sensitive skin (not PLO base) and 2% Clonidine in an emollient cream base for sensitive skin (not PLO base). I was wondering if Dr Nase could comment on this when he has the time or some other informed member. Good luck Nat."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">I replied on 15th August 2005:</span></b> "Hi mermaid, good to hear from you, as always! Well, my problem is that my skin has been too sensitive for any topical so far. I've been trying the most gentle combinations with a helpful pharmacist a while ago, including the combi Dr. Nase advises, but all made me flush and burn tremendously. So I rather stick with the orals at the moment. I’ve had a very bad week, so will wait till things subside a bit and maybe, hopefully, next week give this painkiller a try. I can see then better if I become red and flushed from it or not. Keep you updated and for others this topical form might indeed be a good option! If Dr. Nase has time for it he might give some more suggestions? Best wishes and thanks for your reply, Nat"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Mollie_T replied on 29th March 2006:</span></b> "My family doctor prescribed amitriptyline 50mg as a sleep aid, and I began using Metrogel 1% yesterday. I haven't noticed any change in my flushing yet- but I'm not a really big flusher anyway."<br />
<div><br /></div><span><span style="color: #783f04;"><b>-So amitriptyline can cause hypertension, which could be one clue towards why I felt more flushed while on it. I also found that amitriptyline can be a blood vessel dilator (it is mentioned in the 4th line):</b></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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And in <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9bbb/a3ed24a02ea25500e582580ab16b6c56081f.pdf" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> PDF file, the same is mentioned:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6S97mpYaznuymTGhMpELCPevLyYxnoJIOsXcxGG_teDp6om9kymK5cnA-eXEst6TITkh-IePFAMUY5odIMY9rpehKltJp47Y5qiP8te9YxLR1WgwhwGHG1C37Eh1She4IfhCUlo1yz0E6/s1600/16.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1073" height="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6S97mpYaznuymTGhMpELCPevLyYxnoJIOsXcxGG_teDp6om9kymK5cnA-eXEst6TITkh-IePFAMUY5odIMY9rpehKltJp47Y5qiP8te9YxLR1WgwhwGHG1C37Eh1She4IfhCUlo1yz0E6/s640/16.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWI3sRFVKc3G_WXDTcf9pSCqzSN6r3KyBLkP2pN1X50PZ4L1vPHD35sOihws9bUmbV_QRFYqPz9nENvnXMUXFhZ9hclCnCmYlalkURqSmn3hZ2pGYS5LVYJ4NpRvLW3jYtsEEWmQijbSRtnz9obFwSe_35XNcpsTYwQgYz8V7QItYae0oAlLodPkFhpsQ6/s752/cafe04842e455fec5526c867f125aadb.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="564" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWI3sRFVKc3G_WXDTcf9pSCqzSN6r3KyBLkP2pN1X50PZ4L1vPHD35sOihws9bUmbV_QRFYqPz9nENvnXMUXFhZ9hclCnCmYlalkURqSmn3hZ2pGYS5LVYJ4NpRvLW3jYtsEEWmQijbSRtnz9obFwSe_35XNcpsTYwQgYz8V7QItYae0oAlLodPkFhpsQ6/w390-h520/cafe04842e455fec5526c867f125aadb.jpg" width="390" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;">Duloxetine (Cymba</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;">lta)</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;">; </span></b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;"><b>pain-modifying antidepressants</b></span></span><br />In 2008 Duloxetine became the second drug approved by the FDA to treat fibromyalgia. It is used to treat treat depression and generalized anxiety disorder, but duloxetine is also used to treat diabetic neuropathy. It belongs to a class of medications called selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). Some user reviews form The Rosacea Forum:</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Y-gwair <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?25859-End-of-the-road-Cymbalta-Lyrica/page3&highlight=Cymbalta" target="_blank">wrote</a> on April 10th 2012:</span></b> "I tried Duloxetine a week ago with disastrous results. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Within 48 hours I developed terrible flushing in my face</b></span>, and also in my tongue and palate, as if I'd eaten a mouthful of chili, and had to stop. Over the next 48 hours, I had terrible withdrawal symptoms, my hands, feet and tongue went into Raynaud's like vasospasm as the circulation cut off completely, so painful I couldn't walk and my tongue went numb and lost all sense of taste. My hands have become so painful it's virtually impossible to use my laptop because of the freezing metal casing. [..] For some, Serotonin can be a powerful vasodilator and such drugs can potentially cause disturbance to the sympathetic nervous system with disastrous results."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">G24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?7141-Burning-sensations&highlight=Cymbalta" target="_blank">wrote</a> on June 16th 2005:</span></b> "Hello all, What's the best med/otc product for neural burning in the face? Thanks, G24"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Cactus <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?7141-Burning-sensations&highlight=Cymbalta" target="_blank">responded</a> on June 17th 2005:</span></b> "Hi, I would have to recommend <b><span style="color: #444444;">Cymbalta</span></b>. It is not an otc product, however. It is actually an antidepressant but is supposed to <b><span style="color: #444444;">help with neural burning</span>.</b> I can vouch for that - I have been on it a short time and already noticed the burning is more a sensation of warmth instead of the intense burning I used to have. However, I don't look any less red, just feel less on fire. [..] I believe it is also used for diabetics with neuropathic pain."<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Jmb212121 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13389-Cymbalta-will-help-burning&highlight=Cymbalta" target="_blank">wrote</a> on December 1st 2007:</b></span> </span>"Cymbalta will help burning - I just started this topic to let you all know that Cymbalta will help with burning sensations. It has also really helped with my mood also and help me get off the rosacea mind set so to speak."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?39202-Painful-burning-possible-hormone-connection" target="_blank">wrote</a> on September 11th, 2018:</span></b> "I have tried effexor and cymbalta each - for me the norepinephrine reuptake inhibition for both facilitates some vasoconstriction. If I wasn't on an SNRI I would be flushing/burning 24/7 and wouldn't be able to sit down. The effexor is more like an SSRI at doses under 150 mg so I wouldn't give up if it doesn't work for you in the beginning at lower doses. The vasoconstriction might be a little more noticeable with the effexor than the cymbalta but not much (maybe why effexor is more known to have high bp as a side effect ..). My experience is that cymbalta helps more with nerve pain. There is a paper out there that says that cymbalta at 60 mg can block sodium channels (like amitriptyline or lidocaine) and maybe this is why (sodium channels might be instrumental in pain transmission .. people with sodium channel loss-of-function mutations have an inability to sense pain .. people with gain-of-function sodium channel mutations have lower thresholds in sensing heat + pain both .. ). My doc said that she will give 120 mg+ on cymbalta for nerve pain though. I am on 80 mg cymbalta and do well. [..] I am also on mirtazapine 22.5 mg -- and I think by being an alpha 2 adrenoceptor blocker, it might help with some subtle vasoconstriction (I notice if I miss a day) but imo not as much as the SNRI's."<br />
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In tests the SSRI-type antidepressants turned out to be less effective at treating painful diabetic neuropathy than antidepressants which affect both serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. These drugs are great for the treatment of depression, but are not very effective for neuropathic pain.<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>Please scroll down in this post to read why exactly antidepressants like Cymbalta (and other types) can reduce nerve pain.</b></span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"> </span><br />
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<br /><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;"><br /></span></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXeYLL6cBpSDgZ3lEjOihQIB1XWyX3b49L58xK8_3s4fTYUOgX-tDlj2jOoWEFgKK9l0LhH5njq3sg0wS7DZNmHdR0xB1G5g9IKoTM-TW5jX1SetD5AYM_VuSYZw8lXlllK0PptqPzNMP_FerIUJ7le-r-evVxCSoyIi-Bw_Xf3rMemHO5wmqjDU6Zbzej/s519/9b31e614d8fbb493c112392a7c133fca.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="398" height="551" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXeYLL6cBpSDgZ3lEjOihQIB1XWyX3b49L58xK8_3s4fTYUOgX-tDlj2jOoWEFgKK9l0LhH5njq3sg0wS7DZNmHdR0xB1G5g9IKoTM-TW5jX1SetD5AYM_VuSYZw8lXlllK0PptqPzNMP_FerIUJ7le-r-evVxCSoyIi-Bw_Xf3rMemHO5wmqjDU6Zbzej/w422-h551/9b31e614d8fbb493c112392a7c133fca.jpg" width="422" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;">Other meds that can help with </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;">nerve pain are: </span></b><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><b>-Other anticonvulsant medications</b></span>; phenytoin, carbamazepine, valproic acid and clonazepam</div>
<b><span style="color: #444444;">-TCA's</span></b> like imipramine, doxepin, clomipramine and trimipramine<br />
-The epilepsy drug <b><span style="color: #444444;">Trileptal</span></b> (oxcarbazepine)<br />
<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Antiarrhythmics</span></b> like mexiletine. In <a href="https://entokey.com/refractory-erythromelalgia-of-the-ears-response-to-mexiletine/" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> article is detailed how mexiletine quiets the sensory nerves and neurogenic pain (which in turn can quiet down pain-triggered flushing)."An increase in the dose to 200 mg 3 times a day was attempted resulting in a dramatic improvement in pain and redness of his ears."<br />
<b><span style="color: #444444;">-SSRI antidepressants</span></b> like Fluoxetine (Prozac), Paroxetine (Paxil) and Venlafaxine (Effexor)<br />
<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Systemic local anesthetics</span></b> including lidocaine, tocainide<br />
<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Muscle relaxants</span></b> like Baclofen or diazepam<br />
<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Memantine</span></b><b><br /></b>
<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Ranolazine</span></b><b><br /></b>
<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Daily aspirin</span> </b>(if aspirin / salicylates don't make you flushed)<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Topical capsaicin cream</span> </b>(Zostrix, 0.025% and 0.075%) or Baclofen<br />
Topical 0.5% amitriptyline has also been used to treat neuropathic pain. Be weary of potential blood vessel dilation from that one.<br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span>-Ketamine</span></b></span><br />
<b><span style="color: #444444;"><span>-The supplement Alpha Lipoic Acid:</span> </span></b> "<i>Studies also found that alpha-lipoic acid supplements can help with neuropathy -- nerve damage -- caused by diabetes or cancer treatment. They seem to reduce symptoms like pain, tingling, and prickling in the feet and legs.</i>"<br />
<span style="color: #444444;">-<b>Magnesium</b></span> supplements can help but magnesium can also dilate blood vessels and heighten nitric oxide in the system, which is also a blood vessel dilator and potential rosacea worsener. But of magnesium doesn't flare your rosacea and does help your nerve pain, then consider also a prescription low dose (long-acting) calcium channel blocker, which can work even better. (Again; warning as they are blood vessel dilators too).<br />
<b><span style="color: #444444;">-CBD oil (Cannabidiol):</span></b> Read <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319475.php" target="_blank"><b>this info</b></a> on the possible help of CBD oil for nerve pain.<br />
-Butterbur, feverfew, ginger -- "natural" migraine remedies<br />
<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Botox</span> </b>(see <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/01/botox-for-facial-flushing-and-rosacea.html" target="_blank"><b>this blog post</b></a> on botox for rosacea)<br />
<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG)</span> </b>for Resistant Neuropathic Pain<br />
<span style="color: #444444;">-<b>Infusions</b></span> (lidocaine, ketamine, etc) can interrupt the 24/7 neuropathic pain cycle. They can be followed with mexiletine (oral lidocaine analog) for longer analgesic effects.<br />
<span><span style="color: #444444;">-<b>Nerve blocks</b></span> </span>(see dedicated paragraph further down in this blog post. Nerve blocks are not permanent, but can be very helpful in conditions like CRPS/hot flashes/depression/etc particularly if the pain is sympathetically mediated<br />
<b><span style="color: #444444;">-Acupuncture</span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">-Tapentadol</span>;</span> A new medication for nerve pain. Tapentadol is a new opioid for neuropathic pain that is as strong as oxycodone, but has less of its side-effects, especially less nausea and vomiting. It also blocks the reuptake of noradrenaline in the brain.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span>
<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJjJwlpktxTk9T85B5ZXrs_1SOlhVXpOeDZYTtEONoDEMcQpzv_9lL_BHY5xsWw6tafPrjPJbP0U13TtD3BmQEvco-gluwvdiV1Zur1l0alG_omuE1KtkQx-0SuNt7gp2BKuR8PHEYsddT7b3Qc_Uu4Wvpwx6qqkji8YL1_hIeFeWvMrPwD7baoWa7vjSb/s544/ef4b77c117a72e136532bddaffbb1c88.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="360" height="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJjJwlpktxTk9T85B5ZXrs_1SOlhVXpOeDZYTtEONoDEMcQpzv_9lL_BHY5xsWw6tafPrjPJbP0U13TtD3BmQEvco-gluwvdiV1Zur1l0alG_omuE1KtkQx-0SuNt7gp2BKuR8PHEYsddT7b3Qc_Uu4Wvpwx6qqkji8YL1_hIeFeWvMrPwD7baoWa7vjSb/w347-h524/ef4b77c117a72e136532bddaffbb1c88.jpg" width="347" /></a>
A general practitioner or a dermatologist can prescribe nerve pain medication, as well as anti flushing medication. However, if none of them are effective, it can be worthwhile asking a referral to a specialist pain management doctor or neurologist. In my home town hospital there is a pain clinic especially for nerve pain treatment and under one of their doctors, I was able to try out medications like neurontin, lyrica and carbamazepine. It are these pain specialists who can ultimately go the next step in some cases, and offer the options of nerve blocks (stellate ganglion, trigeminal), botox, lidocaine infusions, ketamine infusions and IVIGs. It can be difficult however to first get a referral (rosacea is still seen by many as a primarily 'cosmetic' issue, and many doctors do not realize how much burning pain it can give us), and then it can be difficult also to convince a pain specialist to go as far as nerve blocks. But just know that these options are available. Ideally your dermatologist should work together with a pain specialist, when you deal with nerve pain on top of your rosacea inflammation and/or flushing. Sometimes combining two antidepressants (an SSRI with Cymbalta for instance) for nerve pain gives a better result than taking just one. Blood vessel constricting medication (clonidine, beta-blockers like propranolol) can sometimes be added to nerve pain blocking medication, to stabilize the blood vessels, and reduce flushing-triggered nerve pain. Anti-inflammatory medication (plaquenil for instance, or for those who benefit from antibiotics, low dose or regular dose tetracycline antibiotics can also help) can also be added to help reduce inflammation-mediated nerve pain. Please note that opioids, anti-inflammatories, and anticonvulsants have limited effects and tolerability in the treatment of neuropathic pain..(i.e., limited efficacy, safety and tolerability issues). Regarding the use of antidepressants to treat neuropathic pain, there have been numerous studies demonstrating the pain reducing effects of antidepressants. Data is strong regarding the pain-inhibiting effects of tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) and newer agents enhancing norepinephrine and serotonin neurotransmission. In contrast, review of studies with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) show poorer or inconsistent evidence of efficacy for migraine or tension headaches, diabetic neuropathy, and fibromyalgia. Several studies of SSRI treatment for mixed-chronic pain on the other hand are universally positive.</div><div><br /></div><div><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;">So, all in all</b>, tetracyclic antidepressants like amitriptyline can be very effective in the treatment of nerve pain. But.... if you are a severe flusher, with hyper-reactive blood vessels, there is a chance that medication like this one can make your face more hot, more red and more dry.. Trial and error, you might be fine with it. The same goes for Neurontin and Lyrica and carbamazepine; they can all help control or diminish nerve pian that is associated with rosacea, but they also all have possible side effects with can set your face off. You simply need to try these meds. And remember, that most of them can require a good few weeks at the least of taking before they can start to work. When you suspect one or the other makes your rosacea worse, you can stop taking them (taper off ideally), then wait till your face has stabilized, and then start again. Do not change anything else in your daily routine, and see whether or not your rosacea flares up again or not. (If so, good chance that the medication is not ideal for you). It is stuff like this that drives me desperate some days: there are pain treating meds, but so often they cause the blood vessels to dilate (vasodilatation), something which is of no further consequence for people with 'just' pain symptoms, but which can make the drug close to useless for us bad rosacea flushers, who need to not only think of ways to treat pain, but also keep the root cause of it, the flushing and redness, down at the same time...<br /><br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAquTIyV-nLZ2pKPlJGBgNsUfXcDcg3z33Kesj6nqjBwfcBK5ub8z5T9qU8XyJ3LxT-m260NF6yrWEqPU7K52boWHgJikTxikj25Y65R9y3oCLSFK9fL3grHJg-KRAQIG61ZdIY83msXt2Tyc5oEPmHmdp9EOgtzCm2SsqFrKxS45SRNQ4ovJ44fkwNASR/s716/cde4a22a72700c6a066ab15392321418.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="716" data-original-width="564" height="557" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAquTIyV-nLZ2pKPlJGBgNsUfXcDcg3z33Kesj6nqjBwfcBK5ub8z5T9qU8XyJ3LxT-m260NF6yrWEqPU7K52boWHgJikTxikj25Y65R9y3oCLSFK9fL3grHJg-KRAQIG61ZdIY83msXt2Tyc5oEPmHmdp9EOgtzCm2SsqFrKxS45SRNQ4ovJ44fkwNASR/w439-h557/cde4a22a72700c6a066ab15392321418.jpg" width="439" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 35px;"><b>There are also more invasive treatment options for neurogenic rosacea pain: ETS (Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy) and Stellate Ganglion (sympathetic nerve) Block</b></span></div></div>
Stellate ganglion blocks are also performed in the treatment of another health condition called erythromelalgia, which has some overlap with neurogenic rosacea, and which treatment options can be interesting for us. Erythromelalgia is a rare skin disorder, characterized by redness, increased temperature and burning pain of the skin of the hands, feet and only sometimes the face (it rarely also affects the neck, ears, nose and scrotum). These attacks happen on irregular intervals. Its symptoms may be triggered by some of the same symptoms we rosacea patients have: warmth or moderate exercise, change of temperature, stress. Its attacks can be prevented or relieved by cooling. Very much like neurogenic, subtype 1 rosacea thus. It is only very rarely that this condition only manifests itself on the face (and not also on the hands and feet), but there are cases known, such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3976166/" target="_blank"><b>this one</b></a>. (Read more about erythromelalgia versus rosacea in <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/04/do-i-have-rosacea-or-erythromelalgia-em.html" target="_blank"><b>this blog post</b></a> I made). One of the treatment options for erythromelalgia is a <span style="color: #444444;"><b>ganglion nerve block.</b></span> It involves getting injections with an anesthetic, for instance lidocaine, in the neck, at the spot of specific (sympathetic) nerve bundles. Ganglion blocks are researched and found effective in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5734237/" target="_blank"><b>research</b></a> for some people with nerve pain in the facial region, for instance Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, or postherpetic or trigeminal neuralgia. They have symptoms of nerve pain in the face. A nerve block can also improve severe headaches. The injections block pain signals from the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. This treatment only offers temporary (possible) pain relief, but even after one injection, some EM patients reported two whole days of complete pain relief in the facial region (this involved someone who normally had constant burning hot facial pain). The anesthetic wears off after several hours and sometimes the pain relief is only that short lived, but it is also often the case that the pain relief lingers on for days or weeks. Usually people need a series of injections to continue the pain relief. Sometimes it takes only two injections; sometimes it takes more than 10. The relief tends to last longer with each treatment. One of the immediate (short lived) side effects and signs that the treatment worked, is increased temperature and blood flow to the face. Aiii.... not something I would be looking forward to :) Interestingly however, this treatment option is also used to treat hot flashes! As well as excessive sweating. One of the possible side effects is therefore dry skin. You can read more about this treatment option <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5734237/" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. And when you scroll down to the bottom of this post, you can read more on Stellate Ganglion Block for the treatment of hot flashes.<br />
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In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4482558/" target="_blank"><b>this research</b></a>, scientists tested whether or not a stellate ganglion block was effective in reducing <b><span style="color: #444444;">menopausal hot flashes.</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b>There were some positive research results found for its efficiency. Read also more about ganglion nerve blocks for neuropathic pain <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1810425/" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. Nerve blocks are currently also examined as a treatment for a condition called <b><span style="color: #444444;">Harlequin Syndrome</span></b>, which patients also deal with face flushing and burning (read more about this condition in <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2014/05/other-conditions-that-cause-facial_29.html" target="_blank"><b>this blog post</b></a> I made). For Harlequin syndrome, the procedure that is used is called contralateral sympathectomy. In contralateral sympathectomy, the nerve bundles that are responsible for causing flushing in the face are interrupted. Therefore, this procedure causes both sides of the face to no longer flush or sweat. This treatment is only <a href="https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/8610/harlequin-syndrome" target="_blank"><b>recommended</b></a> if a person is very uncomfortable with the flushing and sweating associated with the syndrome. Recently, a novel approach to the management of Harlequin syndrome was <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4323587/" target="_blank"><b>introduced</b></a>, using repeated stellate ganglion blocks, which are considered a less invasive alternative treatment<br />
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<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcoQn37ZwCj-ZvkBuQDYBIbEt5Vp4wfExuHIlhlEWSHrlGueOzaCEXp14vxjXfZbq_6QoceUb4Nibw3t2NXSSLL2kyS7Vwqn4IZh6YYKCUltGJAU8WPtou-p9LV6NTvP36VsoxcOzTWCrDOy6LXgaaMpyXJhsmbVJwhVwN_7ZlXtAxVLSGPAoyaUIgcqB6/s777/58fef459973bac48423d50f38fbff0c3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="564" height="531" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcoQn37ZwCj-ZvkBuQDYBIbEt5Vp4wfExuHIlhlEWSHrlGueOzaCEXp14vxjXfZbq_6QoceUb4Nibw3t2NXSSLL2kyS7Vwqn4IZh6YYKCUltGJAU8WPtou-p9LV6NTvP36VsoxcOzTWCrDOy6LXgaaMpyXJhsmbVJwhVwN_7ZlXtAxVLSGPAoyaUIgcqB6/w386-h531/58fef459973bac48423d50f38fbff0c3.jpg" width="386" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b style="font-size: 42px;">ETS (Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy)</b> </span>is a much more radical treatment option. It is the most invasive of all the sympathetic nerve block treatments (other nerve related treatments are trigeminal nerve block, sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) blocks and superficial cervical plexus blocks). During ETS surgery, surgeons attempt to interrupt the transmission of nerve signals from the spinal column to the sweat glands and to thus prevent these nerve signals from "turning on" the sweat glands. They can 'clamp' the nerves with a special device, or completely cut them. (The clamp can in theory be removed again when demanded, but often has by then created a lot of damage to the nerves, making recovery impossible). Patients are put under general anesthesia for an ETS procedure. A miniature camera is inserted into the chest under the armpit. A lung is temporarily collapsed so the surgeons can cut or otherwise destroy the nerve paths associated with the overactive sweat glands. This procedure is permanent; there have been no successful reversal procedures reported. After the surgeon completes this procedure on one side of the body, he/she performs the same procedure on the other side.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
ETS is most often used to treat severely sweaty palms, sometimes the combination of sweaty palms and sweaty underarms, and rarely facial blushing and sweating, but it is major surgery (even though it's called 'minimally invasive') with significant risks (people have died from this procure, or ended up with irreversible side-effects they couldn't live with), and limited success. ETS gives no success certainty, and a host of debilitating possible side effects. It is considered a last resort because it frequently causes serious, irreversible compensatory sweating (excessive or debilitating sweating on large areas of the body, including the back, chest, abdomen, legs, face, and/or buttocks which can be equally or even more extreme than the original hand sweating problem most people came with) as well as other serious side effects such as extreme hypotension, arrhythmia, and heat intolerance. <b><span style="color: #444444;">The face often cannot sweat anymore, which causes dry skin and an increase of skin temperature, which can make rosacea worse.</span></b> In a study involving 121 patients at the Medical City Hospital of Dallas, Texas, compensatory sweating occurred in more than 80% of the patients undergoing ETS. Similarly, in a Danish study conducted at the Aarhus University Hospital, 90% of the patients undergoing ETS for underarm sweating, reported compensatory sweating, half of whom were forced to change their clothes during the day because of it.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlW9JdYzKTyj0txTP3WrCj1cLGc8bjvksDmDtLrDLg8h0hcBr8Kksr3Tj5aaLMJ7l7cer-gdvuJBra4cLq_RBBxgqFDaokqN9BJpOlLUn0rqhXop6Iiruixd4JeWzBqKP-6Ux2G_qp5iHX/s1600/ets.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="370" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlW9JdYzKTyj0txTP3WrCj1cLGc8bjvksDmDtLrDLg8h0hcBr8Kksr3Tj5aaLMJ7l7cer-gdvuJBra4cLq_RBBxgqFDaokqN9BJpOlLUn0rqhXop6Iiruixd4JeWzBqKP-6Ux2G_qp5iHX/s320/ets.jpg" width="259" /></a>In fact, most physicians do not recommend ETS surgery because of the serious negative side effects of the procedure. To make matters worse, there are testimonials from rosacea patients who had ETS, and found it did not improve their flushing and burning problems (but did give them the side-effects), despite ETS aiming to reduce facial blushing by cutting contact with the sympathetic nerves that control the supply of extra blood to the skin. ETS is mostly performed to stop people from having excessive sweating on the hands and underarms. It also has been performed to stop facial blushing. But facial flushing is something different from blushing (blushing is a short lived pinkness of the cheeks; flushing is a more severe and long lasting redness and burning of the skin, where the blood vessels in the face dilate). ETS is said to work best for sudden surges of blushing. It is not useful for people with a reddish complexion. ETS is not recommended as a rosacea treatment. Anyone considering it nevertheless is advised to first and foremost make sure that there is not an underlying skin condition causing the flushing and burning problems (rosacea is mentioned as such an underlying skin condition in information leaflets! In other words; when you have rosacea and inflammation of the skin and vessels, ETS is not the right treatment for you). When your flushing is occurring as part of the menopause, ETS is also not suitable for you. Another side-effect risk is that if the procedure works for one side and not the other, you could end up with half your face blushing. In <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/i-dont-blush-anymore-ets" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> post in David Pascoe's Rosacea Support Group, a person with rosacea blushing however praises ETS for helping him with facial blushing.</div><div><br /></div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPkZV80svOEL7q2edr3zYVzuwcX5m4dvaU9Ym86aJFLckCmrO7Y195tljsJIv1LIgFmt4L5ekOnJ8onsm4Ib3H08sRnJBt8aXIKJ9bUTrgZWbDpbCB412zLG1eebP7e2h9QU8gTEflk2sBJTEeuMLCQlwv0kpMSzRDEjGa_qq-GSxQw5kfdhVsk-T4x-c/s640/cb67eb15d5de79d48b27603dc38d6987.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="506" height="413" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPkZV80svOEL7q2edr3zYVzuwcX5m4dvaU9Ym86aJFLckCmrO7Y195tljsJIv1LIgFmt4L5ekOnJ8onsm4Ib3H08sRnJBt8aXIKJ9bUTrgZWbDpbCB412zLG1eebP7e2h9QU8gTEflk2sBJTEeuMLCQlwv0kpMSzRDEjGa_qq-GSxQw5kfdhVsk-T4x-c/w327-h413/cb67eb15d5de79d48b27603dc38d6987.jpg" width="327" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Blzucker wrote on August 1, 1999: </span></b><br />
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"I’m 25 years old and have experienced significant facial blushing since I can remember (elementary school). My brother has had the same problems as me growing up. We’ve both got red hair and very light complexions which obviously don’t make dealing with Rosacea any easier. As many of you have also done, I’ve tried about 200 different cleansers and moisturizers. They all produce different results… some better than others. None of them are good enough. I have zero tolerance for this condition. The reason that I titled this message "I don’t blush anymore" is because I’ve had Endoscopic Transthoracic Surgery (ETS). You can find out a ton of information on this procedure all over the Web. It started as a cure for sweaty palms and it was discovered that the surgical procedure also stopped facial sweating (actually stops all sweating above the nipple), and greatly decreases facial blushing. My palms might have sweat much more than the average person’s, but facial blushing was 2 million times more embarrassing than a clammy handshake as far as I was concerned. I did a TREMENDOUS amount of research on this surgery. It’s extremely risky from the standpoint of possible side effects — mainly compensatory sweating in other parts of your body (the upper half of your body loses much of its connection with your sympathetic nervous system and the lower portion of your body — below your nipples — takes on the job often causing a great deal of sympathetic activity (sweating) on your chest, lower back, butt, legs, feet, etc. Another side-effect is that your palms are extremely dry. I’m detailing this (and could get even more detailed if I didn’t want to put some of your to sleep with the length of this message) because this procedure is not a good option unless you’re COMPLETELY aware of the risks and do some thorough investigation. The Dr’s Web sites are not good sources for unbiased information. They’re making big bucks off this relatively new procedure and won’t tell you about the small group of patients who have ended up with disastrous results. I was lucky… the procedure has worked very well. I would have rated by facial blushing/ sweating/ general redness to be about 8.5 on a scale of 1-10. Not an hour would go by without my obsessing over the problem. Few days would go by without somebody calling attention to my problem. Triggers were the normal rosacea variety… spicy food, alcohol, hot rooms, coming in from the cold, etc… if you’ve read this far you’re aware of the stuff I’m talking about. Although I was diagnosed with Rosacea in 1993, I was so disappointed with the treatment options (or lack thereof) that I continued to look elsewhere for help. Finding a good soap gave me way better results than MetroGel, and taking oral medications was not going to be acceptable to me. This ETS surgery, which I saw as a way of curing all of my blushing/ flushing/ redness, seemed to be worth the considerable risk that goes along with it (again – don’t let any doctor tell you otherwise)."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Post-Surgery… </span></b>"I don’t have that rush of blood to my face when somebody says something embarrassing. That’s about it. Alcohol still gets my cheeks and neck flushed most all the time. Going from a really cold area into the heat (best example is coming into a ski lodge after a day of swimming) will guarantee a red face (plus I don’t sweat or have any really effective way of cooling my face off after it’s gotten red). I will say that in general, my face isn’t as red as what it was like before surgery. However, it’s MUCH dryer. My scalp is also very dry. Only a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner prevent me from flaking all over the place.[..] My feet sweat like crazy – way more than before the surgery. However, Botox injections (search the Web for that too) have reduced that problem to a comfortable level (but cost about $2000 annually). Prior to ETS surgery, if I was guaranteed the result I ended up with, I would do it. I’m better off having had the surgery. However, there are some incredibly tragic stories related to ETS gone bad, and I have not been able to recommend the procedure to my brother (who has rosacea-induced flushing/blushing/redness symptoms as bad or worse than me) because I would take my own life if I ruined his by convincing him to try this risky procedure. After having had the surgery, I’m more convinced than ever that I have Rosacea. Spicy foods are still a killer. Alcohol still causes my skin to turn red. A day at the beach still has the aftermath you’re all experiencing. Going from a cold room into the heat still causes me to flush."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAgWJ0rlseEFLnDIvOTlyyoKacH-SrK93jHI04dUB-H0UDoy3AWMSAcjTwAhCqb3b_5oSbSbjPtG9p9AG0fddjT1w-X85tEXqTya9HTldiN5oXU2mP-cniasvoByXjTLIbTCh_iIdDDFJKNUR4wsCdmpL9FcWzH85QsuLO0JsslfYf0XogssvZ1s-0h_ZK/s634/Untitled6.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="506" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAgWJ0rlseEFLnDIvOTlyyoKacH-SrK93jHI04dUB-H0UDoy3AWMSAcjTwAhCqb3b_5oSbSbjPtG9p9AG0fddjT1w-X85tEXqTya9HTldiN5oXU2mP-cniasvoByXjTLIbTCh_iIdDDFJKNUR4wsCdmpL9FcWzH85QsuLO0JsslfYf0XogssvZ1s-0h_ZK/w498-h625/Untitled6.jpg" width="498" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 30px;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://www.sweathelp.org/hyperhidrosis-treatments/ets-surgery.html" target="_blank">This</a></span><span style="color: #990000;"> devastating account is from a woman, who </span></b></span><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 30px;"><b>is</b></span><b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif; font-size: 30px;"> experiencing a high degree of compensatory </b><b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif; font-size: 30px;">sweating and shows emphatically the downside of this procedure</b></span><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">"I am a 38-year-old woman who feels totally out of place. I started off sweating on my hands and feet and I had the ETS surgery. Immediately after the surgery, while I was still in the hospital bed, I awakened to a sweaty butt, back, and legs. The doctor said it was compensatory sweating and it would go away. I continued to sweat and eventually I requested the clamps used to block the nerves be removed. The doctor stated the nerve should regenerate itself and the compensatory sweating would stop and my hands and feet would probably continue to sweat. It has been more than 4 years and in that time I have totally removed myself from everyone. I have had to switch job positions two times. I can't speak or stand up in front of a crowd. My clothes get soaked. People often say I have a stain on my butt. My back, chest, and stomach constantly sweat. My ex boyfriend called me "sweaty butt" and always made comments about the bed being wet. I wear a lot of black and have spent hundreds of dollars on Under Armor gear and underarm pads. Nothing works. This condition causes me great depression. I cannot wear shorts, tank tops, or light-colored shirts. My jeans get wet in the butt and around the waist. I don't date. Every time I do, the young men always ask me 'What is wrong?' and 'Why are your clothes wet? It's disgusting.' I cry and cover up a lot. I need help." </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazFB0d97-XIOv51qBti6RZk61qQAKw63gpXi_Qg9Q6ZEnTaUwDnXQBMfyma5oOkG3HT3dVtiSK75xwwrV9wxWuoYfWJP8dd1_0Q63U8AugoxJHp-kvOOGeGSEwzPrcESyk_rMSGt4BJpFUCp0gukFP30L5eOG083qq7XwMFt1A2vqlvJcCyLnBFBEhhS3/s270/images%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="187" height="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazFB0d97-XIOv51qBti6RZk61qQAKw63gpXi_Qg9Q6ZEnTaUwDnXQBMfyma5oOkG3HT3dVtiSK75xwwrV9wxWuoYfWJP8dd1_0Q63U8AugoxJHp-kvOOGeGSEwzPrcESyk_rMSGt4BJpFUCp0gukFP30L5eOG083qq7XwMFt1A2vqlvJcCyLnBFBEhhS3/w374-h540/images%20(2).jpg" width="374" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 30px;"><b><a href="https://thompsontee.com/blog/i-underwent-ets-surgery-heres-why-i-would-never-recommend-it-to-hyperhidrosis-sufferers/" target="_blank">Here</a> you can read another painful patient testimonial of someone who had excessive compensatory sweating after ETS surgery </b></span></div>
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"As each day passed, it only got worse. By the end of summer, I had to wear two to three undershirts to contain the bulk of the sweat. Then, out of nowhere, the sweating appeared on my left shoulder blade. Of course, my doctor kept blaming it on the heat. But by then, I was going through four to five undershirts a day. So here I am, stuck with torso sweating that is much worse than the sweat from my head and a random area on my left shoulder blade. Try explaining that to people. The side effects of ETS didn’t end with sweating, either. I experienced a noticeable lack of energy and felt like my thought process was flawed. It took three times longer to make a simple impulse purchase decision than it used to. My natural feelings of assertiveness seemed to diminish because ETS impairs your fight-or-flight capabilities. The surgery also made my face super dry or oily, and acne appeared for the first time ever. Eventually, the effects trickled down to my hands, which also dried up badly. My metabolism was cut in half. My scalp dried out. Then I started to dramatically lose my hair. Search YouTube for “ETS Side Effects,” and you’ll get some real-life experiences. Be cautious of clicking on the ads, which are most likely pro-ETS." And <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jul/24/experience-i-cant-stop-sweating" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> you can read another striking patient account of excessive compensatory sweating in the Guardian newspaper. I will try to make an independent blog post in the near future about ETS. </div></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVvbxA4hn1MEqwJWM5JQ3kpfl-cpJyYCyr8IcHFmQ1lvPIqLa21VgyR3ItW0Y4gIYyCq-kg3qw0rlaRAzJcu9ZRpg9_Hwd-6_E40dpA82vJRGuF6hOKjMITPFVe4xR4a_BKzObzN2XdT8_nJ9i1EegpiXWlZkzRdXVomayrv3ZY_XGmcZV7Wsj7ZridSi/s250/images%20(3).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="202" height="453" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVvbxA4hn1MEqwJWM5JQ3kpfl-cpJyYCyr8IcHFmQ1lvPIqLa21VgyR3ItW0Y4gIYyCq-kg3qw0rlaRAzJcu9ZRpg9_Hwd-6_E40dpA82vJRGuF6hOKjMITPFVe4xR4a_BKzObzN2XdT8_nJ9i1EegpiXWlZkzRdXVomayrv3ZY_XGmcZV7Wsj7ZridSi/w366-h453/images%20(3).jpg" width="366" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3244298/" target="_blank">this</a> Pubmed article the efficiency of ETS surgery for facial blushing was researched and confirmed:</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span>"<b>Objective</b>:</span> </span>No study has yet compared the efficacy of endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS) for treating <span style="color: #444444;"><b>facial blushing</b></span> with other treatment or no treatment. We conducted a prospective, observational, open-label, clinical study to compare ETS for blushing with generalized social anxiety disorder versus sertraline treatment and no treatment.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">Method:</span> </b>Three-hundred and thirty consecutive patients seeking treatment for their blushing were assessed by psychiatric interview and patient-rated scales. The Brief Social Phobia Scale was the primary outcome measure. Patients meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria for generalized social anxiety disorder, scoring 20 points or more in the Brief Social Phobia Scale and 19 points or more in the Social Phobia Inventory were considered eligible and followed up for a mean of 11 months (range 1–64) after ETS or initiation of sertraline.<br />
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<span><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">Results:</span> </b></span>At baseline, 97 percent of the ETS-treated group, 87 percent of the sertraline-treated group, and 78 percent of the nontreated group rated their blushing as being “severe” or “extreme.” At follow up, 16 percent of ETS-treated patients, 32 percent of sertraline-treated patients, and 57 percent of untreated patients reported this degree of blushing. At endpoint, Brief Social Phobia Scale total scores exhibited a greater decline with either treatment than with no treatment. Nonetheless, in comparison to no treatment, <span style="color: #444444;"><b>only the results obtained with ETS achieved statistical difference</b></span> (p=0.003). Compensatory sweating occurred in 99 percent of patients who underwent endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy. High degrees of satisfaction with treatment were reported by 89 percent of patients undergoing ETS and by 59 percent of patients taking medication.<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><b>Conclusion</b>:</span> ETS was associated to a greater reduction of blushing and Brief Social Phobia Scale scores, and higher degrees of satisfaction with treatment, in comparison to sertraline and no treatment."<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>And in <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/1105484?redirect=true" target="_blank">this</a> scientific article (read excerpt <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/treating-neurogenic-rosacea-with-ets.html" target="_blank">here</a>), ETS was considered an effective treatment for neurogenic rosacea. Scientists warn for the potentially serious side-effects of ETS though.</b></span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.9991px;"><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.9991px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.9991px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.9991px;"><br /></span></span></div><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.9991px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.9991px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgupUc9FsbBmJe7LxfBbOZORuHpJpTlJYneVngBLQ4nT9decqbVpXixcqvXV-O3wf05G1oQSQatKvK2L3TYA6g4lWUSytCX8yzb92quyCoYcKJGGw-OiY2F-DjM0TcxxLwx382oI0DC2rClLJ06kbKDKMVrgWRskYCefV_Tn7EQbdBJIk2MX7hAI2P1EV0/s879/Untitled2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="635" height="692" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgupUc9FsbBmJe7LxfBbOZORuHpJpTlJYneVngBLQ4nT9decqbVpXixcqvXV-O3wf05G1oQSQatKvK2L3TYA6g4lWUSytCX8yzb92quyCoYcKJGGw-OiY2F-DjM0TcxxLwx382oI0DC2rClLJ06kbKDKMVrgWRskYCefV_Tn7EQbdBJIk2MX7hAI2P1EV0/w499-h692/Untitled2.jpg" width="499" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 42px;">What exact chemicals in the body are involved with nerve pain? </b><br />
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Neuropathic pain is in essence a defense mechanism of the body, warning us for injury or damage. Pain is a complex interaction of physical, mental and environmental factors. Pain has many gradations and is also subjective, and can be experienced different depending on the person. Nerve pain is the result of damaged or reduced functioning nerves. They give off a constant message to the brain, that something is wrong on that specific spot. This creates an over-stimulation of the nerve, which makes it hypersensitive. Patients can experience non painful stimuli as painful (think of the sensation of fabric touching the skin, or the sensation of cold or warm air touching the skin). Patients can also feel a constant dull pain without clear cause for it. It is hard to treat nerve pain and it can linger for a long time, often chronically. nerve pain is also described as constantly present burning, itching, stabbing electrical, painful coldness or a numb feeling. The location of the pain does not have to correspond with the place where the nerve damage is exactly. I have a constant dull pain in my cheeks. It is a mildly burning and tight feeling, even when I am not flushed or cooling my face with a fan. When I have a big flush, the pain increases tenfold. It is very hard to deal with this daily.. Pressure on the nerves in the face can cause nerve pain; think of swelling of rosacea skin, redness from inflammation, pressure from dilated blood vessels and the effects of inflammation.<br />
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Special receptors and nerves guide pain stimuli to the brain. It is only once these signals reach the brain, that we 'feel' the pain. Our body does not have specific 'pain receivers'; instead, the nerve endings of two types of nerves, the fast A delta fibers and the slow C-fibers are responsible for the sensation of pain in our body. These nerve endings are sensitive to pressure, temperature and to a large amount of chemicals in our body (neurotransmitters) that are released at the site where pain is sensed.Neurotransmitters are like the messengers of the nerve system. Aside from the neurotransmitters noradrenaline, serotonin and dopamine, our body also produces prostaglandine, bradykinin and substance P. When someone sticks a needle in your skin, for instance, you first feel a mild stabbing pain on the site; this is the fast acting A delta (nerve) fiber that was triggered instantly (and it triggers the body and the central nervous system directly; we pull our hand back immediately, our blood pressure and breathing intensify right away, even before our brain has made us feel the pain). Then follows a burning pain (warning us for tissue damage), which is triggered by the slower acting C-fibers (warning us for more long standing discomfort being on the way). So, there are two routes which these pain signals can take, when they travel to the brain: a fast pain one (red on the picture above) or a slow pain one (yellow). The fast pain route ends in the thalamus (B), which redirects the signal further to other parts of the brain. The slow pain route leads the the brain stem (A), and sometimes also to the thalamus (B). The brain then sends the signal back, after which the body responds.These pain receiving nerve endings aren't evenly divided over our body. Our skin, hands and gums have relatively many of them, while our belly and brain have less of them. The fast A fibers and the slow C fibers transport the pain signals to the spinal cord. The painful spot then releases neurotransmitters and the fast A fibers transport the pain signal to the brain. (They transport them through the nerve system at the opposite side of the body! So when you feel pain in your left hand, the pain signals are transported on the right side of your body to the brain). They arrive in the thalamus center in the brain, which exchanges information with the relevant part of the brain. Only when the pain signal is strong enough and can reach the cortex in the brain, will we become aware of the pain. The central nervous system then modulates the pain signal; strengthens or weakens the pain signal, depending on the amount and types of neurotransmitters that are released on the site of the injury. Pain signals from the slow C-fibers pass different parts of the spinal cord before reaching the thalamus in the brain. The brain can set a system in motion (by producing specific neurotransmitters; endorphins, but also serotonin and noradrenaline) that can either stem or strengthen the pain sensations. So in the end, the amount of pain we feel depends on the amount and type of neurotransmitters that are released by our body and that reach our pain receptors.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIa3TGAOzUCLzNATqIJJS5ApRCjBan6fCaLqlsgKS7NBNb7IZbGgB_Qk3tGvea2DWOJt398z3RH_4f33TKXQ_6oCsgqaKGuhTNHLiQzwIB4whDsXZknOxsiLTzKx4AoKuBL_KCE9CsZeStipouKVceLeJhzVI9OSaNlDToT5zneFohw6ohxMxm8f6sEiUC/s690/1396f91e1c0dec36a3f2af597de9bf3f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="564" height="443" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIa3TGAOzUCLzNATqIJJS5ApRCjBan6fCaLqlsgKS7NBNb7IZbGgB_Qk3tGvea2DWOJt398z3RH_4f33TKXQ_6oCsgqaKGuhTNHLiQzwIB4whDsXZknOxsiLTzKx4AoKuBL_KCE9CsZeStipouKVceLeJhzVI9OSaNlDToT5zneFohw6ohxMxm8f6sEiUC/w363-h443/1396f91e1c0dec36a3f2af597de9bf3f.jpg" width="363" /></a>When you have chronic pain, our neurotransmitter system can experience changes. The type of neurotransmitter chemicals can change. The amount and type of receptors can change. For instance, as a result of chronic neuropathic pain, a very specific receptor in the spinal cord is activated (N-Methyl-D-Aspartate - NMDA). New pain-related research can hopefully come up with medication to influence this receptor. And within the (central) nervous system, new connections can appear between nerve bundles and nerves; this can lead for instance to new short circuits between nerves that signal pain and nerves that signal touch, making touching of the skin suddenly painful. We also build up a 'pain memory' with chronic pain. Think of phantom pain. The precise mechanisms of pain perception and transmission in the central nervous system have not been fully discovered. However, extensive research indicates that <span><span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">dopamin, serotonin</span><span>, </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span>monoamine neurotransmitters </span></b></span>and<span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span><b><span style="color: #444444;">norepinephrine</span></b></span> all play a role in the perception of nerve pain (in particular an imbalance of serotonin and norepinephrine). Experiments with animal models of pain indicate that noradrenergic interventions, and to a lesser extent serotonergic interventions, reduce pain-related behavior. In humans, antidepressants have been <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2811866/" target="_blank"><b>shown</b></a> to reduce pain and functional impairment in central and neuropathic pain conditions. These effects are particularly well-studied in trials with serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).</div><div>
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Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/brain_uses_serotonin_to_perpetuate_chronic_pain_signals_in_local_nerves" target="_blank"><b>discovered</b></a> that the brain uses serotonin to let pain signals in chronic pain linger on for longer. Chronic pain seems to cause serotonin<span style="color: #f4cccc;"> </span>to be released by the brain into the spinal cord. There, it acts on the trigeminal nerve at large, triggering nerve sensitivity throughout nerve branches, even causing some non-pain-sensing nerve cells to start responding to pain. It causes the nerves to fire more frequently, sending additional pain signals to the brain. This also appears to have a role in the phenomenon that causes uninjured areas of the body to be more sensitive to pain when an area nearby has been hurt. In their new research, the scientists focused on a system of pain-sensing nerves within the faces of mice, known collectively as the <span style="color: #444444;"><b>trigeminal nerve.</b></span> The trigeminal nerve is a large bundle of tens of thousands of nerve cells. Each cell is a long “wire” with a hub at its center; the hubs are grouped together into a larger hub. On one side of this hub, three smaller bundles of wires — V1, V2 and V3 — branch off. Each bundle contains individual pain-sensing wires that split off to cover a specific territory of the face. Signals are sent through the wires to the hubs of the cells and then travel to the spinal cord through a separate set of bundles. From the spinal cord, the signals are relayed to the brain, which interprets them as pain. When the researchers pinched the V2 branch of the trigeminal nerve for a prolonged period of time, they found that the V2 and V3 territories were extra sensitive to additional pain. This spreading of pain to uninjured areas is typical of those experiencing chronic pain, but it can also be experienced during acute injuries, as when a thumb is hit with a hammer and the whole hand throbs with pain. Nerves that don’t normally respond to pain can modify themselves during prolonged injury, adding to the pain signals being sent to the brain. Then the team, led by Feng Wei, M.D., Ph.D., blocked the production of serotonin, which is released from the brain stem into the spinal cord, and found that nerve hyperactivity nearly disappeared.<br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ1LVcIQGwrNOMRruk7SRafv_xmIkauXn08uNl1tI5XMYIEsL7miyNUeO0jpQsZFGcR6jbVlh0vUbMZ0E9Nu2TGkje4WgW6vz8eD9fE8qhR3SYEay4yx5_-6ArAfRQ2IylBzqHr3_9n6tVUIuJFTURHBpsNhsBQEDY0SngF2L4YEe_jPxc_fFxWk-WFydN/s817/Untitled5.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="817" data-original-width="593" height="631" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ1LVcIQGwrNOMRruk7SRafv_xmIkauXn08uNl1tI5XMYIEsL7miyNUeO0jpQsZFGcR6jbVlh0vUbMZ0E9Nu2TGkje4WgW6vz8eD9fE8qhR3SYEay4yx5_-6ArAfRQ2IylBzqHr3_9n6tVUIuJFTURHBpsNhsBQEDY0SngF2L4YEe_jPxc_fFxWk-WFydN/w457-h631/Untitled5.jpg" width="457" /></a><b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #990000;">So, serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline all play a role in controlling nerve pain</span></b><br />One way of focusing on those three neurotransmitters, is to see why it is that some antidepressants are successfully treating nerve pain. Many researchers believe that the benefits of antidepressants stem from how they affect certain brain circuits and the chemicals (called neurotransmitters) that pass along signals from one nerve cell to another in the brain. These chemicals also include serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. In various ways, different antidepressants seem to affect how these neurotransmitters behave. Some of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants are called reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's for instance). Reuptake refers to the process in which neurotransmitters are naturally reabsorbed back into nerve cells in the brain after they are released to send messages between nerve cells. A reuptake inhibitor prevents this from happening. Instead of getting reabsorbed, the neurotransmitter stays, temporarily, in the gap between the nerves (synapse). And when you keep levels of the neurotransmitters higher, this can improve communication between the nerve cells. And that can strengthen circuits in the brain which regulate mood. But these antidepressants even often help patients with nerve pain who are not depressed. And while these antidepressants can take 2 to 5 weeks of use before they start to show antidepressant effects, their nerve pain effects start within days to a week of use. Studies revealed that <span><b><span style="color: #444444;">noradrenaline</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></span>is extremely important for the reducing of neuropathic pain. When you take an SSRI antidepressant, the antidepressants bind to noradrenaline and serotonin (5-HT) transporters. Reuptake of these neurotransmitters is inhibited, so that means your body will have increased levels of noradrenaline and serotonin 5-HT available. When your body (spinal cord) has more noradrenaline available (by preventing them from being reabsorbed by the body right away), it has proven to reduce neuropathic pain (through α2-adrenergic receptors). <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Serotonin</b></span> and <b><span style="color: #444444;">dopamine</span></b> are also thought to reinforce the noradrenergic effects in reducing neuropathic pain. Tricyclic antidepressants (TCA's) are statistically most effective at this. Dual-type TCAs (e.g., amitriptyline, imipramine, clomipramine), which inhibit reuptake of both noradrenaline and 5-HT (serotonin) are also effective. Noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (nortriptyline, desipramine) are scoring a bit lower on the efficiency comparison ladder. SSRI type of antidepressants score relatively welland SNRI-antidepressants a little bit lower. All in all, an antidepressant that inhibits reuptake of both noradrenaline and 5-HT (serotonin) has stronger pain numbing effects than a drug that selectively inhibits reuptake of only one of these neurotransmitters, and noradrenaline plays a greater role than 5-HT (serotonin) when it comes to numbing nerve pain.</div><div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4VNYY67jmr2uBIIZGj2aXrZ8Ox5qRb8a0MbALUpeR3kutMeD3w5viBL51kjlpe98mtEtR40IF-CJkHN6QdCN7r912VNhSNmuesG1nJQn3qrfeuBC-aCcV58IxgBuGexX3wiPdF5aGFgD/s1600/image.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="590" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4VNYY67jmr2uBIIZGj2aXrZ8Ox5qRb8a0MbALUpeR3kutMeD3w5viBL51kjlpe98mtEtR40IF-CJkHN6QdCN7r912VNhSNmuesG1nJQn3qrfeuBC-aCcV58IxgBuGexX3wiPdF5aGFgD/s320/image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Dopamine</span><br /></b></span>Dopaminergic neurotransmission plays a central role in changing pain perception and in pain control within certain parts of the brain. Low levels of dopamine often result in higher pain levels in people with Parkinson’s disease for instance. And abnormal dopaminergic neurotransmission has also been demonstrated in painful conditions such as fibromyalgia, burning mouth syndrome and painful diabetic neuropathy. Dopamine seems to play a key role in maintaining chronic pain. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18457535" target="_blank"><b>Researchers</b></a> traced the pain signalling pathway between the brain and spinal cord in an animal model and found that removing dopamine-containing cells reduced chronic pain. These dopamine cells <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/293713.php" target="_blank"><b>turn out</b></a> to have no effect on acute pain, but do seem to have a significant effect on chronic pain. However, medication which prevents the reuptake of dopamine, can also help control nerve pain oddly enough.. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5713449/" target="_blank"><b>Read</b></a>: 'dopamine increases in the central nervous system are likely to play a role in the inhibitory effect of antidepressants on neuropathic pain' -<br />
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<i>"Bupropion, a dopamine noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, increases noradrenaline </i><br />
<i>and dopamine levels in the spinal cord and suppresses hyperalgesia in a rat neuropathic </i><i>pain model through α2-adrenergic receptors and D2-like receptors. No other </i><i>antidepressants are reported to strongly inhibit dopamine transporters. </i><i>Nevertheless, we demonstrated that intraperitoneal administration of amitriptyline </i><i>(TCA), </i><i>duloxetine and milnacipran (SNRI) and fluoxetine (SSRI) at a dose of 10 mg/kg, </i><i>all increased dopamine in the spinal cord and inhibited hyperalgesia in a rat model </i><i>of neuropathic pain through D2-like receptors. There are few dopamine transporters </i><i>in the frontal cortex and reuptake of dopamine is mediated by noradrenaline </i><i>transporters. It is unclear why antidepressants increase dopamine levels in the </i><i>spinal cord. Dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (A10) release </i><i>dopamine in the nucleus accumbens and enhance analgesic activity through D2-like </i><i>receptors. A previous study demonstrated that duloxetine (25 mg/kg orally) </i><i>increases dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, but amitriptyline and maprotiline (both </i><i>50 mg/kg orally) do not have this effect [80]. Dopamine enhances the antinociceptive </i><i>effects in the striatum. Although it is unclear whether antidepressants increase </i><i>dopamine in these brain areas, dopamine increases in the central nervous system are </i><i>likely to play a role in the inhibitory effect of antidepressants on neuropathic pain."</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBpGODdqkwClr2U8tE8UceQr4ElKH2OpllSjvZTGN7BkNjqNY8VqcMQwg4vpli5FlAW2QXdB-aW9DXTmT2Zd5hHP8vEEawc3tseqH271weG0VPjF3BXQc-tlX_Ca8csioV93mWosVlhDl/s1600/ijms-18-02483-g001.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="726" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBpGODdqkwClr2U8tE8UceQr4ElKH2OpllSjvZTGN7BkNjqNY8VqcMQwg4vpli5FlAW2QXdB-aW9DXTmT2Zd5hHP8vEEawc3tseqH271weG0VPjF3BXQc-tlX_Ca8csioV93mWosVlhDl/w400-h304/ijms-18-02483-g001.jpg" width="400" /></a>But that is not all. Antidepressants also act as <b><span style="color: #444444;"><span>sodium channel blockers</span><span>.</span></span><span style="color: #f4cccc;"> </span></b>Sodium channel blockers inhibit ectopic discharges occurring when there is nerve damage, thereby inhibiting neuropathic pain. Second, some antidepressants act as NMDA receptor antagonists [87,88]. NMDA receptors, which are expressed in the neurons of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, induce wind-up and central sensitization result in contribute to the onset and maintenance of neuropathic pain. Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) for instance, act as α1-adrenergic receptors, calcium channel blockers, potassium channel activators, modulate the adenosine system and increase GABA-B receptor function. They activate opioid receptors, inhibit the production of <b><span style="color: #444444;">nitric oxide</span></b>, prostaglandin E2 and have a variety of other actions that may inhibit neuropathic pain in a complex manner. For more in debt explorations of the exact method of acting, read <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5713449/" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> medical article. Summarized, the main mechanism of antidepressants that control and reduce neuropathic pain is first, to <b><span style="color: #444444;">increase noradrenaline</span></b> in the spinal cord. Second, to act on a specific group of nerve cells that contain noradrenaline in the brain (the locus coeruleus), thereby directly inhibiting pain. <span style="color: #444444;"><span><b>Dopamine </b></span><span><b>and serotonin</b></span></span> also increase in the central nervous system and may increase the pain reducing effects of noradrenaline. When you look for an antidepressant medication to help you with nerve pain, try the ones which help your body create the most noradrenaline first. Tricyclic antidepressants have a particular good track score and work in several ways to reduce nerve pain. The downside is that they can make the face a bit more red and warm, in some cases, as they have anticholinergic effects.<br />
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<div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsTnkbX7Fi6VBdmvINz3dHmzTLbdVsZKq65LbXNt1xLkYQA8Sq3Oei_7HOMt84Go5ko8mLMvCqXgzrB0NY8lKAvueyacCFeXlgWT11zwIRuqC9vY-e5hHhmW-IFbt7l-gIm1FcrEip4XE0zzKqehSY7a0cMqpDjAor8TaWjbMYKlWDVeuQmTZ3NCbXJr69/s976/1063090.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="976" data-original-width="786" height="485" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsTnkbX7Fi6VBdmvINz3dHmzTLbdVsZKq65LbXNt1xLkYQA8Sq3Oei_7HOMt84Go5ko8mLMvCqXgzrB0NY8lKAvueyacCFeXlgWT11zwIRuqC9vY-e5hHhmW-IFbt7l-gIm1FcrEip4XE0zzKqehSY7a0cMqpDjAor8TaWjbMYKlWDVeuQmTZ3NCbXJr69/w391-h485/1063090.jpg" width="391" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;"><b>In this string of forum posts, rosacea patients with nerve pain discuss their experiences with gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica), as well as other nerve pain meds</b></span><br />As shown Neurontin and Lyrica especially can be very helpful for flushers and burners! The possibility of side-effects does not mean everyone gets them, far from it in fact.<br /><br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">ZK_78 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37069-Pain-control-%96-Amitriptyline-Gabapentin&highlight=pregabalin" target="_blank">wrote </a>on April 17th 2017:</span></b> "Pain control – Amitriptyline / Gabapentin - I am currently taking high doses of oral <b><span style="color: #444444;">Amitriptyline</span></b> with little success for the pain from Type 1 Rosacea nerve pain. In the past I have taken Gabapentin also with little improvement. Has anybody found an effective way of controlling the pain from Type 1 Rosacea?"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37069-Pain-control-%96-Amitriptyline-Gabapentin&highlight=pregabalin" target="_blank">replied</a> on April 17th 2017:</span></b> "Hi, In <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?24335-anti-flushing-meds" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> thread someone mentioned anti-migraine drugs like Maxalt, and narcotics like Roxicodone. I am in a similar boat, having tried cymbalta, effexor, topical ketamine/amitriptyline with no improvement. Am just ramping up on gabapentin, but don't notice much. I saw Dr. Tim Berger at UCSF who said it is trial and error and he cannot predict who responds to which medication. He suggests for me to try next: lyrica, doxepin, mexiletine, baclofen. A few more meds (like memantine, topical capsaicin, anti-malarials) are included <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3692271/" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. I hope you eventually have improvement. [..]<b> </b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Update</span></b> from my end - the<span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span><b><span style="color: #444444;">gabapentin</span> </b>seemed to help (maybe) for 1-2 days and then was definitely <span style="color: #444444;"><b>making things worse (flushing and burning both). </b></span>I have read similar experiences with gabapentin from other forum users. Arg! I am actually trying out botox injections very soon from my rheum. From anecdotal reports here, they seem to hold some promise (more so it seems, than gabapentin). I want to see how much mileage I can get from botox before I try other oral meds with more systemic side effects. Hope you are well."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">ZK_78 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37069-Pain-control-%96-Amitriptyline-Gabapentin&highlight=pregabalin" target="_blank">updated</a> on April 18th 2017:</span></b> "Thanks Lizzy. I hope you get this sorted out soon too. I have received similar advice, Fundamentally, a process of trial and error. At least each one you discount you are one step closer to an effective solution. I will keep the forum updated. [..] I recently tried Gabapentin building up to a dose of around 3,000mg per day. It helped a little but I found as the dose increased the side effects such as tiredness outweighed any benefits I derived from it. Botox is an avenue that I haven't investigated yet. I agree it sounds promising, if you can numb the nerves sufficiently then the neuropathic pain should be addressed. I have wondered if Botox coupled with oral Clonidine would address both the pain and the flushing?"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37069-Pain-control-%96-Amitriptyline-Gabapentin&highlight=pregabalin" target="_blank">replied</a> on May 1st, 2017:</span></b> "I had a few botox injections initially to make sure I didn't have a bad reaction, and to gauge how much I'll be paralyzed. Since I did ok, my rheum was comfortable increasing the dose and surface area covered. I had 2 more procedures - the first being most of my cheeks (had some improvement, which only lasted for ~ 4 days), and the second being a bit more cheek, outside of nose, chin (I just had that done, crossing my fingers). I will be getting more injections in ~1 month. My rheum doesn't have much experience with doing botox for flushing purposes, so I actually recently asked him to consult with an out-of-state dermatologist (whose name I kindly got from someone on this forum) who had some success. In any case, botox seems much "safer" than lasers/ipl (which did not help me). I've never read about anyone having increased flushing/burning from botox, but could be wrong. I've been on clonidine for many months now. It was more help with my flushing in the beginning (and helped me more so than propranolol, I believe), but never enough to get me out of a debilitating state. If you haven't yet tried clonidine, I would still recommend it though (I'm assuming your flushing and burning go hand in hand, which I realize may not be the case ... )"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Redtere <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37069-Pain-control-%96-Amitriptyline-Gabapentin&highlight=pregabalin" target="_blank">wrote</a> on May 1st, 2017:</span></b> "I took 20mg of Amitriptyline for a month back in 2003. It actually<span style="color: #444444;"> <b><span>helped the flushing and flareups but didn't stop the pain and tingling</span></b>. </span>What dose are you on and has it helped your flushing at all."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">ZK_78 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37069-Pain-control-%96-Amitriptyline-Gabapentin&highlight=pregabalin" target="_blank">wrote</a> on May 3rd, 2017:</span></b> "Hi, I currently take 35mg of Amitriptyline each night. This is the highest does I can tolerate, otherwise I experience tiredness and drowsiness the following day. It has marginally helped with the pain but unfortunately not with the flushing. [..] I am currently taking 3 * 100 mcg of Clonidine per day (breakfast, lunch and evening meals). I find it effective for the flushing with little in terms of side effects. If I could only address the pain then I would be in a really good position. Regards."<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37069-Pain-control-%96-Amitriptyline-Gabapentin/page2&highlight=pregabalin" target="_blank">wrote</a> on May 8th, 2017:</span></b> </span>"Hi there, I have tried <b><span><span style="color: #444444;">Lyrica</span><span style="color: #f4cccc;"> </span></span></b>for the past 4 days and <span><b><span style="color: #444444;">it has helped with the pain quite a bit, I'd say over 50%</span></b><span style="color: #444444;">.</span></span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span>Still early though, but I'm excited. My rheum says in many ways lyrica is a much better drug than gabapentin. Hope you are well. [..] Lyrica/ pregabalin to me is superior to gabapentin. It is a bit sedating though (like all these drugs, it seems!) but I'm hoping my body will adjust to that. It is extremely helpful for the pain. My body isn't really responding to the botox, sadly I am having a full-face procedure at the end of the month, and then will re-evaluate ... I will update after my next procedure. No downsides though, at least. Best, Lizzy"<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg94U91y5pYu6HWYYD46qigaf3zxua7v9AOP0cbhfAoqYmg96FFqHLd3zlDNgUA1_20O8WJcQCQAwpXXESs8trUFA31d3p5UqG1sBjX_9WryycBX7mD57yRdA_Y0l1jik6WpTwqQ_8JAR7vtd_oUj2hj5xG8kbmUeG61MxG5PjfVDRpwnxlxkPQgEj3mPvd/s2129/647ddb72f786283b36d885b6_Kaye%20Donachie%201.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2129" data-original-width="1482" height="529" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg94U91y5pYu6HWYYD46qigaf3zxua7v9AOP0cbhfAoqYmg96FFqHLd3zlDNgUA1_20O8WJcQCQAwpXXESs8trUFA31d3p5UqG1sBjX_9WryycBX7mD57yRdA_Y0l1jik6WpTwqQ_8JAR7vtd_oUj2hj5xG8kbmUeG61MxG5PjfVDRpwnxlxkPQgEj3mPvd/w369-h529/647ddb72f786283b36d885b6_Kaye%20Donachie%201.jpeg" width="369" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?39202-Painful-burning-possible-hormone-connection/page2" target="_blank">wrote</a> on September 13th</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"> 2018:</span></b> "I was on 225 mg ER effexor that was helpful, but I think the norepinephrine was giving me heart racing episodes (like anxiety beyond my control) which contributed to flushing. My understanding is the norepinephrine helps give some blood vessel constriction but the downside is it might rev you up a bit / increase blood pressure. It was very helpful apart from those heart racing episodes, though! For this reason I tried to see if another antidepressant would work better for me. I switched to zoloft (an SSRI) for a bit but realized I do much better on an SNRI (mentally and flushing both). So I switched to<span> <b><span style="color: #444444;">cymbalta</span></b></span> and am doing well on that (in addition to <b><span style="color: #444444;">mirtazapine</span><span style="color: #f4cccc;"> </span></b>22.5 which I think amplifies the norepinephrine a bit on the blood vessels .... but the SNRI's I feel are stronger?) I'm on 80 mg cymbalta in the morning,and do well. The cymbalta gives me some heart racing too, but not as bad as effexor and just slapped on atenolol to take care of that. [..] I've been on an SNRI for years prior to my onset, so i think my body was used to a single antidepressant enough to handle cymbalta + mirt. together. But, maybe it would be too much norepinephrine/serotonin if you are not used to it, you might feel too hot, etc. Antidepressants are so individual (some people take SSRI's for Raynaud's ... some people it makes them flush more .. .some less .. etc) so titrate up slowly. I have tried an SNRI, mirtazapine each together and individually and find the most benefit with both, then effexor or cymbalta alone, then mirtazapine to barely make a dent (all with respect to flushing .. but actually both mood and flushing). [..] I know increasing serotonin (as well as dopamine, norepinephrine) in the brain can all help with burning pain/sensation via descending inhibition pathways (if you have that issue). I notice that SSRI's and SNRI's all increase sweating for me (trunk / armpits) which in turn might help the flushing."</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: #444444; font-size: 30px;"><b>"Lyrica medication. My flushing has continued and actually is getting worse."</b></i></div><div><br /></div><div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghDX8F0VdU5yTesOCoMOdwAbIb6QOL7AIhhBkdrffbVktAo2oy1s25giiSICED_u9HQYbAOVUOiWDixBpb4G9i0o-qPH39xUtwTOpIaOw6TjDp5eja9C82d6zk5oQB4zUUScpqy3OKIcj45nrX2bfF2zpb_isBNwWE9cqYRtdvbqpxzi3M5qdBhb1W9Fs8/s574/cb389b5f789f8b141819eddac386c5c4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="445" height="441" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghDX8F0VdU5yTesOCoMOdwAbIb6QOL7AIhhBkdrffbVktAo2oy1s25giiSICED_u9HQYbAOVUOiWDixBpb4G9i0o-qPH39xUtwTOpIaOw6TjDp5eja9C82d6zk5oQB4zUUScpqy3OKIcj45nrX2bfF2zpb_isBNwWE9cqYRtdvbqpxzi3M5qdBhb1W9Fs8/w342-h441/cb389b5f789f8b141819eddac386c5c4.jpg" width="342" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Mswilson21 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8814-Subtype-V-finally-has-a-treatment-Lyrica-for-nerve-burnin/page9" target="_blank">wrote</a> on the 28th September 2006:</span></b> "Ok, so I am supposed to check in with my doctor tomorrow regarding my <b><span style="color: #444444;">Lyrica</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b>medication. My flushing has continued and actually is getting worse. Not sure if I will continue with this drug but I will consult with my doc first. If I do, then I will definitely have to go in for an IPL treatment soon. I just wish I knew if the flushing will persist or if my body will get used to it. Bellamermaid said that she noticed increased flushing for the first 4 weeks she was on it. With that being said I might decide to stick with it because she said that it has helped her so much.<br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Mswilson21 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8814-Subtype-V-finally-has-a-treatment-Lyrica-for-nerve-burnin/page9" target="_blank">updated</a> on October 3rd 2006:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 18px;"> </span>"So, after consulting with my doc, I decided to stop taking Lyrica. The flushing not only persisted, but was getting worse. He said that Neurontin doesn't have the side effects and might be worth a try but I may hold off for a little bit. I'll post my experience if I decide to go that route."<br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Twickle Purple <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8814-Subtype-V-finally-has-a-treatment-Lyrica-for-nerve-burnin/page9" target="_blank">replied</a> on October 3rd 2006:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 15.9991px;"> </span>"I hope the Neurontin does the job for you mwilson21. I use it and have only mild fuzziness while i am acclimating to it. I increase the dose very slowly to avoid this and I take it at night. However, I have learned to keep my dosage relatively low now because at higher doses I was fuzzy fulltime."<br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">I <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8814-Subtype-V-finally-has-a-treatment-Lyrica-for-nerve-burnin/page9" target="_blank">replied</a> on October 4th 2006:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 15.9991px;"> </span>"Hi, I've been taking neurontin for about 3 or 4 weeks now and eventually it worked wonders, making me more pale and helping a lot with my neuropathic and burning pain. But after a couple of weeks I'm getting the feeling that it actually starts to make me a bit more red and even flushed sometimes. Very difficult to tell though and lately my right cheek is playing up again and has another sunburn-like reaction, so I take diclofenac (NSAID) with it to hopefully calm this redness and burning/ flushing on the right side down a bit... I noticed that "vasodilatation" and "hypertension" are mentioned as "frequent" side effects for neurontin. That is not flushing (which is noted for Lyrica), but still not good for us. So I'll start trying another painkiller by monday; Tegretol (carbamazepine).<br />
<b><a href="https://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-t01.html" target="_blank">https://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-t01.html</a><br />
<a href="http://www.helpforpain.com/articles/understand-neuropathic-pain/understanding.htm" target="_blank">http://www.helpforpain.com/articles/understand-neuropathic-pain/understanding.htm</a></b><br />
Carbamazepine doesn't have vasodilatation, flushing, hot flash or anything mentioned as side-effect, but because it acts an an anticholinergic, it works on the central nerve system and can cause drowsiness etc and thereby increased blood flow in the face. Like all medication that works on the CNS. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticholinergic" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticholinergic</a> If you check the given links out, you'll see that neuropathic pain management comes down to either tricyclic antidepressants like amitriptyline (which I tried a few years ago and made me definitely flush a lot more. Flushing is mentioned with all the tricyclics, and my pharmacist explained that this drugs can widen the little blood vessels in the face), modern SSRI antidepressant (which give facial flushing as well often), anticonvulsants like Carbamazepine, phenytoin, gabapentin (or Lyrica) and lamotrigine and eventually certain antiarrhythmics, such as lidocaine and mexiletine. Also there are opioids, but they can cause facial flushing AS WELL (SIGHT................). So I would bet on either gabapentin, which is registered as helpful for menopausal hot flashes as well (does something with the calcium channels and regulates body temperature, which is promising for us), or the carbamazepine, which I will try myself by next week, so I'll update on that one as well. They there is Trileptal (oxcarbazepine), which is a derivative from carbamazepine (Tegretol), like Lyrica from neurontin, but Trileptal has a high incidence of facial acne and depression, and I rather give the Tegretol a fair chance first. Besides: Tegretol has a proven track for the treatment of neuropathic pain and Trileptal has still studies running for this. Hope you can try the gabapentin mwilson21, it certainly helps for the burning with me. Nat"<br />
<br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Lakan <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8814-Subtype-V-finally-has-a-treatment-Lyrica-for-nerve-burnin/page9" target="_blank">replied</a> on October 23rd 2006:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif;"> </span></span>"I would just like to add one thing. Someone said that one of Lyricas side-effects is flushing (that's true) and that Neurontin does not have that side-effect. I'm eating Lyrica, I do not experience more flushing but I just wanted to check the side-effects of Neurontin and on the common side-effects list it says "flushing, dilation of blood vessels" while on Lyricas side-effects flushing is listed on the less common side-effects list. Just wanted to post this if someone is choosing between the two drugs, worth knowing."<br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Froggirl <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8814-Subtype-V-finally-has-a-treatment-Lyrica-for-nerve-burnin/page9" target="_blank">replied</a> on October 23rd 2006:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 15.9991px;"> </span>"Just wanted to say for anyone tossing up which of these to try, that my doctor, pharmacist and dermatologist all agree that <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Neurontin is less likely than Lyrica to cause flushing</b>. </span>I have looked into this in detail as I have bad nerve pain in my face and had a terrible reaction to tricyclic antidepressants. 2.5mg was enough to cause a month of extreme flushing, not just my face but my knees, arms, legs, chest and ears. SSRI's also gave me bad flushing. Of course for any one who flushes at the drop of a hat like me Neurontin, like any med, could possibly cause flushing, however i have been told that it is less likely too than Lyrica."<br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Mswilson21 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8814-Subtype-V-finally-has-a-treatment-Lyrica-for-nerve-burnin/page9" target="_blank">wrote</a> on November 13th 2006:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 15.9991px;"> </span>"I just started taking neurontin on Friday, 100 mg once at night. From what I have read and what my doctor has told me, neurontin is very well tolerated by most patients unlike Lyrica which is much stronger. Lyrica has a flushing side effect that neurontin does not. I am going to build my way up as I go and will keep everyone informed on how things go."<br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Lakan <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8814-Subtype-V-finally-has-a-treatment-Lyrica-for-nerve-burnin/page9" target="_blank">updated</a> on January 22nd 2007:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 15.9991px;"> </span>"Just wanted to say that Lyrica is a great medication, really. I have eaten it now for about 5 months and I'm done with it in about 1 month and I got to say that I am really pleased with this medication this far. I no longer got any big problems with burning, actually I experience burning very rarely and quite mild those times I get it. Before Lyrica I got burning with almost every flush and sometimes for no apparent reason. It is so much better now. Hope it will stay better after I've finished it too. Just wanted to write this, can be good for people to see posts like this if they try to decide whether or not to try a medication. I'm on 75 mg twice/day."<br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Kanmi <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8814-Subtype-V-finally-has-a-treatment-Lyrica-for-nerve-burnin/page10" target="_blank">wrote</a> on January 28th 2007:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 15.9991px;"> </span>"I started taking Lyrica<span style="color: #f4cccc;"> </span>about a week ago I think. It was already helping dramatically with my flushing and pain."<br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Lakan <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?16585-Gabapentin-and-Pregablin&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">updated</a> on October 30th 2008:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 15.9991px;"> </span>"Pregabalin (Lyrica) helps me very, very much with the pain and with no side effects at all. Doesn't do anything for my flushing though but I love this medication. Never tried Gabapentin. Pregabalin is the "stronger" one, fairly new. Gabapentin has been around for a while and you usually need a higher dose of Gabapentin than with Pregabalin. I also think there's more side effects associated with Gabapentin but I'm not totally sure. What I know though is that I only need 150mg/day (Pregabalin) and that eliminates at least 90% of my pain without any side effects."<br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">WrinkledClue <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?16585-Gabapentin-and-Pregablin&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on October 30th 2008:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 15.9991px;"> </span>"Please be careful with Gabapentin; I took it for two days (I think it was 300 mg) and my face flared unbelievably badly from it. My rosacea doctor says we rosaceans are frequently sensitive to meds that non rosaceans are not.-WC [..] Gabapentin made me flush horrifically. It was appalling. Really dreadful. I urge caution!"<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCQK3sKrhjmwBY8lhUpy6bKhzDHRpwnqbZxdyq27THgilxfShco_yBhBTY3dWcDb6-YQJrTr3bTbvCgi9ldeP-wW1sQiAo8M21MvVcD-GDmDcRCQ-3yLQH6hwIdzP34rPhro2_XLpGfP6RkbUbn0N9TFnya1E4XGQghxpp00NpRXNoChkbwrtEHHpJG3v/s776/529e4404640f8330ca744ff5372742e5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="564" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCQK3sKrhjmwBY8lhUpy6bKhzDHRpwnqbZxdyq27THgilxfShco_yBhBTY3dWcDb6-YQJrTr3bTbvCgi9ldeP-wW1sQiAo8M21MvVcD-GDmDcRCQ-3yLQH6hwIdzP34rPhro2_XLpGfP6RkbUbn0N9TFnya1E4XGQghxpp00NpRXNoChkbwrtEHHpJG3v/w355-h488/529e4404640f8330ca744ff5372742e5.jpg" width="355" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Vicki <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?23736-Anyone-Tried-Gabapentin&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">wrote</a> on April 12th 2011:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif;"> </span></span>"I take Neurontin (gabapentin is generic, Neurontin is brand) for back pain and fibromyalgia. It doesn't do much for my rosacea pain. However, everyone is different as you know so it might help you. It is non addictive as far as I know but it can make people feel woozy, sluggish etc. Because of this neurologists usually recommend you take it at night. If you have problems falling asleep it can help with that. Best of luck, vicki"<br /><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">And Vicki <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?23736-Anyone-Tried-Gabapentin&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">updated</a> on April 12th 2011:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif;"> </span></span>"WC and Nat, you are making me wonder if gabapentin (neurontin) started all this for me in the first place. Have been taking it for a few years (began late 2008 for back pain) and my rosacea started in summer 2010. Normal skin before that, just really fair-skinned."<br /><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 30px;"><i><b>"I can tell you my experience with neurontin"</b></i></span></div>
<br /><b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Fauxmccoy <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?31044-Gabapentin&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">wrote</a> on May 1st 2014:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 15.9991px;"> </span>"I can tell you my experience with neurontin. It is a very old and relatively very safe drug. It was prescribed to me by my pain doc and I took it for 6 months and later for 3 months. I have severe nerve damage from having a nerve cell tumor removed from my chest cavity. The tumor was attached to my heart, lung and spine and a lot of healthy nerve tissue had to be removed as well to remove the entire tumor. It left me with neuropathy. I still have severe pain at the surgical sites. places that are completely numb also with a left arm and leg that do not always comply exactly with what they are being told to do. I do know that most people who try neurontin do experience relief -- i was not one of them. In fact, I had to discontinue the med due to side effects/allergy which is fairly rare. This drug might be very helpful to you, I would encourage you to try. If you do experience any severe side effects, then you can discontinue. I found no ill effects from sudden stoppage on my doc's advice. It really does help a lot of people and you have little to lose. [..] I am surrounded by folks with very good experiences with it. My pain doc cannot speak highly enough about it and it is not because of sales reps. This is a very old drug and no one's 'pushing' it any more, it has simply built a reputation for being effective. My mom was for many years, the director of nurses at the rehab hospital where my pain doc works. In her many years on the job, she formed a very positive opinion on how patients experienced relief with neurontin. Long before I was with my current pain doc (living in a different city), my mom actually pressed me for info such as 'why isn't your doc putting you on neurontin, it is absolutely the first line for what you are dealing with ... blah blah blah (you know how moms are). Also, I attend a regular swim class at the rehab hospital with my fellow fibromyalgia sufferers. Many of them have experienced relief with neurontin. as I said, I am literally surrounded by folks who have nothing but great things to say about it. My negative personal experience is very rare."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Ben1992 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?29290-Any-pain-medications-for-painful-burning-stinging-flushes&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">wrote</a> on July 26th 2013:</span></b> "Any pain medications for painful burning/stinging flushes? -Hey there guys. Haven't posted on the forum in a little while. I live in the UK and naturally my rosacea is much better in the summer months so I tend to live my life a lot more instead of keeping coming to this forum for help with my flushing and painful sensations that arise from the flushes. Last year I visited Dr Chu. He prescribed me remeron, clonidine, and after a little while also mepacrine. This was in the winter these meds were prescribed. They had somewhat of an effect but nowhere near enough of an effect to completely stop the painful burning sensations in my cheeks. Also the mepacrine made me bright yellow after a little while and I do not think this was a good trade off for only a LITTLE bit of improvement of my flushing and associated pain. I am currently anxiously awaiting the winter months yet again, as I do not want to be in pain for another 6 months over the colder months constantly trying to calm my cheeks down. Would I would like to know is the following. Is there a painkiller that can effectively stop the painful burning sensations? I do not care if my cheeks are visibly flushed, it is just the intense pain that I want gone. Please help! In this day and age with medical technology so advanced there must be at least a pain medication that could stop painful burning sensations in my cheeks. I am also going to ask Dr Chu this same question, but I would like to get some thoughts and advices off of here first. Thanks guys, Ben."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Wendykay <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?29290-Any-pain-medications-for-painful-burning-stinging-flushes&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on August 13th 2013:</span></b> "Hello, I have tried several pain medications but non of them work. I am currently taking low dose <b><span style="color: #444444;">Cymbalta</span></b> for depression in the hopes that it will also help with the burning. It has not! When I asked my derm whether the continuous pain causes damage, she said no. I was worried about this because I would hate to think that my skin is continuously being damaged by all of the burning. If I find something that works I will most certainly share it with you. I hope you will do the same. Many thanks, wendykay"</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">JayBee201 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?29290-Any-pain-medications-for-painful-burning-stinging-flushes&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on September 5th 2013:</span></b> </span>"I have the same thing.. stinging and burning and sooooooo painful! I must be the only one whose rosacea gets worse in the summer! The heat and humidity are the worst on my face! If I go in the sun or a hot car .. that's it, I'm RED for days! I used to love going to the beach, now I'm a hermit"</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?29290-Any-pain-medications-for-painful-burning-stinging-flushes&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on September 16th 2013:</span></b> </span>"<b><span style="color: #444444;">I had success with Zoloft</span></b>, an SSRI antidepressant. Others here have also used SSRIs for flushing and burning. It calms the nervous system, including the nerve endings in your skin. It took about 6-8 weeks to feel relief. After the next year, the doc and I increased the dose some more. It's been very helpful in calming my skin and calming my anxiety caused by my skin. Also, make sure your skin is well hydrated. A good, simple moisturizer one the skin during as much of the day as possible. I've been having great success with an eczema cream - Neosporin Eczema Essential Moisturizing Cream - NOT the one with the steroid. It's a basic cream for restoring the skin barrier. Active key ingredient is colloidal oatmeal. I put a fairly generous layer on at night. I often have it on throughout the day when I'm home. It has really helped with strengthening my skin. Also, skin that is dry is more prone to reactivity, flushing and burning. So keeping your skin well moisturized really should help. Drink lots of water, too. Hope this helps!"</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Ben1992 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32358-Anyone-have-spare-Lyrica&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">updated</a> on January 5th 2015:</span> </span></b>"Hi guys, I haven't posted for quite a while but unfortunately that is not because my rosacea has got better. In fact it has got worse lately and due to the very cold weather in the UK at the moment I am in a lot of pain with my face, constant burning and stinging etc. I get these pains even when I am not feeling flushed, although when flushed they get even worse. I currently am taking mirtazapine, doxycycline (for acne) and also <b><span style="color: #444444;">gabapentin</span></b> (i.e Neurontin). I have read several times on the forum that Lyrica seems to be better suited for rosacea burning pain than the gabapentin, which<b> <span style="color: #444444;">is just not working</span></b>. I read that it was something to do with the mode of action of Lyrica, as it acts on calcium channels to help stop pain signals. I am really desperate to get rid of this pain, and of course the flushing, as it is ruining my life to a big extent. My gp ( primary physician) is really getting on my nerves as he seem reluctant to prescribe me lyrica due to it being of high cost. I told him that I wanted to try lyrica instead of gabapentin as people on the forum have had great success with it even if gabapentin fails. All he said was "You have had this pain for quite a while now, it's not going to kill you putting up with it for a few more weeks while we test cheaper drugs first". Whilst in the waiting room and in his consulting room I was in so much burning pain I could have cried."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Paperbag <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32386-Neurontin-causing-flusing&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">wrote</a> on January 9th 2015:</span> </span></b>"Neurontin causing flushing - Hi, I've just recently started taking Neurontin for nerve pain. I've been waking up with severe flushes on some days, but not others. I don't take the Neurontin every day. I am not sure, but I think I'm on to something. I take the Neurontin at night, because it helps me sleep. I think I wake up with flushing only when I take neurontin the night before. Has anyone else had bad flushing when taking Neurontin? I want to make sure I'm not crazy. Thanks board for any advice. I have not flushed in months. Please if anyone has any experience with Neurontin and flushing, please reply. I really need advice. Thank you"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Birdie <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32386-Neurontin-causing-flusing&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on January 9th 2015:</span> </span></b>"Yes. I had a compound cream for nerve pain that included neurontin. After many months I realized the flushing, hot face in the morning may be related. I stopped the compound cream and the flushes subsided. No, yer not crazy! Birdie"<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFnFP_3OaJUU9aXkxkZSLKB-W-5GiH8z1C3iGg6CUkW8TYWoXVYnVhGbcYVxdqzx2jA0n6qnQ8jNXnJ_0JISOLwS6wtL7KdHRt-Qtu5SWgUFIYfmF_D2Un8VUQE8prb6XfzFcwxIr5TVKzl_hdtv1Rngoc4cqx1H77IyAZCxcZEoL6nGTEPi4g6KslT5Cs/s749/4fe4c073fc87831352887c51811bdb48.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="564" height="527" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFnFP_3OaJUU9aXkxkZSLKB-W-5GiH8z1C3iGg6CUkW8TYWoXVYnVhGbcYVxdqzx2jA0n6qnQ8jNXnJ_0JISOLwS6wtL7KdHRt-Qtu5SWgUFIYfmF_D2Un8VUQE8prb6XfzFcwxIr5TVKzl_hdtv1Rngoc4cqx1H77IyAZCxcZEoL6nGTEPi4g6KslT5Cs/w397-h527/4fe4c073fc87831352887c51811bdb48.jpg" width="397" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Paperbag <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32386-Neurontin-causing-flusing&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on January 9th</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"> 2015: </span></b>"Thanks Birdie. I won't take the Neurontin tonight, and pray I wake up without flushing. I really hope that was the cause. I'm so glad I found some posts here about Neurontin causing vasodilation. I did then look at the prescribing information for Neurontin, and it does says vasodilation happens in 1% of people. I couldn't deal with my rosacea coming back full force after 2 purpuric v-beams and 1 non-purpuric v-beam. I just had a purpuric v-beam in October."</div></div><div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><i><b><span style="font-size: 30px;">"Going to try Oracea and Gabapentin"</span><br /><br /></b></i></span></div>
<b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Panacea <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?15728-Going-to-try-Oracea-and-Gabapentin&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">wrote</a> on July 11th 2008:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 15.9991px;"> </span>"Going to try Oracea and Gabapentin - I was diagnosed in Feb 2008. Had a very quick onset brought on by a reaction to a moisturizer. Oddly, I've never had any flushing issues before the onset. Currently, my symptoms are moderate burning/stinging and mild flushing. My nose is the worst followed by cheeks and chin. Sometime I get it on my neck also. More recent is the p&p. They are worse around my mouth and chin, but smaller ones are starting to develop on my cheeks and nose. My doc also agreed to an Rx for Gabapentin (Neurontin). When I took it for the first time last night, I had stomach upset and very bizarre dreams, but it was tolerable. It does build up in the system over time, so we'll see how bad the side effects get compared to the pain relief. I will post updates over the next few weeks. Melissa" [Scarlet Nat: Melissa also started Oracea - low dose doxycycline - at the same time]<br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Lakan <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?15728-Going-to-try-Oracea-and-Gabapentin&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on July 16th 2008:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 15.9991px;"> </span>"Good luck with your treatment. If the gabapentin doesn't help or if you get a of of side effects then Lyrica (pregabalin) may be better. It's like a "newer and better" version of Neurontin. I think the chemical structure of those drugs are quite similar. You usually get good results on very low doses and I don't feel any side-effects at all from the Lyrica. Just wanted to tell you so you know that there's alternatives to the Neurontin but I hope you will be doing good on it now that you're on it."<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Panacea <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?15728-Going-to-try-Oracea-and-Gabapentin&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on July 19th 2008:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif;"> </span></span>"Red face getting some relief - Well, it's been one week. I do feel better. The burning has calmed down some, and there is less redness. The p&p is about the same [..] I may discontinue the Oracea since I don't want to be doing too many things at once, and won't know what is helping/not helping. I'm am grateful for a little relief, but really hope I can find a natural alternative. We'll see. I'll update again soon. Melissa"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Willbill90 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?33266-Lyrica-for-burning&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">wrote</a> on June 6th 2015:</span></b> "Lyrica for burning - Has anyone here had any success with reducing the burning sensation using Lyrica?"</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Samar2000 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?33266-Lyrica-for-burning&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on June 6th 2015:</span></b> "Tried it, but didn't help at all for me. Now I'm using remeron which helps."<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">J-Mill <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?14891-Help-With-Burning-and-Stinging&highlight=pregabalin" target="_blank">wrote</a> on April 24th 2008:</span></b> </span>"If burning pain is really bad I can tell you that some people have success with using certain prescriptions meds like: <b><span style="color: #444444;">amitriptyline</span></b> - an anti-depressant at high doses but prescribed in low doses for pain, is apparently especially good respecting skin pain, it used in shingles treatment and has been prescribed for Rosaceans with burning/stinging. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Gabapentin (neurontin)</b></span> - Anti-seizure med that is used to treat nerve pain including facial pain/stinging, also used for shingles. Has been used off label for neuropathic pain associated with Rosacea. <span style="color: #444444;"><b><span>Pregabalin (Lyrica)</span></b> </span>- See Gabapentin, slightly different drug, more effective at lower doses."<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 30px;"><i><b>"One of the most horrible things I experience are these bizarre burning and stinging sensations"</b></i></span></div>
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<div><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Bailey0397 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18703-stinging-sensations-please-some-advice&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">wrote</a> on July 15th 2009:</span></b> "stinging sensations please some advice - One of the most horrible things I experience are these bizarre burning and stinging sensations. I don't have to be in a flush to feel them. In some areas they can feel like someone is sticking a needle in my face. Also the areas right next to my nose have very enlarged pores are oily and sting. Is this seb derm even though no flakes? Is this just a symptom of swollen blood vessels, an allergy,or nerves in my face acting crazy? Has anyone felt this and found some answers or ways to relieve it because it is really disabling and so hard to live every day with this pain for 2 years!!! I am at the end of my rope. I know people have flares and periods of relief, I have this every day. Sometimes I believe it is actually driving me crazy. The docs just say sensitive skin, this is not just sensitive skin it is completely abnormal. I don't know what my next step should be and I really could use some advice. Thanks for any suggestions. Bailey"</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Melissa W <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18703-stinging-sensations-please-some-advice&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on July 15th 2009:</span></b> "Hi Bailey, I am sorry you are suffering with this as the burning sensation can be very painful and debilitating. What treatments have you tried? There are some meds that can help with these sensations like<span style="color: #444444;"> <b><span>Remeron and clonidine</span></b></span>. There are also laser treatments (yag 1064 and VBeam) that may help with the burning sensation. Lastly, red light therapy may be helpful as well. Unfortunately it will come down to trial and error to find what may provide you with relief. I hope you find something that helps soon and hang in there! Best wishes,</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">RedFaced <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18703-stinging-sensations-please-some-advice&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on July 15th 2009:</span></b> "I suffer from the neuro type pain as well and it is terribly debilitating. Take the advice above and find a good Dr. that has experience with treating complex regional pain syndromes. I take Lyrica (Pregabalin) and it has helped with the neuro/burning pain, has not gotten rid of it but taken the edge off. I also take Oxycodone which helps too, but this is an opiate and best avoided if possible but it helps the most out of the heavier painkillers. I have tried several painkillers including Morphine but some, like Morphine, have a histamine release and made me flushy. Oxycodone does not make my flush if I keep it under 10mg per day. I am also doing Acupuncture (only 2 weeks in) and have felt some pain relief and benefit (face is not as tight feeling for a few days following the treatment). Clonidine will not help with pain I don't think, it didn't at least for me, unless your pain is solely based on flushing in which case it could help in that respect. Diet is also huge and you can eliminate a lot of inflammation with diet changes, although you need to be strict. Search "Anti-inflammatory diet" and "Anti-yeast/candida diet". These are generally healthier diets that consist of lots of fresh veggies, organic fish, chicken, rice and oils such as extra virgin olive oil and unsalted clarified butter. Hope this helps."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Googoo <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18703-stinging-sensations-please-some-advice&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on July 15th 2009:</span></b> "Hi Bailey, Low dose accutane<span style="color: #f4cccc;"> </span>(10mg every other day) was the only drug that stopped the debilitating burning sensations that accompanied my rosacea. I also experienced stinging and stabbing sensations. I also had a problem with sensations of extreme tightness. Sometimes it felt like I was wearing a mask. My lips would also burn just like my face. I experienced these symptoms without any signs of redness, or flushing. While my face looked normal, it definitely did not FEEL normal. Accutane completely altered the inflammatory process of my disease. I'm extremely thankful that I have a derm who is knowledgeable about low dose Accutane as a treatment option for recalcitrant rosacea. This drug has given me part of my life back. I hope you find a treatment option that will work for you. Good Luck!! Kim"</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Bailey0397 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18703-stinging-sensations-please-some-advice&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">updated</a> on July 15th 2009:</span></b> </span>"Redfaced, thank you so much! This is the first time that anyone has suggested some kind of pain medicine and it is a great help to me to get this information. I should definitely try to find a pain specialist or neurologist to help with this. Just to get some relief would be amazing. One question about the acupuncture do they put the small needles in your face or some other part of your body? Do you have a lot of broken vessels and thread veins like I do? Thanks so much for the suggestions and I am so happy to hear acupuncture is helping you! I'm with you I know how bad the pain can be. Thanks again, Bailey"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZ-fxshwXLF6Y_l26iW60PeYlrZIGnTbnAXxHv2odjeZv-UhR9LghHSvntySKAg3UfuXhLzzefoRtuIw40eOhZ7619aYj7FBRR5MsitdoFhmTHABiNZC_9xqiCN9cGFx5R81rfI6a2NEqoygviQGnONQIV3du1-UB_8TyXVoQM9uunaAxbt6RsrGkkG73/s1251/kaye-donachie-be-lost-forever-2020-body.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1251" data-original-width="900" height="525" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZ-fxshwXLF6Y_l26iW60PeYlrZIGnTbnAXxHv2odjeZv-UhR9LghHSvntySKAg3UfuXhLzzefoRtuIw40eOhZ7619aYj7FBRR5MsitdoFhmTHABiNZC_9xqiCN9cGFx5R81rfI6a2NEqoygviQGnONQIV3du1-UB_8TyXVoQM9uunaAxbt6RsrGkkG73/w378-h525/kaye-donachie-be-lost-forever-2020-body.jpg" width="378" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Squirrelgirl6 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18703-stinging-sensations-please-some-advice/page2&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on July 17th 2009:</span></b> "You've described my face exactly Bailey! - Dear Bailey, just logged on to read more of the forum and saw your post re. burning agony pain continually on your face even when not flushing. That is me!!!!!!!!! You are soooo not alone because I have that exact very same feeling ALL the time and I feel like I'm going to go mad. I have a face full of red broken capillaries all over..my nose, cheeks and chin. Blotchy red marks and it looks awful and I can't even tolerate a tiny amount of cover up or even moisturizer. I use mineral water on my eyes only and that's it. I used to be 'product Queen' so for me this is devastating. I cannot remember what it's like to not have stinging skin!!! Something anyone with 'normal' skin takes for granted. I look at people around me etc and would give anything to be them...to experience a normal face that doesn't burn. Like you, I had the most amazing year in 2007. My best yet. I was incredibly happy, great skin, could wear makeup, dye my hair its beautiful blonde colour and had no issues what so ever with my skin/allergies etc. The last 2 years have been HELL ON EARTH!!!!! How did this all happen???!!!!<span style="color: #444444;"><b> <span>I think that my burning skin will never go because no docs have been able to diagnose properly/treat/ help.....</span></b>. </span>I cry every day as I cannot stand the pain anymore. I have very itchy skin around my nose crease, my forehead gets very itchy n' burns like Hell. I have to pin my fringe back as the hair brushing on my skin makes it worse. I was on some antifungals for 2 weeks and during that time I did notice my forehead wasn't as itchy and things settled a bit. I thought that the tablets didn't do anything but now my skin is horrendously sore again....so looking back I did get a brief time of relief. However, IF it was the anti-fungals that helped, obviously you can't stay on them for the rest of your life!!!!!!!! So, what do you do? It's a total and utter living nightmare that you can't seem to wake up from isn't it?! I have huge sympathy for you as I am right there with ya on the burning face 24/7. It is nice to know you're not alone and that someone somewhere else in the world is going thru' exactly the same thing. I feel like a freak!!! No one I know has this. I am so jealous of my friends who can wear makeup and get dressed up to go out, looking so pretty. I used to do this to. Now I don't see anyone except my brothers and VERY close friends who don't judge and love me for me. I'm so scared for my future. I'm only 35 and want to live my life but feel like I just want to be a hermit now. I send biggest hugs. Sorry I can't offer much help except that I am going through it too. We have to be strong together and take comfort in that. and NEVER NEVER NEVER give up."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">RedFaced <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18703-stinging-sensations-please-some-advice/page2&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on July 17th 2009:</span></b> "Thought I would just add that there is a name to what we are suffering from it is called "Subtype 5: Neuropathic Rosacea". This subtype can be combined with other subtypes or you can experience this subtype on its own (ie. neuropathic pain upon exposure to triggers with NO flushing or P&P's). [..] I struggled to find a derm that has even heard of this subtype but finally did. I have found some minor relief with the use of LYRICA as well as couple other painkillers. I am also doing Acupuncture for the pain and so far have felt some improvement for a couple days following. I can't stress how difficult this condition is to treat. As the article suggests, you really need to find an experienced derm who has at least heard of this subtype as well as a pain specialist (neurologist) who also has experience in treating complex regional pain syndromes of the face. I also suffer from flushing and swelling of the face and am trying a new medication from my derm that is sometimes used to treat certain types of Lupus. So fingers crossed. My advice is be persistent. You may need to go through trial and error both with Dr.'s and medications (as I did) to find a Dr. and combination that can at the very least take the edge off which it has for me - although I still have pain on a daily basis and still suffer from debilitating attacks upon exposure to certain triggers. Look into an anti-inflammatory diet as lactic acid can have a large influence on the nerves and lactic acid is high in areas of underlying inflammation/swelling such as the face. Stay strong and try to stay positive."</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Bailey0397 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18703-stinging-sensations-please-some-advice/page3&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">updated</a> on July 18th 2009:</span></b> </span>"Just found this: Alpha Lipoic acid. This antioxidant has long been used in Europe to treat symptoms of diabetic nerve disease. In a recent study at the Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, researchers reported that 300 mg of alpha-lipoic acid improved endothelial function by almost 50 percent, and the antioxidant also enhanced the benefits of a drug used to treat heart disease."</div>
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<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBeBen7u8ZuJH3GFqrTMShfICGP8D4sgPeqxcz6iI8-oxZ8hsdvZNO5w7seYFGQjolOqJoKVqDnoqw2e_lpCPf_wOtrMKOSnHmf0EbeqeRBzRAzAdzcsIU1lzB2KA1_nbmaHrvGqgRQ88DQwspdj_o2incHoylYZ730SCmoTIGtoe7sC33Djva4wAAq-21/s564/f04b9d96cd0f3f7df6547d5950195727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="564" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBeBen7u8ZuJH3GFqrTMShfICGP8D4sgPeqxcz6iI8-oxZ8hsdvZNO5w7seYFGQjolOqJoKVqDnoqw2e_lpCPf_wOtrMKOSnHmf0EbeqeRBzRAzAdzcsIU1lzB2KA1_nbmaHrvGqgRQ88DQwspdj_o2incHoylYZ730SCmoTIGtoe7sC33Djva4wAAq-21/w400-h305/f04b9d96cd0f3f7df6547d5950195727.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Matos <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18703-stinging-sensations-please-some-advice/page3&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on October 19th 2009:</span></b> "Hi! I am the new one in these forum. I come from Europe, but my English is so so. Ok, I have the same stinging complexion because I had one treatment in 2008 with Elos IPL and its been horrible. Before I didn't have any problem with rosacea. I have few capillaries and that is it. This Elos IPL is been very irritating for my skin, and is worsened my condition because I have more red veins and much more sensitive skin like before+stinging+sun sensitivity. Elos is big NO NO for rosacea.. Now how I am finding a good solution for my rosacea and capillaries. I don't have problem with P&P or acne only visible capillaries and stinging, burning sensation. I have 5x treatments with VERSA PULSE ND-yag LASER for visible capillaries on my forehead and nose."</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Piscesblue13 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18703-stinging-sensations-please-some-advice/page3&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on October 7th 2015:</span></b> </span>"I realize this is an old post but I have found it very helpful. Like many on here, I have been experiencing the stinging and burning for almost 5 months now. At first it was only a couple days a week and I thought I just washed my face too hard or something like that... I used proactive (wash and toner) for 13 years and was using retina micro for 3 years with NO problems and total success. But all of a sudden this past May 2015, things started to change and I noticed my skin became much more sensitive and much more oily. I have always had oily skin but suddenly it became like a faucet, combined with the burning and stinging, I didn't know what the heck was happening!! I gradually had to stop the proactiv and retin-a because I could not tolerate it at all. I know I have rosacea and was diagnosed many years ago but have never had any real issues with it. I also have finacea which I used to use as a spot treatment (along with my proactiv and retina micro) but I can barely use that. It's annoying because since my skin is so oily and I'm not really able to wash it, I am now breaking out in some tiny bumps as well as some pustules. I am now at my wits end and have been experiencing the pain everyday for the last 2 months. I have an appointment with a dermatologist and neurologist next week but i am scared at what they might say or recommend. <b><span style="color: #444444;">I am currently taking Neurontin which helps dull the pain a bit but it definitely does not remove it.</span> </b>If anyone still reads this post I wood love to hear some feedback from others. This is truly the most debilitating thing--just doing small things like eating, showering, walking, cause me great pain.... :::sigh:::"</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Piscesblue13 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34346-Treatment-options-for-constant-burning-and-stinging&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">wrote</a> again on December 12th 2015:</span></b> </span>"Treatment options for constant burning and stinging? - I am writing because over the last several months I have developed constant burning and stinging on my face. I was diagnosed with rosacea (which I knew I had but haven't had any issues with it for over 15 years) but doctors seem stumped as to what to do with me in terms of the pain. I am currently taking neurontin which helps but doesn't take away the pain. I read on some other posts about people's experiences with low dose accutane helping the burning and stinging--is there anyone out there who has had success with this treatment and could respond? I would love to hear any and all suggestions as I am really starting to lose my mind. This is such a debilitating condition."</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34346-Treatment-options-for-constant-burning-and-stinging&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on December 12th 2015:</span></b> </span>"Hi, I had burning and stinging.<span style="color: #444444;"> <b><span>Zoloft</span> </b></span>helped me greatly. Burning was gone. Also, keeping your skin very well hydrated is important. Use a gentle moisturizer and drink lots of water. [..] It can reduce the flushing. Several members on the forum take antidepressants for their flushing and burning."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">TinyDancer <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34346-Treatment-options-for-constant-burning-and-stinging&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on December 13th 2015:</span></b> "This is something I definitely want to keep in mind for further along if I don't recover or if my condition worsens. It's challenging to figure out the right ones. My neurologist prescribed Amitriptyline for my nerve pain. But, it can actually worsen flushing. Someone recommended lyrica. But, I am in a group for people with trigeminal neuralgia and while it helped some, it caused serious harm to others. So, I will continue gathering information from people's experiences and then bring the info to my neurologist. I will look into Zoloft. Thank you! I do remember you mentioning this before. It's helpful info." </div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">AEB <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34346-Treatment-options-for-constant-burning-and-stinging&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on November 15th 2016:</span></b> "I sympathize greatly as I've been struggling with intense burning for about two years now (my face is inflamed but also flushes badly daily). I've tried many things--it seems like different things work for different people, and my derms say sometimes a combo of meds is needed. Things I've tried that haven't helped much are neurontin, lyrica, amitriptyline. Some help: fluoxetine, clonazepam, orap, clonidine, dapsone, doxy, 3 V-beams (still doing those). I'm currently on a crazy cocktail of meds, still looking for something with many drs (pain specialists, psychoderm, terms) that can really keep the burning down--I've frankly found it completely debilitating and keeps me home bound trying to avoid flushing pain. I'll let you know if I find something that works even better, and feels free to PM me as well if you'd like more details on things I've tried. Good luck! You're not alone!"</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34346-Treatment-options-for-constant-burning-and-stinging&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on November 30th 2016:</span></b> "Have you guys been reading the thread about the ketamine and amitriptyline ointment? Not sure if it will work for rosacea - people are still experimenting - but read the thread. If the ointment helps the burning pain of erythromelalgia, maybe it will help rosacea stinging/burning? <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)" target="_blank"><b>Here's</b></a> the thread link. In the meantime, I had some help from Zoloft. Anything you can do to calm inflammation is also helpful. Try zinc supplements; also zinc cream (diaper rash) or calamine lotion with zinc. The cream can be drying, so moisturize. Also, I cleanse my skin as little as possible. Instead I just rinse with cold water. [..] Lysine and MSM supps have helped some here. You can search the forum. I know how horrible the burning/stinging can be. You basically are trying to quiet the nerve endings, which are way overstimulated from flushing and inflammation. Check out the thread on the ketamine/amitriptyline ointment. It's a new discussion, but it might help you. Best of luck!"</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Antwantsclear <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34346-Treatment-options-for-constant-burning-and-stinging/page2&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">replied</a> on December 30th 2016:</span></b> "Stinging and burning reduced quite a lot for me just by not putting tap water on the rosacea affected areas (I wash them with mineral water instead). That is something you can do yourself without any help from the doctor. I found baths were better then you don't need to put your head under the water and can wash your face with mineral water instead. You don't want a very hot steamy bath either or the steam will rise up and affect your rosacea. I use a colloidal silver spray bottle which is quite helpful on the rosacea affected areas as well. [..] The anti-flushing medication will help to manage the rosacea overall which should help with the stinging and burning as well - clonidine or moxonidine, hydroxychloroquine, mepacrine, remeron, propranolol. I think hydroxychloroquine can be especially helpful to burning as it's an anti-parasitic drug, so helps to kill demodex mites (which cause the burning and irritation) as well as having other mechanisms to help manage the rosacea."</div></div><div><br /></div><div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5aK9gZ8x9I6Lk9O36nogEgodOjlg-cEba5WAmSR_wfArveHR2cUrMkieKMhgzTYzMvFT_RaTRgV_am6TDf4iBnQiphr1fFVXyxZecEMsGt_gA_e_7W-nbyzE5neqQRIf1Rc1oGWPJp5uJamXtiCVpbkMhNKGzc6QzTA1csHf1m8nQsanq5bxfB9v44fwf/s1280/kaye_donachie_solitude_chases_2015_jpg.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1280" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5aK9gZ8x9I6Lk9O36nogEgodOjlg-cEba5WAmSR_wfArveHR2cUrMkieKMhgzTYzMvFT_RaTRgV_am6TDf4iBnQiphr1fFVXyxZecEMsGt_gA_e_7W-nbyzE5neqQRIf1Rc1oGWPJp5uJamXtiCVpbkMhNKGzc6QzTA1csHf1m8nQsanq5bxfB9v44fwf/w505-h316/kaye_donachie_solitude_chases_2015_jpg.jpeg" width="505" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?39435-Help-please-severe-neurogenic-rosacea&p=346353#post346353" target="_blank">wrote</a> on November 4th</span></span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> 2018:</span> </span></b>"My derm who co-authored <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3692271/" target="_blank"><b>that paper</b></a> linked by Nat, and has seen ~15 patients with neurogenic rosacea (he says it is obvious to him what is neuro vs vascular/ who would benefit from laser) says a lot of his patients are made worse by laser, if not triggered by laser. He doesn't know why. Maybe the settings were increased to something the patient couldn't handle. He strongly thinks that the redness seen in neuro patients - is the tip of the iceberg and its due to dysfunctional neuronal regulation and hyperexcitable sensory nerves. He has urged me to focus on treatments not that control the blood vessels, but that help calm the overactive nerves. After 2-3 years of obsessively reading + thinking about my symptoms, he has convinced me. I was later diagnosed via leg biopsy with small fiber neuropathy (non length dependent) -- the nerves degenerate for whatever reason, and become hyperexcitable as your body tries to grow them back (something like that). Usually<b> <span style="color: #444444;">small fiber neuropathy</span></b> is associated with feet or hands (diabetes eg), but my derm thinks that this is what is going on with his neuro rosacea patients. Biopsies are only standardized in the leg (not face) so this cannot be confirmed (except sometimes if it is in the face or other areas, it will show up in the leg as well), but it would prove a sensory nerve dysfunction association and make sense. I would a rheum do a full workup, and ask for an SFN punch biopsy in a leg (derm or neuro can do this) + neurodiagnostic testing. Having a pos. SFN biopsy has totally changed the way I am having convos with my doctors for the better -- no one mentions anti-acne topicals etc and I have objective evidence of a pain condition. Sometimes the cause of SFN can be treated and symptoms cured (~50% of cases) eg b12 deficiency, hepatitis, lyme, sjogrens (lip biopsy is best for sjogren's .. sjogren's is the most common cause of non length dependent SFN). And new evidence says that in a significant minority of idiopathic SFN cases, they are "apparently autoimmune" without any autoimmune markers that we know how to detect, and will respond to aggressive immunotherapies like IVIG, steroids, plaquenil (something like inflammation is continually angering the nerves, triggering pain + dilation). [..] Imo, all the meds in that paper are worth trying. I get relief from cymbalta 80 mg in the morning, mirtazapine 22.5 mg at night (for sleep), zonegran (a sodium channel blocker and t type channel blocker ... stabilizes sensory nerves). Currently ramping up on the zonegran, trying IVIG (super anti inflammatory infusion), and low dose naltrexone in case i have autoimmune origin. If I fail IVIG, I probably will trial (oral or iv) steroids (my derm says a couple of his neuro patients do respond to, though it's tricky because they can cause flushing as a side effect). I see a pain doc and we are working to get lidocaine infusions every other day approved by my insurance to "reset" the nerves (lidocaine is the best thing i have found that makes me more heat tolerant ... acts on nerves, but blocks pain and flushing both). If that doesn't work, then maybe ketamine iv's. I think a pain doc can be great, but might not be worthwhile if you have not yet tried the first line treatments like amitriptyline, cymbalta, gabapentin, lyrica. Basically I just want to say, there is hope and many things your mom can try -- I wish someone had told me that when i thought treatments were limited to soolantra and gabapentin. Bless you for trying to help your mom. I feel for you both. Good luck and keep us updated. PS - i really think neuro rosacea is another word for facial erythromelalgia. All the stuff out there on erythromelalgia applies."</div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 30px;"><i><b>"Neurogenic rosacea turned out to be Lyme disease"</b></i></span></div>
<br /><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Kittydoc <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37689-Neurogenic-rosacea-turned-out-to-be-Lyme-disease&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">wrote</a> on August 15th 2017:</span> </span></b>"Neurogenic rosacea turned out to be <b><span style="color: #444444;">Lyme disease </span></b>- Hi all, I posted for the first time a few months back about my neurogenic rosacea and wanted to come back with an update. A brief history - I developed extreme facial burning and redness over the course of one day out of what seemed to be nowhere. Thus began my nightmare. Although the redness has almost completely resolved (other than a faint blush over the bridge of my nose and my upper cheeks) the burning has continued. As I reported previously, to the casual observer I probably appear normal. The burning was constant at first, but now has become more random. It flares for a few days and then calms down, only to flare a week later (or less). Sunlight and computer screens are my two big triggers. If I'm not in a large hat and wearing 50 spf or more when I leave the house my skin reminds my of my error later on in the day. I was instantly diagnosed with Rosacea, and later diagnosed with neurogenic Rosacea. I tried several treatments from 2 different derms (metrogel, solantra, etc) but they didn't help at all. One derm recommended I try an SSRI or an anti-seizure med since this form of the disease is sometimes responsive to those. Tried one dose of Lexapro and ended up having a massive panic attack. I haven't been the same since that panic attack. For whatever reason this episode led to a generalized anxiety disorder. I was put on xanax and told I should try another SSRI (ummm, no way). I next started experiencing horrible insomnia and getting weird muscle twitches and spasms. All in all, I ended up seeing 2 GP's, 2 derms, 2 naturopaths, a chiropractor, and an acupuncturist before getting to the root problem. After doing my own research I came up with Lyme. I asked one of the naturopaths to test me and I came up positive. I started treatment today. I'm coming back to this board because I'm hoping to reach anyone out there that has the neurogenic form of the disease, especially people that have just started having similar symptoms, or for those that experience any symptoms beyond the skin in association with their Rosacea. I spent the better part of year thinking I had Rosacea when I didn't. My treatment for Lyme has been delayed since everyone kept chalking it up to stress and Rosacea. I know that it's definitely more of an out there diagnosis for Rosaceans, but I wanted to put it out there in case my story helps anyone. [..] I had the Igenex IGg/IGm and and IFA performed. They don't look directly for spirochetes, but tend to use antibody/PCR/IFA. Lyme disease, especially when it's been longer than the acute phase of 6-8 weeks can sometimes be a bit difficult to diagnose - so much so that some doctors feel comfortable diagnosing Lyme disease based entirely on clinical signs. Most doctors (unless they are what the lyme community calls lyme literate doctors) won't treat you without a positive blood test. Fortunately - or unfortunately depending upon how you look at it - my IGg and IFA was positive. My doctor is convinced the phantom burning in my face, along with the sensitivity I've experienced is due to a neuropathy caused by Lyme attacking my nervous system. My symptoms seem to be neural and digestive so far - although the digestive is likely due to inappropriate neural stimulation too. My treatment consists of two antibiotics, doxycycline and Augmentin. I am also on a variety of supplements to to support my gut health, detox from the lyme die off, and prevent yeast overload from the chronic antibiotics. This will go on for months at a minimum. If I don't respond well to the orals he mentioned placing a port for IV antibiotics. There are also more unconventional treatments out there such as Vit C IV infusions and UV treatment. I'm just starting to get myself educated about this disease, so I don't know all the ins and outs yet. I've just joined a support forum like this one for Lyme. It's a real drag going from one chronic crappy disease which is poorly understood to another chronic crappy disease which is poorly understood, but at least I have an accurate diagnosis now. Kittydoc"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Babadah <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37689-Neurogenic-rosacea-turned-out-to-be-Lyme-disease&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">replied</a> on August 15th 2017: </span></b>"Ok thanks. And do you remember being bitten by a tick?"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Kittydoc <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37689-Neurogenic-rosacea-turned-out-to-be-Lyme-disease&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">replied</a> on August 16th 2017: </span></b>"Yes, I remember. I didn't think it was a deer tick at the time. I also didn't get a classic rash or feel sick after the bite. I now know that 50% of people don't remember getting bit when they come up Lyme positive. Now that I know better I wish I would have checked it out. Live and learn I guess. Kittydoc"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Fiugs <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37689-Neurogenic-rosacea-turned-out-to-be-Lyme-disease&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">replied</a> on July 2nd 2018:</span> </span></b>"Hi.. I think my rosacea might fall into the neuropathic/neurogenic category.. although that’s my take on it, as all the docs and derms I've seen are pretty rosacea ignorant (but that’s another story). It was suggested to me by a friend in the US that I test for Lyme disease because a friend of hers had it and it presented as rosacea symptoms... so, for sure, there are others out there who seem to be in the same situation as you. As for myself, I haven’t been tested for Lyme... but my rosacea is improving on an almost daily basis since I started trialing <b><span style="color: #444444;">low dose naltrexone</span></b> 3 months ago. LDN is known to work for chronic stage Lyme disease as well as a host of other conditions. I don't know if I contracted Lyme disease, I haven’t been tested... but I live in the country and would be surprised not to have been bitten at some point.. I also traveled to rural NY state (which seems to be the Lyme-tick capital of the world!) twice a year for several years before my rosacea kicked in.. so it’s a thought.... No need for me to test for Lyme now I would think, as the LDN seems to be helping with all my symptoms at once. My terrible, almost constant face pain, burning and tingling stopped within 24 hours of my first LDN dose." <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Read more on rosacea turning out to be Lyme disease in <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?29849-Anyone-have-Lyme-disease" target="_blank">this</a> forum post.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 30px;"><i><b>"Facial burning w/ little to no redness?"</b></i></span></div>
<b><span style="color: #990000;"><br />Meg101 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38824-Facail-burning-w-little-to-no-redness&highlight=neurogenic">wrote</a> on May 25th 2018: </span></b>"Facial burning w/ little to no redness? - Can this happen? I have it mainly on my cheeks and chin area, and I honestly don't know what to do. It feels so uncomfortable Please help"<br /><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgEbhVcklKnNdPz6caRmSymLmW-sfRU-aDRwNugW7hX7TKhy824ms-6Ho9NwBDostQ4vv5sBX7Kj4Fy5bwWZgQBRRV8y16C592_QnUphY1qE-fY6Wo3ZmXVsfY_ZaymOPanckF-HO3slOy1xoVRaHT1-0w4bRyAc2ZtID7cGfSoyLvR_xZrP7jlTYjjOaA/s298/MP-DONAK-00156-A-072-01.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="211" height="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgEbhVcklKnNdPz6caRmSymLmW-sfRU-aDRwNugW7hX7TKhy824ms-6Ho9NwBDostQ4vv5sBX7Kj4Fy5bwWZgQBRRV8y16C592_QnUphY1qE-fY6Wo3ZmXVsfY_ZaymOPanckF-HO3slOy1xoVRaHT1-0w4bRyAc2ZtID7cGfSoyLvR_xZrP7jlTYjjOaA/w378-h534/MP-DONAK-00156-A-072-01.jpg" width="378" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38824-Facail-burning-w-little-to-no-redness&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">replied</a> on May 25th 2018: </span></b>"Is this a consequence maybe of repeated flushing and sensitized nerves? Eg, perhaps originally you could flush without much burning, but now it only takes *a little* redness / blood vessel jumpiness to make the nerves angry? Do you ever have tingly / stabbing / pins and needles sensations (I think the more specific you can be to a derm, the more helpful they can hopefully be). The nerve pain is tough to treat. But there are lots of things to try. I think that in addition to treating the flushing, it's a good idea to have something that also helps with the nerves directly because these things can quickly get a life of their own + harder + harder to treat with time. The more I read about chronic pain / neuropathic pain / related pain conditions the more questions I have lol but this seems to be the clear message. Unfortunately lots of options have side effects that are less than optimal but everyone's different in that regard. I do think though that once you get a handle on it, then maybe you can slowly pare back, and maybe your body will "forget" about those pain circuits. I'm really sensitive to anything that affects cognitive function -- One thing that helped me a lot was alpha lipoic acid. Unfortunately this had other side effects for me (hair loss + insomnia) but seems like most ppl don't. Took a few weeks for me to notice a difference. Many "natural" anti-pain or anti-inflammatories are dilating so be careful.</div></div><div>
-SSRI (or cymbalta) paired with a different kind of antidepressant (has helped me a lot)<br />
-gabapentin / lyrica / baclofen / memantine / oxtellar / ranexa / mexiletine / amitriptyline / etc -- out of all these I'd say lyrica, ranexa, mexiletine have the fewest side effects<br />
-clonazepam / xanax as needed -- very helpful for me<br />
-daily aspirin might be helpful -- give it a month or so before giving up<br />
-magnesium -- it can be dilating + relaxes muscles, but if your nerve pain comes from nerves not getting appropriate nutrients / oxygen, this can be helpful. If this is helpful (or not hurtful), than a prescription low dose (long-acting) calcium channel blocker might be even better.<br />
-butterbur, feverfew, ginger -- "natural" migraine remedies, in case the pathophysiology is similar.<br />
-topical analgesics -- 0.5% amitriptyline eg (careful cuz i think all topical analgesics are dilators .. but worth a try. little to no systemic side effects)<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">off-the-menu things --</span></b><br />
-infusions (lidocaine, ketamine, etc) can interrupt a 24/7 pain cycle. Can be followed with mexiletine (oral lidocaine analog) for longer analgesic effects<br />
-botox<br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span>-nerve blocks</span></b> </span>(these are not permanent, can be very helpful in conditions like CRPS/hot flashes/depression/etc particularly if the pain is sympathetically mediated)<br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">miscellaneous -- </span></b><br />
-visual imagery techniques - visualize your pain neural circuits shrinking (do this while you have pain). your body image (in your mind) can be surprisingly in sync with your actual body. Pain is not wholly driven by sensory input if that makes sense<br />
-Acupuncture<br />
-red light therapy -- stop immediately if burning intensifies<br />
-meditation<br />
I hope you get relief soon for yourself. My main point is that there are a lot of different things to try and you aren't alone. I'd be very surprised if you couldn't find anything to at least give you partial relief but it takes time."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Meg101 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38824-Facail-burning-w-little-to-no-redness&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">replied</a> on May 25th 2018: </span></b>"Thank you so much for your response! I very much appreciate it. Btw do you consider your rosacea to be neurogenic or neuropathic? Are these terms interchangeable? However, upon first course of action do you think I could benefit from propranolol and mirtazapine at nigth? Adding on to the fact that I am dealing with a lot of anxiety anyway:/ Also what does "pain is sympathetically mediated" mean?"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38824-Facail-burning-w-little-to-no-redness&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">replied</a> on May 25th 2018: </span></b>"Yea <b><span style="color: #444444;">mirtazapine + propranolol</span> </b>first sounds like a good plan (and maybe you only need the one!) Stagger start dates so you know which one is working / giving what side effects I'd probably give mirtazapine 3-4 months until you call it a failure + propranolol 6 weeks (just based on what my derm says and what I've read). I and others I know have noticed mirtazapine benefit 3-4 months down the road even though it is supposed to kick in much faster than SSRI's. I am reallllllly not a dr nor an expert in any of this ;) However I do think that derms aren't too knowledgeable in pain stuff + so I have been trying recently to read up and consult with dr google (har har). The paper on neurogenic rosacea as a separate subtype (the one by Scharschmidt et al) I think purposefully skims the surface and omits any pathophysiology. Boundaries between pain types/definitions seem to overlap but I think neuropathic pain falls under the umbrella of neurogenic pain. Neuropathic pain is when there's damage to peripheral/central nervous system (even when there's no painful stimulus). Sympathetically maintained pain is part of neuropathic pain. I think what happens is that sensing nerves (feeding into the CNS) get sensitized more and more due to stuff (eg norepinephrine) released by sympathetic efferents (coming from the CNS). Things can be both sympathetically mediated and also have sympathetically independent mechanisms. When you block the sympathetic efferents, it can resolve sympathetically maintained pain (which can come back if you locally inject norepinephrine or something like that). I was reading the other day how fibro can be majorly sympathetically maintained, perhaps due to the hyper sympathetic nervous system in these ppl. I also was diagnosed with high blood pressure around my neurogenic rosacea onset so I think for me personally I might have an over active sympathetic nervous system (high bp is odd given my weight/age). (Sympathetic nervous system = "fight or flight"). A lot and most of this stuff is over my head lol. I believe what I have is neuropathic / neurogenic. The gabapentin / amitriptyline eg is mainly for neuropathic pain, I think. I also had a stellate ganglion nerve block recently which gave me a lot of pain relief (after the initial inevitable flushing from the sudden lack of norepinephrine (providing basal vasoconstriction)) -- tbd how long that will last. But I think this means that at least a good portion of my burning is sympathetically mediated. Sometimes they give a series to retrain the nerves Anyone who knows more, feel free to correct me / chime in."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Meg101 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38824-Facail-burning-w-little-to-no-redness&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">replied</a> on May 26th 2018: </span></b>"Wow thanks ! I will have to request my doc about them, hopefully she is willing, as this pain is very uncomfortable. Is the nerve block you got temporary? That is to retrain the nerves? Also on a day to day basis did you alleviate most of your pain? Do you still deal with the other Rosacea symptoms? Does your pain happen mainly when you flash or it’s just ongoing? Sorry for the overload of questions! The thing is I don’t have such noticeable redness yet the burning feeling is there."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Sg321 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38824-Facail-burning-w-little-to-no-redness&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">replied</a> on May 26th 2018: </span></b>"Effexor for nerve pain and flushing. - A few doctors have told me that Effexor can help with nerve pain, in addition to helping flushing. I started on the lowest dose last week, and am not expecting much until I get up to 75mg. Good luck."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Elmo <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38824-Facail-burning-w-little-to-no-redness&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">replied</a> on May 26th 2018: </span></b>"I don't know the answer to your question but I've experienced something similar...... I've had odd pains and sensations (tickling, plucking, crawling twinging, zapping, corrosive flushes ) on my face for over a year now. 6 months ago started to get thread veins and follicular scale on cheeks. I've been treated for demodex with soolantra after ....now I'm left with the same sensations along with permanent pinkish cheeks, nose & chin. I don't think its the mites I can feel they are way too tiny. But perhaps they irritate the nerves? I suffered trigeminal neuralgia 15 years ago maybe that's connected in some way? I have lots of odd things going on with my body neurologically so maybe my nerves are all frazzled, but on the face its just so bothersome!!!!</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5kcnpWu0mOejpRsXk1KvfkfvnG44CuHlXEfJUCkn5UMS3KJcRqrRUHi3cAJKXen3Hq4zpK5F6az1PGcex6o6LqrShCkW2bjRY0lKyvbTQk8L0PQ8KTN3_vSXRpDNjl74QVhfYTq8F_z9-wkQ6fZ7HPp87fYs-x5w3Co2XHX8L37wy9obRhHNLPAdWpbQN/s839/2c40243c5e64802f8f2a62cd0ff66adb.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="563" height="519" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5kcnpWu0mOejpRsXk1KvfkfvnG44CuHlXEfJUCkn5UMS3KJcRqrRUHi3cAJKXen3Hq4zpK5F6az1PGcex6o6LqrShCkW2bjRY0lKyvbTQk8L0PQ8KTN3_vSXRpDNjl74QVhfYTq8F_z9-wkQ6fZ7HPp87fYs-x5w3Co2XHX8L37wy9obRhHNLPAdWpbQN/w349-h519/2c40243c5e64802f8f2a62cd0ff66adb.jpg" width="349" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38824-Facail-burning-w-little-to-no-redness&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">replied</a> on May 26th 2018: </span></b>"I have flushing + burning, onset very sudden, but I think the burning has gotten progressively worse when I was still scrambling to find meds/treatment that worked for me. I think this is the case with neuropathic pain -- can get progressively worse with time instead of resolving. It is interesting you say you have burning without much redness -- I don't relate to that too much I think, but I do remember one derm saying to me that laser might not have been effective for me bc the problematic areas could have been too deep (for the laser). Maybe you're similar in that way (so would look less red), but have no idea really. I think it might be a good thing you're not getting that red -- it might mean that you could be able to handle medication that helps with nerve stuff even if it will also dilate the blood vessels. If that makes sense.... since it seems like your blood vessels are already pretty stabilized more or less? I think<span style="color: #444444;"> <b><span>I got pretty good benefit from amlodipine, effexor, mirtazapine, botox</span></b></span>. I had this<span> <b><span style="color: #444444;">nerve block</span></b></span> lined up for a while bc I wasn't expecting such a good result from amlodipine (I've since tapered off lyrica). I'm not sure if I'll continue the nerve block route, have to see how things continue to unfold maybe. (Mine was temporary, I'd never consider a permanent one.) Response times for temporary blocks seem to be patient-dependent. Good luck with everything."</div><br />
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<span style="font-size: 30px;"><i><b><span style="color: #444444;">"End of the road? Cymbalta Lyrica</span>"</b></i></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Y-gwair <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?24367-Help-intense-burning-pain&highlight=Cymbalta" target="_blank">wrote</a> on June 20th 2011:</span></b> "Help - intense burning pain? - I had a terrible flush while lying in bed yesterday morning, no idea what triggered it, but the intense burning pain has been unbearable ever since, even when the redness goes down. I have an appointment to see a specialist in August, but I can't possibly put up with this pain until then. Are there any treatments a GP can prescribe for intense neural pain? Would drugs like amitriptyline/tegretol have any effect ? I'm absolutely desperate now.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Meg <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?24367-Help-intense-burning-pain&highlight=Cymbalta" target="_blank">wrote</a> on June 20th 2011:</span></b> "Sorry to hear you are having flushing with pain. I know exactly what you are dealing with as I suffer from severe flushing with pain for many, many years now. Your GP should be able to help you manage the pain in the short term, but you should also get testing for the various ailments that can cause flushing to make sure it's nothing serious. After that, you can try lots of medications to find out which ones help you. Most people start with clonidine, but amitriptyline helps some too. Tegretol is usually not a first option for this. But you could try neurontin or lyrica and they are known for working better with effexor or cymbalta. Another option is narcotics like Roxicodone or something long acting like Opana ER. Or you could also try some of the migraine medications like maxalt or treximet which work as vasoconstrictors, but you can't take them all the time. The best thing to do is to work with your dr to find the safest medication to try first and then work your way up to the medications that are less safe. I hope you find relief, Meg"<br />
<div><br /></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsW3CrfFWE8UmvA5WgLeUiMRK6iM6vwLIgoOUyX4FyocwtQCrYa1DmMelQRTVs8jFSIGcNyhTjhJo8FLYkn16UpXBqoA9vmAzkZ9QJRpqaddZQfomTaNpks7mTf24SZcChQKFjQAxu_dcZ0-Cpzyqb124KZ3bRklXCiEIm6a2nykquChyjFKe4vnXQJ_v/s363/fc306ae7f4a65892cbb50912eeef58dc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="300" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsW3CrfFWE8UmvA5WgLeUiMRK6iM6vwLIgoOUyX4FyocwtQCrYa1DmMelQRTVs8jFSIGcNyhTjhJo8FLYkn16UpXBqoA9vmAzkZ9QJRpqaddZQfomTaNpks7mTf24SZcChQKFjQAxu_dcZ0-Cpzyqb124KZ3bRklXCiEIm6a2nykquChyjFKe4vnXQJ_v/w400-h484/fc306ae7f4a65892cbb50912eeef58dc.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Y-gwair <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?25859-End-of-the-road-Cymbalta-Lyrica&highlight=Cymbalta" target="_blank">wrote</a> on March 9th 2012:</span></b> "End of the road? Cymbalta Lyrica - I'm now at the end of the road with rosacea medications. Clonidine, mirtazapine, atenolol, labetalol, mepacrine have done nothing to halt the progress of severe flushing and increasing pain levels. I've just spent a month on full-dose Gabapentin<span style="color: #f4cccc;"> </span>(3600 mg a day) which did nothing for the scalding pain. Have also tried Tramadol and morphine given by GP, which didn't have any effect on it either. I am at the end of the road, I don't feel there is any point going back to my well-known Derm as none of his suggestions have worked at all, he couldn't actually look me in the face last time we visited, so I guess he has realised this approach has been a complete failure as well. Having assured me it was a self-limiting condition on our first consultation, I feel really angry and bitter that I was given false hope about this terrible condition. I'm currently looking at medications that treat severe neuropathic pain, Lyrica<span style="color: #f4cccc;"> </span>and hoping to try SNRI Cymbalta. I guess these are prescribed mainly for severe pain. Has anyone found that they have any effect on flushing, or do they just mask the pain? I'm not sure if there is anything left to try if and when these fail to work for my horrific pain and disfigurement."</div></div><div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Y-gwair <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?25859-End-of-the-road-Cymbalta-Lyrica&highlight=Cymbalta" target="_blank">wrote</a> on March 13th 2012:</span></b> "Saw a pain specialist from St Mary's yesterday. Confirmed that the flushing and pain are almost certainly due to generalized autonomic nervous system failure, and will be incredibly hard to treat. Lyrica is probably the best hope; if that doesn't help, stronger opiates, and beyond that trying nerve blocks. I'm really quite disturbed this was misdiagnosed as Rosacea. I've now discovered I have postural orthostatic tachycardia (pulse/systolic BP shoots up when upright), which is also probably due to the underlying dysautonomia. Taking clonidine for months has masked these symptoms which hasn't helped, I'd assumed the worsening dizziness on standing over the last few months was a drug side effect of the various drugs I'd been taking. I'm seeing Professor Mathias, consultant in autonomic and neuro-vascular medicine at St Mary's on thursday, I'm hoping he can suggest something. I have been trying to explain that I had additional issues / symptoms to my derm, who persisted with the view that they were not relevant and that the condition was rosacea when in fact the symptoms I have been describing are equally consistent with a number of other more serious problems (including adrenal and carcinoid tumours, which should be ruled out where flushing is present with racing pulse and other hyper-adrenagenic symptoms)."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Y-gwair <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?25859-End-of-the-road-Cymbalta-Lyrica&highlight=Cymbalta" target="_blank">updated</a> on March 19th 2012:</span></b> "I saw Professor Mathias at St Mary's Hospital last week. After a thorough examination confirmed I have erythromelalgia, dysautonomia, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia, and also hypermobile joints, suggesting the main underlying condition is <span style="color: #444444;"><b><span>Ehlers Danlos</span></b> <b><span>syndrome type 3</span></b></span>. Not clear how Ehlers Danlos relates to the autoimmune issues, they may just be co-incidental. I'm also a bit annoyed none of the various rheumatologists I've seen picked this up either, EDS is supposedly within their field of knowledge. What I have is very difficult to treat as many of the things that might help the orthostatic problems may well make the facial <span style="color: #444444;"><b>erythromelalgia</b></span> worse. It seems most people with EM end up on strong opiates. I will try sympathetic nerve block, but from what others have experienced they don't work terribly well for EM because of the vascular element of the pain. My real worry is that it is spreading to my feet, which go bright red and hot feeling if I walk for more than an hour, the soles have started stinging and toes feel like they have needles stuck in. If the pain gets as bad as the face, it will be impossible to walk and I'll be practically disabled by it. I've been titrating up the <b><span style="color: #444444;">Lyrica, so far with zero effect</span><span style="color: #444444;">.</span></b> I doubt it's going to help at all."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Y-gwair <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?25859-End-of-the-road-Cymbalta-Lyrica&highlight=Cymbalta" target="_blank">updated</a> on March 20th 2012:</span></b> "[..] Doctors are so quick to assume that flushing is just rosacea, whereas I now know it can also be a symptom of serious systemic disease. Idiopathic POTS is quite common in young women too ( usually this form tends to remit with time) so if you are feeling dizzy or faint, or have any odd numbness or discomfort in your hands/feet/legs in addition to flushing, you should be investigated thoroughly for other conditions like POTs, diabetes, adrenal function, Mast Cell disease or carcinoid tumours."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Y-gwair <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?25859-End-of-the-road-Cymbalta-Lyrica/page3&highlight=Cymbalta" target="_blank">updated</a> on March 26th 2012:</span></b> "[..[ He knows quite well that there is a condition called erythromelalgia, I told him many times that the burning was terrible. Maybe I was too polite and should have just sat there screaming, as that's literally what I've been doing virtually every night for the last year, and increasingly in public as the pain is excruciating and unremitting at times. Instead of continually reassuring us that it was definitely rosacea, that it would all get better once the clonidine, mirtazapine or whatever the next thing on the list was etc kicked in, he could have accepted the truth and referred to me to a specialist pain clinic sooner, rather than just telling me to take a single gabapentin tablet if I felt a bad night coming on (roll on the floor screaming). Erythromelalgia is a serious condition that is refractory to virtually every painkiller as I have now found out personally, leaving me somewhat bereft of hope. Beyond this point lie only stronger opiates (which I'm not sure I can tolerate, having had severe a urticarial reaction to morphine), and nerve blocks which can have unpleasant and unpredictable side effects and a poor track record in erythromelalgia anyway. Quite honestly, if the last couple of options fail to relieve the pain I will be seriously looking into a one-way trip to Dignitas in Switzerland as prospect of continuing to live with this much pain is unacceptable."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Y-gwair <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?25859-End-of-the-road-Cymbalta-Lyrica/page3&highlight=Cymbalta" target="_blank">updated</a> on April 10th 2012:</span></b> "Just to update, I tried <b><span style="color: #444444;">Duloxetine</span></b> a week ago with disastrous results. Within 48 hours I developed terrible flushing in my face, and also in my tongue and palate, as if I'd eaten a mouthful of chili, and had to stop. Over the next 48 hours, I had terrible withdrawal symptoms, my hands, feet and tongue went into Raynaud's like vasospasm as the circulation cut off completely, so painful I couldn't walk and my tongue went numb and lost all sense of taste. My hands have become so painful it's virtually impossible to use my laptop because of the freezing metal casing. It's worn off a little over the last week, but I'm desperately afraid that the highly disabling severe Raynaud's may now be permanent. For some, Serotonin can be a powerful vasodilator and such drugs can potentially cause disturbance to the sympathetic nervous system with disastrous results. The same is also true of drugs like clonidine and beta blockers, which I believe triggered the Raynaud's in the first place which in turn seems to have triggered erythromelalgia in my hands and feet. Starving tissue of oxygen during vasoconstriction (hypoxia) in susceptible individuals with connective tissue disease can induce the opposite reaction of inn appropriate flushing."<br />
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<div><b><span style="color: #990000;">Findingaway <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?24042-Options-for-treatment-of-burning-sensations-is-there-a-natural-treatment&highlight=Cymbalta" target="_blank">wrote</a> on April 28th 2011:</span></b> "Options for treatment of burning sensations: is there a natural treatment? - I have been experiencing an increase in burning sensations recently. For the last month, my chin has started burning and also both cheeks now, plus the last week my forehead. As mentioned many times on threads related to burning sensations, it is often seemingly not trigger related nor am I red. The burning can last for hours, days even. I have looked through many threads on this forum and found many possible treatment options, most are pharmaceutical and I wanted to avoid this if possible, although I must admit, the burning has been so frustrating that I was ready to get prescribed some Clonidine until I read a couple of rosaceans who have had bad experiences from it. Here is the list of possible medications/treatment options I found. They range from anti-depressants to blood pressure medications, NSAIDs and laser treatments. [..] The only thing I haven't tried is Aloe Vera or Borax (if you can call that natural). There must be more options??"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Melissa W. <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?24042-Options-for-treatment-of-burning-sensations-is-there-a-natural-treatment&highlight=Cymbalta" target="_blank">replied</a> on April 29th 2011:</span></b> "I'm sorry you are experiencing an increase in your burning symptoms. I know you mentioned <span style="color: #444444;"><span><b><span>RLT (Red Light Therapy)</span></b><span> </span></span>and that is </span><span style="color: #444444;"><b>the one treatment that really helped me re burning</b> </span>when I was dealing with flares. I haven't read your posts on your RLT experience but if you have not already done so I suggest using the red light in conjunction with your burning at a few minutes at a time and see if it helps decrease your burning sensation. With regards to why our face has the burning sensation I understand it is related to the blood flow irritating our blood vessels when it rushes into them during a flush. Why you may be experiencing it independent of a flush could be due to the vessels/nerves already being irritated from past flush reactions. Best,<br />
Melissa"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38432-Clonidine-and-rebound-red&highlight=Cymbalta" target="_blank">wrote</a> on February 18th, 2018:</span></b> "My doctors wanted me to increase my my clonidine dosage because it is listed to help with facial flushing + menopause symptoms and it really does work very well in the short term. But in the long term I'm better off of it. Mirtazapine seems to be the antidepressant of choice on this forum, I think due to its antihistamine activity, but I don't think it's one-size-fits-all. Cymbalta might help more with the burning pain and calm the nerves (pain-modifying antidepressant) as well as increasing serotonin (+ norepinephrine) in the brain. Amitriptyline is also pain-modifying antidepressant and is a migraine med - I think migraines have a lot of similarity to what is going on with some of us (cerebral vasospasm .. where the vasodilation causes a lot of pain). I think it is fine to eventually stack some of these antidepressants (I take effexor + mirtazapine). Lyrica + gabapentin are used often for neuropathic pain + burning extremities (feet, hands, ears). Lyrica is helpful for my burning. Pizotifen blocks histamine + serotonin receptors in the brain (used for migraine, eg). Periactin is similar. Plaquenil is a solid anti-inflammatory (swelling). It doesn't help me much with the flushing or burning but it might be helpful if there are autoimmune issues. On my list still to try are baclofen, memantine, namenda, + retrying topical timolol. tldr I think there are lots of things to try. Look into drugs used for migraine, erythromelalgia, neuropathic pain (similar conditions imo)."<br />
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<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGL0QLnbhAqCjTVrfNEOaUFsSJ-dryJUmDrZuYtnp7EdAYJRbKkfX1e1nR89STclGIOXI_PKsHAO_3cXFKR2ElxS4XhzYrlOXnY2twTnlFYyo0XRIPy8UBD1U7VwKJ5g5jOQA8ysYpXtCJb-o3XDnKzObP34Qo2NrlxtJu4PjzKYr5p-gq37eZsiOIXKs/s628/Untitled.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="438" height="633" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGL0QLnbhAqCjTVrfNEOaUFsSJ-dryJUmDrZuYtnp7EdAYJRbKkfX1e1nR89STclGIOXI_PKsHAO_3cXFKR2ElxS4XhzYrlOXnY2twTnlFYyo0XRIPy8UBD1U7VwKJ5g5jOQA8ysYpXtCJb-o3XDnKzObP34Qo2NrlxtJu4PjzKYr5p-gq37eZsiOIXKs/w441-h633/Untitled.jpg" width="441" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38897-neurogenic-rosacea-my-battle" target="_blank">This</a> is another interesting post on The</b></span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b> Rosacea Forum, by Laser_cat. </b></span>She had a bad reaction to clonidine and in fact finds good results with a medication called<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span><span style="color: #444444;">amlodipine</span></b>, which is a blood vessel dilator in fact, but at the right lower dose 'stabilizes' her blood vessels. It is called a calcium channel blocker, and all meds falling into that category are marked as potential rosacea worseners (and interesting side note; magnesium is a calcium channel blocker too, explaining why stomach acid pills I sometimes take, containing magnesium, make me so badly flushed!). I can't touch it myself, as my blood vessels become a volcano from any type of blood vessel dilator, but it is a very interesting read. Laser_cat also flushes and deteriorates from cold air and actually gets painful pale-white skin on occasions, which is not the case in my rosacea. Either I have pink or red hot skin, or my skin gets a more normal skin tone. I know about the ghostly white painful skin though, as my hands and fingers get it in winter from Raynaud's Syndrome. It is not a nice feeling and has to do with the blood vessels not constricting and dilating normal, but excessively. For that condition (Raynaud's), blood vessel dilating meds like amlodipine are actually prescribed and effective, which makes me wonder if Laser_cat might perhaps have something comparable in her facial blood vessels. Maybe, or maybe not! But cold air is something that actually makes my rosacea skin normal pale in tone, and cool and less painful, so there might be some different mechanisms at play here. Her blood vessels seem to respond violently to being constricted too much, from what I understand from her. Also important detail; Laser_cat takes a low dose of amlodipine (around 0.6 mg a day), not a normal or high dose. And she also takes other meds to help with flushing and burning; Effexor, mirtazapine, plaquenil, and 3 monthly botox sessions. She also has specific underlying other health conditions, including small fiber neuropathy and possibly (from what I understand) erythromelalgia. In her forum posts, she also details specific treatments she received: lidocaine infusions and nerve blocks. Either way, very good posts by her. When I googled amlodipine, I came across <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/hr201132.pdf?origin=ppub" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> scientific article, stating:</div><div><br /></div></div><div>
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<i>A 45-year-old woman made an outpatient </i><i>visit to our hypertension clinic. The woman </i><i>was diagnosed with essential hypertension, </i><i>and she had an average blood pressure of </i><i>150/90 mm Hg, a heart rate of 70 bpm and a </i><i>body mass index of 26 kg m2. The patient </i><i>was not receiving any treatment at the time. </i><i>In her medical history, there was a previous </i><i>diagnosis of rosacea, and blushing was </i><i>observed. </i><i>She was prescribed <span style="color: #444444;"><b>amlodipine</b></span> (5 mg) and </i><i>instructed to check her blood pressure three </i><i>times a week for the next month. <b><span style="color: #444444;">After 2 </span></b></i><i><b><span style="color: #444444;">weeks, the patient returned to the clinic </span></b></i><i><b><span style="color: #444444;">because of worsening skin flushing</span></b>. The </i><i>patient reported neither lifestyle changes nor </i><i>the use of any other drugs or cosmetics. She </i><i>reported that the ‘redness’ on her cheeks </i><i>worsened after a few days and that, after a </i><i>week, she started to notice an increased </i><i>number of telangiectasias. Treatment with</i></div>
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<i>amlodipine was discontinued, and the patient </i><i>was prescribed ramipril (5 mg). After 2 additional </i><i>weeks, skin flushing was reduced from </i><i>constant to occasional, and there was a consistent </i><i>decrease in the appearance of telangiectasias. </i><i>This case suggests a possible </i><i>association between treatment with<span style="color: #444444;"> <span><b>calcium channel blockers</b></span> </span></i><i>(CCBs) and the exacerbation </i><i>of rosacea.</i></div>
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<i>A 45-year-old woman made an outpatient </i><i>visit to our hypertension clinic. The woman </i><i>was diagnosed with essential hypertension, </i><i>and she had an average blood pressure of </i><i>150/90 mm Hg, a heart rate of 70 bpm and a </i><i>body mass index of 26 kg m2. The patient </i><i>was not receiving any treatment at the time. </i><i>In her medical history, </i><i>there was a previous </i><i>diagnosis of rosacea, and blushing was </i><i>observed. She reported </i><i>irregular menses </i><i>over the past year, with her last menses B2 </i><i>months before the visit. </i><i>She was prescribed amlodipine (5 mg) and </i><i>instructed to check her blood pressure three </i><i>times a week for the next month. After 2 </i><i>weeks, the patient returned to the clinic </i><i>because of worsening skin flushing. The </i><i>patient reported neither lifestyle changes </i><i>nor </i><i>the use of any other drugs or cosmetics. She </i><i>reported that the ‘redness’ on </i><i>her cheeks </i><i>worsened after a few days and that, after a </i><i>week, she started to notice </i><i>an increased </i><i>number of telangiectasias. Treatment with </i><i>amlodipine was discontinued, </i><i>and the patient </i><i>was prescribed ramipril (5 mg). After 2 additional </i><i>weeks, skin flushing </i><i>was reduced from </i><i>constant to occasional, and there was a consistent </i><i>decrease in the </i><i>appearance of telangiectasias. </i><i>This case suggests a possible </i><i>association between </i><i>treatment with calcium </i><i>channel blockers (CCBs) and the exacerbation </i><i>of rosacea. </i><i>Patients who presented with flushing were </i><i>referred to a dermatologist. Of the 62 patients </i><i>who discontinued therapy because of flushing, </i><i>34 were diagnosed with rosacea or pre rosacea. </i><i>Rosacea was diagnosed in 34 </i><i>patients, 23 women and 13 men, who were </i><i>between </i><i>43 and 57 years of age. These </i><i>patients were diagnosed with hypertension </i><i>within the </i></div>
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<i>last 3 to 5 years and had not </i><i>previously taken CCBs. When patients with </i><i>rosacea </i></div>
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<i>discontinued the use of CCBs, there </i><i>was a slow but consistent reduction of symptoms.</i><i>In all current clinical guidelines, CCBs </i><i>belong to the class of recommended first line </i><i>antihypertensive drugs for the treatment </i><i>of essential hypertension. One of the main </i><i>clinical side effects of CCB use is flushing, </i><i>which is experienced by B5% of patients. </i><i>These types of side effects, which are drug and </i><i>dose-related, have a greater </i><i>incidence in </i><i>women than in men (4.5 versus 1.5%, respectively). </i><i>Rosacea is not </i><i>listed as a </i><i>contraindication in the Summaries of Product </i><i>Characteristics of common clinically </i><i>relevant CCBs. </i><i>Physicians should be aware </i><i>that subclinical rosacea </i><i>could be the cause of </i><i>treatment </i><i>discontinuation or of the lack of </i><i>compliance </i><i>with antihypertensive therapy. </i><i>When possible, it may be useful to choose </i><i>another first-line antihypertensive drug </i><i>instead of CCBs.</i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">Adverse side effects that forced the interruption of the treatment with CCBs</span></b></i></div>
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<i>Side effects</i></div>
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<i>Flushing 23</i></div>
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<i>Peripheral edema 27</i></div>
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<i>Flushing and edema 39</i></div>
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<i>Tachycardia 11</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtfmiA1RP__x7MVTrXFvULAlRK6Nhcq9WyH45hJQEzAglgkFJi0g_QYg0cuRF3uYka_EkgF33Uk5ihtTWeQS12W2Q2CQ3y7LoAh_PbMiZr_g_8COG0Rz4IJTbhXRg7IjUn6Mnfn5i9AEWvQnlgbqpkolEziOYqqVnHUPFNNlGsxoZ6mSW0uuo7V4AWTNMa/s503/44f2821e5f38015825a4f2147f53706c.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="400" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtfmiA1RP__x7MVTrXFvULAlRK6Nhcq9WyH45hJQEzAglgkFJi0g_QYg0cuRF3uYka_EkgF33Uk5ihtTWeQS12W2Q2CQ3y7LoAh_PbMiZr_g_8COG0Rz4IJTbhXRg7IjUn6Mnfn5i9AEWvQnlgbqpkolEziOYqqVnHUPFNNlGsxoZ6mSW0uuo7V4AWTNMa/w377-h474/44f2821e5f38015825a4f2147f53706c.jpg" width="377" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">I <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?10488-Neurontin-gabapentine-(was-LInk-to-article-about-neuropath&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">updated</a> more about my neurontin trial on September 12th 2006: </span></b>"I have to say first that I don't take too much of this medicine: usually people take up to 1200 or 1600 mg a day as an average, and my doc prescribed me 900 mg, of which I take 600 mg daily now. One tablet in the early evening and one before sleeping. The first side-effects (dizziness, bad coordination etc) have passed luckily, pretty quickly. I do have to say that I have a bad cold, stuffed nose etc. Together with a long list of side-effects this is mentioned as happening 'often', in my medication info leaflet. But nothing too bad. I have a blood pressure measuring device, because another side-effect that happens often is supposed to be hypertension, and I take all my meds to lower it... So far my blood pressure if fairly low, the way I want it (I have check ups with my GP and dermatologist every now and then and they agree this is still OK for me): I'm around 98 over 60, still while on this medicine and the diclofenac, which raises blood pressure as well. Does it still work for my burning and flushing? I think it does. I have had a bad day, but that was due to going to the football, getting all over excited, having some chips (BAAAAD for me) and having hot weather here. But I still am more pale then usual I would say and the pain has definitely become less sharp. [..] Now I don't know if the reduction in redness and flushing (and I want to emphasis it is a noticeable REDUCTION, by no means an elimination) comes from the reduction of neural burning, which definitely plays a role in my flushing (it seems to act like a trigger). [..] Still improvement: less burning pain and less red and less easily flushed. Found some more articles about gabapentin/ neurontin for hot flushes. And also for its use for anxiety (felt better already on the mirtazapine, but this has lifted my mood considerably, compared with the better face lately of course...). [..] It's certainly not a wonder drug. Today it was hot, and after being outside for a while and eating the wrong porridge I am old fashioned flushed again, for the last couples of hours. But in general it is going a bit better. Fingers crossed. See how I'll be at the end of the week. Nat"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">I <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?10488-Neurontin-gabapentine-(was-LInk-to-article-about-neuropath&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">updated</a> on September 15th 2006: </span></b>"Update: am now on the neurontin for about 1,5 week, and definitely an improvement in the neuro pain (burning); don't have much problem with the right cheek anymore, the one that got irritated by an ice pack. Also am less red and less easily flushed. Still flush of course and still live with all my limitations (food-wise, no heath, a fan), but clear improvement. Didn't tell my boyfriend I'm experimenting again, but he told me several times this week I look kinda pale sometimes, and if things are going better. So he's objective, lol. Only side-effect is a bad cold and my nose is full. To be continued."<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">And I <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?10488-Neurontin-gabapentine-(was-LInk-to-article-about-neuropath&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">updated</a> on September 19th 2006: </span></b>"Just saw my derm and he was very pleased and intrigued with the latest improvements. He wants me to continue with the gabapentin, together with my other meds (YES!), I was armed with some very bad and red before pics and pale after pics and medical references for gaba and hot flushes. There were 5 docs there gathered and they were impressed luckily. They wanted to keep the pics for documentation and said I was an exceptional case for them, since I'm the only one in the hospital that has such a bad case of vascular rosacea and flushing. So far it seems the attack of my flushing from different angles seems to pay off. Low dose accutane is still another option, but I can't use it on top of all the other meds I already take probably, and besides that the derm still wants to experiment with very little skin areas for IPL and Yag lasers in 4 months time. Since my other test patches are still pale (both the IPL one and the YAG). No more full face treatments EVER for me, according to him, but IF it does help locally a very long treatment plan... with a little bit treated each time. Luckily I don't seem to have to pay for them, since this is a professional hospital and no private clinic (so covered by health insurance). The gabapentin (neurontin) definitely makes my face less painful! Especially the right cheek burned non-stop before, no matter if it was red or pale and strong anti-inflammatory medication (NSAID's) didn't help to calm any of it down. Now I only feel pain and burning when I have a real full face flush, which happens every day for maybe 30 minutes, usually around 18:00 when my body temp rises I think.. I found many links for gaba helping with menopausal hot flushes, which are in essence sort of similar to our rosacea flushings, according to my derm. So that might help, just as the fact that my face burns less and triggers less flushing by that."<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;">And I <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?10488-Neurontin-gabapentine-(was-LInk-to-article-about-neuropath&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">updated</a> on September 23rd 2006: </span></b>"Bad developments: the last 4 days I'm getting big red p&p's over my cheeks. Usually I never have them. And my nose cold just doesn't resolve: have got it now almost ever since I started this drug. The p&p's worry me the most. Not sure if the gabapentin is causing it. Did taper my dose down a bit today (was 900 mg, now 600) and maybe will continue to do this and see if the skin gets better. But even on this lower dose the right cheek starts to burn and hurt and throb again. This is not the way I would have liked things to go.. To be continued."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjtgtj3kIFEYoKWmK7rTpzMQMICsLdc_faT2zdasCqi92rE8I8gnbCSiXYLnwol7nRDyVJ2qNjYZ5msTik0npdeuztSvRuPheak_ChAgQY3NhTLCFhXnusZiFBUSSrxudnXMftkQGsxAmOV6nk2hFFx0uWHJPkv4644DOqwQT5ABZ0W5-ORWNzlFJnkQ-/s570/2b57458105f44f5e28b8a2c24408146f.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="440" height="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjtgtj3kIFEYoKWmK7rTpzMQMICsLdc_faT2zdasCqi92rE8I8gnbCSiXYLnwol7nRDyVJ2qNjYZ5msTik0npdeuztSvRuPheak_ChAgQY3NhTLCFhXnusZiFBUSSrxudnXMftkQGsxAmOV6nk2hFFx0uWHJPkv4644DOqwQT5ABZ0W5-ORWNzlFJnkQ-/w403-h522/2b57458105f44f5e28b8a2c24408146f.jpg" width="403" /></a>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">I <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?10488-Neurontin-gabapentine-(was-LInk-to-article-about-neuropath/page2&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">updated</a> on October 2nd 2006: </span></b>"The rash continued for a week, before I became suspicious of the glycerin that the capsule is made of. Checked with the manufacturer and it appeared to be made from glycerin, made from pork skin. And pork can make me break out. So before stopping neurontin I decided to take it without the capsule and most of the acne is gone by now. But, after 3 weeks I felt my flushing became worse again and after each dose of neurontin the flushing actually increased for a while. I found out that vasodilatation and hypertension are mentioned as apparently “frequent” side effects of this drug, although this varies at different sites and others say it is only happens in 1% in controlled trials. My blood pressure raised from 90 over 68 to 120 over 80 and back though (I have a little measuring device). That is not good. And I've become very suspicious about the vasodilatation. Since I tapered off the gabapentin this week, the pain in my cheek is back but hopefully I can convince my derm. to try another medicine. He will call me tomorrow. I’ll ask him for another painkiller: I checked the internet again, and looked for neuropathic pain. There is a special condition, when one side of the face has neuropathic pain, atypical facial neuralgia or something. Anyway: I checked all the medication that is mentioned for its treatment. Amitriptyline is an antidepressant that helps often for burning pain, but I used it a little while 3 years back and it made me flush very badly, so no more. The pharmacist later explained to me that it opens up the little blood vessels in the face, so that it was on the cards. There are other drugs, like SSRI’s (Paroxetine, Citalopram Effexor). To me carbamazepine (Tegretol) seems my best next shot. I checked it’s side-effects and they are usually mild and nothing to do with hypertension, vasodilatation, flushing etc. Rash is mentioned unfortunately, but that’s the case with ALL anticonvulsants, and those are the drugs that can help blocking the pain sensations coming from the brain. I guess eventually there needs to be focus on why exactly my right cheek hurts and burns, even when it looks not very red. I will ask my derm this on the phone as well tomorrow."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">I <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?10488-Neurontin-gabapentine-(was-LInk-to-article-about-neuropath/page2&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">updated</a> on October 4th 2006: </span></b>"I made a mistake: I said glycerin but the capsule is made of GELATINE."<br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman", stixgeneral, serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">I <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?23736-Anyone-Tried-Gabapentin&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank">last updated</a> on April 12th 2011:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "stixgeneral" , serif; font-size: 15.9991px;"> </span>"I used gabapentin for some time, after I was so silly to fall asleep on a cool pack, that was too frozen still. So I had nerve pain for 6 months :S The neurologist I saw prescribed it to me, after Lyrica made me flush. At first, the gabapentin made me more pale. I was over the moon. But after a week or so, can't remember exactly how long it was, it seemed to make me more flushed. I looked it up and found that it can act as a vasodilatator. So I stopped with it. It did help a bit with the neuro pain though. And luckily that resolved after 6 months by itself. But I understand you have it constantly, and not from some injury to the skin like I had? I would just try it and see how it works for you. You can always stop again with it if you find that it aggravated your skin.. best wishes Nat"</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5TYDb5Zh7FKok4QYAf9xJTlhJvteAzPllGcVEDL5sx6g1H1FAvcaBHancpt7iUV9IuPR9hyphenhyphen8b7cJR92HhA8NbrikKfr3CcQNc8t-MnkGhQR825w8-4-moSYM42SGVKnyja0Q6bgqMiGAR0UiHTKDgOlSOhq6G4G5i-8DVGkbtYrMdkOWVm9s3CGFcZVjo/s567/fc0e7fabaecd462075e66420cd60fa8f.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="431" height="589" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5TYDb5Zh7FKok4QYAf9xJTlhJvteAzPllGcVEDL5sx6g1H1FAvcaBHancpt7iUV9IuPR9hyphenhyphen8b7cJR92HhA8NbrikKfr3CcQNc8t-MnkGhQR825w8-4-moSYM42SGVKnyja0Q6bgqMiGAR0UiHTKDgOlSOhq6G4G5i-8DVGkbtYrMdkOWVm9s3CGFcZVjo/w448-h589/fc0e7fabaecd462075e66420cd60fa8f.jpg" width="448" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: xx-large;">You can read <a href="http://www.helpforpain.com/articles/understand-neuropathic-pain/understanding.htm" target="_blank">this article</a>; </b></div><div><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: xx-large;">UNDERSTANDING NEUROPATHIC PAIN</b><br />
"Neuropathic pain, in contrast to nociceptive pain, is described as "burning", "electric", "tingling", and "shooting" in nature. It can be continuous or paroxysmal in presentation. Whereas nociceptive pain is caused by the stimulation of peripheral of A-delta and C-polymodal pain receptors, by algogenic substances (eg. histamine bradykinin, substance P, etc.) neuropathic pain is produced by damage to, or pathological changes in the peripheral or central nervous systems. The hallmarks of neuropathic pain are chronic allodynia and hyperalgesia. Allodynia is defined as pain resulting from a stimulus that ordinarily does not elicit a painful response (eg. light touch). Hyperalgesia is defined as an increased sensitivity to a normally painful stimuli. Primary hyperalgesia, caused by sensitization of C-fibers, occurs immediately within the area of the injury. Secondary hyperalgesia, caused by sensitization of dorsal horn neurons, occurs in the undamaged area surrounding the injury.<br /><i><br /></i>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>On the best treatment options</b></span><br />
As previously mentioned, most neuropathic pain responds poorly to NSAIDS and opioid analgesics. The mainstay of treatment are predominantly the <b><span style="color: #444444;">tricyclic antidepressants</span></b> (TCA's), the <b><span style="color: #444444;">anticonvulsants</span></b> and the systemic <b><span style="color: #444444;">local anesthetics</span></b>. Other pharmacological agents that have proven efficacious include the corticosteroids, topical therapy with substance P depletors, autonomic drugs and NMDA receptor antagonists.<br /><i><br /></i>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Tricyclic antidepressants (TCA's)</b></span><br />
The TCA's have been successfully used for the treatment of neuropathic pain for some 25 years. The mechanism of action for the alleviation of neuropathic pain is thought to be due to the inhibition of re-uptake of serotonin and norepinephrine within the dorsal horn, however, other possible mechanisms of action include alpha-adrenergic blockade, sodium channel effects and NMDA receptor antagonism. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Amitriptyline</span> </b>is the prototypical tertiary amine. Other tertiary amines include imipramine, <span style="color: #444444;"><b>doxepin</b></span>, clomipramine and trimipramine. Unlike the dosing regimen utilized for the treatment of depression doses of TCA's for treatment of neuropathic pain are considerably less. The typical dosing schedule for amitriptyline may be simply 10 mg orally at bedtime with a gradual escalation every three days, in 10 mg increments, to a maximum to 30 to 50 mg orally at bedtime. Furthermore, the onset analgesia usually occurs over several days versus the two weeks that are required for the onset of the antidepressant effects of the drugs. The side effect profile of the TCA's include sedation and <span><span style="color: #444444;"><b>anticholinergic effects</b></span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-weight: bold;">. </span></span>Since these side effects are more prominent with the tertiary amines prudence would dictate the use of a secondary amine such as nortriptyline or desipramine, particularly in the elderly population who are more sensitive to the side effects.<br /><i><br /></i>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>SSRI antidepressants </b></span><br />
The recently introduced selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors <span style="color: #444444;"><b>(SSRI's) have not proven to be as effective against neuropathic pain as anticipated</b>.</span> Fluoxetine (Prozac) only appears to relieve pain in patients with co-morbid depression. Paroxetine (Paxil) has found some utility in the treatment of chronic, daily headaches. In general, the SSRI's are partially effective in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy, but not to the extent of the TCA's. Venlafaxine (Effexor) may have some analgesic effects since, like the TCA's, it inhibits the reuptake of both serotonin and norepinephrine. Its side effect profile is similar to the other SSRI's and can include agitation, insomnia, or somnolence, gastrointestinal distress and inhibition of sexual functioning. Anticholinergic side effects are less bothersome than with the TCA's.<br /><i><br /></i>
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Anti-convulsants</span></b><br />
The anticonvulsant medications<b> <span style="color: #444444;">can be particularly effective treatment for neuropathic pain that is described as burning and lancinating in nature.</span></b><span style="color: #444444;"> </span>Commonly used medications in this category include phenytoin, carbamazepine, valproic acid, clonazepam and gabapentin. The mechanism of action of the anticonvulsant medications is thought to involve membrane stabilization. Evidence also suggests that some of the agents, such as carbamazepine and phenytoin can depress both segmental and descending excitatory pathways in the CNS and at the same time facilitate inhibitory mechanisms. For example, carbamazepine has been shown to inhibit the electrical C and A fiber evoked neuronal responses of spinal nerve ligated rats. Valproic acid, on the other hand, has been reported to increase gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) levels in the substantia nigra and corpus striatum. Gabapentin, which we will be discussing subsequently, reportedly increases extracellular GABA levels throughout the brain, including the thalamus and causes the release of GABA from glial cells. However it is unlikely that Gabapentin increases GABAergic tone because neither GABAa nor GABAb antagonists reverse the analgesic effects of Gabapentin. Because of the significant risks of the blood dyscrasias and liver dysfunction, baseline and periodic monitoring of blood chemistries and liver function tests are highly recommended when prescribing phenytoin, carbamazepine, or valproic acid. Although clonazepam, a benzodiazepine, is usually used for the treatment of petite mal and myoclonic seizures, it has been successfully utilized to treat the lancinating and pain associated with phantom limb pain. Its mechanism of action may be associated with its reputed ability to enhance the inhibitory action of GABA within the CNS, and also possibly secondary to increased serotonin levels.<br /><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBQ493UnpTOY_4V8r3duJooWNnms83qt8ascwiQaMdBBQdmYA6hOl7Bu1J5clIPriRZaa0L0qZq6nEAjfwxQ_BLw3RKxe87TiY4C3S_3BSrzEJ8Rw4pfTLZ153sMbtgSSKd30y022nL2Mjmjbh4W95Fn2pc2zv1o2pKjBrfVfuenNhZV30HCOVpkhN93M/s730/dd4f2cb4a0d0b2644a4beb6fc11f2d13.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="490" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBQ493UnpTOY_4V8r3duJooWNnms83qt8ascwiQaMdBBQdmYA6hOl7Bu1J5clIPriRZaa0L0qZq6nEAjfwxQ_BLw3RKxe87TiY4C3S_3BSrzEJ8Rw4pfTLZ153sMbtgSSKd30y022nL2Mjmjbh4W95Fn2pc2zv1o2pKjBrfVfuenNhZV30HCOVpkhN93M/w319-h474/dd4f2cb4a0d0b2644a4beb6fc11f2d13.jpg" width="319" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Carbamazepine</b></span> </span>has proven to be particularly effective against glossopharyngeal neuralgia, post herpetic neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, and diabetic neuropathies. Should carbamazepine prove ineffective, it can be replaced with phenytoin. Unlike the other anticonvulsants, valproic acid has found some success in treating migraine headaches. The combination of an anticonvulsant with a TCA can be synergistic.</div></div><div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large; font-style: italic;"><b>Gabapentin (Neurontin)</b></span><br />1-(aminomethyl) cyclohexane-acetic acid, is an anti-epileptic drug which was introduced in 1993 and was originally approved for the treatment of partial seizures with or without secondary generalization. Recently, however,<span style="color: #444444;"> <b>reports have documented its efficacy in the treatment of various neuropathic pain states</b></span> such as complex regional pain syndrome, deafferentation neuropathy of the face, postherpetic neuralgia, sciatic type pain, and HIV-related neuropathy. The effective dose range is 30-300 mg/kg (systemic) and >37.5 mg/kg (IT). Gabapentin is reportedly completely ineffective in altering threshold responses to acute nociceptive stimuli at doses up to 300 mg/kg.53-56 Presently the mechanism of action as either an anticonvulsant or an analgesic is unknown. The antinociceptive effects are likely to be due to actions within the spinal cord, because 1000 times the IT dose is required to produce equianalgesic effects when given intraperitoneally. Gabapentin binds to the alpha 2 delta <b><span style="color: #444444;">calcium channel subunit.</span> </b>However, the relationship between binding at this site and the analgesic properties of gabapentin have not been determined. The NMDA receptor complex may be a potential spinal locus for neuropathic pain relief , but it has not been conclusively found that this is the major site of action. Gabapentin has a relatively benign side effect profile and is well tolerated if dosing proceeds in a gradually escalating manner. It has few if any drug interactions and is primarily renally excreted. Although expensive, it does not require the routine monitoring of blood chemistries and liver functions tests like carbamazepine and phenytoin. To date, little evidence suggests the efficacy of felbamate or lamotrigine in the treatment of neuropathic pain. Further investigation is necessary. Autonomic drugs which are proven beneficial in the treatment of neuropathic pain include the alpha-2 agonists (eg. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Clonidine</span></b>) and alpha-1 antagonists (eg. <b><span style="color: #444444;">prazosin, terazosin</span></b>).<i><br /></i>
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<i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqhGs8ztKq484i-4wmP5LwiGF7pfOnpsH_PkFhvRS0o6nIKLWSX63GScXdTuS-Bk33ToiukUzOWzXxIObqZx_QngyGiLTHki2Kv9q23FWQyk0lBFrdiMI0kUSJcCZOJwVqk49blQQbIP9UZRlzLgRM0IN7WAtAnJ7dvI3Os4zKIqCWDFXRIaaw0OYUu7eG/s692/0a4ca39763cb58fe26f77ca1a6317bb9.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="564" height="530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqhGs8ztKq484i-4wmP5LwiGF7pfOnpsH_PkFhvRS0o6nIKLWSX63GScXdTuS-Bk33ToiukUzOWzXxIObqZx_QngyGiLTHki2Kv9q23FWQyk0lBFrdiMI0kUSJcCZOJwVqk49blQQbIP9UZRlzLgRM0IN7WAtAnJ7dvI3Os4zKIqCWDFXRIaaw0OYUu7eG/w432-h530/0a4ca39763cb58fe26f77ca1a6317bb9.jpg" width="432" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 54px;">Neurogenic rosacea, or</b><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 54px;"> erythromelalgia?</b></div><div><br /><span>I recently read an interesting <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3976166/" target="_blank"><b>medical article</b></a>, in which the author described a patient who had come to hospital with severe facial flushing and burning of the face and ears. Read more about the distinction between rosacea and EM in <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/04/do-i-have-rosacea-or-erythromelalgia-em.html" target="_blank"><b>this blog post</b></a> of mine.<br /><br /></span></div></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><i>"Erythema associated with pain and warmth on face and ears: a variant of erythermalgia or red ear syndrome?"</i></span></b></div><br />The article describes how Erythermalgia (another term for erythromelalgia) is a rare disorder of the skin, that is characterized by attacking of skin redness, pain and increased skin temperature. It mainly happens to the skin of the extremities, which means the hands, the feet and the face. It also can extend to the neck, face, ears and even the scrotum. The article describes the case of an 18-year-old woman who had a 3 years history of redness, pain and warmth of the skin of her face and ears only. Over time, the attacks (of flushing and heat and pain) became more regular and severe for her. She had these red hot flushing episodes on average several times a month, lasting from two to more than ten hours each time, and sometimes the attacks lasted days even. She noticed that the episodes always started on her cheeks and then radiated quickly to her ears and forehead. She did not get scales on her skin and she neither sweated or got a headache during these attacks. The most painful areas were the cheeks. The symptoms disappeared completely between episodes, and left no skin damage. When doctors examined her skin, they noticed skin redness (see picture from the patient on the left). They also noticed that her skin had an increased temperature during a flare and that her face and ear skin was tender. When she cooled her skin, the flare went down again. When doctors used a dermatoscope to look more closely at her skin, it showed that blood vessels inside the patches of skin redness were more dilated during the flare, and that they constricted again when the skin had been cooled with ice. She also noticed that warmth and movement could trigger the attacks or worsen the symptoms while cleaning her teeth, eating, drinking, brushing her hair, touching or rubbing the ears. She preferred to stay in a cold environment during the flares. She also had flushing and pain attacks when she was laying down, at night. This really affected her quality of sleep. In the past, the patient had been diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis and was treated with oral antihistamines, topical steroids and tacrolimus, and cool facial masque. The symptoms had poor response to these therapeutics, except for the cooling face masque. Because of intolerable pain, she had to spray cold water or use a cold masque on her face all day long. She never got red hands or feet and had no history of migraine, episodic headaches or neck injury.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPy-sgcIh8GFiFESWyfnQd9Z3QJ25TFYrZPL_g5jOkwDch7vCYJDY5kP6VPlQn9BxwDHIdCiF8-C5PZkivi2dEQmLSCwhK6f-Gy_1hNIVcsWZB6iVlvTKet8BUxveJI9i_XjwozfO_y1w2/s1600/1129-2377-15-18-1+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1206" data-original-width="600" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPy-sgcIh8GFiFESWyfnQd9Z3QJ25TFYrZPL_g5jOkwDch7vCYJDY5kP6VPlQn9BxwDHIdCiF8-C5PZkivi2dEQmLSCwhK6f-Gy_1hNIVcsWZB6iVlvTKet8BUxveJI9i_XjwozfO_y1w2/w256-h518/1129-2377-15-18-1+%25281%2529.jpg" width="256" /></a>
The researchers first considered the girl to have other health conditions that could cause the facial flushing and heat and redness, including </div><div><b><span style="color: #444444;">seborrheic dermatitis</span></b> (not the case as her skin showed no scales and flakes), relapsing <b><span style="color: #444444;">poly</span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><b>chondritis</b> </span>(inflammation of the nose and ear cartilage and other connective tissues in many organs, causing them to become inflamed and tender), <b><span style="color: #444444;">chondroder</span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><b>matitis </b><b>nodularis chronica helicis</b></span>, (another inflammatory condition affecting the ears). They ruled out contact dermatitis as well as photosensitivity, because the redness also calmed down again spontaneously, which is not usually seen with contact dermatitis and photosensitivity unless it is treated. The researchers especially suspected<span><span><span style="color: #f4cccc;"> </span></span></span><span><span><b><span style="color: #444444;">facial flushing</span></b></span><span style="color: #f4cccc;"> </span></span>to be a factor in this girls symptoms. But they stated that facial flushing is usually a symptom of an underlying medical condition or reaction to certain substance, like alcohol, drugs, allergy, emotions, exercise, food additives, skin disorders, etc. <i>"Patients with facial flushing experience a suddenly facial reddening, feel hot face, and always associate with other symptoms relating with the nosogenesis. The reddening may extend to the neck and upper chest, even the whole body, <b><span style="color: #444444;">but the patients lack cutaneous pain</span></b>. Harlequin syndrome is a benign condition showing a sudden onset of unilateral facial flushing and sweating, the present case lacked sweating and showed symmetrically facial redness associated with pain and warmth, Harlequin syndrome can also be excluded." </i></div><div><br />The doctors came finally to the conclusion that this patient had a rare form of erythermalgia (erythromelalgia). They also considered the option of Red Ear Syndrome (RES). Normally patients with this condition also suffer from red hot feet and hands. Not just a red hot face and ears. But in this case, doctors diagnosed her with a special form of erythromelalgia, that only affected her face and ears. They found out that the symptoms went down a bit (but not fully) after the patient was given oral antihistamine medication. The same happened when they applied topical steroid cream on her skin (be veeeery careful with this as a rosacea patient!! Steroid creams can worsen rosacea or even cause it in sensitive people with a predisposition for blushing and burning). Doctors also found that her skin improved mildly from a cream called Protopic (tacrolimus). However, what really helped control all these patients symptoms, was a combination treatment of aspirin and paroxetin; an SSRI type of antidepressant, also known under the names Paxil and Seroxat. Her face flushing and redness also improved markedly after having been treated with oral gabapentin (a nerve pain medication), and indomethacin (a non-steroid anti inflammatory drug), and topical lidocaine compounds (a local anesthetic (numbing medication) and cold masque for 3 days; but 2 weeks after she stopped using these three medications her symptoms returned. She was then treated with the aspirin 0.1, twice a day; paroxetine 10 mg daily, which resulted in complete disappearance of her symptoms after having been treated for 2 weeks. Without any treatment, the patient remained symptom free for 6 months and was still under follow-up. There are many treatment options for EM, but none work for everyone and they all have varying response success. No treatment is consistently effective, and to predict the efficacy for a specific treatment is also impossible.</div><div><br /></div><div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicM_3ZtOQ5J2m0w8SASoNd1TTevwMPHOmOlSpYGjVJiWRw44qIIOZn5dxA4J8ZW5nPsi4id2er8xTAg_9W_HymJ-poqM1DK4opXD5XOwETZ9uE27u_sDLdGBt_PlGurW1vESLM9iqwvoNUUpuNFezzFYZssIJsAWQ6GOUMHjcRDlYd9oiBmA__J5RlYXnu/s482/345d6fb20d8e4fc4f8014a7bfdadced3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="358" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicM_3ZtOQ5J2m0w8SASoNd1TTevwMPHOmOlSpYGjVJiWRw44qIIOZn5dxA4J8ZW5nPsi4id2er8xTAg_9W_HymJ-poqM1DK4opXD5XOwETZ9uE27u_sDLdGBt_PlGurW1vESLM9iqwvoNUUpuNFezzFYZssIJsAWQ6GOUMHjcRDlYd9oiBmA__J5RlYXnu/w366-h492/345d6fb20d8e4fc4f8014a7bfdadced3.jpg" width="366" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Lumbar sympathetic block </span></b>was reported in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24124862" target="_blank"><b>a case</b></a> showing successful response in a refractory EM recently. I will write another blog post soon about these sympathetic blocks for vascular rosacea. Most times, EM starts later in life, often in women's 50's or 60's. But interestingly enough, the case described, and another case referred to in the research above, mentions the onset of EM of only the face to be very young: 14 years of age and in the case of the girl described above 15 years of age. There has also been a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15239031"><b>case</b></a> described by Ramirez and Kirsner of a man who's symptoms of ear burning started at the age of 50. The reasons for the younger age onset for EM of the face remains unknown, but because there are not that many cases of it known, it could also be a coincidence, the researchers wrote. They also think that dilation of the blood vessels in the skin is at least partially responsible for the symptoms this girl had. But unfortunately for us, they conclude that the exact mechanisms are not fully understood.<br />
<br /><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 35px;"><b>Erythromelalgia, or EM </b></span>was first described in 1878 and is a rare skin disorder, characterized by redness, increased temperature and pain of the skin of the hands, feet and only sometimes the face (it rarely also affects the neck, ears, nose and scrotum). These attacks happen on irregular intervals. Its symptoms may be triggered by warmth or moderate exercise, and can be prevented or relieved by cooling. Very much like neurogenic, subtype 1 rosacea thus. It is only very rarely that this condition only manifests itself on the face (and not also on the hands and feet). It could be that people like myself, with facial flushing, burning and redness, have been misdiagnosed with rosacea when we in fact could have this rare form of erythromelalgia. Although it is normal for erythromelalgia to ALSO give red, hot and flushed hands and feet, together with a possible flushed face. I have Raynaud's syndrome on my hands, so they can go white or red and swollen in the cold or heat, but it is nothing like EM redness and pain, for me personally.. Or, it could be that our type of rosacea has some similarities with erythromelalgia's flushing of the skin, and that by further understanding erythromelalgia, we might perhaps also be able to learn a bit more about this still poorly understood problem of facial flushing and burning that can come with rosacea.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;"><b>Erythromelalgia flushing of the face compared with my own rosacea flushing of the face:</b></span><br />
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<span>Maybe a difference between these photos and the ones from myself is that I don't flush on my <i>forehead and nose</i>. I do get red flushed ears however, and red cheeks and chin. And lately my hands (fingers on both hands but especially on my right hand) glow red and hot pretty much every evening.. I have to cool them in front of fan or in cold water. Need to see my derm again for re-check if my symptoms could be erythromelalgia (EM) instead of the Raynaud's Syndrome I was diagnosed with... My fingers don't go pale, only red and hot. </span><br />
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<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj526bPDLzVJtQWPPfiR2EkA58Z1ujSG8jFjxE-KI-x6UPyalOATTOOnfiMkSNqzI7dwDQAt0t0OjQ1pLzVNVgMDIoMgeGmIAki0VwOh0hOFMeFW1I1K4QkqSlAxPjOSyAIQsJseCavyw2U7ARN5RG62ysl2lBBnG71TujqlaNnDvmTlUiigA0g8PvIPmFj/s564/8578c2f1ef785764b8123cdb1b600ce1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="564" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj526bPDLzVJtQWPPfiR2EkA58Z1ujSG8jFjxE-KI-x6UPyalOATTOOnfiMkSNqzI7dwDQAt0t0OjQ1pLzVNVgMDIoMgeGmIAki0VwOh0hOFMeFW1I1K4QkqSlAxPjOSyAIQsJseCavyw2U7ARN5RG62ysl2lBBnG71TujqlaNnDvmTlUiigA0g8PvIPmFj/w523-h422/8578c2f1ef785764b8123cdb1b600ce1.jpg" width="523" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 30px;"><b>In the article above, the researchers write that there have been more (rare) cases described</b></span> </span>in the medical literature of patients with erythromelalgia flushing of only the face and ears, and without the characteristic flushing and burning of hands and feet and legs.<br /><br /></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">"EM includes primary and secondary forms. It is considered that the mutations in SCN9A, encoding the sodium channel protein Na(v)1.7 subunit, are responsible for the primary type, while neuropathological and microvascular functional changes may be for the secondary one."</span></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSyxJB5fcjFAEvjrly3s6bQdaR7DYrLpuZ1naS1cH8_wMzvlUaXHMTWdZtiyt4msJDfW-9bg9sWPwUmr-Q5dTqDNxKR1HvdQ7EDUQctTn8iANMVn0KaueCjvI2ugD07VFeluLc4cg9MfjBlY1In9Qe4huaIf3ICJrsHW0wDDnITbNgovWeq059GIFefT8p/s480/271c16d31a8c340e439edeb88b9acba2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="360" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSyxJB5fcjFAEvjrly3s6bQdaR7DYrLpuZ1naS1cH8_wMzvlUaXHMTWdZtiyt4msJDfW-9bg9sWPwUmr-Q5dTqDNxKR1HvdQ7EDUQctTn8iANMVn0KaueCjvI2ugD07VFeluLc4cg9MfjBlY1In9Qe4huaIf3ICJrsHW0wDDnITbNgovWeq059GIFefT8p/w300-h400/271c16d31a8c340e439edeb88b9acba2.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Red Ear Syndrome (RES)</span></b> </span>has some similar clinical features as EM. It always occurs in one, or less frequently in both ears. Sometimes the redness and flushing also radiates to the back of the neck, the forehead or even the jaw. Its attacks may be spontaneous, or triggered by touch, exertion, heat or cold stimuli, neck movements, stress, cleaning the ear, etc. RES also includes 2 subtypes: the primary and secondary. The primary form seems to start spontaneously and doctors have not found a cause for it yet. It commonly occurs in young people and is associated with migraine, while the secondary form happens more often to adults, and is linked to problems, injuries or pain of the neck disks. cervical disorders and pain or injuries of the jaw joint.</div></div></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i><b>So erythromelalgia can look a lot like neurogenic (subtype 1) rosacea. Especially as in rare cases, erythromelalgia only manifests itself as redness and flushing and burning of the face (so not on the hands and feet as well). The case of the young woman described above showed the exact same symptoms as I have during a flare with (as it stands for now) the diagnosis rosacea.</b></i></span></div>
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And some people with rosacea turn out to have erythromelalgia as well, for instance in the case of AEB:<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">AEB <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?35242-Bright-red-flushes-rash-on-face-and-arms-when-stressed-hot-etc&highlight=erythromelalgia" target="_blank">wrote</a> on May 27th, 2016:</span></b> "I started with facial flushing, which then spread to my ears, and a few months later chest and arms--brought on by stress but most of all heat. My diagnosis is rosacea and erythromelalgia because of the intensity of redness and burning and the times/ways it presents. So you may want to ask your doctor about that too and maybe do some research of your own (since it's rare and many drs haven't heard of it, I've found). The testing can be exhausting but gives you more treatment options and the relief of knowing what you're dealing with!"<i><br /></i>
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<br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIZUdN2TAwkopPXiiQ3BAXCHH89UeXTC5J2Cxa8XlD_WzYbj8gx3zXUcLAFdhxXr-Agn3Qc_QJLDKDRoRrhiBa6zpPVNz5XK7CT_eo_DP1n_IDsWzqj1_wOHf9ln58QjvTx1mBAaT7Ezf2o4jlwgwgVgJHOSxIZ3HLRz7psAAR0Jy3b2m3Xeont6VrYkZp/s706/92ab32ae507901518cacd59fcc527dbd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="564" height="521" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIZUdN2TAwkopPXiiQ3BAXCHH89UeXTC5J2Cxa8XlD_WzYbj8gx3zXUcLAFdhxXr-Agn3Qc_QJLDKDRoRrhiBa6zpPVNz5XK7CT_eo_DP1n_IDsWzqj1_wOHf9ln58QjvTx1mBAaT7Ezf2o4jlwgwgVgJHOSxIZ3HLRz7psAAR0Jy3b2m3Xeont6VrYkZp/w417-h521/92ab32ae507901518cacd59fcc527dbd.jpg" width="417" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;">More patient testimonials about</b><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;"> neurogenic rosacea symptoms and treatment options </b></div></div><div>
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Rosacea Forum post: <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38897-neurogenic-rosacea-my-battle" target="_blank">Neurogenic rosacea; my battle</a><br />
Rosacea Forum post: <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?23891-Whats-all-this-phantom-burning-about-eh-Neurogenic-Rosacea-AKA-Burning-but-no-flush" target="_blank">Whats all this phantom burning about eh Neurogenic Rosacea AKA Burning but no flush</a><br />
Rosacea Forum post: <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38897-neurogenic-rosacea-my-battle" target="_blank">'Neurogenic rosacea -- my battle.</a><br />
Rosacea Forum post: <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?26924-Neuropathic-rosacea&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">Neuropathic rosacea </a><br />
Rosacea Forum post: <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?16585-Gabapentin-and-Pregablin" target="_blank">Gabapentin and Pregabalin</a><br />
Rosacea Forum post: <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?23736-Anyone-Tried-Gabapentin">Anyone Tried Gabapentin</a><br />
Rosacea Forum post: <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?39202-Painful-burning-possible-hormone-connection&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">Painful burning possible hormone connection</a><br />
Rosacea Forum post: <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?39035-Type-1-rosacea-KPRF-flushing-and-considering-ETS-link-to-research-paper&highlight=neurogenic">Type 1 rosacea KPRF flushing and considering ETS</a><br />
Rosacea Forum post: <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37689-Neurogenic-rosacea-turned-out-to-be-Lyme-disease&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">Neurogenic rosacea turned out to be Lyme disease</a><br />
Rosacea Forum post: <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38824-Facail-burning-w-little-to-no-redness&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">Facial burning w little to no redness</a><br />
Rosacea Forum post: <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38651-Anyone-any-experiences-with-Lyrica&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">Anyone any experiences with Lyrica</a><br />
Rosacea Forum post: <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36326-Worsening-of-painful-facial-redness&highlight=neurogenic">Worsening of painful facial redness</a><br />
Rosacea Forum post: <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36855-Please-please-help-Burning-sooo-bad!&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">Please please help Burning sooo bad!</a><br />
Rosacea Forum post: <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34431-Anyone-have-Neurogenic-Rosacea-(nose-swelling)&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">Anyone have Neurogenic Rosacea (nose swelling)</a><br />
Rosacea Forum post: <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?33272-Could-this-be-Rosacea-Burning-face-never-flushing&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">Could this be Rosacea Burning face never flushing</a><br />
Rosacea Forum post: <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?23736-Anyone-Tried-Gabapentin&highlight=neurogenic" target="_blank">Anyone Tried Gabapentin</a><br />
Pubmed research: <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2768555/" target="_blank">Neuropathic Pain - A Maladaptive Response of the Nervous System to Damage</a><div>
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<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Os6jsGfy2uO9kFrS2XTY4B4kT1yXVATdzUOnJgAt8B6u-XuJxX4HS6DYkpw55I4nW9Z6YrzTsTZ40_AUAz2H1bCPj8c8gxdPZQaKl5OVAkX_nZ4Zwab5IxeyD4MMzMR2ch-tdvi-5L2YO6eHZe9ZEBAMEsXAH8xFiR7KGwoPSRT0ugzMURSsvx4KCdIz/s889/68a884929354ccbd31bed9af4bdc1d8a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="889" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Os6jsGfy2uO9kFrS2XTY4B4kT1yXVATdzUOnJgAt8B6u-XuJxX4HS6DYkpw55I4nW9Z6YrzTsTZ40_AUAz2H1bCPj8c8gxdPZQaKl5OVAkX_nZ4Zwab5IxeyD4MMzMR2ch-tdvi-5L2YO6eHZe9ZEBAMEsXAH8xFiR7KGwoPSRT0ugzMURSsvx4KCdIz/s320/68a884929354ccbd31bed9af4bdc1d8a.jpg" width="203" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 42px;">Other interesting links</b></div>
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David Pascoe,<a href="https://rosacea-support.org/how-do-you-treat-neurogenic-rosacea.html" target="_blank"> 'How Do You Treat Neurogenic Rosacea?'</a></div>
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David Pascoe, <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/neuropeptide-pacap-modulators-for-neurogenic-rosacea.html/comment-page-1#comment-51071" target="_blank">'Neuropeptide PACAP Modulators for Neurogenic Rosacea'</a></div>
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<a href="https://f1000.com/prime/8839957" target="_blank">Neurogenic rosacea: a distinct clinical subtype requiring a modified approach to treatment.</a></div>
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Laser_cat:<a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38897-neurogenic-rosacea-my-battle" target="_blank"> 'Neurogenic rosacea -- my battle.</a></div>
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Pubmed research: <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1810425/" target="_blank">Mechanisms of neuropathic pain</a></div>
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<a href="https://myelitis.org/resources/medical-approach-to-the-management-of-neuropathic-pain/" target="_blank">Medical Approach to the Management of Neuropathic Pain</a><br /><br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNvJnyV2KLqUN7JNzPGwEyeyTrTjn6WJgadxkHGD-eB5MboaN9ZnGn_GytN5AxXlH_GXsqqULfx6Gw6OoHN-2uKi7p-217kR7wXV4UFMVqjLsY9UiU4npt3EBWvN9TlBxCB4Q_wrSlHCXSYjG84eA9YlhatmSdBY5wBRnRDroGmlgHpRNe52lIrqJv1F_g/s532/8602f570164a2cfdafad002759fc9e84.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="400" height="554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNvJnyV2KLqUN7JNzPGwEyeyTrTjn6WJgadxkHGD-eB5MboaN9ZnGn_GytN5AxXlH_GXsqqULfx6Gw6OoHN-2uKi7p-217kR7wXV4UFMVqjLsY9UiU4npt3EBWvN9TlBxCB4Q_wrSlHCXSYjG84eA9YlhatmSdBY5wBRnRDroGmlgHpRNe52lIrqJv1F_g/w417-h554/8602f570164a2cfdafad002759fc9e84.jpg" width="417" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">In this post on a special</b><b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;"><br /><a href="https://www.livingwitherythromelalgia.org/" target="_blank">erythromelalgia site</a>, Ocker wrote in October 2013:</b></div><div>"Just wondering if anyone else has experience with face and neck flushes? I seem to now also be getting<b> <span style="color: #444444;">very red cheeks, face</span></b> and neck. Comes and goes. Also red ears. (This is on top of the usual feet/hands burning). If you do, is there anything you used that helped cleared it up? [..] Like tonight for example - very cold night. Feet are fine but cheeks are burning... Thanks in advance, Craig"<br /><span><br /><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Mads replied in October 2013:</b></span></span> "Hi Ocker, Yes, I get flushes or flaring of face, neck, ears and scalp. My EM started in my right knee, then feet etc.working its way up my body rather like a fungus spreading.. I had very acute onset (2-3 months), which has now remained completely widespread and chronic(8 months now). I'm struggling. Really struggling! Most research states EM is progressive. To help minimize - very difficult and very much trial/error. Depends what you respond to - all of us need an individualized poly-pharmacy approach. I responded moderately to lidocaine so 'theoretically' my EM is linked to sodium channel blockers or analogs of such like mexiletine. Other folk respond to serotonin antagonists. I have listed things that i have tried with/without luck in my profile section. This is an awful thing isn't it. Do you know what type of EM you might have? Mine is primary, idiopathic, God bless. Please pm me if you wish to offload/chat about symptoms etc. Hoping you have a 'comfortable' night as possible. Mads"</div></div></div><div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Clarissajo </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">replied</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> in October 2013: </span></b>"Ocker, I too have this occur frequently.... EM can hit me in the face, ears, and chest as well as arms, hands, feet, legs. Unfortunately I don't know anything about pharmaceuticals for EM, my doctors have only suggested <b><span style="color: #444444;">aspirin</span></b>, which I cannot take for other reasons. I'm interested in learning more about possible meds for this condition. I do keep feet elevated and try to stay as cool as possible. [..] I currently take Lyrica (pregabalin) which has similar effects. I didn't realize that it was so similar to gabapentin until very recently.... apparently a lot of people take either gabapentin OR lyrica, and usually choose gabapentin because it's less expensive. My neurologist is prescribing the Lyrica plus Cymbalta because that combo is very effective against my fibromyalgia pain, and also she says the Lyrica helps prevent seizures which I have a tendency to have. Thanks again!Take care, JoAnn"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Gaga replied in October 2013: </span></b>"<b><span style="color: #444444;">Mine started with my face and ears</span></b>. I had that for about 2 years. I was sure I must have Lupus due to other symptoms but doctors just said I had red face syndrome and red ear syndrome. The ears are so touchy sore that just my hair touching the tops of my ears feels like my ears are raw skin. When my cheeks get real bright which is every day, several times and sometimes constantly for days, I look like a clown. I get so explosively hot and my head sweats too. My feet started about 2 years ago. My feet also go numb due to Spinal Stenosis but they are sore. My big toes and the foot just behind the big toe hurt so bad and are so sore. The soles of my feet are deep red even when the hot feeling eases off. The only help I've had with my feet is to rub with a menthol liniment to give a false cool feeling and then turn a fan on them. Wetting my head with cool water sometimes eases the warmth of my face but not my ears. Today it felt like the heat was attacking my spine. This is just awful."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">LibbyK replied in October 2013: </span></b>"I've been having persistent redness and occasional episodes of heat in my face - mostly nose and upper cheeks. We thought it could be lupus but my ANA test was fine. I suspect it may be rosacea with an EM flare here and there. I've been using only products for sensitive skin (helps a little as I do have dry, sensitive skin) and wearing makeup to cover the red when I go out. I haven't tried any drugs."</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0jtx3lJ2xGpxM_73IdnwIK0biVEPGQVpyi0xx4BIA10LisczcWOSkcjQ-xoVQJle1R-fhz8sd44dMT5Lc9bUQwL9GH2xZZlmee4tjkrrbAv0NgfAUNqy0FBpouj_4xAqz3e5eUI7ZPjLQHZbINibQNpbFnJNDqvohAcs7Wg1vl-YJNvohhzIpcORKgV6y/s620/bb0c753c295291e9b0865ea35363fe62.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="415" height="509" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0jtx3lJ2xGpxM_73IdnwIK0biVEPGQVpyi0xx4BIA10LisczcWOSkcjQ-xoVQJle1R-fhz8sd44dMT5Lc9bUQwL9GH2xZZlmee4tjkrrbAv0NgfAUNqy0FBpouj_4xAqz3e5eUI7ZPjLQHZbINibQNpbFnJNDqvohAcs7Wg1vl-YJNvohhzIpcORKgV6y/w341-h509/bb0c753c295291e9b0865ea35363fe62.jpg" width="341" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCR6F4yoEUyZw7Zdgl3vC8poM8vfTwDYyLBJD8orc3O38LTNmta12_bSnyDO5LP7AHg4WLK150bKyHQWFKdkdkx-wYfWyjhEgBKXroIwaYuzty1ifc8ubSxVdjDd9QDsHhxYyP9iGhPVo7/s1600/images+%25286%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;">\</a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Mary replied in October 2013: </span></b>"I’ve had neck and facial flushing for over three years now. There seems to be no way that I know of to get rid of the flushing. It does come and go. What I do take daily to help for the pain is Gabapentin…it works great for me!!! Now when I was in my 30’s and I got Rosacia I used Metrogel that I got from my Dermatologist and I still use it and that helps a tiny bit for burning along with medication."<br /><br /></div>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Alina_Delp replied in December 2013: </span></b>"Hi Craig. I too have flushing in the face and chest but I don’t like to call it flushing I like to call it burning! It only comes with warmth like my EM and only goes when cooled. At first the doctors thought it was just a skin rash like rosecea but it burns like a bad sun burn and very hot to the touch. Like Gaga said just a gentle touch like a hair touching it hurts. Ouch! Take ace and stay cool. Alina"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Flaming replied in August 2015: </span></b>"I have burning in my neck and face. Started about eight months ago. It is very bad at night. I keep a cooler beside my bed and use a gel lack wrapped in a dish towel to cool my face. I tried aspirin when I was first diagnosed and it helped a bit when it I took it at 4 am when the pain was at its worse. I could only tolerate (does was super high: 1200 mg’s) for five night before my stomach pain put a stop to that. I have secondary EM and my doctor hopes that this short trial with aspirin shows that I could benefit from lidocaine infusion. I hope to get that in the Fall. It was my pain doctor who diagnosed me. I think rosacea and EM are very different, so shouldn’t be hard to differentiate for a medical doc. My pain doc isn’t an Em expert, but she could diagnose it. My GP thought it was hot flashes from menopause. Even I knew that was not the case. Hot flashes (and rosacea) do not hurt!!! <b><span style="color: #444444;">{Scarlet Nat: Incorrect; <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/10/how-to-treat-nerve-pain-and-skin.html" target="_blank">neuropathic rosacea</a> does hurt}</span></b>. I see a neurologist today who is supposedly the only person in town (Vancouver) who knows anything about EM. Here’s hoping she can help. First, I have to get the dang EMG testing over with prior to the consult today. If I have anything helpful for to report, I will post, for sure. Take care, all."<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLIOS5Co7fp9qiFnnKd8xMzjNL7KsQxHLXsvW_u-rRMIVzIMbcAVmRsuP-4Hcnh80ig_m5slgoistq11Z7AnAHbMHcTq9rJq2hs4HllgWYy2Roq_SqP6lJlU_fOvGbBG_izU5oBUOmE4JtZGaUZdTwIDPk9q8HsxBuVh7uBzJc1FT_cHdzaoLtti_iOpTT/s703/58f76286af92bdcda605ac136a66983a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="564" height="529" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLIOS5Co7fp9qiFnnKd8xMzjNL7KsQxHLXsvW_u-rRMIVzIMbcAVmRsuP-4Hcnh80ig_m5slgoistq11Z7AnAHbMHcTq9rJq2hs4HllgWYy2Roq_SqP6lJlU_fOvGbBG_izU5oBUOmE4JtZGaUZdTwIDPk9q8HsxBuVh7uBzJc1FT_cHdzaoLtti_iOpTT/w425-h529/58f76286af92bdcda605ac136a66983a.jpg" width="425" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">Anaesthetic injection could ease hot flushes and flushing</b><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Injecting a local anaesthetic into the neck is associated with a 50% reduction in hot flushes among women with moderate to severe symptoms. They can also help curb facial flushing.<br /><br /></b></span></div>
A shot in the neck may curb extreme hot flushes associated with menopause, a small new study suggests. Injecting a local anaesthetic into an area of the neck that communicates with the brain's temperature regulation zone was associated with a 50% reduction in hot flushes among women with moderate to severe symptoms, the researchers reported. Since research over the last decade has suggested that taking hormone replacement therapy to control menopausal symptoms may be associated with increased risk for heart disease and cancer, many women have been searching for a safe and effective non-hormonal means of reducing hot flushes. The anesthetic treatment isn't designed for everyone with hot flushes. It's intended for those struggling with truly troubling hot flushes that occur regularly, affecting quality of life, said study author Dr David Walega, chief of the division of pain medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. "This is for people with multiple drenching sweats, women who can't function in the workplace, who have extreme anxiety preceding the hot flash. And when that happens several times a day, we also see anxiety and depression," explained Walega. Some breast cancer patients stop taking their medication – tamoxifen – because it causes hot flushes, he added. I have also read statements from bad flushers who have had this ganglion block recently and who noticed a reduction in facial flushing and nerve pain.<br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><b></b><b>What are hot flushes? </b></span><br />
Hot flushes are sudden feelings of heat or warmth starting in the face and extending to the neck and chest area, sometimes accompanied by sweating and flushing of the skin. They are associated with menopause, but can also occur in patients taking oestrogen-blocking medications, typically for breast or prostate cancer. Walega estimated that hot flushes affect more than 80% of menopausal women. To deliver the treatment, the physician uses guided imaging to inject a local anaesthetic into what is called the stellate ganglion, an area between the thyroid gland (around the "voice box") and the carotid artery. "The patient feels a sense of intense pressure from the physician's finger [guiding the needle], and the pain is moderate," said Walega. "In 30 seconds, we're done." The researchers got the idea of attacking extreme hot flushes by treating the stellate ganglion from unintended consequences of a pain study published in The Lancet in 2007. "Patients reported their pain was still there, but their hot flushes were gone," Walaga said.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">Anaesthetic injection</span></b><br />
For this study, scheduled for presentation at the American Society of Anaesthesiologists' annual meeting in San Francisco, the researchers recruited 40 women between 35 and 65 years old. All were either in natural or surgically (when the ovaries are removed) induced menopause. Half of the women received a stellate ganglion blockade injection of bupivacaine hydrochloride, a local anaesthetic. The others were given a placebo, an injection of sterile saline. Participants kept track of their hot flushes for two weeks preceding the injection and six months afterward. The researchers found that stellate ganglion blockade reduces the incidence of hot flushes by half, especially in women with moderate or severe hot flushes, and the benefits appear to last for at least six months. Subjects also reported experiencing less depression after getting the bupivacaine injections, and they demonstrated improved verbal recall of spoken words. Walega said the treatment is safe when done by specially trained physicians using X-ray fluoroscopy to guide the injection. The stellate ganglion sits near the carotid artery, the vertebral artery and the spinal cord. "Injecting any of those arteries with anaesthetic could cause a seizure and loss of consciousness, and it could do damage to the spinal cord," he explained. As for the risk of radiation exposure from the fluoroscopy, it is equivalent to that of a chest X-ray, he added.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">Resetting the thermostat</span></b><br />Why might these injections work? Walega said he thinks the ganglion may play a role in turning certain nerves on or off. "It's complex and there's so much else we don't know," Walega said. "We might be resetting the thermostat." Walega now plans to do a larger study with more than 200 participants, he noted. Dr Grace Forde, an attending physician and pain management specialist at Syosset Hospital in New York, noted that a large percentage of the patients receiving the placebo also reported an improvement in their hot flushes. "Invasive procedures often have a much stronger placebo effect," she noted. Walega estimated that the treatment, if proven effective in a larger study, would cost between $750 and $1000. Forde, who was not associated with the study, said she thinks the benefits of the treatment probably outweigh the risks. "You can't put a price on quality of life. I personally think it's worth it." Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">More information</span></b><br />
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Learn more about menopause from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.<br />
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<br /><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;"><br /><br /></b></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4DW4cAA-1SmM_FKY88NdsfSnMZzghtjfeBepFruL2zMmvKqjVtTv-oyMnNtyubfuw19ZuwsbdoHztb9T95TPE_cppUSZhQvii5roA3Kh9tTf3zRS_p2Mt4eKuPHjx4rhu0A3ophhc6kgdfwR2L7mTM70aWnhTj-6d4vsCO52RXMAucfqeLNV9DU-ramyf/s633/86622d57dd24b8e5fb6a9f2f2401197e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="500" height="503" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4DW4cAA-1SmM_FKY88NdsfSnMZzghtjfeBepFruL2zMmvKqjVtTv-oyMnNtyubfuw19ZuwsbdoHztb9T95TPE_cppUSZhQvii5roA3Kh9tTf3zRS_p2Mt4eKuPHjx4rhu0A3ophhc6kgdfwR2L7mTM70aWnhTj-6d4vsCO52RXMAucfqeLNV9DU-ramyf/w398-h503/86622d57dd24b8e5fb6a9f2f2401197e.jpg" width="398" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">P</b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 40px;"><b>almitoylethanolamide (PEA)</b></span></span><br />
I was also tipped on the supplement palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) for the treatment of pain, inflammation and even of mast cell instability. I ordered it this week and will give it a try as soon as it comes in. So far I have had bad reports with mostly all supplements however. Only Alpha Lipoic Acid seemed to help slightly, the rest either did nothing (a few) or made my flushing worse (most). But will try it anyway. So what is palmitoylethanolamide (PEA)? It is a fatty acid, produced in the body to combat pain and inflammation, by boosting your natural cannabinoids and protecting the nerves throughout your body. My rosacea is both vascular and neuropathic, meaning it shows itself through constant dilating of the blood vessels - flushing, redness - as well as giving me a lot of nerve pain in the face; my skin always feels tight, burned up and uncomfortable. And when I get massively flushed or more red than usual, it feels on fire, literally like someone threw something hot or acid-like on it. So the nerves in my facial skin have become hypersensitive after twenty years of rosacea flushing, inflammation and swelling. hence, this supplement sounds good so far :) What else? Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) can also be found in soy lecithin, soybeans, egg yolk, peanuts, and alfalfa. However, most of these might not be a suitable option for people with food sensitivities (soy can be a trigger for rosacea as well as the high-histamine peanuts. Eggs can also be a trigger for some). As a supplement, PEA is available in tablet, capsule, and powder form and is considered a strong and safe natural painkiller and anti-inflammatory. More than 30 clinical <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5094513/" target="_blank"><b>trials</b></a> so far have confirmed it can relieve complex pain (but also stated that more large-scale scientific research is needed). <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3500919/" target="_blank"><b>This</b></a> scientific article concluded:<br />
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<i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>"PEA represents a promising addition to our therapeutic armamentarium for neuropathic pain, with potential for good tolerability and a low propensity for side effects."</b></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtw8OV0bJcFN4-vmbL9qUWxTudmjqntp6JrOqQ6-nDrKUPBzpIHV9XnQwAX54w0kKwXOEq5xdmsiiXoa0AjCNduj5mrzpbFx8zgsrH0DS8nbKsa9_cOOpUw0OAYzycknwkUyiBgnRXigG/s1600/DSC09733.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtw8OV0bJcFN4-vmbL9qUWxTudmjqntp6JrOqQ6-nDrKUPBzpIHV9XnQwAX54w0kKwXOEq5xdmsiiXoa0AjCNduj5mrzpbFx8zgsrH0DS8nbKsa9_cOOpUw0OAYzycknwkUyiBgnRXigG/s320/DSC09733.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
It is also claimed that PEA can activate the cannabinoid receptors, protect the brain and heart, improve mood, reduce allergies, and may help fight the common cold. PEA also activates the energy-boosting, fat-burning, and anti-inflammatory PPAR alpha. <b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15465922" target="_blank">This</a> </b>research paper states: "<i>Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), the naturally occurring amide of palmitic acid and ethanolamine, reduces pain and inflammation through an as-yet-uncharacterized mechanism. Here, we identify the nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-alpha) as the molecular target responsible for the anti-inflammatory properties of PEA." </i>In an analysis of 12 human studies, PEA supplements reduced chronic and neuropathic pain intensity without any serious adverse effects. It has to be used for at least 2 weeks to achieve pain relief. PEA was typically given over 3-8 weeks at dosages between 300 and 1200 mg/day. Taking it over a longer period of time strengthens its effects without causing tolerance. Normal dose is 300 or 600 mg/day, however: "At least 600 mg/day may be needed to relieve nerve pain, while doses of 1,2 g/day were used for diabetic nerve pain." You can read more favorable research outcomes in <a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/palmitoylethanolamide-pea/" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> article. One important benefit of it I like to name here is that PEA is said to reduce gut inflammation. I have a chronic low grade inflammatory condition of the gut (microscopic colitis) and it appears that many people with rosacea have in fact some issue or another with their gut and bowels (you can read my blog post about the link <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/12/rosacea-and-bowel-or-digestive.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>). AND also depression! For what it's worth, I am truly not sure if this is really the wonder supplement that article makes it out to be :)</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUU_Ll_s8X_1qxwWjHUN3B6XqmKwaOf8eMH5RHjCuaEeWd68inXqqQT-xDBnhgFNorYL2yE4DRqWnP-Yt25Vowg-YsnGdd6kYn2UFBYpMLE0gqjcIuShXL-yjBfyv5nDqU1QO8bbzhWjNyOPgADaM984m6tFf8SWS5kA4O5JKJD5KDMeGF2gZ2ohZtfLR/s504/e7ed262c2cf902dbe20c46dff0272d3e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="449" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUU_Ll_s8X_1qxwWjHUN3B6XqmKwaOf8eMH5RHjCuaEeWd68inXqqQT-xDBnhgFNorYL2yE4DRqWnP-Yt25Vowg-YsnGdd6kYn2UFBYpMLE0gqjcIuShXL-yjBfyv5nDqU1QO8bbzhWjNyOPgADaM984m6tFf8SWS5kA4O5JKJD5KDMeGF2gZ2ohZtfLR/w404-h454/e7ed262c2cf902dbe20c46dff0272d3e.jpg" width="404" /></a><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">PEA Reduces Gut Inflammation</span></b><br />"PEA was successfully used to relieve symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBS) in animals. Mice with chronic gut inflammation have low PEA levels, while PEA supplements normalized bowel movement and prevented damage to the gut lining. In tissues taken by biopsy from people with ulcerative colitis, PEA lowered inflammatory cytokines and the buildup of neutrophils, immune cells that worsen symptoms and contribute to gut damage."<br /><br /></div>
<b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">PEA Reduces Depression</span></b><br />
"In a recent study of 58 people with depression, PEA (1,2 g/day) given over 6 weeks greatly and rapidly improved mood and overall symptoms. PEA was added to antidepressant treatment (citalopram) and lowered symptoms by an impressive 50%. This clinical study was a follow-up on numerous studies in which PEA improved symptoms of depression in animals."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">PEA Reduces Histamine and Allergies</span></b><br />
"PEA is a safe histamine-release blocker. People with allergies, histamine issues, and Th2-dominance will likely benefit from it. In animal and cell-based studies, PEA improved eczema and skin allergies by lowering mast cell activation and blocking the release of histamine. [..] In dogs with eczema, PEA helped soothe symptoms by reducing skin inflammation and itching. PEA reduced inflammatory substances (TNF alpha) and increased endocannabinoids in the skin (2-AG), which altogether strongly diminishes the allergic response." And there is more scientific info for now... Boring boring! But I want to share it anyway.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEXDl2Da646q1ZQzIhrq1Nj-6sf6x4D3JxjRpG9mvb4yUrXgs33cI9IM3YRtOwXpaJi8Fo8_fBwCfSqwfQd1_wMKGmQXSrQt2o6C4Vb8mij_qTU6e7-9pRPsQVw6Oe9K55JxVk2yVEubiDF9YpYtmKsl3SzIWPO8SYmoT2u5vgHfPfoB5GXQM7wQjgPGeX/s766/92a964876fa90a4a1d124c155cbd9989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="766" data-original-width="564" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEXDl2Da646q1ZQzIhrq1Nj-6sf6x4D3JxjRpG9mvb4yUrXgs33cI9IM3YRtOwXpaJi8Fo8_fBwCfSqwfQd1_wMKGmQXSrQt2o6C4Vb8mij_qTU6e7-9pRPsQVw6Oe9K55JxVk2yVEubiDF9YpYtmKsl3SzIWPO8SYmoT2u5vgHfPfoB5GXQM7wQjgPGeX/w295-h400/92a964876fa90a4a1d124c155cbd9989.jpg" width="295" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTXcDh3FgCqGLHOqVa0hKVNm_GG_Xw-eIDWJeXFNsbQ_IjNkSE7C-sO37xteNYtZhrpLuVZjsaHCjwLjYKzljklTjpxFHiFgfpEPNDPEQZf9uZwLg2-nEOcDrO_zG9Z3JDDeYjoizMUhzRBEnw0h-IHVE-YAEtt2G8hDqq0-C9BIFUPj4g9IAM2fyoxWw/s482/73665ba446690637b7f0627ff2863069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="393" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTXcDh3FgCqGLHOqVa0hKVNm_GG_Xw-eIDWJeXFNsbQ_IjNkSE7C-sO37xteNYtZhrpLuVZjsaHCjwLjYKzljklTjpxFHiFgfpEPNDPEQZf9uZwLg2-nEOcDrO_zG9Z3JDDeYjoizMUhzRBEnw0h-IHVE-YAEtt2G8hDqq0-C9BIFUPj4g9IAM2fyoxWw/w326-h400/73665ba446690637b7f0627ff2863069.jpg" width="326" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;"><b>Blog posts from 2006, when I tried neurontin</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOi2ePE9Mi-XZ7HnWbridi2DYSiR2gP0jlbzqIYsafa6fJroTnrjpNNIMyRrAHWaO8rFVCwBblfjznVaDMmIFG4EQQWZdKeL2hJrKfMSmz1S_N5Kz3E3ed8Slc7JhFZvKHsD-cKLi39A1emRv2TDlqgnAbs3M8iAn6mjUYnKhG30LA5CI4GfFsgEeIo6v/s474/6665d056ff04e29fc5ee9356ce7a875b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="474" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOi2ePE9Mi-XZ7HnWbridi2DYSiR2gP0jlbzqIYsafa6fJroTnrjpNNIMyRrAHWaO8rFVCwBblfjznVaDMmIFG4EQQWZdKeL2hJrKfMSmz1S_N5Kz3E3ed8Slc7JhFZvKHsD-cKLi39A1emRv2TDlqgnAbs3M8iAn6mjUYnKhG30LA5CI4GfFsgEeIo6v/w452-h452/6665d056ff04e29fc5ee9356ce7a875b.jpg" width="452" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_ytgvSd5Yt7Nemd6n4bLTxykg0m-pAvOE0uqe86al75kmJNM6hEvsNed7TYO1ms66isXKDYEVSYj1AZ6gaUqNBQUXWtJFYSDAIkvy9OZq1KubZ5dzf5sqd7kTYGFL4tsXeZxD46MrP_g/s1600/12.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_ytgvSd5Yt7Nemd6n4bLTxykg0m-pAvOE0uqe86al75kmJNM6hEvsNed7TYO1ms66isXKDYEVSYj1AZ6gaUqNBQUXWtJFYSDAIkvy9OZq1KubZ5dzf5sqd7kTYGFL4tsXeZxD46MrP_g/w452-h339/12.jpeg" width="452" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">October</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> 2006: </span></b>I’m having problems with my right cheek ever since I fell asleep on an ice pack :S So silly... I can hit myself for it over and over again, but there's no real point. I felt a flush when I woke up in the middle of the night and took a cold pack from the freezer and wrapped it up in a cloth and wanted to have it on my cheek for only a little while, 5 minutes max, but because of the remeron, I fell straight asleep again (it really knocks you out half an hour after you took it, a real sleeping med actually as well). That happened while staying with friends in Ireland. Next day I instantly felt it was bad news, that affected cheek was stiff and burning and glowing and had some weird nerve pain. It has been one month now and the burning is pulsing, throbbing and almost constant. Nicely accompanied by redness. I will ask my dermatologist next week for a painkiller, but when I read about Lyrica, one of the side-effects mentioned is facial flushing! I know it is only rare, but still…we are so much more prone to such side-effects, with our bad blood vessels..</div></div></div><div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Update: </b></span>just saw my dermatologist and convinced him to let me try neurontin, but My God what a hard work it was to convince him. Got myself sort of into a difficult situation now. My GP is a very nice woman, and open for almost all my requests. I always bring some medical proof to support my requests. I've seen her a lot the last month, due to this nasty cheek, and she just prescribed me an antihistamine I wanted to try; hydroxyzine. Now the assistant would discuss with her today about neurontin. In the meanwhile my dermatologist called, he's just back from holiday. I explained my problems and asked for a 2 week trial of neurontin. He agreed, thought it was a good way of trying to figure out if it is a neuropathic problem or not. Then the GP's assistant called me back, saying the GP DOESN'T want to prescribe me the neurontin, because it is for epilepsy she thinks, and she totally disagrees. That is very unusual for her.. to explicitly say no. I feel that she must have grown tired of my constant demands for this and that, and I'm like a walking medicine cabinet, lol. SO, now I do have a prescription for the drug for two weeks and the green light from the dermatologist, which is most important of course, but I don't want to piss my GP off, since she is a very nice woman and has been invaluable for me over the past years. I don't want her to get really annoyed once she reads in her memo's (they all share it in one electronic database thing) that I DO take that neurontin now. What's best? I was thinking to just try it out, discuss it with the derm. in 2 weeks time, once (if) I can continue with it, let him write her a letter or give her a call and explain it to her. Unconventional medicine it seems, but it just might help me, you know? SIGH! Rolling Eyes Why is it all so difficult sometimes. The derm says it is quite hard to damage nerves, especially when the skin itself isn't really burned or damaged. Which isn't the case with me. But the cheek is still clearly red and marked where the cold pack was and I feel it constantly throbbing and it feels like I had acid smacked on it :( To be continued.. *Ok, I take 300 mg. at night now, second night last night, and when I woke up I was pale. I mean PALE, as a ghost. It has been a long time back since I looked like this. Now, after I ate something and started being busy I am back to my pink cheeks and the burning is still there, but not as sharp. Also I don't feel so spaced out as Wednesday. Have a bit more headaches, but that should pass I reckon. I will continue this drug for at least one or two weeks and then see and evaluate. I will also buy a blood pressure measurer today. Can buy one very cheap, and check it daily.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEQTb2Yzr1z0R0-cR6XP1-QNPPWSO6e6JE5dcZAqwG40jKpQIkNzROY9vf18Yb3C2qeWm1xBU-KrZ3jkyb4jN91FUa_-0eih_Cds8-3yTB2_EWZMl4v5bra6VbE64Kbip3f7Ool4sjwop/s1600/557511_10151081279353996_948630536_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEQTb2Yzr1z0R0-cR6XP1-QNPPWSO6e6JE5dcZAqwG40jKpQIkNzROY9vf18Yb3C2qeWm1xBU-KrZ3jkyb4jN91FUa_-0eih_Cds8-3yTB2_EWZMl4v5bra6VbE64Kbip3f7Ool4sjwop/w421-h316/557511_10151081279353996_948630536_n.jpg" width="421" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Update</b></span>. I have to say first that I don't take too much of this medicine: usually people take up to 1200 or 1600 mg a day as an average, and my doc prescribed me 900, of which I take 600 mg daily now. One tablet in the early evening and one before sleeping. The first side-effect (dizziness, bad coordination etc) have passed luckily, pretty quickly too. I do have to say that I have a bad cold, full nose etc. Together with a long list of side-effects, this is mentioned as happening 'often', in my meds enclosure leaflet. But nothing too bad. I have a blood pressure measuring thing, because another side-effect that happens often is supposed to be hypertension, and I take already another host of pills to lower that... So far my blood pressure if fairly low, the way I want it (I have check ups with my GP and dermatologist every now and then and they agree this is still ok for me): I'm around 98 over 60, still while on this medicine and the diclofenac, which raises blood pressure as well. And the bonus question: Does it still work for my burning and flushing? I think it does. I have had a bad day, but that was due to going to the football (soccer), getting all over excited when my team came back from a 3-1 score in the last 15 (I say 15!!) minutes to 3-4 in the last seconds, so that made me jump on my seat a lot. I also sinned on some chips (BAAAAD for me) and having hot weather here isn't helping either. But I still am more pale then usual I would say and the pain has definitely become less sharp. See how I'll be at the end of the week.(And my team won, yeaahhhh).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5k5iFICLDg6MFpMqHKMnjth0cx8SlwxokP3vpJkHE4ZrMifH0HZkVN8BQruqrwyRjHioEUzGuPcE3B6XXjEbA5HFDGtiLb2beGHJSBieM_PjbXnzZfzbb8Ou4dviqbYGIwRqfv7ZN0LYR/s1600/P3210050%252C5.jpg" style="clear: left; color: black; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="572" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5k5iFICLDg6MFpMqHKMnjth0cx8SlwxokP3vpJkHE4ZrMifH0HZkVN8BQruqrwyRjHioEUzGuPcE3B6XXjEbA5HFDGtiLb2beGHJSBieM_PjbXnzZfzbb8Ou4dviqbYGIwRqfv7ZN0LYR/w305-h572/P3210050%252C5.jpg" width="305" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">End of October 2006</span></b><br />
My face was burning again and stupidly I took a cold pack from the freezer last night, wrapped it up well, but... fell asleep on it, again! Woke up with a pulsating flushed cheek, super red. I took extra diclofenac pills today, to bring the inflammation down hopefully. My right cheek has been very painful for 2 weeks now, even when it looks pale sometimes. The pain goes all over the cheek, from the ear to the nose, so over the cheekbone of the cheek. It is a burning, sharp pain, almost electrical. On the apple of that cheek, my skin has started to flake a bit. I am sure the incident with the cold pack in Ireland has really damaged both the skin and the nerves in that cheek. I have been eating the following lately:<br />
-white beans; cooked and then baked crispy in a pan with oil. It doesn't seem to make me flushed. It has not too much histamine, tyramine or salicylates, or niacin content (B3 - can cause a flush).<br />
-organic turkey meat<br />
-soy beans<br />
-sweet potatoes<br />
-salad, with carrot, coconut oil, green beans and broccoli.<br />
<br />On Sunday I took 75 mg of carbamazepine. My skin was pink by then. At night I had a bad flushing attack however. Maybe I ate too many white beans! When I woke up my right cheek was burning and pretty red. And mt left cheek was red and swollen too. I don't know now if the carbamazepine is helping, or making me more flushed than normal. I also have to consider the chance that diclofenac is making the redness worse... One derm I see says it is fine to take for rosacea, another says that I shouldn't, as NSAID medication can worsen rosacea flushing and he compares it to steroids even (in the way it can trigger rosacea). I don't know what to belief and primarily want the nerve pain gone. because nerve pain means pain signals, means triggering of the blood vessels, means more flushing, means more pressure on the nerves, means more pain. I am getting exhausted by the worries and the constant battling of the nerve pain and flushing. I am actually a bit anxious at this point, a nagging background noise, constantly putting me on edge. I know from experience that anxiety makes my rosacea and flushing worse. Darn..... Also, as soon as I eat something and use my face muscles, the nerve pain gets worse. That isn't helping my anxiety either. My skin is pretty pink during the days now.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Start of November 2006</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-f9fVv-dOCU6huyqVaWanaMK0yeTtcpgT2bnqK02r47E1-lIs3vKCYtLXP1Q__TDYqNDg_zd4U_CmbgxQMzRdhUkADQbbBUawtX5rn-2vSchB1syvzDlVqY1iRbLScXz-58PUr9XNLEW7/s1600/11856386_10153538424318996_3657155313334784824_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-f9fVv-dOCU6huyqVaWanaMK0yeTtcpgT2bnqK02r47E1-lIs3vKCYtLXP1Q__TDYqNDg_zd4U_CmbgxQMzRdhUkADQbbBUawtX5rn-2vSchB1syvzDlVqY1iRbLScXz-58PUr9XNLEW7/w437-h328/11856386_10153538424318996_3657155313334784824_o.jpg" width="437" /></a></div>
The week before my menstruation, my skin was terrible. Red, flushed and pimples on top. I went to a concert of Keane, an English band, on the 7th of November, and my skin behaved reasonably until the evening itself, when I stayed too long in a warm restaurant (oh the embarrassment of looking like a flaming lighthouse and people staring at me), and then in Ahoy I kept flushing. It was hard to enjoy the music.. I have stopped taking fish oil supplements, as I am convinced now it triggers my flushing and redness. High in histamine... fish oil.. I was silly to even try it I think.. The day after I started mexiletine (50 mg) for the nerve pain. The hours after taking it, I looked fairly pale. But in the evening I had a football (soccer) match to attend of the local team in town, and it was a skin nightmare; so flushed and red. I was burning up. I ate lamb meat instead of turkey meat that day, so perhaps that was the culprit. Or the mexiletine.. Once I started flushing, it continued for the entire evening. The next day I went back to my old regime and my skin cooled down a bit in the ays after. On Monday I added a claritine antihistamine to the mix, which made me more pale for some hours (I should say: less red). But after dinner I was red and flushed for hours again. I had eatenorganic beef, potaties and sald. Bleh, what misery this skin condition is at the moment :( The good news however is that the nerve pain in my right cheek seems to slowly but surely decrease. I stopped fish oil altogether. Might try alpha lipoic acid and/or vitamine C supplements soon. I am taking less diclofenac also, I feel I get more red when I take it.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f9l2zyCCFcs/UDWWYqpI9fI/AAAAAAAAAOI/Yy51DItYXnk/s1600/P31900071..jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="504" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f9l2zyCCFcs/UDWWYqpI9fI/AAAAAAAAAOI/Yy51DItYXnk/w295-h504/P31900071..jpg" width="295" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">November/December 2006</span></b><br />
Just saw my derm and he was very pleased and even a bit intrigued it seemed with the latest improvements. He wants me to continue with the gabapentine (neurontin), together with my other meds (YESS!), I was armed with some very bad and red before pics and pale after pics and with medical references about gabapentin working for hot flushes. There were 5 docs there gathered and they were impressed luckily. They wanted to keep the pics for documentation and said I was an exceptional case for them, since I'm the only one in the hospital that has such a bad case of vascular rosacea and flushing. Hmm, what an honor... :/ So far it seems that my strategy to attack my flushing from different angles is paying off. Low dose accutane is still another option, but I can't use it on top of all the other meds I already take probably and besides that, the dermatologist still wants to experiment with small scale IPL and Yag lasers treatments in the upcoming 4 months time. Since my other test patches are still a bit paler (both the IPL one and the YAG). No more full face treatments EVER for me, according to him (he agrees with Dr Chrouch on this one), but IF it does help locally, we will be facing a very long treatment plan...Luckily I don't seem to have to pay for them, since this is a professional hospital and no private clinic :) However, I am a bit skeptical and am only going to try another small area treatment with the machines here, to give it a chance. But my main trust and expectations are with Dr Chrouch, and not this old fashioned machine in this general hospital, where I have the dubious honor to be the exceptional case .. :S The gabapentin (neurontin) definitely makes my face less painful! Especially the right cheek burned non-stop before, no matter if it was red or pale and strong anti-inflammatories didn't help to calm any of that down. Now I only feel pain and burning when I have a real full face flush, which happens every day for maybe 30 minutes, usually around 18:00 when my body temp rises I think.. I found many links for gaba helping with menopausal hot flushes, which are in essence sort of similar to our rosacea flushings (linked to the sympathic nervous system being overactive or out of wack), according to my derm. So that might help, just as the fact that my face burns less and that by itself triggers less flushing. However there are also bad developments: the last 4 days I'm getting big red p&p's over my cheeks. Usually I never have them. And my nose cold just doesn't resolve: have had it now for almost the full time that I shave used this drug. The p&p's worry me the most. Not sure if the gabapentin is causing it. Did taper my dose down a bit today and maybe I will continue to do this and see if the skin get's better. But even on this lower dose the right cheek starts to burn and hurts and throbs again. :( This is not the way I would have liked things to go.. To be continued.. Oh and I had a mega flush after eating a bad of peanuts. Yeh what was I thinking... chuck full of histamine. It went OK for about half an hour after munching the bag full of them, then a mega flush came up and kept me up all night, with fan and cold packs. When will I ever learn. I also find that vitamine C tablets make me much more flushed and red. So exit multi vitamins in general for me. I had also cut down on my propranolol, god knows why, probably just to do something different in hope of improvement, but since I am back at taking 40 mg every 6 hours (so 4 times a day), I feel in general that my flushing is a little bit better controlled again. Although it's still a daily, hourly struggle to control the flushing and burning and redness I should add. I also went out to dinner with a friend and was a donkey, because I succumbed to eating a slice of pizza from her plate then feeling fatalistic about it, I ordered a huge ice cream with whipped cream for desert and wolfed it all down, also tasting my friends tiramisu. The weekend after my skin was a nightmare: very red and sore. I'm back on the health train now, taking 30 mg mirtazapine at night, moxonidine 4 times a day, propranolol 4 times a day and 1 50 mg pill of diclofenac at night. I also started to take fish oil again at night... I am so indecisive there, but I keep reading how it is supposed to control inflammation.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjYtLOr6IPc0KWt2nNA3OeN42jW3LAbrWtlnzszB9x1iFeO79EkbTeav2sL3XAAZTl8ZVcXDzlLhyE7Nbqtd9cHUkONkpdwIwFpo4cNlA5hioCNrUUd5wWOzri9tA0bG9MLlbo1JHRHMqj/s1600/226540_10151462118743996_605997866_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjYtLOr6IPc0KWt2nNA3OeN42jW3LAbrWtlnzszB9x1iFeO79EkbTeav2sL3XAAZTl8ZVcXDzlLhyE7Nbqtd9cHUkONkpdwIwFpo4cNlA5hioCNrUUd5wWOzri9tA0bG9MLlbo1JHRHMqj/w430-h323/226540_10151462118743996_605997866_n.jpg" width="430" /></a><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Late(r) December 2006</span></b><br />
The nerve pain seems back lately and my skin is a right mess. Red, angry, flushed, painful. I'm tied to the house and the fan, what an utter misery this all is. My skin feels very tight and painful. I stopped taking fish oil several days ago, but don't see any effect, so still undecided on that one. My fingers are also red and swollen again. For several years, the doctor (GP) gave me penicillin for it, as a skin scrape (ell they took a round piece of skin out of my finger actually to investigate) showed streptococcus bacteria, but by now it has become clear that they were utterly useless (aaargghh, 2 weeks of pills for years and years in winter): I am having a condition called Raynaud's Syndrome! In hospital they put electrodes on my finger, then placed the hand in a bowl of water and slowly added ice cubes to the water, measuring my fingers blood vessels response. Raynaud's without a doubt. They advised against my anti flushing medication, and in favour of blood vessel DILATORS (shudder), but I said straight up that there is no chance in hell that I will take anything that makes my blood vessels dilate even more. They understood, going by my fire red face at that point. But penicillin is not going to do anything for my red swollen 'winter hands', we finally figured out by now. I just accept them. They're peanuts compared to my throbbing face.<br />
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<i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>The rash continued for a week, before I became suspicious of the glycerin that the shell/capsule of the pills is made of.</b></span></i></div>
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This might sound crazo, but I do have a weird immune system, that seems to react with flushing and inflammation to other substances, like gelatin or latex. I checked with the manufacturer and it appeared to be made from gelatin, made from pork skin. Ahum... I react to that stuff. So before stopping neurontin I decided to take it without the shell and most of the bad acne is gone by now. BUT, after 3 weeks I felt my flushing became worse again and after each dose of neurontin the flushing actually increased for a while. I found out that vasodilatation and hypertension are mentioned as appearing “frequent”, although this varies with different sites on the net, and others say it is only happens in 1% in controlled trials. My blood pressure increased from 90 over 68 to 120 over 80 (I have a little measure device). That is not good. And I've become very suspicious about the vasodilatation. Since I tapered off the gabapentin this week the pain in my cheek is back but hopefully I can convince my derm. to try another medicine. He will call me tomorrow. I’ll ask him for another painkiller: I checked the internet again, and looked for neuropathic pain. There is a special condition, when one side of the face has neuropathic pain, atypical facial neuralgia or something. Anyway: I checked all the medication that is mentioned there. Amitryptiline is an antidepressant that helps often for burning pain, but I used it a little while 3 years back and it made me flush very badly, so no more. The pharmacist later explained to me that it opens up the little blood vessels in the face, so that it was on the cards. There are other drugs, like SSRI’s (Paroxetine, Citalopram Effexor). To me carbamazepine (Tegretol) seems my best next shot. I checked it’s side-effects and they are usually mild and have nothing to do with hypertension, vasodilatation, flushing etc. Rash is mentioned unfortunately, but that’s the case with ALL anticonvulsants, and those are the drugs that can help blocking the pain sensations coming from the brain. I guess eventually there needs to be focus on why exactly my right cheek hurts and burns, even when it looks not very red. I will ask my derm this on the phone as well tomorrow.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkh8KQ_Ld2Bs4K7tVpBqBmEwEQo7HV65Bt1VE3JWyskbOYW4aZ5zfqVgglv1Xcebh9mOYzbn2C7kJt8g-XEiHzkhcotaGnmvBSE0a0FDEbo5NiKOZRObKuZm1othZekkeQ7LA29Xs1mtzG/s1600/61588_10151239911708996_1923453173_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="700" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkh8KQ_Ld2Bs4K7tVpBqBmEwEQo7HV65Bt1VE3JWyskbOYW4aZ5zfqVgglv1Xcebh9mOYzbn2C7kJt8g-XEiHzkhcotaGnmvBSE0a0FDEbo5NiKOZRObKuZm1othZekkeQ7LA29Xs1mtzG/w431-h323/61588_10151239911708996_1923453173_n.jpg" width="431" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px; text-align: center;">December 2006 </b><br />
I've been taking neurontin for about 3 or 4 weeks now and at first it worked wonders, making me more pale and helping a lot with my neuropathic and burning pain. But after a couple of weeks I'm getting the feeling that it actually starts to make me a bit more red and even flushed sometimes. Very difficult to tell though and lately my right cheek is playing up again and has another sunburn-like reaction, so I take diclofenac (NSAID) with it to hopefully calm this redness and burning/ flushing on the right side down a bit... I noticed that "vasodilatation" and "hypertension" are mentioned as "frequent" side effects for neurontin. That is not flushing (which is noted for Lyrica), but still not good news. I wonder why I seemed to get more pale at it initially.. So to be really sure I have continue taking it for some time. When I didn't se improvement and only deterioration, I stopped taking it for some time and I had less frequent flushing. Then added the neurontin again, being a proper scientific researcher by now (or at least trying to be) and yep, within a day and for the few days I took it again, I had increased flushing, after an initial 'paling' effect (that's not a word, is it?) So I'll start trying another painkiller by Monday; Tegretol (carbamazepine). Carbamazepine doesn't have vasodilatation, flushing, hot flash or anything mentioned as side-effect. Flushing is mentioned with all the tricyclics, and my pharmacist explained that this drugs can widen the little blood vessels in the face), modern SSRI antidepressant (which give facial flushing as well often), anticonvulsants like Carbamazepine, phenytoin, gabapentin (or Lyrica) and lamotrigine and eventually certain antiarrhythmics, such as lidocaine and mexiletine. Also there are opiods, but they can cause facial flushing AS WELL (SIGHT................). So for anyone else I would bet on either gabapentine, which is registered as helpful for menopausal hot flashes as well (does something with the calcium channels and regulates body temperature, which is promising for us), or the carbamazepine, which I will try myself by next week, so I'll update on that one as well. They there is Trileptal (oxcarbazepine), which is a derivative from carbamazepine (Tegretol), like Lyrica from neurontin, but Trileptal has a high incidence of facial acne and depression, and I rather give the Tegretol a fair chance first. Besides: Tegretol has a proven track for the treatment of neuropathic pain and Trileptal has still studies running for this.</div><div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsmSEuE0uuWKxmtK7a4Q8xWgpUCamCxGugRqsLl-8R1bNgiL22-9ywI5BuwQNk0jTIwX-a6e1zPQ8p3fOyliDBZU0XzI7i9Yi3zxk2GkMV1NmY1V7xbSwDAntdPFbBgBTEzRZugxXNLd0m/s1600/SN2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsmSEuE0uuWKxmtK7a4Q8xWgpUCamCxGugRqsLl-8R1bNgiL22-9ywI5BuwQNk0jTIwX-a6e1zPQ8p3fOyliDBZU0XzI7i9Yi3zxk2GkMV1NmY1V7xbSwDAntdPFbBgBTEzRZugxXNLd0m/w282-h382/SN2.jpg" width="282" /></a>Also have to add (shamed deeply) that I used a cool pack again 4 days ago and seemed to be back at square one with the right cheek: have a sunburn like reaction going on again, with redness, fierce burning, flushing and even some dryness/ scaling of the skin, so not good. I don't want to learn obviously :( Taking oral diclofenac now to help calm down the burn reaction and am at a low dose of gabapentin. Not sure at all now what causes what and it's a pretty difficult time for experimenting... UPDATE: ok, finally stopped with the gabapentin. It seams to really make my flushing worse now... Don't have a clue why it did work for the first weeks, but I stopped with it a while and then took it again in a three double blind trial mode, and the flushing went up, so I guess it has to do with the vasodilating action it can have.... Sad, but when I flush less I also have less burning and pain, so for me the priority lies with keeping my skin unflushed. It seems a bit like dragging water to the see if I continue taking this med and thereby aggravate the flushing : ( Another small chapter in this rosacea diary....<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kXb1wKq4xKE/UDWWjnt3U-I/AAAAAAAAAOY/zx7ytssKVRA/s1600/03+%25282%25292.jpg" style="clear: left; color: #cc0000; float: left; font-size: xx-large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="515" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kXb1wKq4xKE/UDWWjnt3U-I/AAAAAAAAAOY/zx7ytssKVRA/w283-h515/03+%25282%25292.jpg" width="283" /></a><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px; text-align: center;">January 2007</b><br />Things are progressively getting worse again. My skin is very red and reactive all day and I flush and burn a lot more again. I'm not sure why exactly. I do notice generally that I am doing better in the summer than in the winter. The fingers of my hands are very swollen and red as well and last month a temporary replacing dermatologist wasn't too sure about it and made me undergo some more blood tests to rule out increased ANA levels and some systemic conditions. Last week she called and there was only one blood test back, but it was not good: there are an alarming amount of "cryoglobulines" in my blood and new tests are needed to find out of there is an underlying condition, like lupus or others..I was tested on lupus before, and it came out negative, but she said that is no guarantee and it might have been masked or something. 13 February I have to see an immunologist and he or she we will look further into this. Somewhere I hope something will come out of this, so that there can be something done about my inflamed face and blood vessels altogether. But I have had so many tests in the past and so many disappointments, that I am preparing myself for the old answer that there is nothing to be found and I have to deal with it. To be continued.. I am currently not taking any medication for the neuropathic pain, but I did start with clonidine this week. Instead of the moxonidine I have been taking for almost 3 years. In Holland the brand I use is not available anymore this year and the generic gives me bad headaches. Apart from that I started to doubt recently if it still works for me, giving the bad state my skin is in. I also read about one of the side effects of it being facial flushing and vasodilatation and that raised some alarm bells. I contacted the manufacturers and they tried to find out if the drug causes only vasodilatation to the main big blood supplying arteries in the body or also to the peripheral blood vessels, in the face and hands for instance. They came back on it 2 weeks later and couldn't find anything about it. Clonidine on the other hand does have reports of vasoconstriction of the peripheral blood vessels and it supposedly helps for hot flushes, so I discussed it with Dr. Tony Chu, my doc in London, who has good experiences with it and gave me the green light for it. I have been using it now for a couple of days, together with 30 mg mirtazapine (Remeron) at night, which still works ok for me (for the flushing and as a mild antihistamine and antidepressant) and propranolol (40 mg, 3 times a day, also for the flushing) AND fish oil at night. Will post some bad flushing pics later.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFMjDrfSE9-0X3UnXYfypb-3wtPXEVqEHX2EBbsksljTqWphmGtFOhCNot7V3FG_y4RCM8Xc9wd5OxxETT9bvZHwXgVD0TmjTRTl6Q5ezbMkETFG4oau1g_SJLEd6P90ikVsDVLPBOp3C6fsMu8swvcAodkH8LQyAAVWobf0tSdywpjwqBT74BX8jSaEP/s722/48fcb43edc9161c4b6eaf08462ce7705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="563" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFMjDrfSE9-0X3UnXYfypb-3wtPXEVqEHX2EBbsksljTqWphmGtFOhCNot7V3FG_y4RCM8Xc9wd5OxxETT9bvZHwXgVD0TmjTRTl6Q5ezbMkETFG4oau1g_SJLEd6P90ikVsDVLPBOp3C6fsMu8swvcAodkH8LQyAAVWobf0tSdywpjwqBT74BX8jSaEP/w313-h400/48fcb43edc9161c4b6eaf08462ce7705.jpg" width="313" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi65cNAidx502VWXr0idSMMJ2NKfgr5wilNB2mtqeZP5HRBgprdPfYrmHJ_nfJAzwnlvfWEzVPULVOpo8kGxvEonp2vXXbyWamSxiotMWDgg56EJmal_8_KaqpFw_WruMFfcrY1uA1VWgqe5ynRe5_w5sEoPr1zeLn7wcH2JQ9Yypy-N8CNcxh8wHyi0Qg0/s539/005440e1d68cb5d9cb285679b7a2a028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi65cNAidx502VWXr0idSMMJ2NKfgr5wilNB2mtqeZP5HRBgprdPfYrmHJ_nfJAzwnlvfWEzVPULVOpo8kGxvEonp2vXXbyWamSxiotMWDgg56EJmal_8_KaqpFw_WruMFfcrY1uA1VWgqe5ynRe5_w5sEoPr1zeLn7wcH2JQ9Yypy-N8CNcxh8wHyi0Qg0/w296-h400/005440e1d68cb5d9cb285679b7a2a028.jpg" width="296" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGFuLtLDDrRmR_FAZ6MUG_EV0EZn17iNLt7K4rj_6i49IB1zWNgkCSeEz_mRI87_juwWhElNb_0ifD_IqVez7JCkRIfZFTpYBu4jhVSntVOcjiEh_ZQeyYVTJhyphenhyphenNSAfqdIdahsjr-RdKI0XiY-GN8l9NDxDvmz0Hu6nq9qdkMf8KB9shDrQNpW0AsDQPB/s400/ebf37bdd6a02201fb6ef14623d73e650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="297" height="417" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGFuLtLDDrRmR_FAZ6MUG_EV0EZn17iNLt7K4rj_6i49IB1zWNgkCSeEz_mRI87_juwWhElNb_0ifD_IqVez7JCkRIfZFTpYBu4jhVSntVOcjiEh_ZQeyYVTJhyphenhyphenNSAfqdIdahsjr-RdKI0XiY-GN8l9NDxDvmz0Hu6nq9qdkMf8KB9shDrQNpW0AsDQPB/w310-h417/ebf37bdd6a02201fb6ef14623d73e650.jpg" width="310" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsYKGaoRZL-DXCBGV1zDybOuDWREFX_wfLXvlO2ktO0aKv5b8cp05Gx5c9N8QUGUC4i114nkgTLOyHYA-Dc17bsX7imv-n_BP763KB3wRTrKSNTbP2o0eqnSnUenVuxnIcMK_ax0vRiklYJQZQ_MOKeRO5ZoWflvN7EGD9GcyGstMfMLpyWOaVSBUzSm6t/s797/df817c278187b9e8b40a5f0292e3fef8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="797" data-original-width="564" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsYKGaoRZL-DXCBGV1zDybOuDWREFX_wfLXvlO2ktO0aKv5b8cp05Gx5c9N8QUGUC4i114nkgTLOyHYA-Dc17bsX7imv-n_BP763KB3wRTrKSNTbP2o0eqnSnUenVuxnIcMK_ax0vRiklYJQZQ_MOKeRO5ZoWflvN7EGD9GcyGstMfMLpyWOaVSBUzSm6t/w301-h426/df817c278187b9e8b40a5f0292e3fef8.jpg" width="301" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div>
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<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsLDHj8jN2WA3RrglqAgsJwBoeLHP9kUdMtyEELvHHx30GSffQQQWL7LWI5u84HMK_hIfQJrR8fnKV4B7b28A7-DPw-aK24nwX2d1Juciq5SvoW3uLzgi7vZqYN9uAsrRWiwYDM4z0aKY/s1600/36.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsLDHj8jN2WA3RrglqAgsJwBoeLHP9kUdMtyEELvHHx30GSffQQQWL7LWI5u84HMK_hIfQJrR8fnKV4B7b28A7-DPw-aK24nwX2d1Juciq5SvoW3uLzgi7vZqYN9uAsrRWiwYDM4z0aKY/s400/36.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: 30px;"><b>In this blog post I will focus on one possible underlying health condition that can cause facial flushing, burning and redness: erythromelalgia (EM). I will explain what symptoms it has and what causes this in erythromelalgia and I will also look at the similarities and the differences between neurogenic (vascular) rosacea and erythromelalgia.</b></span><br /><div><div></div></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeFy-96dibCUs5hGpQjhC7q9BrxgZaJMbeHDelwhI4WAqbHSx7wsFb2QHrToD00t9ovCBzam_2X46EpJn0823A4EvkxzAjKm7mXGZQd7-YDEZ9HgfQCoLtWTcDGeGKL6Y8hfTc63FJwZ7j/s1600/eitje+berend+001.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeFy-96dibCUs5hGpQjhC7q9BrxgZaJMbeHDelwhI4WAqbHSx7wsFb2QHrToD00t9ovCBzam_2X46EpJn0823A4EvkxzAjKm7mXGZQd7-YDEZ9HgfQCoLtWTcDGeGKL6Y8hfTc63FJwZ7j/w404-h608/eitje+berend+001.JPG" width="404" /></a><b><span style="color: #444444;"><span>Flushing</span><span> </span>is one of those things you most likely recognize fairly quickly when you have it</span></b>, but to help define it, patients have described it as the feeling of having bad sunburn; like the skin on your face is many degrees too hot, glowing, burning, with heat crawling up. Radiating heat. Swelling, stinging. Some people would say that it feels like an iron being pressed to your face, and the heat coming from the inside out. Often the face turns pink or red as well, but this isn't the case for everyone. The skin can also feel tingling and itching, or numbing. The skin also tends to become very sensitive, to a point where even touching your face can be uncomfortable. Others feel like they are running a fever and are badly overheating. For many people with rosacea, being in the sun can be a trigger and make the redness and potential burning worse. A lot of people also notice that drinking alcohol can make their face more red. Spices and emotional stress can do the same. I think that what makes rosacea typical, is that it can make someone's skin go red in a matter of seconds or minutes, when triggered. This mostly goes for subtype 1, and is almost like a heavy blushing attack. But the difference between rosacea and blushing is that over time the 'blush' from rosacea takes quite a long time to subside. And these flushes become more frequent. And with time, many people also find that the redness of the skin starts to hurt, or feel hot. Sometimes the face even becomes a bit puffy. As I said, these are no strict criteria and rules, but maybe they can help you in the right direction. A dermatologist should be able to properly diagnose you ideally, because there are <b><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2014/05/other-conditions-that-cause-facial_29.html" target="_blank">more skin conditions</a></b> that can look like rosacea, including dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis, acne or the skin redness might be linked to an allergy, or a systematic illness like lupus even. It's up to a dermatologist to make the right diagnosis. [Paintings and art works on this page are made by my partner].</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9OmZF4QSqI8xdM60wv3UW2PDz0S0fIZk2otbf8XoEAB7hs7uzOBStevmtE-eizQTh6DWqtyHOYY_MjEhW-k2kPhS16ZzTuTpemaJlBFiTYyeaR5r1mm5EhYz16YkRxC3RGlD5MDEDAwG/s1600/3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9OmZF4QSqI8xdM60wv3UW2PDz0S0fIZk2otbf8XoEAB7hs7uzOBStevmtE-eizQTh6DWqtyHOYY_MjEhW-k2kPhS16ZzTuTpemaJlBFiTYyeaR5r1mm5EhYz16YkRxC3RGlD5MDEDAwG/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #444444;">
Rosacea as a term is being used for a multitude of different skin conditions at the moment.</span></b> It is like an umbrella term for redness of the facial skin. But a person with subtype 2 rosacea and pale sturdy skin with many breakouts of papules will look and feel different often from a person with subtype 1 rosacea, with intense flushing and burning of the face. Not only do their skin symptoms look different, they often also have different underlying causes. Subtype 2 seems to be more prone to an infection of demodex mites. These patients can see incredible improvement from a course of topical or oral ivermectin or Soolantra cream. (You can read more about this <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2017/09/ivermectin-or-soolantra-as-rosacea.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>). People with subtype 2 rosacea could also have an issue with bacterial skin infections, or suffer from too much sebum. Oral or topical antibiotics, finacea cream, ZZ-cream, sulphur cream, low dose Accutane, diluted tea tree oil and zinc are all mentioned as successful treatment options for this type of rosacea. And yet, they help practically never for rosacea subtype 1 with flushing and burning (there are exceptions where these treatments reduce skin inflammation and redness in subtype 1 as well, but the flushing and burning are notoriously difficult to treat).<span style="color: #b45f06;"><b> </b></span>Some of my dermatologists even wondered out loud if I even have only rosacea, and whether there could be an underlying other illness at play, firing up the relentless and painful flushing I have. My face feels on fire often, and shows it too. After I developed rosacea back in 1999 I would also feel on fire and burned up, but my face back then only showed mild flushing. My parents and friends had a hard time understanding me therefore, as the problem was not yet as visible as it is today, after nearly 20 years of flushing. My redness has become much worse and goes all over my cheeks and chin nowadays. I know of a few other 'rosaceans' like me, who live behind a ventilator to stay cool, who sleep with fans on, who have air-conditioning units in every room and who always have frozen or cold gel packs available in the freezer. We have endless lists of triggers, from sunlight to heat to certain foods or drinks, stress, the smell of perfume or other fragrances. Sometimes I think this is too outrageous to simply be 'rosacea', also considering how very different these symptoms are from 'classic' rosacea with p&p's.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9CLhLGjfhpiElE3Ct9PIDvveqlf9Un_Ak4Nb8f4QkOxwNLUYmtT6IMHIU3jGrCZ5WXAC_Nxx29LZsyCW4w-qCs3KAvGodv0IyBhW_UaTj6NMmYIqoXcJ_LyyUxECqnhY0IER9RGVSv4-H/s1600/34.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9CLhLGjfhpiElE3Ct9PIDvveqlf9Un_Ak4Nb8f4QkOxwNLUYmtT6IMHIU3jGrCZ5WXAC_Nxx29LZsyCW4w-qCs3KAvGodv0IyBhW_UaTj6NMmYIqoXcJ_LyyUxECqnhY0IER9RGVSv4-H/w385-h514/34.jpg" width="385" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #444444;">
One of my dermatologists thinks I have a mast cell problem </span></b>and that different antihistamine medications should control matters. I did use montelukast, Xyzal, oral bilastine, zaditine and ranitidine over time, which reduced my facial hives problem. But some of these meds also make my face more red unfortunately. Perhaps because they are drying the skin? Who knows with these things. But facial flushing can also be the result of a host of <b><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2014/05/other-conditions-that-cause-facial_29.html" target="_blank">other health conditions</a></b>. Most patients with facial flushing will these days be submitted to blood tests by their doctor, ruling out serious issues like carcinoid flushing and lupus. Many of us are also tested for Thyroid disease. But there are many more possible causes for facial flushing. I made a big blog post about them which you can read <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2014/05/other-conditions-that-cause-facial_29.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. In summary, some other possible suspects are:<br /><br />
<b><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: large;">-Seborrheic dermatitis/eczema</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Systemic mastocytosis (and other histamine intolerances)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Erythromelgia (EM) is also a very rare cause of facial flushing</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Lupus erythematosus</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Polycythemia vera</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Mixed connective tissue disease</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Hormone imbalances/Menopause </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Drug related flushing </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Allergies/ Food allergies/intolerance/ coeliac disease</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Keratosis Pilaris Rubra faceii</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Carcinoid Syndrome/pheochromocytoma</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Thyroid problems</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Heliobacter infection/ SIBO </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Photosensitivity </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Harlequin Syndrome</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Auriculotemporal Nerve Syndrome (Frey’s Syndrome)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Flushing with Pseudo carcinoid Syndrome in Secondary Male Hypogonadism</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Erysipelas</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-Other Diseases Causing Episodic Flushing (including asthma, epilepsy and Lyme disease)</span><br /></span></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div>
<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">This girl has erythromelalgia and has burning, flushing and redness of the face:</span></b></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-EL6ikj1zKQ/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-EL6ikj1zKQ?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7CMp4GZe1ic/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7CMp4GZe1ic?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Here a Mayo clinic doctor explains erythromelalgia. Although not everyone who went to the Mayo clinic with their EM symptoms were content with the medical help and 'trial and error' approach to treatment.</span></b></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zYQW-xGjw38/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zYQW-xGjw38?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe><a href="https://media1.tenor.com/images/af386e7e15ba87674c942dea51414067/tenor.gif" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="440" height="265" src="https://media1.tenor.com/images/af386e7e15ba87674c942dea51414067/tenor.gif" width="389" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wQQXWrKXMqXNhVLPXFapSnZ3QptJKX7hx6HsocBrJN5x0QO6XKypjMHxE76gao1whSIgwQInH8f-VIod1FcmjPkx_nzY1kj4-0Do33GtgIUWCjN03MhFNhLFcD0ng_KiE1nrpTkhbf89/s1600/Fransche+les+001.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="407" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wQQXWrKXMqXNhVLPXFapSnZ3QptJKX7hx6HsocBrJN5x0QO6XKypjMHxE76gao1whSIgwQInH8f-VIod1FcmjPkx_nzY1kj4-0Do33GtgIUWCjN03MhFNhLFcD0ng_KiE1nrpTkhbf89/w543-h407/Fransche+les+001.jpg" width="543" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: 33px;"><b>I recently read an interesting <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3976166/" target="_blank">medical article</a>, in which the author described a patient who had come to hospital with severe facial flushing and burning of the face and ears </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>"Erythema associated with pain and warmth on face and ears: a variant of erythermalgia or red ear syndrome?"</i></span></div>
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The article describes how<span style="color: #444444;"><b> Erythermalgia</b></span> (another term for erythromelalgia)<span style="color: #b45f06;"><b> </b></span>is a rare disorder of the skin, that is characterized by attacking of skin redness, pain and increased skin temperature. It mainly happens to the skin of the extremities, which means the hands, the feet and the face. It also can extend to the neck, face, ears and even the scrotum. The article describes the case of an 18-year-old woman who had a 3 years history of redness, pain and warmth of the skin of her face and ears only. Over time, the attacks (of flushing and heat and pain) became more regular and severe for her. She had these red hot flushing episodes on average several times a month, lasting from two to more than ten hours each time, and sometimes the attacks lasted days even. She noticed that the episodes always started on her cheeks and then radiated quickly to her ears and forehead. She did not get scales on her skin and she neither sweated or got a headache during these attacks. The most painful areas were the cheeks. The symptoms disappeared completely between episodes, and left no skin damage. When doctors examined her skin, they noticed skin redness (see picture from the patient on the left). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZie4qdhyjL5IqSHm6GJnc40BxFAiJ7_tO-ew0ySIxvcpJrSj63EoScZ8RdNaCFjX8HEMil26dYp4rWyoGbUM9BG8BjdjioOheEm9mc-SiPz9Dc-mTjJaOE3IoDgnjWdF97tf2FMEpGHHK/s1600/2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1198" height="566" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZie4qdhyjL5IqSHm6GJnc40BxFAiJ7_tO-ew0ySIxvcpJrSj63EoScZ8RdNaCFjX8HEMil26dYp4rWyoGbUM9BG8BjdjioOheEm9mc-SiPz9Dc-mTjJaOE3IoDgnjWdF97tf2FMEpGHHK/w422-h566/2.jpg" width="422" /></a></div>They also noticed that her skin had an increased temperature during a flare and that her face and ear skin was tender. When she cooled her skin, the flare went down again. When doctors used a dermatoscope to look more closely at her skin, it showed that blood vessels inside the patches of skin redness were more dilated during the flare, and that they constricted again when the skin had been cooled with ice. She also noticed that warmth and movement could trigger the attacks or worsen the symptoms while cleaning her teeth, eating, drinking, brushing her hair, touching or rubbing the ears. She preferred to stay in a cold environment during the flares. She also had flushing and pain attacks when she was laying down, at night. This really affected her quality of sleep. In the past, the patient had been diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis and was treated with oral antihistamines, topical steroids and tacrolimus, and cool facial masque. The symptoms had poor response to these therapeutics, except for the cooling face masque. Because of intolerable pain, she had to spray cold water or use a cold masque on her face all day long. She never got red hands or feet and had no history of migraine, episodic headaches or neck injury.<br /><br />The researchers first considered the girl to have other health conditions that could cause the facial flushing and heat and redness, including <b><span style="color: #444444;">seborrheic dermatitis</span></b> (not the case as her skin showed no scales and flakes), relapsing <b><span style="color: #444444;">polychondritis</span></b> (inflammation of the nose and ear cartilage and other connective tissues in many organs, causing them to become inflamed and tender), <b><span style="color: #444444;">chondrodermatitis nodularis chronica helicis</span></b>, (another inflammatory condition affecting the ears). They ruled out contact dermatitis as well as photosensitivity, because the redness also calmed down again spontaneously, which is not usually seen with contact dermatitis and photosensitivity unless it is treated. The researchers especially suspected <b><span style="color: #444444;">facial flushing</span></b> to be a factor in this girls symptoms. But they stated that facial flushing is usually a symptom of an underlying medical condition or reaction to certain substance, like alcohol, drugs, allergy, emotions, exercise, food additives, skin disorders, etc.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="font-size: x-large;">"Patients with facial flushing experience a suddenly facial reddening, feel hot face, and always associate with other symptoms relating with the nosogenesis. The reddening may extend to the neck and upper chest, even the whole body, but the patients lack cutaneous pain. Harlequin syndrome is a benign condition showing a sudden onset of unilateral facial flushing and sweating, the present case lacked sweating and showed symmetrically facial redness associated with pain and warmth, Harlequin syndrome can also be excluded."</span></i></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPy-sgcIh8GFiFESWyfnQd9Z3QJ25TFYrZPL_g5jOkwDch7vCYJDY5kP6VPlQn9BxwDHIdCiF8-C5PZkivi2dEQmLSCwhK6f-Gy_1hNIVcsWZB6iVlvTKet8BUxveJI9i_XjwozfO_y1w2/s1600/1129-2377-15-18-1+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1206" data-original-width="600" height="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPy-sgcIh8GFiFESWyfnQd9Z3QJ25TFYrZPL_g5jOkwDch7vCYJDY5kP6VPlQn9BxwDHIdCiF8-C5PZkivi2dEQmLSCwhK6f-Gy_1hNIVcsWZB6iVlvTKet8BUxveJI9i_XjwozfO_y1w2/w297-h598/1129-2377-15-18-1+%25281%2529.jpg" width="297" /></a>The doctors came finally to the conclusion that this patient had a rare form of erythermalgia (erythromelalgia). They also considered the option of Red Ear Syndrome (RES). Normally patients with this condition also suffer from red hot feet and hands. Not just a red hot face and ears. But in this case, doctors diagnosed her with a special form of erythromelalgia, that only affected her face and ears. They found out that the symptoms went down a bit (but not fully) after the patient was given oral antihistamine medication. The same happened when they applied topical steroid cream on her skin (be veeeery careful with this as a rosacea patient!! Steroid creams can worsen rosacea or even cause it in sensitive people with a predisposition for blushing and burning). Doctors also found that her skin improved mildly from a cream called Protopic (tacrolimus). However, what really helped control all these patients symptoms, was a combination treatment of <span style="color: #444444;"><b>aspirin</b></span> and <b><span style="color: #444444;">paroxetine</span></b><span>; an SSRI type of antidepressant, also known under the names Paxil and Seroxat</span>. Her face flushing and redness also improved markedly after having been treated with oral <span style="color: #444444;"><b>gabapentin</b></span> (a nerve pain medication), and <span style="color: #444444;"><b>indomethacin</b></span> (a non-steroid anti inflammatory drug), and <span style="color: #444444;"><b>t</b></span><span><b><span style="color: #444444;">opical lidocaine</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></span>compounds (a local anesthetic (numbing medication) and cold masque for 3 days; but 2 weeks after she stopped using these three medications her symptoms returned. She was then treated with the aspirin 0.1, twice a day; paroxetine 10 mg daily, which resulted in complete disappearance of her symptoms<span style="color: #990000;"> </span>after having been treated for 2 weeks. Without any treatment, the patient remained symptom free for 6 months and was still under follow-up. There are many treatment options for EM, but none work for everyone and they all have varying response success. No treatment is consistently effective, and to predict the efficacy for a specific treatment is also impossible. <br /><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-_vH8a6g49VXneZOZz0zouDTw-n9XFczZ2vcX1c0rYBHXimpF14kVOY4gzJmcna2xeCbxdgE5su19JuC7zY1-MAtYLycQ5jOIUDUTAsbr70D7DN7NfbTaFZQHtmli8wi2th8tSgeA4oZ/s1600/boekberg+021.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="542" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-_vH8a6g49VXneZOZz0zouDTw-n9XFczZ2vcX1c0rYBHXimpF14kVOY4gzJmcna2xeCbxdgE5su19JuC7zY1-MAtYLycQ5jOIUDUTAsbr70D7DN7NfbTaFZQHtmli8wi2th8tSgeA4oZ/w407-h542/boekberg+021.JPG" width="407" /></a>
<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">Lumbar sympathetic block</span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"> </span></b>was reported in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24124862" target="_blank"><b>a case</b></a> showing successful response in a refractory EM recently. I will write another blog post soon about these sympathetic blocks for vascular rosacea. Most times, EM starts later in life, often in women's 50's or 60's. But interestingly enough, the case described, and another case referred to in the research above, mentions the onset of EM of only the face to be very young: 14 years of age and in the case of the girl described above 15 years of age. There has also been a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15239031" target="_blank"><b>case</b></a> described by Ramirez and Kirsner of a man who's symptoms of ear burning started at the age of 50. The reasons for the younger age onset for EM of the face remains unknown, but because there are not that many cases of it known, it could also be a coincidence, the researchers wrote. They also think that dilation of the blood vessels in the skin is at least partially responsible for the symptoms this girl had. But unfortunately for us, they conclude that the exact mechanisms are not fully understood.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 35px;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Erythromelalgia, or EM</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b></span>was first described in 1878 and is a rare skin disorder, characterized by redness, increased skin temperature and pain of the hands, feet and only sometimes the face (it rarely also affects the neck, ears, nose and scrotum). These attacks happen in irregular intervals. Its symptoms may be triggered by warmth or moderate exercise, and can be prevented or relieved by cooling. Very much like neurogenic rosacea thus. It is only very rarely that this condition EM only manifests itself on the face (and not also on the hands and feet). It could be that people like myself, with facial flushing, burning and redness, have been misdiagnosed with rosacea when we in fact could have this rare form of erythromelalgia. Although it is normal for erythromelalgia to ALSO give red, hot and flushed hands and feet. I have Raynaud's syndrome on my hands, so they can go white or red and swollen in the cold or heat, but it is nothing like EM redness and pain for me personally.. Or it could be that our type of rosacea simply has some similarities with erythromelalgias' flushing of the skin, and that by further understanding erythromelalgia we might perhaps also be able to learn a bit more about this still poorly understood problem of facial flushing and burning that can come with rosacea.<br />
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<br /><b style="font-size: 35px;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Erythromelalgia flushing of the face compared with my own rosacea flushing</span></b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Maybe a difference between these photos and the ones from myself is that I don't flush on my <i>forehead and nose</i>. I do get red flushed ears however, and red cheeks and chin. And lately my hands (fingers on both hands but especially on my right hand) glow red adn hot pretty much every evening.. I have to cool them in front of fan or in cold water. Need to see my derm again for re-check if my symptoms could be erythromelalgia (EM) instead of the Raynaud's Syndrome I was diagnosed with... My fingers don't go pale, only red and hot. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL128Uqca87MJDLII9CPaN7rfDgBk7DQGrpMOvITl4nsP7OJj3KAO2-VmxHdW-rDx8Tdfa2BZ_BH6NksJEhwM2oVlnbk2cDMRs-NSfsNv_pQ0RRiVRL2ska2tL27RilE86696VfkVWKFYu/s1600/foto+courant+019.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1408" data-original-width="1600" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL128Uqca87MJDLII9CPaN7rfDgBk7DQGrpMOvITl4nsP7OJj3KAO2-VmxHdW-rDx8Tdfa2BZ_BH6NksJEhwM2oVlnbk2cDMRs-NSfsNv_pQ0RRiVRL2ska2tL27RilE86696VfkVWKFYu/w524-h460/foto+courant+019.jpg" width="524" /></a><span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: 30px;"><b>In the article above, researchers write that there have been more (rare) cases described</b></span> <br /></span>in the medical literature of patients with erythromelalgia flushing of only the face and ears, and without the characteristic flushing and burning of hands and feet and legs.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">"<i>EM includes primary and secondary forms. It is considered that the mutations in SCN9A, encoding the sodium channel protein Na(v)1.7 subunit, are responsible for the primary type, while <span style="color: black;">neuropathological and microvascular functional changes</span> may be for the secondary one.</i>"</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">Red Ear Syndrome (RES)</span></b> has some similar clinical features as EM. It always occurs in one, or less frequently in both ears. Sometimes the redness and flushing also radiates to the back of the neck, the forehead or even the jaw. Its attacks may be spontaneous, or triggered by touch, exertion, heat or cold stimuli, neck movements, stress, cleaning the ear, etc. RES also includes 2 subtypes: the primary and secondary. The primary form seems to start spontaneously and doctors have not found a cause for it yet. It commonly occurs in young people and is associated with migraine, while the secondary form happens more often to adults, and is linked to problems, injuries or pain of the neck disks. cervical disorders and pain or injuries of the jaw joint.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hasSa952feFRS3zetdYmrb7qSHRZO370Sb4tiEPosb-6OKDw3dHgkuKhuptLnAOMBy1N6BScunnVC_QKeFRVDbJ7ImKVtTcQQv1lqW9Be6OdtAiVCnwTxjCnmexIs_OpBJIFvcImqAIR/s1600/les+insects+et+leur+secr%25C3%25A8tes+beaut%25C3%25A9s.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hasSa952feFRS3zetdYmrb7qSHRZO370Sb4tiEPosb-6OKDw3dHgkuKhuptLnAOMBy1N6BScunnVC_QKeFRVDbJ7ImKVtTcQQv1lqW9Be6OdtAiVCnwTxjCnmexIs_OpBJIFvcImqAIR/w405-h540/les+insects+et+leur+secr%25C3%25A8tes+beaut%25C3%25A9s.jpg" width="405" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>So erythromelalgia can look a lot like neurogenic (subtype 1) rosacea. Especially as in rare cases, erythromelalgia only manifests itself as redness and flushing and burning of the face (so not on the hands and feet as well). The case of the young woman described above showed the exact same symptoms as I have during a flare with (as it stands for now) the diagnosis rosacea.</i></span></div>
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And some people with rosacea turn out to have erythromelalgia as well, for instance in the case of AEB:<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">AEB <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?35242-Bright-red-flushes-rash-on-face-and-arms-when-stressed-hot-etc&highlight=erythromelalgia" target="_blank">wrote</a> on May 27th, 2016:</span></b> "I started with facial flushing, which then spread to my ears, and a few months later chest and arms--brought on by stress but most of all heat. <b><span style="color: #444444;">My diagnosis is rosacea and erythromelalgia</span></b> because of the intensity of redness and burning and the times/ways it presents. So you may want to ask your doctor about that too and maybe do some research of your own (since it's rare and many drs haven't heard of it, I've found). The testing can be exhausting but gives you more treatment options and the relief of knowing what you're dealing with!"<br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxq1A6sSG22zpfIYQPxTaHwnLna82432mJ3WO7rkvDLeYx_5CMiy53ON5Cim04Sh4uAjQqmFbi9eOjnIGvGNywaUedeAQviZvLO-3deSsQW272PSh2BRCvn4yy5BKmMQ8aNYyo09d2bHNs/s1600/DSC00235.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxq1A6sSG22zpfIYQPxTaHwnLna82432mJ3WO7rkvDLeYx_5CMiy53ON5Cim04Sh4uAjQqmFbi9eOjnIGvGNywaUedeAQviZvLO-3deSsQW272PSh2BRCvn4yy5BKmMQ8aNYyo09d2bHNs/w545-h362/DSC00235.JPG" width="545" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: 42px;"><b>More on Erythromelalgia (EM), a very rare cause of facial flushing</b></span><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">Erythromelalgia (EM) is a rare neurovascular disorder that typically affects the skin of the <span style="color: #444444;"><b>feet or hands, or both</b></span>, and causes visible redness, intense heat and quite severe burning pain. It makes the blood vessels of the extremities (mostly hand and feet but also at times the face) episodically blocked, then become overly dilated and inflamed, causing throbbing heat, redness and burning pain. The pain is caused by the small fiber sensory nerves. The attacks are periodic and are commonly triggered by heat, pressure, mild activity, exertion, insomnia or stress. The term erythromelalgia describes the syndrome: erythros (redness), melos (extremity) and algia (pain). It can also affect the legs and arms or the face, nose and ears. Even in mild-to-moderate cases, normal functioning such as walking, standing, working, socializing, exercising, and sleeping may be impaired. Triggers for flare ups can be warm temperatures and even mild exercise. Cooling the hot body parts relieves the pain, as does elevating the affected areas. This is one of the hallmark characteristics of EM:<b> <span style="color: #444444;">cooling bringing relief</span></b><span style="color: #444444;">.</span></div></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b>The cause of EM is unknown</b></span> in the vast majority of cases. Only 5% of patients is said to have a genetically inherited cause. Often the underlying engine and root problem for EM has to do with problems arising when nerves that carry messages to and from the brain and spinal cord from and to the rest of the body are damaged or diseased (peripheral neuropathies). And sometimes EM may be secondary to other disorders like the blood disease polycythemia. Recent research in the U.S. found the incidence of EM (the number of people a year diagnosed with EM) to be 1.3 per 100,000. The rate for women was higher – 2.0 per 100,000 per year – than men, which was just 0.6. The average age at diagnosis was 61 (<a href="http://www.erythromelalgia.org/WhatisEM.aspx" target="_blank"><b>source</b></a>).<br /><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61VJPPgDqBW7KLVLQZXw7VwxDJgx-FgIaNYJ4ynqYcY-tHuQ1hyphenhyphen5j4IOVuikzwiIwOcS5B-6KnKqYfhN9cOJNTHipc-dZOXIt0gyVY_lkICUEu0rYHSfhMMK50CgiudWnDDL40NxcztDn/s1600/la+ville+de+maison+papier+002.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="1600" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61VJPPgDqBW7KLVLQZXw7VwxDJgx-FgIaNYJ4ynqYcY-tHuQ1hyphenhyphen5j4IOVuikzwiIwOcS5B-6KnKqYfhN9cOJNTHipc-dZOXIt0gyVY_lkICUEu0rYHSfhMMK50CgiudWnDDL40NxcztDn/w517-h226/la+ville+de+maison+papier+002.jpg" width="517" /></a></b></span></div><b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Treatment</span><br /></b>Like with rosacea, each case seems to react different to treatment options. Traditional over the counter pain medications or stronger prescription drugs help some. NSAID's and blood vessel constricting medication might help. Anticonvulsant drugs like Neurontin and Lyrica help others. Certain antidepressants like Cymbalta might help. According to the article above, aspirin 0.1, twice a day; paroxetine 10 mg daily help significantly for EM. Combinations of drugs also have been reported effective. For instance, Lyrica and Cymbalta, at the lowest possible dosage, have been reported to be more effective than either drug by itself. It is recommended that people with EM find a doctor willing to help them pursue a trial-and-error course of treatment<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwEFvxO1CW0vD4MbsJSHzcgjleUyGCmx-y9ba5OIT6MNGzdp8zF17mBzRHoAB6kr3Ghopex3Wmxm9fmjxAnppmd-_7Tekmin0hyyjddXG2Jo0r4h8YTh0E2Fsn1JtjzQ7dx0HszSptZwo/s1600/expo+hofland+007.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1231" data-original-width="1239" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwEFvxO1CW0vD4MbsJSHzcgjleUyGCmx-y9ba5OIT6MNGzdp8zF17mBzRHoAB6kr3Ghopex3Wmxm9fmjxAnppmd-_7Tekmin0hyyjddXG2Jo0r4h8YTh0E2Fsn1JtjzQ7dx0HszSptZwo/w491-h486/expo+hofland+007.jpg" width="491" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>EM or Raynaud's phenomenon?</b></span><br />
Raynaud's syndrome also gives red and flushed extremities (hands and feet typically). It is characterized by excessively reduced blood flow in response to cold or emotional stress, causing discoloration of the fingers, toes, and occasionally other areas. They can also swell a bit and start to throb or itch even. It can cause the fingers and feet to become pale, white and cold (usually when you are exposed to cold temperatures and the blood flow doesn't read the hands and feet), or for them to become purple (when oxygen supply is depleted) or red and hot (when the blood supply is up to normal again). Raynaud's and EM can go together sometimes. <b><span style="color: #444444;">EM seems to give <span>much more pain</span> than Raynaud's</span></b> and the discolorations and blood vessel constriction of toes and hands from Raynaud's tend to last a lot longer at a time, compared to the<span style="color: #444444;"> <b><span>short EM attacks</span></b></span>. However, some EM patients report attacks lasting from one hour to a few weeks even. Both can be triggered by cold and heat but EM can flare without any obvious trigger at play. <span style="color: black;">People with EM complaint about</span> <span style="color: black;">random attacks, very red and swollen extremities which can feel like skin burns</span>, yet also <span style="color: black;">itch</span> at times (probably due to the skin swelling and the nerves getting stimulated or trapped I can imagine). It prevents some patients even from working and sleeping and one patient details how she sometimes has to try to sleep with her hands raised in the air, in search of some relief (<a href="http://users.telenet.be/zeldzame.ziekten/Getuig/Get.Erythromelalgia.htm" target="_blank"><b>source</b></a>). Read more on Raynaud's <a href="http://www.raynauds.org/support/forums/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=10&threadid=3327" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>.<br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Tests that you can ask your rheumatologist for</b></span><br />
An <span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>ANA test</b></span> - please ask him to specify that it be done by IFA methodology.<br />
An <b><span style="color: #b45f06;">ENA panel</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b>(includes SCL-70, and anti-RNP)<br />
<span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>Anticentromere B test<br />Nailfold capillaroscopy</b></span> (<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8285382/" target="_blank"><b>source</b></a>).<br />
EM lies within the field of 3 different medical specialisms, hematology, neurology and vascular diseases, which makes it even harder to treat, as very few specialist seems to master all for those 3 fields. You can read more on EM <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythromelalgia" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. And <a href="http://www.livingwitherythromelalgia.org/photo/182?context=latest" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>.<br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><span><b>More pictures of what erythromelalgia </b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>(EM) can look like</b></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FSHDRXKYCxk/U6DkT-4KTLI/AAAAAAAANgo/-uWNjMOSL2E/s1600/181.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FSHDRXKYCxk/U6DkT-4KTLI/AAAAAAAANgo/-uWNjMOSL2E/w352-h263/181.JPG" width="352" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rj5XoAtEfLs/U6DkTWNSVAI/AAAAAAAANgk/4wxQY17RkIo/s1600/100_4760.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rj5XoAtEfLs/U6DkTWNSVAI/AAAAAAAANgk/4wxQY17RkIo/w197-h263/100_4760.JPG" width="197" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jl8DdNaXLSs/U6DkT0KNOrI/AAAAAAAANgs/nmw0nqQ9q1o/s1600/182.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jl8DdNaXLSs/U6DkT0KNOrI/AAAAAAAANgs/nmw0nqQ9q1o/w312-h232/182.JPG" width="312" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MCLkJgwkkzM/U6DkX3vGOXI/AAAAAAAANhY/e9wdcZa__gw/s1600/erythromelalgia.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MCLkJgwkkzM/U6DkX3vGOXI/AAAAAAAANhY/e9wdcZa__gw/w232-h231/erythromelalgia.jpg" width="232" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_AE0Hm__Q_8oJC9jtKIdLvv08WDMeDOiy90IQmdiNEyvrrcHnaiCEIwXohRXBOCw7gkhHT8dwHSPsHy2m48xhIC-J4kwFSKKTd9Q0r4kISy52RtG9RhqluDQ8KjpUUzbp3ggIaVZUHcs/s1600/Triptyque+de+l%2527identit%25C3%25A9+de+l%2527homme+002.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="1600" height="423" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_AE0Hm__Q_8oJC9jtKIdLvv08WDMeDOiy90IQmdiNEyvrrcHnaiCEIwXohRXBOCw7gkhHT8dwHSPsHy2m48xhIC-J4kwFSKKTd9Q0r4kISy52RtG9RhqluDQ8KjpUUzbp3ggIaVZUHcs/w568-h423/Triptyque+de+l%2527identit%25C3%25A9+de+l%2527homme+002.jpg" width="568" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2783047/">this</a> medical research paper, the case of a 33 year old woman is described with what doctors think is late-onset erythromelalgia</b></span><br />
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She has flushing and burning of the face, ears, chest and sometimes hands. Her symptoms, as described below, sound very much like my own severe flushing and intensive lifestyle adaptations. "Erythromelalgia is a rare disorder characterized by episodic erythema and burning pain, which commonly involves the extremities. We present a case of late onset erythromelalgia in a previously healthy young woman and briefly review the literature. Our patient's case also has additional uncommon features not reported previously."<br />
<br /><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><b>Case presentation</b></span><br />"A 33-year-old previously healthy Caucasian woman presented with complaints of episodic<b> </b><span style="color: #444444;"><b>burning pain and flushing occurring in a central distribution involving her face, ears, upper chest and, occasionally, her upper extremities.</b></span> Her symptoms were triggered by lying down or warm temperature exposure and were relieved by cooling measures. Extensive diagnostic work-up looking for secondary causes for the symptoms was negative and the diagnosis of erythromelalgia was made based on details provided in her clinical history supported by raised temperature in the affected area measured by thermography during a symptomatic episode. The patient did not respond to pharmacological therapy or surgical sympathectomy. She was advised on lifestyle modification to avoid activities which triggered her symptoms. She was hypothermic (she had very low body temperature) with a core temperature between 92 and 95°F. She also had premature ovarian failure, which had not previously been reported. She presented with photographs displaying bright erythema from her lower neck extending upwards to her face and head. Her symptoms were precipitated and worsened with lying down or warm temperature exposure, and were abated by cooling measures. She maintained her home air temperature at 60°F. She denied similar symptoms amongst family members, and there was no family history of EM. She was in good health until 2001 when she began to experience these painful burning and flushing episodes. Over time, the episodes increased in frequency and severity until presentation when she was experiencing multiple daily episodes, each lasting minutes to hours. Her symptoms were disabling and she was forced to leave her job. Physical examinations during multiple visits revealed normal vital signs except for a reduced core body temperature of 94° to 95°F. She had dry skin with a diffuse blanching erythema mainly over her face, and loss of her fingernails. She underwent an extensive evaluation which included a normal comprehensive metabolic panel and complete blood count (CBC) with differential. She did have a low free thyroxine level with a mildly elevated thyroid stimulating hormone level and was started on levothyroxine for primary hypothyroidism, but this did not change her symptoms. Approximately 1 year after the onset of symptoms, she developed oligomenorrhea and this later progressed to amenorrhea. She developed premature ovarian failure based on low estradiol levels and elevated luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Ovarian ultrasound and pituitary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were normal. The autoimmune panel was normal including negative antiperoxidase, anti-adrenal, anti-ovarian, gastric parietal, antinuclear, anti-Smith, and anti-DNA antibodies.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUPbe2IL9aX-1hFpv4_fj0G7HAlrTLfFklTLIg06Yu92znm3MQ_RXLkfHt19Nv1qm127Q1JP2OcXDRnZZo2F1lR5hrFrBxQzQqNtwO1opqegLUYrRIF93i9GioxC0zwd3atu2y47JOpVb/s1600/milleneufqatrecenq.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="400" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUPbe2IL9aX-1hFpv4_fj0G7HAlrTLfFklTLIg06Yu92znm3MQ_RXLkfHt19Nv1qm127Q1JP2OcXDRnZZo2F1lR5hrFrBxQzQqNtwO1opqegLUYrRIF93i9GioxC0zwd3atu2y47JOpVb/w536-h424/milleneufqatrecenq.jpg" width="536" /></a></div>Further testing revealed a mildly elevated serum tryptase level. A skin biopsy was performed, showing nonspecific changes. A normal bone marrow biopsy excluded systemic mastocytosis or myeloproliferative disorders. She was started on antihistamines/ mast cell stabilizer, but this did not relieve her symptoms. A trial course of high-dose steroids was ineffective. She was also treated with intense pulsed light therapy without any success. Finally, the diagnosis of erythromelalgia was made based on her clinical history supported by raised temperature in the affected area during an episode, measured by thermography. Genetic testing was available, but it is not a confirmatory laboratory test. The patient was offered genetic testing, but she refused. Our patient tried several medications including aspirin, Plavix (clopidogrel bisulfate), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), tricyclic antidepressants (TCA), calcium channel blockers (CCB) and gabapentin. None of these medicines relieved her symptoms and only clonidine was temporarily modestly effective. Misoprostol was not significantly effective. Surgical sympathectomy was done, but was similarly ineffective and intravenous gamma globulin was tried without success. Recently, the patient has also tried a course of mexiletine. She started with 100 mg twice a day (BID) and this was increased to 200 mg BID after 2 weeks. She showed no improvement and the dose was increased 4 weeks later to 200 mg three times a day (TID). She noted some nausea but no other side effects. After a month, the dose was further increased to 300 mg TID for 4 weeks. Given the lack of clinical improvement, mexiletine was tapered and discontinued. Keeping her at home and very cool provided palliative relief and reduced the severity and frequency of the episodes. She pre-cools her car with remote starting during the summer and then sprints to the car to reduce her exposure to warm air. To date, she continues to avoid any activity that might precipitate any flushing and burning events."<br />
<i><br /></i><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">Conclusion</span></b><br />"Erythromelalgia is a rare disorder of unknown cause. There is no confirmatory diagnostic test; diagnosis is based on details provided in the patient's medical history and physical examination during the episodes. For those affected, this disorder leads to significant long-term morbidity and unfortunately, to date, no definitive therapy is available except for <b><span style="color: #444444;">lifestyle modification</span></b>."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXARNk4as_n5p669unk2yqCt5oWOfxiEuDrBsLyU3ZNsMI8t52qL-oTR87-q3QMg72WVp1eKHV8MPrsxCHwu-Zzl-lJ0Sg0Hih5K3EAfKTRGHT6yBunlu8UGFQ0-ds7XGyUFaYTm5ADiZR/s1600/Livres+d%2527images+1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="684" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXARNk4as_n5p669unk2yqCt5oWOfxiEuDrBsLyU3ZNsMI8t52qL-oTR87-q3QMg72WVp1eKHV8MPrsxCHwu-Zzl-lJ0Sg0Hih5K3EAfKTRGHT6yBunlu8UGFQ0-ds7XGyUFaYTm5ADiZR/w513-h684/Livres+d%2527images+1.jpg" width="513" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">In the article, scientists also state that diagnosis of erythromelalgia is difficult </span><br /></b></span>and that there is no specific test for it. Doctors need to look at the symptoms and hear the history of the patient, to come to a diagnosis. They check for instance for increased skin temperature during a flushing attack. This is something also seen with rosacea flushing however. Many patients complain about their face feeling so hot, they reckon you can fry an egg on it. So there's some overlap of symptoms, therefore... The article continues that once a doctor suspects Erythromelalgia to be the cause of the patients symptoms, he or she needs to then exclude OTHER potential causes of flushing and burning of the face and extremities (hands and feet). Other causes associated with erythromelalgia include <b><span style="color: #444444;">drugs</span></b> such as verapamil, nicardipine, bromocriptine, pergolide, and mercury poisoning, and diseases such as systemic <b><span style="color: #444444;"><span>lupus</span> erythematosus</span></b>, <span style="color: black;">Raynaud's disease</span>, pernicious anemia, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, infectious mononucleosis and <span style="color: #444444;"><b>diabetic neuropathy</b></span>. They continue to write that the cause of EM is not fully known, but that research indicates that the cause has to do with not enough oxygen reaching the tissues because of <b><span style="color: #444444;">a problem with the blood vessels not dilating and constricting as they should</span></b>. Our body normally dictates our blood vessels how much they need to dilate or constrict in order to let enough blood go through the skin to keep our body temperature stable. And something goes wrong in this process with EM patients. EM patients have <b><span style="color: #444444;">too much blood flow</span></b> in fact in the smaller veins and capillaries of the extremities; the face, hands and feet. There is also a problem with <b><span style="color: #444444;">sodium channels</span></b> in the body staying open much more and longer than they normally should, adding to the neuropathic pain problem we see with EM. There is no known cure or all-round treatment. Doctors say to their EM patients that they should avoid their triggers and should cool their painful hot skin (safely, with fans and air conditioning and not with ice), including lifting up painful hot hands and feet, to stop the blood pooling. The authors of this article also mention that they know of several case reports where EM patients responded well to <b><span style="color: #444444;">aspirin</span></b> and intravenous (IV) administration of <b><span style="color: #444444;">sodium nitroprusside and prostaglandins</span></b>. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Surgical sympathectomy</span></b> (ETS for instance, read more about ETS and its risks in <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/10/how-to-treat-nerve-pain-and-skin.html" target="_blank"><b>this blog post</b></a>) has had variable results. Treatment with medications such as gabapentin, SSRIs, TCAs, and CCBs has had some symptomatic benefits in a few cases. One case study reported the efficacy of <b><span style="color: #444444;">sodium channel blockers</span></b> such as lidocaine and mexiletine, however in this specific article the authors state that their patient's symptoms did not improve with a trial of mexiletine therapy. She did have temporary improvement with <b><span style="color: #444444;">misoprostol and clonidine</span></b>, however beneficial effects were short-lived. She tries to control her symptom flares by keeping cool and setting her home temperature to 60°F. "Our patient remains unable to work and unable to tolerate any change in environment that exposes her to warm air." Well, that sounds like some of our rosaceans' lives :(<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimkDpuZc6AXc6E6lVSKAebjr3K31NCMSg2fvP5ojOWPP3BPlD3jggoQLNi5NbxiwL1agp4MTjDEX5y9ZIA9hRHKaqBP5QO7eS0iwxsKqs3uEc_uuU48I_X5kJg_fvoe0z-TojbE5D_Dxi/s1600/foto+courant+008.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimkDpuZc6AXc6E6lVSKAebjr3K31NCMSg2fvP5ojOWPP3BPlD3jggoQLNi5NbxiwL1agp4MTjDEX5y9ZIA9hRHKaqBP5QO7eS0iwxsKqs3uEc_uuU48I_X5kJg_fvoe0z-TojbE5D_Dxi/w559-h239/foto+courant+008.jpg" width="559" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Our patient's case has additional unusual features. Her pattern of involvement is mainly the upper</i><i> chest, neck, face and head area, as opposed to the usual lower extremity involvement. She became hypothermic with a core temperature often in the 92-95°F range. This hypothermia is likely due to her chronic exposure and acclimation to a cool environment at home. An MRI scan of her brain was normal without any hypothalamic lesion, she had no other neurologic symptoms, and she hadn't suffered any head trauma. There was no prior history of body temperature dysregulation or poikilothermia. She had mild primary hypothyroidism with negative antithyroid antibodies. Lastly, she also developed premature ovarian failure, which has not been previously reported. We suggest that her low body temperature may be the cause of the premature ovarian failure." </i></div></span>
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I have been diagnosed back in 2009 with premature ovarian failure too, and reconfirmed a few years later. I always assumed the chronic inflammation in my body was to blame for it, but now I read that constantly keeping your body cold (I have done so since 1999 to avoid flushing and burning) is also being mentioned as a possible cause for this...<div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Forum posts from rosacea patients about erythromelalgia (EM)</span></span></b></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">KRC <a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18568-Its-2009-stop-calling-facial-flushing-and-burning-rosacea%21/page3" target="_blank">wrote</a> on May 4th 2014:</span><span style="color: red;"> </span></b></span>"I am beginning to suspect that I might have something of this nature (EM) as in addition to horrific facial burning I appear to also have burn on my lower legs! The only confusing thing is I also get some of the minor breakouts associated w. rosacea. I am under a little bit of stress as life tends to do and am wondering if a plain old tranquilizer might help me - So many avenues to pursue. I wish the medical community were a little better educated to all of this. As it is with so many symptoms I feel like they just think I am nuts. And any mention of demodex makes them really squirm lol. It is classic as so many on the board have elaborated."</div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Meg <a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18568-Its-2009-stop-calling-facial-flushing-and-burning-rosacea!/page3" target="_blank">wrote</a> on May 4th 2014: </b></span>"You are welcome. May I suggest you take a look the the <a href="http://www.erythromelalgia.org/" target="_blank"><b>EM site</b></a> and if you want to discuss with others who have the same symptoms, join the following <a href="https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/EM/info" target="_blank"><b>support group</b></a>. I think you will find that many people with EM have both rosacea and Face EM, depending on the severity. If your legs are burning, along with your face, you probably have EM. It is primary EM is there is no other cause, but if you have something causing these symptoms, then it's seen as secondary. For instance EM can be caused by peripheral neuropathy, diabetes, lupus, etc,... EM is really a set of symptoms which are essentially red, hot, burning skin that is often relieved with cooling, etc,... More details on the first site listed above. Also, feel free to email me directly if I can be of further help."<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S_D24p0BQJk/U4b2r86ptHI/AAAAAAAAMB8/d8UP1UiQZvE/s1600/olive-ann-alcorn-1920s-by-xan-stark-for-alta-studios.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">GracieTiger <a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?16965-i-need-help-understanding-this-visit-with-derm-NOT-GOOD" target="_blank">wrote</a> on December 19th 2008:</span></b> <span>"I need help understanding this - visit with derm NOT GOOD.</span> Hi all - I just visited a dermatologist for the first time since I started flushing. He is recognized as a "top doc" in this city and came recommended on the rosacea site. For those of you who don't remember me, I'd like to give a brief history of my symptoms. I lived in rural Africa for a year, and about two weeks after returning, I started having a lot of unusual symptoms. the first of which was facial flushing. I had no history of flushing/blushing at all, ever. It started suddenly, and at first, it was pretty transient. More like blushing. Then it progressed to the point that I felt like my face was red and hot all the time. That feeling eventually subsided a bit, however, when that winter began, I realized that I had quite a problem on my hands. When my body was cold, then became warm, I would flush really really intensely for about eight to ten hours. the burning was near unbearable. without a doubt, every single time that I felt cold, then took a hot shower, or entered a hot room, I would have a major flush. It was pretty unbelievable to me that in just a couple months I went from never flushing to major major flushing.along with the flushing, I also had a lot of other problems. heart arrhythmia, panic attacks (no history at all), breathing problems, vision issues, joint swelling, etc etc. <span><b><span style="color: #444444;">Eventually I was diagnosed with having a type of autonomic nervous system dysfunction - POTS.</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></span>Over the summer, the flushing wasn't nearly as bad. My skin got kind of red in the summer, but I wouldn't say I flushed. no burning. Now that it is cold again, however, it is<span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="color: #444444;"><b>unbearable flushing</b></span></span><span><b><span style="color: #444444;">.</span> </b></span>My body temp, during a flush, will go from like 96.5 pre-flush to 99 within ten minutes of flushing. I don't know if this is rosacea or not. But it doesn't really matter what it is, it is debilitating. I used to be a zookeeper and was working really really hard to be a wildlife veterinarian. that dream is shot out the door due to flushing. I can no longer work outside. I used to be an avid winter sportswoman, now I cannot do any outdoor activities. I used to love mountain camping, but now I can't do that, ever, because it gets too cold at night to camp and I flush when it warms up in the day. So, I finally went and saw a dermatologist. after educating myself about rosacea, flushing, blood vessel damage, etc. I felt like I would be a good candidate for some laser treatment. my dermatologist completely write me off.<span style="color: black;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjovm173XmpW3k07WhsHd5T8xrQuB7m-xNJIqMzn3_8wxL2L4Cj_hX5b00h35_YGjiSpLfciIBFNFqEOwf6AzJwvg98s759cAMJBibREazWFfNLwS6sQXrsByWlPuv3pp6joPzB5yTcrmHg/s1600/Livres+d%2527images+4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjovm173XmpW3k07WhsHd5T8xrQuB7m-xNJIqMzn3_8wxL2L4Cj_hX5b00h35_YGjiSpLfciIBFNFqEOwf6AzJwvg98s759cAMJBibREazWFfNLwS6sQXrsByWlPuv3pp6joPzB5yTcrmHg/w412-h550/Livres+d%2527images+4.jpg" width="412" /></a><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">He kept saying that it's clear I don't have rosacea</span></i></span><i><span style="color: black; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: black;"> because I have no inflammation and because I was not red at the time I saw him. He said it is clearly an autonomic nervous system dysfunction, and that he had no idea why I thought he could help me.</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></span></i></div>
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He completely belittled me, repeatedly asking what I thought i would get out of him. when I tried to share my knowledge of blood vessel damage from prolonged flushing and the benefits of laser in curbing that damage, he told me I sound too educated to think he could do anything for me. Again, this is the top-rated dermatologist in my area. that is fine if he feels there is nothing that can be done for me. I was not expecting a miracle cure. but to repeatedly ask me why I came to see him, that was crossing the asshole line. I tried to explain how much I have lost in my life due to this flushing and he kept telling me that my other issues (heart problems, etc) are the ones I should be concerned about. Yes, I agree, and I do worry about those too, but the psychological impact that the flushing has had on my life is far greater than the other issues.<span style="color: #990000;"> </span><span><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span>What killed me the most was when my doctor said he would never want rosacea so I should be glad I don't have it. Whatever the name of what I have is, flushing is flushing!!</span></b><span> </span></span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span>Plus, if he would never want rosacea, then how dare he question me as to why I am visiting him for assistance. Obviously the flushing is pretty darn damaging to me too. I don't know how much longer I can go on with this flushing with no treatment at all. The propranolol helps a little, but not much. I can't even blow dry my hair and straighten it anymore. I look like a crazed mountain woman. Haha, not really, but I would love to be able to straighten my hair once in a while without knowing that I will be red and burning for ten hours. So I am really venting my frustrations, because I am really really frustrated right now, but also hoping you all can help me. Given that I flush, and have been intensely flushing for about two years for hours at a time, am I really not a candidate for laser? Even if I don't have rosacea? Let's say that the autonomic dysfunction is causing all my problems, can't flushing alone be reason for laser? Wouldn't blocking the newly formed or damaged blood vessels help stop the burning, at least? The derm also pointed out that flushing can become rosacea eventually. So don't I want to treat it early to prevent it from crossing that point? And how does he know it hasn't already? Just because I don't have bumps? I didn't think that was a criteria for rosacea. don't many of you just have flushing? And isn't it important to treat it early? Wouldn't i want to start now in order to prevent it from ever becoming rosacea? Soooo frustrated. my doc's solution: move to southern California, Hawaii or Florida. great, huh? Oh sure, let me just pack up my bags now!!! Thanks for listening."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQPxdoj6VOSNfRnszt8QcKnTAXrTtg7flW-uJ-IMcx6aOL3m28csjnbJCSQ3Ym8r325-GI2_JtYhTzaKQ_QctK42KbS5VOnfj_KxCWfwmiVOvdxYO59nv41JSdsW93iWNH3nN5LTIYupZ/s1600/Fransche+les+002.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQPxdoj6VOSNfRnszt8QcKnTAXrTtg7flW-uJ-IMcx6aOL3m28csjnbJCSQ3Ym8r325-GI2_JtYhTzaKQ_QctK42KbS5VOnfj_KxCWfwmiVOvdxYO59nv41JSdsW93iWNH3nN5LTIYupZ/w365-h488/Fransche+les+002.jpg" width="365" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Meg <a href="http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?16965-i-need-help-understanding-this-visit-with-derm-NOT-GOOD">replied</a>:</span> </b></span><span style="color: black;">"Sounds a lot like you do in fact have an autonomic nervous system dysfunction. I have severe and painful flushing that was diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic as a form of autonomic dysfunction. It turns out that I also stopped sweating, which is another autonomic problem. You might consider seeing the autonomic neurologists at Mayo for an accurate diagnosis. Also, I find my flushing to be more like erythromelalgia, rather than rosacea, due to the burning pain. If you have red hot burning pain when you flush, look at </span><b><a href="http://www.erythromelalgia.org/" target="_blank">http://www.erythromelalgia.org/</a></b><span style="color: black;">. Hope this helps. Best regards, Meg"<br /><br /></span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">And also:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b></span>"<span style="color: black;">Erythromelalgia (EM) definitely includes the face. If you look at the EM (TEA) website, you will see they even post photos of people who have EM on their faces. Having a face only case is rare.</span> Most people seem to have the face involved in addition to hands and feet, but some cases also involve the face or even the torso. Any part can be affected. EM is noted or defined as red, hot burning skin that is relieved by cooling. Generally, it is a form of autonomic nervous system dysfunction. GracieTiger, my flushing/EM is face only. I have no symptoms on my hands, feet or other body parts. Just my face and ears. Hope this clears things up. Meg. PS - I have cut and pasted the info below from the EM (TEA) website (note the inclusion of the face under the "Location" paragraph - Symptoms; If you have been diagnosed with EM, symptoms may include hands or feet that are very red to purple in color, are perhaps swollen, hot to the touch, and have burning pain. Location; For some, EM symptoms may appear in the face, ears, knees or other parts of the body. The intensity of the symptoms varies from person to person. Some notice a continual burning pain while others are troubled with "flare-ups" or episodes lasting from minutes to days in length. Triggers; Warm temperatures seem to be the most frequent trigger for EM episodes. Flare-ups are provoked by heat and exercise, and symptoms are relieved by cooling and elevating the affected extremities. Some TEA members have found that foods, spices like MSG, beverages (particularly alcohol) and some drugs can make EM symptoms worse."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQUSgIEQhjkV8XPs0H3gMM2YHQvJJ1Lw-3eU1pu8wsH7bU4TsDj4PNkcwc8yXRq2-8-NvA5O9RIR85G7IZpcpCU8XrpJFvp4gMnxvvkdouDPcGFb1IM_jDbUjiS3KSH9xX86sRU1c3D-hh/s1600/expo1687+010.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1459" data-original-width="1591" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQUSgIEQhjkV8XPs0H3gMM2YHQvJJ1Lw-3eU1pu8wsH7bU4TsDj4PNkcwc8yXRq2-8-NvA5O9RIR85G7IZpcpCU8XrpJFvp4gMnxvvkdouDPcGFb1IM_jDbUjiS3KSH9xX86sRU1c3D-hh/w474-h434/expo1687+010.jpg" width="474" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">GinaK <a href="https://www.livingwitherythromelalgia.org/t/new-member-erythromelalgia-or-rosacea/1028" target="_blank">wrote</a> on March 2015:</span></b> </span>"I have been battling with my condition for about 7 years. I had a battery of tests for allergies, and eventually my GP diagnosed (at my suggestion) that <span>I had a nasty case of rosacea</span>. Now however, I'm not so sure. I am suffering an extreme flare up - I arrived in Australia, Gold Coast, to visit my son, a week ago, from the UK. It was unseasonably hot. Within 3-4 days I knew for sure I was going to have a flare. And, sadly, this has been the worst one I've had for years - in fact the most similar was the first time I had it. There is a very distinct pattern to a flare..so if you can bear with me I'll describe it, as just maybe it might help someone to identify it as one thing over another - ie is it rosacea or erythromelalgia. I can 'feel' it coming..I get a distinctive tingling in my flesh, particularly in my lips and in my 'nose to mouth' creases.<span><b> <span style="color: #444444;">Then my face starts to heat up, and it gets really properly burningly hot, and of course it goes very very very red.</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b></span>It hurts. Then it swells up (in the attached pictures the swelling has actually gone down a bit). That hurts too. This time the swelling went right up into my eye sockets. I looked like I'd been in a punch up. The pain is an intense burning sensation, there's some itchiness, and there's a sort of deep ache..that's not quite right..it's so tender and ultra sensitive, even to just moving around normally hurts in this odd aching way. I manage it by <span style="color: black;">trying to cool it with damp cloths, splash cool water on, sometimes I freeze a bottle with water and use that as a cooling pack - this brings real relief</span> (I am quite careful to not go overboard with very icy cooling as I know that can be damaging, but it's hard sometimes as I simply feel like my face is on fire). As it happens, my son lives with a doctor, he recommended to use ibuprofen and/or aspirin to ease the 'inflammation' and to take anti-histamine as well. I'm taking these as I can't see what harm they can do but it's impossible to know if they make any significant difference. And then keep cool, out of the sun until things get better. Once this passes, I will be using 50+ sunblock (not sunscreen), and I have a large hat. Just to be clear, I didn't spend any amount of time in the hot sun when I arrived and did use 50+ sunscreen as well. <span style="color: black;">This time I didn't get a symptom that I usually do, which is hot, burning swelling ears. But I did have a strange one that I haven't had for a long time, which is a very odd tingling itchiness in my lower forearms and legs</span>. The other thing I do is to use some kind of cream to ease my poor ruined skin. Once the flare has peaked, and is beginning to cool off and the swelling eases, <span>the top layer of skin starts to peel and flake</span>. It's very unpleasant...it is very hard and dry and uncomfortable if I don't keep it 'lubricated' as it were. Most things are too painful to put on my skin at this stage, but oddly vaseline with cocoa butter has been a boon this time. Absolutely no stinging and it has helped me manage the 'shedding' stage much more easily. That's why my face is so shiny in the picture.<span style="color: #444444;"> <span><span><b>I stumbled across something about erythromelalgia in a rosacea forum, and the symptoms - especially the burning of my ears - seem to fit a bit better.</b></span></span></span><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b> </b></span>I will definitely be running this past my GP when I get home. But...if anyone has any advice or help I'd be so very grateful. I try not to let it get me down, but it has a massive impact on my life - there are a few days where I don't really go out, while it sorts itself out. I have had to miss work - I like to think I'm not vain, but I do feel very self conscious about it and can't help wondering what people must think (ie I'm a drunk..I don't drink alcohol at all because guess what...it makes me flush bright red!..). Anyway. Big sigh. I look forward to hearing from the community. You all have my sympathy and best wishes with your conditions xxxx"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Nel <a href="https://www.livingwitherythromelalgia.org/t/new-member-erythromelalgia-or-rosacea/1028" target="_blank">replied</a> on March 2015:</span> </span></b>"GinaK, I am so sorry. That looks terribly painful. I have no experience of rosacea so can’t say if this looks more like EM. I have facial flares but not that severe or extensive, but I have heard a description of facial EM which was much like yours. Which is not to say that she can’t have been wrongly diagnosed with EM. It was brave of you to travel to the Gold Coast and bad luck that they have had such heat lately. I found the Gold Coast and points further north too hot for me even before I developed EM and I haven’t been out in sunshine longer than it takes to get in the car on my driveway for many years. I hope members can give your some answers."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJlipcb48pDcAO2jYBbxjM28ZAqPIRwNrkYU-rC2Xwxl8nj6VYzI_jm8eJxEzYp-8p-9JUJGddotpPsqH9Jj5vFLo9ygBHxd_gVsuULurCxxmPfuB3vaIEk1r7Kp1zoLsJbM1SuCz2Iri9/s1600/Fragen+%25C3%25BCber+Leben+und+Tod+1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="541" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJlipcb48pDcAO2jYBbxjM28ZAqPIRwNrkYU-rC2Xwxl8nj6VYzI_jm8eJxEzYp-8p-9JUJGddotpPsqH9Jj5vFLo9ygBHxd_gVsuULurCxxmPfuB3vaIEk1r7Kp1zoLsJbM1SuCz2Iri9/w406-h541/Fragen+%25C3%25BCber+Leben+und+Tod+1.jpg" width="406" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Sheltielife <a href="https://www.livingwitherythromelalgia.org/t/new-member-erythromelalgia-or-rosacea/1028" target="_blank">replied</a> on March 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"My face looks like that sometimes I was always being asked in the winter where had I been on holiday. People obviously thought it was sun burn as that’s what it looks like and in a way the pain is similar to really bad sun burn."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Dragonfly <a href="https://www.livingwitherythromelalgia.org/t/new-member-erythromelalgia-or-rosacea/1028" target="_blank">replied</a> on March 2015:</span> </span></b>"Hi Gina, I have had EM for about 18 months. A few weeks ago I started to get facial flares when I got hot. I do not have any other rosacea features like the typical facial redness over the nose and cheeks. I drink lots of water and try to keep my body temp down. (This all happened in our cold winter when I went outside and was likely overdressed) I use cool packs on my face when it flares. I was reading about a new type of rosacea called neurogenic rosacea. This new category sounds to me like facial EM. My rheumatologist is sending me to a dermatologist to confirm the diagnosis of facial EM. I already have a diagnosis of EM in my feet. I also have small fibre neuropathy confirmed on skin biopsy. I am so sorry that you having this trouble. Hopefully you can get things sorted out soon. Cheers Dragonfly"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Viking <a href="https://www.livingwitherythromelalgia.org/t/new-member-erythromelalgia-or-rosacea/1028" target="_blank">replied</a> on March 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="color: black;">My EM involved only my feet and hands until I began having terrible flares involving my face and ears during menopause</span>.</span> Avoiding triggers (coffee, red wine, heat, steamed up bathroom, changing weather etc.) is obviously very important but there was and still is a complete randomness to some flares. Once a flare is to the intense state, I've never found anything to stop it but just <b><span style="color: #444444;">wait it out with fans and refrigerated gel packs</span></b>. Five years later it is better - <span style="color: black;">I still have flares but the extremely intense ones happen less often</span>. I don't know why it's improved so can't attribute it to any medication or treatment. I am grateful that it seems to be better but I am chronically apprehensive and spooked by the slightest tingle in my ear lobe or any warm sensation on my face. I am so sorry to read of your condition, GinaK, and hope that you will find relief."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Alina_Delp <a href="https://www.livingwitherythromelalgia.org/t/new-member-erythromelalgia-or-rosacea/1028" target="_blank">replied</a> on March 2015: </span></b>"I’m so sorry. That does look terrible! I can’t say for sure because I don’t have experience with rosacea. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>EM is often misdiagnosed as rosacea or other skin sensitivity at first as was mine.</b></span> This is definitely worth taking EM info to your doctor and discussing this with them. I how one way or another you are able to find help soon."<br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGQc6eB9Cm0rYFkOGD7U6CNjhwsZZytx9TVGgqcbPLv6zF2ANCYGG_3gfe3lzVBxQ1AZczgBRp1OFFGwXEnxFlox1psw9umQNRakTBPT9M4coQU-FU3a_O5ElDDKW2ttotgdul8hITp6W/s1600/Fragen+%25C3%25BCber+Leben+und+Tod+IV.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="302" height="578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGQc6eB9Cm0rYFkOGD7U6CNjhwsZZytx9TVGgqcbPLv6zF2ANCYGG_3gfe3lzVBxQ1AZczgBRp1OFFGwXEnxFlox1psw9umQNRakTBPT9M4coQU-FU3a_O5ElDDKW2ttotgdul8hITp6W/w435-h578/Fragen+%25C3%25BCber+Leben+und+Tod+IV.jpg" width="435" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Lynne <a href="https://www.livingwitherythromelalgia.org/t/new-member-erythromelalgia-or-rosacea/1028" target="_blank">replied</a> on March 2015: </span></b>"Dear GinaK, Your face reminds me of my own, most unfortunately, when I have an especially bad episode. Plus your description of feeling like your face is on fire -- exactly the words I use. <span style="color: black;">In some ways, the burning ears are even worse than the face. Like you, I've gotten diagnosed with rosacea, but the condition has never responded to typical rosacea treatments.</span> Correction -- not to most. Recently I've tried a product for general redness as well as rosacea, and it seems to have helped (I'll go look up the name before I close this note). But because I run "hot" all the time, I usually use it just overnight. In addition, the top dermal layer (one of my dr. calls it the dermal matrix) was apparently damaged by a couple of events over the past decade and a half: first, I mowed through poison ivy unwittingly and ended up with a systemic infection, along with extreme skin involvement ... I blistered badly on my face and forearms. Second, I tried a DIY facial peel product for brown spots ... my face blew up even worse than your in the photos, and now when I "flare," the pattern follows the destruction from these two events. And THEN, I got bitten by a tick and developed a raging Lyme infection. The bite was on my midriff, and the rashing was worst on my upper body and face. I successfully killed off the Lyme, but then had almost a year of trying to resolve the Candida infection that was toe-to-forehead on my skin (nothing internal, strangely enough). That rash again followed the lines of the other events ... which is when my dr. declared the dermal matrix was irreparably damaged ... any rashing was following the lines of least resistance, whether rosacea or erythromelalgia. So maybe I have both conditions (the rosacea was first diagnosed years and years previous to the poison ivy infection, based only on a red nose and one little bump that wouldn't heal; retin A prescribed but it was too drying). <span style="color: black;">But the severe burning seems more like the EM to me</span> ... I've done a LOT of research. Like you, I have what's called the "prodrome" -- the early warning symptoms, and I know what's coming. When I researched EM, I found that <span style="color: black;">some dr. believe it's related to nerves in the mid-back -- though this may be more about excess sweating than EM</span> (even as a kid I've broken a sweat faster than anyone else around me, and it tends to be very heavy on my face -- combine this with the flushing and I often have people afraid I'm having a heart attack!). Anyway, there is surgery that can be done, but it's one of those 50/50 things: 50 % chance it helps, 50% chance it makes things worse ... and it's not uncommon for repeat surgery to be needed/done. To me, it's not worth the risk, although it's a close call at times! As you do, when I am especially bothered by the heat and swelling,<span style="color: black;"> I use cold packs</span>, carefully. I sometimes get relief from <span style="color: black;">aspirin and/or Benadryl</span>. Recently, I've been developing a rash on lower arms (again, location where poison ivy was especially bad) and upper chest. So far, these areas don't get hot or burn, but I wonder if it's just a matter of time before they do. I've gotten so I avoid going places where I'd expect to be particularly hot and/or humid because either of those conditions will set me off 100% badly. As it is, sometimes in air conditioned stores, and in my a/c home, for seemingly no reason, I flare. Some incidences are pretty short-lived, and I seem to cycle into periods when every one of them is severe and lasts for hours. None of this is helpful, I'm afraid, but I wanted to assure you that there are people who know exactly what you go through. When I am regular about taking them, several supplements usually help (both reduce how often I flare, and the severity of flares)." <span style="color: black;">hesperidin and ginger </span>(which is both an anti-inflammatory and a vaso-constrictor). There is another that slips my mind at the moment. Oh, the cream I spoke of earlier is "Facial Redness Repair," by TriDerma. I bought it online when I couldn't get more of another product by RosaceaCare (as I recall) that contains Strontium. [..] I found several articles that link gluten/celiac problem with EM ... and something called small nerve neuropathy. Often someone with EM can be tested and found to have this type of neuropathy which is known to involve the face (unlike the more common peripheral neuropathy of the feet, secondarily, of the hands). And on your note about menopause -- my hot flashes/flushes really amped up as I approached it at age 55, but I had night sweats starting at 39. I am now 60, and I still believe I have hormonal swings that bring on a different kind of flushing vs. the EM ... this despite using bio-identical hormone replacement (but can't tolerate traditional estrogen). Good luck to you ... hope whatever it is you've got doesn't get any worse. :-)"<br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: 42px;"><b>On a <a href="https://melissaannsite.wordpress.com/tag/erythromelalgia/" target="_blank">website</a> called Melissaannsite, the author describes four (young) cases of erythromelalgia</b></span><br />
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She writes for instance: "Imagine being told by a doctor that your child has a horrific syndrome – one that you have never heard of and one that will leave your child feeling like they have been set on fire and then left with second-degree burns. Where do you, the parent, begin? Can you even try to envision this intensity of pain? While not all rare diseases are fatal, the suffering that accompanies a condition called Erythromelalgia (EM) is life changing and can cause severe impairment. Many sufferers are left disabled, some commit suicide as a result. EM causes severe burning pain, visible redness (erythema) of the skin, swelling, and increased skin temperature, particularly of the hands and feet. However, the face, ears, and limbs can also be affected. Some people burn continuously, whilst others have intermittent episodes of “flaring” throughout the day. The excruciating flares can last from hours to days at a time. The disease does not discriminate by age, ethnicity or gender. The exact underlying cause of EM remains unknown. However, one theory maintains the condition results from <span style="color: #444444;"><span><b>vasomotor abnormalities</b></span>.</span> These abnormalities affect the normal narrowing (constriction) and widening (dilation) of the diameter (caliber) of certain blood vessels, which leads to impaired blood flow to the extremities or other body parts."<span style="color: #cccccc;"> </span>(Scarlet Nat: This sounds surprisingly similar to what seems to be causing neurogenic rosacea flushing and burning, as far as we know now, although rosacea - like EM - has many possible triggers that can fire off those blood vessels to dilate). She describes the lives of five young EM patients.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>Sebastian has the inherited form of EM</b>, </span>meaning he was born with a mutation in the sodium channel gene (SCN9A). He has the genetic form of erythromelalgia together with small fiber polyneuropathy. It was in 2009 that Sebastian experienced what seemed to be <b><span style="color: #444444;"><span>a</span> <span>jolt of neurological pain in his leg</span></span></b>. Although the pain only lasted a few seconds, it caused him to fall to the ground screaming. He suffered from episodes like this intermittently over the next five years. In January 2015, Sebastian started experiencing severe burning in his hands and feet along with shooting pains, which limited his ability to walk. His hands and feet were bright red and burned 24 hours a day. Even the touch of clothing on his skin would trigger pain in his body. He typically left school halfway through the day crying in pain. Eventually, he ended up confined to a chair with a bucket of cold water and fans blowing on him all day. Sleeping was nearly impossible. Eventually he was put on a <b><span style="color: #444444;">lidocaine infusion</span></b> to help stabilize his pain. It is quite difficult to treat a child with EM because strong medications are rarely, if ever, administered to pediatrics. He was slowly transitioned to <span>oral <b><span style="color: #444444;">mexiletine</span></b></span>. Mexiletine is a non-selective voltage-gated sodium channel blocker, which belongs to the Class IB antiarrhythmic group of medicines. It is used to treat arrhythmias within the heart or seriously irregular heartbeats. This is a rarely given off-label treatment. Sebastian felt incredibly isolated and alone. Play dates did not exist anymore and he lost friendships. He was a prisoner in his own house. His mother felt helpless so she decided to do something about it. She opened a post office box. Then she wrote about her son’s situation on social media and asked for letters or cards with words of encouragement. Before she knew it, Sebastian was receiving cards, drawings, toys, letters and care packages from all over the world. It put a smile on his face over the next few months. About six months later, in early 2016, Sebastian finally had a treatment dosage that helped the burning subside. He was able to return to a somewhat normal life but with limitations, of course. He must take his medications (<span style="color: #444444;"><b>mexiletine and gabapentin</b></span>) every four hours around the clock. Although his parents are worried about the long-term effects of the medication, they are more concerned with giving him a good quality of life. He still experiences daily pain daily but not nearly as bad as in the years prior to treatment. He is most affected now by heat and fluctuations in temperatures and experiences worse flares in the winter (as do many EM sufferers).<br />
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James Dennee, 7 years old, was diagnosed with EM in 2015.</b> </span>During his first year with EM, he missed so many days of school due to pain that his mother, Shanna, who also has EM, decided to devote her time to homeschooling her son. Vacations are no longer enjoyable because James fears the burning pain he may experience from walking, sunlight, and various other triggers that cause flares for him. <br /><br /><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>Ascanio Guerriero, 9 years old, was diagnosed by chance with EM in 2012.</b> </span>No other family members have EM. It was extremely difficult to get Ascanio officially diagnosed because there are only five reported cases of EM in Italy and no specialized doctor. Life was absolute hell for four straight years. Ascanio could not wear shoes or enter the kitchen when his mother was cooking. He stayed indoors with the air conditioning running during the hotter months. He spent many nights awake and crying <span style="color: black;">with ice packs resting on his hands and feet</span>. Ascanio is fortunate in that <span><b><span style="color: #444444;">mexiletine</span></b> has put and kept his EM in remission</span>. He started taking the medication in late 2016. The only real problem has been the side effects from the medication, particularly headaches. His headaches cause him a few sleeping difficulties and concentration problems.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYB-7hIJE9EUqmB9yeNVA2Fv43_IQ5V4e8D2GOV_oacvsfl3xMpLjiBKzZfbkduaBNePdKTnRU2O52URZAvsOUMziJweumbDHWw_A2etu64hT-CP8dEPdJI_8l9fjJsL2GBPGJoSTERh6/s1600/afbeelding_083.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="276" height="586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYB-7hIJE9EUqmB9yeNVA2Fv43_IQ5V4e8D2GOV_oacvsfl3xMpLjiBKzZfbkduaBNePdKTnRU2O52URZAvsOUMziJweumbDHWw_A2etu64hT-CP8dEPdJI_8l9fjJsL2GBPGJoSTERh6/w403-h586/afbeelding_083.jpg" width="403" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>Chandler Keller, 17 years old, was originally diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) when she was 12 years old</b>.</span> However, her diagnosis was questioned after a nurse witnessed one of Chandler’s flares while she was recovering from surgery in the hospital. It was during her flare when the nurse mentioned that it resembled EM more than CRPS. The EM diagnosis was later confirmed and Chandler also tested positive for the mutated sodium channel gene. Some days the pain is unbearable for Chandler. <span style="color: black;">Her EM has progressed from her lower legs and feet to her hands and face. </span>She cannot relieve the burning without the assistance of a cold bath or soaking her feet in a bucket of ice water. Because of the agony, sleep is always a challenge. Chandler’s physician put her on <span style="color: #444444;"><b>gabapentin</b></span> and she slowly worked her way up to 2,700 mg a day. She has tried almost anything and everything to relieve her pain such as<span> <span style="color: #444444;"><b>CBD oil</b></span></span>, hemp root salve, and several other natural remedies. Her next plan is to try an all-natural whole foods diet. Not a single day has gone by since Chandler was 12 years old where her feet have not been bright red. Her ankles are always swollen. Sadly, her family has learned more about EM from Facebook group forums than from her doctors.<br />
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<br /></div><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">11-year-old Chloe Louise Kuschert was just two years old when her health began to rapidly deteriorate.</span></b> As her condition progressed, the burning became so excruciating that Chloe could no longer function. Her life became overshadowed by throbbing pain and discomfort. Chloe has a rare disease called Erythromelalgia (EM) which affects her face, ears, and hands. The condition affects 1.3 in 100,000 people, and there is no cure. It causes unbearable burning pain, noticeable redness of the skin, swelling, and increased skin temperature. The exact underlying cause of EM is unknown. It’s thought to result from vasomotor abnormalities or dysfunction in the normal constriction and dilation of the caliber of certain blood vessels, leading to abnormalities of blood flow to the extremities. There isn’t a typical treatment for EM, and sometimes nothing helps. Chloe has tried many prescriptions and supplements, and dealt with dreadful side effects. She is on a strict ‘cooling’ regime to prevent overheating. “Managing her EM pain is incredibly difficult,” said her mother, Jacqui. She went on to say that every day is a battle in which Chloe fights for her joy and freedom from pain. Just a few months following the EM and IC diagnoses, Chloe developed more unbearable symptoms. Her joints began aching and swelling, and she bruised more easily. She had trouble walking due to the pain in her knees and ankles. Ultimately a rheumatologist diagnosed Chloe with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a group of inherited disorders marked by extremely loose joints, very stretchy skin that bruises easily, and easily damaged blood vessels. EDS affects about 1 in 5,000 people globally. The effects of having all three conditions has caused Chloe to have fainting spells, abdomen pain almost daily, dizziness, and low blood pressure. EM causes the body to quickly overheat during physical activity so Chloe is unable to participate in any outdoor sports.<br /><b><span style="color: #444444;">READ MORE STORIES <a href="https://melissaannsite.wordpress.com/tag/erythromelalgia/" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>To read more about Erythromelalgia, please see the following blog: </b></span><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/burning-for-hope_b_9618652" target="_blank">Burning for Hope</a></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZmRBjX1RW_4PwB63YjMzs5qwxAArB4dli6WbpZrwxsi5Me10gtqSbGBbZkKiNUKIX3uDuAEC3Z32wzGByRcDteF4ONPvf2sZJ2txr8r5dPtZMakoM_jRWBVC36n15RPo0o3juSnAyA2k6/s1600/afbeelding_081.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="400" height="445" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZmRBjX1RW_4PwB63YjMzs5qwxAArB4dli6WbpZrwxsi5Me10gtqSbGBbZkKiNUKIX3uDuAEC3Z32wzGByRcDteF4ONPvf2sZJ2txr8r5dPtZMakoM_jRWBVC36n15RPo0o3juSnAyA2k6/w537-h445/afbeelding_081.jpg" width="537" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: 38px;"><b>Could medication that helps erythromelalgia also help neurogenic rosacea perhaps?</b></span><br />
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Below I look into a couple of registered or mentioned EM treatments, and whether or not they could be potentially helpful for subtype 1 or neurogenic rosacea. I also look into public patient testimonials about such trials. But what comes up time and time again, is that UNFORTUNATELY not one treatment works for everyone... Some people mention success with one treatment, where others with similar symptoms see no effect or see their rosacea worsen even. This is highly frustrating. But it is the case for every single rosacea treatment so far, from oral and topical antibiotics to anti-flushing medication to anti-inflammatory medication, antihistamines, anti-pain meds, creams and even supplements. It is trial and error. I tried almost every single treatment option over the years for my own flushing and burning. Some things helped, but most treatments did nothing or made matters worse. I am so tired and deflated by now, that the thought of yet another trial and error is no longer appealing anymore. So I just stick to <b><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html" target="_blank">my anti-flushing medication</a></b> and have been focusing on just living life with the restrictions that I have now. But trial and error ultimately is the only way to find out if treatments work for us, at this stage in time when there is no cause found for our rosacea and no cure either. The following treatment options have been mentioned for Erythromelalgia flushing, burning and redness of the skin. Some of them have also been suggested sometimes to rosacea patients. I will look into a couple of them as potential rosacea treatment.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: 28px;">-Antiarrhythmics, such as lidocaine and oral mexiletine</span></b><br />
Mexiletine is a non-selective voltage-gated sodium channel blocker, which belongs to the Class IB antiarrhythmic group of medicines. It is used to treat arrhythmias within the heart or seriously irregular heartbeats. This is a rarely given off-label treatment. Lidocaine infusions help stabilize pain. You can read more about the use of lidocaine for rosacea <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34782-lidocaine-mixed-with-a-topical&highlight=Lidocaine" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?9875-Anyone-tryed-anesthetic-cream&highlight=Lidocaine" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?30358-Dr-Numb-extreme-treatment-for-extreme-situations&highlight=Lidocaine" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. You can read more about mexiletine for rosacea <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38622-mexiletine-for-painful-burning" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. This young man has erythromelalgia and had success with lidocaine IV infusions:<br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRxffBmTojmqCQzmQLdBgt0TkVuRZb5Lf_9UyqyTVuL3FwoGqHKyL26nfch7Uog71xA5m30EMWpiidROqp6hJiU3vkhKFw952rVUJh38KN5g2IP8w5NcKId8t7peMCliZkgcblcXnJz7eZ/s1600/afbeelding_080.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="400" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRxffBmTojmqCQzmQLdBgt0TkVuRZb5Lf_9UyqyTVuL3FwoGqHKyL26nfch7Uog71xA5m30EMWpiidROqp6hJiU3vkhKFw952rVUJh38KN5g2IP8w5NcKId8t7peMCliZkgcblcXnJz7eZ/w475-h398/afbeelding_080.jpg" width="475" /></a><span style="font-size: 28px;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-weight: bold;">-Aspirin, pentoxifylline, nifedipine and amlodipine</span></span><br />
Aspirin 0.1, twice a day. Pentoxifylline dilates blood vessels for better oxygen delivery to the muscles, eases muscle pain. Nifedipine is a calcium channel blocker (usually contraindicated for rosacea): it works by relaxing the muscles of your heart and blood vessels, dilating them. Used for angina, high blood pressure, Raynaud's phenomenon. Amlodipine is also a calcium channel blocker. You can read more about aspirin for rosacea <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8004-Baby-Aspirin-for-Flushing-Prevention&highlight=aspirin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13712-Aspirin-HELPING-heaps&highlight=aspirin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?13073-Does-aspirin-help-or-hurt&highlight=aspirin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8742-ASPIRIN-MASK&highlight=aspirin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?19434-Baby-aspirin&highlight=aspirin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>.<br /><br />
<span style="font-size: 28px;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">-NSAID's and blood vessel constricting medication</span></b></span><br />
I have written a lot about blood vessel constricting medication, for instance clonidine, propranolol and antidepressants <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. I also know from one person with severe erythromelalgia, that a topical clonidine patch made matters worse. The clonidine cream was making the non burning parts of the face painfully cold, whilst the burning parts were unaffected. Later it started to irritate my skin.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: 28px;">-Anticonvulsant drugs like Neurontin (gabapentin) and Lyrica (pregabalin)</span></b><br />
I used Neurontin myself for a little while and wrote about it <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/08/summary-from-last-years-iii.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. You can also read more on Neurontin for rosacea <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?31044-Gabapentin&highlight=gabapentin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?15909-Gabapentin&highlight=gabapentin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32386-Neurontin-causing-flusing&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?10488-Neurontin-gabapentine-(was-LInk-to-article-about-neuropath&highlight=Neurontin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. Gabapentin is developed to treat nerve related pain. Lyrica (pregabalin) is also used to treat nerve related pain, and is approved for use in diabetic neuropathic pain, and for the use in fibromyalgia. You can also read more on Lyrica for rosacea <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38651-Anyone-any-experiences-with-Lyrica&highlight=Lyrica+Pregabalin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?18507-Pregabalin-Significantly-Reduces-Hot-Flashes&highlight=Lyrica+Pregabalin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?25859-End-of-the-road-Cymbalta-Lyrica&highlight=Lyrica+Pregabalin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38651-Anyone-any-experiences-with-Lyrica&highlight=Lyrica+Pregabalin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?9085-Another-view-on-Lyrica&highlight=Lyrica+Pregabalin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8846-Mermaid-s-Lyrica-Journal&highlight=Lyrica+Pregabalin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?33266-Lyrica-for-burning&highlight=Lyrica+Pregabalin" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. INFO about gabapentin and reduction of hot flushes: <b><a href="https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/772249" target="_blank">https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/772249</a></b><br />
<b><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1627210/" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1627210/</a></b><br />
<b><a href="https://www.drugs.com/comments/gabapentin/for-hot-flashes.html" target="_blank">https://www.drugs.com/comments/gabapentin/for-hot-flashes.html</a></b><br />
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<b style="font-size: 28px;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">-Certain antidepressants like Cymbalta (duloxetine) and Paroxetine (10 mg daily)</span></b><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 28px;"> </b><br />
In 2008 Duloxetine became the second drug approved by the FDA to treat fibromyalgia. Used to treat treat depression and generalized anxiety disorder, Duloxetine is also used to treat diabetic neuropathy. Duloxetine is class of medications called selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).<br />
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: 28px;">-(temporary) Nerve block</span></b><br />
This is a very interesting one and I will write a separate blog post in the next month about sympathetic nerve blocks for rosacea flushing and burning, as well as ETS.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9H7AJwbcanAns1fPWXPPUUWpjEg0E7sAYUOWH_gz9_Bki2MGXxP7MqhYMOFyDV2E3NDw-gDavg64gY1Ysnbib1buBWvgNxAu39aJM1yApp-7zHMB1F9-kyoWxBLiCMNA52EQQds9UHRz/s1600/Fragen+%25C3%25BCber+Leben+und+Tod+V.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="298" height="585" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9H7AJwbcanAns1fPWXPPUUWpjEg0E7sAYUOWH_gz9_Bki2MGXxP7MqhYMOFyDV2E3NDw-gDavg64gY1Ysnbib1buBWvgNxAu39aJM1yApp-7zHMB1F9-kyoWxBLiCMNA52EQQds9UHRz/w434-h585/Fragen+%25C3%25BCber+Leben+und+Tod+V.jpg" width="434" /></a><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: 30px;">Ketamine 0.5% and Amitriptyline 1%</span></b> in a Lipoderm cream used for Erythromelalgia. It is supposed to help with burning pain and also with the redness. Below is a long medical paper, with highlights of the essential points and the interesting bits from a rosacea point of view. You can also scroll down to the reports from rosacea patients who tried this Ketamine 0.5% and Amitriptyline 1% cream for themselves. <span style="color: black;">When I saw my own dermatologist, professor Anthony Chu, last summer, he mentioned this topical cream to me and said several of his (bad flushing) patients with rosacea saw good results of it.</span> But that it was a slight nightmare to find a pharmacist who was willing to prepare this cream from scratch. But that I should really look into it and find out if I can try out this cream for my own severe flushing and face burning.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /><br />
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<i><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: 28px;">Combination Gel of 1% Amitriptyline and 0.5% Ketamine to Treat Refractory Erythromelalgia Pain. </span></b></i><i><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">A New Treatment Option?</span></b></i></div>
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<b><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16549702/" target="_blank">[STUDY]</a></b> "A 17-year-old white woman presented with a 2-year history of increasingly frequent episodes of erythromelalgia involving her hands, feet, and lower legs (Figure). She described the discomfort as “throbbing, burning, stinging.” Her symptoms occurred daily. The episodes involved her feet about 10 to 15 times during the day and involved her hands slightly less frequently. Whenever her feet got warm at night, erythromelalgia developed. These episodes were extremely painful. Generally, the erythema and pain occurred independently in the hands and feet. The symptoms were precipitated in her hands and feet by exercise; for example, walking precipitated the symptoms in her feet and legs, and writing precipitated them in her hands. Occasionally, the symptoms occurred when she was at rest, and they occasionally were worse at night. The symptoms lasted from minutes to up to 2 hours. She relieved the symptoms by cooling the affected area with ice and by raising the symptomatic limbs above the level of her heart. At night, she would stick her feet out of bed to relieve the symptoms and, during warm weather, used a fan."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwYOHgYtp6OXL9NcWjSUU1TQYWYHbVKJOrIPZoUyWs-Q7eTuzDZCeVWurPhdPbYkND1FFV3a5p4RJwAb_NVza2HhMyvUJ0hY6JjSJCinF4bGEHUNJmvqDtMvGK43avxaSoqQDyzysdHq_h/s1600/dce50008f1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="1600" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwYOHgYtp6OXL9NcWjSUU1TQYWYHbVKJOrIPZoUyWs-Q7eTuzDZCeVWurPhdPbYkND1FFV3a5p4RJwAb_NVza2HhMyvUJ0hY6JjSJCinF4bGEHUNJmvqDtMvGK43avxaSoqQDyzysdHq_h/w661-h290/dce50008f1.png" width="661" /></a></div>
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<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">"The symptoms markedly affected the patient's lifestyle.</span></b> Because the symptoms flared with any activity, she avoided many daily activities, including going to the gym. When she went to a shopping mall, painful episodes developed after a short time, and she would have to sit down or walk very slowly. She missed days at school because of the symptoms. She had no underlying disease or diagnosis apart from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, for which she had been receiving treatment with methylphenidate hydrochloride for the past 10 years. There was no family history of erythromelalgia. Vascular laboratory testing documented the erythromelalgia by demonstrating the expected<span style="color: black;"> rise in temperature,</span> which increased from a mean of 18.9°C in her toes without symptoms to approximately 23°C to 24°C with symptoms. This increase occurred concomitantly with <span style="color: #444444;"><b>bright redness of the skin and a marked increase in blood flow</b></span> as measured with laser Doppler ultrasonography. In the upper extremities, the temperature was low (21°C) in her fingers during the asymptomatic stage but increased to approximately 33°C with symptoms; there was increased blood flow, similar to that in her toes, without a notable change in transcutaneous oximetry measurements. No evidence of underlying disease was discovered, particularly no evidence of myeloproliferative disease. <span><b><span style="color: #444444;">Although the antinuclear antibody titer (ANA) was increased, the patient had no sign of an underlying connective tissue disease.</span> </b></span>The results of neurologic investigations, including assessment of large- and small-fiber nerves with electromyography, nerve conduction studies, and autonomic reflex screen (quantitative sudomotor axon reflex testing) were within reference ranges. The erythromelalgia did not respond to treatment with <span>aspirin or misoprostol</span>. Although <span><span>gabapentin </span></span>therapy improved the symptoms slightly, it made the patient dizzy. <span><span>Lidocaine patches</span> </span>had been quite helpful (she wore them all night and before exercising), but many of her normal daily activities continued to be severely curtailed. She gave up all sports at school and stopped attending dancing class. The temperature inside her house was kept between 70°F and 72°F. When she arrived home, she changed into shorts. She wore sandals only, no shoes or socks. At night, she avoided covering her legs with a blanket. She preferred to walk on cold tile floors. When she wrote, the erythromelalgia occasionally became worse, and this interfered with her schoolwork. Her mother photocopied articles that we provided on erythromelalgia and gave them to her daughter's teachers. Because of the erythromelalgia, the patient was given extended time for school examinations."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXARNk4as_n5p669unk2yqCt5oWOfxiEuDrBsLyU3ZNsMI8t52qL-oTR87-q3QMg72WVp1eKHV8MPrsxCHwu-Zzl-lJ0Sg0Hih5K3EAfKTRGHT6yBunlu8UGFQ0-ds7XGyUFaYTm5ADiZR/s1600/Livres+d%2527images+1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="541" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXARNk4as_n5p669unk2yqCt5oWOfxiEuDrBsLyU3ZNsMI8t52qL-oTR87-q3QMg72WVp1eKHV8MPrsxCHwu-Zzl-lJ0Sg0Hih5K3EAfKTRGHT6yBunlu8UGFQ0-ds7XGyUFaYTm5ADiZR/w406-h541/Livres+d%2527images+1.jpg" width="406" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><span>"Treatment of erythromelalgia is difficult and often unsuccessful</span><span>.</span></b></span> For this young woman, we wanted a treatment that would help control the symptoms and allow her to return to her normal daily activities, namely, to be able to wear shoes and socks, attend the high school formal dance, sleep at night, and participate in school activities. We preferred to avoid systemic medication if possible. We prescribed a combination of<b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span><span style="color: #444444;">topical 1% amitriptyline hydrochloride and 0.5% ketamine hydrochloride</span></b> to be applied up to 4 or 5 times daily. Two days after this treatment was initiated, the patient reported <span><span style="color: black;">“</span><span style="color: black;">spectacular improvement”</span></span> in her symptoms after applying the combination medication twice daily. She had slept through the night for the first time in 2 years. She had walked through a large shopping mall for 8 hours with her mother. She and her mother were thrilled with the response and said it was the best medication she had tried. They estimated that the symptoms had improved 90%. At follow-up 2 months later, the patient reported that, before going to school, she applied the gel to her hands and feet. This permitted her to engage in the normal activities of the school day. She was able to write and walk without pain. Her episodes of erythromelalgia occurred with approximately the same frequency, but she was able to tolerate them. She has been cautious about returning to gym class but plans to do so. She attended her high school formal dance and wore shoes but did kick them off later in the evening because the auditorium had a cold tile floor. Pain associated with erythromelalgia may be difficult to treat. Because erythromelalgia is not a single disease but a syndrome, the response to various treatments may differ depending on the underlying condition and pathophysiology. Furthermore, treatment of the pain symptoms may have little if any effect on the other manifestations (ie, the redness and increased temperature of the affected limbs). Patient response to erythromelalgia therapy is notoriously variable. Some patients experience long-term pain control with topical agents such as lidocaine, oral anti-inflammatory agents, prostaglandin (misoprostol), vasoactive agents, neuromodulating drugs (ie, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, or antiarrhythmics), or opioids, whereas in other patients the disease is extraordinarily refractory to all measures. [..] </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_nTJ-YA0XX1balqglzCLuwOD-Sc-BfYETNdNA-He0pwybX2Ec3Wpwq7DQKjZZuB6erkDThS6Hn4zNJf0HGYz4jO-_RJ6nqbJ4T8kfw-GyvpS4XD3VUVFRi7IIPGFwz4QqTqk83C5u9ST/s1600/DSCF0024.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="750" height="649" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_nTJ-YA0XX1balqglzCLuwOD-Sc-BfYETNdNA-He0pwybX2Ec3Wpwq7DQKjZZuB6erkDThS6Hn4zNJf0HGYz4jO-_RJ6nqbJ4T8kfw-GyvpS4XD3VUVFRi7IIPGFwz4QqTqk83C5u9ST/w302-h649/DSCF0024.JPG" width="302" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><span>Irritable nociceptors</span></b> </span>are likely involved in the maintenance of pain in erythromelalgia. The extreme sensitiveness of the skin (ie, allodynia) in these patients clearly supports this concept. However, it does not explain the complexity of the pain, which most likely involves central sensitization. Recent evidence indicates that <span><span>altered hyperexcitable sodium channels are expressed in inherited painful neuropathies and inherited erythromelalgia</span><span style="color: #cccccc;">. </span></span>Consequently, we attempted to treat other patients with a topical local anesthetic and had varying success. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Amitriptyline</b></span>, a first-generation tricyclic antidepressant, <span style="color: black;">works by inhibiting serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake; it also blocks sodium channels</span>. <span><b><span style="color: #444444;">Ketamine</span></b> </span>is an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. The NMDA receptors have a key role in the maintenance of chronic pain syndromes. Normally, after a single painful stimulus, only glutamatergic α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors are activated. However, when a barrage of impulses reaches the dorsal horn, the neuron does not have time to repolarize properly. The NMDA receptors have a magnesium molecule that normally blocks the channel, but when the intracellular potential rises and the neuron remains depolarized for a prolonged period (as with rapid glutamatergic firing), the magnesium molecule is dislodged, thus opening the channel to the influx of calcium and further depolarizing the cell. The influx of calcium activates second messengers and promotes the transcription of various genes, resulting in the increased production of glutamate and other excitatory neurotransmitters and the expression of supersensitive subtypes of sodium channels in primary sensory neurons. This cascade of events leads to increased excitability of the neurons of the pain pathways; thus, painful stimulation continues (the wind-up phenomenon). We speculate that topical application of the combination gel of 1% amitriptyline and 0.5% ketamine works by numerous mechanisms:</div></div>
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1. Ketamine blocks NMDA receptors located on the peripheral terminals of primary nociceptive afferents.10</div>
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2. Ketamine may be taken up by the nerve terminals and transported orthodromically to the dorsal root ganglia and dorsal horn. Thus, NMDA receptors at both sites can be blocked.</div>
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3. Although ketamine is primarily an NMDA antagonist, it may be able to modulate other glutamatergic receptors, AMPA and kainate, further reducing the discharges from primary nociceptive afferents.</div>
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4. Sodium channel blockade by amitriptyline prevents excessive nociceptor discharge by blocking the action potential, similar to a local anesthetic such as lidocaine (which is more potent than amitriptyline). Furthermore, there is evidence that sodium channels are involved in modulating NMDA receptors; thus, amitriptyline too could possibly act indirectly on NMDA receptors.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-eIQkx4U29SD730Yutd-weoCQGL1qJUo71Z9mfnsac4T55vcwkND7HRym7gqNO4rJGxhHmu80WjuVoJBN1qr-TwwCWbO6ej6Aibow52P0MhCOvDhArFHGcNXIbRwiRCrMKq6jO5uwaV5/s1600/dce50008t1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="712" height="379" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-eIQkx4U29SD730Yutd-weoCQGL1qJUo71Z9mfnsac4T55vcwkND7HRym7gqNO4rJGxhHmu80WjuVoJBN1qr-TwwCWbO6ej6Aibow52P0MhCOvDhArFHGcNXIbRwiRCrMKq6jO5uwaV5/w576-h379/dce50008t1.png" width="576" /></a></div>
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Although we expected no effect on the other manifestations of erythromelalgia, specifically the redness and high temperature of the affected limbs, 2 patients noticed improvement in those symptoms also, possibly through <span style="color: black;">a decrease in neurogenic inflammation or modulation of efferent nerve fibers to skin vessels (or both).</span> Thus, our topical treatment is a desirable alternative for erythromelalgia symptoms refractory to other treatment. (<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/403191" target="_blank"><b>Source</b></a>)</div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>You can read more about treatment for neuropathic pain and about nerve blocks and ETS in <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/10/how-to-treat-nerve-pain-and-skin.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>. </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzov8tIdKp8SEpAmfdvCb8p1W7ji_NEuPl1eui_rHIH5jqsM0XIuy9X_gAzahil39PNH5BP0MS02wxQcTiQib_riWLe7DMdvAxw1rURwjSUa7IuuG0PlYacPi6gh4zZ7qB9Xs_nQYu7mh/s1600/1+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1198" height="614" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzov8tIdKp8SEpAmfdvCb8p1W7ji_NEuPl1eui_rHIH5jqsM0XIuy9X_gAzahil39PNH5BP0MS02wxQcTiQib_riWLe7DMdvAxw1rURwjSUa7IuuG0PlYacPi6gh4zZ7qB9Xs_nQYu7mh/w457-h614/1+%25282%2529.jpg" width="457" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;"><b>In this post on an special <a href="https://www.livingwitherythromelalgia.org/">erythromelalgia site</a>, Ocker wrote in October 2013 </b></span><br />"Just wondering if anyone else has experience with <span style="color: black;">face and neck flushes</span>? I seem to now also be getting<b> <span style="color: #444444;">very red cheeks, face</span></b> and neck. Comes and goes. Also red ears. (This is on top of the usual feet/hands burning). If you do, is there anything you used that helped cleared it up? [..] Like tonight for example - very cold night. Feet are fine but cheeks are burning... Thanks in advance, Craig"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mads replied in October 2013:</span></b> "Hi Ocker, Yes, I get flushes or flaring of face, neck, ears and scalp. My EM started in my right knee, then feet etc.working its way up my body rather like a fungus spreading.. I had very acute onset (2-3 months), which has now remained completely widespread and chronic(8 months now). I'm struggling. Really struggling! Most research states EM is progressive. To help minimize - very difficult and very much trial/error. Depends what you respond to - all of us need an individualized poly-pharmacy approach. I responded moderately to lidocaine so 'theoretically' my EM is linked to <span>sodium channel blockers</span> or analogs of such like <span>mexiletine</span>. Other folk respond to <span>serotonin antagonists</span>. I have listed things that i have tried with/without luck in my profile section. This is an awful thing isn't it. Do you know what type of EM you might have? Mine is primary, idiopathic, God bless. Please pm me if you wish to offload/chat about symptoms etc. Hoping you have a 'comfortable' night as possible. Mads"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Clarissajo </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">replied</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> in October 2013: </span></b>"Ocker, I too have this occur frequently.... EM can hit me in the face, ears, and chest as well as arms, hands, feet, legs. Unfortunately I don't know anything about pharmaceuticals for EM, my doctors have only suggested <span style="color: #444444;"><b>aspirin</b></span>, which I cannot take for other reasons. I'm interested in learning more about possible meds for this condition. I do keep feet elevated and try to stay as cool as possible. [..] I currently take<span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><span style="color: black;"> Lyrica</span> </b></span>(pregabalin) which has similar effects. I didn't realize that it was so similar to gabapentin until very recently.... apparently a lot of people take either gabapentin OR lyrica, and usually choose gabapentin because it's less expensive. My neurologist is prescribing the Lyrica plus <span><b><span style="color: #444444;">Cymbalta</span></b> </span>because that combo is very effective against my fibromyalgia pain, and also she says the Lyrica helps prevent seizures which I have a tendency to have. Thanks again!Take care, JoAnn"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Gaga replied in October 2013: </span></b>"Mine started with my face and ears. I had that for about 2 years. I was sure I must have Lupus due to other symptoms but doctors just said I had red face syndrome and red ear syndrome. The ears are so touchy sore that just my hair touching the tops of my ears feels like my ears are raw skin. <span>When my cheeks get real bright which is every day, several times and sometimes constantly for days, <b><span style="color: #444444;">I look like a clown</span></b></span><span style="color: #444444;">.</span> I get so explosively hot and my head sweats too. My feet started about 2 years ago. My feet also go numb due to Spinal Stenosis but they are sore. My big toes and the foot just behind the big toe hurt so bad and are so sore. The soles of my feet are deep red even when the hot feeling eases off. The only help I've had with my feet is to rub with a menthol liniment to give a false cool feeling and then turn a fan on them. Wetting my head with cool water sometimes eases the warmth of my face but not my ears. Today it felt like the heat was attacking my spine. This is just awful."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">LibbyK replied in October 2013: </span></b>"I've been having persistent redness and occasional episodes of heat in my face - mostly nose and upper cheeks. We thought it could be lupus but my ANA test was fine. <span style="color: black;">I suspect it may be rosacea with an EM flare here and there</span>. I've been using only products for sensitive skin (helps a little as I do have dry, sensitive skin) and wearing makeup to cover the red when I go out. I haven't tried any drugs."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6L_dghSnj6QP2es_zWoJfJy0HqNjeB5p14wZVl4CrL2B0AG3CdPN7azTy3MXqi8FOt1vN0YBEY_ejnD4zlME_0F7C5YfqATh0bBoeXPAGs19fFvhXPKE4M98BAKKKNNv21_0uuRDe8Hka/s1600/3+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1198" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6L_dghSnj6QP2es_zWoJfJy0HqNjeB5p14wZVl4CrL2B0AG3CdPN7azTy3MXqi8FOt1vN0YBEY_ejnD4zlME_0F7C5YfqATh0bBoeXPAGs19fFvhXPKE4M98BAKKKNNv21_0uuRDe8Hka/w407-h546/3+%25282%2529.jpg" width="407" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Mary replied in October 2013: </span></b>"I’ve had neck and facial flushing for over three years now. There seems to be no way that I know of to get rid of the flushing. It does come and go. What I do take daily to help for the pain is <span>Gabapentin</span>…it works great for me!!! Now when I was in my 30’s and I got Rosacea I used <span style="color: black;"><span>Metroge</span><span style="color: black;">l</span></span> that I got from my Dermatologist and I still use it and that helps a tiny bit for burning along with medication."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Alina_Delp replied in December 2013: </span></b>"Hi Craig. I too have flushing in the face and chest but I don’t like to call it flushing I like to call it burning! It only comes with warmth like my EM and only goes when cooled. At first the doctors thought it was just a skin rash like rosacea but it burns like a bad sun burn and very hot to the touch. Like Gaga said just a gentle touch like a hair touching it hurts. Ouch! Take ace and stay cool. Alina"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Flaming replied in August 2015: </span></b>"I have burning in my neck and face. Started about eight months ago. It is very bad at night. I keep a cooler beside my bed and use a gel lack wrapped in a dish towel to cool my face. I tried aspirin when I was first diagnosed and it helped a bit when it I took it at 4 am when the pain was at its worse. I could only tolerate (does was super high: 1200 mg’s) for five night before my stomach pain put a stop to that. I have secondary EM and my doctor hopes that this short trial with aspirin shows that I could benefit from lidocaine infusion. I hope to get that in the Fall. It was my pain doctor who diagnosed me. I think rosacea and EM are very different, so shouldn’t be hard to differentiate for a medical doc. My pain doc isn’t an Em expert, but she could diagnose it. My GP thought it was hot flashes from menopause. Even I knew that was not the case. Hot flashes (and rosacea) do not hurt!!! {Scarlet Nat: Incorrect; <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/10/how-to-treat-nerve-pain-and-skin.html" target="_blank"><b>neuropathic rosacea</b></a> does hurt}. I see a neurologist today who is supposedly the only person in town (Vancouver) who knows anything about EM. Here’s hoping she can help. First, I have to get the dang EMG testing over with prior to the consult today. If I have anything helpful for to report, I will post, for sure. Take care, all."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcrKEsc5cNEhRI-ucGOYUVK6EDThEEx09jSD0w5z4z7TUlUk2LjP079ZMnNRksm9yt3c-V6JN5GnVBFNduMJ4ZqHb_z1fd65lopNC89ugKFqBRUl3dqR7Uel9UGEbQwKUiqzDyr4F0twR/s1600/Fragen+%25C3%25BCber+Leben+und+Tod+III.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="299" height="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcrKEsc5cNEhRI-ucGOYUVK6EDThEEx09jSD0w5z4z7TUlUk2LjP079ZMnNRksm9yt3c-V6JN5GnVBFNduMJ4ZqHb_z1fd65lopNC89ugKFqBRUl3dqR7Uel9UGEbQwKUiqzDyr4F0twR/w465-h624/Fragen+%25C3%25BCber+Leben+und+Tod+III.jpg" width="465" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;"><b>And <a href="https://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/treatments/pharmacological/non-opioids/topical-ketamine-ready-prime-time" target="_blank">here</a> is another medical article on this topic: Is Topical Ketamine Ready For Prime Time?</b></span><br />
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In summary, the authors state that ketamine is used for general anesthesia, and as a topical cream has been used for the management of neuropathic (nerve) pain. Like in the above article, it is explained how ketamine works on a cellular level. For now, people rely on their own pharmacist to make this ketamine cream, in a neutral carrier base. Topical ketamine strengths range from 0.5% to 10% in published studies, with the majority of studies using from 0.5% to 2.0%. There are very few studies at higher doses. It has mixed to positive reviews for the treatment of postherpic neuralgia (which also gives nerve pain of the skin). It showed less improvement in patients with diabetic neuropathy. Ketamine combined with amitriptyline in a topical cream was also more effective than a placebo, in trials. Topical ketamine cream did reduce pain in patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Studies showed that topical ketamine is safe and that topical ketamine with as high a ketamine level of 10%, did not result in any systemic absorption into the blood stream and body, and appeared safe. It is probably not wise to make a cream with a higher strength of ketamine. Possible side effects are itching, mild burning, and nausea.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Laser_cat sent me <a href="https://www.livingwitherythromelalgia.org/t/bob-bartholomews-protocol/2953/31" target="_blank">this</a> very interesting link to a "heat desensitizing protocol" for EM patients:</b></span><br />
It is interesting that EM has this "heat desensitizing protocol" has similarities to the "Warm room theory" for rosacea (read more about that one <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2018/03/the-warm-room-theory-and-how-being-in.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>).<br /><br /><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">In <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/5ggpha/beforeafter_dealing_with_rosaceaerythromelalgia/" target="_blank">this</a> Reddit post, someone with rosacea / erythromelalgia posted about success with Amitriptyline 1% and Ketamine 0.5% cream</span></b><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR9FFdIdW2ocUHjkejTyoSePoVy-_OyS88OPwd6Kd8YmvKe-p2gqIuwphh2eXq5P7mO0r02F_eAwX9nmJP0KtnqucJIsvZNqQATpzpsEwp5TsYifU5TvAzdCJzVhzIQ3oxMRCpLpgSD3oD/s1600/rTPrTuSl.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR9FFdIdW2ocUHjkejTyoSePoVy-_OyS88OPwd6Kd8YmvKe-p2gqIuwphh2eXq5P7mO0r02F_eAwX9nmJP0KtnqucJIsvZNqQATpzpsEwp5TsYifU5TvAzdCJzVhzIQ3oxMRCpLpgSD3oD/s320/rTPrTuSl.jpg" width="180" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Despotic_Monarch wrote in 2017:</span> </b></span>"Dealing with Rosacea/Erythromelalgia for two years. Hi! Erythromelalgia is a Neurovascular condition with very similar aspects to Rosacea but is many times worse. The only thing out of 25 or so drugs/medications that worked is a cream base that contains... Amitriptyline 1.0%/ Ketamine 0.5% cream in a 1 to 1 ratio. In just one week I went from being a tomato to a piece of paper and finally my skin can heal. If you are suffering from Rosacea this might be an amazing/safe treatment for you! Please see your derm. <a href="https://mayoclinic.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/topical-amitriptyline-combined-with-ketamine-for-the-treatment-of" target="_blank"><b>Study</b></a> First picture is before use of the cream (around the starting 3pm flush). Please note I had to edit the coloring because I don't have an exact picture for this time period. <a href="http://i.imgur.com/OqOLAq0l.png" target="_blank"><b>Second picture</b></a> is after the cream (No more flushing). I guess my condition was so bad that not even suicidal doses of prednisone wouldn't reduce the redness. Gotta keep fighting and never give up!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Boywonder95 replied:</span></b> "Can you comment on whether or not it's still working for you please? I'm looking into the process on how to go about getting it in the states. It looks like I have to convince my doctor/ or derm to get this specially made at a compound pharmacy."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Despotic_Monarch replied: </b></span>"Its amazing I DON'T EVEN HAVE TO USE IT TWICE A DAY. Just twice a week or so. Trust me I had the worst Erythromelalgia that you could possibly get. I'm 100% clear now. No side effects. Show him this post and my pics." The author also shared his story on The Rosacea Forum, <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36436-How-I-have-my-inhumane-rosacea-Erythromelalgia-under-100-CONTROL" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt34ReUaWj5Bo472cRC9JAM62-spAJdV-fopfapWrgYkZ0MX0pJe7Q7l2mtmXrAsDq9l8Zu-FUn8olVdVIhmrE9GO3KCCihiXbR8L12EG5Du8Eqk2iVAJVFs_jnrEUkjaMvKPkg1kjyj-f/s1600/L%2527oiseau+malade+004.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="597" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt34ReUaWj5Bo472cRC9JAM62-spAJdV-fopfapWrgYkZ0MX0pJe7Q7l2mtmXrAsDq9l8Zu-FUn8olVdVIhmrE9GO3KCCihiXbR8L12EG5Du8Eqk2iVAJVFs_jnrEUkjaMvKPkg1kjyj-f/w448-h597/L%2527oiseau+malade+004.jpg" width="448" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;"><b>There is also a lengthy <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)" target="_blank">thread</a> on The </b></span><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">Rosacea Forum about the (trial) use of Amitriptyline/ Ketamine cream. I selected the most interesting posts here:</b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Deansm <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)" target="_blank">wrote</a> on December 2nd, 2016:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Cleared up my type 1 Rosacea (flushing red nose<u>)</u>. I have had flushing and swelling (caused by the flushing) on my nose for around 7 years (no pustules or pustules). Tried antibiotics, Soolantra, metrogel etc, nothing worked, every treatment has had absolutely zero effect. <span style="color: black;">Two months ago the GP I am seeing prescribed me an ointment containing Ketamine 0.5% and Amitriptyline 1%. Within 3 days of using it twice a day the flushing disappeared and my skin is white</span>, the same as it was before Rosacea. It has been the same ever since for the last two months. I can eat, exercise, go out in the sun and nothing will bring on a flush. If anyone has this subtype and nothing has worked have a look into this, I have no side effects (the GP said it is very safe as the amount of active ingredients is too low and it's not absorbed systemically). I am not sure which or if both of the ingredients are working. <span style="color: black;">I have since learned that topical Ketamine behaves as an anti-inflammatory by acting on Toll-like receptor (TLRs), which leads to down regulation of proinflammatory gene expression. </span>The packaging has no branding, it was made in a compounding pharmacy. He said he has found it helpful going back years for patients with Erythromelalgia and it was worth trying for my Rosacea as nothing else worked."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)" target="_blank">replied</a> on December 3rd, 2016:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"This is really interesting, Dean. I googled and found reference to a study about this topical for erythromelalgia. The ointment seems to be for the pain (versus redness). I have type 1 rosacea, too. Flushing and permanent redness. Dean, you mentioned that your skin color is back to normal (pre-rosacea). So did you also have permanent redness? Or just the redness that comes on temporarily when you flushed? I guess I'm wondering if the ointment returned your vessels to normal - constricted them back. I wonder if the ingredients work because they address nerve pain. Nerves can stimulate our flushing. Eg, nerves release acetylcholine, a chemical that tells our vessels to dilate."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Deansm <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)" target="_blank">wrote</a> on December 3rd, 2016:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"It probably is completely up to the GP, how many treatments you have already tried etc.<span><b> <span style="color: #444444;">He told me the ointment reduced redness and flushing on patients with Erythromelalgia (no idea what this was)</span></b></span><span style="color: #b45f06;">.</span> I never expected this to work as every other treatment he prescribed (Soolantra, Antibiotics, Metrogel) has either done nothing or even made my Rosacea worse. My Rosacea started (I was 24) as a sudden huge flareup (huge flushing episode) on my nose when I went to bed one night. I had never blushed or flushed on my nose before that first flareup. Ever since every night without fail I would have a flareup when I went to bed. Through the day I had one or two flareups and my nose was sensitive to flushing but not as bad as in the night. After each flare up it would take around 2-3 hours for my skin to return normalish in colour but there was always a slight pink hue on my nose. The worse symptom of all is the nose swelling for around 7 hours when I sleep and waking up every morning with a swollen nose. The flushing has stopped now and that stopped the swelling. My nose still looks a bit swollen but it's slowly going down now (2 months so far)."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Fiugs <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page2" target="_blank">replied</a> on December 4th, 2016:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"There is a topical with the brand name Epicept, although I think the compound's percentages are different than you describe, <a href="https://www3.rcsb.org/ligand/NP1" target="_blank"><b>Deansm</b></a>. Did your GP indicate if s/he thought this would be a short or long term solution? Just wondering because I got the impression that some topical analgesics lose their effectiveness after a while.... I say that only based on what my local pharmacist told me in relation to a lidocaine based gel I was inquiring about; he said it would stop working after a while. I will certainly ask my GP about this! [..] I also found <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/403191" target="_blank"><b>this article</b></a>, referring to a compound using the same percentages as Deansm has been given. Where about in a scotland are you, Skullmcrex - and do you know of a decent derm? I'm still trying to find one that I feel in genuinely interested in trying to help. Thanks Deansm and all the best."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Deansm <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page2" target="_blank">replied</a> on December 4th, 2016:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"From looking at the link EpiCept Cream is much stronger (2% ketamine / 4% amitriptyline), The cream I am on is 1% amitriptyline and 0.5% ketamine and it stops the flushing (the lower dose it works the better). Since my doctor said he had success with the ointment on patients with Erythromelalgia I have been reading a lot on Erythromelalgia forums about the safety of this cream (it seems very safe at low dose). I am not sure which ingredient (or a combination of both) is stopping the flushing, but <a href="https://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/treatments/pharmacological/non-opioids/topical-ketamine-ready-prime-time" target="_blank"><b>this</b></a> is something I found about topical ketamine. <span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="color: black;">Also from reading various Erythromelalgia forum posts, the vasodilation, flushing, redness are very similar to Rosacea, only it happens on the feet and hands and sometimes the face in Erythromelalgia.</span> </span>The only real difference over type 1 Rosacea as far as symptoms is the addition of more pain, stinging<u>.</u> It is interesting hearing about the other treatments they use on those forums to stop flushing that might also work for flushing on people with Rosacea."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPDDNibJtoAXcf1ktKfqERsUAiRf7GqTTrMRhhyphenhyphenbY3SibFf6mQHRctwXSAUCtsAZ8qtTeiDqb7SJA6WobeAHfkYMa5brdz0UjF9Wvc1LltOPADaaDpPtOhetl7GZAJi3KikXMwdzZV-85/s1600/livres3d+007.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPDDNibJtoAXcf1ktKfqERsUAiRf7GqTTrMRhhyphenhyphenbY3SibFf6mQHRctwXSAUCtsAZ8qtTeiDqb7SJA6WobeAHfkYMa5brdz0UjF9Wvc1LltOPADaaDpPtOhetl7GZAJi3KikXMwdzZV-85/w408-h544/livres3d+007.jpg" width="408" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Brady Barrows <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page2" target="_blank">replied</a> on December 4th, 2016: </span></b>"Flugs, What a wonderful find to substantiate this thread. Note what the article says: <span style="text-align: center;">"Erythromelalgia is a clinical syndrome characterized by attacks<span style="color: black;"> in which the affected limbs become bright red, hot, and excruciatingly painful.</span> The common trigger is heat exposure induced by exercise or increased ambient temperature. <span style="color: black;">As the condition progresses, the limbs become permanently red, hot, and painful</span>. </span><span style="text-align: center;">The pain of erythromelalgia, commonly described as hot and burning in quality, is frequently disabling, and patients obtain relief by lowering skin temperature, for example, by applying cold objects to the affected area, exposing the affected extremities to cold surfaces, immersing the limb in ice water, or by elevating the affected extremity. Frequently, these measures damage the skin, further exacerbating the pain, and occasionally cause maceration. </span><span style="text-align: center;">Pain associated with erythromelalgia may be difficult to treat. Because erythromelalgia is not a single disease but a syndrome, the response to various treatments may differ depending on the underlying condition and pathophysiology. Furthermore, treatment of the pain symptoms may have little if any effect on the other manifestations (ie, the redness and increased temperature of the affected limbs). </span><span style="text-align: center;">According to various theories, erythromelalgia is a vascular disorder or neuropathic condition. In previous studies, we have shown that both systems are involved, but we do not know which one is affected first. It is plausible that the vascular and neuropathic components differ in each subject depending on the underlying cause."</span><i style="text-align: center;"> - </i>Hopefully in the future we will know more if this treatment for erythromelalgia will be a standard treatment for rosacea."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Arsenalista <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page3" target="_blank">replied</a> on December 5th, 2016:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Looks like <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/5ggpha/beforeafter_dealing_with_rosaceaerythromelalgia/" target="_blank"><b>another guy</b></a> has also great results with this stuff.. I read about Erythromelalgia (first time hear about it) and it looks like something very similar to rosacea but more painful. One of my worst symptoms is a chronic burning feeling at all my face. Damn, have to get the prescription."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">I <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page4" target="_blank">replied</a> on December 6th, 2016:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"A very interesting find! I'm very curious if more people with facial (rosacea) flushing and burning will find relief from this cream. It's also a big bonus if your pharmacist can just add the powdered medication to your regular moisturizer. It's a fascinating distinction between facial erythromelalgia and rosacea. I'm not completely sure how you can detect one from the other, (apart from EM typically at the least affecting the hands and feet - but people with rosacea can get Raynaud's (me too), which can mimic these symptoms a lot), as these cases mentioned <b><a href=" http://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(14)01889-1/abstract" target="_blank">here</a></b> look and sound pretty much like rosacea.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3pbiZy4tR_X0Z-OOHx95xm6hp5pb5DH9KV8QY-4H76dqrMfBI31kKipW7vhiw3oQ-vCLtL8VclDKgp3SBaBm5fV-ove9Tdguo18DJSoePUrKOWTyqwMG_mRU_-PlE62Hfl_g0iA-ZiKH/s1600/livres3d+009.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="857" height="751" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3pbiZy4tR_X0Z-OOHx95xm6hp5pb5DH9KV8QY-4H76dqrMfBI31kKipW7vhiw3oQ-vCLtL8VclDKgp3SBaBm5fV-ove9Tdguo18DJSoePUrKOWTyqwMG_mRU_-PlE62Hfl_g0iA-ZiKH/w400-h751/livres3d+009.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>"A 53-year-old man presented to an outside </i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>dermatologist with an erythematous (skin redness) facial eruption of 4 years' duration. The eruption was associated with burning and swelling, which the patient reported worsened with sun exposure. These symptoms were debilitating, preventing the patient from working and maintaining daily activities. Initially, the eruption was thought to be rosacea and actinic damage (pre-cancer of the skin); however, it was unresponsive to standard therapies." "Upon further questioning, the patient reported skin burning not only with sun exposure, but also </i></span><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: black;">with heat exposure</span>. Furthermore, he reported attempting cooling measures, such as the frequent </span></i><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">use of ice packs, to relieve his symptoms. With these additional details, a clinical diagnosis of facial </span></i><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">and auricular erythromelalgia was established. Further workup excluded potential causes of secondary erythromelalgia. Given that erythromelalgia is thought to involve both small fiber neuropathy as well as vasculopathy, we initiated therapy with <span style="color: black;">aspirin, pentoxifylline, and</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: black;">gabapentin</span>. Subsequently, <span style="color: black;">nifedipine</span> was added to this treatment regimen. At 5 months' follow-</span></i><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">up, the patient reported 80% improvement and was able to return to work and enjoy</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-large;">normal daily activities."</span></i></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">With a </span><a href="http://www.jaad.org/cms/attachment/2020610064/2040339110/gr2.jpg" style="font-size: xx-large;" target="_blank"><b>picture</b></a><span style="font-size: xx-large;">:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFj8o7d4X6i3WPUIbAvbQBL8bgLY_-_mKaeRcj7dDh86BoQARsrzu99qDstIELXwlmxmVZn77dfjlcf_xDReSGXCl7WkQqhJT6YkOQh-AFIXftW1MM7NbnU-t-__mR9A8OVTuB7iqp_8s/s1600/gr2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="562" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFj8o7d4X6i3WPUIbAvbQBL8bgLY_-_mKaeRcj7dDh86BoQARsrzu99qDstIELXwlmxmVZn77dfjlcf_xDReSGXCl7WkQqhJT6YkOQh-AFIXftW1MM7NbnU-t-__mR9A8OVTuB7iqp_8s/w714-h317/gr2.jpg" width="714" /></a></div>
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I am curious if aspirin, pentoxifylline and gabapentin together could help some of us too. And <a href="https://www.livingwitherythromelalgia.org/t/new-member-erythromelalgia-or-rosacea/1028/6" target="_blank"><b>this woman</b></a> seems to have serious rosacea, and she wonders whether or not she has erythromelalgia or rosacea. And people with FIBROMYALGIA also mention rosacea symptoms more often, <a href="http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/forums/fibromyalgia_support_groups/beside_having_fibromyalgia_who_here_has_rosacea_/" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> for instance. A nice person with fybro emailed me that her rosacea disappeared once she started to take <b><span style="color: #444444;">guaifenesin tablets</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>(a decongestant). Anyway, shows how complex these skin conditions are, there might be a lot of overlap and different factors at play. So curious to hear who else here might have benefit from this cream that is suggested."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page6" target="_blank">replied</a> on December 8th, 2016:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"<b><a href="https://youtu.be/RtwI2JocwO8" target="_blank">This</a></b> is interesting: In the video description, the patients says the only thing that's helped with her particular condition is a cream with amitriptyline, gabapentin, clonidine and ketamine. <a href="https://www.mdedge.com/edermatologynews/article/79185/wounds/creams-and-patches-can-replace-narcotics-skin-pain">This is a link</a> to an article that mentions the compound cream. As I saw elsewhere, it says the cream is used for pain. I'm just wondering how that translates to flushing and redness. If our nerves stimulate our blood vessels, maybe the cream has the potential to quiet any nerve impulses. Ketamine appears to have an anesthetic component. The doc in this article mentions a side effect of nightmares, which he says is a known side effect of ketamine. Also, he mentions that it is absorbed systemically. He only prescribes it for small parts of the body for this reason." (Watch <b><a href="https://youtu.be/RtwI2JocwO8" target="_blank">HERE</a></b> on youtube)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3S5-jvc063J-Y6L5gQeZgM3aoViGwQaIrRygntMCVn9MONIR-IQx_5XDjJV9H89ThgRYRIVkY1tPfi5QtXo-1Efw4NaFeTs0FbinmmgqWEbQIaip-ww2itBkung8N6J_zJBpBQKWyVbZ/s1600/opdr+boogaard+003.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3S5-jvc063J-Y6L5gQeZgM3aoViGwQaIrRygntMCVn9MONIR-IQx_5XDjJV9H89ThgRYRIVkY1tPfi5QtXo-1Efw4NaFeTs0FbinmmgqWEbQIaip-ww2itBkung8N6J_zJBpBQKWyVbZ/w396-h528/opdr+boogaard+003.jpg" width="396" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Brady Barrows <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page7" target="_blank">replied</a> on December 9th, 2016:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"The cool item in this article you found (excellent find hg24!) is that it reports, "Of more than 1,000 Mayo Clinic patients who have tried the combination, "I’d say less than 1% has told me that they’ve ever had a side effect," he said. "I’ve had just two or three patients tell me they’ve gotten nightmares," a known effect of ketamine. "This is a product that has great promise," he noted." So we have 1000 patients who have tried this out. It is a wonder that rosacea sufferers haven't heard about this until now."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">BVokey <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page7" target="_blank">replied</a> on December 9th, 2016: </span></b>"I found <a href="http://jddonline.com/articles/dermatology/S1545961613P0308X/1" target="_blank"><b>this article</b> </a>which may provide some insight into the question on translation to flushing and redness. This is one of the articles I will be sharing with my derm. It references the Mayo Clinic study on this cream and notes at the end of paragraph four of the introduction: "In addition, ketamine has been hypothesized to act through a number of pathways, including binding of receptors for N-methyl-D-aspartate, α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate, and kainate. These medications may act synergistically to limit transmission of painful stimuli. In addition, the same biochemical effects may prevent vasodilation, thereby reducing the characteristic redness and warmth of the disorder.<div style="text-align: center;">
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Neuropathy & Neuralgia Therapies</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Local Anesthetics, Gabapentin, Ketamine, Amitiptyline</span></b></div>
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❧ Bind to Na+, K+ and Ca2+ channels in damaged nerves to suppress abnormal spontaneous activity</div>
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❧ Disrupt G protein coupling to produce anti- inflammatory effects</div>
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❧ Typical usage has been shown to be safe and without serious adverse effects</div>
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❧ Consider surface area</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">PainFree-IBU Fast Gel</span></b></div>
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• Ketamine 10%.......NMDA Blocker, Analgesic</div>
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• Gabapentin 4%..............Nerve Blocker</div>
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• Ibuprofen 10%...............Anti inflammatory</div>
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• Diclofenac 4%................Anti inflammatory</div>
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• Amitriptyline 1%.............Nerve Blocker</div>
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• Cyclobenzaprine 2%..... Muscle Relaxant</div>
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• Apply 0.5-1.0ml 3-4 x daily</div>
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• Use 1-4 drops on the affected area either alone or after the PLO gels. Response is in 1-2 minutes."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-L7T0wO9GncZORkkSl81LwJVU0r7uFIObJXMwbt_YSpO0galxdlTmONsfqHvTo39rIkGykp1zFWJOiGLlSBOaYEsYFlpiICUYxOJ3StqbdsfWYY-nr6P_vddw3BkMW7DYxiOUxWWgzglP/s1600/livres3d+006.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="601" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-L7T0wO9GncZORkkSl81LwJVU0r7uFIObJXMwbt_YSpO0galxdlTmONsfqHvTo39rIkGykp1zFWJOiGLlSBOaYEsYFlpiICUYxOJ3StqbdsfWYY-nr6P_vddw3BkMW7DYxiOUxWWgzglP/w451-h601/livres3d+006.jpg" width="451" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Brady Barrows <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page8" target="_blank">wrote</a> on December 15th, 2016:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"The concept is flushing aggravates rosacea usually producing a rosacea flareup. <span style="color: black;">Flushing avoidance is an accepted treatment for rosacea. If this ointment using Ketamine 0.5% and Amitriptyline 1% reduces the flushing, it may also reduce the redness associated with the flush.</span> This ointment may or may not reduce the flushing in all patients but it did for Deansm as he reports in the first post of this thread. In the paper that uses this treatment for EM, the docs were using this ointment to manage the pain and reported, <i>"Amitriptyline, a first-generation tricyclic antidepressant, works by inhibiting serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake; it also blocks sodium channels. Ketamine is an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. The NMDA receptors have a key role in the maintenance of chronic pain syndromes." </i>So until we get more reports, we don't know if this works for other rosacea sufferers or whether it reduces the flushing or the redness or both. Deansm has reported back so we can't find out if it is still working or not for him? Not reporting back may indicate that it is still working for him and he has gone his merry way."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">BVokey <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page9" target="_blank">wrote</a> on December 24th, 2016: </span></b>"To give a quick update, I have been using the compound cream 2x daily so far (started last Thursday evening, only four applications thus far), and I have no doubt that it is already helping my skin. I did however flush yesterday evening due to overheating in an enclosed arena (sporting event), however I feel it wasn't as bad as it normally would be. Aside from that, my face has been extremely calm. The only other times my face has been this calm and light is when coming out any type of surgery, as my face will be at its lightest then. Nothing I've tried over the last 13 years or so has helped so much in such a short time span. I would be shocked though if this completely eliminated the permanent color I've had over my cheeks during the last 13 years, but i suppose you never know. Even if it doesn't help any more than it already has, in my view it would be worth continuing. Also I haven't experienced any rebound. I also haven't been applying any moisturizer or sunscreen over it, the only thing I am using on my face is the cream. I will give further updates in the next few, hoping this continues to work."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">BVokey <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page11" target="_blank">updated</a> on December 27th, 2016:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"A quick update to everyone here. I developed a cold over the last 24 hours and have been redder than normal (whenever I get a cold, which is not often, I will always be redder than usual), and then this afternoon I had salad with spinach (I practically always avoid spinach as it causes me to flare up but I thought maybe I would be ok), but sure enough I got very red from the spinach. So this has been a small set back with my progress regarding this cream. I am still planning on using it for a long period of time as overall (aside from this past day) it has been helping tremendously up until I got sick. I will continue to report. Hopefully more people are also able to test this out and report back."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAq20qZB0yjVgSXO-t5LrnZ94dM7LdWRbergVZ5D3ALWkdh6Ynu_WNf1Wx4Zqhyphenhyphen9smods55KL_ptaswmcb559QyK4uSOsowQQavq90pLaanX-mc8mtFSOcc5EfeC7auK-9NIebXEGhrBQE/s1600/livres3d+008.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="581" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAq20qZB0yjVgSXO-t5LrnZ94dM7LdWRbergVZ5D3ALWkdh6Ynu_WNf1Wx4Zqhyphenhyphen9smods55KL_ptaswmcb559QyK4uSOsowQQavq90pLaanX-mc8mtFSOcc5EfeC7auK-9NIebXEGhrBQE/w436-h581/livres3d+008.jpg" width="436" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page11" target="_blank">wrote</a> on December 28th, 2016:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"I wonder if this cream is essentially acting as a numbing cream. Ketamine is an anesthetic. And amitriptyline quiets nerves. BVokey, does the cream cause any sensations on the skin that you've noticed? Does it feel numb? Or anything like sting, itch, feel hot Already BVOKEY is having a different experience than Deansm - in that Dean said he wasn't flushing from his usual triggers - heat, exercise, etc. Whereas BVOKEY, your usual flare-up issues can still provoke some level of reaction, redness. Though it's early days. I also think that rosacea on the nose can be different from rosacea on the delicate skin of the cheeks. Also, the different spatial, vessel, nerve infrastructure that lies underneath nose vs cheeks, chin, forehead."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">BVokey <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page11" target="_blank">wrote</a> on December 28th, 2016: </span></b>"No it doesn't produce any sensation while on my skin. It's not drying and it doesn't feel like anything at all."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">BVokey <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page11" target="_blank">updated</a> on January 2nd, 2017:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"I have mixed feelings about it. Early on it was working great but after about 4-5 days it seemed it wasn't doing much. I feel like whenever something starts to work, my body combats it so that it stops working. I do think it is helping somewhat with my baseline redness but it doesn't help with preventing a flush. It certainly isn't making things worse. I will still post here if things change around, however now I just moved onto msm and dao supplements to see if they are helping. Good luck to you in getting this compound from your doctor. If anyone else with type 1 Rosacea gets relief from this compound please share your results. [..] I began using the compound 2x daily (morning and evening) on the 22nd and it significantly reduced the redness for maybe 4-5 days and since then it seems it hasn't been helping as much. I'm still using it twice a day and plan to continue using for at least a couple months. Along with the compound cream, I was taking 5000iu vitamin d3 (I was deficient when I tested last year and now my levels are normal but I still continue it daily), and Metamucil fiber supplements. I had been taking these two supplements way before starting the compound cream. I still take the d3 and fiber. Since the compound creams' effects have seemed to not be helping as much anymore, I added msm (3g daily) and the enzyme Diamine Oxidase (aka DAO which helps break down histamine, to find out if a lack of this enzyme is responsible for my issues with foods containing histamine). I also just started on propranolol 10mg 1x daily due to my GPs recommendation. So in total I take d3, fiber, msm, dao, and propranolol, and put the compound on my face twice a day. If the cream had continued to work as significantly as it was working early on, I would have just kept with it without adding anything else to the mix. The only issue with this is if I get relief, its going to be more difficult to tell what did it. [..] I don't have proof that it works - I was more inclined to post a photo if it cured my redness. It hasn't. I think it is helping somewhat, but it's tough to say what helps as I am taking several things at the moment but something's definitely helping significantly with my baseline redness. It helped significantly for a few days, then not so much, then I moved on to a few different supplements and now my skin is doing great. However I still have to avoid my triggers such as alcohol, dairy which is the biggest one, along with a host of other foods like spinach, eggplant, vinegar, avocado, etc. If I slip up, it makes no difference what I'm doing to help my skin, I will still flare up which could last a couple days before my skin calms down, which is why it is no cure for me. Here are some photos to show how my baseline redness has improved basically since starting the ointment. First photo taken literally moments before first application of the ointment and second was three days into using the ointment where my skin was at its best, and third photo was taken two days ago, a little after three weeks since starting this. My baseline has never been so clear and I've had permanent redness for around 15 years. But again, I can still flare which will throw things off. I think the ointment is definitely contributing to the improvement, but it's likely also be a combination of several things I am taking. As far as the drug industry not catching up with the science, this ointment is in practice for erythromelalgia, not Rosacea. As far as I know, the medical journals don't have anything tying this to rosacea."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page14" target="_blank">wrote</a> on January 19th, 2017: </span></b>"Hi everyone, this thread is really interesting to me. I actually am going to get the compounded cream KETAMINE / ATRYPTALINE (butchering that last spelling, I know) in the next couple of days, and I will let you know how it goes! Prescribed by a rheumatologist, who thinks what I have is closer to erythromelalgia than rosacea (but been diagnosed as rosacea from at ~7 derms). MY SYMPTOMS: Flushing, burning pain (cheeks/nose/ears/neck) that comes on in evening, lasts most of the night (~3am), aggravated by lying down (don't even try to do that anymore, got a recliner). This has been very debilitating, like I know for a lot of others on here. I also have some permanent redness starting from childhood, but really at this point I'd take a 24/7 cherry red face if I could get rid of the burning pain (and get some sleep at night!). Diet/dinner is unrelated for me. I include my symptoms because I think the details are important, often ignored by doctors in my experience ("Metrogel has worked for some of my patients with acne rosacea, so it might work for you even though you don't have any bumps!") as well as published papers (as a grad student, p-hacking is real!). Anyway, in case anyone reads this, just wanted to know I really feel for what you are going through, and to keep trying different things ~laser_cat"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Skullmcrex <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page15" target="_blank">wrote</a> on January 20th, 2017: </span></b>"Maybe we all have erythromelalgia and the rosacea is a mental condition. <span style="color: black;">Prozac has been working quite well for my Rosacea (Soolantra being doing stuff too).</span> Hell I'm eating whatever I want to counteract some pretty significant weight loss and I'm not noticing any major worsening of symptoms. The ketamine thing is funny because it's a really popular recreational drug here, I've seen many people on it recently (utterly moronic drug to take and that's coming from a pretty liberal drug user, I essentially watched people become paraplegics/trapped in their own bodies making zombie like noises and muscle spasms) <span style="color: black;">I</span><span style="color: black;"> think every rosacea sufferer should try anti depressants and a good physical/semi physical suncream. I think that's the most important thing honestly</span>. The diet thing seems to be less of a factor personally, although it does somewhat increase minor acne for me. Avoiding tetracyclines that increase light sensitivity in the skin significantly hence worsening classic rosacea symptoms is also important. [..] Antihistamines seems to help a lot too, especially at dinner time (I don't get the dreaded evening flushes anymore). Basically everyone on here should take anti depressants. (hope you're all well)"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaPL8lFm-QBmLhOEQB6gbX088IxCdLGb9CYWCQKgmE41y5RSNJqIEGEH89hppa2cIyJxU7GSaYL8yUu4rLV-tTMTr8NODlA9-n0-YFrK3gmJlu68XYmANmf9l1tYc5moevJbpfjqehe5aF/s1600/33.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="565" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaPL8lFm-QBmLhOEQB6gbX088IxCdLGb9CYWCQKgmE41y5RSNJqIEGEH89hppa2cIyJxU7GSaYL8yUu4rLV-tTMTr8NODlA9-n0-YFrK3gmJlu68XYmANmf9l1tYc5moevJbpfjqehe5aF/w424-h565/33.jpg" width="424" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Laser_cat</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page16" target="_blank">wrote</a> on January 24th, 2017: </span></b></span>"Hi, I hope the trouble with finding compounding pharmacies is worked out soon! I got my cream (it's very thick and goopy) and used it yesterday morning, yesterday night, and this morning.<span style="color: black;"> Actually, mine is 10% ketamine / 2% amitriptyline. Although I didn't have an immediate reaction, I noticed about 10-20 min after applying, I had a mild flush (more of a blushing, nothing compared to my regular evening flushes), which lasted 5 or 10 min. That scared me a little, but I'll def. stick with it for a while. Last evening, there were a few patches on my face that flushed and burned, but most of my face seemed ok. </span>Maybe I didn't put it on evenly enough? Not sure. My general problem is flushing evening / night. Interestingly, I tried putting it on my ears too yesterday morning, and yesterday evening they flushed real bad. So I won't put it on my ears anymore, see how that goes. I'll update later again. ~laser_cat (Lizzy). PS - It cost me 50 $ (US) for 1 month supply (my insurance didn't cover)"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Brady Barrows <span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page16" target="_blank">wrote</a></span> on January 25th, 2017:</span></b> "Lizzy, Why did your physician prescribe 10% ketamine / 2% amitriptyline when Deansm reports the Rx is Ketamine 0.5% and Amitriptyline 1% (see the first post in this thread)? This is radically a different prescription."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Laser_cat</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page16" target="_blank">wrote</a> on January 25th, 2017:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Hi Brady, Not sure why 10%. I didn't mention the anecdotal report of Deansm. I just suggested the ket/am topical combo. My rheum says he has experience with flushing and vasomotor abnormalities (and was the first doc not to give me metrogel/aczone/sulfur washes etc). I didn't see it was 10% until the pharm gave it to me. Anyway, <span style="color: black;">after I applied it yesterday morning, at 3 pm (my evening flushing usually happens at least 2 hours later) my face started to burn/flush in patches, in the order of where I applied it. Until my entire face was burning so bad (the worst since I started clonidine months ago)</span>. I am not sure if it was due to the ketamine 10%, something specific to me personally not being able to tolerate the cream, or what. Actually, my face is a bit sore today when I washed with water / put on moisturizer. That was surprising, since I've read that this combo is usually well-tolerated (although it may or may not give results). I'll try to ask my rheum why the 10% (seems like even in EM papers, it is much less than 10%). In the meantime, my rheum wants me to go from 0.3 mg clonidine/day to 0.2 mg/day (slowly), to raise my blood pressure enough so<span style="color: #990000;"> </span><span style="color: black;">I could try a calcium channel blocker (typical for EM, a blood vessel relaxer in hopes to prevent their spasming).</span> That idea is very scary/risky, but I have nothing to lose really, my symptoms are so debilitating right now and have already tried so many things that did nothing/made things worse. (Actually, I know a couple ppl are helped by magnesium on here which is similar to a CCB.) Sorry, I wound up writing a novel. Lizzy."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Brady Barrows</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page16" target="_blank">wrote</a> on January 25th, 2017:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Rosaceans like novels, so no problem. Your Rx seems extreme compared to clinical papers that use the 1% Amitriptyline and 0.5% Ketamine Rx"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Fiugs</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page16" target="_blank">wrote</a> on January 26th, 2017:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"I now have the ointment. So I collected my ointment yesterday... at last! The timing is unfortunate, as I had my 3rd IPL session the day before yesterday and my face tends to through a few days of greater volatility after that. Because of this, I decided it would make sense to wait for another couple of days before using the ointment, otherwise how could I/we know what was effecting me, either positively or otherwise.. So... Last night I went and applied the ointment.... I know... I know... I just couldn't resist. I initially decided that there was probably little point in my reporting the results of last night's application - and I wouldn't have bothered, except for the fact that they are similar to yours, Laser Cat ... All day yesterday, my post IPL face was a little less red, lovely and cool and flush free. <span style="color: black;">Within an hour after applying the ointment, the most reactive part of my face (left cheek) flushed quite badly.</span> That was around 9.30.... I woke briefly at 1.30 am and observed that it was still flushed. I will add that, unlike some other users' reports here, I did experience a few sensations upon application. They were very mild however, not painful or even uncomfortable. <span style="color: black;">A slight tingling on the cheeks and a feeling of warmth, although, at that pre-flush stage my face did not feel warm to the touch at all. </span>Now... The caveat to all of the above is that my typical reaction, post IPL, is pretty much what I have described above and it usually kicks in a just over 24 hours after an IPL. So, given the timing, this event could just have been that, rather than a reaction to the ointment. The worthwhile point to note, I guess, is that the ointment did not prevent the flush... and of course it is unclear at this point whether or not it caused it.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: xxx-large;">OTHER INFO I AM ABLE TO PROVIDE</span></b><br />
John I asked my pharmacist at boots in Stirling, Scotland if they could speculate as to why you were unable to get your presc fulfilled at Boots in the Republic or in N.I .they said there could be two reasons -<br />
1 - The republic, and each of the UK's devolved parliaments, will have their own medical regulations with regard to prescriptions involving controlled drugs, such as Ketamine.<br />
2 - My local Boots said they had to work quite hard to find one of the few special pharmacies in the UK that were able to source and handle such drugs. They speculated that the ones you have tried, John, may not have been willing - or able - to give it that much time and attention. The good news for you (I hope) is that my pharm did tell me which special pharmacy was able to do the job: they are called IPS Specials and are located in Surrey, England. <a href="http://www.ipsspecials.com/pharmacy/Contact-Us" target="_blank"><b>Here</b></a> is a link to it.<br />
I can tell you now that you will not be able to send your presc direct to them in order to get it fulfilled... But perhaps if you give their contact details to your pharm, they won't have to do the legwork for you and might be able to help you more. I would encourage you to do your best to get a prescription that specifies Lipoderm, or some other easily absorbable base. I'll post again when there is more to share. All the best, folks."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Kalamazoo</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page18" target="_blank">wrote</a> on January 29th, 2017:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Noteworthy success with Amitriptyline (25mg) Thought I would add my experience. I have had rosacea for around twenty years. The flushing blushing/nose swelling type for almost the entire period. Now, some blemishes too. Two years ago I started flushing like mad. I had recently come off 50mg doxycycline (which was really destroying my digestive system). I had no blemishes then just extreme flushing, usually in the evening. Once I flushed so badly that my neck and chest area flushed bright red too (this only happened once but it was extremely distressing and painful). I had recently moved to a new country and so I was feeling really challenged in every way possible. High stress levels. A couple of years before a doc had recommended Amitriptyline hydrochloride (a derivative of Amitriptyline) to me as she thought maybe I had fibromyalgia. This was just after my mom had died and I was a wreck, emotionally and physically. I had gone to see that doctor because I had strange aches and pains, numbness and ice cold feet. I took it for a limited time at 10mg. Anyway, after all these bad flushes, <span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="color: black;">I decided to ask a doctor to prescribe </span><span style="color: black;">Amitriptyline</span><span style="color: black;"> for me at 25mg. It was a fairly random decision. I am still taking it now, two years later. My skin improved A LOT quite quickly and the flushing almost completely stopped.</span></span> My skin wasn´t perfect but I was able to enjoy a relatively normal life, even to start running again. Other factors that could have influenced the improvement: I was eating healthily (no junk, no processed food, low-ish carbs), I had cut down on but not eliminated dairy, I had reduced caffeine, I started taking vitamin D 5000iu two or three times a week, and I started doing regular yoga to help with my stress levels. I really think the thing that did the trick was the Amitriptyline though. For the whole two years since I started taking it my skin has more of less behaved until now (a different story on a different post (recent) about an experiment gone wrong). Sigh. It certainly didn't cure my rosacea but it controlled it to an acceptable level. Amitriptyline is usually used to treat depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia, chronic pain etc. As an anti-depressant it is prescribed in much higher doses than the 25mg that I was taking. According to Wikipedia it's 'exact mechanism of action is unclear'. Interestingly, when a family member got shingles a few years ago, he was prescribed Amitriptyline. Apparently it switches off pain at the root of the nerve."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Laser_cat</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page19" target="_blank">wrote</a> on February 1st, 2017: </span></b></span>"Hey Flugs, I just tried the ointment 3 x : night, morning, night. After the first night and morning, I had a little flush-like phenomenon (maybe 20 min later) that lasted less than 15 min and wasn't that bad. If that had been my only negative rxn I would have continued. However,<span style="color: black;"> the 3rd time, my face flushed / burned one of the worst times it's ever been</span> (patches in the order I applied the cream). So .... that was the last time. My ointment was 10% ketamine though (and I think 2% amit, not sure about the amit atm), so I may try again asking my rheum for a lower dose of ketamine. I have an appt Monday, will ask him his thoughts on that. Quick aside: Tonight I'm going to take a small dose of <span style="color: black;">amlodipine (calcium channel blocker)</span>, another treatment for erythromelalgia (the ointment in this thread is a treatment for EM) and I'm 90% sure my face will explode but crossing fingers. Best, Lizzy"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgikrKIsjyjSObA27oWMOFMo9HFt7N32XT8esoEKYxP4aihq_bO27dmq20oaPuJKZtaAjwbB7uKHWlxU3FnS1yiyEYpIBO-hp8EuKkr2EB0GgrDsuOVQ7QIRn2HAjMe-MoOc7WoE3AQEMY/s1600/boekberg+017.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgikrKIsjyjSObA27oWMOFMo9HFt7N32XT8esoEKYxP4aihq_bO27dmq20oaPuJKZtaAjwbB7uKHWlxU3FnS1yiyEYpIBO-hp8EuKkr2EB0GgrDsuOVQ7QIRn2HAjMe-MoOc7WoE3AQEMY/w398-h530/boekberg+017.JPG" width="398" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">BVokey</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page19" target="_blank">wrote</a> on February 2nd, 2017: </span></b></span>"<span style="color: black;">I'm still doing very well and haven't had this much relief in my life</span>. However the ointment strength I am using is the same as what the OP posted, nothing higher as I'm reading some people have way too high strengths for the ketamine. I'm also taking care of myself and avoiding my triggers, the biggest trigger being anything dairy (even if a bagel or bun has any milk ingredients I won't eat it or I will flare). I am also taking propranolol and MSM supplements and maybe they are helping as well. But it's no cure I still have Rosacea it's just much more manageable than ever before, and my face can still flare if I don't be careful with my food and environmental triggers."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">BVokey</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page19" target="_blank">wrote</a> on February 16th, 2017: </span></b></span>"<span style="color: black;">I've been using this ointment for a couple of months now and I haven't rebounded once</span>. I tried mirvaso awhile ago which gave me severe rebound after a few hours. I wouldn't be concerned with this causing any rebound effect but since everyone's body is so individual, if symptoms get worse probably best to stop. The only thing that causes any flushing for me anymore is diet related. This ointment I think has helped, but there could be several factors at play. It definitely hasn't caused any harm."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">BVokey</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page21" target="_blank">updated</a> on February 22nd, 2017: </span></b></span>"Still using 2x daily. It's going very well. I did not use it for one day over the recent weekend to see if it would matter, and my face was significantly more red that day. It's helpful for sure but it will not prevent me from a flush from food triggers. It does not eliminate my redness completely and I still have a way to go before I'm rosacea free."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Vice</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page22" target="_blank">replied</a> on February 23rd, 2017: </span></b></span>"Nobody should be worried about ketamine having an effect. I take ketamine in powdered form recreationally and in my eyes 'medicinally'. It has an antidepressant effect and is currently being reviewed and researched as a breakthrough anti depressant for treatment resistant patients. It's a wonder drug really. The hallucinations are more distortions and only occur with high doses. - I personally love them myself. I am also trying to get the cream ointment and am in the middle of the process to getting it in uk now but it's difficult. Obviously I know it won't have any effect on my mind but it's still crazy that a drug I used systemically to get high might also be a good treatment for Rosacea! Who'd have thought!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Fiugs <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page22" target="_blank">replied</a> on February 25th, 2017:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"So far it seems these are four sum results with this topical:<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Deansm</b> </span>- only has Rosacea symptoms on his nose. <span style="color: black;">He reported good results</span>.. But then disappeared from the forum, so we do not know if the ointment continues to help. (Is it fair to speculate that his Rosacea was at a moderate stage if it was confined to his nose?)<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Fiugs</b> </span>- unable to tolerate the ointment on my face. <span style="color: black;">It produces a burning sensation and my face goes red within minutes as a result</span>. Irritation lasts for at least 2-3 hours.<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Laser_Cat</b> </span>- <span style="color: black;">similar results to Fiugs:</span> note that the % active ingredients in Laser_cat's ointment was much higher than the others.<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;">BVokey</span></b> - <span style="color: black;">reports good results</span>. No reported irritation upon application. Says his skin is better than its been for a long time. However, he began several other treatments around the same time, inc DAO and Propranolol and says he cannot be sure which is helping."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Nobrakes <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page23" target="_blank">wrote</a> on February 28th, 2017:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"For you guys with erythromelalgia like symptoms, I too had the same thing. For me taking<span style="color: #990000;"> </span><span style="color: black;">flaxseed oil</span> seems to have miraculously placed it into remission, though I'm not sure why"<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">RaymondS <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page24" target="_blank">wrote</a> on April 14th, 2017: </span>"<span style="color: black;">I'm on the 3rd day and no change in my rosacea.</span> It's making my skin really oily and I think this morning it's slowly starting to aggravate it. Will keep trying but defiantly no calming effect so far. Didn't harm me but didn't help either. And it was a hell of a process to get the stuff. Just proves what works for one doesn't always work for another. I will keep it and just use in one area to make sure that over time it works or doesn't. But unfortunately it did not cure me."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRDjYnSVmef1YiIiHCU89kOxaWvmP9WGfNZeVOck7CuqUq8PkNIGccouxkkP5my7_hTWD46nzf9eg80U4gUtNP4JyHXyk2hIkO1wOBJTNaL4hxJOpPnDlTwLaYNACMrDiJoJjEQfZ6QPXD/s1600/Fragen+%25C3%25BCber+Leben+und+Tod+II.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="298" height="592" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRDjYnSVmef1YiIiHCU89kOxaWvmP9WGfNZeVOck7CuqUq8PkNIGccouxkkP5my7_hTWD46nzf9eg80U4gUtNP4JyHXyk2hIkO1wOBJTNaL4hxJOpPnDlTwLaYNACMrDiJoJjEQfZ6QPXD/w440-h592/Fragen+%25C3%25BCber+Leben+und+Tod+II.jpg" width="440" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Fiugs <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page25" target="_blank">wrote</a> on April 8th, 2017:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"I gave up on mine quite some time ago as it really aggravated my skin. It seems that only one person on our forum - the original poster - got marked results with this. It's truly weird, isn't it, that our skins are all so different! Every day I grow more of the opinion that there is no such single condition as Rosacea, but rather it's a blanket term for a red, irritated and sensitive flushy face, that may or may not include P&Ps, the unique cure of which is probably only going to be determined by the cause(s)."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36313-Cleared-up-my-type-1-Rosacea-(flushing-red-nose)/page26">wrote</a> on December 16th, 2017: </span></b>"In case anyone made it this far in the thread: <span style="color: black;">I have a contact w/ EM who said to me ketamine/amitriptyline combo cream produced a heating effect a little while after application (as some ppl in this thread mention ... happened to me as well). He tried the ketamine cream alone which didn't have this heating effect, and found that topical ketamine was as effective for pain as a</span> <span style="color: black;">(temporary) nerve block</span><span style="color: #990000;">. </span>I'm retrying the combo cream (1% ketamine, 2% amitriptyline) for the past few days. It's been 3 days. <span style="color: black;">Sometimes </span><span style="color: black;">I experience the initial heating effect (for me, happens 1 hour after application, lasts for ~1 hour) andsometimes not.</span><span style="color: black;"> After, my face feels numb, supported, </span><span style="color: black;">generally </span><span style="color: black;">good.</span> I'm hoping to get separate creams at some point containing a single active ingredient to see which one will be the most helpful. ( FWIW many things can be compounded as topicals -- clonidine, diclofenac, baclofen, etc eg<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5340828/"> ttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5340828/</a><br />
After poking around reading about pain, "wind up", EM, etc, I think for anyone experiencing lots of burning/pain during flushing, that it is important to get that controlled somehow ASAP (if it exists after beta blockers, NSAID's, etc) because some of these mechanisms seem to become irreversible over time ( eg, <a href="https://courses.washington.edu/conj/sensory/pain.htm">https://courses.washington.edu/conj/sensory/pain.htm</a> ) I know for EM specifically there is thought to be a "golden window" of opportunity in some patients where the pain is still reversible before it becomes irreversible." [..] FWIW my impression is there is little difference between neurogenic (burning) rosacea and facial EM. The treatments for both are trial and error and involve the same set of drugs pretty much. I know my doctor has prescribed ketamine / amitriptyline gels for neurogenic rosacea (as well as topical gabapentin, topical clonidine, topical NSAID's, etc).<br />
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I think ideally someone would get ketamine gel alone AND amitriptyline gel alone and maybe can mix them in a 1:1 ratio if there is no problem with each. I am trying the combo cream right now, so cannot say if the ketamine gel alone (or amitriptyline gel alone) would be better. From the paper I linked above (written by world's experts in EM) they seem to think the ketamine + amitriptyline would act synergistically. But my impression from the EM forums is that ketamine gel alone might be sufficient. Sorry I can't say anymore. [..] I still think it might be best to get the lowest concentration of ketamine and amitriptyline individually (so you can use 1 or both if you want). But<span style="color: black;"><b> </b>I think ketamine is the ingredient responsible for the "heating effect" that I observed.<b> </b></span>I have amitriptyline 10% + flurbiprofen 1 % (the latter is an NSAID) and don't have noticeable heating. I have tried ketamine 10% + amitripytline 2% in the past and it had a major heating effect. Now I use the amitriptyline 10% + flurbiprofen 1% combo or amitryptiline 0.5% + ketamine 0.5% combo. (The flurbiprofen helps my nose swelling flushing actually ... which makes sense since ibuprofen helps my nose but unfortunately not my cheeks.) I talked to the compounding pharm and he said ketamine is the one mostly responsible for any heating. I also talked to another derm and he said the same thing."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9CLhLGjfhpiElE3Ct9PIDvveqlf9Un_Ak4Nb8f4QkOxwNLUYmtT6IMHIU3jGrCZ5WXAC_Nxx29LZsyCW4w-qCs3KAvGodv0IyBhW_UaTj6NMmYIqoXcJ_LyyUxECqnhY0IER9RGVSv4-H/s1600/34.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9CLhLGjfhpiElE3Ct9PIDvveqlf9Un_Ak4Nb8f4QkOxwNLUYmtT6IMHIU3jGrCZ5WXAC_Nxx29LZsyCW4w-qCs3KAvGodv0IyBhW_UaTj6NMmYIqoXcJ_LyyUxECqnhY0IER9RGVSv4-H/w411-h548/34.jpg" width="411" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: xxx-large;"><b>The more I read and try to write here about other flushing disorders</b></span></span> <br />especially about erythromelalgia (EM), the more I start to think that this extreme face flushing and burning might not be strictly 'rosacea'. I feel there is a grey zone, where bad neurogenic/ vascular rosacea falls into, as well as EM, as well as perhaps bad flushing from neuropathic pain disorders. The more I hear and read, the more it seems that it is extreme to flush this bad. And the few people I know who have it too, all seem to balance on the edge of different possible diagnosis. For instance, one of the derms I see thinks I have a <b><span style="color: #444444;">mast cell disorder</span></b>, hence the violent flushing. I also know a bad flusher who's doctor says she must have <b><span style="color: #444444;">erythromelalgia</span></b>. I joined an EM facebook group and there are many more people there with extreme face flushing and burning! More than in your average rosacea group. However they tend to also have burning hands and feet. My hands do burn but that has been diagnosed as Raynaud's syndrome in hospital. But the division lines are blurry and I might just as well have EM instead of straight forward rosacea. But... at the end of the day, they are labels and EM doctors also struggle to treat the facial burning and flushing, so we end up either way with a flushing problem that is hard to treat; both for dermatologists as well as for neurologists as well as for a rheumatologist, or a vascular specialist...<br />
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Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-22726104700146458942018-05-29T04:24:00.136-07:002024-01-31T05:52:53.029-08:00Ongoing post, Update day to day life VIII, September 29th 2018 - July 21st 2018<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">I try to give an insight in my own life and dealings with rosacea. I also try to gather information that might be useful for everyone with rosacea, especially subtype 1 with burning, flushing and skin redness. I happen to be a bit unfortunate in that I have this condition for a long time already, and unlike many others, I haven't been able to get it into remission. I know it is more uplifting to read about someone who has beaten rosacea, but I like to write about the struggles that come for those who haven't achieved this. I also blabber here about everyday life topics. </span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b style="color: black; font-size: 42px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;">September 29th 2018</span></b></span></span></div>
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I still had a draft post lingering about the<b><span style="color: #990000;"> trip to New York from 2006</span></b>, which my sister, mother, her new husband (at the time new) and his kids took back then. I already had the rosacea trouble for a good 7 years by then, but that trip went fairly well and was a real highlight of the year. I published the post after all, it is stored all the way at the beginning of this blog, but you can read that blog post <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/new-york-trip-may-2006.html"><b>here</b></a> if you are interested. My skin is normalizing a lot by now, the pityriasis rosea is almost gone. The areas first started to become flakey, then dried up it seemed, turned into a sort of brown skin colour, then the top layer shed and pinkish new skin became visible underneath. Then the new skin became wrinkly, like foil paper, and very delicate. And by now the skin seems to become more firm again. I have what looks like hyperpigmentation all over my body now but I am certain that is temporary until the skin recovers entirely. Unfortunately a few spots came back on my upper legs but I blame that on some high stress the past week. (They are already starting to fade in the centers again as we speak). So, what stressful event triggered that mild recurrence? My beloved cats! Again. This time no untimely death (sniff), but all of them caught the calicivirus. One after another. These viruses can mutate like crazy, so old vaccinations is not protecting any of them, although the cat who did not get this vaccination (I'm almost too ashamed to type this, he got HIV and other major vaccinations but I shuddered reading in his little passport that calicivirus was not among the vaccines), well he got it by far the worst. Think of drooling of clear mucus from the mouth, smacking the lips and clicking the mouth constantly, sores on tongue and cheeks that prevent them from eating like normal and my dear bunny-tailed cat Piotr even has inflamed gums of the teeth. I have visited the vet numerous times and aside from anti-inflammatory medication , a stomach protecting drug and liquid power food that I can administer to them with a syringe, it is a virus that has to run its course, now that there are no secondary infections going on. I don't want to sound dramatic, but I have respect for mothers who handle several (ill or healthy) kids, as I have been caring for a couple of cats now and it has taken up half my days time and energy...<br />
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First one needed to be entirely isolated from the rest. Then a second too. Make that constant policing of doors and windows, constant washing and disinfecting of water and food bowls, cuddling, comforting, administering medication, forcing their poor little mouths open while whey whinge in pain. Then comforting them again. Then there is Piotr who wants cuddles and attention all the time, and Igor who howls and cries when he is left alone too much. Preparing tuna in warm water, mixing it so they might be able to swallow it (not..). Googling whether or not meloxicam is safe or not for cats (I read nothing but horror stories about it online.. I don't even trust a vet anymore these days... tragic... But I read there isn't that much out there for pain treatment for cats). Googling what else I can do against this calicivirus.. Worrying. Checking if it can be lethal for cats.. Here Koshka is mightily sad and pitiful. Koshka has an ulcer on his nose, a sore, it seems, as well as on his tongue and he is salivating a lot; mucus dripping from his mouth. (I use no make-up normally, so sorry for the shitty half gone eyebrows in the photos, that are unfashionably unretouched and the lack of eye lashes and the blotchy skin and watery eyes and little birds mouth).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCR9a75ieMhR1ZyDjGSBkvQfrwJVinPdNIZdyXheLJrseDccOvtvIxQ4D98rLCRvy-DXSq7ZgiD0R09j-c7W8IYnP9ERDkkRagy50R8cxkpliCBcZDZkJNy3smapLvaxqhkQ1tqNf6s2-/s1600/374387_10151462168733996_1506782390_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="756" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCR9a75ieMhR1ZyDjGSBkvQfrwJVinPdNIZdyXheLJrseDccOvtvIxQ4D98rLCRvy-DXSq7ZgiD0R09j-c7W8IYnP9ERDkkRagy50R8cxkpliCBcZDZkJNy3smapLvaxqhkQ1tqNf6s2-/w278-h353/374387_10151462168733996_1506782390_n.jpg" width="278" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZfEg9jhyphenhyphenMst3PuWbv5JSbrOba9cC0aLlUbRv3q398xftdvz-2nW-r12KK9_8EnDD7H6NBLuy0I3pWBgRJZxFqB2TQzRSQe7MHe7K5TevjM50qiiwJVenQHx5x5XwSDtFmynJle574Uvw/s1600/DSC00518.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZfEg9jhyphenhyphenMst3PuWbv5JSbrOba9cC0aLlUbRv3q398xftdvz-2nW-r12KK9_8EnDD7H6NBLuy0I3pWBgRJZxFqB2TQzRSQe7MHe7K5TevjM50qiiwJVenQHx5x5XwSDtFmynJle574Uvw/w278-h208/DSC00518.JPG" width="278" /></a>This virus is apparently very contagious so droplets from a sneeze or a brush against a piece of wall or furniture in the hallway at some point can already be picked up by one of the other cats. So I am mopping the floors a lot too. cleaned all the floors and tiles in the house with strong cleaning products (oh my poor skin, those fumes cause me to flush, especially chloride), washing my hands about 50 times a day with strong soap to prevent cross contamination through hand-attached virus particles and isolating the two (initially) sick cats, but it still isn't helping, as they all got it eventually:( The vet said he thinks it is more likely that they picked it up outside the house, by another cat with the active infection. Then when they became a little bit stronger again, they wanted to go outside, which is out of the question. Firstly because they can infect other cats, secondly because they can hide somewhere I cannot find them and nurse them (even with their gigantic GPS trackers on, they can hide when going into sheds or under bushes where no phone signal is). Thirdly because they need rest and warmth. But they started to eat a bit again by now, soft foods with a lot of smell and sauce, and they started to become vocal and sassy again too. So I solved that problem for now by attaching a string, like a leash, to their collars. I close the collar tighter around their necks than normal, so they cannot run off. Surprisingly, both my feisty boys were so enthralled by the outside world again, that they walk like tame lambs besides me, sniffing the grass, rolling on the ground, scratching their claws again and not once trying to run off. So twice daily I now let out cats on a leash, an hour a day per cat, times three currently... Big sigh. I will never get a dog, it is so nice that cats are normally self sufficient when it comes to outdoor time. But it is also a bit of fun and a bit of further bonding I suppose. </div>
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Koshka was breaking the house down today as he wanted to go outside, raging like a lion. When he is like that and has the energy for it, he can actually attack the door. LOL; ram it like a rhino or scratch it. They know what buttons to press hehe. They never seem to actually injure themselves when throwing their bodies against the door, but when they want something, they want it NOW. So I let Igor in through the front door and Koshka leaped like a jaguar over him through the tiny door opening outside! Without his GPS tracker on as I took it off to make him more comfortable. I jumped after him right away, and luckily he started rolling on the ground in the sun in the garden, so I approached him very gentle and managed to pick him up again. Phew! I set up the large dog bench I still have and put him in there in the garden, so that he has some wind and sun and sight anyway, but of course he is trying to escape. I guess he has some energy again. My dear friend Emma also has rosacea and she has two Burmese cats, absolutely gorgeous creatures and with their own health issues, so she has been a huge emotional support for me, discussing this and that's and what if's, thus or so's. I do understand why cat ladies have the crazy label attached to them haha. But man.... what a load of work and worries. I was supposed to travel this week, but last minute decided to let it go (and a few hundred euro's worth of tickets, arghh), as I couldn't leave my dear cats alone under someone else's care. oh well... So from the stress, I assume, I have a few new pityriasis patches on my legs, but nothing too bad... </div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>this man is so hot):</b></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vkweStbjjSE/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vkweStbjjSE?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzazqItTXqwmqZJWyDJdyVHkoUqfrqRyNCm2tX0Oqgql2k-gE8FphgmSVkL-REgXNtHmxmf2bZqHwzQ3ZG5ew' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjLptvncvELUY5y6KPyAs0KKRQdFlc8hwn6Dc4sYeDds6q_jD9ID7I7dFWkb80tNWgf4iMIGh3GnQZpGdOBD8KxeXCRGQJNZ0pvl0H8g2Rn55P73mUb_6KjvwJvQOQh7nfzTmqCHobgJD5/s1600/1479537_10152042065818996_1722409821_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjLptvncvELUY5y6KPyAs0KKRQdFlc8hwn6Dc4sYeDds6q_jD9ID7I7dFWkb80tNWgf4iMIGh3GnQZpGdOBD8KxeXCRGQJNZ0pvl0H8g2Rn55P73mUb_6KjvwJvQOQh7nfzTmqCHobgJD5/s1600/1479537_10152042065818996_1722409821_n.jpg" /></a>You can check out my contemporary music playlist <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeXffK8R0Qx7JWq5hPf8whSk8VmIrmhGb"><b>here</b></a> if you care for this. I'm so tired, even after normal sleep, just as I felt when I was having a burn out in the past. It is overwhelming, and I probably take it all way more heavy than normally, as my beloved cat Petya passed away last month. So I see potential death lurking around every corner now. I'm getting tension head aches in my neck and back of the head very regularly, already since my early 20's, and it's really bad at the moment too, the car drives worsen it. Ultimately it is all just stress though. I have read about Bukowski and his love for cat. He advised: "<i>If you're feeling bad, you just look at the cats, you'll feel better, because they know that everything is, just as it is. There's nothing to get excited about. They just know. They're saviours. The more cats you have, the longer you live. If you have a hundred cats, you will live ten times longer than if you have ten. Someday this will be discovered, and people will have a thousand cats and live forever. It's truly ridiculous." </i>In fact I have a cute book with great illustrations of all sorts of famous people with a great love for cats ('Of cats and men'). It also includes the likes of Sir Isaac newton, Tesla, Churchill, T.S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway and Haruki Murakami, that Japanese author I like so much. 30 famous men in total.</div><div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDkcpTWLUsy2I4ULm10ovfDTKY2yQCbDpBv4nrWP5CK1ZKpyFcapy0Gb4rak2TLjLJQMVnlm8mwV3igsPzd8zhSEWCgEW8LtiQKEFdkGf_CLGuydBYMSn2PfLqybd-eycNlyQSZEeO47Dz/s1600/ZZZZDSC00188%252C5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1401" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDkcpTWLUsy2I4ULm10ovfDTKY2yQCbDpBv4nrWP5CK1ZKpyFcapy0Gb4rak2TLjLJQMVnlm8mwV3igsPzd8zhSEWCgEW8LtiQKEFdkGf_CLGuydBYMSn2PfLqybd-eycNlyQSZEeO47Dz/s320/ZZZZDSC00188%252C5.jpg" width="280" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>I have read more books by Haruki Murakami now, after Kafka on the Shore.</b></span> </span>Finished Norwegian Wood last week and I can recommend it now. Took me a bit of time to get into, this is his most famous and most straight forward book apparently, but it has those typical Haruki elements; a young male protagonist, coming off age, quietness and strong atmosphere. Of course a cat comes by somewhere. I don't know still exactly how he does it, but all his books have some elements of calm to them, introspection and melancholy. I love getting into his world. Japanese are strange people anyway, in a nice way. Saw a documentary a few days ago where a Dutch woman who speaks Japanese went there and interviewed people. Ended up at a 'moss fan club', Tokyo city dwellers, living in a shoe box, and being transformed by their love for moss. Every big city in Japan has moss lovers clubs. They look for it everywhere in the city, in gutters, on street corners. No matter if you stamp on it, it won't break down or give up. The fans say that moss is like a small forest, if you look closely at it, and that they would love to live in it. They give the moss they find water with a spray can and talk about it together, sometimes for hours on end and even then they aren't done talking about moss :) "Moss exists longer than humans, so it has a lot to tell and teach us. We are secondary to moss. Moss has never changed in all those times. Moss is calm and peaceful, so in terms of 'zen' we have a lot to learn from the moss".</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvluat8k08aSOmbZYWARYqybejreYJ-ez1iXgXRJZEz34fUJgObGufNYxkyJ-8Zahh7_fwpQBRkSndOewqdP1M8yXULgsIleYl1rBpZI3o8kk5jo_-CpVDRPThJzv-YjWp9-rKFlOhrCcK/s1600/ZZZZZZZDSC09997.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1416" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvluat8k08aSOmbZYWARYqybejreYJ-ez1iXgXRJZEz34fUJgObGufNYxkyJ-8Zahh7_fwpQBRkSndOewqdP1M8yXULgsIleYl1rBpZI3o8kk5jo_-CpVDRPThJzv-YjWp9-rKFlOhrCcK/s320/ZZZZZZZDSC09997.jpg" width="283" /></a>They saw it once, on their way to work, and the moss was speaking to them (this sounds like a Murakami novel in itself). The moss was comforting them, telling them all would be OK. To be strong and keep their head up high. Because the moss kept encouraging them every day, they learned that it wasn't bad to be different. It gave me directions, one said. And thanks to the moss I could leave my awful job. And the other Japanese said; What type of moss was it, silver moss by any chance? YES. Yeh well that is strong stuff. Silver moss teaches you about life, it is the grandfather of the mosses. (Everyone was nodding and smiling). Total wacko's in today's western view of course, fruit loops who imagine a piece of moss to talk to them, but it is also endearing I think, how the human mind can find meaning and solace in small things like that. (And let's not forget that masses of westerners presuppose an anthropomorphic entity—‘the creator of the Universe’—cares about every individual and talks to ‘anyone willing to listen’, though evidence of the existence of such an entity is nonexistent, to the extent that it is invisible, undetectable by any means, and commonly absent when most needed. At least moss can be observed). And these people feel less lonely because of the moss, as they found each other thanks to it. They wear rings with moss attached to it, moss earrings and green crushed velvet jackets. Moss will always be there and thus brings solace to some people, and looking really up close at it, it looks like a foggy forest in which you can get lost, and in which you can feel a typical Japanese thing; yugen. Yugen has different meanings in Japanese, but it is mostly used to describe a transcendental personal experience, felt when you are all alone in some remote nature spot, ideally a valley with mist and dew, or a deserted forest or cliff top. And the loneliness combined with the connection with nature that you then feel, is apparently described as 'yugen'. But that word can also mean infinite, or poetic calm. Or it can refer to landscape (ideally that misty deserted valley). Deserted, in the early morning or late evening. So not the landscape of California, baking in the midday sun! No it must be desolate landscape, and a bit eerie and reflective. Japanese for a long time had no word for the colour green by the way. So they called it blue. The forest was blue, the grass too. Tea, blue too. Midori is a new word, meant to describe green. But they still call a lot of things blue, the green traffic light for instance. For the Japanese there are apparently four levels of difficulty for everything in life: easy, medium, hard and Asian. (Ok that was a joke, made me smile). But in the end; a Moss Fan club sounds like a cult brotherhood or something... Shinto apparently is a very nature based religion, and seems to be speaking loud here. Moss that is comforting; perhaps this is a miniature version of the birth of religions? The birth of deities. Humans need to believe there's something bigger than them. It is appeasing, in the face of eternal death. Apparently that's how the human mind works and what most of us need to face the inevitable.</div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>I also read The Bell Jar from Sylvia Plath last week</b></span>. I like some of her poems, and I have been very intrigued by her life story, mostly because it is very tragic and also because I'm a big fan of her husbands poetry, Ted Hughes. This is her only novel and I have been pondering why I was not mightily enthusiastic about it. Sylvia Plath to me is a better poet than a writer. She writes well, but to me this book is not so much a classic novel with a captivating story arch, but more like a journal. It reads like a journal, and its first third was interesting enough, as she details the big city America of the 1950's by the sound of things, and that is a great era to be thrown back in. But soon after the book spirals into absolute navel staring, set in a One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest setting. I get it was new and refreshingly honest how she described a mental breakdown, and in light of her life it was interesting to peek into her mental state of mind, but I don't think it made for a classic novel necessarily... Just personal opinion of course :) I personally dislike books or movies dealing with mental health patients as it all becomes so clichéd quickly. And depressing. Which I don't mind, depressing topics, just not about mental health facilities and the odd characters being there. Maybe it is highly interesting for people who never dealt with any sort of depressions, despair and mental health problems, but I know them personally (not as severely experienced as Sylvia though, much more mildly and transiently) and as well as she describes her fall into the dark pit; for me it does not make a great story. More an enlightening but ultimately very depressing series of diary entries. I am biased as A. I don't like to read about depressing diaries and B. I love classical story telling, think of Tolstoi or Sandor Marai. All encompassing worlds with multiple layers and an actual story arch. So this book wasn't my cup of tea. I did love the little splatters of poetry she dropped in, for instance:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444;">“When we came out of the sunnily lit interior of the Ladies' Day offices,</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444;">the streets were gray and fuming with rain. It wasn’t the nice kind of rain</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444;">that rinses. you clean, but the sort of rain I imagine they must have in</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444;">Brazil. It flew straight down from the sky in drops the size of coffee</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444;">saucers and hit the hot sidewalks with a hiss that sent clouds of steam</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444;">writhing up from the gleaming, dark concrete."</span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjtRpQcB1pcHAZSvsVPlJQz21e6xB6si3B23RRqhQDs0dqF6NB3n_l5EmlSlKA3n3RQX5TM2v5QXctNF8wUSBY30Qmw1A7pEUgu29aY2itpPxT24pZJ6K6NPzjGdRyDd5Ej6o3-D_3PPg_/s1600/1044657_10151701533848996_1580125389_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="430" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjtRpQcB1pcHAZSvsVPlJQz21e6xB6si3B23RRqhQDs0dqF6NB3n_l5EmlSlKA3n3RQX5TM2v5QXctNF8wUSBY30Qmw1A7pEUgu29aY2itpPxT24pZJ6K6NPzjGdRyDd5Ej6o3-D_3PPg_/s320/1044657_10151701533848996_1580125389_n.jpg" width="275" /></a>I also read (yes tried another contemporary book) <b><span style="color: #b45f06;">The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides</span></b>. I thoroughly hated it, to be very honest. This book to me was so dull, shallow, annoying and such an empty shell. Boring characters, no real story to tell, other than impressions of very self obsessed university students not really knowing what they want from each other. I felt actually as if Eugenides had just read The Bell Jar before writing this book (which he probably didn't), and came up with a dull even more inferior version of parts of it. Full of difficult words for simple stuff, that serves only the goal of making the student-like text seem more intellectual than it really is. Or so it felt. It makes the cardinal writers sin of elaborating extensively about the literary interests of the protagonist, firing off endless writers names in true name-dropping fashion, and hoping that somehow lifts the main character up from her otherwise mediocrity. But the characters themselves have nothing interesting to say. Nothing poetic, nothing deep, just mediocre types, throwing around big writer names. The entire story itself is so mundane and non-uplifting.. Ugh. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlisaHrYMSrzT8ergLw9k-y9bkSBcsgjZbeJOsCMtBW993OwnR_9HGUUe8oVxOg1jkwK_68Xgk62exZ4W03BSacMkmZmNlQs9eEeCBQJbqoGt7Wd12aBSxLZQm_W0uG58Kb5dglVfdcPyW/s1600/ZZZZZZZZDSC08532.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="771" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlisaHrYMSrzT8ergLw9k-y9bkSBcsgjZbeJOsCMtBW993OwnR_9HGUUe8oVxOg1jkwK_68Xgk62exZ4W03BSacMkmZmNlQs9eEeCBQJbqoGt7Wd12aBSxLZQm_W0uG58Kb5dglVfdcPyW/s320/ZZZZZZZZDSC08532.jpg" width="313" /></a>I still read normal books, but have mostly skipped to audio books these days.. It is nice to have your own inner voice reading and having no distractions, nothing to steer you in a certain interpretation direction. Like a voice.. Or intonations. But I am so busy these days that I can't afford anymore to lie in bed with a book all days and nights as I would do sometimes as a student or adolescent. And the audio books allow me to read while driving the car, read while exercising, while washing the dishes, doing the washing, getting my groceries in. This way I go through a book a week again like in the old days, and nothing is really paying the price for this (not a dirty house, not a pile of washing waiting for me etc). The only big BUT is the quality of the recording and the voice chosen for the audio book. Sometimes they really add to the experience, when the voice is very good or imaginative and fitting to the spirit of the book protagonist. And sometimes it is entirely off. For instance, when I 'read' (listened) Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami, the main characters are Japanese students, living in Tokyo, yet the young male voice is deeeep deep American, with that brash American snide sound and the long vowels and the rolling R's. It does not fit.. In my mind at least. He sounds like a chirpy popular college lad, while the protagonist is a completely different type of man. So it is give and take with these audio books. A bonus is then again that you can download them for free <a href="http://audiobookbay.ws/"><b>here</b></a>, if you make a free account. </div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>I saw something interesting by Jordan Peterson the other night</b></span>.</span> Normally he bickers with Sam Harris on morality and religion, or tries to resist the "Left Agenda" and new pronouns being decreed by law in Canada. But now he discussed his diet. Also the uploaded version of the video, in case the original is chucked off youtube again, perhaps, in the future:</div>
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So Jordan Peterson says that he has <span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>depression </b></span>and that he had it since his teens. And his daughter has severe arthritis. They now follow a highly restrictive diet of only beef with salt and water. No veggies, no fruits, no grains, no dairy. Just the meat. And her arthritis cleared, his depression and many other ailments too (he describes them in the video). Or so he says for now. They are both convinced that diet seems to help them both. With these trial and error things you never know what is placebo and what is perception and what is real, but I do belief that cutting out sugars for instance can have a beneficial effect on all sorts of auto-immune diseases. Scientific research supports this actually; sugar is pro-inflammatory, and recently Belgian researchers even found and published about sugar firing cancer cells on. Then there are grains like wheat which are also said to be potentially inflammatory. For healthy people that inflammation is probably not going to cause any direct symptoms. But for people like myself and so many others, who deal with inflammation and heat and pain daily, sometimes (not the case for everybody, as forums prove day in and day out) foods can cool off or fire up inflammation. So JP cutting out grains, dairy, sugar, carbs, the whole lot of it.. it could be related to a lesser inflammation load that his and his daughters symptoms cleared. Science also <a href="https://health.spectator.co.uk/depression-a-disease-of-the-mind-actually-our-immune-system-could-be-the-culprit/"><b>linked depression to inflammation</b></a> recently. But... eating only meat? Even our ancestors the cavemen varied at least with wild berries and such. Eating nothing but red meat might increase the risk of bowel cancer, it might cause a lack of anti oxidants and vitamins and fibers and stuff in the long run.. who knows. It sounds a bit extreme, but he clearly lost a good deal of weight and seems energetic in his online videos. He talked about how his daughter went from barely able to walk and feeling down and looking terrible, to being a new person. It was his daughter's story that got him to do it too. Whenever I hear about that type of diet though, I think of people thousands of years ago who used to die at such a young age. I do believe that this all meat diet is helping him, BUT..... apparently in the long run, only meat and water and salt is not enough for good health and you need at least vegetables to go with them. Also, most people going carb free feel actually tired and down, as the brain needs some sort of carbs they say. Doctors are all warning against such a one sided diet and for all we know, JP drops dead in 5 to 10 years from now. I find that cutting out wheat, dairy and sugar by itself already helps with inflammation however.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i>"Will we walk all night through solitary streets? The trees add shade to shade, lights out in the houses, we’ll both be lonely. Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent cottage?"</i></span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-large; text-align: left;">Some photos of my skin this week (swollen face is the result of flushing for me...)</b></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>And some photos of my pityriasis now and before</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5x-_ogqox-e3czwnkUi47BxdbyBcO_jNgq1G3RfrNgYdST8EgvskbMLN0cOMw8GwaNQaaqIodeOjQz3MoBzWCj4NjtSlrUraoE1pNKoBsNfXt_QzmjNK1j7ff6qD0uDoq3zbuvjKDpMN/s1600/ZZZZZZZZDSC08549.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="977" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5x-_ogqox-e3czwnkUi47BxdbyBcO_jNgq1G3RfrNgYdST8EgvskbMLN0cOMw8GwaNQaaqIodeOjQz3MoBzWCj4NjtSlrUraoE1pNKoBsNfXt_QzmjNK1j7ff6qD0uDoq3zbuvjKDpMN/w218-h357/ZZZZZZZZDSC08549.jpg" width="218" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkjyLAadKVcb8M59L44E8dV7fk8hXLTVoO94JM50NUs2nsog1T1je47JHUa_h2q_KveJVxdhL4hIXxMQakr5uE_P8z5Gd0uinerXYGAEbk6HmxwOvG7QR8BP6eXPN-ZlOMF7IgueQDH_g/s1600/ZZZZDSC08333.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1177" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkjyLAadKVcb8M59L44E8dV7fk8hXLTVoO94JM50NUs2nsog1T1je47JHUa_h2q_KveJVxdhL4hIXxMQakr5uE_P8z5Gd0uinerXYGAEbk6HmxwOvG7QR8BP6eXPN-ZlOMF7IgueQDH_g/w260-h356/ZZZZDSC08333.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b style="color: black; font-size: 42px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;">September 14th 2018</span></b></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__jl_8Xb0lw5KJPtitRBNweQ6YNw_x-0vAsKNlPy22Vgq9PVyBRaOWAQ7Q1kv7MTDEVKUyY4WMhO0brNINvw-yR3hT5OGXtKxrWlbhboZEieEzHj6ReB_U7vyBsT0qJPs1PgW2lv2-cej/s1600/41701032_10156104451978074_2247232738736209920_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__jl_8Xb0lw5KJPtitRBNweQ6YNw_x-0vAsKNlPy22Vgq9PVyBRaOWAQ7Q1kv7MTDEVKUyY4WMhO0brNINvw-yR3hT5OGXtKxrWlbhboZEieEzHj6ReB_U7vyBsT0qJPs1PgW2lv2-cej/s320/41701032_10156104451978074_2247232738736209920_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>The pityriasis rosea is withdrawing, VICTORY! Victory belonging to the most persevering and all that. My dermatologist was right and around the 3 week mark, the blemishes that had showed up first, started to fade. I'm glad I didn't scratch my skin kaput and that my immune stricken body and skin are still capable of recovering without extra help. I read that only 2% of patients are at risk of getting it a second time during their lifetime, here is hoping I am not one of those poor suckers. I read on forums many questions from people about when to know this thing is on the retreat, and nobody seemed to give a clear answer, but now I can. The rashes spread out, become more flat (less raised) and smoothen out like an oil spill. Their colour goes from angry red to brown or taupe and the skin scaling needs to be left alone and not scratched off, because new delicate skin is forming underneath. I put nothing on it, no creams, no nothing, no long hot showers either, I left the skin alone as much as possible. In my case my chest and belly are still dry and scaly looking, but more smooth again and with semi-normal skin colour. The pityriasis seems to have lowered down to the legs and feet now. One foot, my right one, is in a pretty abysmal state currently, swollen and very red, probably because I scratched without restraint after the patches first appeared, and perhaps infected it a bit. I have soaked my feet in warm salt water today and have been putting some bactroban antibiotic cream on that foot too, even though my derm said it is best to put no topicals on pityriasis rosea. But I worry my foot else gets properly infected perhaps. I'm not sure whether or not to put a picture up of the poor leg but might as well, i'll keep it a small sized one so it's not too graphic. I can shrug my shoulders about it because I have confidence now that it will fade away in a week from now. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcsM_upEJ5cN4rYKdpO14gztw6JPBLIh9uE2g2V-MFMaUitm63oRf84NIBZTn8_CvdFU15GL_mR-ZPeJI2uq78WrBgiyR_3tAZKJmLjuIhxCHTvzl32BxUASo-yyCAiYcRhs2cwlj9flk/s1600/ZZZZDSC08485%252C5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="887" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcsM_upEJ5cN4rYKdpO14gztw6JPBLIh9uE2g2V-MFMaUitm63oRf84NIBZTn8_CvdFU15GL_mR-ZPeJI2uq78WrBgiyR_3tAZKJmLjuIhxCHTvzl32BxUASo-yyCAiYcRhs2cwlj9flk/s320/ZZZZDSC08485%252C5.jpg" width="177" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFCMSiqUHJOVytCErtTKWu4PpjvMckzt8HvF2w3Nrl-9j5zM1QDr2Walmt6WzjtmwQ4fc2SrFxlymB4vhdhFBfS0HkwIuTEDt6ij0KoSPfVEiBURaUsTEbaj5Qg0UP6E-ZfZIN1I3pUqL/s1600/ZZZZDSC08485%252C7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="719" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFCMSiqUHJOVytCErtTKWu4PpjvMckzt8HvF2w3Nrl-9j5zM1QDr2Walmt6WzjtmwQ4fc2SrFxlymB4vhdhFBfS0HkwIuTEDt6ij0KoSPfVEiBURaUsTEbaj5Qg0UP6E-ZfZIN1I3pUqL/s320/ZZZZDSC08485%252C7.jpg" width="143" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2pBDtZBtEHygGx5MSlTHPWgKWGFtxTTwv4ohxb8eDxnI6NiZ40jDz5egQkFdEVT2hJuUV8b1P7IktixzybN3Ld8nnPRSlFIFvzVKMFb9YE6IDZocnmN5YmzJLwiqnm4P9BgiW-HZ9gZw/s1600/ZZZZDSC08483%252C5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="665" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2pBDtZBtEHygGx5MSlTHPWgKWGFtxTTwv4ohxb8eDxnI6NiZ40jDz5egQkFdEVT2hJuUV8b1P7IktixzybN3Ld8nnPRSlFIFvzVKMFb9YE6IDZocnmN5YmzJLwiqnm4P9BgiW-HZ9gZw/s320/ZZZZDSC08483%252C5.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">Day 22 </span></b><br />
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLzlyAYAkWMzO0ZnPDNTMJVWy4UpY8O8orCqX6kte_DNco0WDXLZ6uNZPut0GuIxCTyWJBoneS5GcQDDgkljT0MuYDJ3mdnmy6ysAC9EgGUEKVjLMUV24xCyk3l4yK3sSvKbq4jndK_LM6/s1600/ZZZZDSC08333.jpg" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1177" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLzlyAYAkWMzO0ZnPDNTMJVWy4UpY8O8orCqX6kte_DNco0WDXLZ6uNZPut0GuIxCTyWJBoneS5GcQDDgkljT0MuYDJ3mdnmy6ysAC9EgGUEKVjLMUV24xCyk3l4yK3sSvKbq4jndK_LM6/s320/ZZZZDSC08333.jpg" width="235" /></a></span></b><br />
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">Day 23</span></b><br />
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieEpNV1Y6wh3LNoSkCLmbmmu3YhkHt7UyOq_37IS7imLcY9PWMXKUv-OHCFmLId8I3ezq4PSVShUIveKv6VQhCz6BsamOfw7BiYiVX2haPb-2z9RRlnQhJ4E1RYLYrEA6b5QSkmc2fwvgm/s1600/ZZZZZDSC08334.jpg" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1188" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieEpNV1Y6wh3LNoSkCLmbmmu3YhkHt7UyOq_37IS7imLcY9PWMXKUv-OHCFmLId8I3ezq4PSVShUIveKv6VQhCz6BsamOfw7BiYiVX2haPb-2z9RRlnQhJ4E1RYLYrEA6b5QSkmc2fwvgm/s320/ZZZZZDSC08334.jpg" width="237" /></a></span></b><br />
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">Day 24</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzql4DHd8K799wb1pSUla6T5sl_EjrszVHsNvuz5rx9oS02XXmhsdHi7YZP046nYZDmHForag65L__0rGQV1rVPLbpmWLW6Xi-GTR6hFU00IyKDzuyJfCs9DW38bJxYL6OHp24InonED3/s1600/ZZZZZDSC08355.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzql4DHd8K799wb1pSUla6T5sl_EjrszVHsNvuz5rx9oS02XXmhsdHi7YZP046nYZDmHForag65L__0rGQV1rVPLbpmWLW6Xi-GTR6hFU00IyKDzuyJfCs9DW38bJxYL6OHp24InonED3/s320/ZZZZZDSC08355.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0fR74EA9rMHZ2KBd-yQ8dIco5LhAsjxPe7CdZmzSm-eiKSevhyphenhyphenP9mncoDGH_hZOuPVE-CJIq4QDJJQtbsLtHbUSWYyYi69nP9djiIDTUIryFklv_JwZZD6kzamjZv1QlZ4pjhSexuUtJ/s1600/ZZZZZDSC08356.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1128" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0fR74EA9rMHZ2KBd-yQ8dIco5LhAsjxPe7CdZmzSm-eiKSevhyphenhyphenP9mncoDGH_hZOuPVE-CJIq4QDJJQtbsLtHbUSWYyYi69nP9djiIDTUIryFklv_JwZZD6kzamjZv1QlZ4pjhSexuUtJ/s320/ZZZZZDSC08356.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">Poor feet over the past days</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgPKz7ScAKrcd6wSrBOTM3GqE7CisNmhywzFE-S_R3WvA9F2iwn6OEdoCasOqyx9TNmBbYqnZESaR2-yPh3Ky9eHM59XopJQ3mNlP_RDW390qtjRl06RKwCLXZF3gJUXsTAf7Vz7rn4Jo/s1600/ZZZZDSC08353.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgPKz7ScAKrcd6wSrBOTM3GqE7CisNmhywzFE-S_R3WvA9F2iwn6OEdoCasOqyx9TNmBbYqnZESaR2-yPh3Ky9eHM59XopJQ3mNlP_RDW390qtjRl06RKwCLXZF3gJUXsTAf7Vz7rn4Jo/s200/ZZZZDSC08353.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqSjlSmbwGidh1pU3BJxEeFX9lPmL6rcFPdnUNZxKdWe_xY5U1zKdZltXb4e9gPPUcKdAC7KrtnH4OYwXL3pNPkRywV7mvXp-8OZvknQz1SKxHrFGJwT-g49oZ8MJFY-3SvhDWJ4EZNEqy/s1600/ZZZZDSC08458.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqSjlSmbwGidh1pU3BJxEeFX9lPmL6rcFPdnUNZxKdWe_xY5U1zKdZltXb4e9gPPUcKdAC7KrtnH4OYwXL3pNPkRywV7mvXp-8OZvknQz1SKxHrFGJwT-g49oZ8MJFY-3SvhDWJ4EZNEqy/s200/ZZZZDSC08458.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Xx0ELt3qUEUGkw6YZP5ehZWdyZdDnV30tjhgdQvVuQjXjv8jLL_lQxNV2qiPbJX2SrW6rQHbwpe8P9J6P7j1bEYaP7w6MO30YNZ74-2vzmX_fEFh92KmdvTw3aKeX-P8BpBK3ODhna2N/s1600/ZZZZZDSC08352.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Xx0ELt3qUEUGkw6YZP5ehZWdyZdDnV30tjhgdQvVuQjXjv8jLL_lQxNV2qiPbJX2SrW6rQHbwpe8P9J6P7j1bEYaP7w6MO30YNZ74-2vzmX_fEFh92KmdvTw3aKeX-P8BpBK3ODhna2N/s200/ZZZZZDSC08352.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCqyey8G-SuY-uLRlpKg1uZRV3RTQqSECwM_p2Fj5DnJk0Pz2uEcfKoqSq1jWZQb2RgaMO7vvBTOgTX1CPbw7Ncs59HJ3tYNdMfi8gJNjR_7NbgDU8Y0vxHGvAM4UJTjWGYGT0dxtSFtdE/s1600/ZZZZZDSC08342.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCqyey8G-SuY-uLRlpKg1uZRV3RTQqSECwM_p2Fj5DnJk0Pz2uEcfKoqSq1jWZQb2RgaMO7vvBTOgTX1CPbw7Ncs59HJ3tYNdMfi8gJNjR_7NbgDU8Y0vxHGvAM4UJTjWGYGT0dxtSFtdE/w267-h200/ZZZZZDSC08342.jpg" width="267" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkH3DUuvKL4Ry7KBDtanKb2LC9nLIEIUoYfJpdXz6j2BTS4seou2kq13kzmLFXVkqdmtsHAkIH9XuePrl1l4wYcVXWeZqmFUnPolTvnAvgbNvJpEyUqkwNc37DLlOpHrBxKdecWYBrHvw/s1600/ZZZZZDSC08436.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkH3DUuvKL4Ry7KBDtanKb2LC9nLIEIUoYfJpdXz6j2BTS4seou2kq13kzmLFXVkqdmtsHAkIH9XuePrl1l4wYcVXWeZqmFUnPolTvnAvgbNvJpEyUqkwNc37DLlOpHrBxKdecWYBrHvw/s200/ZZZZZDSC08436.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghB2QGw_v12rNUoBbKrA3a8rDCNdXfE6bAUkk_B43PAh0JrbcAOMZk8n0DH8hSJb94KpnOoI_68Hip7Xh7RkfjhqbRLZoHqbpw16ZgUQfOwKyG-rFN_GtBVCG0pB-5o9glqOf8cPDM4ImM/s1600/ZZZZZDSC08437.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghB2QGw_v12rNUoBbKrA3a8rDCNdXfE6bAUkk_B43PAh0JrbcAOMZk8n0DH8hSJb94KpnOoI_68Hip7Xh7RkfjhqbRLZoHqbpw16ZgUQfOwKyG-rFN_GtBVCG0pB-5o9glqOf8cPDM4ImM/s200/ZZZZZDSC08437.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"> In comparison, my left (better) foot</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_JGacFtJL7iZ9LQxaWO6L8JDOcQhDLi4aXToTRz4JWhxlVqubSV3uVUzOioChFgB9cojFGkJb0jXowXbL3AF1Z0tujqVVA7qCHp3GHbcdJyfmwdtwxbVN-lZInPcR6e_hteira9NF120C/s1600/ZZZZZDSC08459.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1036" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_JGacFtJL7iZ9LQxaWO6L8JDOcQhDLi4aXToTRz4JWhxlVqubSV3uVUzOioChFgB9cojFGkJb0jXowXbL3AF1Z0tujqVVA7qCHp3GHbcdJyfmwdtwxbVN-lZInPcR6e_hteira9NF120C/s320/ZZZZZDSC08459.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Even the cats find my feet shocking and laughable and shout at me that I look like the elephant (wo)man.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTX_SOXhN6aAlGt4ZN5TaYdtum0nMB9iMWPFD_1h6ZwNY-HtV8SVA-tF7raACV2e5ncVTYJabzVYxLyEQTJntCj4yNq67BJc0cLMhvDiVRjzXXD6wtiqSgpMRWiKOdSXBeViDJVuFC7dVz/s1600/landscape_07-1024x1024.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTX_SOXhN6aAlGt4ZN5TaYdtum0nMB9iMWPFD_1h6ZwNY-HtV8SVA-tF7raACV2e5ncVTYJabzVYxLyEQTJntCj4yNq67BJc0cLMhvDiVRjzXXD6wtiqSgpMRWiKOdSXBeViDJVuFC7dVz/s320/landscape_07-1024x1024.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">I was asked whether or not, despite taking <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html">anti flushing medication</a>, and despite using a ventilator to keep my face cool, I still wake up red in the morning?</span></b> It depends. Some periods I am flushed and red a lot in general, so also at night. Others, I don't wake up flushed, and my face is coolest at night. So it depends on factors like my hormonal state of the month and whether or not I ate pro-inflammatory foods the days prior. I try to stick to my <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/10/food.html">healthy diet</a> to increase the chances of not waking up red. I have a special construction made next to the bed, which looks pretty stupid probably haha, but it allows me to clip on two small clip on fans on both sides, blowing cool air on both cheeks. Otherwise I always wake up with one red cheek (not the one I sleep on strangely enough, but the one that faces the ceiling, as I can't sleep on my back and always sleep on my side). This way I no longer have structurally one red cheek to cater to during the day, depending on what side of the bed I slept on. I make sure the temperature in the bedroom is not too high but also not too low. It is tempting when you are sore and burned up to have a winters breeze cool you down, but when the air is too cold, I get extra red and inflamed. So I would say the air is between 13 - 20 degrees, depending on the season. This way I sleep really well actually, without having to get up to cool my face. This was very different in the past, before I started anti flushing medication, and after a <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/disastrous-ipl-in-2005.html">botched IPL</a> treatment which spiked my redness and flushing and burning tenfold. I would have a hard time sleeping and have an airconditioning system running plus fans plus cold packs, and still be very red, on fire and in a bad state of pain. The redness in this photo was just mild, compared to how bad it would get.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxw-VMQQALQMOgKp9EGd8SJ7AoF1AvSRqqRQVkQjsrDHSHcKVHR_TG7XnnPCQQdNvHyYwwFy5RzeAChXvoLeHK2cV7ZJrBNLgn1EizgWLWcBLG6TabnOPySCGvOSHqs6ryz-9kD312kRA/s1600/zzslecht.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="323" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxw-VMQQALQMOgKp9EGd8SJ7AoF1AvSRqqRQVkQjsrDHSHcKVHR_TG7XnnPCQQdNvHyYwwFy5RzeAChXvoLeHK2cV7ZJrBNLgn1EizgWLWcBLG6TabnOPySCGvOSHqs6ryz-9kD312kRA/s200/zzslecht.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I do get more flushy in the evenings, but as soon as I lay in bed and make sure to have the clip on fans on and don't overheat my body with layers of night wear and blankets, then my skin is usually relatively pain free (I always ' feel' my skin however, it always feels a bit uncomfortable, tight, on the verge of a burn) and flush free. Our body temperature reaches its lowest point when we sleep, and that might help me to not be flushed usually. However, in the evening our body temperature is higher than normal, and the blood flow to our skin also increases in the evening, warming the skin and possibly triggering our blood vessels to dilate more, as rosacea skin tends to have weaker, more easily dilated blood vessels. In the evening our body also releases more cytokines, which increase inflammation. Meanwhile, production of corticosteroids — hormones that reduce inflammation — slows down in the evening. On top of these factors, your skin loses more water at night. All of this could make people with rosacea more easily flushed in the later afternoon and early evening. Add to that also that often we eat the largest meal of the day in the evening (not everyone and not in all countries/cultures though), and aside from possible food triggers, big meals set off heat in the body once the digestive system goes to work. And we also have been building up possible triggers all day, from traveling to public transport to work places that might not be favourable for rosacea to sun exposure etc<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu1L1TNLPey2HDu1p_KRW0ru0M_yoy57cDTAHDmXF2yPfgJ-_CFouWFqBA_HOAbpwYMED3DupVCNbaBY-f9phDYYePXGJiZfFkjnuDRI1hhdzJ6vSMt96B5Bi1OEmY-b1-iUYCoKhBZqiq/s1600/11ca0eddc5d3d9663e7aa6ba8023ab50.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="649" data-original-width="800" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu1L1TNLPey2HDu1p_KRW0ru0M_yoy57cDTAHDmXF2yPfgJ-_CFouWFqBA_HOAbpwYMED3DupVCNbaBY-f9phDYYePXGJiZfFkjnuDRI1hhdzJ6vSMt96B5Bi1OEmY-b1-iUYCoKhBZqiq/s320/11ca0eddc5d3d9663e7aa6ba8023ab50.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>I have had quite a bit of time the past weeks to listen to audio books and watch things</b></span> I wanted to see, as all out exhausted and in emotional zombie state from the full body skin infections and itching plus the mourning of my cat. I saw a long interview with a very inspiring woman called <span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>Esther Perel</b></span>. She is a Polish/Belgian psychotherapist or psychiatrist I think, and she works often with couples who have relationship problems. She told very lively and interestingly about this. Some parts that stuck with me, were here analysis of what happened to her parents, who both survived concentration camps during the second world war, and met each other on the street, right after liberation. She said that the camp survivors she knew, could be divided into two groups, roughly: those who really wanted to live intensely afterwards, and those who were alive, but were only surviving afterwards. This second group had all their joy of life beaten out of them. She made a bridge to the theme of ' happiness'; something every one of her clients was looking for. And she thinks that happiness is the effect of something else; a feeling of meaning. Camp survivors who managed to find meaning in life afterwards, tended to feel also happy. Sometimes they even found meaning in their own suffering, by writing down their experiences, by documenting history, or by educating others. Or by having families and making sure their Jewishness was continuing, despite it all. Having a goal in life brings happiness, Esther Perel thinks. Those who drift aimlessly without a personal goal, tend to be less happy. It might sound cheesy, but that is more or less why I started with this blog, back in 2005 or 2006 it was. It felt so powerless and useless to suffer daily with this burning pain, and it felt like nothing positive came out of it. Just destruction. Destruction of my personality, my life dreams, my friendships and relationships. And by documenting it, there was at least some tiny meaning to it all. Perhaps others in the same boat would read it and feel less alone. Or could do with tips or experiences I went through. I have written diaries since the age of 8 and always have had a strong desire to document things and make them feel definitive by describing them. But the pay off is that I feel happier for doing so, because it gives me a sense of meaning. It's not a huge importance to the rest of the world probably, but it makes me feel good to extord and wring at least something positive out of this whole sappy sorry saga.<br />
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Of course, hearing Esther Perel make such a distinction between the proactive go getters and the melancholic reserved camp survivors, it also felt a bit short sighted to narrow it down to attitude. Some people have an extrovert personality type and get energy from being around others and going out, others are introverts who might have a lot more trouble overcoming such immense trauma. When our middle sister died in 2004, my youngest sister had a much more proactive approach too, forcing herself not to hang onto that trauma and going out a lot. I am the opposite of her and more of an introvert and I was sucked in deep by the sadness and loss. I don't think either of us made a conscious choice to do one of the other, but instead did what comes natural to us. Maybe the second group of camp survivors Perel described, had much worse PTSD. perhaps their unique experiences were different, or the contact of their outcome was worse. Perhaps their personality types didn't allow them to take a lot of people into confidence and they didn't talk much about what they went through, instead bottling it up (whereas talkers tend to work through trauma more by opening up and talking about it, especially when their trustees are sincerely interested and sympathetic). And thinking about the horrors these people went through, isn't it bound to haunt your mind until you die? And with regards to happiness being subjective; it also necessitates a certain measure of self-deception. If you are unable to suspend thoughts of events and consequences that are anything but desirable, then happiness is but a transient moment, if at all attainable.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lsnxoRfXLqs/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lsnxoRfXLqs?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxw_72uKuJmJNWF6XsEt6zUtdx_l_eRSomKJ4zaU6-IjwG70thr3CqiTNy-fDcoaQ05juayk1PmO81gTp_YUw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GugSgcDYtcxBSZ4SPpsq9MKey6tumYoXjA1zU9uob0SJt7qftWxsR2kaEOlkjOX5Bx2t9bmEfUZC7QU3jMyG0UwDqjhwWmwNh-CEWRb_5HWP2uOBi-vZFYMkrFPV0MWjJNAdBPnmAbLi/s1600/920x920.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="920" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GugSgcDYtcxBSZ4SPpsq9MKey6tumYoXjA1zU9uob0SJt7qftWxsR2kaEOlkjOX5Bx2t9bmEfUZC7QU3jMyG0UwDqjhwWmwNh-CEWRb_5HWP2uOBi-vZFYMkrFPV0MWjJNAdBPnmAbLi/s320/920x920.jpg" width="320" /></a>My friend wrote: "I do not drift around aimlessly without a goal .. or without goals. Nonetheless, the fact that I perceive life—inclusive of all of Nature—as utterly without purpose, I find myself evermore indifferent to all things and action or impetus for action. (I can almost hear the character from the Clint Eastwood movie, ‘IN THE LINE OF FIRE’, telling me the same thing he told the soldier: ‘I think you need to get laid.’)" Esther Perel also said that humans distinguish themselves from animals with regards to sex, thanks to imagination. Humans have an erotic imagination and can give meaning to our sexual encounters. And the erotic mind makes a person feel alive, energetic and is an antidote against the looming shadow of death (I guess this is a very subjective analysis, as there are plenty of people out there who start—and end—each day with the reminder that ‘all is for naught’. Those for whom nothing distracts from that reality). And some people think that sex is simply sex, and that to imply that humans have an intrinsic ability to transform sex into something other than two organisms making noises that would scare small animals and children, is silly. And that feelings concerning sex, the utility of sex for ulterior motives (sex as a weapon, etc.), is separate from the primal motive of sex—to ‘get your rocks off’. Besides, animals can have some very time consuming and eloquent mating rituals. Many bird types are monogamous, something we cannot say of humans, or mammals in general. Animals go by instinct and do what is good for the species; again, something we cannot exactly say of humans.<br />
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Esther Perel said that humans erotic imagination can also be the source of personal problems for humans; most of us want to feel something, instead of just do something; perform. And so many people have interpersonal problems; with loved ones, with family members.. :( But relationships are a story, and every player in it has his or her own version of the story. In a good relationship, these versions of the story can overlap, or live together without clashing at the least. But when these versions are in complete conflict, and seem entirely different stories, there is trouble. Then people feel powerless, isolated and misunderstood, and this can do long term damage. A therapist can help deal with such obstructions of people get stuck in the past and cannot move forward (although for others, affecting vengeance upon would-be-oppressors-and-tyrants, including total disregard for norms of morality as well as law also seems to work wonders to avert despondency and depression. Jokes.. sort of). And therapy, like AAA-membership or rehab, can only work for those who want to change.. Those who actually have some remorse, or introspection hidden inside them already. I read that therapy rarely to never works for narcissist or psychopaths for instance (VERY different group!), because they can morph themselves into very compliant seeming patients, all the while observing the therapist and refining their manipulation techniques further. making them more dangerous. Esther says that it is not ideal to feel like a victim the rest of your life, and to let the past drag the now and the future down. Perel gave the example of the recent movie about ice skater Tonya Harding, where an ambitious mother gives very tough love to her daughter, in order to succeed. And in adult life, the daughter has a lot of problems with the past and her mothers upbringing. But both have a different version of the story and have their own arguments. The mother is played brilliantly by Allison Janney, and she really does have a story behind her choices; how her own mother never invested in her, and how she gave all her time, energy and money to her daughter in order to succeed. We'd call her a Tiger Mom these days probably.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Xy0KXhC67y9Vz5Ef8eI4YRMQLStT-sxqg1pC4nF1ro37qbjKMLR9LqDLbNBijBd3uePhEo4kLSjytdmV5hJ_9PuMuHiyIClt3d5c5CMT8BAAALwrLd41SQViEELDzrXpKKFrdeDhXvKP/s1600/486f4ba959d13149c4f2ddcb5b7215d4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="855" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Xy0KXhC67y9Vz5Ef8eI4YRMQLStT-sxqg1pC4nF1ro37qbjKMLR9LqDLbNBijBd3uePhEo4kLSjytdmV5hJ_9PuMuHiyIClt3d5c5CMT8BAAALwrLd41SQViEELDzrXpKKFrdeDhXvKP/s320/486f4ba959d13149c4f2ddcb5b7215d4.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><b>A story has many characteristics, is the moral of the story; it is an illusion, as well as a truth</b></span>, and a perversion, as well as an idealization. In this movie, the mother and daughter are both stuck in their version of the story. They want to build up a relationship together, but they need something or someone to make a bridge, enabling them to step over to the other side to see and feel the other persons versions of events. Both stories need to be validated for the parts of truth both stories often have. And both parties tend to be sure about their own version of events, and that type of certainty is an enemy of change. Once you have first validated their segments of truth, a therapist then usually starts to confuse them both about their version of events. Challenging them to step onto the bridge and investigate the other side. You have to give up your certainty if you want to change and come to new insights. And this sounds more rational and easy than it really is in life for most people hahaha :D And a relationship with someone else is not just about what each of them is within themselves, but also about what is between them two; what connects them and what is created when these two people come together. Because the <i>behaviour</i> of the one, will influence the other, and vice versa. (And when you look at families and their interactions, it gets even more complex!) We are not static, we are always transforming as humans and that is also why we aren't always behaving in the same way in different relationships. Many 'environmental' factors are influencing our own behaviour. Some compare therapy to playing billiards; when you want a ball to go in that specific pocket, then it is not enough to just play that one ball straight into the pocket. No, you need to think about what other ball to touch first, which sets a chain reaction into motion, eventually letting your ball end in the pocket, but moving all the other balls that are players in this game. Therapist, but also people in general, need to think strategically sometimes when they want to set others in motion. And we all play roles and sub-roles within our relationships; either with loved ones, kids, friends, family members and so on. And if you imagine them to be billiard balls, then you need to realize that if you move one ball, it will impact all the other balls too. (Or….one can avert disappointment by recalling how unpredictable and selfish and lazy and other ways individuals can be, forget billiard balls, and focus on creating something oneself, even if not expansive. At least in that manner disappointment is easily acceptable. Caring less has brought me a ton of peace of mind, strangely enough).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0JaX2V-QHkuYSkmLVFciq2fqTaPrJ4nK4b5LRx9cQD6QDcvKc5Gj875m9gBgV_jdxAsXhX2u1tIedyrlD9tcKNpf1s0Zin363E6UTeZWQ_5aybFDbQIlUa_CHKkptsqQZxtSTqSbAbDV/s1600/c453da7fe398b21bc9eef8cd93d2fe7d.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="411" data-original-width="500" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0JaX2V-QHkuYSkmLVFciq2fqTaPrJ4nK4b5LRx9cQD6QDcvKc5Gj875m9gBgV_jdxAsXhX2u1tIedyrlD9tcKNpf1s0Zin363E6UTeZWQ_5aybFDbQIlUa_CHKkptsqQZxtSTqSbAbDV/s320/c453da7fe398b21bc9eef8cd93d2fe7d.jpg" width="320" /></a>And then there are also those stories which make up our relationships and our lives, which should sometimes be left untouched, because people rely on them to deal with life. And even relationships themselves are stories, which have truths to them, secrets and a lot of silence and space between truths and realities, which leave space for illusions. Think of the man who has an affair while being married, and all the illusions he feeds in particular to the other woman. And all the illusions she chooses to belief in to fill up the many voids. The meaning of romanticism is to tell a beautiful story; a <i>roman</i> as we call it; a novel. One in which <i>you</i>, by default<i>, </i>play a very important part. So for some people, stories are very important to live by. To find purpose and meaning in; people live with these illusions in order to give meaning to their lives. Sometimes the role of husband is not the only role these men play, and sometimes they aren't always present as a father either. With some people, what you see is what you get. And with others you need to talk to 7 different people from their inner circle, to figure out all the pieces together and get a picture of this elusive person, because everyone of them knows another part of this person. And sometimes we fall in love with someone who is the opposite of us in terms of character. Looks wise science actually says that we tend to fall for partners looking a bit alike actually, but opposites in character do attract in some cases. Look at this British actor Benedict Cumberbatch for instance and his wife Sophie Hunter; cut from the same posh Cumbercloth. Could have been siblings, going by looks.<br />
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And here are some more from Tinseltown: <a href="https://www.instyle.com/weddings/celebrity-couples-look-alike#1429722">https://www.instyle.com/weddings/celebrity-couples-look-alike#1429722</a> I see it around me too. Science says we are attracted to people who look like ourselves, creepily enough. We think that similar looking people are more trustworthy for instance. And even if you don't look like him or her initially, then science also says that in a decade or two later, you will look like the other. And sometimes we fall in love with someone who is the opposite of us in terms of character. Looks wise science actually says that we tend to fall for partners looking a bit alike actually, but opposites in character do attract in some cases. An introvert person can really enjoy the extrovert qualities of a partner initially, for instance. One can sweep the other up and let them rise, and the other can offer calm and stability. But whatever once was attractive because it was different, can further down the line become the source of a lot of conflict. We also expect so much from modern relationships; a partner has to fulfill so many roles in today's secularized, individual commercial society: your best friend, the person who you can confide in with anything, the one to have spectacular sex with, the one to be the perfect parent further down the line. And on top a partner is expected to make you feel content, satisfied, adored, respected and challenged all the time too. It's too much. It's bound to cause disappointment, and then there are all these modern day apps and technologies waiting to draw you back in and look for someone different, <i>better</i>. (And that is also why escort services exist lol. Or why ill-advised alternatives are prevalent—multiple secret lovers, polyamory, aka ‘having your cake and eating it too’). Humans don't copulate after all simply to procreate, Esther taught us above.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqRmEEGxtig3xWWIFJt4ebSBlb08JfAugTa7NYrf20dkihNPZD9yS8MEhau8W-xx50gO5Ks-oJkNENaLHMIXe4vbr5FZh6MRA0dSTnkwolghOCClzVok59g5fxLzwdmSj2dov4ewdgM2u/s1600/ZZ1374945_10151915084538996_451673074_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqRmEEGxtig3xWWIFJt4ebSBlb08JfAugTa7NYrf20dkihNPZD9yS8MEhau8W-xx50gO5Ks-oJkNENaLHMIXe4vbr5FZh6MRA0dSTnkwolghOCClzVok59g5fxLzwdmSj2dov4ewdgM2u/s320/ZZ1374945_10151915084538996_451673074_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Reminds me of a quote from a book I just finished, Far Away from the Madding Crowd, by Thomas Hardy</b></span>;<div style="text-align: center;"><span><div style="text-align: left;">"He accompanied her up the hill, explaining to her the details of his forthcoming tenure of the other farm. They spoke very little of their mutual feeling; pretty phrases and warm expressions being probably unnecessary between such tried friends. Theirs was that substantial affection which arises (if any arises at all) when the two who are thrown together begin first by knowing the rougher sides of each other's character, and not the best till further on, the romance growing up in the interstices of a mass of hard prosaic reality. This good-fellowship -- CAMARADERIE -- usually occurring through similarity of pursuits, is unfortunately seldom superadded to love between the sexes, because men and women associate, not in their labours, but in their pleasures merely. Where, however, happy circumstance permits its development, the compounded feeling proves itself to be the only love which is strong as death -- that love which many waters cannot quench, nor the floods drown, beside which the passion usually called by the name is evanescent as steam."</div></span></div>
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Thomas Hardy wrote well over a century ago, in 1874, and in an upper class style too, so it's indeed going to sound like Chinese for many people these days. I think he said: They were having feelings for each other, but because they were long standing friends already, there was no need for extra words to underline this with warm or flirty words. (The type of words you do use with someone you just met and feel an attraction to). When they first met in the past, they started off by getting to know the unpleasant sides of each others characters. They only later got to know the best sides of their characters and this allowed a fondness and affection to grow (in contrast to when you first meet someone and they only show you their most attractive sides, only to find out later on what unpleasant traits they were hiding from you). And based on this very realistic view of the other they build a rock solid friendship. He says that a comradely type of friendship usually is formed when people have the same habits or aims in life, but that it is very rare that this friendship is lifted up to love, because men and women don't connect romantically over their hard work, but over shared pleasures. BUT, Hardy says, if good circumstances allow for it, some people are lucky enough to get the real deal: a relationship built on such an increasing friendship and knowledge of first the others bad sides and then increasingly of their beautiful sides, because such a relationship is the strongest he says. Strong as death. Then he describes such a strong love; the type which inner fire cannot be extinguished by water, it cannot be drowned by floods. Compared to such a strong love, passion is like fleeting steam. We all know what good relationships should look like, but honestly; how many of our past relationships formed with someone we first saw just as a sort-of friend and who we first found unbearable, only to later fall in love with? That is not something that happens a lot and not what we all know to be what a strong relationship should be like. I only know of Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice and other gothic heroines (Jayne Eyre too) to fall in love like that :) These days its all about first lusty impressions, think of that ghastly Tinder swipe app thingy and the speed dating. So many relationships, friendships, attractions are built superficially. I can’t remember who I was reading, maybe Adler, but that author was discussing how men become so enamored with women based on looks, and will fantasize way after seeing a women about being with her… filling in the gaps in the most favourable manner. But looks don’t determine what she will be like personally, or even in the bedroom. He asks.. how many men have been with a woman solely based on looks, yet the intimacy is bad. And to the inverse; how many men have brought home an “unattractive women” only for them to surprise them in those respects? But the superficial approach to finding a mate did work for a long time, that’s perhaps why men generally aren’t into really fat girls; that doesn’t match with someone to create healthy offspring with, or someone able to take care of that offspring.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaOQ5rEpgaQRiLV8MlH5PB9yJxQQHbyV52r1Fq1GQ7EJK5mqnTVpzrZMJDVASn2TcMTdAeZojgSO4ApzkCZrN8xap3kjrJY3GC5SEc75eTCZDNlNrrdx6jnNS5lz2anzqkBhP1Og7_brcc/s1600/2001.198_ph_web.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="870" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaOQ5rEpgaQRiLV8MlH5PB9yJxQQHbyV52r1Fq1GQ7EJK5mqnTVpzrZMJDVASn2TcMTdAeZojgSO4ApzkCZrN8xap3kjrJY3GC5SEc75eTCZDNlNrrdx6jnNS5lz2anzqkBhP1Og7_brcc/s320/2001.198_ph_web.jpg" width="320" /></a>I have done this thing in the past a few times (and trying hard to no longer do it!) but apparently many people resort to a strange trick when they are in the midst of conflict and an argument: they want connection and peace, but instead are being provocative, screaming that it is maybe better to break up then, as if they are consciously derailing the whole undertaking. But what really is happening often, is that in the midst of a lot of insecurity and chaos, people are trying to regain some control again, in a pretty destructive manner. You are without control, deregulated, and thus you shout: I NO LONGER LOVE YOU. But what you are really saying is: I still have some control over something. I still have something to say about you. And the most curious and fascinating part about this: if I would say such a thing, then I know deep down that I am just saying that because I feel rotten deep down, and that I don't mean it. I was angry within the context of this situation.. But when YOU say that to me, that you no longer love <i>me</i>, or want to be with <i>me</i>, then it means you are a person with a bad character. My behaviour is contextual, and your behaviour says something about your personality. A lot of us think this way apparently, which was fascinating for me to find out. Don't we always think such irrationalities are down to our specific craziness? The same for therapy; individuals or couples rarely start therapy with the premise: I want to find out what I am doing in my life that is problematic for the relationship. Almost all of us step into it with the message: I am an expert when it comes to my partner, and this is what he/she is doing wrong in my opinion. Fix it! I will tell you what is wrong about my partner, and you are going to change this. But coming to therapy with a certainty is not the right approach; you need to come there with your responsibility. It takes two people to form a behavioral pattern. In relationships, so many emotions are formed and building up, and pride, anger, resentment etc are all working against your own sense of responsibility to fix it; to find out the other persons story and version of events, and create that bridge (cheesy as this metaphor is). A good therapist tries to bring back memories of the start of the story; the way in which they fell in love. The things they once loved. Sometimes our dreams turned into disillusions further down the line. If there is nothing left of that initial feeling, then there is not much to work with anymore.. (I have observed such an approach and it does not work for everyone or at every situation.. Also, the couple in therapy commonly does not resemble the couple at the start of the relationship, and attempting to ‘rekindle’ care for one another based on past feelings and past behavior can also be a recipe for disaster. Some people change beyond recognition over time, and trying to imagine that they are the same as they were a decade or so ago, erasing all the hurt and stuff that happened in the mean time, could be the equivalent of chasing a ghost in some cases).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXA58vXetCw-KXkHip_9Cds4ZJthuNoChGlKNaMD_xe8Vp_GRUrTjQRlpjeaa8DO0VKoYvXbkyxDBJ-u7t7hfDiOy8K5AUgN2LgrSP9hhPVYe-iodfbQhOQLLwi-nYrxR-olkoZdeLe9a9/s1600/a0d9e74e-8141-47e2-bf8d-843981fdd077_570.Jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="447" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXA58vXetCw-KXkHip_9Cds4ZJthuNoChGlKNaMD_xe8Vp_GRUrTjQRlpjeaa8DO0VKoYvXbkyxDBJ-u7t7hfDiOy8K5AUgN2LgrSP9hhPVYe-iodfbQhOQLLwi-nYrxR-olkoZdeLe9a9/s320/a0d9e74e-8141-47e2-bf8d-843981fdd077_570.Jpeg" width="250" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><b>And the manner in which people argue or fight is also fascinating</b></span>, and something we see less and less in the people around us, thanks to the pressure of this social media dominated world to keep up appearances, and to only show the glossy smiley side and facade of life. Back in the days, the entire village/community was up to date about who argued with whom and what was happening behind closed doors. But today, we often don't even know what is going on in the relationships of our friends and relatives. You hear some have decided to get a divorce, and you never saw it coming. Because all their outwards communication was that of happiness and perfection; the only message society seems to value these days, outside of some close and trusted friendships perhaps. I loathe this aspect of modern society. There is fake news all round; everything always goes great with everyone. This only adds to the sky high <b>expectations</b> people have today of life. And relationships change so quickly in this time. There used to be fixed rules in the older societies but all of those are gone (think of one marriage during life to the Tinder-generation), and frankly nobody really knows the rules of this new society. It is a shame that we no longer see and hear what is really goes on behind closed doors, because often it acts as a massive mirror which we probably all need. Don't we all think sometimes; am I the only one who has these type of fights or relationship problems? Dos it also happen to others? How do others handle these things? This is a very interesting channel, where couples are confronted with specific questions for the other, and they have to answer is truthfully. It is real, not staged and it is very insightful I think. This particular clip is eye-wateringly painful to watch:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIRibDzRXWuL_Cig04doeLhxItfEmi8hdVQPkpQRbN4E1BeuFV8HncIfOChXVZi6EJ9jk4xdtNi4dIsPlbcq4WgADy8b7uAIZzX36ZWUpiDCA6ooicueaeOLR7JTdQFNzI5GCso5AQ4M5q/s1600/B016601.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="570" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIRibDzRXWuL_Cig04doeLhxItfEmi8hdVQPkpQRbN4E1BeuFV8HncIfOChXVZi6EJ9jk4xdtNi4dIsPlbcq4WgADy8b7uAIZzX36ZWUpiDCA6ooicueaeOLR7JTdQFNzI5GCso5AQ4M5q/s320/B016601.jpg" width="320" /></a>Very painful... she is so nervous with her laughing, and you can see how hurt he is. And upset. What is the role of sexuality in our modern relationships? For a long time sex was just a right a man had within the marriage, and it was a duty for the wife. Now our sexual relationships exist mostly because of our connection and for pleasure. There is a lot of talk about the power of men and the sexual power of men, think of the metoo movement), but a clip like this one also shows there is powerlessness for men, and that men have vulnerabilities too, in different ways than women sometimes. There is this unfair idea that the sexuality of men is one dimensional, biologically driven, that he always wants and is prepared for sex and if he doesn't want to, he is not masculine. And the woman is psychologically driven and subjective and her sexuality is complex and contextual and psychological and ever changing. But this is not a fair model. It never was like that anyway. But some sexual vulnerabilities of men are highlighted in this clip: being rejected, not performing well, or being unable to satisfy her. Generally speaking, stereotypically the woman is afraid of being raped, the man is afraid of being humiliated. This man is worried about being or becoming impotent, he is taking medication for a medical issue and they are affecting his potency. And what is highlighted most here is that the man is vulnerable in that he has no complete control over her pleasure; he never knows 100% sure if she has an orgasm or not, so he has to..... trust her. He must believe her, but he also needs to know, and she is trying to protect him in this clip, but by doing that she humiliates him entirely. And the more she is laughing (sheepishly), the more he feels humiliated. She doesn't seem to get that. This conversation is not that often held by people, but it is in the heads of many. She has a lot of power over him, because she has the truth, which he wants to know. In the west, the emphasis is so much on the powerless women versus the powerful men, and this is not a fair generalization. This clip shows that things are much more dynamic and subtle. Power within a relationship is always dynamic and every relationship has shifting power struggles. Between partners, between children and parents, between employers and employees etc.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZMdf-XtjkIQjrHVKsqoTZXdZo-wTQ7JO1sLHd9sde48cYEA8mbaLN6612rnZymGMBqA2-YnMpXRrn66KVJDlM089Ch-mHdwtmsviGguJXY8NleWQ5YG7ePLgLjje4WvzGZqG6-p1Fw5u/s1600/d4ef33375e2b5333be2751621e4966e5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="800" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZMdf-XtjkIQjrHVKsqoTZXdZo-wTQ7JO1sLHd9sde48cYEA8mbaLN6612rnZymGMBqA2-YnMpXRrn66KVJDlM089Ch-mHdwtmsviGguJXY8NleWQ5YG7ePLgLjje4WvzGZqG6-p1Fw5u/s320/d4ef33375e2b5333be2751621e4966e5.jpg" width="320" /></a>Women had at least 50 years to overthink and adapt to a changing role in modern society, but men had far less of this. There is still a very rigid code when it comes to raising men; one that pushes them away from their feelings, that makes them competitive. They should not have fear, they should not be dependent on others, they should continue even when they have pain. Men have social/cultural pressures of what is expected of them, just as women have (other ones). Hopefully this century there will be more attention and space for them too, in this respect. Many people fight within their relationships in specific patterns that always come back. For instance; one partner is taking the responsibility of addressing the problem and trying to open the wall on the other side. But the other partner is offended and does not give home. Looks away, sulks. But stays put! Does not leave the conversation, but instead watches like a hawk how far the other is willing to go in order to appease. He/she lets the other know not to be easy to please, <i>but what was that exactly you were just suggesting? </i>But if such a pattern repeats itself for yours, then the other partner can easily tire of the thing. <b style="color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman";">Esther Perel has an interesting podcast too which you can check out <a href="https://www.estherperel.com/podcast">here</a>. She also gives very popular Ted talks. </b><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="font-weight: 400;">
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b style="color: black; font-size: 42px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;">September 11th 2018</span></b></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwwEP-X-F-ADm05sYjU-B7x6MLzUgpTCOPXmhjQ8hJ-eJ1q6GZjpXk2kQhcXACE4NX1oMIrbHoZHiwAETvrHW4WgXnMHoah3nrqLgKf7Bq1hI24B2FrJc2_lxbiFCmOexhaivsPnmpeTa/s1600/ZZZDSC08292.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1193" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwwEP-X-F-ADm05sYjU-B7x6MLzUgpTCOPXmhjQ8hJ-eJ1q6GZjpXk2kQhcXACE4NX1oMIrbHoZHiwAETvrHW4WgXnMHoah3nrqLgKf7Bq1hI24B2FrJc2_lxbiFCmOexhaivsPnmpeTa/s320/ZZZDSC08292.jpg" width="238" /></a>I'm still not doing great, in fact worse in some respects than during my last update. Firstly, those rashes. They have spread pretty much all over my body by now, except for the face (thank god) and soles of hand and feet. Now after 3 weeks they seem to flatten as they spread out, and dry up and slowly fade in colour from red to brownish... I really worried that these spots could be something like psoriasis guttata or something along those lines... Something fired on as an auto-immune condition, something possibly chronic. But the specific pattern of my skin rash mimics <span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>pityriasis rosea</b></span>.. The one big patch initially, then the quick spreading, the locations (trunk mostly, then spreading out), the way in which the spots are healing now with the center becoming more pale again and a scaly ring around the spots. I am fairly sure it will be gone in a few weeks from now, it finally seems on its return, even though it looks more widespread (in size) than ever. But it is still a bit nerve wrecking. I have watched my face like a hawk, and only along the hair lines on my forehead appeared some scale spots recently, but I seem to have been spared from frontal face spots, thank god. Which would be another sign of this being pityriasis rosea, which rarely affects the face. I do have spots all over my neck and the back of my neck. My arms are also covered. But they seem to have stagnated now and as I said, dry out and slowly fade. Have had this for 3 weeks now and am expecting things to take another 2 weeks for clearance. In the meantime I'm still scratching my skin with plastic forks in the evening, aaargghhh. I am so horribly itching at night and in the evenings that it's no longer funny. I'm scratching despite knowing it makes the itching worse, and the risk of scarring bigger, but at this stage I rather injure the skin than have it itch, but then the healing process will make it hurt more, so now I am putting cold packs on the skin all evening long to try and numb the itching.. I know, too much info, but it is what this shitty condition does for many (I read some forums where people with pityriasis rosea complained it was the worst thing they ever had to endure in their life... Which probably says more about the limited hardships they have yet endured than it says about this condition, but nevertheless). If it were just the rashes, ok... Still not nice but the itch is what drives me insane. I normally sleep nine solid hours a night, but have all of the past weeks slept no more than 4 or 5 hours, due to the itching and discomfort. I'm knackered. By day 14 this rash was still spreading further down the entire belly area; buttocks and arms are also full of these critters now. I had to think of my baby sister, who had really bad childhood eczema. My parents told us later that they had to do turns of staying up at night, sitting by her bed as a baby and toddler and until age 5 more or less, scratching and stroking her itchy skin, while they had to tie her hands down, or else she would scratch her skin open. Horrendous, also as parents to see your baby suffer like that. Luckily my rash is supposed to last only a few months, fingers crossed. But I have a new respect for anyone dealing with itchy skin diseases and I will try to remember this when I burn and flush again and am feeling sorry for myself. I honestly rather burn and hurt than itch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8p4cpcf1gRHvFpE81FQJGVZegVbx7mUqP3DXfehp5Pu7UtDsQO7pwgKdsgLT880Qv4z0UtIdGKfdeIBUXSVroOLjDfSnaasMRhPxfHwzId0xX0lpBkHERYhGnL6vHE27JTqLhukrordwl/s1600/ZZZDSC08328.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8p4cpcf1gRHvFpE81FQJGVZegVbx7mUqP3DXfehp5Pu7UtDsQO7pwgKdsgLT880Qv4z0UtIdGKfdeIBUXSVroOLjDfSnaasMRhPxfHwzId0xX0lpBkHERYhGnL6vHE27JTqLhukrordwl/s320/ZZZDSC08328.jpg" width="263" /></a>My friend wrote me thoughtful things. The rashes reminded her of a girl who has an online media presence, who has something different (and chronic), called epidermylosis bullosa. She shares photos of her terrible skin sores on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mbajsb/">instagram</a>. A beautiful girl who deals with a pretty terrible skin disease, yet shows her skin to the outside world with her head up high. Someone commented on one of her full body rash photos that it looks like her skin is covered with little red rose petals, which I found endearing and sweet to read. I have so much admiration for anyone dealing with these inflammatory skin diseases, may it be rosacea or eczema, psoriasis, epidermylosis bullose and erythromelalgia is more of a blood vessel problem but also makes the skin burn and turn red; also a hellish condition. As my friend wrote: "With so many chronic illnesses its like a merry go round of suffering or complications or extreme restrictions or likely all of the three combined and more. It seems that our bodies are always doing something to us or paying us back for trying to do something outside the limited box we live in or even god forbid have a little fun! I think you can probably relate? :/ I really hope we can have a next life, there’s so many things I have interests in and I think you too, that we don't get to experience or do." I suppose with our lives and the constant need for trigger control, fans blowing and lifestyle adaptation, we do morph into a different person with different wants and needs than we were before rosacea started, and than we would have probably been without rosacea. There are limits everywhere of what we can do and then within those limits you look for the best day to day lifestyle that keeps things calm and won't make us anxious with a flared red face.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPQTJQ0CbWuTx2zn_YIS3MPmCknIZFnAlHjI1UVR1Iqt5eaHpt1LGBUOh0i7_LTmr-AIxoz74cxKpNYCbiIDfNHCdEKJ9DVBEBqiJj24OybHE28J5pGhtDM4Lu29qdMJvHYAsfmX29mFDG/s1600/ZZDSC08103.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="1600" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPQTJQ0CbWuTx2zn_YIS3MPmCknIZFnAlHjI1UVR1Iqt5eaHpt1LGBUOh0i7_LTmr-AIxoz74cxKpNYCbiIDfNHCdEKJ9DVBEBqiJj24OybHE28J5pGhtDM4Lu29qdMJvHYAsfmX29mFDG/s640/ZZDSC08103.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialtfRadbx4SdwTkXOfq6S4gGP-Y-mj7yJTY5hrc1Y1XDRx0rOKE6ZQAJyLA9HF-BXyorgZChpYFXvymsHjRYzeGRXH54_xXCz_Q6KUeqbK5b9x-FZtGh5RXn0TuAzgSsN0SmzPbjBt2vB/s1600/ZZDSC06244.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1561" data-original-width="1600" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialtfRadbx4SdwTkXOfq6S4gGP-Y-mj7yJTY5hrc1Y1XDRx0rOKE6ZQAJyLA9HF-BXyorgZChpYFXvymsHjRYzeGRXH54_xXCz_Q6KUeqbK5b9x-FZtGh5RXn0TuAzgSsN0SmzPbjBt2vB/s320/ZZDSC06244.jpg" width="320" /></a>Then to make matters much worse, my cat Petya has died very unexpectedly. Very sudden also. Hardly any signs, other than that he was a bit grumpy for a day and wanted to be left alone while he slept in a snug spot upstairs. No howling, no signs of pain, no vomiting or any other sign of illness. Just died in his sleep, as I found him snugly curled up in sleeping position, very peaceful facial expression. I've been literally crying for 5 days in a row. I do everything for my cats. The best quality food, specially made for sterilized cats. Only outdoors during safe hours and with GPS trackers on their collars, indoors during evenings and nights. Regular vet checks and all round keeping a close eye on their well being and behaviour. That is why this has hit me like a road bomb. Petya was happy, bouncing, healthy seeming; he wanted to play every day, he went on walks with me, he cuddled up to me, he purred, he was eating very well. He never seemed in any discomfort. The only thing I noticed was that after I had recently adopted him in January, he had not de-stressed entirely.. He had been in a shelter for 2 years prior and had been super stressed and unhappy there 😞 All he did was crawl around, hissing and hitting at the other shelter cats, constantly in war modus, ears flat and clearly distressed. They said he was very unhappy there and that nobody wanted to adopt him as he was so unfriendly seeming. My heart still breaks for him now that I type this. I loved that cat and had no problems with his temperament; I reckoned he would act much better in a calmer environment with more personal attention and less cats around. I felt so bad for him that I took him home right away. He loved having his own space with me and he loved laying on my lap or bed. It seemed hard for him to relax in general however, despite him seeming very content with his new life. He was purring a lot, playing with his toy mouse, cuddling me, following me around happily, and having his own safe room where he would often retreat for peace and quiet. He gave me head cuddles all the time, when I brushed my teeth he would jump on the counter top to rub his head against me and play with the toothbrush. He was the one who gave me that scratch under the eye, but that was in the first week or so of him being with me. After that he never hit me again. He didn't like the other cats, but they are often outside and I kept him and them often separated unless he was initiating being around them himself. Petya slept next to me when I worked on the computer and came with me on evening strolls outside. He was by all accounts happy, very loving. Yet, his tail would always tremble in a nervous way..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeyTYPUJoq4NeXIOzuTMcHs5cYksr3y5wfiy-e8KTkjlLG6TUDT0qmXBlWqvoL5ueS1zAh7v3F8ArRFzAtXU05n6ukHAzQMX5WXiWSx8h_eJ7m-5p5LNRtXdBv6kaOz4EwEXfacreUesYK/s1600/ZZZDSC06150.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeyTYPUJoq4NeXIOzuTMcHs5cYksr3y5wfiy-e8KTkjlLG6TUDT0qmXBlWqvoL5ueS1zAh7v3F8ArRFzAtXU05n6ukHAzQMX5WXiWSx8h_eJ7m-5p5LNRtXdBv6kaOz4EwEXfacreUesYK/s320/ZZZDSC06150.jpg" width="320" /></a>So I visited the vet with him 6 weeks ago, to ask him about natural or medicated ways to calm him down more. I explained that Petya had been initially nervous around other cats, but that things were improving; they could calmly be in the same room all evening now without issues or stress. But Petya never seemed completely relaxed, despite all the safe spaces and cuddles and adapting to his needs. His tail was like a seismographic meter, always straight up in the air and trembling and I worried that he could not relax anymore after his unhappy years in the shelter. Thus, the vet had done a full body check on him 6 weeks ago and suggested trying a supplement first, called Zylkene. It could calm him down more, and if this didn't work we could try something more powerful. Petya seemed to have subtle improvement on Zylkene. The last week I had tapered it off as I wasn't convinced it was doing enough for him, and I was planning another vet trip to discuss a plan B. When I called the vet in tears about what had happened, he said he thought that Petya passed in his sleep from heart failure. The vet thinks his heart had endured too much stress for too long and now that he relaxed and felt more at peace, the heart could actually show the damage. Something nobody would have picked up on with simple check ups.. I went to the shelter and asked the people there about all this too, in tears, and they said he had been checked by a vet there too, although only superficial stethoscope check up. That these things happen... Some of their cats pass from sudden death syndromes around this young age of 3 or 4 years old, unfortunately..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXG7wFloT0Uvuoj3gpPJN0RXINA1q1MbCZXpGvK6KxhxDm0m8l8N1JVHcgnHN3aNNmrrPrRD6y2BYZD9VhdykTVRdI_OxAPKF576uFqj32347cSgCy2en71hAjsoVLKxJQwPGVItZtYuYy/s1600/DSC08215.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXG7wFloT0Uvuoj3gpPJN0RXINA1q1MbCZXpGvK6KxhxDm0m8l8N1JVHcgnHN3aNNmrrPrRD6y2BYZD9VhdykTVRdI_OxAPKF576uFqj32347cSgCy2en71hAjsoVLKxJQwPGVItZtYuYy/w228-h305/DSC08215.JPG" width="228" /></a>The vet said the same and assured me that everything pointed towards a peaceful sliding away during sleep. But I am paining myself with flash backs and torturing myself over missed signs and what I could have done more for him. And I miss him. It was a very unusual cat with such a strong personality. He was a very lively, boisterous and dynamic cat with a huge personality. I have no kids, so my cats are important to me, as the individuals they all are, all with specific characters and specifics about them. I've been feeling very down to be honest, there seems to be a lot of loss going on as we age. I will be 39 next month and it is a cliché, but as we age, the losses of life do stack up. And some carry these ghosts from the past with them more consciously than others. I made Petya a beautiful little grave and visit it every night. I hope his spirit (if such a thing is even possible) still visits us and lingers around. So all in all a shitty month... Life sucks at the moment and I am wondering sometimes what I have done in general to 'deserve' all this ongoing shit. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikhUCrRtQ703Bd5K_CPdAkv_4YvsIEVYr_X1cxpBR_C8PaSJLOinb7oqeuMIlLbqr3gLQmhYmzQhQq4FlCBL5cEXayLX0ttyxDbUziZcwuUxF8ps-Z9nxtDgGP5VjIG1Fk8dYA4VhUL06k/s1600/ZZZDSC08309.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="639" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikhUCrRtQ703Bd5K_CPdAkv_4YvsIEVYr_X1cxpBR_C8PaSJLOinb7oqeuMIlLbqr3gLQmhYmzQhQq4FlCBL5cEXayLX0ttyxDbUziZcwuUxF8ps-Z9nxtDgGP5VjIG1Fk8dYA4VhUL06k/s320/ZZZDSC08309.jpg" width="127" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmkRm32VbubPn2qfH8r-4k3VO3afQPHc8xyEZl1SNxh1xtTGjqMUhqVIwSxClblZxN_WOR0_R1f2jHimCwFa8JhKJMX8HKDnW_n4AzkK_KiQSsar0cPeqQabK-fNpDpxjVvpXVG7V-V0Y/s1600/ZZZDSC08308.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1569" data-original-width="705" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmkRm32VbubPn2qfH8r-4k3VO3afQPHc8xyEZl1SNxh1xtTGjqMUhqVIwSxClblZxN_WOR0_R1f2jHimCwFa8JhKJMX8HKDnW_n4AzkK_KiQSsar0cPeqQabK-fNpDpxjVvpXVG7V-V0Y/s320/ZZZDSC08308.jpg" width="143" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ69QCJ_a1U6T55ZusvkVEPHQ-EvN5fgAZOcYOjYySU_DnKTcFnjtUPKIk6LJpiKFlfkyJB0HFf6rG60L4P5EEuPqYHiNdoSPE9_y_H-ezEoUyrxehKmTfXAvroB2BMWLdMt_VLExqARMF/s1600/ZZZDSC08291.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1591" data-original-width="1600" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ69QCJ_a1U6T55ZusvkVEPHQ-EvN5fgAZOcYOjYySU_DnKTcFnjtUPKIk6LJpiKFlfkyJB0HFf6rG60L4P5EEuPqYHiNdoSPE9_y_H-ezEoUyrxehKmTfXAvroB2BMWLdMt_VLExqARMF/s320/ZZZDSC08291.jpg" width="320" /></a>Despite the many tears, my rosacea has calmed down though luckily. But at the height of the pityriasis rosea outbreaks, the full body inflammation must have gotten to my rosacea too, as my face was flaring and burning really badly. It was also warm and humid weather and that is the worst for my flushing. Dry weather is far better for it, even though humidity soothes my skin which is on the dry side. But somehow I flush like mad from warm humid weather. I had to bike to town last week around 2PM and the sun was shining. I managed to bike mostly in the shade, but had also stretches of road where I had to bike in the sun; no ways around it. I only wore a light coloured small brimmed hat and came back home all flushed and burned up in my face. I could kick myself for going out like that in bright sunshine and at a time when the sun still has strong UV radiation, and also for not overcoming my vanity and for not just wrapping up with a <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=coolibar+face+protection+sun&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi4hury47LdAhUE1BoKHVTvAC0Q_AUICigB&biw=1024&bih=486">coolibar scarf </a>over my face. Will I EVER learn to avoid the midday sun? I can't put sunscreen on and a hat is no proper protection.. I had scrubbed my face the week before lightly, so my skin was extra fragile and susceptible to sunburn. The day prior I had been in town with a friend of mine (from 14;30 till 18:00) and had no skin problems at all, despite catching some reflected sunrays too then. A usual those experiences pump up my confidence and make me think I can do as I please as long as I wear a hat. But this day, going by online UV info, there was a UV risk of factor 5, meaning there was a risk of sunburn at that time of day after only 20-25 minutes of sun exposure. That applies to people with normal functioning skin. On the other hand, I didn't have 25 minutes of ongoing unprotected and full sun exposure. Nevertheless I ended up flushing and burning all night, despite using the fan and airco. Then while I was cooling my skin with the fan on and had a burning face still, there was a sudden electricity cut. Just my luck. Neighbours were all out on the street when I opened the front door, and it turned out to be a local energy problem. After an hour of waiting I was too burned up and took my fans and stuff on the bike to my dads house, who lives in another part of town where electricity still worked. He took an old photo album out, mainly to talk about my middle sister Jennifer, but he had stored some old photos of me too. Ones I hadn't seen in more than a decade. I made some digital photos of them. This one below was taken while I still lived in a student house; my downstairs neighbour was a hobby photographer and asked me if he could make some shots. I said fine, but that I couldn't have any powder or make-up on my skin. I don't think now that I needed it at the time, it is hard now to realize I actually had rosacea already back then, based on how my skin looked in this photo. But I did flush often in the evenings or from specific triggers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_fAOQGlbQxrmznlufjsfTfDQatqBf5XhIPM2-1cBcYNHMiSipFq4eHPaSXXhIChGzFgDaVwtxKpbfnnUybtO4KPbuRY2jAPU6kbQk7Al3UDp77z13Bl0XuVCNdyd01MvmiUh1COYmyU3/s1600/XX40588354_883497675183402_2885836114420039680_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_fAOQGlbQxrmznlufjsfTfDQatqBf5XhIPM2-1cBcYNHMiSipFq4eHPaSXXhIChGzFgDaVwtxKpbfnnUybtO4KPbuRY2jAPU6kbQk7Al3UDp77z13Bl0XuVCNdyd01MvmiUh1COYmyU3/s320/XX40588354_883497675183402_2885836114420039680_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
It seems strange to me that subtype 1 rosacea with skin redness and flushing burns and goes so deeply red for some, and goes red but doesn't burn for others. It makes sense that there is variation between type I and II and III but it seems strange that two people with predominantly severe flushing can have either debilitating burning sensations, or no pain at all, despite looking the same to others. I have a feeling that long term flushing and inflammation of the skin can tick off the facial nerve endings after some time, for some. And then even a mild flush can trigger these nerve endings to signal pain and heat to the brain perhaps? I can only imagine the flushing triggers the nerve endings and that after years of chronic flushing or inflammation, the nerves can be really triggered to sense pain all the time? They surely have a memory for pain, just as blood vessels have a memory for dilating..... Still, it baffles me that someone can have that level inflammation, increased blood flow and skin redness, but not feel that typical hot burning skin pain. I can understand in mild cases, but not for severe flushers. I feel this is sometimes overlooked, and especially rosacea patients with severe nerve pain can feel misunderstood by others; I know people with moderate or even minimal redness, who suffer greatly from burning sensations. I had this when I was the age at which this photo was taken. I wear no make-up other than some mascara and lip liner and I had a lot of pain and burning sensations when looking like this. My mother and sisters thought I was mentally unstable and imagined it all back then...<br />
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">Day 12</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnsMnCwubGnEHSJ-UaMYtv3z8xFmfCdq1jYAOBGREvn7E0ooVBhIE3XAI99f5tVKd2RyJPrGg1bQcUFkGSuk05wjtwCPsytj2fKsylL-1-yqSV_EvTjenEjuDP-zm082xFSp-bZ0Lr4E90/s1600/ZZDSC08086.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="494" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnsMnCwubGnEHSJ-UaMYtv3z8xFmfCdq1jYAOBGREvn7E0ooVBhIE3XAI99f5tVKd2RyJPrGg1bQcUFkGSuk05wjtwCPsytj2fKsylL-1-yqSV_EvTjenEjuDP-zm082xFSp-bZ0Lr4E90/s320/ZZDSC08086.jpg" width="215" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQhKKWLA7LlUSap-oZ2cDNLiflPgqOehqfnZ0zrw4u3VCZbjfyG5fPFb0iRNrxgWxqLsdq352aZ59mXpXY3xPL_40wl2PQMYsU6ulS5ogMMbTcGfu55wZ_cAqmry8VxiHVy9sssUF3_Kmd/s1600/ZDSC08051.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1578" data-original-width="1458" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQhKKWLA7LlUSap-oZ2cDNLiflPgqOehqfnZ0zrw4u3VCZbjfyG5fPFb0iRNrxgWxqLsdq352aZ59mXpXY3xPL_40wl2PQMYsU6ulS5ogMMbTcGfu55wZ_cAqmry8VxiHVy9sssUF3_Kmd/s320/ZDSC08051.jpg" width="295" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyxC0WDaoI5l8FJ8QuQpXKuf6RNDxbWEoMAjgNqQaMyn5q9d8Q1pnY2ZO-_xdLbyjo6_io0JDhIFXVbz56XRqBvQa2w1toDYrdbc466SOvZ-xILNGPPidi3jgfxrfrMyd_PlhDkzI_gG4K/s1600/ZZDSC08095.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="846" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyxC0WDaoI5l8FJ8QuQpXKuf6RNDxbWEoMAjgNqQaMyn5q9d8Q1pnY2ZO-_xdLbyjo6_io0JDhIFXVbz56XRqBvQa2w1toDYrdbc466SOvZ-xILNGPPidi3jgfxrfrMyd_PlhDkzI_gG4K/s320/ZZDSC08095.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">Day 14</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFkZAFK-5ByOlQxiLUkOSwYsfX5C9cEDlkVAxH4LmRusv7sRf_OmHYz5zrcpm3Tf3ic32KIEcRWzxXrb-jOAdV6P3njn3CVVrhznSHOxjDN0ZV-vSYxrvXKxOtvD4-8p-FR6dIhMgw8Sl/s1600/ZZDSC08134.jpg" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="882" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFkZAFK-5ByOlQxiLUkOSwYsfX5C9cEDlkVAxH4LmRusv7sRf_OmHYz5zrcpm3Tf3ic32KIEcRWzxXrb-jOAdV6P3njn3CVVrhznSHOxjDN0ZV-vSYxrvXKxOtvD4-8p-FR6dIhMgw8Sl/w153-h226/ZZDSC08134.jpg" width="153" /></a></span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3i7farXTPOs98Byax199yI5-27V1ZBB2WncxlG3j-byqNkzKCICe0C2kEn8EHA8BaVvWQwipJJWxggZUmVbOaKc8yIsbfS4eZ_HdFmDChv_gnqi4ZcOzKyTAPdCT0ZXvxcdS8ySTNn_zF/s1600/ZDSC08167.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="985" data-original-width="1600" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3i7farXTPOs98Byax199yI5-27V1ZBB2WncxlG3j-byqNkzKCICe0C2kEn8EHA8BaVvWQwipJJWxggZUmVbOaKc8yIsbfS4eZ_HdFmDChv_gnqi4ZcOzKyTAPdCT0ZXvxcdS8ySTNn_zF/w369-h226/ZDSC08167.jpg" width="369" /></a><b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDeDVWbs_W_InDaLcihLtTbDhDqB70ifKwAAS83YYztpM56SKNCXyEF0BEQLCzxZNUc_hPVdT7vfs34u0DzbYN6tI27oyl0d_mDSp5n032GbjEtPNf0D_t5_Ff1dvI19HNduxF4YGkhQDF/s1600/ZDSC08166.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1023" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDeDVWbs_W_InDaLcihLtTbDhDqB70ifKwAAS83YYztpM56SKNCXyEF0BEQLCzxZNUc_hPVdT7vfs34u0DzbYN6tI27oyl0d_mDSp5n032GbjEtPNf0D_t5_Ff1dvI19HNduxF4YGkhQDF/w145-h229/ZDSC08166.JPG" width="145" /></a></span></b></div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">Day 18</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0LuVE3HXrEVUfNeOABq9XHPoHK4TUYpq-n5VriYq-XxqVOR5mh-SwwVVWs26jBmI-lpMfpGJlaW6THelf18dXDQnNIateKh1__yEEXbjpMbqaHQClfPZwVveebjyQWxJ2bNxhmfRWbl0T/s1600/ZZZDSC08222.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1227" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0LuVE3HXrEVUfNeOABq9XHPoHK4TUYpq-n5VriYq-XxqVOR5mh-SwwVVWs26jBmI-lpMfpGJlaW6THelf18dXDQnNIateKh1__yEEXbjpMbqaHQClfPZwVveebjyQWxJ2bNxhmfRWbl0T/w192-h250/ZZZDSC08222.jpg" width="192" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkgdAZdGwSbKtS8TZUZlKfizZyC0oxLzuPA8R6tFwv2oAitjbsXRURvt-ObnmrEHmANuEvF20zH3ac6rjdIhyphenhyphenjeFCjRuXphFIYeizHQBqO73ctqv_FBXT8wla6UO27xjRXdVJU5FPe2W44/s1600/ZZZDSC08225.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="903" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkgdAZdGwSbKtS8TZUZlKfizZyC0oxLzuPA8R6tFwv2oAitjbsXRURvt-ObnmrEHmANuEvF20zH3ac6rjdIhyphenhyphenjeFCjRuXphFIYeizHQBqO73ctqv_FBXT8wla6UO27xjRXdVJU5FPe2W44/w288-h248/ZZZDSC08225.jpg" width="288" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilNcNKfCQFSUYd98FkS2MP-QydjsIOaIpC3u4plEpTF6Wq6FpnkPb6W3jhksvJJvgGHRJuPCthdHoNfuKif5qMXRdjpEqqbUj_N2hex4hl2gU5jQjPpBpa9Q_661kKoohI8UezTX6YJl_F/s1600/ZZZDSC08335.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1422" data-original-width="813" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilNcNKfCQFSUYd98FkS2MP-QydjsIOaIpC3u4plEpTF6Wq6FpnkPb6W3jhksvJJvgGHRJuPCthdHoNfuKif5qMXRdjpEqqbUj_N2hex4hl2gU5jQjPpBpa9Q_661kKoohI8UezTX6YJl_F/w146-h256/ZZZDSC08335.jpg" width="146" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">Day 20</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiVRKIuwmDRp3Fd5_lX-yHjZoMo9r1yuBqVuG2d4RXebJ16Yhw7c2XOym-RMVRUVPrIp_vM7KoaZpKFREGt-P_K6PX_H8cjFhR0KAI7n639QklyyznFusrrxLdH2XLlNLBV3LNhY_S2_ir/s1600/DSC08173.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiVRKIuwmDRp3Fd5_lX-yHjZoMo9r1yuBqVuG2d4RXebJ16Yhw7c2XOym-RMVRUVPrIp_vM7KoaZpKFREGt-P_K6PX_H8cjFhR0KAI7n639QklyyznFusrrxLdH2XLlNLBV3LNhY_S2_ir/w273-h205/DSC08173.JPG" width="273" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQh5Ta7yM9TgUx2EVnl6k1uU5_93SUqRwxJhqJeO-ElLKuucXBQ4HZvorLemQigR-3O8M1e3F6Vn6WcpUY8V1ywz5l7_C6PYLOnIGN8LvXbY1_WTGVLlOXkkfogP4p_5SkjuXFsy7uJHM/s1600/ZZZDSC08298.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1578" data-original-width="1530" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQh5Ta7yM9TgUx2EVnl6k1uU5_93SUqRwxJhqJeO-ElLKuucXBQ4HZvorLemQigR-3O8M1e3F6Vn6WcpUY8V1ywz5l7_C6PYLOnIGN8LvXbY1_WTGVLlOXkkfogP4p_5SkjuXFsy7uJHM/w197-h204/ZZZDSC08298.jpg" width="197" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_-WqGHkdmr3alkQnHdVJKbd6XeK8v48at9ZLWBbVNglBq_dOf5VExvkx7EYEh0UiQQYk4-Di7RXvaL-Y-WAopYV0EvItqgB7AdHQwZAqOBYQLcOqzBdX3FHbM5fBV3xD_sVcQ2OMsZAR/s1600/ZZZDSC08175.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1321" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_-WqGHkdmr3alkQnHdVJKbd6XeK8v48at9ZLWBbVNglBq_dOf5VExvkx7EYEh0UiQQYk4-Di7RXvaL-Y-WAopYV0EvItqgB7AdHQwZAqOBYQLcOqzBdX3FHbM5fBV3xD_sVcQ2OMsZAR/w170-h207/ZZZDSC08175.jpg" width="170" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">Day 21</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwzd3f6qGCHPOKRm_VWLYJT_8EYiZc59JKbGF7hIh0obz7gyebGxp3at-OQ8Wf9e24Ec7GqtcXDJJKruBbUlsrXXZQRCz0ET_64yZcWfIC-Fu5tN-QgeBaWrUWYm-rKnrvdwhOYBkCT7h3/s1600/ZZZDSC08198.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="798" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwzd3f6qGCHPOKRm_VWLYJT_8EYiZc59JKbGF7hIh0obz7gyebGxp3at-OQ8Wf9e24Ec7GqtcXDJJKruBbUlsrXXZQRCz0ET_64yZcWfIC-Fu5tN-QgeBaWrUWYm-rKnrvdwhOYBkCT7h3/s320/ZZZDSC08198.jpg" width="159" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKugeu9szYBjoMbxzy4HHUWNB4zo19unDsO86U1L3UmHxkEL9WN9BGMm6QtbAniZLt5h6uZ_RuRnhIQa5eQT5H74cjVPaigChy2vGbs0HYJyvLXCdrVbiTpwnQqYtwoCvQpwI0mMp59eM-/s1600/ZZZDSC08200.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="703" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKugeu9szYBjoMbxzy4HHUWNB4zo19unDsO86U1L3UmHxkEL9WN9BGMm6QtbAniZLt5h6uZ_RuRnhIQa5eQT5H74cjVPaigChy2vGbs0HYJyvLXCdrVbiTpwnQqYtwoCvQpwI0mMp59eM-/s320/ZZZDSC08200.jpg" width="140" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43WJcUNxWUkEpQVL8OZOWVjDXz_or9PY2VoVVUH8KRY_J1PzDpJVdGwdFyPyLgYb_lGfHd74hInIOgdA7gefIb4YMOLm1VrhPpvFuEuR-uspz58_GjQWFNsabxEee7IZtTQIu1Sd-KuA7/s1600/ZZZZDSC077834%252C5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="405" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43WJcUNxWUkEpQVL8OZOWVjDXz_or9PY2VoVVUH8KRY_J1PzDpJVdGwdFyPyLgYb_lGfHd74hInIOgdA7gefIb4YMOLm1VrhPpvFuEuR-uspz58_GjQWFNsabxEee7IZtTQIu1Sd-KuA7/s320/ZZZZDSC077834%252C5.jpg" width="81" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b><br /></b><b style="color: black; font-size: 42px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;">September 1st 2018</span></b></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI3SCBidxm3C2Rm12HG28XyGtMVKIV2khyGpAxY99gYvEfLfzQAsibXLyhnIcqw6awjj3BHXBBgIzXfqJNGbYeApyiXJSUBkHNXYGMBnQ3m9CLQatraoPlJmUqBPHiJyEBCoA319gN4qse/s1600/64279_10152897896508996_1038797797267752040_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="678" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI3SCBidxm3C2Rm12HG28XyGtMVKIV2khyGpAxY99gYvEfLfzQAsibXLyhnIcqw6awjj3BHXBBgIzXfqJNGbYeApyiXJSUBkHNXYGMBnQ3m9CLQatraoPlJmUqBPHiJyEBCoA319gN4qse/s320/64279_10152897896508996_1038797797267752040_n.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
I've had a depressing horrible week. I look like a pink Dalmatian now and am miserable. The rashes have gotten much worse over the past days, basically spreading and spreading, and my belly area, chest and upper legs and arms are filling in with a vast ocean of smaller itchy inflamed skin lesions. It itches like crazy and it looks disgusting. I hate how it keeps spreading and how I am restless every morning to check if it hasn't gone to my face. It is already creeping up all on my neck. It's frightening to see how fast it spreads and fills in. I dread checking <span style="text-align: center;">my skin each morning. Unfortunately the rashes have started to itch really badly after a week and I worry that all my scratching (I know, not good) is making matters worse. I now put cold packs on the itchy rashes to stop the itch. And to make matters even worse, I developed a red rash under my eye on my left cheek last week. Quite a big irritation red spot. </span>I'm not sure my face rashes are the same as the body rashes; they could also just be regular rosacea flaring up, and thus inflamed skin patches, but I hate it because as you know I do everything possible in my life to keep my skin calm and not inflamed. And now I have a body covered in this inflamed stuff. I worry constantly that my rosacea is going to get worse long term from this. Anyway, I saw my dermatologist the other day. I didn't have an appointment and usually there is a 3 week waiting time, but I thought; if I go there and show his wife, and secretary, my rash then she might sort something out about him seeing me this week still. She saw the rash and said OUCH and discussed it with the doctor and said to come back later in the day; he would look at it. That was great, although I had to wait quite a few hours and it was very warm. But glad he could see me. He checked it and first mentioned psoriasis but then quickly mentioned<span style="color: #f4cccc;"><span style="color: #f4cccc;"> </span><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">pityriasis rosea</span></b></span>. That it matches that exactly, including the herald patch I first saw. Only one of the 100 or so rashes that I have looked like psoriasis to him, and all the others looked like textbook pityriasis rosacea he said. He also said there is nothing I can do about it 😞 Every cream you put on it irritates the delicate skin, including steroid creams (which I won't use anyway), so it is best to leave it alone according to him and it should go away within a month or two. I got some extra antihistamines for the itch. The only thing he could recommend that might help speed the recovery up is sun exposure. I could use my UVB narrow band lamp for it, or just sit in the sun... I asked: how about the rash on my face? He said the pityriasis rash usually spares the hands, feet, legs and face. Then he added: "Any skin that is exposed to the sun is spared". I said uhmmm, my face is always covered from the sun....so I have a higher risk of it also going to my face? He still didn't think it was anything but a rosacea flare on my face. Which was a relief to hear. So your hands and feet are not supposed to get it either, but the upper part of my feet are COVERED in itchy rashes since yesterday... Not the soles of the feet though. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioVwKQeY3qojJ72Wlu-wxe4R6V-iUj_osg3zYijHfm0rDgbmE9NjxougkFj56iDr7_Ux4W1UQNXJsIlQlCY5ODeDerZuhfVd44d-4mUaoiOu19WSpRx85iqi7ld4eJvr0S1Pua7ZfrJTNE/s1600/10861144_10152897904903996_7131389884880268587_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="1000" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioVwKQeY3qojJ72Wlu-wxe4R6V-iUj_osg3zYijHfm0rDgbmE9NjxougkFj56iDr7_Ux4W1UQNXJsIlQlCY5ODeDerZuhfVd44d-4mUaoiOu19WSpRx85iqi7ld4eJvr0S1Pua7ZfrJTNE/s320/10861144_10152897904903996_7131389884880268587_o.jpg" width="320" /></a>Anyway, I am sort of relieved to hear (again that) it is a<span style="text-align: center;">t needs to run its course and yes it is a </span><span style="text-align: center;">self limiting thing and not psoriasis or something chronic.</span><span style="text-align: center;"> But is is a nasty</span><span style="text-align: center;"> rash he said. </span><span style="text-align: center;">Pain and flushing is bad, but itching I came to experience, might be even worse to have to endure.. I sleep poorly as so itchy and not being allowed to scratch when all you want is for the itch to stop and the pain to set in instead... is hard. I had to travel as well yesterday and you actually see the spots well now on my whole chest and neck and arms. It looks pretty disgusting I think. The patch of redness I had on my cheek for a few days made me super super stressed out, which in turn makes me worried that the stress fires up the pityriasis rosea in turn, but it seems to have calmed down again on my face the past two days. But the rest of the body seems fair game for this condition, I have hundreds of tiny itchy raised dots on my lower arms and on top of my feet too now and they itch also very badly. I put them under cold water sometimes to help stop it. </span><span style="text-align: center;">And imagining having this itchy nightmare for another 4 to 6 weeks now is daunting. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"> <b style="font-size: xx-large;">Music clip of the day</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">Day 7</span></b><br />
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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1476" data-original-width="1600" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgolDuLU8KNVPM6E-FIEMPxvWleKdkke8bPvHCvB39Bj0k-FtBNypVrqOLxh4z3AyQNaShRVR3vifJdYXbbYlj8RXHyYeLSkKuO7a-Hbrn7sJKhkMG5mgCwLTnyJjVFLiyiZOqxpvgX9_q1/s320/ZZZDSC07792.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumOCqTlSyX23JPVe0bAeOB8vfcrjGFVvoaC5dx7V0Fr1pkD9q886unB9KJCErSojSvjdzE18KbeJU_fgjW7_BrotW9S23xfKfNB6akJgi8U9mTrnKoTKr30U-gO8YYbEEpO4pyIIggH_y/s1600/Foto+van+mij+21.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="359" data-original-width="359" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumOCqTlSyX23JPVe0bAeOB8vfcrjGFVvoaC5dx7V0Fr1pkD9q886unB9KJCErSojSvjdzE18KbeJU_fgjW7_BrotW9S23xfKfNB6akJgi8U9mTrnKoTKr30U-gO8YYbEEpO4pyIIggH_y/s320/Foto+van+mij+21.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">Day 9</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPw6tljrGt4hbF2ZNrqy12v_4ilHq1MAJX8oJJ7HsWYDdPQHsacvzzghrkKVx3xRsGrYQFnB_g8I86NvzkUpl2HQMA8agjnE82m3_qrGGVy9SqQ0JQ4TE5P_MuNbTsXHvQSELNapz2Ijr/s1600/ZDSC08005.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1317" data-original-width="1206" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPw6tljrGt4hbF2ZNrqy12v_4ilHq1MAJX8oJJ7HsWYDdPQHsacvzzghrkKVx3xRsGrYQFnB_g8I86NvzkUpl2HQMA8agjnE82m3_qrGGVy9SqQ0JQ4TE5P_MuNbTsXHvQSELNapz2Ijr/s320/ZDSC08005.jpg" width="293" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQRoiWp-0dc4g-hLPb_sjmMYbZJ4b5L3EigiQ0UfTcypfjwFBE3UQHvIEdXtBIj7uxu03WNzVhnYpyaa_dSuP6B9MD_BloCVFlpd3c8ZSQlQxTJQ5Ij1pI1BhOSsaZJUv1IznOQVZGaEZ-/s1600/ZDSC08049.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1584" data-original-width="1317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQRoiWp-0dc4g-hLPb_sjmMYbZJ4b5L3EigiQ0UfTcypfjwFBE3UQHvIEdXtBIj7uxu03WNzVhnYpyaa_dSuP6B9MD_BloCVFlpd3c8ZSQlQxTJQ5Ij1pI1BhOSsaZJUv1IznOQVZGaEZ-/s320/ZDSC08049.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">Day 11</span></b><br />
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">Day 12</span></b></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b style="color: black; font-size: 42px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;">August 23rd 2018</span></b></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1LtIL3XVkU-L94f5_p4EIS8dGhgaZhdDFZjztA8_5ONyUkgkY6Yh0oCTtLN-fPs-i1lJK6VbEb169KrKnGHgtG_4Q96TtGoMMNPVb6GCVwtdk-yvQ3zHbyaVMYuvm3ochZX0R47U90QmU/s1600/sally-mann-untitled%252C-at-twelve-series-%2528juliet-in-the-chair%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="385" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1LtIL3XVkU-L94f5_p4EIS8dGhgaZhdDFZjztA8_5ONyUkgkY6Yh0oCTtLN-fPs-i1lJK6VbEb169KrKnGHgtG_4Q96TtGoMMNPVb6GCVwtdk-yvQ3zHbyaVMYuvm3ochZX0R47U90QmU/s320/sally-mann-untitled%252C-at-twelve-series-%2528juliet-in-the-chair%2529.jpg" width="256" /></a>My own GP was not available but her colleague emailed me back in response and based on the photos I had sent and the description, she suggested it can well be something called '<a href="https://www.aocd.org/page/PityriasisRosea?"><b>pityriasis rosea</b></a>'. Which would be a harmless, self limiting condition that resolves all by itself within a few months. Its description seems to match my symptoms completely; Pityriasis rosea starts with one pink/salmon colour round patch of rash on one spot (for me it started with one big oval pink patch on the breast), and then within a day to a week more and smaller round rashes appear, mostly on the torso (chest/back) and sometimes the upper legs. Just where I have my rash (I have quite a few on my neck too though). The rashes itch sometimes, but not necessarily and often not at all. Mine hardly itch, only rarely one or two itch a bit for a short time. Pityriasis rosea tends to be seen in younger people, 15-35 and for no clear reason, going by the Dutch information sites I read. Sometimes they are thought to be a reaction to a viral infection, sometimes the effect of a weakened immune system or a reaction to a bacterial infection even. On the English written sites, <a href="https://www.dermnetnz.org/topics/pityriasis-rosea/">dermnet</a> for instance, this condition is linked to a reactivation of herpes viruses 6 and 7. I for sure had what we call 'fever lip' in Holland when I was around 14 or 15 years old; a herpes type that gives a blister in the corner of the mouth. I think we called it the kissing disease at the time. But whenever my immune system was low in my youth, for instance when I had the flu, the little blisters would come again and then disappear again. Maybe this is another way in which the herpes virus plays up now, I think I read at the time that it lays dormant in the body for most of your life once you have been infected. Ugh.... Can't believe I'm dealing with this again in another form in my adult life. Pityriasis rosea should go away by itself within 12 weeks. In the first 2 weeks more rashes can form, but after 2 weeks there shouldn't be new ones popping up and they should start to disappear again. Phew!! And usually you only get it once in life. I googled it and it looks just like what I have, including the greyish skin scaling around some patches. But it sucks to look now like I have the plague. No more sea swimming for me this summer I reckon :( The best part of this all is that pityriasis rosea doesn't need any treatment! It should go away by itself over a few months. So no creams or potentially irritating triggers and its unlikely I read, very unlikely, to spread to your face. I had a couple of small red skin outbreaks on my cheeks, nothing bad just little red pinpricks and have been inspecting them with a flashlight to be sure they are not the same raised red patches as on my torso. So far they don't seem to be. I do feel very tired and a bit like I have a mild flu. Just very tired despite sleeping nine hours every night, and usually having energy for the whole day. </div>
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<a href="https://livinghealthywithchocolate.com/desserts/treating-skin-rash-inflammation-healthy-foods-pityriasis-rosea-8856/"><b>Here</b></a> you can read a post from a healthy living blogger who thinks her diet changes made her pityriasis rosea go away. The photos she shared of her rashes look just like mine, she also added a nice looking photo of her bare back. But all medical info I could find says that this condition resolves all on its own, without the need of any creams or potions or pills. The body just cleans it up in time (as soon as 3 weeks up until 3 months) and your skin will restore itself too. So I am not really convinced that diet 'cured' her.. she might have seen the normal recovery from this innocent condition and because it coincided with her new diet, made a (mistaken) causal connection. Although for now I'm stuck with these rashes and I don't know if the theory also will apply to me in the time to come haha, I really hope so. I'm already eating the most healthy and boring diet on the planet, can't imagine having to tweak it even more. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5480068/"><b>This</b></a> is also a good scientific article on pityriasis rosea, and shows many photos of different atypical subtypes. I googled it and it looks just like what I have, including the greyish skin scaling around some patches. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxoD38fGCzUSPdJB63ELLfZgvwP-H5IQOcNM8i5t1E7IyNN6SoQXv68y_Va6o67pvp3n9XjkoofgQSXRdlLmqha3E2aioffUnNqvXdQIu9Q8-mBs-ez87AwO_9XhV0qUCMpnO8ALTyZ1_j/s1600/pityriasis_rosea.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="960" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxoD38fGCzUSPdJB63ELLfZgvwP-H5IQOcNM8i5t1E7IyNN6SoQXv68y_Va6o67pvp3n9XjkoofgQSXRdlLmqha3E2aioffUnNqvXdQIu9Q8-mBs-ez87AwO_9XhV0qUCMpnO8ALTyZ1_j/w485-h125/pityriasis_rosea.jpg" width="485" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">My skin currently in all the left hand photos, compared to, on the </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">right, the official pityriasis rosea photos I took off the net:</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpdQGWZhiXebvMJCFG61Ge1VS2_4Qx1QXmTAbyFPLSL3d0khWQsLm7pXuXXWf2M-mxPh9JslAqFNqWOSighkj02vCnmHhWfzUC0MnbUDDKCZi73IyJIkSnh43_W4-yzSIS53CIlRtsgWyG/s1600/DSC07693.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="906" data-original-width="807" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpdQGWZhiXebvMJCFG61Ge1VS2_4Qx1QXmTAbyFPLSL3d0khWQsLm7pXuXXWf2M-mxPh9JslAqFNqWOSighkj02vCnmHhWfzUC0MnbUDDKCZi73IyJIkSnh43_W4-yzSIS53CIlRtsgWyG/s320/DSC07693.jpg" width="285" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhddKjj7_izGYJtHjV9CONZRW9G1xYbHbEyp-d88RiiScfZGEkZ2LJjRPhls2TODANSGKSIGSlYejp7sRklG6gYWNiWw5f_1fRyfk3slIYStxMsXbsZxaWN-3GVZGXwC_HwLP-NBFpP76W/s1600/DSC07664.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1383" data-original-width="991" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhddKjj7_izGYJtHjV9CONZRW9G1xYbHbEyp-d88RiiScfZGEkZ2LJjRPhls2TODANSGKSIGSlYejp7sRklG6gYWNiWw5f_1fRyfk3slIYStxMsXbsZxaWN-3GVZGXwC_HwLP-NBFpP76W/s320/DSC07664.jpg" width="229" /></a> </div>
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<div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #b45f06;">The rashes also seem to get worse over the past days :( I've got twice as many on my belly and chest now as I had some days ago, and the remaining ones seem more red. My neck a few days ago and now:</b></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><div style="text-align: center;"> <b style="font-size: xx-large;">Music clip of the day</b></div></span>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/daY2twLRuWk/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/daY2twLRuWk?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz3mLmpi8MA5I2BUukjCUCkYmN9n2Nv_YQ8pIqzW956Xdife19kDjGLSr1tzGeYAZ6bzzhoCwAL9yINx15SqA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b style="color: black; font-size: 42px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;">August 20th 2018</span></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggrjs1_hvW5vOD54k7DSIaScGSQc0FkMZXf3RVPWrU6vxrD03fuzE_Dt5ZmF44w4WJnHrreznx_e_PqQgcjYjdmxTkt9AqxNG9Xe2FO-iY8C7d0r1J4YqUSrr1sLAyqRilCiEp4wJ9aSGe/s1600/giphy.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggrjs1_hvW5vOD54k7DSIaScGSQc0FkMZXf3RVPWrU6vxrD03fuzE_Dt5ZmF44w4WJnHrreznx_e_PqQgcjYjdmxTkt9AqxNG9Xe2FO-iY8C7d0r1J4YqUSrr1sLAyqRilCiEp4wJ9aSGe/s320/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ugh I'm covered in red rashes, all over chest, belly and thighs. Not covered as in one non-intermittent sea of redness, but about 20 red round rashes on chest and about 10 on belly and behind. I don't know what they are, I noticed the first about 4 days ago on my chest and initially googled if it could resemble an inflammation-type of skin cancer or breast cancer (yeh, talking about being a hypochondriac), and when it looked nothing like that, I forgot about it. Until today when I could not miss the big red markings. They don't itch, they don't look like eczema or psoriasis to me (but what do I know...) and they are spreading it seems. I have some in my neck too now and on my arms. Legs so far are clean. I'll add some pictures, trying to not make them too gross. I wonder what causes it. I went swimming in the sea last week, and later read that it isn't too clean now with the months of heat and the large amount of humans who have already bathed in it. I always think of sea water as really clean (salt kills bacteria right?) and good for the skin and for skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis, but it probably isn't totally clean lol when you think about it (usually Id rather not think about it and just be satisfied that it is clean from the high salt content). Anyway, I don't remember seeing any of these patches when in bathing suit, so they must have erupted later. Maybe as a result of something in the water? Maybe the cats have fleas and somehow I am having an allergic reaction to a bite? (But don;t flea bites itch?). I'm giving them an anti flea substance in their neck every 2 months or so, and despite being careful not to touch it later on or rub their wet anti-flea gel necks to my own skin, who knows where they licked that stuff in the end. The idea of the neck spot is that cats cannot reach it with their tongues, but paws can still rub it over the rest of their fur. I did cuddle my cats a lot and picked them up, could my skin have caught somehow had some of the anti-flea gel? Or maybe it is something entirely different, I googled measles and it looks quite alike in the mild form. Then there are water pox, sea fleas, bed bugs (I religiously wash my bed linen very regularly and have hypoallergenic mattress covers and there are no cats allowed in the bedroom..), heat rash, regular allergies, eczema, folliculitis... I sent photos to my GP's email address, she often responds quickly over email but she won't be in until tomorrow. Alternating working days etc.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJi917cPI46mRrnsmRwgNM6SjXPEeRB0xctPoG0TtvKfL3VK9Gldsn3pP8kTU8s1VZXZndhdeMwbqaKDM4bHVthgFKJmtpWc_Epwtm5gtEzhP-TRMgvF6L3I466oO47IMT4_qd83y7iWZ/s1600/DSC07643.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJi917cPI46mRrnsmRwgNM6SjXPEeRB0xctPoG0TtvKfL3VK9Gldsn3pP8kTU8s1VZXZndhdeMwbqaKDM4bHVthgFKJmtpWc_Epwtm5gtEzhP-TRMgvF6L3I466oO47IMT4_qd83y7iWZ/s320/DSC07643.JPG" width="240" /></a>My friend suggested <a href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/travel/travel-news/522066/Sea-lice-rash-sting-swimmers-sea-holiday-Florida"><b>sea lice</b></a>. Apparently they can be present in natural sea pools (not chlorinated) with no waves, so if the pool is still the water accumulates lice from birds who have been in the water. Not everyone gets in trouble from swimming in such water, but people with sensitive skin or atopic skin problems might. Or it could be even an allergic reaction to being bitten by (sea) live. She also suggested it might be chicken pox or shingles or measles. I already went through chicken pox as a kid though. And mine don't itch much and aren't fluid filled either.. She thinks the bumps look kind of like bites of some kind, as they're not all joined together. It looks more pronounced and separate than a heat rash in her view and it doesn't look like acne or infected. With measles there might be more of a viral component to that too and you’d feel unwell like you have the flu and feel feverish. I don't feel bright and sharp actually, am very low energy and with a flu-like feeling the past 2 days, but that could also just be general tiredness. I get tiredness a lot, on and off. Measles, we also went through that as kids and got vaccinated for everything, but I don't think (or my mum said it wasn't) a severe measles attack, just minor. Perhaps it can re-attack later in life with adults with a weakened or malfunctioning immune system? With regards to sea water, she always avoided swimming in boat harbours due to petrol from boats building up, which is so smart and not something I ever thought of prior... The sea I was swimming in actually had live jellyfish in them, I waded around to avoid being in their proximity.. So now I also have these red little round skin outbreaks also on my neck and am always worried about anything getting on or spreading to my face.. I started putting both ketoconazole and antibiotic cream on them, so if they either are bacterial or fungal, then they should improve somehow.. As long as they stay away from my face, the rest should hopefully go down with time. I'm washing all bed linen and mattress covers again now (already did last week ) but washing it at highest temperature and hoping it is some reaction to the heat or the sea water or something 😕 I don't think they are hives, as they usually itch and I get hives every winter nowadays from cold urticaria, and they also look like hives; fluid filled, raised and itchy. These don't they are more like red little blisters; little red welts on top of my normal skin. Basically, I just don't know. As I wrote, I had a few of them a couple of days ago but now I have about 20 on my chest area and then some on stomach and thighs and a few on the arms. I'm sure the GP has some ideas (or so I hope), perhaps more info tomorrow.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFmkVq57r19VROySC9KhEKiNWHKsCbp0NymsB9rd7Ku3JUWE61t2UEJlUJRxWMD3tuWKcBFAiiUWSToBY1XMDKhWgp6dQthUD6BtobiIB7qxvK7gglcya-RY9w_ziDL-Y7w2DlemlMKUc/s1600/borst2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="947" data-original-width="1600" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFmkVq57r19VROySC9KhEKiNWHKsCbp0NymsB9rd7Ku3JUWE61t2UEJlUJRxWMD3tuWKcBFAiiUWSToBY1XMDKhWgp6dQthUD6BtobiIB7qxvK7gglcya-RY9w_ziDL-Y7w2DlemlMKUc/s320/borst2.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyQ5WMa2xPCz8IeLTW3Qlb6HaeHkan0BgtrNdB45jdFsoem4uX67T4RGZOm5AnQTH5oeBTeq7BlY0m4VLvwN-kqXOjRW5q9uS4xo43_N1sMqnOVYJP6xxNRhUsRvdDcL4DIPndF2t4iim3/s1600/DSC07633.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="570" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyQ5WMa2xPCz8IeLTW3Qlb6HaeHkan0BgtrNdB45jdFsoem4uX67T4RGZOm5AnQTH5oeBTeq7BlY0m4VLvwN-kqXOjRW5q9uS4xo43_N1sMqnOVYJP6xxNRhUsRvdDcL4DIPndF2t4iim3/w307-h194/DSC07633.jpg" width="307" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_INihX-PnAjcybgLlHNmMc76yLhVqn0kold1GozPtAzmM2ev0FC6tcorofENS6CcxPUnmGoHi_3xO5_E4cl3dsQMwuTnREZj-5Q3GbPJOhKv_YdLEHM0_DzQmQ3UMcSEUejC5JSh26Sj/s1600/nek.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_INihX-PnAjcybgLlHNmMc76yLhVqn0kold1GozPtAzmM2ev0FC6tcorofENS6CcxPUnmGoHi_3xO5_E4cl3dsQMwuTnREZj-5Q3GbPJOhKv_YdLEHM0_DzQmQ3UMcSEUejC5JSh26Sj/w430-h322/nek.jpg" width="430" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKE585j4tBc24IQ47W0ZTnNtUJx53PQA9YEZr_sEzYBVlKqht09lVS1s8wYwkLy4Zh6V4dPmLjGkuTQwHEx9jrAVzcUoiv6COGXgR6nqX-zqGUi2y57h-4hEID5Fycqqw5BfyWjb1T1zx/s1600/zijkant+buik.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="963" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKE585j4tBc24IQ47W0ZTnNtUJx53PQA9YEZr_sEzYBVlKqht09lVS1s8wYwkLy4Zh6V4dPmLjGkuTQwHEx9jrAVzcUoiv6COGXgR6nqX-zqGUi2y57h-4hEID5Fycqqw5BfyWjb1T1zx/w196-h327/zijkant+buik.jpg" width="196" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6dWVYS6hMm4hdVykPSYMMXg7kGEOHvdw5knny7SXQC64xSZo2WPyJxVwgIPoYpPy9aepMgt4_41gH8AW0aPiYYL2TLuTxitiHnErBO5vPw5zu0iermL4lNtQRTDnl6lp_7uH6-RTpVjg/s1600/DSC07543.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1305" data-original-width="1600" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6dWVYS6hMm4hdVykPSYMMXg7kGEOHvdw5knny7SXQC64xSZo2WPyJxVwgIPoYpPy9aepMgt4_41gH8AW0aPiYYL2TLuTxitiHnErBO5vPw5zu0iermL4lNtQRTDnl6lp_7uH6-RTpVjg/s320/DSC07543.jpg" width="320" /></a>Other than that I've been OK I suppose.. Still dealing with summer temperatures and in general I seem to be more red in winter than in summer. Which sounds very strange to my parents and friends' ears haha. 'Weren't you always too hot?' But through forums and online groups I know more people like me, with red hot skin flushing, who have calmer skin in summer and much worse flares and general redness in winter! I think it has to do with several factors; in winter the outdoor temperature is a lot different from indoor temperatures, so when you go in and out of places, your skin deals with constant temperature fluctuations, which sets the blood vessels off to flush. Read about the <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-warm-room-theory-and-how-being-in.html"><b>warm room theory</b></a> to hear more about this phenomenon. Cold weather also tends to constrict the blood vessels in the face more extremely to preserve body heat, and then when you enter a warm room, the capillaries in your skin dilate rapidly, which puts more pressure on them. Maybe that is why some people in cold and wind swept climates (think of Mongolia) have more often a ruddy reddish complexion. Once you have visible broken veins on your face, laser or IPL can remove them again, and taking vitamin C is often suggested as way to strengthen the blood vessels. Either way, in summer I am often not as flushed and red, as long as I don't go in the sun directly and keep a breeze on my face (fan, natural breeze) and take my anti-flushing medication, my skin can be quite pale in this season actually. I do use the airconditioning however to keep indoor temperatures around 20 degrees. But even when it rises to 22 degrees Celsius for instance, I am usually fine as long as I have my fan. Whereas in winter, going into a room that is preheated to 22 degrees, means a lot of flushing, burning and red hot pain for me usually. Natural warmth seems to be different for rosacea skin than artificial heat. Indoor heat is a killer for my flushing and even above 18 degrees then is too much. Outdoor heat, well it depends if other factors are flushing me up (hormones, skin plucking, diet) but if my skin is calm already, then even 25 degrees Celsius outdoors with a fan on can be fine for me. Unless it is <b>humid</b> 25 degrees, then it is much too hot. Humid heat triggers my flushing whereas dry heat doesn't as much. In winter I get cold urticaria too so might perhaps just react bad to very cold temperatures I suspect and then the extreme temperature differences indoors and outdoors are horrible; stepping out in the cold, coming back into a warm room and whoooosh, I'm like a forest fire. Picture; my skin in summer versus winter:</div>
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I have written before about how my skin doesn't seem to build up normally. My dermatologists think that the decade + of skin inflammation from the rosacea and flushing have disturbed normal skin barrier function. That my skin lacks a strong skin barrier therefore, making it very sensitive, easily disturbed (redness, burning, flushing) and it does not really handle many topicals, either moisturizers or make-up. So I put nothing on my skin normally, just wash it with bottled water and cotton pads, gently, every evening. No skin care, aside from some diluted jojoba oil around my mouth and eyes maybe once a week. I have <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2014/11/make-up-experiment.html"><b>worn make-up</b></a> 4 times in the past decade. Part of this not normal skin barrier function seems to be that dead skin cells just build up and up, without naturally falling off. I also don't rub my face with a towel or scrubs like 'normal' people, but I do wash it and the old dead skin after a while becomes visible on my skin... But it is a delicate balance; after I scrub my skin and have red, flushed, fragile skin, it takes at least a month, maybe two actually, to be back at the stage where a layer of normal looking skin covers my face. Only when you look really carefully close by you can see the dead skin layer (it sounds more yucky than it really is or looks), but I love this stage as even when I feel a flush burning, it is only coming through, visibly, for 25% or so. The layer of dead skin also protects my face from a lot of stimuli it seems and I just flush a lot less. BUT... there comes a point where the layer gets too much and darkens a bit and then I need to start rubbing or plucking again. Once I'm busy with that, it is very tempting to go overboard and keep going on and on, only to find out soon after that my skin is looking way too raw and was scrubbed off its protective layer entirely :( </div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;"><b>In photos: </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>The best stage of having some protective layer, but no dead skin cell build up being visible yet</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyQAhM1JhKOlPSL6BLMZEC4_K6vUm0eBXHNzVSApmh6NvXzOxMg-gfHXlOgI8c4NqaKljePb6gRXYhmKQ_yyDTo-OZNli8Ne-4rDBppMt2ubm9TQo-nZ_vFuRNYvudnHjrtw2NhU8Ga16H/s1600/DSC07546.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1458" data-original-width="1458" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyQAhM1JhKOlPSL6BLMZEC4_K6vUm0eBXHNzVSApmh6NvXzOxMg-gfHXlOgI8c4NqaKljePb6gRXYhmKQ_yyDTo-OZNli8Ne-4rDBppMt2ubm9TQo-nZ_vFuRNYvudnHjrtw2NhU8Ga16H/s320/DSC07546.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Process of face scrub and the 7 days afterwards:</b></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Those pictures are all taken with a cooled skin, no flushing. It really takes about a week or two, all in all, before my flushing is back to old low levels after scrubbing my face like that. I like to just pluck the odd old skin cells off with something (not too) sharp, instead of roughly scrubbing the whole face, but after a while it just has to happen :(<br /><br /></span></div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Music clip of the day</span></b></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/emish3yz_c8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/emish3yz_c8?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dznPTdkjaApf5Tu4hk56jPZ8O-anW8T2OAsNmQSfEMIfnpiybcRwsNw2Kvq_IdBctF13-LXVm8V4C_r8EPRjw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjILDw4Zv86IgEc4uD28O-yskcUrKMpLFWSVympj_f3j5utEwEwGpxOlbVxq1raXJ57cxGraViO3mpQCM1YGnz-OX1LZzttBEKfV4d4_LkOKl8wyWju2ET02PhyphenhyphendZEI99Fb1Jt8pFdC84Nl/s1600/4F16629300000578-6059237-image-a-8_1534250816448.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="634" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjILDw4Zv86IgEc4uD28O-yskcUrKMpLFWSVympj_f3j5utEwEwGpxOlbVxq1raXJ57cxGraViO3mpQCM1YGnz-OX1LZzttBEKfV4d4_LkOKl8wyWju2ET02PhyphenhyphendZEI99Fb1Jt8pFdC84Nl/w275-h264/4F16629300000578-6059237-image-a-8_1534250816448.jpg" width="275" /></a><b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">August 15th 2018</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Photo with make-up on and one with active rosacea flaring :/ (flash back to my winter flare!). </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Am working on a couple of longer posts, new day-to-day update coming soon. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbp9fus4dephN-AzYhT53U8gricCPobwuET1ZvDSsNkHkHYO2AExwram2hqx_fnN5-3DPkjt3wZgMbdW2c14OdbWOeFzszxAYYOPSOuU2nZLFtXNzmN-UgIuKVYlILCR8qqEDPaF9A9Xk/s1600/redcheeksmakeup-COLLAGE+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="888" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbp9fus4dephN-AzYhT53U8gricCPobwuET1ZvDSsNkHkHYO2AExwram2hqx_fnN5-3DPkjt3wZgMbdW2c14OdbWOeFzszxAYYOPSOuU2nZLFtXNzmN-UgIuKVYlILCR8qqEDPaF9A9Xk/s320/redcheeksmakeup-COLLAGE+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQmEYBNQDnzKn_xME7PwwX7fGA6DM-iVPY6HD9-eSzGTCXemBAEnf5XcL2Tfrf2FW6Eu2A2pajxSdByVr3kyvLHfjsnihewicEl18TX3P81mGTKI7ci4_DZw4Dz0drWNytcrOzFO0XSOdi/s1600/074.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQmEYBNQDnzKn_xME7PwwX7fGA6DM-iVPY6HD9-eSzGTCXemBAEnf5XcL2Tfrf2FW6Eu2A2pajxSdByVr3kyvLHfjsnihewicEl18TX3P81mGTKI7ci4_DZw4Dz0drWNytcrOzFO0XSOdi/s320/074.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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And all is also going well with the cat brothers. "The Karamazov brothers; for all your deconstruction or hitman work"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwecDxeijE0ijevmX_rzrORulNTmyCKBhCIn-N8XsWKF_pDBXmQ7qjm3Cq4KARDQob9IPtQRd9hK2ipeC9q48uiDZgqmakDfSsZo3VO_Ihi2zSVuwZskqlQdCAVmXY3BiBRsN54_MiG1VU/s1600/final.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="959" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwecDxeijE0ijevmX_rzrORulNTmyCKBhCIn-N8XsWKF_pDBXmQ7qjm3Cq4KARDQob9IPtQRd9hK2ipeC9q48uiDZgqmakDfSsZo3VO_Ihi2zSVuwZskqlQdCAVmXY3BiBRsN54_MiG1VU/w593-h442/final.jpg" width="593" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjDXlxFyvSs3A9UKgRG-dqlgGWMtehQPnkp9HByNQHjNda-OdyaL2GRd13uFk15-2gPAAJ6h__2RTzn_pEJR3-7vUFOlnmjXe7APl_C9dvojmcwgVZHXHkEuqjg7SsnRw9mMialLN-V1-/s1600/toptien-keesvandongen-tefaf_crop_375x375.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="375" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjDXlxFyvSs3A9UKgRG-dqlgGWMtehQPnkp9HByNQHjNda-OdyaL2GRd13uFk15-2gPAAJ6h__2RTzn_pEJR3-7vUFOlnmjXe7APl_C9dvojmcwgVZHXHkEuqjg7SsnRw9mMialLN-V1-/s320/toptien-keesvandongen-tefaf_crop_375x375.jpg" width="320" /></a><b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">August 12th 2018</span></b><br />
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Quick update; the cat scratch under my eye seems mostly healed nowadays, I can see the faintest of colour difference now but I'd probably need to circle it to show you. Thanks to the excellent advise of my friend John probably, who urged me to not let a dry scab form once that scratch aged, and to keep it covered with a small layer of Vaseline all the time, after disinfecting it for a week with an antibiotic skin cream first. And my chin is not as red and easily flushed anymore as right after I tested ivermectin/ Soolantra all over my chin. But it still flushes more than before. Just not constantly anymore</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfijn34S2S9EbEDSIPR4W6UYdmWY5NJCpnlbNEh7CaTn-mSdAWqMLKYUpeMGSsVn-N4qroeTCY09vJ5DOKGhm95oN7bd1Zj7ntA0jJm3ktsZoUh5_puqUVksaFLJQWUWHQby7vreuGsbo1/s1600/ZXDSC07401.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1020" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfijn34S2S9EbEDSIPR4W6UYdmWY5NJCpnlbNEh7CaTn-mSdAWqMLKYUpeMGSsVn-N4qroeTCY09vJ5DOKGhm95oN7bd1Zj7ntA0jJm3ktsZoUh5_puqUVksaFLJQWUWHQby7vreuGsbo1/w332-h278/ZXDSC07401.jpg" width="332" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3xPR0co8XrPkdA-cjSDKEjeYXXk56q6WOtbooKdV2rmiRxX_w0HHoK-J1hlBnT8vhVk3njk2D8OJLxb4JWYw6NykXcuicV6839LX9F7cd7ygAGE_ZHWz9MmJrkYGJsNxNqG14Y5oHK26i/s1600/DSC05521.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1514" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3xPR0co8XrPkdA-cjSDKEjeYXXk56q6WOtbooKdV2rmiRxX_w0HHoK-J1hlBnT8vhVk3njk2D8OJLxb4JWYw6NykXcuicV6839LX9F7cd7ygAGE_ZHWz9MmJrkYGJsNxNqG14Y5oHK26i/w265-h281/DSC05521.jpg" width="265" /></a> </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">You can still see a faint red line after a good face scrub, when there is literally no dead skin cells covering it, but it is minor:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEYPLLea3BRvwhV-UpZrj3HhnrZWXfJHJYxZj_VP43WbXiNA6yTWnWeF7ulM_TvPLcGoiAulNJjSDwXvd2q3Eh9__MQHG2zONvuO0GWeBfwB_bZgI-nPVg8zllUTbEhbVXzuz7m6R2pvr-/s1600/DSC07680.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="525" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEYPLLea3BRvwhV-UpZrj3HhnrZWXfJHJYxZj_VP43WbXiNA6yTWnWeF7ulM_TvPLcGoiAulNJjSDwXvd2q3Eh9__MQHG2zONvuO0GWeBfwB_bZgI-nPVg8zllUTbEhbVXzuz7m6R2pvr-/w298-h343/DSC07680.jpg" width="298" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTZ2KNan8o3kfkM0pKLUC9wLMphyALgYbiAPjnmN-yls8wLT2phhy_xxUz28xs2dyL4jQKgNbOAyiz9KdMzkQmqWNTwbnGURw2dFsXNaXQw0jgGmZlpMqet2nxzHDHPg_8MDw_qds64io/s1600/DSC07680%252C5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="525" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTZ2KNan8o3kfkM0pKLUC9wLMphyALgYbiAPjnmN-yls8wLT2phhy_xxUz28xs2dyL4jQKgNbOAyiz9KdMzkQmqWNTwbnGURw2dFsXNaXQw0jgGmZlpMqet2nxzHDHPg_8MDw_qds64io/w299-h344/DSC07680%252C5.jpg" width="299" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzGToDZ5tgz9BBzSgqKg7b6KAt01J6mtJ4Hj4FMMwShNyXelIGgL1vdSrJtsbn9VDvZhhTh9aKQFtjI1OZyQKQWJkpGJZFpPcunKSoxgTuVSkBL7B40H6xtb2rmEJ-MVb2p0fiY_Iqu1C/s1600/DSC07677.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzGToDZ5tgz9BBzSgqKg7b6KAt01J6mtJ4Hj4FMMwShNyXelIGgL1vdSrJtsbn9VDvZhhTh9aKQFtjI1OZyQKQWJkpGJZFpPcunKSoxgTuVSkBL7B40H6xtb2rmEJ-MVb2p0fiY_Iqu1C/s320/DSC07677.jpg" width="315" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Love this Danish blogger who is currently also suffering from the European heatwave :)</b></span><br />
Taken from<b> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2pqPtW-rt0">this youtube video</a> </b>of her. She always cracks me up with her quirky cynicism.<br />
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">August 5th 2018</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_r9y-vb_oN6dOgOhqIZHXZhA1hRlXFhWhhrkN0L1sNwPW5SyfjdgpuOiL5nERTsdUYf_7a2y8CsMnHIR6Y7pCXUlm9xMeVON6Yw3MOB9QJCDDZZUmTNbEbR_LFMl-A5c-1Ci5iw-nEyp/s1600/DSC07204.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_r9y-vb_oN6dOgOhqIZHXZhA1hRlXFhWhhrkN0L1sNwPW5SyfjdgpuOiL5nERTsdUYf_7a2y8CsMnHIR6Y7pCXUlm9xMeVON6Yw3MOB9QJCDDZZUmTNbEbR_LFMl-A5c-1Ci5iw-nEyp/w221-h294/DSC07204.jpg" width="221" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: left;">It is warm.. But as long as I can stay in the airco and cool of the house, my skin seems to behave just fine. In fact, much less red or flushed than I am in the cold of winter.. So strange. I like to share a wonderful toothpaste I use. I was tipped off by a rosacea forum member, antwantsclear, who wrote me a year and a half ago "</span><span style="text-align: left;">I saw your problems with toothpaste on your blog. I thought you may be interested in the toothpaste I get from mouthulcers. I started buying it to stop mouth ulcers but then realized it helps with the rosacea as well. It's called Squiggle toothbuilder." Thanks again Ants, I love this product! So mild, and it has a ton of xylitol. I use the fluoride free green one during the day and the fluoride version before bedtime. No flushing or skin reactions from these toothpastes and I haven't had a cavity or tooth problem since using it (neither much before either I must add but my fluoride-free trials did result in some cavities with all the problems that posed for my rosacea, so I am definitely back to fluoride now!!). </span><br /><br />
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">August 1st 2018</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZ0iygOXeap5tonG3GVhb0hZhgmzs6C04lFe1yAAW2ZwQ0QO-8UK_OjKsyr1dHyqSLU64_n8sNIJCS9Hxn-aSXdl3Eo491WBk75DSGeUiH6dmHMDkApV1dBRbDPmmpC3vFl1aI-6n5ATw/s1600/0bc3754a999a7ebcab3a25ea57a82d37--vintage-vogue-vintage-retro.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="630" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZ0iygOXeap5tonG3GVhb0hZhgmzs6C04lFe1yAAW2ZwQ0QO-8UK_OjKsyr1dHyqSLU64_n8sNIJCS9Hxn-aSXdl3Eo491WBk75DSGeUiH6dmHMDkApV1dBRbDPmmpC3vFl1aI-6n5ATw/w234-h334/0bc3754a999a7ebcab3a25ea57a82d37--vintage-vogue-vintage-retro.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span>I have asked my pharmacist if he can come up with an even more gentle formulation for topical ivermectin</span></span><span style="text-align: left;">, bypassing the propylene glycol that is now used in all pastes and gels. Ideally, I wanted to know if I can use ivermectin pure powder, measured in the exact right dose and dissolved in water, and splash it on my face like that. My skin handles water well, but creams or gels not so well.. I did this with brimonidine when I </span><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-brimonidine-trial-it-was-not-what-i.html" style="text-align: left;"><b>trialed</b></a><span style="text-align: left;"> that some years ago. Unfortunately the pharmacist said this is absolutely impossible with ivermectin. It cannot dissolve in water, and needs another stringent type of agent to make it dissolve. They use ethanol (an alcohol that can be drying on the skin, but it still the most gentle alcohol out there for skin products he stated) and also propylene glycol for extra carrier power. So the mildest options are either Soolantra cream itself, or an ivermectin horse paste with as little ingredients as possible. For me the horse paste made my skin burn and so did Soolantra. I really like to try ivermectin though. Might see if I can get some oral ivermectin and see if that improves skin inflammation... That seems the best option left if your skin just cannot take topicals with alcohols or other stronger solvents. </span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/c9P9kkcEcdc/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c9P9kkcEcdc?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw19XE2N236wEBCdKXe9i75sHL8WseJwWbCylCJ1N4FfUXAUCpKXD-UHNDn3e5dzQS6TJcwTV_UEfz0qXovKg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-size: 42px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;">July 29th 2018</span></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCn7ej9l1vbx9fu093iRH6v_Ez02h2DAkApurYQhLndTPxHoo6KbopejhsiCeZeAqKFhzAIUn9EHfjC9BM1ueoL3CXiWzsKAw6t3hW6KRU9SlHF5VrFQN2S4zm8YxDChyphenhyphenOL-cj7heKQZHc/s1600/zzz.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="635" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCn7ej9l1vbx9fu093iRH6v_Ez02h2DAkApurYQhLndTPxHoo6KbopejhsiCeZeAqKFhzAIUn9EHfjC9BM1ueoL3CXiWzsKAw6t3hW6KRU9SlHF5VrFQN2S4zm8YxDChyphenhyphenOL-cj7heKQZHc/s400/zzz.gif" width="400" /></a>It has been outrageously hot and even the most ardent sun lover has been complaining with the 38 degrees heat. I have mainly slept and worked next to the portable airconditioning unit. My mother wanted to buy a ventilator, but all the shops in Holland were out of stock! She was placed on a waiting list, no joke. There were some pretty effects of this heat too; the sea was glowing blue in parts, as millions of plankton lit up like fireflies. Apparently, when plankton gets disturbed, they start to emit light though a complex chemical reaction. I managed to go out for a meal with my sister and dad regardless of the tropical temperatures, later in the evening and on a spot on the terrace that had plenty of wind passing through. But it was hard, as my face burned and felt really uncomfortable. It also turned red at the end of the meal, but I was chuffed I managed to sit through two-thirds of it all with a semi-pale face. But today I had taken the bike to the shops and right in the city center my rear tire burst. I couldn't find a bike repair shop that was open on Saturdays and had to walk with the bike in hand and groceries stacked on my back to my house again, in the 30 degrees and high humidity. It was the first time in a long while that people actually gave me extra long stares, as I had turned so red.. Awful burning feeling and cheeks swelling as a result, and I couldn't wait to take a cold shower at home and install my fans and airconditioning. One bonus of this weather; I can sweat more than I used to. Not on my face unfortunately, apart from a little dampness of the forehead and under my eyes, but my back and tummy were really wet. Might seem too much information, but for a long time I couldn't sweat at all! And that seems to be related with more flushing, as the body needs to find its way to release body heat. If sweating is inhibited somehow, the body will signal the blood vessels in the skin to dilate and release excess body heat in that manner. I wrote a blog post about this phenomenon <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/10/rosacea-and-lack-of-sweating.html"><b>here</b></a>.<br />
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My skin is still breaking out now and then, and has many little needle-prick like red 'dots' over the cheeks, that come and go. I also am getting strange red rashes, mainly around my mouth, which seem to be a heat rash (or heat related). They tend to stay just for a day and then disappear again. I will attach a photo below. I do go out the door for work related things and to meet up with friends and family, but only when my skin is having a calm period and when the weather allows for it. This week I cancelled afternoon drinks and for tomorrow a visit to the camping where friends of mine and their kids are staying. It's just too warm still and the camping is far away enough to not enable me to return home quickly if a flare breaks out. It's depressing if you think too long about it, but luckily I'm not alone and people close to me also visit me and understand my use of airco and fans. And I am not an extremely social or extrovert type either, and have plenty of things to do in my own world and bubble. But when I was in my early 20's it was very disheartening and utterly depressing to have these painful burning red flares with your face feeling on fire come up, and so many times a day, and feel this anxiety and desire to stay put and control my skin as much as possible. I still do this now, but have grown used to the waves and the motions of it all.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPaHRKQF8ueNvRRootY1gDhQPdQV-iWnT11hDjztjwxy5Bn0xBiyvqHs0bcwG8i_3s-mWTuU2RsQU4J39CVuICgESdLpl2cybjqk2235XK8ytNc5wuLaUNBGvNEI8-MgB6GKavaaa0IWal/s1600/4E82325F00000578-5981985-image-a-47_1532340419137.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="634" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPaHRKQF8ueNvRRootY1gDhQPdQV-iWnT11hDjztjwxy5Bn0xBiyvqHs0bcwG8i_3s-mWTuU2RsQU4J39CVuICgESdLpl2cybjqk2235XK8ytNc5wuLaUNBGvNEI8-MgB6GKavaaa0IWal/w328-h218/4E82325F00000578-5981985-image-a-47_1532340419137.jpg" width="328" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1VZ9E3gGjxr-fBWqlDNyZ-Hxx_4lTTF06YxOyioIjIiEA35jZOQh8vXF0L1u4ys0dnMRvDRjtyU31rAqRS9Yx658KmcEBMlIgzzSbjyrX58sQPB8GNzjL4DBcmhi-rk-Ut2ZpeiBBIjId/s1600/4E82317800000578-5981985-image-a-50_1532340473313.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="634" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1VZ9E3gGjxr-fBWqlDNyZ-Hxx_4lTTF06YxOyioIjIiEA35jZOQh8vXF0L1u4ys0dnMRvDRjtyU31rAqRS9Yx658KmcEBMlIgzzSbjyrX58sQPB8GNzjL4DBcmhi-rk-Ut2ZpeiBBIjId/w325-h216/4E82317800000578-5981985-image-a-50_1532340473313.jpg" width="325" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0sGd-97OANkTBB1FmjPUMsykubKSObNKz4xEwGPw-79nGs0m0L22_f0udrRrcldmq-vzckZSUjPlRYjHojklsArkS4u56vFGftPcSOiVW22ec8pFfIAmdgXfkx-8fWp-bCKAJoFY02KEz/s1600/ZZZZDSC06831%252C5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0sGd-97OANkTBB1FmjPUMsykubKSObNKz4xEwGPw-79nGs0m0L22_f0udrRrcldmq-vzckZSUjPlRYjHojklsArkS4u56vFGftPcSOiVW22ec8pFfIAmdgXfkx-8fWp-bCKAJoFY02KEz/s320/ZZZZDSC06831%252C5.jpg" width="240" /></a>Life does in some respects seem similar to Taoist thought, the Ying and Yang..Chaos and Order…Good and Bad. If one becomes too strong the opposite will show up to help create a balance, like some polarity spectrum. Civilizations, 'culture', laws, norms are a product, a reflection of the desires, allowances, ‘tolerance’, of the masses. Provided sufficient comforts, humans tend towards the same outcome: sloth, recklessness, corruption, and auto-destruction. Maybe our current society is becoming too hedonistic in some ways. Maybe a human is intrinsically a flawed bio mechanical machine in the end.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRxSnXfu87tc5_xqZePHzXyU_ntcTnrJ2FDwH_bJn5OARqDyoyShO9C1mvko5oC985iQJJnL4_nn02xe4IVDzAezFxrCz8PtOEZz4ZnGH-igmrSNEVz5LZpV4uKmdY0c6AcK_KOv4iIWt/s1600/ZDSC06829.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRxSnXfu87tc5_xqZePHzXyU_ntcTnrJ2FDwH_bJn5OARqDyoyShO9C1mvko5oC985iQJJnL4_nn02xe4IVDzAezFxrCz8PtOEZz4ZnGH-igmrSNEVz5LZpV4uKmdY0c6AcK_KOv4iIWt/s320/ZDSC06829.jpg" width="240" /></a>Another societal problem nowadays seems to be the ongoing wave of suicides.. So many young people and middle aged people who take their own lives, both celebrities, semi-celebrities and every day people.. My friend and his ex this past year included.. It saddens me and interests me at the same time; what is going on here? Suicides used to be more stigmatized perhaps. It is very worrying.. I wonder if modern living is putting too much pressure on people? We have so many options in life now (over here in Europe at least), so many choices. Such high expectations. Is social media making it too easy to compare our lives with the hyped and pimped social media reflections of other peoples lives? Does it provide a warped idea of other peoples 'successes' and ever cheery moods, ever beautiful (sometimes doctored with) looks? I don't remember feeling such pressure myself, growing up and spending my entire teenage years over the time span of the 1990's, to always look fantastic and always be 'happy' and have fun and otherwise feeling a loser. Things were more laid back for sure, without the constant pings and demands of mobile phones and social media. (I still don't have a smartphone, I love just being cut off from the net when I am traveling or walking or being out there. I want to see the world, look around me, have thoughts roll freely, not be constantly distracted by the net). Or are youngsters not hardened enough by disadvantage nowadays, and therefore not as able as previous generations to handle the real testings of life? Or maybe there is even something invisible floating in the air now, a zeitgeist thing, and some people are copy cats with all these suicides? Maybe depression is more severe and wide spread these days than before? I don't know the answer, it might be a bit of everything above combined perhaps. Either way, very worrying. Mental health and suicide are becoming huge issues and too common among young people in our society. It needs to be discussed urgently. It's the family and friends who are left behind that never truly recover, and then it leads to mental heath problems amongst them too, sometimes..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXkca-gKbCw7fXKBRuuVa6_CN_Beb_S_OsdzhdKa4mfaXIlpZpV809m7asmeeRxhktU3hRSFLfT7T2dcsr5BBrviLBEA260VqDc0fgQm5CMA7PbRd1rz0gbdo5UrRZf6yBLJz4cQLDmUIt/s1600/DSC07072.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1509" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXkca-gKbCw7fXKBRuuVa6_CN_Beb_S_OsdzhdKa4mfaXIlpZpV809m7asmeeRxhktU3hRSFLfT7T2dcsr5BBrviLBEA260VqDc0fgQm5CMA7PbRd1rz0gbdo5UrRZf6yBLJz4cQLDmUIt/s320/DSC07072.JPG" width="301" /></a>I remember walking in Leeuwarden, a Frysian town at the end of 1999 and being approached by a camera team. And being asked that with an eye on the approaching year 2000, what I thought was THE biggest, time changing invention of the 20th century. I said communication technology. Not sure I was right! I could have opted for the discovery of penicillin but I didn't feel that truly changed the course of time, just the amount of people that were allowed to live out their lives instead of perishing from bacterial infections. Communication technology would include the telephone, radio, TV and the internet. It has changed life so dramatically, looking back there seems to be a clear change switch at the start of the 1900's with the arrival of the media (other than books and papers) and communication means. Internet and the arrival of social media is another huge marking point for the modern days we now live in. It has good aspects to it, but humans being humans, it is used for a lot of bad stuff. And people are so easy to get addicted to anything. I often read articles in newspapers now about how to 'detox' from your social media and smartphone addiction. Well we've been over this before but many adults are knowingly and willingly enslaved to their phone. Out in restaurants, in pubs, on public transport, the (real) world is passing those people by. Often magic is to be found by just observing the world around you. Being present, having attention for whatever thing you do. Distraction kills creativity. Going back to those 90's; from what I read in the media over time, the 1990's are now frowned upon; bad (cross over style) music, bad dress styles and the decade that prepared for the hell of 9/11 and militant Islamism in the West, fading identities and over consumption. But I experienced it more as a free, affluent (in Holland) period with lots of experimenting, also on a cultural scale. Many new movies, cool and raw like Trainspotting and Pulp Fiction, interests in other cultures within society. Optimism about the future, plenty of jobs, wealth (the ever growing bubble that would burst in 2007/ 2008), possibilities, money for good social state investments, the fall of communism and the end of the Cold War, a strong sense of ongoing peace. Western Europe was a beacon of freedom, tolerance and openness, for immigrants, different cultures, sexualities, others. MTV brought us American culture, I remember watching The Real World and wanting to go to New York myself. The world became smaller thanks to TV programs like that and the ease of flying and reduced costs of traveling. At the time, everyone around me who was young was looking forward to the future, and it is usually while looking back that people recognize happiness was actually in those moments.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIo9wdzsEwT7LQoyBExPmfWql5prkb63joWbZ5NnG6erOtA0gEPSqllJWYAhUwWRAb2wGPQaQAoXSL9pNZ2X_XXm4FHypLSZKiI90HOUp6zZ6VMaUOSrhbPCV2SYubcAVQgS6LkZZq61xl/s1600/ZZDSC06860.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIo9wdzsEwT7LQoyBExPmfWql5prkb63joWbZ5NnG6erOtA0gEPSqllJWYAhUwWRAb2wGPQaQAoXSL9pNZ2X_XXm4FHypLSZKiI90HOUp6zZ6VMaUOSrhbPCV2SYubcAVQgS6LkZZq61xl/s320/ZZDSC06860.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRDgO-DQ1vXQnvQGPdObLJY1jtx7t2eQ4UF8yPEtYH6xU7Z94VeY8yfwMTl6S9Z6umhxiTixYWBf9Q1MRU7l00d268Vwv-TM7RLiN20TsNZZ7IWfB7os257fAoyFv6fLDPDXYvkeSDKWBr/s1600/013.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1534" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRDgO-DQ1vXQnvQGPdObLJY1jtx7t2eQ4UF8yPEtYH6xU7Z94VeY8yfwMTl6S9Z6umhxiTixYWBf9Q1MRU7l00d268Vwv-TM7RLiN20TsNZZ7IWfB7os257fAoyFv6fLDPDXYvkeSDKWBr/w318-h332/013.JPG" width="318" /></a>There was social contentment back then, not the angry voices and polarization we have also here in western Europe today. The worst disagreements I can recall came from some squatters in town who were driven out of their squatted hospital building by police. Politics wasn't yet a constant crisis management thing, like it is today. Here it was all about unions and coalitions and peaceful opportunities, not polarization. Hopeful modernization and energy galore, a lot was possible due to the affluence of Holland (and many other European countries). The Roaring Nineties. A carefree and naive time. Unfortunately it eventually led to heavy privatizations here, to the purposely crumbling of the welfare state. Also the whole building of the European Union of course. The 90's were not just a Teletubbie-happy time, but also the prelude to the dark 21st century (with terrorism, wars, fear, climate crisis, emotional numbness thanks to computer and phone technology and economic crisis). In the 90's the foundation was also (re-)laid for the sale of the world, unbridled consumerism, corporate rule, the 'greed is good' law reinstalled, and mega corruption. The rules of world economics were rewritten for the interests of a small group of powerful companies, hollowing out democracy. In the 90's, marketing and PR started to seep through in all facets of life. The market became its own gospel, without alternative. Now we are probably paying some price for one of the greediest decades in history. But overall, the 90's were probably most of all a bubble of optimism and delusions. I feel in retrospect that the 90's were also gleefully naive perhaps. Universal illusions of grandiosity, ongoing peace, painless multiculturalism, ongoing profits. Poverty and inequality would be banished from the world. The same ideas Stefan Zweig described in his amazing book the World of Yesterday, about the same naive optimism of living in the best of times in Europe (Vienna in his case) of the late 1800's. His parents thought things would never go downhill again, that modernization would make sure their own calm, safe and affluent living would continue ever after, and that nobody would be as foolish in the future anymore to start a silly war.... But their time of relative peace and boredom was followed by the most horrendous world wars and upheaval we have ever seen. Zweig underlined that societies and history go through such wave-like patterns of peace and prosperity, followed always by violence and imbalance. Europe seems to float on these waves, like a template. In Europe, societies have always shown a dialectic between craving public order on the one hand, and individual freedom on the other. Europeans don't like the weakening of traditions and securities, habits and cultural living rules, things that connect them to their past, but they also want freedoms and ways that lead them to the future. Europeans also always have this lingering desire for revolution. Institutions should never become too powerful and oppressive for a typical European, because then it can limit personal freedoms and block growth. Often revolts meant the ending of such institutions in the past centuries, but globalization currently seems too big a block, too powerful, to stop.. Maybe that partly explains the cultural pessimism around us.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeGIxNBJajn3pglqjoBwA4gZFCbXorSxMF_1IO2nAJLj13CN1Fx1Gf8HiXVc0DxB-PnezCWPKsZBMPHhtQRPTDtHUBpP1CrbnDNB8ae93iNmigKyP1zC0wzcDGFL7UrlLcrcaCTpVKOAhg/s1600/ZZDSC06832.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeGIxNBJajn3pglqjoBwA4gZFCbXorSxMF_1IO2nAJLj13CN1Fx1Gf8HiXVc0DxB-PnezCWPKsZBMPHhtQRPTDtHUBpP1CrbnDNB8ae93iNmigKyP1zC0wzcDGFL7UrlLcrcaCTpVKOAhg/w274-h365/ZZDSC06832.jpg" width="274" /></a>Brains are now getting fed not just by (social) media and limited character messaging. Its all of it. That includes the media culture, diet, movies, music, styles, video games, apps, tv, advertisement etc. Not any kind of a new phenomenon; it's how society has always worked. But it seems (?) to be in hyper-drive now, because of the increased rapidity of information exchange, and the focus on connecting to and relating such information. I mean, food, even that has changed over the decades. I saw the movie <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=347_eJqaAf8">That Sugar Film</a> recently. Which brings to mind this report I saw on TV, where this canned beverage killed a young girl. The drink is actually called "FCKD UP". It's a combination of 11.29% alcohol, and whatever shit is in those high caffeine energy drinks. It's comparable to the controversial "4Loki" in the U.S. I remember seeing something about, when "Dr. Pepper" was already something you didn't want to mess with too often. You know, it's got a kick! Now, you've got 17 year old's killing themselves over 120 character text messages, while casually snorting cocaine and alcohol. Dying from legally sold "hard soft drinks" (now being taken off the market by the manufacturer). And for the ones that aren't dead or dying, God only knows what's happening to their brains, fusing their bodies and minds with all of this technology, like it was manna from heaven. Because as per usual, society won't until its too late.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJaKtmr4L9TMK9DN_iBml92hx-Sk4v3nFhLK4YJDZf_P2H79_O-yLNfM4c7IoOfnDMkVvBXeOum0RfDZpPp4rTpYcOMKoyK7SP4UQ2A0-2yh_tbGrVPMX9ZtWFSrullo1T5etkHzg2XBV/s1600/DSC07069.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1380" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJaKtmr4L9TMK9DN_iBml92hx-Sk4v3nFhLK4YJDZf_P2H79_O-yLNfM4c7IoOfnDMkVvBXeOum0RfDZpPp4rTpYcOMKoyK7SP4UQ2A0-2yh_tbGrVPMX9ZtWFSrullo1T5etkHzg2XBV/s320/DSC07069.JPG" width="276" /></a>Oil will eventually run out, minerals will run out. Drinking water will become more scarce (as is already happening). So too will foods like chocolate, coffee, and animals like fish, from over-fishing. When future alien civilizations are analyzing our planet and species, I think they will find that it was this money system combined with the inherent selfishness & greed of man that led to our downfall and extinction. The destruction of our planet and species… I'm sure that some of you are thinking: "Super!. Couldn't have happened to a nicer species". Every time I see yet another one of these "hero" movies, where some shlub is tasked to "save the planet" and "save the human species", I'm thinking "save your f. breath!". They tortured other species of animals, ie. whipping them and stuffing them in tiny cages, and shooting them with hormones so their "breast meat" can grow so large they can no longer hold themselves up. They exploited and murdered other species of animals by the millions without a moment's thought; if not daily. Sometimes for their feeding, sometimes for money, sometimes for their own personal pleasure. Where is justice for the animal kingdom? Where is *their* "hero", to save them from humans? Anyway, I'm rambling<br />
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Music clip of the day</span></b></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/p4zluA60hjs/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p4zluA60hjs?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">My summer skin outbreaks (I don't wear make-up on my skin and use a regular camera without filter options):</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Skin during a flare (not even flushed, just base redness and inflammation, my face goes really puffy too from it!):</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;"><b>July 21st 2018</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvwdh5AuD4ACkecfuieMLiDW8H4Ohd1dnkIWPL_zGQEUinLXUw_0XJdow2gFzPbHXiSUhegus5KK30Tt0T-ih5ALKLAOYLapbx9yVtjvckyv03qN2bIxvZIHhliNtm-66n3NhqTN7VbG8/s1600/01.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1557" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvwdh5AuD4ACkecfuieMLiDW8H4Ohd1dnkIWPL_zGQEUinLXUw_0XJdow2gFzPbHXiSUhegus5KK30Tt0T-ih5ALKLAOYLapbx9yVtjvckyv03qN2bIxvZIHhliNtm-66n3NhqTN7VbG8/s320/01.JPG" width="311" /></a>Its been really warm the past month, and my rosacea responds in strange ways to it. On the one hand, I am actually at my palest when everything is in place (ventilators, air conditioning) and when the temperatures outside are not too extreme. There are no big temperature changes then for when stepping in and out of stores or peoples houses. I also seem to get more red and dry faced from cold weather. I tan my body a bit (never too much) so the low vitamin D levels are slightly kranked up, which also seems to help me. I only get proper seb derm flares in winter, so that one is also mostly under control. But when the temperatures rise too much, basically over 23 degrees outside, I get flushed more when going out of the house. Unfortunately, temperatures háve been over 23 degrees for a while now. I do go out the door for food shopping, market visits, drinks now and then, walks, but always early in the day or in the early evening, when it is easier to avoid direct sunlight. It is quite depressing to live inside so much and feel such a vampire in a way, but it is what it is. I'm just working and living around my flushed face these days. And the upcoming week temperatures will rise to 35 degrees it's expected. Had a string of extremely hot summers now the past years. This has been quite a heat wave. I really don’t remember it being this hot in the summers before, when growing up or being a teen. In Holland we were lucky with a couple of weeks with 25 degrees perhaps, typically. Not months on end with soaring heat and drought. The island of Texel, usually lush green and bombarded with rain, looks like the Sahara this week (see picture). Things seem to be changing. How can anyone think global warming isn’t happening? It is ironic how the Right likes to say "truth trumps feelings", but when it comes to global warming they think it is a hoax. Conversely, the Left uses science to back up global warming, but won't allow people with factual but opposing views take the stance anymore in Ivy League universities, as facts can be very offending these days. UGH!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGAXX3DYvnMrju0nK3gkvCAQ63yrGEin-LcTIOnxW9D-jYlGEZQz5u49NeB8q9K6AnNNOl6NSk1z74MFN2dHy9Qo3ZY7KF1Q5bWwwMOwM9QuKyrajD0Tov-wSiq8WyijJbHXvB7urhO3l/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="925" data-original-width="694" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGAXX3DYvnMrju0nK3gkvCAQ63yrGEin-LcTIOnxW9D-jYlGEZQz5u49NeB8q9K6AnNNOl6NSk1z74MFN2dHy9Qo3ZY7KF1Q5bWwwMOwM9QuKyrajD0Tov-wSiq8WyijJbHXvB7urhO3l/s320/download.jpg" width="240" /></a>Another downside of the summer is that for some reason I get p&p's; papulas, small red skin outbreaks. I normally just have red cheeks and flushing and a burning painful face. My face even feels tight and uncomfortable and with a constant background burn feeling when I am relatively pale. But in summer I get these small pimples on my cheeks too now and then. My skin is too sensitive and reactive for any topical cream unfortunately. I only wash it with bottled water and cotton pads in the evening. But I can put zinc oxide on the spots. Not on the rest of my face, just spot treatment. Zinc oxide dries them out and hides them from sight, and also acts as an anti-inflammatory. I also have metronidazole cream, but my skin feels extra sore when I use it. But sometimes I have no real other choice and use that one for spot treatment too. I've been feeling good some days and down some other days. Summer has never been a favoured season anyway, somehow I remember already hating it in my teens. Those unstructured summer months without school to attend or clubs to go to, all these people heading to the beaches and water front, getting drunk and baking in the sun. I always disliked all of that. Never liked warm weather and neither the aimless hanging around for the sake of socializing. Unless it was with my more solid group of friends. I still don't like long lazy summer days with no clear structure. But now it is made a lot worse by this stupid rosacea, or whatever it is exactly that I'm having. I had some suggestions made that I could instead have a flushing issue related to <span style="color: #444444;"><b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/04/do-i-have-rosacea-or-erythromelalgia-em.html" target="_blank">erythromelalgia</a></b></span>, and someone else made a great suggestion about my red rashes above the eyebrows: "you definitely have ulerythema ophryogenes on your eyebrows and therefore I do wonder if you have<span><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><span style="color: #b45f06;">keratosis pilaris rubra faceii</span></b></span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> (kprf) /</span><span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>Keratosis Pilaris Atrophicans Faciei</b></span></span> (kpaf) on your cheeks. Sounds like you have been down this route however as someone with these conditions who was incorrectly misdiagnosed with roscacea I know what it is like trying to get a correct diagnosis for 'redness' on the face."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvfWM_HT6ZW9A9jarINdDHu6d6prD-J7z268R5sDmKP7x3w78vxUeON5bv3zdHcGPbthfamNgFJgGrsUSS796y9TG9mxjrk8baRCiZ8ucJm3npf6FQB8bGNDZsgZ1sbCUKoMb7_SCzPFa/s1600/269874_10151213248568996_370494337_n.jpg" style="background-color: white; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="482" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvfWM_HT6ZW9A9jarINdDHu6d6prD-J7z268R5sDmKP7x3w78vxUeON5bv3zdHcGPbthfamNgFJgGrsUSS796y9TG9mxjrk8baRCiZ8ucJm3npf6FQB8bGNDZsgZ1sbCUKoMb7_SCzPFa/s320/269874_10151213248568996_370494337_n.jpg" width="248" /></a>I'm absolutely going to mention the <span>keratosis pilaris rubra faceii</span> (kprf) / <span>keratosis pilaris atrophicans faciei rubra faciei</span><span> </span>(kpaf) option to my dermatologist. I have missing outer eyebrows, the red rashes there and also have the chicken pox skin on my legs. Always have had that! Not my arms though... And my facial skin has a clear problem with dead skin buildup clogging the pores, something I read is related to this disorder. My skin won't shed normally, it just builds up and up and I need to scrub it off or scratch it off in abnormal fashion, as the skin is too sensitive and reactive to handle topical creams or facial scrubs. I am really at a loss still, 20 years after developing this... Another interesting aspect I read about this KPRF/KPAF thing is that it hits younger people, teenagers. My troubles started at age 19, but reading back old diaries and recollecting scattered memories, I actually blushed and turned red from alcohol way before that. And I also remember to go early into the class room of regular school, before university, to shut the heaters down or open a window. Always someone would complaint about it, but I needed fresh air as it was always too warm. I used to wear a lot of make-up back then, very pale face foundation and face powder and red lipstick and all that jazz, so I wouldn't have seen if my face glowed up red back then. But many dermatologists over time told me that rosacea typically hits after 30, not in the late teens. I think that is old news really, there are plenty of young(er) people on rosacea forums and groups who developed rosacea much earlier in life, but I do wonder now if I may not have classical rosacea. Or not to have started with, and then it did develop into rosacea most likely these days, as I don't just have flushing and burning anymore but also get these small break outs more regularly in parts of the year. But nowadays I'm heading to middle age so now rosacea could get more active perhaps? It's so hard to find a definite diagnosis sometimes... I've seen so many specialists and most have opposing or slightly different takes on it all. My current wonderful German dermatologist thinks I have a histamine-related flushing problem, and not classical rosacea. In the end these illnesses are just labels and I've been reading up lately on the Erythromelalgia forum and there is a group of patients there with the same symptoms as me; faces that flush and burn and overheat at the drop of a hat. The same happens to some poeple with KPRF/KPAF, the same happens to people with mastocytosis and histamine related problems. I made a blog post some years ago about <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2014/05/other-conditions-that-cause-facial_29.html"><b>other health conditions that cause the face to flush</b></a> and there are many out there.</div><div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">My summer skin outbreaks </span></b></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ZMp06iYDa8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1ZMp06iYDa8?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<b style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large;"><br /></b><b style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: center;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b style="color: #990000;">I have continued writing my day<br />to day life updates in </b><b style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2019/12/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life.html" target="_blank">this blogpost</a>.<br />Or read older updates <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2016/06/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-iii.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</b></div><div><b style="color: #990000;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/s1600/0%252C2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/w435-h435/0%252C2.jpg" width="435" /></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;" /></div></div></div></b></div></b></div></div></div></div></div></b></div></b>
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Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-91814789988439178842018-05-28T17:50:00.072-07:002024-01-31T05:53:33.831-08:00Ongoing post, Update day to day life VII, July 12th 2018 - October 30th 2017 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIZ8G3TJwVB7jQYCjQBlCUY8X4OBagUq_lx_sNE6aP2EpWyDTBxWDzPDXBK7VUHzWK6WMTN2bUqGWKBAlzL-uoKI1DAYZmrNJBqyb5RKOvXYprlx7wJcrud3fBn2dyupClPz1kua5PDVDs/s1600/giphy+%25282%2529.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="500" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIZ8G3TJwVB7jQYCjQBlCUY8X4OBagUq_lx_sNE6aP2EpWyDTBxWDzPDXBK7VUHzWK6WMTN2bUqGWKBAlzL-uoKI1DAYZmrNJBqyb5RKOvXYprlx7wJcrud3fBn2dyupClPz1kua5PDVDs/s400/giphy+%25282%2529.gif" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtTQVpAMc9-wRfb5pnhPPwdhw6hpwMZ_jqiu2Iu-yCSLwbmJHq7klEkfouVUiFHRcoHTj8vXUNNBIGt3jmqeNflPpHIcUeNAYA1qKlEYZWd-O8QFxWbQ7IO0zpp1jrpT1-S3TUSvF_6hD/s1600/Rh7o4bc.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="500" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtTQVpAMc9-wRfb5pnhPPwdhw6hpwMZ_jqiu2Iu-yCSLwbmJHq7klEkfouVUiFHRcoHTj8vXUNNBIGt3jmqeNflPpHIcUeNAYA1qKlEYZWd-O8QFxWbQ7IO0zpp1jrpT1-S3TUSvF_6hD/s400/Rh7o4bc.gif" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>I try to give an insight in my own life and dealings with rosacea. I also try to gather information that might be useful for everyone with rosacea, especially subtype 1 with burning, flushing and skin redness. I happen to be a bit unfortunate in that I have this condition for a long time already, and unlike many others, I haven't been able to get it into remission. I know it is more uplifting to read about someone who has beaten rosacea, but I like to write about the struggles that come for those who haven't achieved this. I also blabber here about other everyday life topics. </b></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;"><b>July 12th 2018</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Update on the World Cup</span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfyW81ggwdNZswKbPxrfzEGh3Dm-waXEd1pRBA5tB4vEWLuAO7EBSmsQzyC6jJ7hGFlar60BR7Jj4uYyhN-xFlPg1Vtn3NBm3BoUIKTvUA1QGvEBZs_a0JfUzlAxXqSkMYKHpMHXFERzN/s1600/431378_10151085598743996_536141635_n.jpg" style="background-color: white; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="803" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfyW81ggwdNZswKbPxrfzEGh3Dm-waXEd1pRBA5tB4vEWLuAO7EBSmsQzyC6jJ7hGFlar60BR7Jj4uYyhN-xFlPg1Vtn3NBm3BoUIKTvUA1QGvEBZs_a0JfUzlAxXqSkMYKHpMHXFERzN/s320/431378_10151085598743996_536141635_n.jpg" width="267" /></a>Over here people are all still watching the football World Cup. Or soccer, the sport that seems gigantic in scale and popularity almost everywhere outside of the USA. It is so huge that the media held one minute silence for the Argentinian team when they lost a group pool match.. Like they do with national disasters like earthquakes and after mass murders. <span>Argentina </span>used to be a fierce football nation, but they were failing this tournament. In fact, many great football nations have been sent home prematurely, which has helped make this World Cup one of the most spectacular and surprising to my (limited due to age haha) memory. <span>Spain</span>, the king of the tiki taki pall possession play, reached often 70% ball possession in its games, but was sent home regardless. The same for </span></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><span>Germany</span>, <span>Portugal </span>and <span>Brazil</span>. Teams from smaller countries instead did well, Belgium for instance and Croatia. Japan also played surprising good football and Russia caused surprises too. Maybe that is why me and some friends (and my fanatical parents!) who watched it along still got wowed and excited about some football matches; they are not a mathematical equation, where purchase price equals quality factor and results in guaranteed win. You can have a team with the best players of the Spanish competition, worth hundreds of millions and who have over 70% ball possession, and in this tournament they could still be sent home by a relative B team with the right team spirit and discipline. <span>Brazil</span>, they have a couple of hundred million inhabitants, everyone with even the least bit </span></span>of sport prowess wants to be a football player first and foremost (unlike Australia for instance, where the kids with the most sporting qualities train to become AFL players or do rugby league, and Australian football is left with the 'leftovers'). That is also why die Mannschaft (<span>Germany</span>) is always dangerous; they can morph any group of players into a machine. Just not this World Cup :) But they have that gift normally. All noses in the same direction, no room for ego's. <span>Mbappé</span>:<br /><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Brazil - Belgium</b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKoXKCGQndfKYLui_qE-wuUF69xjiSl3eFiQ1DCyWe109pcjGtmqtUu8A8tPrnYnWcLveKyEph5P7ZZokGMdvh4YTykDAFeuNb5qjciwISpobDXWDi-xpHmchoH19CHGjmmlY-A_EBqgoz/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" style="background-color: white; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="260" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKoXKCGQndfKYLui_qE-wuUF69xjiSl3eFiQ1DCyWe109pcjGtmqtUu8A8tPrnYnWcLveKyEph5P7ZZokGMdvh4YTykDAFeuNb5qjciwISpobDXWDi-xpHmchoH19CHGjmmlY-A_EBqgoz/s320/download+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a>Brazil - Belgium, a quarter final that had the feeling of a final, was dynamic! 90 minutes of pure ecstasy and a great football fight! This probably will turn out to be one of the top matches of this tournament. Brazil were not always lucky, so many rebounds from shots on goals just fell wrong for the Brazilians. They might have deserved one penalty too (Kompany kicked one Brazilian on the ankles instead of the ball at some point). But Brazils star striker Neymar had done so much tumbling and fake diving that the referee gave Brazil the disadvantage of the doubt. being Dutch I was happy for Belgium, and they were the underdog too, so extra happy they won. Brazil have become an unsympathetic team to watch unfortunately. Even Cantona had enough of Neymars antics :) <span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b> </b></span></span></span>I loved hearing Belgiums manager Martinez analyzing his tactics after the match on Belgium tv. He really surprised the Brazilians by shifting striker Lukaku from left to right position, leaving De Bruyne as a floating flexible central striker. There were constantly 2 Belgian strikers drifting forward, making the field wide. Hazard was so strong on the ball, keeping it in possession. Lukaku was an absolute beast. Hazard proved he's World Class. De Bruyne with the killer goal. Cortouis the goal keeper with match winning saves. Mournier in the defense kept Neymar in his pocket (but he is not playing against France.. 2 yellow cards). Belgium's golden generation played their best match and also for the neutral viewer it was a battleground to watch. And Neymar's theatrics finally backfired. The referee was having none of Neymar's nonsense. Neymar needs the air ambulance if he snaps a bootlace.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><b><span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">Here Neymar is rolling in real </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">time after a minor bit of contact:</span></b></div></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVd7we8UZT9Rymdn6H_WIFYBcAJu5Z-pV3ymaDr-9KVhO1XrY7Tl8TqML77s_jWvB7jS2fHXJWTnh2ADff3UtSBtWF41SQV2vFU6o1s3iMQOl8awc05SDDLnUnpwtk_ctssRIq34V08zna/s1600/tenor.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="350" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVd7we8UZT9Rymdn6H_WIFYBcAJu5Z-pV3ymaDr-9KVhO1XrY7Tl8TqML77s_jWvB7jS2fHXJWTnh2ADff3UtSBtWF41SQV2vFU6o1s3iMQOl8awc05SDDLnUnpwtk_ctssRIq34V08zna/s320/tenor.gif" width="320" /></a></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3dselAjGjzOBvffVCCDf3kICm-4XdijbtwKBROF7Nd3OkurXVsk3kSNYf1rtMc1zcI4y9R73ozxploXbzmGd21gSjrIBV9hxiFdSa5j9OZTMEIow35-N5PwZT5LD7uAj6tEwYDkb_4Lm/s1600/stare+lol.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3dselAjGjzOBvffVCCDf3kICm-4XdijbtwKBROF7Nd3OkurXVsk3kSNYf1rtMc1zcI4y9R73ozxploXbzmGd21gSjrIBV9hxiFdSa5j9OZTMEIow35-N5PwZT5LD7uAj6tEwYDkb_4Lm/s320/stare+lol.gif" width="269" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><b>And here he is mocked for it:</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRMCLU3ADeNokEQMspc-ImRmLFJkQvqNBBb9SMF7otxHgU2jTUAeJY1vNzThb5dsrFtBmfMvJEKUr5mgEZeHFXTkSXKKwvQ6jPMmq-6kqeveaFg3TG2CT4CWaFzj3cAwG-681QgcizETW/s1600/tenor+%25282%2529.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRMCLU3ADeNokEQMspc-ImRmLFJkQvqNBBb9SMF7otxHgU2jTUAeJY1vNzThb5dsrFtBmfMvJEKUr5mgEZeHFXTkSXKKwvQ6jPMmq-6kqeveaFg3TG2CT4CWaFzj3cAwG-681QgcizETW/w391-h220/tenor+%25282%2529.gif" width="391" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPXbkK_kV0HGSxiAxy5AWpRO_Qo-3iahWchFv7l1wBaYuJkQPW7EmtYG5f6EP_M_eml4_BGMwxxVxXQnYFrd6b6rfT4z2z1nCAkULhmXIJw9djoMhftjo8lBmTa0TQ92jEqoOWSa7NitHd/s1600/tenor+%25281%2529.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="380" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPXbkK_kV0HGSxiAxy5AWpRO_Qo-3iahWchFv7l1wBaYuJkQPW7EmtYG5f6EP_M_eml4_BGMwxxVxXQnYFrd6b6rfT4z2z1nCAkULhmXIJw9djoMhftjo8lBmTa0TQ92jEqoOWSa7NitHd/s320/tenor+%25281%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br="" style="color: #444444;">It is interesting that with the introduction of VAR, a Video Assistant Referee who watches along with the match and flags errors made regarding goals, penalties and free kicks, all the Latin American and Latin teams have gone out early? Maybe they need to find a new way to win now that cheating and conning the ref doesn't work anymore.</span></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><br /></span></span>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyddi7bHrLzbGJ5x6dVGQe2Q52f5UEsF4Dd0XxSNxQLzbk0kVHU0NdTnedduGkEV-XV6wDdS8YjOW9xmyh-sZC6DQHoVZbyaRHxN8DJ_lNgkcTnoKF8mEJ-J6xWUJgs1aZOQxFkwyK67Sd/s1600/DhHLrnHWAAEHRJR.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="837" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyddi7bHrLzbGJ5x6dVGQe2Q52f5UEsF4Dd0XxSNxQLzbk0kVHU0NdTnedduGkEV-XV6wDdS8YjOW9xmyh-sZC6DQHoVZbyaRHxN8DJ_lNgkcTnoKF8mEJ-J6xWUJgs1aZOQxFkwyK67Sd/w320-h367/DhHLrnHWAAEHRJR.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqD2iWSXfNHYqbLirO_hqWyWEKXtWQoRf9TzlNc34tUiYTzeOEIWWZelhtoKGW_j7oPpzNjnnEWNhJLyNJZOSAuzZTxRh48a7T8BrboXLQsOWkGtt7bnsozrYq5d6Hs-7M9KyHY5d9Rtm0/s1600/neimar-i-koza.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqD2iWSXfNHYqbLirO_hqWyWEKXtWQoRf9TzlNc34tUiYTzeOEIWWZelhtoKGW_j7oPpzNjnnEWNhJLyNJZOSAuzZTxRh48a7T8BrboXLQsOWkGtt7bnsozrYq5d6Hs-7M9KyHY5d9Rtm0/s1600/neimar-i-koza.gif" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br="" style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">I also saw some impressive schwalbes already this tournament, a lot of fake tumbles to try to get a penalty, but none were as bad yet as these:</span></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><br /></span></span>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br="">As my friend linked me to, the footballers of today, with their endless tumbles, fake crying for cards and free kicks and their shampoo advertisements, are no longer the strong football heroes of the past. No traditional Byronic heroes; Lord Byron wrote this on the subject, back in the 19th century:</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><i>The sails were filled and fair the light winds blew</i></span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><i>As glad to waft him from his native home;</i></span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><i>And fast the white rocks faded from his view,</i></span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><i>And soon were lost in circumambient foam;</i></span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><i>And then, it may be, of his wish to roam</i></span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><i>Repented he, but in his bosom slept</i></span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><i>The silent thoughts, nor from his lips did come</i></span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><i>One word of wail, while others sate and wept,</i></span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><i>And to the reckless gales unmanly moaning kept.</i></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47PaE9XjlUYJr3JRnb5Yed4hoNCnEt_j-sDbcceCdO58ahE7CnmKzEBl6cQWV3Z8pEcEOeUHqMw7u45TDNp1HwOQ4r4MMrUCLwpDM9vEalR-OglKxoscV_WULjKnQn2kP963KGThHSLU2/s1600/World-Cup-Semi-Final-France-v-Belgium.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47PaE9XjlUYJr3JRnb5Yed4hoNCnEt_j-sDbcceCdO58ahE7CnmKzEBl6cQWV3Z8pEcEOeUHqMw7u45TDNp1HwOQ4r4MMrUCLwpDM9vEalR-OglKxoscV_WULjKnQn2kP963KGThHSLU2/s400/World-Cup-Semi-Final-France-v-Belgium.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwlaOzYI-Wnh4XMJcH6p9scS3-gFYog-BADYOcvNn83fENd1reDON8DehDwJDUYFHTLwv-Q4Up03X1-w2CMl_lOY4EuGU93X23EKtvSLJXXm0qMYhaIrzCtYsYW1ZJ801hGt-SMGuZn0e1/s1600/5b43a03bfc7e936d2f8b45cb.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="900" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwlaOzYI-Wnh4XMJcH6p9scS3-gFYog-BADYOcvNn83fENd1reDON8DehDwJDUYFHTLwv-Q4Up03X1-w2CMl_lOY4EuGU93X23EKtvSLJXXm0qMYhaIrzCtYsYW1ZJ801hGt-SMGuZn0e1/s400/5b43a03bfc7e936d2f8b45cb.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>France - Belgium</b></span> was also a cracker match, the <b><span style="color: #b45f06;">semi-final</span></b>. Both teams played a comparable type of game, with control on the midfield and fast counter attacking through precise combinations when they saw a chance. Both teams have quality center-backs in Hazard and Pogba, and both have quality strikers. France has the world class Kylian Mbappé whereas Belgium has Romelu Lukaku. De Bruyne for Belgium and Griezmann for France are equal star strikers. The difference to me was laying in the defense; France has a strong defense whereas Belgium had less of strong defense. I was supporting the French all the way through and even had some money on them winning the cup, but Belgium played very attractive and good looking football and were the darlings of the world this summer. After beating Brazil, they expressed in TV interviews "Well now that we beat Brazil, France shouldn't be that much of a problem". That sounded naive to me, as not Brazil but France were the team to beat this tournament. And they indeed lost this battle of the Titan. </span></span>Belgium so far had everything going for them and sometimes, to win a tournament like this one, you need luck on your hands too. Brazil technically speaking had the chance to make 4 or 5 goals easily against the Belgians, but somehow the balls fell wrong all the time. In this tournament the better teams did not always win. Japan was very good in their last match against Belgium, but were unlucky in the last minutes of extra time. South Korea were not better than Germany, but they won. Against France, the exact thing I had feared for happened: Frances strong defense held the Belgian midfield in lock down and prevented the Belgian strikers from attacking. Belgium just didn't create the same chances as they did in previous matches. Being pressurized like this, they also made more errors. Some bad passes, imprecise attacks, and they didn't score. At some point all they did was counter kick the ball to the 16 meter area and hope someone made a header. Lukaku missed almost every pass from Hazard (or lets say the few Hazard was willing to give off, instead of wasting himself) and seemed to be surprised by chances. He had virtually no service this match, surprisingly. Belgium seemed to have ran out of invention and ideas. France was not allowing them to play their own type of game. Brazil, the team the Belgians had previously sent home, had more chances against Belgium than Belgium had against France. But chances don't count, only goals do.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br="">I thought it was a good match and that France did pretty well, keeping Belgium in a tight grip most of the 2nd half. France also had many great fast combinations and attacks. Pogba made a world class pass in the first half, sending Mbappé away. I could not find a gif image showing this exact pass, but here is a collection of his type of passes, always from a long distance and sending the striker away to the goal very precisely. An amazing talent. </span></span>Frances quality this tournament has been to take very efficient advantage from most chances they got. The old style 'tiki taki' football meant that teams needed to have an overwhelming ball possession and kept kicking the ball around within their team, trying to find a little opening to score. This made for tactical but tedious football at times. France did not demand the ball possession, they were happy to lean back and use the space this created in the opponents goal area, bursting out now and then and being very effective at scoring. Some people called this calculating 'anti football', but I disagree. Counter football, like Belgium played it too, can be very exciting to watch and create very fast switches in the match. When France tried to waste time near the end, the Belgians got frustrated and started kicking and gathering at least three yellow cards. After the match, in Holland the jokes started flooding in as usual, there is a bit of mocking (loving) rivalry between the Netherlands and Belgium always. One was; 'I heard that Belgium have demanded a replay, because they say their players did not realize what was at stake'. Hehe.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-lqWYqmZ2UUjdSRbOugk4mjQYpU5bATeBd-AWTtQnb7KZWV7nxGJMniIaQVTq2O_i72YuejInIIs0IAbdf6XJe7DH-wUet5UDYO8zEVekRyOHz_6IqNhmCVH7tg1ia7J8A8NOeernl8M/s1600/download+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-lqWYqmZ2UUjdSRbOugk4mjQYpU5bATeBd-AWTtQnb7KZWV7nxGJMniIaQVTq2O_i72YuejInIIs0IAbdf6XJe7DH-wUet5UDYO8zEVekRyOHz_6IqNhmCVH7tg1ia7J8A8NOeernl8M/s400/download+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimmPOLOehgKEi-xMiG1Gh8Ue_lFxsiqGqW895R2tVRL2kv-kKksAwoXvy9yYQIcuGuWX5P8eUYyKtl1jAuzv4UP42Ferbbjxyx7bOi-DJaP9Ejr6RoC01DPt5L6Z47gw81ra0wYbe9mciX/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimmPOLOehgKEi-xMiG1Gh8Ue_lFxsiqGqW895R2tVRL2kv-kKksAwoXvy9yYQIcuGuWX5P8eUYyKtl1jAuzv4UP42Ferbbjxyx7bOi-DJaP9Ejr6RoC01DPt5L6Z47gw81ra0wYbe9mciX/s400/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">England - Sweden</span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br="">England was all worked up this world cup, after ending up in a relatively easy pool of teams, and allowing Belgium to win their last pool match, after which they had to face a pool with impressing opponents like Spain, Argentina, Brazil and France, whereas England could chill among Colombia, Sweden, Swiss and eventually Croatia. So after early success against 'pub team' Panama, the English got confident that the Cup was finally coming home again :) Love that enthusiasm. </span></span>Former striker and football commentator Roy Keane was seen openly bickering with Ian Wright on English TV, with Keane saying that he found it strange that fans and commentators were already openly planning the final at some point, before the semi final was even played, as if Croatia (their semi final opponent) was just a little twig on the road. A walkover. Ian Wright said to Roy Keane that he was an old sour fart more or less, and that fans should celebrate. Then he mocked his Irish accent. But it was curious to hear and the Croatian team (Modric) have said they were fired up when learning about England's dismissal of them as opponents (mostly in the press I assume). Keane seemed to be saying that England were more focused on the final and much of the build up coverage had dismissed Croatia, when in fact, they were the biggest team England had played so far in the tournament because all of the big hitters - Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Spain and Portugal - were knocked out early on or in another ' leg'. Another 'sour puss', former Oasis member Noel Gallagher, also told his fans during a gig that they could spare themselves the hopes as football 'wasn't fucking coming home'. Was not appreciated, what a party pooper, his brother Liam also jumped on the opportunity right away to dis his brother some more. These two must be the most dysfunctional set of brothers since Cain and Abel.. Noel also said he'd support Scotland over England so he is probably prejudiced anyway :) I saw a documentary on Oasis a few weeks ago, footage from their first years until the high fame, but they were constantly fighting back then too. One has the looks but is a complete knobhead, the other has the music writing genius but radiates misery. I like Noel though, always makes for straight forward interviews and he writes good songs often. Liam sings decent songs still but far from great. As someone joked; Without Oasis, Liams only real chance of survival seems burglary, hehe. Jokes, jokes. So anyway, England beat Sweden and the country went crazy. And prepared for the final. Only the semi final was still standing in the way. A formality, really..<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Croatia - England</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br="">High anticipation! I read a fierce discussion on the Daily Mail, about the (probably staged) dilemma of a wedding on this semi final Saturday afternoon: <b><i>would you go or not?</i></b> And when the bride orders guests to not check their phones all the time for the footy scores, will you go or not? Readers were all divided, with the bridezillas mentioning how someone who ruins their special day is not a real friend, and the football fans branding the people who choose to marry on a day when the World Cup is rounding up are selfish themselves and should just put a TV screen up, chanting 'Marriage is usually temporary, football is for ever'. Or repeating great quote from Bill Shankly: 'Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.' </span></span>First half, England were lord and master. They outplayed the Croatians entirely with their tempo and energy and a dream goal early in the match. Again from a free kick. They like to score from 'dead game moments'. I understand manager Southgate trained them every single day on free kicks in Russia. Impeccable.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QsWHUeMuZXCFve4_tDmbuMTZ7zd2YFVLcQpoLkBcms61c9TPd1wS4UENm1-LTXrIW5yq-hIj27KNokiK_rZ7oLzdEXxZL1b4MqVTW3qcKigiCq7viRQ7MJXZXY46X9LLghfutpfqOtOL/s1600/10405521_10153041928948996_4601491794475547583_n.jpg" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="620" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QsWHUeMuZXCFve4_tDmbuMTZ7zd2YFVLcQpoLkBcms61c9TPd1wS4UENm1-LTXrIW5yq-hIj27KNokiK_rZ7oLzdEXxZL1b4MqVTW3qcKigiCq7viRQ7MJXZXY46X9LLghfutpfqOtOL/s400/10405521_10153041928948996_4601491794475547583_n.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"><span br="">Croatia seemed completely out of it, like they had played their last 120 minutes quarter final not three</span></span> days ago but the night before. I couldn't see England losing and they had a couple of good chances to score a second. But then the Croatians came out the 2nd half revitalized, and ready to provoke the English with little quarrels and pushings here and there. After every little skirmish the Croatians gained strength and the English lost some. They really worked themselves up, or maybe there was some special slavic herb in their tea, but it was another gang coming out the dug out. Croatians also never give up. They are dangerous in extra time, in this tournament they came back three times already from being behind in the last part of the match. As my friend wrote: "Then something incredible happened. Old England came back! It was almost comedic in some parts. Croatia played dirty I thought, they were taking out the threats physically and still England could have won it in the first half with some of the chances they missed. Then they do this weird thing they do in almost every game. Get a goal ... then go to sleep. As if no fucks given ..." England might have gotten scared in the legs from seeing the Croatians going in high gear. But the house came crumbling down suddenly for England; everything went wrong, they seemed to panic. And maybe they also didn't have the energy for 90 minutes full on football playing. So that was the end of the Football Coming Home campaign, sadly enough.. I had to smile though, apparently some fanatical England supporters, on the day of the match, went through the local phone books to find Croatian restaurants and bars and called them on the day of the match, singing into the phone "It's coming home" That's charming banter isn't it? (Or is it hooliganism?). A nice team though, England. They might lack a couple of strong strikers at the front and a good midfielder who can give great passes though. But it's a young team, they can do better in the upcoming tournaments. And I know about the feeling of disappointment after losing, and after getting worked up first. The Netherlands have played three finals in a World Cup in the past, and it the only team who after so many finals never won the cup haha. I remember being on a Spanish beach in 2010, watching the World Cup final between Spain and Holland there, dressed in fluorescent orange. Then when the Dutch started their kickboxing match, with every kick and punch the Spanish crowd got more and more worked up. Holland lost, again. And this tournament they were so bad that they never even qualified to start it.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">So France won the finale eventually, against Croatia</span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br="">After first sending Belgium home in the semi final. I was happy. My English friend less so, jokingly accusing me of Franchivizing: "Le Nat! Natoinette in ze court uv le roi!". Strangely enough Frances prime striker has not scored a single goal all tournament. And their striker in the (won) world cup of 1998 did neither. They won the cup back then with a non scoring striker! Strange tradition. Same was happening now with Giroud. But it was a cuckoo's egg in the end. It should have been Holland in that finale, heck, in that tournament. I would have loved to see England playing the finale. Croatia having some 4 million inhabitants, it must be nice for their supporters as they never made a final before. </span></span>I had a little bet on the games. It could have been much more but I won around 100 euro for predicting early on in the competition that France would win it. Looking back on it all, despite the high drama <span style="text-align: left;"><span br="">and fantastic surprise factor of many of this world cups matches, we've not seen football of the highest quality this tournament necessarily. France was good, but only spiked a couple of times each match, and lingered back for the remaining parts. In France, Deschamps the coach has received a lot of criticism too for his tactics and (according some) unattractive calculating play. Some critics thought that is not how the French team should play; they want to see attractive attacking football. But for Deschamps, only the result counts and after winning the cup as a player (I think he even was the captain of the team back then), he now is one of those rare people who also won it as a manager. I liked Frances playing style and only would have liked more bursts of genius perhaps. France and Paris have had their fair share of misery the past years with all those terrorist attacks and murders so now it's time to celebrate. </span></span>In France, for a very short window of time now, football is also used as a unifying thing, as so many of their (black) French players grew up on council estates in the periphery. Youngsters from poor backgrounds in the banlieus feel they have something to dream of; becoming the new Mbappé. Same for the Belgians; for a little while the Walonians, the Flemish and the immigrants there felt united. 'Ninety minutes nationalism'.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I also read an amusing comparison of the Word Cup with Game of Thrones</b></span> (yeh that old horse..). Someone on<a href="https://twitter.com/MamunKhan41st/"> twitter</a> suggested the following similarities;</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br="">-<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Germany</b></span> would be Ned Stark; the Lord of Winterfell, Lord Paramount and Warden of the North, and Hand of the King to King Robert I Baratheon... who was killed off much earlier than many of us anticipated. Nobody thought he would die, but his head got chopped off in the first round.</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br="">-<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Belgium</b></span> is Olenna Tyrell, who kills off key players before dying just before the final battle.</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br="">-<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Brazil</b></span> is Joffrey Baratheon, who makes a lot of tantrum before being poisoned by Olenna Tyrell.</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br="">-<b><span style="color: #990000;">Argentina</span></b> is Oberyn Martell; not in the equation to star. Suddenly got into the play, danced a lot. Then got killed off brutally.</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br="">-<b><span style="color: #990000;">Croatia</span></b> was the ultimate underdog, Jon Snow. Fell behind in multiple situations, everyone thought they were dead only to rise from the Ashes.</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br="">-<b><span style="color: #990000;">England</span></b> would be Hodor (his analysis not mine!), repeating the same line over and over again and dies trying to defend a lead</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br="">-<b><span style="color: #990000;">Russia</span></b> would be Sansa Stark because everyone thought she was screwed from day one, but somehow wiggled through to a fairly formidable finish.</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br="">-<b><span style="color: #990000;">Spain</span></b> = Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish; does a lot of passing only to get caught by Sansa who was supposed to be under his control.</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span br="">-And <b><span style="color: #990000;">France</span></b> the winners are the Night King. France was an ominous presence that no one really talked about at the beginning, but who gradually became quite scary. They hadn't lost ground in all of the tournament, broke down strong defenses and converted people from different places to create the team.</span></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><br /></span></span>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><b><span style="color: #990000;">It's a shame what money and commerce has done to football.</span></b>. In the past, players used to stay a lot longer with their clubs. Now football is hollowed out as good players rarely stay long, the big clubs are constantly on the prowl for decent players, even scouting at local youth trainings. The Dutch football competition has weakened entirely because of the market effects; no club can keep hold of their star players. Many good players ruthlessly demand clauses in their contracts, allowing them to leave whenever they want for a bigger club. </span></span>There are, say, 8 big clubs in Europe who have dominated all the big club tournaments for many years now (always the same finalists in the champions league) and who have so much sponsor money and income from TV rights and such, that they can buy whomever they want. They have better football teams sitting on the bench as extra's than more clubs have on the field. The big clubs have so much money that they are like monster fishing boats at sea, spreading their net wide and buying up all the decent players, knowing that for every 10 of them 2 might be decent enough, and we'll see with the rest of them. I think things should change radically, we need new rules: -Half of a football clubs players need to be born and/or raised in the clubs own country (England, Holland etc). -No more than 2 expensive players allowed in the team. -Every year a club is allowed to purchase no more than 2 foreign players. -If a certain number of good players on the bench are exceeded, some need to be sold again. That's the only way for smaller clubs to make a chance again for the titles. But of course Fifa itself is a filthy corrupt mess. I mean, agreeing to hold a world cup in Dubai!! Average temp 40 degrees and not a soul watching the matches in the stadiums. Its all about money.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Music clip of the day</span></b><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eid1OQ6YLyg/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eid1OQ6YLyg?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;">July 2nd 2018</b></span></div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3K8jO7lmaRdpBOVwSIPAESL_DAzZuwcC9aWCkO05vpsvpbU4tsPKQQQO7H3j16gnqlJ9eKF_xyT1_ViC4t0NRXV_jwMD-MyuhSgbM6RpivzaD9exL_gHzdSKwKjMJJlpecD4RRFv9cO9B/s1600/4DD27EB600000578-5906345-image-a-75_1530464259814.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="962" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3K8jO7lmaRdpBOVwSIPAESL_DAzZuwcC9aWCkO05vpsvpbU4tsPKQQQO7H3j16gnqlJ9eKF_xyT1_ViC4t0NRXV_jwMD-MyuhSgbM6RpivzaD9exL_gHzdSKwKjMJJlpecD4RRFv9cO9B/s400/4DD27EB600000578-5906345-image-a-75_1530464259814.jpg" width="400" /></a>I used to play football (soccer in the US) for about ten years as a girl and teenager, and still love watching football matches, either in the stadium of my home town team or on the tele with the current World Cup for instance. This tournament, held in Russia at the moment, is fantastic so far. Am so enjoying following this world cup. What a crazy tournament. Holland has not even qualified for it (after playing the final against Spain in 2010), which is quite embarrassing but then again, Italy didn't qualify either. I have some teams I like and root for and more importantly some teams I hope will lose, hehe. Rooting for France, England and Belgium. Hoped Germany would go out asap, then quickly followed by Spain, Brazil and Argentina. I don't like their arrogance as a team and the constant soyboy cryings for cards and free kicks or penalties. As a friend said; They are not the men of yesteryear who would finish a game with a broken neck. Think of Bert Trautmann here. I don't think they would have worn skirts like Beckham or done shampoo adverts. Terry Butcher, (what's in a name) also played a whole game with blood gushing down his shirt from a head wound. And Beckenbauer also kept playing when there were no more options to switch players, with a broken collarbone and his arm in a fucking swing! Those were the football players of the past century. Now players go down for things like this:</div></div></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZScZFYpcoEvmi4XU35xA0TDTzVzUUd26yzZphW4vy6MfPTe5Fqbc8hrZ6PHI76NJpt2BGHKF9z_5UNAKbf-nvCyzTvAWWreBOguWdlQwEjTyJUhpM0FnRxORK290S95lcAerX3r6FaOG/s1600/4DD27E5600000578-5906345-image-a-71_1530464130497.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="962" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZScZFYpcoEvmi4XU35xA0TDTzVzUUd26yzZphW4vy6MfPTe5Fqbc8hrZ6PHI76NJpt2BGHKF9z_5UNAKbf-nvCyzTvAWWreBOguWdlQwEjTyJUhpM0FnRxORK290S95lcAerX3r6FaOG/s320/4DD27E5600000578-5906345-image-a-71_1530464130497.jpg" width="320" /></a>So anyway, not sure if you reading this follow it, but I practically don't miss a match if possible, and today watched Russia play Spain live. It was nerve wrecking (I support the Russians). They were like a tank, only defending and rarely countering, but what else could Russia do with no star players in the team? They broke the Spanish tiki taki play effectively and I was so rooting for them to reach the penalty series. Spain had 80% ball possession, but if you don't do anything with that ball and don't create chances, it turned out to be just another useless statistic, as has been proven before in this tournament. If the Russians managed to get to penalties with an ongoing equal score, they would certainly win; they are cool machines with penalties (and the underdog in this match, ánd playing a home game with 70% of the stadium filled with Russians), whereas the Spanish had the pressure on their shoulders as favourites to win. So for them, these penalties were like Russian roulette :) Which it was. Russia kicked all penalties in, Spain missed two. Vamos Ramos. But what were they doing though, the Spanish? No Iniesta in the team and lurking midfield, making endless combinations.. If the game had gone on for another hour, Spain would have completed 2000 passes, and still not have won the match. With old fashioned determination, the Russians didn't do a dying swan theater play, but just grafted and used their players the only way they could possibly use them without star strikers. They test the attacking teams to the max, a future world champion needs to be able to also win from defending teams like Russia. <i>Gracias Iniesta. Thank you for your service to Spain. Regards, Russia. </i>Spanish goalkeeper De Gea was symptomatic for his whole team (I'm the best goal keeper in the world). But this match it was Russian goalie Akinfeev who came over, and pushed him aside; "Here, hold my vodka." This is the best WC ever. The lesser teams have all given it 100%, none of them roll over for the bigger teams, South Korea, Senegal, Russia. It is fantastic. It's like Game of Thrones this World Cup. All the main characters are leaving swiftly. Crazy! Even the intro video made for the tournament seems inspired by Game of Thrones intro. This tournament is wide open.</span></span><br />
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Another couple of highlights of this tournament were seeing Germany not making it past the pool phase (what can I do about it.. I'm Dutch, we have a natural and historical rivalry with Germany), France playing magnificent the other day and sending Argentina home, and Russia kicking out Spain and seeing that monster Ramos cry. French play fresh, attractive and fast football and they have a 19 year old wunderkind called Kylian Mbappé, he is amazing. Last video that made me laugh: sneaky Panama trying to score in the pool match against England (they got beaten by 6-1) while England celebrates their latest goal:<br />
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Of course they need to wait for the English to get back in position and for the referee to whistle, but I found it funny in a sneaky manner. Also classic, because they still messed it up; they kicked the ball straight to the goal keeper. Many teams and supporters celebrated the exits of some big teams, including Germany and Spain.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzuvmHvQ-ca0x_iFFGww0VZcfvi6Sco2mCsgQObb3QgniENu8l1_oozEm1MjkIMmNf78Vc0IHqj0saU7wtoUg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzB03jYAAVbsLylv1xNuiBegh-1K7g6rH-U3IDGCvGI81BGdcGAu_gPrkl1rX-e5zNMGJSKHW2X58TmDYqvsA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih3f7HgcLwhNplu-lE5eyi6H4_tRXnZriNYuvzlqUtpdAlXJpi9PmJrvi2ta_PLGZpzIxuOrZTtNIclioTZu_9bqzTxvKlb7QHTbfIqZEi20wq6iKoYFrdtxOrnul0xJtolfl9B3A35U3A/s1600/35026632_1982286058489463_3288085288026374144_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="764" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih3f7HgcLwhNplu-lE5eyi6H4_tRXnZriNYuvzlqUtpdAlXJpi9PmJrvi2ta_PLGZpzIxuOrZTtNIclioTZu_9bqzTxvKlb7QHTbfIqZEi20wq6iKoYFrdtxOrnul0xJtolfl9B3A35U3A/s320/35026632_1982286058489463_3288085288026374144_n.jpg" width="315" /></a>Even my parents were smirking. Either people dislike the superiority smugness of die Mannschaft, or people are happy that some of the biggest players are either kicked out early, or not even made it to the pool phase. I know many will have laughed when Holland didn't qualify and I completely understand that. It is part of the tragic that sport can be and that makes it so attractive and human. If the same team would always win (think the Scottish competition), then what fun is there to it? Everyone I speak or hear about it says that same thing; one of the most unpredictable WC ever and one of the best therefore. Sometimes a country has a promising talented generation of players, sometimes there aren't any for some years.. Belgium have what they call a golden generation playing right now. Holland played the WC final in 2010 with a great generation of players, and we played the semi final in 2014. Ever since, the well dried up. We might need another 4 to 8 years to hopefully have enough quality players for a good team. Don't forget that Holland is the size of a small shire lol. Well, bit bigger perhaps, but it is a small country, Brazil has a 207 million inhabitants, so a lot more potential good players to chose from. I also enjoyed the Denmark-Croatia match, although the highlights were mainly the first 5 minutes after take off and the last 5 minutes with penalties. But it was nerve wrecking again and so dramatic, with that tree trunk Schmeichel in the goal and the Croatian goalie was very good too. They both stopped as many or more penalties than they let go through, astounding. I did think they most of the time got off their line before the ball was hit though, but mostly with one foot. Read up a bit on that thing, because it was quite visible with some penalties last night. Think it is against the rules but it is allowed, considering all the tricks the footballers can use to deceive the goalie.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrsu7MC1pRRT5ux71fxVg4Pj-OAtiHhTWi1BCL2Sp_XE03QqLDU6suP8M9qoHcu6brigvQD9hno0CHD_CWX7PIRd2hOVt8FWMeIzMizYR-J7zBAElSYPSkGLdsAOz86vl0rVflGmpLM-J4/s1600/ClgsiJ9WQAARgqU.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="500" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrsu7MC1pRRT5ux71fxVg4Pj-OAtiHhTWi1BCL2Sp_XE03QqLDU6suP8M9qoHcu6brigvQD9hno0CHD_CWX7PIRd2hOVt8FWMeIzMizYR-J7zBAElSYPSkGLdsAOz86vl0rVflGmpLM-J4/s320/ClgsiJ9WQAARgqU.jpg" width="320" /></a>I mean, how many players stuttered their run up? You can officially stutter your run as long as you don't come to a complete stop, but players like Ramos and some others seemed to run in slow motion, almost nearly stopping in their tracks before shooting (as soon as they see the goal keeper dive one or the other way) and as a goalie you don't stand much of a chance then. It's 100% an advantage given to the shooter by allowing an unnatural run up. They are supposed to make an uninterrupted run to strike the ball. So in light of that, perhaps it is good that refs allow keepers to spring a bit forward, as long as one of their legs still touches the goal line? Seems the only way they can get the momentum to get to the corners, and those penalties with Schmeichel and Subasic encroaching were the most exciting. But sometimes they clearly already moved away from their line:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm0QWi8zkmn-48q2imLIPgEhoyDpAYWnpMrPiCBJUPeTOS7Ckong7VRPIR_dwroZMqxgu9zKrO0twqAKGkogNLpheHkPTgMuZsp8Q0_uhAJju9Lgq-P5lgC3a3iTwwM6btHAdDKfukNFr7/s1600/4DD681B900000578-5908581-image-a-3_1530522387195.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="634" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm0QWi8zkmn-48q2imLIPgEhoyDpAYWnpMrPiCBJUPeTOS7Ckong7VRPIR_dwroZMqxgu9zKrO0twqAKGkogNLpheHkPTgMuZsp8Q0_uhAJju9Lgq-P5lgC3a3iTwwM6btHAdDKfukNFr7/s640/4DD681B900000578-5908581-image-a-3_1530522387195.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I read that referees among each other have the unspoken rule that they will let the keeper get away with moving forward/off his line, once the standing foot is planted. If the keeper leaves his line before that foot is on the ground he`ll normally ask for it to be retaken. But the penalty taker always has the advantage overall and the biggest chance of the two. And Ramos was also allowed to taunt the next shooter while passing the ball after his penalty.. It is something of all times I suppose, Dudek also did it in that infamous Liverpool Champions League shoot out series (At some point he seems half way out his goal :D)<br />
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Luis Suarez plays for Uruguay and is a good striker. He was scouted a good 12 years ago by my own football club and played there for a year or two. I remember seeing this match with my dad in the stadium, and our team was behind 1-3 with 15 minutes to go. Then Suarez started to come onto steam. But Suarez is a little biter too.<br />
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I remember people made memes of it at the time, Suarez depicted as Jaws haha. He has been getting away with his fake dives and Latin style football antics for years and years, but now has to realize that with 40 cameras aimed at him from every possible angle and with extra video refs, he is making a complete clown of himself lately with his fake tumbles and dives.<br />
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Speaking of which, Brazilians Neymar also likes to exaggerate his tumbles, this one from the current World Cup is an Olympic level tumble:<br />
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More matches today, Brazil-Mexico and Belgium-Japan. Looking forward to them all.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Einsteins answer to the woman who wrote </span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">him with the question what the point of life is:</span></b><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span br=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwpRvuxU-AqYr0TmHn2XbVsSvP91HXBL6T0UPsExhWPeiUwyJE7AZ17t2p6gmz75ZHs4oK5m1LQif8vuoqe79yprFnclwL9uLr6fVSm7RWdQHVsHHyqJaniWQ0AwEfbzKfWKh3xhyZDFK/s1600/whats+the+point+in+livin%252C+answer+einstein.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="500" height="592" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwpRvuxU-AqYr0TmHn2XbVsSvP91HXBL6T0UPsExhWPeiUwyJE7AZ17t2p6gmz75ZHs4oK5m1LQif8vuoqe79yprFnclwL9uLr6fVSm7RWdQHVsHHyqJaniWQ0AwEfbzKfWKh3xhyZDFK/s640/whats+the+point+in+livin%252C+answer+einstein.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">May 31st 2018</span></b><br />
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Today I am disappointed with the whole world, minus 2 people.. So I took some extra antihistamine tablets and indulged in the kitchen; home made tiramisu with self made fruit jelly and self made 3 types of chocolate with almonds and cranberries. F*ck the world and everyone in it today and rosacea you are a tosser too.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOZbaDSQ8mwo5_zCNlApy9Wl74oUp7YTEci1ZsCtmAfSz_VR-wiA1GofD3P2k4p-Bs_ydXNCchm70tnzqsMvXqZaU7pWKCa9mXe4RDhEKE4_5QPxlQ3inN2ImNvBuYtn4_P4i8Ny3wH-4/s1600/9198394339_c51d028390_o.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="520" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOZbaDSQ8mwo5_zCNlApy9Wl74oUp7YTEci1ZsCtmAfSz_VR-wiA1GofD3P2k4p-Bs_ydXNCchm70tnzqsMvXqZaU7pWKCa9mXe4RDhEKE4_5QPxlQ3inN2ImNvBuYtn4_P4i8Ny3wH-4/s320/9198394339_c51d028390_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b>The notable English essayist, wit and clergyman, Sydney Smith (1771-1845) wrote in 1820, on learning that his good friend, Lady Georgiana Morpeth, was suffering from a bout of depression, advice for tackling it. His<a href="http://www.lettersofnote.com/2013/07/live-as-well-as-you-dare.html"> letter</a> lists 20 wise, practical 'prescriptions' — all of which are relevant today. He explains: 'Nobody has suffered more from low spirits than I have — so I feel for you.' </b></span></div>
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<i>Foston, Feb. 16th, 1820</i></div>
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<i>Dear Lady Georgiana,</i></div>
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<i>Nobody has suffered more from low spirits than I have done—so I feel for you.</i></div>
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<i>1st. Live as well as you dare.</i></div>
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<i>2nd. Go into the shower-bath with a small quantity of water at a temperature low enough to give you a slight sensation of cold, 75° or 80°.</i></div>
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<i>3rd. Amusing books.</i></div>
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<i>4th. Short views of human life—not further than dinner or tea.</i></div>
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<i>5th. Be as busy as you can.</i></div>
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<i>6th. See as much as you can of those friends who respect and like you.</i></div>
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<i>7th. And of those acquaintances who amuse you.</i></div>
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<i>8th. Make no secret of low spirits to your friends, but talk of them freely—they are always worse for dignified concealment.</i></div>
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<i>9th. Attend to the effects tea and coffee produce upon you.</i></div>
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<i>10th. Compare your lot with that of other people.</i></div>
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<i>11th. Don't expect too much from human life—a sorry business at the best.</i></div>
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<i>12th. Avoid poetry, dramatic representations (except comedy), music, serious novels, melancholy sentimental people, and every thing likely to excite feeling or emotion not ending in active benevolence.</i></div>
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<i>13th. Do good, and endeavour to please everybody of every degree.</i></div>
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<i>14th. Be as much as you can in the open air without fatigue.</i></div>
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<i>15th. Make the room where you commonly sit, gay and pleasant.</i></div>
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<i>16th. Struggle by little and little against idleness.</i></div>
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<i>17th. Don't be too severe upon yourself, or underrate yourself, but do yourself justice.</i></div>
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<i>18th. Keep good blazing fires.</i></div>
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<i>19th. Be firm and constant in the exercise of rational religion.</i></div>
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<i>20th. Believe me, dear Georgiana, your devoted servant, Sydney Smith</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp12tuuOHvME2Z1Qy1qYTEcsArS9hv32zwXLnf1KTEbhwYStya3gOEi6tv3Qx0ozRPu_ZYVCb2Q1L3Xm9MaJvsW_T7Q8xpzxt8lmvIQBWJfza4PrkosmbGbP2e_0t_u0_QK1uuBjtFRrmQ/s1600/75a839753efd3d61d02735b96b5e39c4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="270" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp12tuuOHvME2Z1Qy1qYTEcsArS9hv32zwXLnf1KTEbhwYStya3gOEi6tv3Qx0ozRPu_ZYVCb2Q1L3Xm9MaJvsW_T7Q8xpzxt8lmvIQBWJfza4PrkosmbGbP2e_0t_u0_QK1uuBjtFRrmQ/s320/75a839753efd3d61d02735b96b5e39c4.jpg" width="203" /></a><span><div style="text-align: left;"><span>How sensible to suggest Georgiana spends time with 'friends who respect and like you', reads 'amusing books' and avoids things (dreary plays, for example) likely to bring the spirits down. In other words, folks — ditch toxic people, depressing TV and keep off Twitter! When he advises 'short views of human life — no further than dinner or tea', he's tapping into that universal wisdom (from Buddhism to Mindfulness) which advocates living in the present. I like this: 'Don't expect too much of human life, a sorry business at the best' — because it's healthy to accept the shortcomings and disappointments we may experience, and be realistic about what we can hope for. At the same time, he advocates fresh air, 'good blazing fires' (NOT advisable for rosacea patients!), making your sitting room 'gay and pleasant', avoiding laziness, keeping busy. </span><span>Here are my favourites: 'Make no secret of low spirits to your friends, but talk of them freely — they are the worst for dignified concealment.' (Don't bottle it all up!) Then, for essential self-worth: 'Don't be too severe upon yourself, or underrate yourself, but do yourself justice.' He suggests comparing 'your lot with other people' —not to envy but because you may think yourself lucky in comparison (I keep creepy files with photos of some young people </span><span>who died and whoms cases were mentioned in the media.... for when I am </span><span>particularly somber and sorry for myself: see you stupid, you could be worse off, you are still existing at the moment, see that as an opportunity, you can be dead for eternity to come). And his first: 'Live as well as you dare.' I'll clink glasses with that, wise Rev. </span></div></span>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Music clip of the day</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">May 29th 2018</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKhXz-F6tYKmnu-scUPPpI9tGnsvHYR3c1Eh_jsi8aKbTesTtlJf09meuiuPPWptLSv_u7Qm8xnVH1MVNYAoR0PDxdUB9X-C3ek2aLwXaSyhKRC-McDu4abbqTHJAydN_nNxB7DmARcrhQ/s1600/36.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1130" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKhXz-F6tYKmnu-scUPPpI9tGnsvHYR3c1Eh_jsi8aKbTesTtlJf09meuiuPPWptLSv_u7Qm8xnVH1MVNYAoR0PDxdUB9X-C3ek2aLwXaSyhKRC-McDu4abbqTHJAydN_nNxB7DmARcrhQ/w282-h399/36.jpg" width="282" /></a>The ex girlfriend of my Romanian friend who took his life last year, has followed his path. I look through her <a href="https://dailytutliputli.com/2012/07/31/outside-ecsatic-mad-golden-love/"><b>photos</b></a>, many beautiful ones, and in every 'previous post' I click on, she becomes younger and moves further away from that fateful day. Her texts were amazing and poetic. She befriended me after his death and I bit my tongue and made fists of my hands, avoiding to bring up the things he told me about their relationship, which was already in the past then. I did not want her to hear about it, knowing in what mysterious ways the death can move in our minds. I did not want to create another phantom there. It was all water under the bridge anyway. Now I am inexplicably sad about the departure of someone I hardly knew. Only by association. Two extraordinary, different and talented people, glamorous beyond belief, so young, both gone, I am lingering in the sheer tragedy of it. And feeling the pain which she must have left behind, the pain of her loved ones, her fiance, parents.. I know first hand what the loss of a child and a partner does to people, and when it is a self chosen one, the pain must be even deeper. I stood myself on the edge of a building too, no that is not true, at the foot of the building. The high rising flat where my sister was supposed to go and live, if she had not died unexpectedly. The guilt almost too hard to bear, and that year my rosacea was all consuming, burning me up without respite. I could not even go to the shop without being stared at and asked if a doctor should be called, as people were fearing I had a heart problem, I was that red. Hope is the last one to flee, but fled it had. As Emily Brontë said it; hope was but a timid friend, watching how my fate would tend. She was cruel in her fear; through the bars one dreary day, I looked out to see her there, and she turned her face away! She would sing while I was weeping; if I listened, she would cease. Hope, whose whisper would have given balm to all my frenzied pain, stretched her wings, and soared to heaven, went, and ne’er returned again!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGI-EhuT9lavgpU69ZcjxwjTvJBetgKU0j95abYFWWZkYcVklAU6cJySDURtnq8OBn9awD0gMeq5VchHqxudGelyiXAYmo49zJjNKbhtrsvrGgkDKntS-OzymEAmy-G02SStTv4jawOyvb/s1600/33960757_1403840646383673_4044011472131457024_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="952" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGI-EhuT9lavgpU69ZcjxwjTvJBetgKU0j95abYFWWZkYcVklAU6cJySDURtnq8OBn9awD0gMeq5VchHqxudGelyiXAYmo49zJjNKbhtrsvrGgkDKntS-OzymEAmy-G02SStTv4jawOyvb/s200/33960757_1403840646383673_4044011472131457024_n.jpg" width="198" /></a>Luckily in my case there was still some hope. Medication later would make me in less pain, less flushed and gave me more hope. I also kept being reminded that life is not supposed to be happiness and fun and sparkles every day. That this is a social construct of these times. But that our grandparents would have been through both great wars, and were content just to have bread on the table. That I should radically screw down my expectations of life, yet keep hope for improvement. I am glad that I turned around that fateful day, afraid of the shadow of the flat. Life did become a lot better soon after. Although I still suffer from depressions. I don't find life all that great often, despite having a lot to be happy with. But sometimes it is also a state of mind, something inherited, something hard to shake off. I loath the ways in which my face still hurts, throbs, demands from me to live like a vampire, to be stuck at a desk with a fan so often. I am sad about not having children. I could have had them, or one, probably, but it hasn't been easy in the past. And I struggle too much with day to day life and don't want to pass this shit on. I was scolded once by a man in one of the rosacea facebook groups, for speaking out about this. He is an unpleasant figure anyway, but added insult to injury by calling me 'disgusting' for uttering this opinion. As if my own choices were supposed to brand and judge all the other parents with rosacea out there. Which is of course ludicrous. So many people, so many rosacea cases, so many different symptoms and severities and so many different attitudes and opinions. I struggle with it and doubt my own decision many times a week. I just can't be sure that if this flushing and burning problem gets any worse than this, that I won't look for that flat again. It seems self destructive therefore. Too big a risk, given that I've pretty much exhausted all treatment options as it stands now, and I am photosensitive and not a good candidate for IPL and laser. It can be hard to find purpose and meaning and satisfaction in life now, but I have my ways. Reading, writing, some friendships, family, my cats, connecting with nature, walks, gardening, avoiding social media where possible :) </div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Albert Camus:</span> </b><i>"Life continues, and some mornings, weary of the noise, discouraged by the prospect of the interminable work to keep after, sickened also by the madness of the world that leaps at you from the newspaper, finally convinced that I will not be equal to it and that I will disappoint everyone—all I want to do is sit down and wait for evening. This is what I feel like, and sometimes I yield to it.</i>"</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">You can read her blog <a href="https://dailytutliputli.com/">here</a>. It goes many many years back and is both beautiful and poetic. </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://cultartes.com/homage-to-raluca-rosu/">This</a> is a beautiful homage to her, written by a friend, an ode to people who dare to be different and to the fragility this brings</span> </b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">Some <a href="https://dailytutliputli.com/2012/08/15/girl-anachronism/">words</a> from Raluca: </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpFOAwZIdVIBnUyUdl_bVi0VIRVrbUKRg3o7-_9KbxiAMFAS58w3vcBxlchgHcTTpVoh3ncijvuSWqTp5v_EZh5pJ6gX8h6ZTzYdxs2ig8KkTBgTxGbi9NWxv8c04HPuCB-qcfp4XXQJI7/s1600/September+16%252C+2012+15.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="1000" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpFOAwZIdVIBnUyUdl_bVi0VIRVrbUKRg3o7-_9KbxiAMFAS58w3vcBxlchgHcTTpVoh3ncijvuSWqTp5v_EZh5pJ6gX8h6ZTzYdxs2ig8KkTBgTxGbi9NWxv8c04HPuCB-qcfp4XXQJI7/s320/September+16%252C+2012+15.jpg" width="320" /></a>"I’ve learned dysfunctionality from Amanda Palmer. I’m not sure it was running through my veins before our encounter. I was giving up pink cotton T-shirts and washed out jeans when she came yelling and showing off her long wide teeth, stained with some red lipstick from the night before. It was summer and I was waiting for a boy, we always wait for boys at the corners of our lives, and sleeping with the telephone next to my bed. His call would wake me up and I would listen to Amanda. Then somehow everything fell apart and I would trade love songs for bitter refrains. I liked Amanda from the start because her music would always tell a side story about worst case scenarios, like always keeping a suitcase half ready beneath all the beds you happen to sleep in. I’ve learned dysfunctionality from the best. There were so many people all around me, dancing and screaming and laughing and drinking and showing off their scars and crying their hearts out. There were other people watching them with contempt sparkling in their opaque eyes, like veils of prejudice and lack of understanding. They still stand now watching silently, they haven’t learnt to talk yet, they drink only on special occasions and start to quietly sob, thinking of all the madness they’ve missed.</div>
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Dysfunctionality is only temporary, one should bear this in mind.</div>
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Dysfunctionality is never a destination but an honest starting point which helps you build yourself.</div>
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Dysfunctionality is when Amanda starts writing a song, with a horrible hangover , her make-up running all over her face. You have to stick with her, then you have to watch her sit at the piano and start turning everything into gold.</div>
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There were days when I wanted to paint my face white, there were so many days when I used to wear black and white striped knee-socks. There were days I didn’t want to live inside myself anymore, there were days when I wanted to live inside her songs but she would always kick me out. She would sing and I would know I’ve got to get out and get back inside myself where there’s all that gold and sweat and love and madness waiting to be explored."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Sleeping next to a white rabbit </span>(<a href="https://dailytutliputli.com/2014/11/21/sleeping-next-to-the-white-rabbit/">source</a>)</b></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHdw6mKXAsv1F8T3881lkA9cBOMmF7-VFA2XzYJaEmXk7kx5DvMo2LJNe-Kvgofk-ma6vUtmbZwRmOrhp89pKT0ltYm6z-UiwITnOWuEs3_zJChxGNTwHyGypb-97JMLC9d7wdfKJkdQD/s1600/27+february+2015.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="878" data-original-width="1322" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHdw6mKXAsv1F8T3881lkA9cBOMmF7-VFA2XzYJaEmXk7kx5DvMo2LJNe-Kvgofk-ma6vUtmbZwRmOrhp89pKT0ltYm6z-UiwITnOWuEs3_zJChxGNTwHyGypb-97JMLC9d7wdfKJkdQD/s320/27+february+2015.jpg" width="320" /></a>Ambivalence crawled into the wall of the bathroom as I crammed my body when I was sleeping. He put a blanket between me and the wall, between me and the world. She covered me and sang while I was asleep. Between us and the world lies a thin wall through which we hear the tireless voices as close as we close our eyes, and as closely as we hold our arms. That's why we put a soft blanket between us and the world. We hear nothing, and the cold comes only through cracks that we leave open. I fell asleep on the cat, kept his white fingers on his chest and snoring, just to remember in his sleep that he was not just a child.<br />
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<i>I had to confess…I want people to see the insecurity, the constant gulping and all the rituals and my fear of shallowness. It’s not easy and I feel weak and numb and horrified when I sometimes peak and see the world of perfectfabricsperfectgirlsperfectpouts, but then I want to kneel , but then I just want to stare to wear to care. I want everybody to see right through me. I’ve stopped hiding behind my clothes for some time now. I want everybody to look and smile, I want them to shine like the sun reflecting on my skin and skirt and then…the dreadful afternoon, sitting on cold floors and not recognizing your own hands or the way your nails are always growing. I want people to see the pure terror that sometimes paralyzes me, the Frank Booth in each of us, the Frank Booth standing at each corner of our lives, waiting to be denied so he can burst into them with unfiltered rage. </i><i>And then I want them to look the other way, but still knowing Frank Booth is underneath it all and see all the robins flying up in the sky. </i><i>They’re be always eating bugs, that’s for sure.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz25gfIGNpopcC3jA4GDcKr0clLSa-oa0Is0mcIjHG21Rpe_7CxZBGdPvGRS9CWq7j_OMKn-93ZbBCcwYSBzCQBtvCx-4CPJiP9IGHYpQ6U2CRje5d-c3PLosMwHwp-JIQskN4TrV7E6jk/s1600/August+5%252C+2012+9.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz25gfIGNpopcC3jA4GDcKr0clLSa-oa0Is0mcIjHG21Rpe_7CxZBGdPvGRS9CWq7j_OMKn-93ZbBCcwYSBzCQBtvCx-4CPJiP9IGHYpQ6U2CRje5d-c3PLosMwHwp-JIQskN4TrV7E6jk/s320/August+5%252C+2012+9.jpg" width="320" /></a><i>—Sandy: I had a dream. In the dream, there was our world and the world was dark because there weren’t any robins, and the robins represented love. And for the longest time, there was just this darkness. And all of a sudden, thousands of robins were set free, and they flew down and brought this Blinding Light of Love. And it seemed like that love would be the only thing that would make any difference. And it did. So I guess it means there is trouble ’til the robins come.</i></div>
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<i>—Jeffrey: You’re a neat girl. </i><i>[…]</i></div>
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<i>—Sandy: Look. (She points toward the robin, as Jeffrey joins Aunt Barbara and Sandy.)</i></div>
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<i>—Jeffrey: Yeah, I saw him outside. (smiling to Sandy) Maybe the robins are here.</i></div>
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<i>—Aunt Barbara: I don’t see how they could do that. I could never eat a bug. (Ironically, she places a piece of beef into her mouth)</i></div>
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<i>—Sandy (looking at Jeffrey and smiling): It’s a strange world, isn’t it? (Jeffrey nods in agreement.)</i></div>
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<i>‘’The little robin (symbol of love and harmony here) eats a disgusting bug (a symbol of evil at the beginning of the film). No matter on which level of reality it is, what Sandy might have learnt about the world is that beauty and ugliness do not necessarily exclude each other.’’</i></div>
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<i>(movie blue velvet) </i>(<a href="https://dailytutliputli.com/2012/08/05/in-dreams/">Source)</a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I have been writing as a penpal to a guy in prison in the US since 2010 and he wrote about this topic</b></span>:<br />
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<i><span>"Depression is a cold bitch. This may sound callous but I hope she weighted the pros and cons of her decision, and acted completely out of her free will. You must understand; I have been in prison for some time, and I'm not all that against suicide. I actually think about it at times, but my balance sheet is still skewed towards life. If I ever have more reasons to step out then I guess I may do it as well, and that has nothing to do with depression for me. Why every suicide is linked to depression I don't understand, because sometimes suicides are based on cold, calculating facts and personal choices."</span></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">May 24th 2018</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXxfbjzvBYkDSsZj7uxfb8I3g_cHz8RBc3QHp5Mv4Kv8Dss74PQmBkUafRcxfRkqwNAJ5pCRXhSbfqNQCTFY16XNCcyq7S7YQkrITZgTtP3O-ukn1dn6vbTLI7OecN6LdK5u8MXtRxp4a/s1600/XXXDSC06104.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="205" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXxfbjzvBYkDSsZj7uxfb8I3g_cHz8RBc3QHp5Mv4Kv8Dss74PQmBkUafRcxfRkqwNAJ5pCRXhSbfqNQCTFY16XNCcyq7S7YQkrITZgTtP3O-ukn1dn6vbTLI7OecN6LdK5u8MXtRxp4a/s320/XXXDSC06104.jpg" width="148" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVWpoTGzqx3p5ElO-LrZ7HWS6xiehN3i8X3cHAEKJuoW46Tohl0OxlFNPkpAiaeUMW99JhqYSMjTUeQyAVg5d0hhCEnCBPnfSkZu1YaUOCoFDXRPOqmQ_cQ16O5nqPRrykf3G1HvQgBi6X/s1600/ZDSC06586.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1337" data-original-width="898" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVWpoTGzqx3p5ElO-LrZ7HWS6xiehN3i8X3cHAEKJuoW46Tohl0OxlFNPkpAiaeUMW99JhqYSMjTUeQyAVg5d0hhCEnCBPnfSkZu1YaUOCoFDXRPOqmQ_cQ16O5nqPRrykf3G1HvQgBi6X/w147-h223/ZDSC06586.jpg" width="147" /></a>I've had a full week of suffering a killer flu. I can't remember feeling this sick before from the flu. Such a high fever and all round misery, throat and chest full of mucus, head full, nausea, headaches, sore stomach. There was little point going to the doctor as they always throw antibiotics at you and meds to lower fever, and I didn't want those. Fever serves a function and antibiotics give me so many side effects, and they seem fairly pointless in treating a viral infection.. Unless there is a bacterial secondary infection, which I didn't count on with me. Just a good old case of flu, that started with a sore throat, stuffed nose and then moving its way further inwards. The problem was that I had a temperature of around 39,5 degrees Celsius (103 Fahrenheit) and this made my face feel so scorching hot and flushed. I tried to cool myself with fans and light clothing, drinking iced water and laying low. I picked the flu up from public transport I think, and more precisely: from flying. Wouldn't be the first time I got a little delayed present from my plane trip. Dealing with airport bullshit really seems one of the epitomes of the Byzantine nature of human endeavor anyway. Nowhere else does it seem more blatant that people feel the unshakable compulsion to mess with other people. Express lanes for the VIPs. Lounges reserved solely for business- or first-class passengers. Arbitrary fees and penalties. Early priority VIP boarding. Expedited security. For an industry that routinely needs bailing out, they sure do make life as difficult as possible for the vast majority of their customers. It is not like you can take a steamship instead these days. A captive customer base, yet the abuse! The people standing in the VIP lanes often have this look of disdain on their faces when looking around them, as if they want to pry out chav people accidentally ending up in the wrong lane with them. Think I will stick to the train from now on. We had remembrance day on the 4th of May. I was in a tapas restaurant with my sister and mother that evening and it was packed and very noisy. At a quarter to 8pm the waiters went past every table to ask for 2 minutes silence at 8 o'clock, as is custom on that day, and literally the music went out and all went entirely quiet at 8 o'clock. Even pizza delivery scooter boys in the streets stopped their scooters and stepped off them for 2 minutes. Same for those on bikes. The next day is Liberation day in Holland with lots of free music festivals, and one of the last Canadian militarists still alive who helped free the country was invited and driven down the streets in Amsterdam I think it was, with the streets full of people waving at him. The old man seemed to have a very good time, I do like those honorings. Remember a documentary about how many former Gulf war soldiers came back as a wreck, mentally or physically, and were left to live on the streets or kill themselves back in the USA :( Bet the same happened with generations coming back from other wars, or a small group of them at least. The deer Hunter is still a mighty good movie on this topic. You can say much about a civilization by the way they treat their war veterans.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBktyw-uTucNhR22__soVRwmNx6tkjYHRQw61tqjn7BUKYcyhpMuhaFLR0sycchr-ZnRa8zeaA8X-BEwOWqX4vz806mxgUXXV0SlpGcwq8qSaMRdWTrydvWJK7f852HpEwN4zMdz1kDYVx/s1600/32621037_10212267032655895_5282118778266583040_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBktyw-uTucNhR22__soVRwmNx6tkjYHRQw61tqjn7BUKYcyhpMuhaFLR0sycchr-ZnRa8zeaA8X-BEwOWqX4vz806mxgUXXV0SlpGcwq8qSaMRdWTrydvWJK7f852HpEwN4zMdz1kDYVx/s320/32621037_10212267032655895_5282118778266583040_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>But the veterans also tend to return to a world they no longer feel at home in. Not just because they got accustomed to a warzone, but also because western societies are quickly losing their community feel. We've gone from communities living together, to becoming customers; the damage caused by globalization. And by a generation marked by corruption, cynicism, greed, selfishness, cheating, lying, dumb and regressive values, violence, and all the rest. All that is reflected in the current pop culture, and worse, in todays younger peoples 'group units'. You always had some of this, it can be argued…. but then, people also had a soul. I really do see the positives of modern living as well; the advancements of the internet knowledge, of health care, of certain technology, but at the same time... it is strange to no longer feel like the Youth generation anymore myself. I can get so gloomy over certain news items or future predictions, the corporate greed, the Circle direction we're in, the plastic soup in the oceans, the wildlife that is going extinct, the annoying social media life and trends, that I don't like where this future is heading. I know that all generations bitched about the younger ones, but in these times the changes that used to take place in a lifetime, now take place over a decade or less. It is all going very fast, even seeing series from the mid 2000's back (I love The Amazing Race for instance and am watching backwards, so am in 2004 now), seems like a different world. No cell phones for most people, the internet was still something you had to go out of your way for to find in the streets. The pace of everything seemed different, the visual landscape was different. This video for instance, a real gem. I read that the sound was later added and it isn't authentic to the recordings unfortunately. I was impressed at how accurately ambient noise was matched to some of the streets. However, one commonly hears the reverberation in such detail at night...when traffic is not so congested. Still a commendable accomplishment. They also slowed the pace of the recording down which was great I thought; normally these early 20th recordings go unnaturally fast and almost become cinematic; in this video the pace has been reduced to a natural pace and it makes watching it almost like time traveling and being there at that time. Strange feeling almost, knowing that pretty much every single one of the people in this video are dead (and the animals too!). I love how they all dressed up smartly simply for going out the door. These days I see people walking in the supermarkets wearing their night gowns or pajamas's, its so rough'<br />
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While flat out in bed, I did have time to watch endless nonsense online. For instance, I saw this American cooking queen on youtube. First it was shocking: how can someone so obese make a 10.000 calories peanut butter pie?? (love the accent, "peanah buddeh pah"). How come she makes pizza's with so much permezan cheese ("pamuhsjan") that it could give an instant heart attack? But for all the evil comments below her videos, there are also some sweet and heart warming ones. There is something really simple and sweet about this woman Sarah. She seems to prefer to live whatever many years she will be given, eating peanah buddeh pah every day, and enjoy her cooking and eating. She makes all sorts of recipes that seem to me (but I might be wrong) real American recipes. Macaroni and cheese</div>
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for instance, you don't get that over here in Europe. I almost expect her to also pick up a snickers bar and deep fry it (like the Scottish do), put chicken sauce on it and then sprinkle it with smarties and sugar ice coating. Sarah seems so genuine and kind however, maybe that’s why she’s a cooking star. People smell fakeness from a mile away. Then I saw this granny who cooks like they did in the depression era. She is adorable. What a star. Unfortunately she died in the mean time I read, but she reminds me of my own gran who was marvelous too. Her post-war recipes remind me of what my gran used to cook. Here people used whatever grows locally, which are also lots of potatoes and unions and tomatoes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZRmSEt3hQ9j2gSeRt8FftSftaF5DX0cK5YBS7yHO8irXutq6aZSYLbTg97LTcpyWtUrcOcykP1hj29bSNRBmZ0BC0br9uiI22yKyCihuD_Wm1STfi1gpYVKnVoyYiyCqys9GXS8IBcAp/s1600/images.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZRmSEt3hQ9j2gSeRt8FftSftaF5DX0cK5YBS7yHO8irXutq6aZSYLbTg97LTcpyWtUrcOcykP1hj29bSNRBmZ0BC0br9uiI22yKyCihuD_Wm1STfi1gpYVKnVoyYiyCqys9GXS8IBcAp/w297-h198/images.jpg" width="297" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">I also watched the movie "The Lodgers"</span></b>, after a tip off. Am not a very weathered horror movie watcher, but I do love everything spooky, eerie and Gothic, so this movie seemed to fit the bill. It got a suspiciously lousy rating of 5.2 on IMDB, which usually means the movie was made in someone's garage. Or with cameras that come from someone's garage. Or just movies with Kirk Cameron. But based on this movie, the IMDB rating turns out to mean nothing. Because it was a perfectly well made movie. Very good acting, charismatic and convincing actors, gorgeous cinematography that really captures the eerie period piece feeling. The story takes place in Ireland, around what I suspect the 1920's. They shot the movie in an actual existing and supposedly haunted house in Ireland; Loftus hall, dating all the way back to 1666. The details were correct, it all looked the part, which meant no unnecessary distraction from the main story. And no unwanted complaining and criticizing from me while watching it. I was drawn into the story without being distracted by bad casting, bad scripts, dialogue, acting, sets etc. The story is about these young twins who's parents have passed and left them their estate. But… they have "rules" they have to live by, and these rules are imposed by the things that dwell in their basement. The action was very slow to come by, only started creeping in toward the end. But this wasn't annoying or boring. It followed a nice calm pace. The romantic side story actually felt like an authentic Irish love story, instead of what you'd normally see in today's Hollywood flicks.<br />
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Then it was another tip off, "Better Watch Out". A lovely Christmas movie about an arrogant 12 year old kid, his babysitter, and his best friend. Throughout the movie, from start to finish, all I could think of was the myriad of ways I would like to kill the 12 year old kid. It takes the innocent and charming "Home Alone" movies, and says "Welcome to the 21st century, guys! This is how we do Home Alone now!". I'll say no more, in case you ever do watch it….<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbBM3cYHEO7ALCkCY5qJR_g6cwmtGnbMZEEXOh0QNG4ACgOGc9prBKBNLPPQJGdP0kPlSJ_sI1NnXT-x91YenQYqiD0zbpCRtYIXUqICY8KlEE-xdCnLEhAm2Ly9uS8P2XJntOF_oddFry/s1600/28783234_1976047085741847_4531732801325629440_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="500" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbBM3cYHEO7ALCkCY5qJR_g6cwmtGnbMZEEXOh0QNG4ACgOGc9prBKBNLPPQJGdP0kPlSJ_sI1NnXT-x91YenQYqiD0zbpCRtYIXUqICY8KlEE-xdCnLEhAm2Ly9uS8P2XJntOF_oddFry/s320/28783234_1976047085741847_4531732801325629440_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">I also read some <a href="https://www.livescience.com/2117-time-slow-emergencies.html " target="_blank">article</a> on a phenomenon where under stress, time can appear to slow down in the brain.</span></b><br />I had this happen to me a few years ago actually, when on icy winter roads my car went in a spin on a round about, at high speed, and another car came up ahead of me and was about to crash into me. As soon as I started spinning and was stressed, everything seemed to suddenly happen in slow motion; everything seemed stretched out at least ten times as slow. Seemed to me a trick from the mind to give someone the time to think and act, to get the car under control again and get out of the way. It felt like it took me 15 seconds to get that done, when in fact it were mere seconds. I feel it is a trick of the brain, spiked by stress and actual fear, to increase performance skill and survival rate perhaps? It didn't feel to me as if I could just think faster, and that therefore time seemed to slow down. Thought raced but everything visually around me looked like something out of the Matrix, slowing. I could later never reproduce the same feeling in a planned event, like jumping out of a plane or going on scary roller coasters. <a href="http://brainblogger.com/2014/10/09/brain-trickery-seeing-in-slow-motion/">http://brainblogger.com/2014/10/09/brain-trickery-seeing-in-slow-motion/</a> The time slowing down event is actually about perception and how the body under stress performs optimally, allowing it to process more information, absorb more of the world in order to increase the chances of survival. For instance, humans can perceive the world at 60 Herz whereas flies see it at 250. To the fly, we are moving in slow motion. That is why when someone senses an extreme threat, that extra adrenal juice makes them momentarily superhuman, to an extent. So time seems slower. It's linked to metabolic rate. (and that is also why you can only slap a fly to death if you do it in slow motion; at normal speed THEY see it coming in slow motion, but in extra extra slow speed, they can hardly see it coming).</div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Music clip of the day</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: 38px;">April 28th 2018</span></b> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ16MnET10APU5oN_zp14LdNTvsXPh-zH-sjJAxvCTgkukwu_fmBfGf4aeFyoAMM952CJG_9eRwOi1FXbTVHYlEsovE3M6Hs8UHuzJoM2TxAH8BkJ29cD7GHHoMDswVxitI8YH8pnxhlqr/s1600/xIMG_20180417_225203.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ16MnET10APU5oN_zp14LdNTvsXPh-zH-sjJAxvCTgkukwu_fmBfGf4aeFyoAMM952CJG_9eRwOi1FXbTVHYlEsovE3M6Hs8UHuzJoM2TxAH8BkJ29cD7GHHoMDswVxitI8YH8pnxhlqr/s400/xIMG_20180417_225203.jpg" width="400" /></a>I had a really good skin week. Woke up pale, stayed pale most of the day, very little flushing although I still use the ventilator to keep it that way. Things that have changed lately and that 'might' explain the good spell; it has been warmer and sunny. I do very badly in cold weather for some reason. I have been sunbathing every afternoon (around noon) for about 20 minutes a day, face covered up with a big hat and keeping my head in the shade also. Have already a tan by now and no doubt made some vitamin D from the sun rays (I hope so at least, am very deficient in Vit D, testing my levels twice a year for some years now). I don't use sunscreen because it makes my skin react and also because my immunologist advises me to not use any, as my skin type (except from wretched annoying face) tans and doesn't develop sunburn. And because I am so low in vit. D, sunscreen would only block some of the UV rays. So that has been happening this week. The temperatures are also around 22 degrees outside (72 Fahrenheit) and indoors a few degrees cooler, so there are no very cold temperatures setting me off and also no big differences in temperature indoors and outdoors (another flushing trigger for me). Then I also changed some of my medication. I have been taking clonidine, propranolol, mirtazapine and Xyzal since 2006 for my flushing problem. I used to take 10 mg Xyzal every day. Now I upped that to 20 mg a day, as I had hives on my face. The hives are gone now and my flushing and redness are down a bit more than usual, so perhaps the high Xyzal dose has something to do with it. And last, I have been eating realllly clean... I know that not everyone with rosacea or facial flushing issues had food triggers. Some do, some don't. I react very much to diet though. And all week I have been eating simple foods:<br />
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-brown rice spaghetti<br />
-sweet potatoes<br />
-lots of stir fried vegetables; carrots, courgettes (zuchini), broccoli, yellow capsicum, green olives<br />
-apples and pears<br />
-100% all fruit cherry jam<br />
-(organic) minced beef every day<br />
-sometimes goats cheese<br />
-other meats<br />
-home made chocolate milk; rice milk + pure cacao powder + little xylitol for sugar + whipped cream<br />
-pastries made from brown rice flour</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/bSJB8Ju3063qU/giphy.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/bSJB8Ju3063qU/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a>It's not very varied but my skin has been so so so calm. I realize it mostly today, after munching down a whole package of rice crackers with milk chocolate topping and then some more chocolate. I am flushed and red and burning again this afternoon, blehh... Will have to be stern with myself and stick to the healthier diet and simply not buy anything sugary or chocolately. Diet isn't the whole story here because in winter I can be horrendously bad with constant burning and flushing, despite eating such a 'healthy' diet, and still flare, so the warmer temperatures must be related too, but after eating those 6 chocolate rice crackers, the weather stayed the same as it was all week, yet my face is playing up again, so in my case diet does play a role... Unfortunately my chin is still flushing at times and burning... I never had that before I tried out the ivermectin gel on my chin last fall. I wished I never did that, or at least tested in on a small patch of skin, not all over my entire chin.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: 38px;">April 22nd 2018</span></b> </span></div>
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Today I miss my old clubbing and concert going days. Listening to this excellent Röyksopp track on repeat:</div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;">April 14th 2018</span></b></div>
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My chin is still red, but I feel there are slowly but surely more white patches of skin appearing. I have put my ketoconazole cream in cetomacrogol on one side of it (my pharmacist prepares it himself, without preservative in the cream) and some antibiotic cream (bactroban) on the other side and there seems to be a little bit of improvement now. But every time I get a big face flush or get more red on my cheeks, my chin now gets more red again and even flushed too. Am still unhappy with that. But I hope that with time, and by leaving my chin alone now mostly (no make-up or zinc oxide cream on it, no forceful rubbing it with water and coton pads), it might still recover and get more pale again, like it used to be. I also notice that after using fluoride toothpaste, my chin flares deep red right away :( I switched to a non-fluoride one from squiggle, and my chin flushes less and the redness diminishes. But then after some days I get restless, out of fear of getting cavities without fluoride, and boom, chin is red and flushed literally within 10 minutes of using the fluoride toothpaste.. I read <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?t=2907">this forum post </a>about the same thing, also bright red chin, interesting read. The scratch under my eye is also healing and although there is still a very thin and faint scab on it, and a slightly more pink patch under it as well, I don't even notice it anymore except for when I look for it when looking in the mirror. Will post a picture below. Over the Easter holidays I had a big skin flare unfortunately, with a lot of flushing and burning (and chin flarings too). Very untimely, I also had family stay over in that period, and not just for a few nights but for almost two weeks... Aiiii.. I'm not the most social person to begin with, but when my face is so painful I really want to see nobody except maybe one or two people I love. Not family I have to entertain and create a comfortable stay for. Because comfort for me during a flare is all windows open and staying cool and occupied with work. Whereas everyone else is easily cold and wants the woodfire on (instant flush for me). So I stayed upstairs in the bedroom a lot, making a make shift desk to work on. It gets claustrophobic over time and 2 weeks are awfully long then. Did join dinners/lunches, meals and sit togethers but got very flushed unfortunately after a while and without the fan on.. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPNDqSH2Mqh06l94Bn6j_H_HFApYHhd-CgJd_tFrh0kANICLvcXnEzfi5M3f7EG92foae9AuoDck2dkojz5jbZ3_h1PGEB7mhqOqqp6Wv4QCSFktvqIZkKW8Qpg_pzpsvqRd5dhxdTW2G/s1600/2854f9b081257a8891cf9915784cbc44.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPNDqSH2Mqh06l94Bn6j_H_HFApYHhd-CgJd_tFrh0kANICLvcXnEzfi5M3f7EG92foae9AuoDck2dkojz5jbZ3_h1PGEB7mhqOqqp6Wv4QCSFktvqIZkKW8Qpg_pzpsvqRd5dhxdTW2G/s320/2854f9b081257a8891cf9915784cbc44.jpg" width="255" /></a>I also had to travel during this period and when I do, I bring a freezing bag along with frozen gel packs and a bottle of cold/frozen water. I have a medical letter from my doctor, explaining to airport security staff that I have a skin condition and need to bring ice packs and ice to keep my skin cool. So far I managed to bring my packs and ice on board in the plane this way, and it is ideal for waiting in hot crowded airport spaces. Anyway, this time, despite it not being a school holiday yet, it was packed at the airport. I'm usually very messy, chaotic and late with everything, so I had a false sense of relaxation when arriving very much on time at the airport, after some hours in the train. So I bought a drink and sat down to read a paper and bought some things and all that stuff, then leisured to the security checks... only to see a SEA of people waiting! 😲 My heart missed a beat, as by now I had only about 25 minutes left before the plane boarding would start. And I had bought extra expensive priority boarding at the gate, to not have to stand and burn up any longer than strictly necessary in the hot airport. Last time I went there it was near empty and I could walk to the gate within 5 minutes... This was going to take an hour, judging by the 2 scanning machines that were opened. I asked a security person working there if I could take a fast lane, but was told they are for paying VIP airport members only, so alas.... She advised me to ask every single person in line if I could pass due to the risk of missing my plane otherwise. I was red faced by now and burning, so knew that was never going to happen. I want to disappear when on fire, not get attention like that. So when she turned away again I did a ninja/Jason Bourne-like maneuver and ducked under the separation line, coming out right near the scanning machines. Oops.. Nobody hissed at me but I also didn't look anyone in the eye. Only 2 people looked at me and I let them go first and waited for my turn after them, which meant dealing with 5 people in front of me instead of 100. Goddd I hate it when other people do this, but I would have missed my flight otherwise... I reckoned I'd better make it look like the staff member just told me I could do this, and not look around me, and just act as if this was the normal procedure. A rat move. If it were Germany (yes as a Dutch person there is a bit of a rivalty with Germany), I would have been caught, reported, cataloged, strip searched, processed, and possibly incarcerated in under five minutes. (If not shot). And this process would be accompanied by disapproving head nodding, ‘tsk tsk tsk’ and comments like ‘nicht Deutsch... keine überfrau!’.. (Jokes jokes, no need for anyone to get offended). And even now I arrived at the gate 2 minutes before boarding started, as they worked slower than a speeding microorganism at the scanners. Phew! The waiting terminal was packed with people too and the plane was entirely full too. Still no idea why half the country was on an exodus that day.</div>
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I also was super lucky; I found out at home that I had lost my external hard disk at the airport:1 terrabite, fully loaded with work, pictures, documents and tv series. Being sloppy by nature I had only made a copy of it a year ago... So everything from the past year would be lost if I didn't find it back. I got flushed and super red just from realizing it was gone and really not somewhere in my bags. I went through everything but it wasn't there. When I was at the airport, I had lost the computer battery charger from my bag while rushing to the gate (late again) from the parking lot. I hadn't closed the bottom of my trolley luggage thing properly, it turned out. I went back at the time to see if I had lost anything else, but I couldn't see anything and it was too late to go all the way back to the car (I know there is a pattern here of rushing for controls and boarding...). I reckoned I would have heard something fall on the ground otherwise, so that was that. But now it turned out that the most important thing of the whole trolley was gone. I called the airport and the parking lot and tried to explain what had happened, but nobody had found or handed in a 'disco duro'. I was frantic. I decided to send them an email too, with pictures of the disco duro, and of my car, and a screenshot from google street view of where exactly my car was parked, red arrows and all in photoshop. I didn't hear back all weekend from them so assumed the worst. Then on Monday morning, an email came in that a cleaner had found the hard disk and brought it to the parking lot administration. I could pick it up or they could send it to my house! Fantastic!! I made sure the cleaners and the parking lot staff received a few packages of Dutch stroopwafels, amazing how some people still make the effort to hand a hard disk in, instead of erasing all that is on it and using it themselves. (Am making a back up as we speak).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRQKntneDMPaKTjEVKhrvPHP7bvmyfDtnE1SFqcvNxvZ4X83IPvQjTYSX3JtW6ZjEkGiZQL0av5r5oH39qyLIgdILjTHsQSPOkOXQZD7c4gdsjn5yV5QWRcEEtmBNlvHwPZJ9-otxkqrT/s1600/in-solitary-headlie-image--990x674.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="990" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRQKntneDMPaKTjEVKhrvPHP7bvmyfDtnE1SFqcvNxvZ4X83IPvQjTYSX3JtW6ZjEkGiZQL0av5r5oH39qyLIgdILjTHsQSPOkOXQZD7c4gdsjn5yV5QWRcEEtmBNlvHwPZJ9-otxkqrT/s320/in-solitary-headlie-image--990x674.jpg" width="320" /></a>I also watched a very interesting English documentary, which interested me more than normal. Because it had to do with something I have to undergo myself regularly, and probably goes for everyone with rosacea, to some degree. A group of youngsters (mostly in their twenties) had to sit in isolation for 5 days, as a social experiment for which they themselves had signed up. 5 days in isolation, how hard could this be? I have had to grow so accustomed to living isolated lives during skin flares that it makes me forget that this is not always easy for other (healthy) people. The participants could bring 3 items of choice (no computers or phones allowed and no electronica either so no music). All these fruitcakes brought a letter from a loved one or a photo and hand cream and useless items like that. Lip balsam. No one brought anything that would keep them occupied, like a massive thick biography to read or something, or pen and paper to write their memoirs or first book or whatever. This was destined to go very wrong..</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkEwvC2phbfXCxfFZIM11dO1j4ly8DD0SOFl8W5W1XGhOFTvlhw6wSJTqNFoBPULnLJ5iIepKJpEmp0e8QLd1UdthnB244UieuE6pGLuLzNoVqo7H9LVE2lJMQjPIP8ApyMk4H04UkA5Ar/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkEwvC2phbfXCxfFZIM11dO1j4ly8DD0SOFl8W5W1XGhOFTvlhw6wSJTqNFoBPULnLJ5iIepKJpEmp0e8QLd1UdthnB244UieuE6pGLuLzNoVqo7H9LVE2lJMQjPIP8ApyMk4H04UkA5Ar/s320/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
One young mother cracked within FOUR hours (of a 5 day experiment). She came in all bubbly and thinking it would be a blast. All giddy and excited. The psychologist on board mentioned right away that she had worries about this candidate, as she seemed to lack realistic expectations of such an experiment, And low and behold; within hours of entering the experiment, she already didn't know what to do with herself; crying, pacing around. She had chosen a letter from her husband to take along (unopened.. NOT to be opened in the hotel before the start of the experiment, and assuming in its heading that she would probably be around day 3 before she got it so rough that she had to open the comfort letter -> instead she opened it after 3 hours). She had also taken playdoh clay with her and something else, a cream or something. She got restless pretty much within 5 minutes of the door closing and silence surrounding her. Then started to pace, then wrote a big motivational sentence on her board (YOU CAN DO THIS), then sat and panic crawled up on her face. This woman in her late 20's, a mother of a 10 year old, couldn't push herself to have the discipline to sit through the first waves of dislike. She said she had joined because she wanted her partner and son to be proud of her for something. To prove something. But she "just didn't like it" in there.. And didn't see the point of staying in a place she didn't like. Which was a bit surprising, given that hundreds of people had signed up for this experiment and she was one of the chosen ones, so you'd think she had mentally prepared herself for the possibility that an empty room without a window or a clock or any distraction, would perhaps not be the type of place that she would like. Because that was not the purpose of the whole undertaking. It was for her to let go of distractions and of outside stimuli and to come to herself. To open rooms in her mind that are usually left closed, as she simply was too busy with every day life and interaction with other people. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNLBLmXS3ZW8Z0VhJmyM4hXBEkyJhHrhq1yP2y3Le-YYYJzj7jGo8lhr17dT-kCE4A0u8junpktJ7elgk6jJuZKGD-QnAb53nU93CBINT4RviJh2-uTG-GxtZjN-tyhBbinuM3BuF5qiJ/s1600/InSolitary_Ep1_03.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNLBLmXS3ZW8Z0VhJmyM4hXBEkyJhHrhq1yP2y3Le-YYYJzj7jGo8lhr17dT-kCE4A0u8junpktJ7elgk6jJuZKGD-QnAb53nU93CBINT4RviJh2-uTG-GxtZjN-tyhBbinuM3BuF5qiJ/s320/InSolitary_Ep1_03.jpg" width="320" /></a>So she pushed the emergency button and was taken out and sent home. Had to call her surprised husband that she was already leaving (he sounded like he had planned for a 5 day vacation and beyond surprised with that early phone call). It was surprising that she hated her own company so much (he own statement), and felt so lost without confirmation and attention from others, that she couldn't be alone for a single day. Maybe I have become too anti-social over the years though.. Maybe having this flushing condition and a visibly red and painful face has made me too comfortable with a quiet life and a circle of about 10 people I can tolerate to be with no matter how my health flares. It was confrontational to watch. Are they abnormal in their struggle to be alone? Or am I abnormal for being too comfortable with it? Another young man who joined, a real extrovert, always busy vlogging and being with his girlfriend and mum, literally always checking his phone he said, was also having a very tough time in there right off the bat, but especially after 3 days. He had chosen a stack of cards to bring along, and a photo of his girlfriend and a pack of Yorkshire tea bags (essentials really). Playing cards with himself helped him stay occupied for exactly 3 hours, then he got bored. He started talking to the moving camera soon after, when he got anxious about being alone, pretending that it was his friend. The psychologist on board said that he needed to be seen and validated all the time in his normal life, and that this was his coping strategy in there, being isolated. Then to make his ordeal harder the producers stopped the camera from moving and that freaked him out and pushed him in depression mode. He had imagined that the moving camera was a person who he interacted with. They pushed him to that point, so that he couldn't distract himself anymore and had to deal with his inner feelings and struggles instead. This young man goes to the gym 5 times a week but he was so down and out from the isolation that he couldn't get motivated to do anything in there. Just sit in bed with a blanket around himself. The psychologist involved said his brain went into survival mode as he suffered so much from being alone with himself, and that extroverts need outside stimuli to get going with things.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo8D-LSvQGPTPlkOg4DvHpch1F_I4X8lK8PXKvl6Eg8W1gtWaApq8ydYGC2g5nC81CVS1W8mvnRwAtHrzob6vlCBMupjWBdsPa3-Tyt-kqZkeXpZBCI5hYTBIWtztQB2LWaTG6xVEg0Jck/s1600/InSolitary_Ep1_23.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo8D-LSvQGPTPlkOg4DvHpch1F_I4X8lK8PXKvl6Eg8W1gtWaApq8ydYGC2g5nC81CVS1W8mvnRwAtHrzob6vlCBMupjWBdsPa3-Tyt-kqZkeXpZBCI5hYTBIWtztQB2LWaTG6xVEg0Jck/s320/InSolitary_Ep1_23.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uA0t7V1cadRdmjCFF2wZkMGg-FrFV6W0YcpUr1ZoHL3vXfHhGvhKib_yvJBdqYeTrEIT9C54mVZn0c1EYgihF0XlCKLQ6cN3m49L2zSPzHHPtzNT27Pe2Mc0plw1BTHHpdWIEQ5o1whf/s1600/640x360.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uA0t7V1cadRdmjCFF2wZkMGg-FrFV6W0YcpUr1ZoHL3vXfHhGvhKib_yvJBdqYeTrEIT9C54mVZn0c1EYgihF0XlCKLQ6cN3m49L2zSPzHHPtzNT27Pe2Mc0plw1BTHHpdWIEQ5o1whf/s320/640x360.jpg" width="320" /></a>I couldn't help but shout out loud at this point, why everyone had felt the need to bring in a letter or photo? Why not a pencil for drawing and a notepad. Painting equipment? Anything that helps you fill up the time and get into your own zone. The presenter of the program went in isolation too, solitary confinement and he only made it for 23 hours. He went slowly crazy, he said; had to push the button to get out of there. Almost a little bit "pathetic" given that he knew all about the program set up and was involved in the making of it. You'd think he'd know what to do and bring to sit it out. The only two who kept doing relatively well were two women who are natural introverts and more comfortable with being alone. One did a lot better than the other actually but they stuck it out at least. One painted in there and did physical exercises, the other didn't bring anything worthwhile in terms of occupational therapy (lip balsam, a heart shaped stone and a pillow from herself) and went slowly mad, literally mad. Pacing around, grimacing, seeing monsters in the water drops in the sink, huddling under her blankets, making strange growling noises, first physically getting sick and vomiting for hours. She had a son and wasn't used to being all on her own with her inner void, she said. The TV makers almost took her out of the experiment, because she looked to go into psychosis, but she did finish the experiment... Just. The artist girl had had a dramatic event in her life not long ago, when the man she married and who she had been for 7 years, told her 4 months into the marriage that he was in love with another woman, and left her for her. She was really sad but also seemed to like the solitude in order to think about what happened and what she really wanted in life. I really liked her and her approach there. She had enough painting material and paper to make art all day long and seemed really calm and decisive. The ones who stuck it out all came to the same conclusion, around day 3 of the isolation experiment; they wanted to stand still more often in real life, spend much less time online and on social media ("Near strangers who wouldn't give a damn about how I feel") and show more appreciation and spend more time with the people who really do love them and care for them. And who they all took for granted, as they were too busy with their online persona. They all made those confessions to the camera in the room, independently from each other, after at least 3 days of solitary confinement. That was nice to watch... But as soon as they were left out, they got their phones back and the camera recorded them all gleefully happy scrolling through their phone for a loooong time. Curious how soon their old habits got the better of them again after the experiment ended :)</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I have been writing as a penpal to a guy in prison in the US since 2010 and he wrote about it</b></span>: <i><span style="font-size: large;">"The isolation experiment you mentioned sounds very interesting. Five days sounds like nothing; plus you get to pick three items to bring with you (can I bring an ounce of weed and a carton of cigarettes?). How about sleeping pills? What would you take with you? However, the experiment is nothing like in prison because 1. there is an option to quit and to get out. 2. You know when the isolation/experiment is over. In real life, more precisely in prison, there is no panic button and you're absolutely clueless about your release; it could be a few days or a few months. (It reminds me of when journalists were being water-boarded, just so they could see that it wasn't that bad. Of course the whole thing was pointless with the forehand knowledge). But I think the experiment is much more difficult than prison simply because there is an option to quit. There is absolutely nothing I can do to get out of that cell; I don't choose anything. Which one is more difficult: Running a marathon because you have to, or because you want to? I think having the option to quit but still keep going would make things psychologically more taxing."</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZAvPg6ERRNMApV-ml8m-cAFhUjGqI1RgxgLfPGtSzQLoVK0oaH_2A7bYdsKPc7ckDHAeODjTy_MLL2OMO3lz-Aex2sV8ai-1zke8j1ZOGqwQzeiaiCdvyi-CraWoxymi1YxmzlBq9s2D/s1600/maxresdefault+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZAvPg6ERRNMApV-ml8m-cAFhUjGqI1RgxgLfPGtSzQLoVK0oaH_2A7bYdsKPc7ckDHAeODjTy_MLL2OMO3lz-Aex2sV8ai-1zke8j1ZOGqwQzeiaiCdvyi-CraWoxymi1YxmzlBq9s2D/s320/maxresdefault+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVUH2od3xwxdHvz1nZCbHjm_1QgH6gHs1TMvh-lfqm0R2z3lfGqKEQAvKHa5NvPVzKeojunDtzHwYMUpaynT2H9m-1LBVrJ_beqNg92kxpX44qQFuubDP33n6FlXCF48SLxOgpFxwJFnp4/s1600/une-vie-venice-2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVUH2od3xwxdHvz1nZCbHjm_1QgH6gHs1TMvh-lfqm0R2z3lfGqKEQAvKHa5NvPVzKeojunDtzHwYMUpaynT2H9m-1LBVrJ_beqNg92kxpX44qQFuubDP33n6FlXCF48SLxOgpFxwJFnp4/s320/une-vie-venice-2.jpg" width="320" /></a>I think there is perhaps too much of everything these days. Too many choices, too many opportunities. I saw this costume movie, A Woman's Life, after a French book from Guy de Maupassant, (Skip this paragraph if you still want to see it). Situated at the end of the 1800's, and the woman lives with her parents, then meets the son of a local church man, lives with him, gets pregnant, but he is a scoundrel who made the maid pregnant, then has affairs, one with her best friend. It's all terribly gloomy. She doesn't want to tell the husband of the friend, but confesses to the minister in church who then tells the husband himself. Next scene we see the friend dead in a field with a shotgun wound to the torso, the husband of the protagonist dead with his throat cut and the husband of the friend dead through suicide. Her own son is all she has and she refuses to have him to go school ("<i>I KNOW him, he needs to play outside!</i>") until her father talks some common sense into her and has the chap sent to school at age 12. Those were boarding schools back then. She loses him too as he falls in love with a girl and has very little interest to visit his mother and grandpa, who now live in one house after her beloved mother dies too. I can't count all the scenes showing her pondering outside a window, or looking out over sea. I felt they had too much time back then and not enough options in life. But there is such a stark contrast with modern life. People today often don't even seem to have the attention span and patience to sit through a train ride without their mobile phones out. To have the common decency to talk with each other while in a restaurant without staring at their phones, looking for more stimulation. Everyone can travel now, something that used to be the trip of a lifetime often in old times has become a normal occurrence for many people now. A lot of stuff loses its special shine when there are too many opportunities for them perhaps. Even in dating people move on so very quickly, not even taking the time to get to know the other better at least.Having so little to occupy yourself with that a lost love eats you away for the rest of your boring life is one extreme of course, as it could be in old times, and I am probably an old fashioned grump, but everything seems to go so fast these days. So much available, that everyone gets restless, the zap-generation. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipKvpe5lvQIP55CfmaLFRInr1_mjRbfe47IscCfoWL5K7Wqv-Y53y92TVgsU1GEy1CsMd1HkmvZMPRzgIpjqk2RGLXFWA1k4vu6CNGGUYbCNoQ31NRirP28D5E2A1hhlWTAPhev62D1FOB/s1600/ferrante-books.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="1161" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipKvpe5lvQIP55CfmaLFRInr1_mjRbfe47IscCfoWL5K7Wqv-Y53y92TVgsU1GEy1CsMd1HkmvZMPRzgIpjqk2RGLXFWA1k4vu6CNGGUYbCNoQ31NRirP28D5E2A1hhlWTAPhev62D1FOB/w498-h193/ferrante-books.jpg" width="498" /></a></div>
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I have also been reading a series of books called Napolitan Novels, by Elena Ferrante. I'm in the 3rd book now (of 4) and they describe the complicated friendship between two girls from Naples during the 1960's and onwards. I quite like them, she does a good job describing the psychological factors at play in complicated female friendships and has a way of writing that constant pushes you to keep reading, It has a few soap elements to it as well perhaps, but it is interesting. I like to keep reading and find out how their lives pan out. I also thoroughly enjoyed this video, with film material from Paris in the 1920's, coloured in masterfully.<br />
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">April 1st 2018</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixi-oejRRiakHhaSe89IohzhYD1mI3Ifs1zcaH5rBq_K-fmnhv1A7gh_hGiYMMRdWlB_dJWWmUO5pcDehaTyJ4qHm6SDt9coNWiOjkkrU8B8hvTU5wRzI253grlQ1ji9SVU8wI-yHFNbzJ/s1600/10634070_10152496031337151_6293870517414817693_o.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1404" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixi-oejRRiakHhaSe89IohzhYD1mI3Ifs1zcaH5rBq_K-fmnhv1A7gh_hGiYMMRdWlB_dJWWmUO5pcDehaTyJ4qHm6SDt9coNWiOjkkrU8B8hvTU5wRzI253grlQ1ji9SVU8wI-yHFNbzJ/s400/10634070_10152496031337151_6293870517414817693_o.jpg" width="400" /></a>I've not been doing great the past weeks. My skin is flaring on and off, and I have to sit behind thefan a LOT again.. I'm flaring from my pollen allergy and what bugs me most is that I have recently developed what seems to me a new stage in my rosacea :( Back in October last year, so 5 months ago, I tried out the ivermectin paste I had bought. On my chin. I realize that ivermectin or Soolantra is mostly effective for subtype 2 rosacea with pimples and skin outbreaks. But there have been good reports about it also reducing skin inflammation and redness. It has very few ingredients; ivermectin, some filler and not unimportantly; propylene glycol. Which can irritate sensitive skin. I already had a pinkish chin on some days, at that point, but I only noticed it when I looked in the mirror. It didn't burn or feel hot and it wasn't too bad looking either. In summer my chin is pale and in winter or during a particular bad flaring period, it can become slightly mottled pink. So I put the gel on my chin and saw that it made it a bit white, which suited me fine. I had friends over that evening, but soon after applying, my chin started to burn. It really felt on fire actually. I sat through it for a little while, then excused myself and went upstairs to wash the ivermectin off again. But the burning remained. And my chin was red and flushed since. When my cheeks flare and go hot and red, my chin would never join them, but now it does.. And worse, my chin is flushed and hot and burning even when my cheeks are fine now, suddenly. I am very down about this. It was on and off in the months past that ivermectin trial. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhevGapuPPX2vsI_XIsRbwNFITkIdWrF2AgnUU4-LoKCRHNUhFcIwu53X1-FPsaiPvL61DdQxJpMfdjqTFdKJvpcIxgynta6VJT9O9gTDmcTDXWDX7Oc6lqujARUEsgHR23HGzMUdP2DGdn/s1600/DSC05462.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="522" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhevGapuPPX2vsI_XIsRbwNFITkIdWrF2AgnUU4-LoKCRHNUhFcIwu53X1-FPsaiPvL61DdQxJpMfdjqTFdKJvpcIxgynta6VJT9O9gTDmcTDXWDX7Oc6lqujARUEsgHR23HGzMUdP2DGdn/w268-h212/DSC05462.jpg" width="268" /></a>Then a few weeks ago I was fed up with my red looking chin and put some zinc oxide on it. I use zinc oxide regularly for little blemishes or a pimple, it dries it out and seems to act as an anti inflammatory cream. It never irritated my skin. Now my chin was nice and white from the zinc, but it did burn. I left it on for 2 days... And ever since my chin is beet red, worse than it was in the past months. It is flushing and burning 24/7 now! Even when looking pink, it still burns badly and feels hot and tight. I wonder if I might have developed some eczema there... I actually have two small eczema dots on my chin but I wonder if the entire red area, so 3/4 of my chin basically, might be red and hot from dermatitis or eczema perhaps... Because it feels so raw and looks so angry.</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>My chin before all this</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0gkiaJBM3zGHr4XnyNf_IXd880JjtUqu4ar7pyb0B3jot1PfLELqp7zmd-aeWipKZT9zTwgLjn9WHrQ90XxaSG_WDvg5bWWm8S3Th8upxdTBxQOTReimJJR7Hlv9PhJoV654KLBtwqtO/s1600/074.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0gkiaJBM3zGHr4XnyNf_IXd880JjtUqu4ar7pyb0B3jot1PfLELqp7zmd-aeWipKZT9zTwgLjn9WHrQ90XxaSG_WDvg5bWWm8S3Th8upxdTBxQOTReimJJR7Hlv9PhJoV654KLBtwqtO/s200/074.jpg" width="177" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQXNQmsh-fEV_3Y0qvpn5wB1pJQg6NmRtQ75RsTC1sh_EKPW7koF-wTcVnPwln8g_QMmXywKbI6iF9n39GVODy08X2pWySJiwwR0aBDlXPUgtMZAG7rj4hJdbOPpLZyLERRlHE39aEbkB/s1600/DSC01486.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="368" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQXNQmsh-fEV_3Y0qvpn5wB1pJQg6NmRtQ75RsTC1sh_EKPW7koF-wTcVnPwln8g_QMmXywKbI6iF9n39GVODy08X2pWySJiwwR0aBDlXPUgtMZAG7rj4hJdbOPpLZyLERRlHE39aEbkB/s200/DSC01486.jpg" width="164" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLiDMwjHfvVFwnAvwofCQt0bFpm6A7pQmsA_7vfYSQZlgIcCfmCa9LHfSgDHy5BFu5X4xTaLB9DxSiyAP8sMwoiYFGyxfKeTzLHxj94keUbPIpJs_h-fm8LYyiJtFCe6uzNLTPHhNlXAQ-/s1600/DSC05482%252C5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="672" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLiDMwjHfvVFwnAvwofCQt0bFpm6A7pQmsA_7vfYSQZlgIcCfmCa9LHfSgDHy5BFu5X4xTaLB9DxSiyAP8sMwoiYFGyxfKeTzLHxj94keUbPIpJs_h-fm8LYyiJtFCe6uzNLTPHhNlXAQ-/s200/DSC05482%252C5.jpg" width="168" /></a></div>
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<b style="color: #990000;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">My chin after ivermectin gel use (the whiteness is zinc oxide)</span></b></div></b>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGUbUIgxOCXYuWX-MYLloIAYbzeP1LigL8ZJXtXYP_OjBzgpmYsYDzOXC6l1ZvYDVa586cWjfZAxujxovP4GwMHl8bLTZ7Pn3r0GwKD6WPJUIo4vJiIZrbqwOdk5f9Vu1N5T2joAE3yC9/s1600/DSC06121.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="763" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGUbUIgxOCXYuWX-MYLloIAYbzeP1LigL8ZJXtXYP_OjBzgpmYsYDzOXC6l1ZvYDVa586cWjfZAxujxovP4GwMHl8bLTZ7Pn3r0GwKD6WPJUIo4vJiIZrbqwOdk5f9Vu1N5T2joAE3yC9/s320/DSC06121.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="text-align: left;">So this has brought me down.. I have since had family dinners, gardening sessions with a friend and every time I come out super flushed and red, but with a neon coloured chin. The chin, in fact, starts to flush first, before my cheeks now. I'm so worried that this will not go away and that I'll have this to deal with on top of my already very bothersome rosacea.... I wake up with pale cheeks and red throbbing hot chin nowadays. Depressing start of the day.. I</span>t might be somehow eczema as I find it hard to understand why it stays red even when I'm not flushed and have pale cheeks.. Or maybe it is perioral dermatitis? I can pinpoint this redder chin to the moment I started to use fluoride toothpaste again, over the past summer and ever since... Not sure there could be a connection. Apparently <a href="http://fluoridealert.org/studies/mellette-1983/"><b>fluoride use can give dermatitis</b></a> around the mouth and chin. Not sure that to do either about it as everything I put on it burns badly and makes matters worse... I can't even put vaseline on it. Maybe antibiotic cream? I will make an appointment with my dermatologist about this. I also had eczema as a child and still get small eczema flares when stressed or with low immune system periods, this was back in 2007 I think it was, eczema on my chin:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBUPGiJxFP55_AFtjAj3qhvY7of06ySBmySj7nkOhY5ZwjK8F7KvxVi2z-9XU0nVUo5o07cwR6FB2zHTg0L5r_7LElRtVhZ3GaC3-_XganZyD7NuP3Au9sbB0VA0paUdY_gX4LCXYpBwj9/s1600/%2521.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="1431" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBUPGiJxFP55_AFtjAj3qhvY7of06ySBmySj7nkOhY5ZwjK8F7KvxVi2z-9XU0nVUo5o07cwR6FB2zHTg0L5r_7LElRtVhZ3GaC3-_XganZyD7NuP3Au9sbB0VA0paUdY_gX4LCXYpBwj9/s400/%2521.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>In comparison, these are pictures from eczema/ atopic dermatitis from the internet.. some cases do look a little bit like my chin perhaps</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_R-WIIz3H4wdemQ19iZefCROPLWhaWoXDh4bCZiKPhu8OQpLmSobLytfuawuTTtlduIftNg1faYw9WUwlN7Iltx9qPJK3WftxlDrCZP7iAaMVp0hlruCvx3HeCy6kXxsRxG5YQHZth-y/s1600/download.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="102" data-original-width="200" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_R-WIIz3H4wdemQ19iZefCROPLWhaWoXDh4bCZiKPhu8OQpLmSobLytfuawuTTtlduIftNg1faYw9WUwlN7Iltx9qPJK3WftxlDrCZP7iAaMVp0hlruCvx3HeCy6kXxsRxG5YQHZth-y/w277-h142/download.jpg" width="277" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUT9wZiN4EFeW1WKRrwMQ_VsKs7g2M0iN855oNN84uly1EIFip52bE34xrnrWgsNDWgSwdxIQxUECjweXtBLnMFXO7HbHvEYM39BErRIyhMX7rXxfE_5uXSS8JK_xoExvR5SkKoE1tdiX/s1600/atopic_dermatitis.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="663" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUT9wZiN4EFeW1WKRrwMQ_VsKs7g2M0iN855oNN84uly1EIFip52bE34xrnrWgsNDWgSwdxIQxUECjweXtBLnMFXO7HbHvEYM39BErRIyhMX7rXxfE_5uXSS8JK_xoExvR5SkKoE1tdiX/w298-h142/atopic_dermatitis.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
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Something else... I read that after the information revolution, we are now heading towards the revolution of genetic engineering. Scientists are experimenting with<b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span><span style="color: #990000;">CRISPR</span></b>; programming plant- and human- and animal cells and doing DNA surgery. CRISPR allows scientists today already to cut and paste in DNA strands. Like a programmable scissor, that can recognize a certain spot on the genome of an organisms, and modify the genome at will. The technology is based on Dutch research about little parts of DNA in bacteria, called CRISPR. Bacteria suffer from viruses too, like us. When a virus hits them , it releases DNA into the bacteria, in order to create more viruses. But bacteria have their own defense system, CRISPR/cas, which allows them to recognize the DNA from viruses and to <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB__fJmMq6Jiaais0ktCb1MM1ZUJAchS_en0EEQ2JXB-nQGZH9v6GHDFV5epsyBGkSkOYb_l5FjRludQd-haK5zBqTdfALH9GkuckoTjylxPDggiX67pignNz2ox7kjh8u3YKg7ubhP5a7/s1600/download.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB__fJmMq6Jiaais0ktCb1MM1ZUJAchS_en0EEQ2JXB-nQGZH9v6GHDFV5epsyBGkSkOYb_l5FjRludQd-haK5zBqTdfALH9GkuckoTjylxPDggiX67pignNz2ox7kjh8u3YKg7ubhP5a7/s1600/download.png" /></a>find it and then cut to pieces. Emmanuella Charpentier came up with a similar system to cut and paste DNA from organisms (CRISPR cas9). DNA consists of 4 substances, given the letters C, G, A and T. The order of these substances dictates the genetic code of a cell. CRISPR can accurately read this info and change it. It allows DNA reprogramming through cutting and pasting in any cell, not just in virus DNA. She and her colleague Jennifer Doudna are up for a Nobel prize apparently, and won a lot of other prizes already for this discovery. They studied evolution, to change evolution. Rewriting our own genetical make-up. Reprogramming viruses, like an app would do; viruses are <span style="text-align: center;">software anyway, like a memory stick, </span><span style="text-align: center;">loaded with specific information, and once it attaches to a physical structure, that allows the virus to load its program onto the cell. That program is nowadays: print more viruses. But viruses could also be loaded with a different message, one that we as humans find interesting to program into the cell. For instance; make this protein, because it is a good drug for us, or load the program into a cancer cell and program it to die. Viruses can be reprogrammed and are like software; like an app. And viruses today are designed, from scratch, in order to make biological programs with new applications possible. </span>All cancers have different DNA, but some people are already working on viruses that are adjusted to very specific tumour genetics. Special DNA printers can then print that DNA and put it in viruses. Every cancer patient can this way get a personalized cancer drug. Digital synthetic virus designs and it's already tested on dogs with cancer. An epi-pen for all of us, uploaded by the doctor and auto-inject. Personalized medicine. It's going to happen eventually. A medical netflix subscription with which you keep your body healthy. Soon we can print medication and change ourselves genetically (I can't wait for that, hopefully before my old age they can cut out my genetic illnesses..). People are trying to write programs now that eradicate cancer cells. Science students could soon have opportunities that today only pharmaceutical companies have. </div>
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Hopefully the technology can repair genetic diseases, now that so many illnesses have been mapped DNA-wise in the past decade. But between a discovery in the lab, and using that discovery to develop a new technology and usable medication, there are usually around 20 years... It is also very expensive, so scientists are told to only go after the largest diseases and disease groups. But hopefully soon all the DNA errors that switches on genetic diseases can be identified and put into switch blocks and be eradicated or changed. And to build new biological constructions with them. Some people are already making and selling CRISPR-kits, for geeks to use at home; bio hackers (instead of computer hackers). Genetic engineering, in order to experiment, for instance with trying to make muscle mass grow. Changing your skin- or hair colour, growing more or less hair. Or attempting to have humans grow wings. Ultimately all the knowledge should be shared and people should be able to create the same stuff as pharmaceutical companies, but at a much better price. There is already genetic experimenting done on human embryo's now.. At a very early age when they are just a couple of cells. The worry is that technology will be used to make designer babies. Of course you could wait for the moment that there are fights erupting about the patenting of (parts of) this CRISPR technology, which is going on right now. And many companies have started working on the technique and on the treatment of certain diseases, but out of fear that someone will steal their inventions or know-how, they do not share any of with with other companies or scientists. Which holds back the entire development pace. Not just a few companies (Editas, Caribou and Crispr therapeutics), but also especially big universities in the USA can gather enough money (hundreds of millions of dollars with each round) to have teams of hundreds of the best people around working on this technique now. Editas, Caribou and Crispr therapeutics can become the new Google and Apple of the future if the CRISPR technology turns out to be effective and profitable.</div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;">March 12th 2018</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JHdYlec43eRxWE-jlV6TVoXijw0zTdDEgkOUnaX6ZC74kKX7fQkYfv1mtfbG9NIlvNKmQlznEy4OstI62wh3U1ccyrmtVwEzdv3JRrRydyiblTTIpAqZMxHIVkrVJzRhFVEUbQBZEZ9f/s1600/MONTMARTRE-VAN-DONGEN_3813413012008550741.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_OzOzIh5bw7MLUqZGb1U7Yr026tuEAVgQUMuABkhBtBhyphenhyphenW_PtkgSFRk8W0CtnTZ3GZlwPliiUK21GjfeYkmDdLwV4VjzXCszBxBV_T5ahxnSSQ2axu6dDcfE44L1PAB_SGGobz_yARnto/s1600/1371660_corot-peindre-la-figure-humaine_155216.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_OzOzIh5bw7MLUqZGb1U7Yr026tuEAVgQUMuABkhBtBhyphenhyphenW_PtkgSFRk8W0CtnTZ3GZlwPliiUK21GjfeYkmDdLwV4VjzXCszBxBV_T5ahxnSSQ2axu6dDcfE44L1PAB_SGGobz_yARnto/s320/1371660_corot-peindre-la-figure-humaine_155216.jpg" width="256" /></a> <img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JHdYlec43eRxWE-jlV6TVoXijw0zTdDEgkOUnaX6ZC74kKX7fQkYfv1mtfbG9NIlvNKmQlznEy4OstI62wh3U1ccyrmtVwEzdv3JRrRydyiblTTIpAqZMxHIVkrVJzRhFVEUbQBZEZ9f/s320/MONTMARTRE-VAN-DONGEN_3813413012008550741.jpg" width="217" /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP07m_piEfYSpTgSHgMhx1ZFv-SXIKR3JBMPCPSL59_-zFafbLNnEb6Nsbxl_MXB17-XCWpKxnSYv2FlTTohgIKgvjlvGnfdYwJozo2XlV87cDAUefv6LEIDCdGM_jAGDxx0ENHzQCEcy0/s1600/DSC05799%252C5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="1400" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP07m_piEfYSpTgSHgMhx1ZFv-SXIKR3JBMPCPSL59_-zFafbLNnEb6Nsbxl_MXB17-XCWpKxnSYv2FlTTohgIKgvjlvGnfdYwJozo2XlV87cDAUefv6LEIDCdGM_jAGDxx0ENHzQCEcy0/s320/DSC05799%252C5.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>We went to Paris last week</b></span> for some time and visited several art expositions. One was from a painter called Kees van Dongen (1900's), in Montmartre and the other one was in the Pétit Palais, about Dutch painters in Paris in the late 19th and early 20th century. Very nice, but it was very cold there. Seen snow and mostly minus zero degrees and arctic winds. I bundled up however and walked many days through Paris. We stayed in a friends apartment in de Rue Pelleport and it is near a part of town called Belleville. Also around the corner of the famous cemetery Père Lachaise. It's like a beautiful park of the dead. I <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpmSBXNC4_uOqerPxxJXvHGRogGOtwtDt31IYi8ITV09om0idcvM_4jrk9LMnZU5MWokQXlN9_Nk21UwRKNtzG_gB33KJsD8PFGe6guz9wyTVpfBBazaqD4Zil7U_ejciAdsXjapAkVzjY/s1600/IMG_20180226_161938.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="700" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpmSBXNC4_uOqerPxxJXvHGRogGOtwtDt31IYi8ITV09om0idcvM_4jrk9LMnZU5MWokQXlN9_Nk21UwRKNtzG_gB33KJsD8PFGe6guz9wyTVpfBBazaqD4Zil7U_ejciAdsXjapAkVzjY/s320/IMG_20180226_161938.jpg" width="320" /></a>took the train and due to the outside cold, it was pretty warm inside.. I brought frozen gelpacks and a frozen plastic bottle with water, so I could cool my face from impending flares. It went fairly well, considering. I had a good laugh reading about the Brits and their <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4116422/Warnings-snow-storm-London-mocked-Twitter.html"><b>Armageddon- (weather) warnings</b></a> :D The British tabloid newspapers had shown hysterical warnings about "The Beast from the East" coming over from Siberia (no, not their mother in law from East Essex), to kill them all. Shops panic-bought empty as a result of the media frenzy, all schools and public work places closed. Yet people stepped into their cars for pleasure trips and ended up caught for 12 hours on a freezing highway. It was quite bad in the end and people even died due to the bad weather, all over Europe I must add.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4cLlCcV1BJcW4TsovYgsfhl9IcAplrruU7s0iY_IJhxooEZrDIescS38FWmAKPvGQpsb6PRQZSHHLzxWPmh5SnELo2jT_YY7wnGbxxV6w_F-7YWMEfvgpFDVjH57LPuE0cw-X7ayibhE/s1600/IMG_20180226_152403%252C5.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1422" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4cLlCcV1BJcW4TsovYgsfhl9IcAplrruU7s0iY_IJhxooEZrDIescS38FWmAKPvGQpsb6PRQZSHHLzxWPmh5SnELo2jT_YY7wnGbxxV6w_F-7YWMEfvgpFDVjH57LPuE0cw-X7ayibhE/s400/IMG_20180226_152403%252C5.jpg" width="225" /></a>Scandinavians <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5450441/Scandinavians-make-fun-Brits-panicking-snow.html"><b>mocked</b></a> the Brits this time: The difference between Scandinavia and Holland versus the UK is apparently that we are prepared for snow and ice, and they strangely enough are not. In Holland there are salt machines on the roads right away and everything is kept clean. The Brits say that due to global warming, these cold winters have become so rare, once every ten years they say over there, that there is no infrastructure anymore to deal with an arctic spell. Or local councils do not use money to keep things on the ready. To the average northern that sounds silly; you don't seem to need a whole lot of infrastructure, mainly a lorry with grit and salt to run through the main roads. But all that costs money of course. Apparently there actually are gritting machines, but they weren't used by local councils or there weren't enough of them. But the Brits are funny usually, so various councils decided to name their gritters to make the winter weather a little more fun. They wrote out a competition for best names for their gritting machines. 'Rule Grittania' and 'Salt Disney' for instance. Two road gritters in Doncaster were named Gritsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Anti-Slip Machiney and David Plowie. Also Spready Mercury, Basil Salty, Grit Van Dyke, True Grit and Gritney Houston (haha). Transport Scotland's fleet of gritters have names like Sir Andy Flurry, Sir Salter Scott and Gritty Gritty Bang Bang, along with Luke Snowalker, the Ice Destroyer and Snow Queen. 😃<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Last week I had a very realistic dream</b></span>. I was told I had cancer and only a few months to live! In my dream my middle sister (who died in 2004) was alive again and my youngest sister instead had already passed away. And I was so anxious and jealous of my middle sister being the only one to survive. I remember feeling this excruciating fear and sense of urgency. I kept asking my parents and friends why this was happening, hadn't I always lived super healthy? Healthy food (well, mostly haha), no smoking, no drinking, not even using any cosmetics. And I kept asking them too what would happen now? I was petrified to lose "me" soon. My life. Felt I hadn't done enough with my life, that it had only just started really. What did they think would happen when we die? No answer could console me; I was going to be nothing very soon from now. I had to join some swim course for some strange reason and I kept walking back, to get my contact lenses out (I don't even wear them anymore), to get a snorkel and there was a whole crowd of school children waiting for me to do my routine and I said to them: Guys be easy on me. I can't swim with a snorkel and I have terminal cancer and won't live much longer! I felt like I had to tell everyone. Madness. Was so happy to wake up, red rosacea face and all! I can imagine now what people who get such a diagnosis must feel like, its real panic..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_iOfDoZ8TRrAkUm78g92eeQqoKhDcY3GkR_L33YK2eSTNYLLaOO2SuBz5SEzSM0ITEq8UoPuucOvtCIIfTxeiZ6a9p6NaSdbZllvf8jiggaDA8Ry00u9xahSJWijvhcNr2aAbPJTYAo8G/s1600/IMG_20180226_152647%252C5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1500" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_iOfDoZ8TRrAkUm78g92eeQqoKhDcY3GkR_L33YK2eSTNYLLaOO2SuBz5SEzSM0ITEq8UoPuucOvtCIIfTxeiZ6a9p6NaSdbZllvf8jiggaDA8Ry00u9xahSJWijvhcNr2aAbPJTYAo8G/s400/IMG_20180226_152647%252C5.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I'm spending time and energy in helping to run an online rosacea facebook group</b></span>. And it's no fun sometimes. Like with this blog, when you raise your head above the mowing line, you get barraged with rudeness and abuse sometimes. Positive but also negative responses. It can be disappointing when some people make unfounded assumptions, for instance that I would financially benefit from this blog. Nothing is more beside the truth, as for the decade now that I've been writing here (had a more simple old fashioned blog on one page before this one), I've never made a single cent from it. In fact, I'm against advertisement on here and would never want some skin care company (because that's the sort of companies that want to publish on rosacea blogs) to make adds for products that are most likely completely useless or even triggering for rosacea skin. If I can't tolerate topicals, why would I allow publication that give off the opposite impression? I don't like other advertisements either, for the record. I accept that this thing only takes time and gives back some friendly comments and messages and also triggers some cynical people. What's new. So I do everything in my free time, without pay (not even those 'fund me' pages that seem popular now), yet some offended person - it always starts with asking for proof for some claim and someone having a hissy-fit about this 'rudeness' - starts posting about the opposite. Always lurkers who don't contribute to the forum group much but are quick to bitch and gossip. Some time ago a person claiming I get financially better from this blog. No proof of course, no interest in that either. The other admins get abuse too, despite putting hours of free time into things daily, to advise people with rosacea on treatment options and to give support. What a thankless job sometimes. Because everyone is offended at the drop of a hat these days.<br />
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And lately there was a person who claimed that micro needling (I'm literally quoting here) "is the globally recommended treatment by leading Dermatologists and Cosmetic Surgeons for Vascular Rosacea". This person flagged another member who wrote that it depends on someones symptoms and that there is a chance that micro needling can break more blood vessels. So attention was called to this post. When I said that it's <a href="https://journals.lww.com/dermatologicsurgery/Citation/2016/12000/Clinical_and_Histologic_Effects_of_Fractional.8.aspx"><b>trial and error</b></a> and that for very reactive and sensitive flushers (micro needling has statistically more success for subtype 2 rosacea skin), micro needling might be a trial and error sort of thing, I got a personal sneer. The same for asking this person for proof for the claim it is 'the globally recommended treatment'; Did I ever try it?? (as if to say; <i>If not, shut up</i>) and the person who could provide the proof was the same one who invented this micro needling procedure. And another sneer at me for thinking I "know everything there is to know on this topic" (except that I clearly don't.. given that I had to even ask for proof for her globally recommended treatment suggestion). That escalated in a gossip fest about me. For daring to suggest that this might not be THE leading treatment protocol for everyone with vascular rosacea. I'm no authority on any matter, not a doctor. If I were, I'd not be struggling for almost 20 years now with this shitty skin condition, that is ruining my life until this day. But I've seen very good dermatologists, why would none of them tell about this mysterious yet wildly overlooked "leading treatment protocol"? It is not thé approach for vascular rosacea, but that doesn't mean it can't help. It might very well help. However warning very reactive skin patients to be careful and to try with care and make sure the thing doesn't actually stimulate more vessel growth, that is undermining her authority apparently. From what I could read in terms of research, there has only been one very small scale test done on rosacea patients and the outcome was that micro needling can help with mild to moderate rosacea but more so with the papulas than with erythema and flushing. Not quite the leading treatment for vascular rosacea yet... Of course the person went elsewhere to bitch about it (and me) and lie about what was really written and responded. That I don't allow for anyone to come up with a treatment to help them lol. All for coming back on the response this person flagged personally, that warns people with very sensitive and thin reactive skin with many broken blood vessels to be careful, as micro needling might be harsh on such skin types and that it is trial and error.<br />
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Just one example of the sort of 'stuff' you get when sticking your head out. At the end of the day, I just gather information that is publicly available, on public forums and web pages, and put it in more easy to find blog posts. I know about some patients who heard in this way about anti flushing medication and who do a little better themselves from also taking them now. That's all I'm after; spreading information and hoping some other bad flushers like me find relief. I'm not writing about subtype 2 rosacea with skin outbreaks. I'm focusing only on what I know first hand; the red burned up flushed face problem that some people with rosacea have. The fact I had bad experiences with IPL does not mean it won't help for other flushers. I just recall what went wrong with me, and hope it helps people avoid the same problems (mostly by getting the right machine, the right doctor and enough test patching). The fact that clonidine and mirtazapine and propranolol help me, does not mean they will help everyone else with the same symptoms.* Some people might not like these medications, some might get unwanted side effects, some might be against prescription medication altogether. But at least the info about this treatment option is to be found online now. I'm normally happy to stay away from group dynamics, happy to have my own cocoon of <i>fabulous people</i> and pets and beautiful things I love in life, and stay clear of the group madness, and I probably am formulating things in the socially awkward manner that is me, but one can only do so much. People will always take offense. Everyone who does not like this approach can feel free to close this blog on their computer or phone and move elsewhere.<br />
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<span style="color: #f4cccc; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">I sometimes watch train wreck programs on tv.</span> </b></span>Also to unwind a bit, as always sitting with your nose in books and dealing with nitpicking shit like getting a 1000 correct footnotes in a simple text is making me just very tired of seriousness at the end of the day. The problem arises I think when viewers take these programs serious and want to emulate the people in it (many seem either paid actors or fame hungry people). Temptation Island is one such entertainment program, as is "90 days to wed". With the Russian gold digger Anfisa and furry wog Jorge (update: they <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAmnAXNVRrE&t=4s"><b>broke up</b></a>). Staged or not, these people need awards for acting qualities. So in this new series of 90 days to wed, a 40-something (sympathetic albeit slightly over emotional) American woman falls in love with Dutch "stud" Jessie - 24. But he is an absolute piece of shit. I am stunned they allow his passive aggressive <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5489585/Gaslighting-modern-dating-trend-leave-damaged.html"><b>gaslighting</b></a> and controlling psychopathy on TV tbh.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Here Jessie Bateman (what's in a name..) introduces himself:</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">The lovely Anfisa, enchanted to meet..</span></b><b style="font-size: x-large;"> </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">And here Darcey does: </span></b></div>
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<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000;">Here he gets very uptight about Jessie having a drink or two <br />(notice how his house looks like it is situated right in the Red Light District): </b></div>
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And <b><a href="https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6fsahj" target="_blank">here</a> </b>he goes full out psycho (if you ask me). She seems afraid of him too, he is going from calling her a bitch and cursing and looking like Satan incarcerated, to smooching it over again with Baby I love you's. She doesn't even dare to say what bothers her about him. Later (not in this specific clip) they walk outside of the studio into the street, he still visibly raging and walking like the Hulk with hemorrhoids, and he offered her his coat and she takes it in her hands and within 10 seconds he barks at her; Are you going to wear my coat or not?? I GAVE it to you!. And she makes herself small and apologetic and puts it on. What an ffing bully. Based on that episode, people came <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/90DayFiance/comments/79sw57/i_found_the_darceyjesse_tell_all_segment_troubling/"><b>online</b></a> to vent their shock and trauma. He also has a kind side but just seems so ruthlessly blunt :) Have to say that this is not uncommon in Holland. She wants a marriage proposal above everything else though, and that is not something that is done overnight. Jessie also keeps delaying it in the vaguest terms, even cruelly going on one knee.... only to give her a "promise ring"! Traumatic for poor Darcey!<br />
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Music clip of the day</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;">February 10th 2018</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFcoLhLPYVHqJMT5LG6JoHS2iAzHK6z8EO6wXP7NLONxb8hBdpvPI1HqpGuNFUM0pq9g2C0M9etOlKBfZesyDlfpR535oo8KnJfXGWa_nBq703Oub0sf895_yeIh8BWZ_lY0K8Q67S1sg/s1600/DSC00248.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFcoLhLPYVHqJMT5LG6JoHS2iAzHK6z8EO6wXP7NLONxb8hBdpvPI1HqpGuNFUM0pq9g2C0M9etOlKBfZesyDlfpR535oo8KnJfXGWa_nBq703Oub0sf895_yeIh8BWZ_lY0K8Q67S1sg/s320/DSC00248.jpg" width="240" /></a>I love my cats and am not afraid to admit it, despite the "cat lady" tag that inevitably comes with it (although I'm<i> not</i> lonely and single). They also seem to love me and have amusing and adorable characters and quirks. They can go outside and roam during the day if they like, but I keep them in after dinner. I have them from when they were kittens and they let me cuddle them whenever I want. None ever scratched me or hit me. It's a treat when my cats decide they need cuddles, but soon after they have enough of that and turn their backs up for a good 4 hours again to do their trotting about outside. And I am not invited to the party haha, the few times I tried to walk with them beyond the gardens where we usually play, to see where they hang out, they made it clear I was acting out of line. As my funny friend put it: “Piotr, why is the giant shaved-skin accompanying us beyond the den? Does her ineptness know no bounds, Piotr?!” I'm cramping their style, for sure! We can be certain that whatever they had planned outdoors, a human would fuck it up. Hunting, we’re terrible at it compared to one of nature’s finest killing machines. Mating? Gross.<br />
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There is also a semi feral cat that comes round regularly for some food and some cuddles. I know how to read cat signs, with regards to their moods, but I got a bit too confident for my own good lately, and picked the semi-feral one up and held him on my shoulder, despite clear signs from him that he was in a pissed off foul mood (hissing, ears flat to the sides, even a growl. I mean, you don't need to be a cat whisperer to to be able to interpret that). I shouldn't have picked it up, but it usually calms right down from that. Not now! It clawed in my face! The thing I am always worried about<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vfthzU3V4zo/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vfthzU3V4zo?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: right; float: right;" width="320"></iframe>happened; a set of clawed marks right into my face!! I let out a blood curling scream, dropped the cat on the floor and ran to the bathroom to check the damage. It wasn't good. About 5 minor scratches and small incisions on my left cheek, but a big razer-rash under my right eye, that was bleeding and seemed deep. EEeeekkks!! I am literally worried for my rosacea-face even when I take the bike. What if someone hits me and I scrape my cheek all over the road? What if someone throws acid in my face somehow, somewhere? With the most likely scenario being a cat scratching my face, I should probably have been more careful with my furry friends. I had no disinfectant in the house besides betadine, and I didn't want it near my rosacea, so I rinsed the long scratch with salted water and started reading online about other people having their faces scratched by cats. Most advise revolved around adequately disinfecting the wound (and home made salted water didn't count) and putting antibiotic cream on it. I also read that to avoid scars (eeeeeeehhhhhhh!!), it is best to keep the wound covered in vaseline or silicone gel. I wouldn't want a hard dark coloured scab, as they are more likely to leave a scar behind.<br />
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The scratch under the eye got red and painful the next day, and also a bit purple, making me look like I had had plastic surgery, but then without the actual plastic surgery.., so I saw my doctor. He is always nice and said I'd better clean it professionally with something he thought would be mild and least likely to piss off my rosacea, and to put some antibiotic cream on it and then something called hyaluronic acid, to try to avoid developing a scar. Knowing my luck with these skin things, people can most likely call me Scarface from now on 😊 The past 4 days I kept putting the antibiotic cream on it and also some silicone gel I bought, called Dermatix. It is healing but very slowly. When I saw my doctor again at the end of the week for an inflamed eye, he said the scratch wound isn't closing as fast as he had expected. Hmmm.. It can take as long as it wants to close up, as long as it won't leave me with a scar. And my cold urticaria is going nuts in the mean time. On my right cheek I now have about 7 raised welts, itching badly and my whole cheek is swollen like I'm a chipmunk. I find this so very cruel... All summer I am suffering with a flushed face behind a ventilator and then the moment the weather turns cold, I am hit with this bulshit, and cannot go outside and still need to fan my face, as it is burning and itching from these welts. I need to see my skin specialist about this again pronto as this is driving me insane at the moment.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfx5zgmed5CC7q4xPAwZbxzRsRl6x61RkEgRfmnz-n2_GQ1OFOuTdreMW_5Tgt4gl4w65wYo1D4RqFiQoVrdwOrT9vFUzM1ITD7oRFvAkuPRodP47M2zZ8ka6YKfEnCVvtb-MmV8evM6C/s1600/DSC05568.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1100" data-original-width="1600" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfx5zgmed5CC7q4xPAwZbxzRsRl6x61RkEgRfmnz-n2_GQ1OFOuTdreMW_5Tgt4gl4w65wYo1D4RqFiQoVrdwOrT9vFUzM1ITD7oRFvAkuPRodP47M2zZ8ka6YKfEnCVvtb-MmV8evM6C/s320/DSC05568.jpg" width="320" /></a>Back to my cats. I contemplated whether or not these skin rashes might be an allergic reaction to the cats, but I reckon that I would have had the urticaria in spring and summer and fall too then. And these itchy welts only erupt and ruin my waking days in winter. I had more trouble with cats the past months. At some point at the start of the year, I had a nightmare. So freakish it was, that I can still remember it. I dreamed that I was with a bunch of far away related family members in some house in a place I didn't know, I think it was in Germany. And the daughters, young teenagers, came running to us all excited that they found a nest of kittens. All ginger, all schmutzy and withered and not well kept, but somehow very cute. But when I looked closer, they all had something wrong with them. The first had a nose that wasn't fully closed, there was a black hole on the side of the nose. Then the next one was missing an eye. Eventually there was one who had only a tongue and a throat visible and a contour of a skull, but everything else in it was missing.. No eyes, nose mouth, cheeks, just an empty hallow skull and this tongue and throat. Shocking. They all huddled together, I didn't even dare to pet them. Very surrealistic. They'd miauw a lot and follow us around and I was torn between cuddling them and running away from them. Now is a dream often just that, a dream. I'm also taking mirtazapine as a drug to help reduce my facial flushing, and it gives me very good sleep and a lot of dreams. However, never normally nightmares. I also have a superstition about them, as I had what I thought were predicting (day)dreams before. My very beloved brother and sister cats Bassie and Charlie were only one year old, when I dreamed that I had to choose between them. Some sort of Sophie's Choice scenario. And I kept going back and forth, and then ashamed that I'd even make a decision at all, I opted for Bassie, as he was very clingy at the time and very needy and Charlie was self sufficient and the leader of the two. Then a week later she was hit by a car and died. That really saddened me for a good while. She was such a character and always came along with me on my evening walk. She loved running ahead of me and then waiting for me to catch up and she knew what parts of the road she could run free and what parts I would pick her up or have her in a basket for safety. She was hit when I was away for a week and had a friend watch her and bassie, which made matters even more heartbreaking for me.<br />
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Then with bassie, five years later (he disappeared two years ago out of the blue and was never found again), I had a similar thing happening. I was petting him one evening, as he was being the royal cat that he was, sitting at table with us and waiting for his treat nibbles, and I suddenly got this strong thought: what if he died, would I want him stuffed up? Taxidermy it's called I think. It freaked me out to get images of him stuffed up like that, and I gave him an extra cuddle. he was six years old at that time, so nothing to worry out. By now he lived in a very safe area, no risks of being hit by a car like his sister. Then a few days later, he didn't return from his usual afternoon stroll. I have been frantically looking for him for months on end, flyering in every door and public space, asking everyone if they had seen him, driving around calling for him, shaking his cat food. Walking round every single night and day, calling for him. Checking all the roads to see if he was hit somewhere. Giving flyers to every animal shelter in the region, making online missing pet adverts. Everything I could think of. And never heard from him again. I have no children, so I probably attach a bit too much to these animals. I try not to, as I know they have shorter lives than me, and I choose to let them out during the day as they simply adore running outside and laying in the sun, and because it is the great safe outdoors here. But there are foxes and wild animals living outdoors too and accidents can happen. Animals can get poisoned, killed, you name it. I have to accept those </div>
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So after this freakish cat dream, I didn't think much more of it, as usual, but then a week later, my beloved cat Piotr, went missing too 😞 Same scenario as with Bassie; he just didn't come home one night. Piotr was the new kitten I adopted after Bassie never returned. Ever since that happened, I am fairly frantic about keeping the cats in after dinner and before it gets dark. But that particular evening I had been busy writing for a work deadline and Piotr had sneaked out after 6 pm. The door was open, he had done this a few times before and always came back once I shook with his favourite cat food. But not this night.. 10 pm, no Piotr, 11 pm, nothing. By midnight I was starting to get restless, as he never wanders away far. He is quite frail and anxious by nature. He has a minx-like bobtail, which is a birth defect, and as a result he is not a keen jumper or fighter. He'd not usually be out alone long, and always stayed close to the home and garden. The other cats were in already at this point. I stayed up til 3 am, but nothing and the next morning I was super anxious to see if he was there as normal for breakfast (he is always first), but still nothing. Neither the days after. At this point I had been doing everything I could remember I did two years ago with Bassie's disappearance; putting flyers in every mail box in a kilometer radius, putting posters up, walking through the countryside and neighborhood several times a day, calling him, shaking his favourite pet food, listening at garage doors and in front of sheds for him, checking the roads, asking everyone I saw, but not a sign. By then I had friends with young children staying over for some time, and their oldest boy is a huge cat lover and wanted to go looking with me for Piotr all the time, which was very nice, he's a great kid. But I was having a hard time not to look and act very sad all the time. I kept wondering where the little darling was, if he was hurt, lost, afraid, stressed, injured and every other scenario I could think of. I missed my little Piotr terribly.</div>
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By day 6, I was convinced that I'd never find out what happened to him, and that it was the same mystery scenario as earlier with cat Bassie. I was down about it, but kept doing my rounds every afternoon and evening, calling for him. His cat blanket was hanging outside, shielded from rain and storm (yes to make matters worse it had been howling with poor weather), so that he might smell the way back home in case he was lost. But I had lost hope, because I didn't think he'd survive 6 days and nights without food in the cold. If he could have come back home, he would, as he usually wants nothing more than to be comfortable and near where I'm sitting. My friend tried to keep me realistic and said that outdoor cats do have rather short life-spans, due to a number of factors. That the reality of owning outdoor cats is that they will one day disappear. And whether or not I had contemplated giving my cats special tracking chips perhaps? Although the bigger danger there would be that people could be stealing the damned things from the cat’s collar! Though that won’t be too much of a problem, as I would just use my phone to find the person that had stolen the tracker. Yet… I would be concerned at the same time of having such a device, because if it stops moving for several hours… it’s not a happy ending. He also cheered me up by saying that I should realize that if I dropped dead in my apartment, my dear, loyal cats would eat me within days (haha). So that it is not necessarily a shared affection. That it has been said that cats are unable to distinguish humans from other cats. We’re just large, mostly fur-less cats to them. They’re capable of affection and even adoration, but sentimentality stops when life does. Should you remain alive and providing food, you’re a worthy cat-leader. Though they do presume we are retarded in the ways of the cat. They spray to mark our territory, because we’re inept at it. They’ll bring us dead birds and such, both as a gift and because they are concerned we’re incompetent at hunting food. My dad tried to cheer me up by saying I should get a puppy dog. Because they are more directly attached to us humans and less likely to walk away. But I just wanted Piotr back, and no replacement dog. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1wEUmj_cTJ-R74J4F36kzEF5SbBRuaU0pgCklHiA76uj5my1c2eaHvTpJWAXKzJpHh1XgseuEZP7IHEXlW4PooUzvp3YuAMw-8HswKhlY2jE49xibnNJycQvu4qS9BIxzeWLxyHvz0TI8/s1600/DSC00320.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1wEUmj_cTJ-R74J4F36kzEF5SbBRuaU0pgCklHiA76uj5my1c2eaHvTpJWAXKzJpHh1XgseuEZP7IHEXlW4PooUzvp3YuAMw-8HswKhlY2jE49xibnNJycQvu4qS9BIxzeWLxyHvz0TI8/s320/DSC00320.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Luckily the people in my neighborhood didn't forget about him either and kept asking me for updates. I kept hoping that somehow he would still be found. Without getting all sentimental, our pets become family members of sorts, friends even in some circumstances. I also decided I would buy the cats GPS collars as off now, as I'd had enough of looking for lost cats in the middle of nowhere, and nagging everyone around me with posters and flyers. Then after nine whole days and evenings, one afternoon, he was back!! 😊 😊 He jumped through the cat flap one Saturday with a mighty whining roar, half his former body size but clean and dry. I could feel his backbone and ribs when I lifted him up, and he felt nothing like the medium sized dog he used to compare to in weight. But he was purring and seemed so happy to be back. He was also very frightened, every sound made him literally jump up in the air in fright. He didn't show signs of injury or fighting, no signs of trashing through rain and mud all week either, so my best bet was that he was locked in some garage or shed, as this first Saturday of the New Year many people were busy cleaning up their sheds and garages, after the holidays. Of course he was slowly brought back on his normal weight, and unlike his normal self, he didn't want to go outside for around 4 days afterwards. I had set myself to comparing the available cat trackers online and deciding which ones to buy. They are already chipped but the problem is that these chips don't do anything other than show the owners contact data IF someone takes it to a vet with a scanning machine. They do not yet have tracing chips that show you where a cat actually is, but I managed to buy one proper GPS pet tracker to try out. Most pet trackers seem huge and more for dogs than cats (size wise), and the smaller ones on the market often only allow you to find it back within a couple of miles radius, sometimes not even one mile. Or they are not precise enough to distinguish where exactly in a village of 100 inhabitants the animal is. But I bought now something called Pod 3 tracker and it lets you follow or find your cat through GPS and Wifi, and you can follow him on street view or map and all. However! Then Piotr went missing again about ten days later..! He managed to wring himself through a closing door one late evening. Not a sign all night and then the next day he still was nowhere to be seen. Of course, knowing how he survived nine days out there, I wasn't as stressed about it this time round, but I did feel the OCD-drive to go round the exact same circles of investigation as I did the first time, as to not miss a thing. Which was tiring, as I wanted to relax and sleep, not call for a missing cat (again) in the dark. In storm and rain. By now I was already worried that he was hiding out in a place where I could not find him without his pet tracker (yes I bought a GPS cat tracker, but it hadn't arrived yet!). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB58OKCqgRSiFxxgL-Kitpi_z7GxDD2n4vFJJ-gwRPffZORhQP8XZsHm8_AD9wjxBJZQWjAepQh1r09RgxiRBPL_Vu1hLE0dsCCbv4IvQ0lBhUbwo3Lrs3yK9qqOlXNgGV0HeKX2GqAj_6/s1600/DSC01248.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB58OKCqgRSiFxxgL-Kitpi_z7GxDD2n4vFJJ-gwRPffZORhQP8XZsHm8_AD9wjxBJZQWjAepQh1r09RgxiRBPL_Vu1hLE0dsCCbv4IvQ0lBhUbwo3Lrs3yK9qqOlXNgGV0HeKX2GqAj_6/s320/DSC01248.JPG" width="240" /></a>So I was walking around on the second night he was gone, calling for him but I didn't hear a thing. The next day, I walked round the usual places, and again nothing. Then at 7 PM I felt I needed to go one last time for the day and my cat Sophie joined me, when suddenly I heard Piotr wailing just around the corner, in an unused disheveled barn. There is a little opening in one of the windows, but it's a huge dusty empty monstrosity of a decaying building, and I heard Piotr crying with his distinct hoarse frog-like sound all the way on the other side. I tried to call him to move forward to this entrance point, but nothing happened. Manged to break one of the high barricaded window shutters open, and to climb in with a ladder and there he was; frozen in fear, all the way on top on some ledge I couldn't reach. He kept wailing and didn't move a paw! Took a lot of gentle talking and comforting for him to finally walk to me and when he got back home, he was ravenous and constantly crying for cuddles and shaky. I had noticed that there were wild pigeons in the barn so perhaps he had heard or smelled them and gone after them, then forgot how to find back the very small window opening. It is easy to access from the street, but harder to find back in the huge building once inside. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm637gOqv6TMWWUzBAzCUyRXLheAXseKv1dL3JmoJj-ZPa2DDodagxFuFsJiZld2yta1A1wMmFuZ_6OfKtdJ_-_dRXXHqwQahWHIa36eEG5V-mpewPIX4dH5JRnF_8vDBD6VKTbc2qQ2Gd/s1600/Retro+Swimsuits+%252868%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="454" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm637gOqv6TMWWUzBAzCUyRXLheAXseKv1dL3JmoJj-ZPa2DDodagxFuFsJiZld2yta1A1wMmFuZ_6OfKtdJ_-_dRXXHqwQahWHIa36eEG5V-mpewPIX4dH5JRnF_8vDBD6VKTbc2qQ2Gd/s320/Retro+Swimsuits+%252868%2529.jpg" width="249" /></a>Then it was getting fairly ridiculous with Piotr the wanderer as he went to his humble abode with the pigeons a 3rd time. But now I knew where to look for him! I found out that there is a dog living in between the house and that barn, so perhaps he was chased in there. Now he has his cat tracker on his collar and he hasn't gone missing since. I can also see that he doesn't stroll far from the house and hasn't once gone in the direction of the barn. Instead he goes to large unused gardens on the other side of the house. Although his cat tracker goes by GSM connections, so in a thick walled shed he might still not be traceable, at least when he is on the wander, he will be found, and through the history option I can also see where he last was picked up. They now look like these St Bernhards dogs in the Alps with a small wooden keg with brandy around their neck 😊 (the Pod 3 device). Only their keg has spy wirings instead of alcohol. </div>
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Other than that i'm accepting that it is just the way this animal is wired probably. I like to hink of him now as pretending to be a feeble limb to me, but at night changing into a prowling Jack the Ripper type, quite the ramblin' man, scouring the streets and looking for little birds. But I am still convinced that he is clumsy, ultra nervous and borderline '<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_yjNfJMcHg">Josti'.</a> I am fairly sure now that Prince Piotr will keep wandering, at least until he is past his cat-adolescence age, and I rather have him in this barn nearby than looking for a new barn so I didn't close up the little opening he uses. He is neutered, so he is not high on testosterone. If I manage to keep him alive for another year, he might turn into a sloshed away tired old cat, in the end. </div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>And some photos from my cat scratch </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Becoming a bit more blue the next day</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Scab forming; I keep it 'wet' with vaseline and bactroban antibiotic cream</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Faint healing that is going on..</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">And my cold urticaria (not to be mixed up with a moon surface photo)</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">February 2nd 2018</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAV-BFIf5rxPn_BubcRFqB8VT9NV6mc5pGrv8IjWJzrWJoAoIVJ_7RY1mTyEMfbTkruW7A1pileMVR5W2GGUPbr38GfAjJkwNfAQCnEi9IMa4YPvNGJJ-fNppx36ghFG990KoSdsLsJ4zs/s1600/154787_1656275400946_6728928_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAV-BFIf5rxPn_BubcRFqB8VT9NV6mc5pGrv8IjWJzrWJoAoIVJ_7RY1mTyEMfbTkruW7A1pileMVR5W2GGUPbr38GfAjJkwNfAQCnEi9IMa4YPvNGJJ-fNppx36ghFG990KoSdsLsJ4zs/s320/154787_1656275400946_6728928_n.jpg" width="233" /></a>I've not been good the past months. Winter usually brings the same miserable few months of cold and rosacea flaring, every single new year it's more or less the same in the coldest part of winter. My skin has been painful, hot and flushed, and due to the cold I have had cold urticaria on my cheeks on and off. When the weather warmed up a bit, they got less or even disappeared, and as soon as the cold came back (like the past days), I break out in itchy welts on my cheeks again, that fire the rosacea up too. I'm already on a triple dose of antihistamines (Xyzal) and doctor now added more zaditine and inorial pills. I hope it will help, as this is just a bit of a nightmare by now. I'm cooling behind a fan or with cold packs all my days but now cannot even go for walks in the winter anymore, as it is now<i> too cold</i>. I never had it this bad ten years ago, it started to get worse each winter since around 2012. Wrapping up outside with scarfs doesn't help much for me unfortunately. I'm trying to stay busy and I still go out, meet people, see places, but it is very hard with a face as painful and irritated as mine. I'm getting honestly really tired of this shit. Have it since 1999 now and there is just nothing that is curing me. I know there is no official cure out there, but even remission would do. Laser and IPL are often a radical treatment option, but I have had nothing but bad experiences with them. Doctors think my skin type and rosacea subtype are not suitable for them and to refrain from trying again. Sigh.. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimm3ysY22xALG8eyKKSxvD6U-OWrhTD1yu7hY5X5Xnk4rHJ9iPaw0lyQRDABxjnB7XHzKW90YsOaX-7sNMl9cjMtLVwJSQRWQCh2p0kATsgMGdYbo8fFgh8V8COxfzSOTUXNBrYdh2-iHX/s1600/DSC05418.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1228" data-original-width="680" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimm3ysY22xALG8eyKKSxvD6U-OWrhTD1yu7hY5X5Xnk4rHJ9iPaw0lyQRDABxjnB7XHzKW90YsOaX-7sNMl9cjMtLVwJSQRWQCh2p0kATsgMGdYbo8fFgh8V8COxfzSOTUXNBrYdh2-iHX/w195-h353/DSC05418.jpg" width="195" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV9TjbgPqD6nQWH_dHwz63_GQoBxhNhb-uOvglvSMKR1nT52SsTDLUYm0OYZKQnXMKZycHCbuYZxQJPAJei7XWdx8RPP1SFjfPnrgMnWrRVDNLCO-bO7BSy9GfptPYE2ZMNS6JNBL4LaU4/s1600/DSC05463.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1146" data-original-width="960" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV9TjbgPqD6nQWH_dHwz63_GQoBxhNhb-uOvglvSMKR1nT52SsTDLUYm0OYZKQnXMKZycHCbuYZxQJPAJei7XWdx8RPP1SFjfPnrgMnWrRVDNLCO-bO7BSy9GfptPYE2ZMNS6JNBL4LaU4/w298-h355/DSC05463.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Train incidents</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF-eJc1EYjjRF61WmW1kA2l2wIxNw8tC7VujG5LIOHrzUNIneo05zYVEAjjlrAlxaNb2pbtrf2YEtk7pj9qViM2FcdXeyhy1C8IjntmRe4h7L-JqSGjSV2ZBTiKK4YWhU398z6bUIq6mIP/s1600/6a01a511ea58a3970c01b7c6d000fd970b.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF-eJc1EYjjRF61WmW1kA2l2wIxNw8tC7VujG5LIOHrzUNIneo05zYVEAjjlrAlxaNb2pbtrf2YEtk7pj9qViM2FcdXeyhy1C8IjntmRe4h7L-JqSGjSV2ZBTiKK4YWhU398z6bUIq6mIP/s320/6a01a511ea58a3970c01b7c6d000fd970b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have been taking the train several times lately for long trips, and sadly, every time it was involved in "a collision with a person" (aka: suicide). The other week I felt the train coming to an abrupt standstill in the middle of nowhere, on a track where it wasn't supposed to stand still, then followed by silence. I assumed right away it was yet another sad incident. Must have been the 4th I encountered in the past year, while sitting in the train. It was very warm in there and my face was flaring, so I stood near an open door. I could see the train driver standing in tears next to the train. Heb said he could not drive further as he was too upset. There were telephone calls made with police and help services. They told passengers what had happened and to stay put; that they were not allowed to step out of the train, as body parts were still stuck under and next to the train and this was not something anyone would want to see... The train stood still for 2 hours, as police took care of the scene. And people in the train were angry because they weren't allowed out on the platform to smoke, before the scene was cleared. Some started to argue with train staff about it, insisting they'd be let out to smoke, and some staff got angry in return. Eventually passengers all started talking with each other while waiting near the door in the train. One girl was crying and comforted by her girlfriend, others asked if I speak English and if I could translate what was happening. People shared stories. I felt sorry for the train driver who was very upset and kept saying he couldn't drive further. One of the staff, a girl in her 30's by the look of it, said she had never had experienced this before either. Which surprised me as the high speed train I was in (300 km/hr) would seem the first choice for anyone with a certain death-by-train wish (and I had experienced it before in this type of train, unfortunately..). It was sad, also the thought of the poor soul who chose to do this :( Then, when I was finally able to continue my travels in the evening, another person jumped in front of thát train.. Two in one day, what are the odds. People in the train seem annoyed every time this happens. Everyone has appointments of course, some will miss connections with other trains or airplanes. On the other hand; at least our trains are pausing, to clean up before the train proceeds on its somber way. If the train would just keep going, it would soon look (and smell) like India here. It already does <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMSJs1Pq3pg&feature=youtu.be"><b>in some ways</b></a>. India... do they even pay for a ticket to ride on the train rooftop? Imagine if the train didn’t even bother to stop. You see this sort of thing in third-world countries. Trucks will crash, full of migrant workers. People slow down to gawk at the carnage, but no one stops. No one cares! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnqGKkm5f3IaqRQqq9CS5sSinqWJWkY4VfUdzkoGNkg57J65D-dXj2zY_CBY7RLZBLuwDpHvQPc83NJJE4eCiPsh1w2gCbFraBvja5WM-Q6Y0993T8on0ivU0LkxGbVIl7HxpmjghbtDKE/s1600/trains-05.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="620" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnqGKkm5f3IaqRQqq9CS5sSinqWJWkY4VfUdzkoGNkg57J65D-dXj2zY_CBY7RLZBLuwDpHvQPc83NJJE4eCiPsh1w2gCbFraBvja5WM-Q6Y0993T8on0ivU0LkxGbVIl7HxpmjghbtDKE/s400/trains-05.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I can't imagine what train drivers have to go through when they see those troubled people jump in front of their trains. Recently a father with his very young boy on his arm. My friend Petra works in the care sector and had one female client of hers also jump in front of a train, she told me. "Everyone saw it coming, there was no stopping her". And a friend of hers is train driver and says there is at least one jumper a day now in Holland, often more with an average of 1000 deaths by train each year in our small country alone. It is incredibly sad that the rail service has to handle this national problem, that train drivers have to literally come as close as can be to the moment of death and impact of these poor souls. There has been talk in Holland about legalized euthanasia for people who simply choose to do so. Nowadays you can get it when you can prove you have endless suffering with no realistic hope of improvement. People with terminal diseases for instance. But there has been a political proposal made to broaden the criteria and to allow people in who are not having a terminal illness, but instead have their own reasons for wanting a way out. There would still be a selection procedure, talks with doctors and psychiatrists and a mandatory 6 month waiting time period to possibly change their minds. So this one would not be for the impulsive-hearted. It's not yet allowed here but it might be in time to come. Now, depressed people have to go to such extremes as to throw themselves off of buildings or in front of trains, making it something for train drivers and people down the street to deal with. Apart from running the risk of not succeeding and ending badly injured up in a care home or wheelchair. And not just that, it is a huge expense for the railways too. Every time this happens, people are allowed to get taxi's to their urgent destinations on costs for the train company. People can get their money back for their train ticket if the delay is more than one hour. This argument is of course of lesser importance in the discussion. But it is a bit morbid that the national train services are now the main executioners of suicides. Or people now have to save up 10,000 euro's and go to a Dignitas clinic in the Alps if they want anything remotely similar to take place.<br />
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On the other hand, Europe is probably wary of a centralized location for providing death en mass to others. It could prove to be a lot of confusion and messiness to organize it. I could see a person with a brain tumor that has no chance of recovery having a medical option to take a pill and fall asleep for the last time. Someone with altered brain chemistry or just a morose pessimist perhaps shouldn’t be given the same option.. I don't think it's going to pass parliament any time soon, too many bits and but's attached to it. Also, it surpasses the pivotal question WHY so many people want to take their own life? These days.. In Holland there are nearly 2000 suicides each year nowadays, 5 people each day statistically. In the United States there are annually over 32.000 suicides, which comes down to 87 each day. Worldwide one million people take their own life each year (nearly 2500 each day). 58.000 Europeans die from suicide annually, more than all the victims of violence and traffic accidents combined. In Holland there are around 500 people each year who request the right of euthanasia due to psychological illness. Only 1,5% is in the end accepted. Out of those who are rejected, 10% commit suicide afterwards.<br />
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So why so many suicides, in these modern times with so many technical advancements compared to the ol days? We have such good living standards.. Could it have anything to do with the growing secularization? Is it the lack of experience with suffering (and having objectives) in life? Were people in the past too busy surviving, or had they too much fear instilled in them for implications for the afterlife? Are there not enough opportunities for people these days? Has it got anything to do with this idea that everyone has a right to be happy, all the time, magnified by seeing everybody elses happiness on social media? Has it to do with the growing nihilism? A lack of moral values? The secularization here in the West? The dreary weather? I know of a strip in Portugal, in the sunny south, that was traditionally plagued with suicides, but those were mostly due to extreme poverty and the inability of getting out of it. Maybe instead of going towards assisted suicide, we should look into why so many people commit suicide in the first place. On a bigger plane there is of course all sorts of stuff happening, but how many people are experiencing this consciously to the point of it driving them to suicide? The disappearing middle classes, most new wealth going to the top tenth of 1%. The millennial generation being the first in its history to expect a poorer standard of living than the generation preceding (thank you, Wall St.! ;-) ). Low minimum wages that haven't kept up with the cost of living since I don't know... 1826. Combine that with a skyrocketing cost of living. Jobs going out of the country at a rate that's even higher than how often a Conservative lies. Domestic jobs being destroyed if a company can replace the job with a machine and save 15 to 20 cents. The new jobs of the future that will replace the lost jobs, ie. "job replacement machine repair person", will be far less than the jobs being replaced. Politically their choice being either Pepsi or Coke. Something's gotta give. They can take a few years of this, but the longer the situation goes on, the greater the unrest. The greater the unrest, the greater the anger, fear, resentment...<br />
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<span style="clear: right; color: #cccccc; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="1155" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6efUxhipbUobM_5cp9LvHQT-n-0-_QCcmumlRpa8R7CllQLOzpHx6smf93YuZ-LpliOuQq4AnDptnq1H2Yz9e_M30VwC96K_f-NX9w-rJyzp51r7P9q7R6aaO2gA68D8ng_fAkb5Gb8Z/s400/encounter1-xlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqK_vgMZMtToVksLIt2InIPSuo1CybBMfAAeEnun6wqec.png" width="400" /></span>And I also feel (but might not be correct) that people these days, especially younger people, might drift towards a trend of honour suicides almost? I read <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5315417/Teenager-hanged-accidentally-sending-message.html"><b>these things</b></a> more and more often. That is almost Japanese in its repentance seeking. You probably wouldn't dare taking your life over delivering the wrong note to the wrong person back in the days. Now ego and reputation are extremely important, because news travels so fast now and sticks too! Back in time, I was the topic of conversation and gossip for a few weeks tops, when a friend snitched on me when I was secretly out partying with some older 'cool' kids, when I had told my parents I'd have a girly sleep over. I was found out right there on the party and it was a right embarrassing mess of a situation, and in my village the people all heard about it... And talked about it. But then something new happened with someone else soon after, and that was that. No social media coverage on it, no info that lingered on the net long after. Nowadays they put nude pictures of others up and it will stay there for ever if you are unlucky..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGP17XFEohDCILgWL6xlkO61_SAXz-F_Bt9MiiWc95tHuv8oHW8XFNPCSD10e8KB8huE9FW9tdDu8OltHmzB-pLNMNDtFDWPf9xWZ_QC2aHkRGvOXIYhM7sEsC8UCIVgfFgMuuuJOUSHT_/s1600/Clara+Bow+in+1920s+03.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="500" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGP17XFEohDCILgWL6xlkO61_SAXz-F_Bt9MiiWc95tHuv8oHW8XFNPCSD10e8KB8huE9FW9tdDu8OltHmzB-pLNMNDtFDWPf9xWZ_QC2aHkRGvOXIYhM7sEsC8UCIVgfFgMuuuJOUSHT_/s320/Clara+Bow+in+1920s+03.jpg" width="320" /></a>It used to be predominantly artist who saw all the suffering in the world and at some point couldn’t take it anymore, not kids who became all emo and thought that life sucks. In poor countries the suicides statistics (the official ones at least..) are lower. Perhaps because they don’t have much free time and ease of life to contemplate these ideas. They have to survive, have responsibilities for other people and relatives often. Maybe we just have it too easy in some ways in the West now. Loneliness and isolation might be the biggest reason however. The collective feeling and being has been broken down in the past century. I love books from the 1800's-early 1900's, and back then all of society was divided in strict and magnetic columns; subgroups. People identified with them, belonged to them and strode often for them. Think of big workers union collectives, always defending one subgroup, never the whole of society. Political ideologies were also developed with the interests of one of these subgroups in mind; the working classes, the bourgeois (a bulging class of a thing back in the days) and then of course the aristocracy and the industrial rich. And never the twain shall meet! That had its negatives of course, and modern society at least is a little bit more transparent and easy to work your way up (or fall down) in. But the past 50 years the individualism trend has also taken root and people now no longer have their strong identity-tied social/political/or even religious columns where they belong to and get also a sense of community from. That can make them feel lonely and isolated. I think this trend will continue, under influence of the ongoing technology. The way we use computers and our smartphones only drives the physical wedge between other human beings around us wider and greater. We will only live more inside our own minds and virtual reality in the near future. If anything, I think the emphasis on peoples own lives and their own almost hedonistic craving for experiences, will only increase. That will seem more important to them than some ancient near-Marxist crackling theory. I think anyway that the time of great radical political-economic ideologies are behind us. We had all of those in the past centuries. Everything in our modern society is geared towards further individualization, further pushing the life of experiences and comfort.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmlVJbvEo4bx6egGEsiPHKaf8fiX5wuXhRe-KOYI0TPCJe3zgWQvNekS6nmtQT_JqF-wAY030ABRWS4E7nVlq7VpIU-jZJUNj6eMwQXxej7_0erfdQf-V_sUku4HqGPChLCIeU0FgYEx0t/s1600/375886_10151072042202151_2043032140_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="580" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmlVJbvEo4bx6egGEsiPHKaf8fiX5wuXhRe-KOYI0TPCJe3zgWQvNekS6nmtQT_JqF-wAY030ABRWS4E7nVlq7VpIU-jZJUNj6eMwQXxej7_0erfdQf-V_sUku4HqGPChLCIeU0FgYEx0t/s320/375886_10151072042202151_2043032140_n.jpg" width="235" /></a>High intellectuals of the past would always complain about the younger generations (they were even complaining in The Great Gatsby for instance), who were supposedly reading books that were "unfit" and "trash", Yet by our current standards, we call them classics. They still helped to keep the mind sharp and introduced new perspectives and challenged old ideas. Less people read now, apart from the dopamine inducing blurbs from social media. We are losing our attention span. People used to enjoy just sitting outside, watching the world go by, or going for a walk and meeting a friend at his house was a big event, nightly discussions being the most enjoyable forms of entertainment. There was a give and a take, now all is thrown at us. We call our world interactive, but in some ways it is really passive. Social interaction reduced to our smartphones and computers. And also, in Western countries we think of life as being linear. Past to Present to Future. In Asian countries more people think of it is a circular phenomenon. So reincarnation makes sense to them. Here we think we can take our own lives and the pain is over, we sleep forever, painless. From an Eastern point of view, things are about cause and effect; every effect has a cause and there is no cause without an effect, so to them the concept of only living one life doesn’t make sense. In their opinion, people who take their own lives think that they are getting a one way ticket out of their suffering, but really they are just creating more for their next journey. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwoixwivJVt6uyQt6Tx_pOhOrU6uDmY1fbyPKtM_6EcN4iPNbjaA7xDUWNTtIn0qsc_k7tzBskyHlhTDBLC0RwITOZXig-L1y-zkOct3Q03wnQw6FBTjVlVz5nXqUUFYozjZeJHcvaL_l9/s1600/DSC05427.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="885" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwoixwivJVt6uyQt6Tx_pOhOrU6uDmY1fbyPKtM_6EcN4iPNbjaA7xDUWNTtIn0qsc_k7tzBskyHlhTDBLC0RwITOZXig-L1y-zkOct3Q03wnQw6FBTjVlVz5nXqUUFYozjZeJHcvaL_l9/s320/DSC05427.jpg" width="215" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlwzwiQs4IZJLg1rBZt2I2ldUKMh-2pLcEbskhyphenhypheniaIJxjBmpxaxUCF6H-tMztV28RmQoWAWGXAGG9fe0OtSoriHNtLJup4tFJN_WPciw1sPkm4pjvsv03TJEBROoBr7M_Wl-0PtxwnJ2L/s1600/DSC05421.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a>I have thought about suicide myself, many years ago. When my rosacea was utterly debilitating and wouldn't calm down even when I had fans on, windows open and cold packs attached to my face. A whole year I was burning up and nothing seemed to help ease it. I did not want to die, but I wanted an escape out of that misery. Every doctor I visited could only come up with a prescription for antibiotics (which made my flushing worse). It seemed suffering without end. Luckily a friend from the rosacea forum, Peter Waters, took me to his dermatologist in London, Prof. Chu, and his <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html"><b>anti flushing medication</b></a> really helped me to make matters more bearable. Unfortunately, 12 years later, I am still having many bad rosacea flares and have had to adapt my entire life to this shitty condition. I won't say that suicide is the easy way out, but it does leaves those who love you left behind with a lot of guilt and trauma often. Your life is given to you, in whatever way you look at it, and it is most likely our only life here so we just have to make something good out of it. Even when struggling with daily pain and a very restricted life... And not compare our lives too much with that of others. Which is easier said than done</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDgueGatZzPZdON1UeCDguteCm-CRJj73v1O-3du2cbF9-Yti1u4hBBzsfDa7Pg5rPlhXx1ra1uhGUt090u4JZp-pUA3YPSbhQbeh0NWNq_4jDAndZy3CO2xlpQUc2hgfjkGWbcTS15JXu/s1600/292886_10151134656452151_1728121530_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="337" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDgueGatZzPZdON1UeCDguteCm-CRJj73v1O-3du2cbF9-Yti1u4hBBzsfDa7Pg5rPlhXx1ra1uhGUt090u4JZp-pUA3YPSbhQbeh0NWNq_4jDAndZy3CO2xlpQUc2hgfjkGWbcTS15JXu/s320/292886_10151134656452151_1728121530_n.jpg" width="112" /></a>I read a beautiful passage in a Hungarian book recently, it's not a poem but it probably could have been. Of course it's sad and melancholic, but I'll copy it to here:<br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">I would leave everything here: the valleys, the hills, the paths, and the jaybirds for the gardens, I would leave here the peacocks and the priests, heaven and earth, spring and fall, I would leave here the exit routes, the evenings in the kitchen, the last amorous gaze, and all of the city-bound directions that make you shudder: I would leave here the thick twilight falling upon the land, gravity, hope, enhancement, and tranquility, I would leave here those beloved and those close to me, everything that touched me, everything that shocked me, everything that fascinated and uplifted me, I would leave here the noble, the benevolent, the pleasant, and the demonically beautiful, I would leave here the budding sprout, everything birth and existence, I would leave here incantation, enigma, distances, the intoxication of inexhaustible eternities; for here I would leave this earth and these stars, because I would take nothing with me, because I’ve looked into what’s coming, and I don’t need anything from here. </span></i><span style="color: #444444;"> - <b>The World Goes On, Laszlo Krasznohaorkai</b></span><br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO4NPFoERg2ACrwYR9n1C4XPS4rnEih0CKXTYoK4m9U_cFutp5-Tr0MI_b5OpzMBf3hfzZcEkovBJZB413eJJBQfKNuT3wy_VEViSxBMl9ZOqttMRh0fKRXrGTVamqzMDxs7qs-1RJt5Gg/s1600/293793_10151143972507151_1230780851_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="408" height="437" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO4NPFoERg2ACrwYR9n1C4XPS4rnEih0CKXTYoK4m9U_cFutp5-Tr0MI_b5OpzMBf3hfzZcEkovBJZB413eJJBQfKNuT3wy_VEViSxBMl9ZOqttMRh0fKRXrGTVamqzMDxs7qs-1RJt5Gg/w186-h437/293793_10151143972507151_1230780851_n.jpg" width="186" /></a>I assume that people who take their own lives, lack a sense of having meaning in life. Although parents also take their own lives, so having children, and having therefore a meaning and a purpose, might not always be the solution here. I certainly find it harder to find meaning in my own life with a lot more free time and no kids to demand all my attention. I sometimes struggle with this dilemma, what meaning to give my life. In day to day life, looking after your own offspring must be very rewarding and take away a lot of time and opportunity to ponder about your own meaning, as it is often right in front of your face then. Although I don't think many people have any real meaning in the big scheme of things. Parents think they enable the lives of hundreds, thousands, over time by having kids, but their DNA in the end is reduced to 0,00001% of all these future human beings. If you believe that we are only born out of this one exact mathematical option, this minute opportunity in time and space (namely our own parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and then count back a few thousand years), then that would hold truth, but from what I understand from Eastern religion, some think our soul and spirit aren't created in such a way and would have found another body or another set of parents if need be. Who is to say what is true, I certainly cannot. At the end of the day, most people have very little legacy at all, outside of parents of course who are very important when it comes to a legacy. Thinkers and scientists and researchers and writers and all that stuff; they last a century usually, tops, then most of them are also forgotten. Maybe the whole reason to be alive, the reason for living, is to let go of the ego, and accept that ultimately we were nothing and will be nothing and the main life lesson we have to master is the art of letting go. I don't know, I think everyone one way or another looks for purpose and meaning. Like Zen mediators and poets such as Rokan say, "our lives are like a bubble on a blade of grass". Time passes in the blink of an eye, and so when we realize this, we stop taking it all so seriously.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaVqqThdkTrQCT5RUpTG8-y62oWWL9aR3IYl57mAAP4UbSrOllPFqcSMbh6eoIC8bWCzHRYsHHIYW12YLQeXqPSzlCEMxvZLvaUBpAgZfsYv-g-BcBZWRtSHpBlcppBkrr4wk2IzVxYPDL/s1600/kertesz9.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="1024" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaVqqThdkTrQCT5RUpTG8-y62oWWL9aR3IYl57mAAP4UbSrOllPFqcSMbh6eoIC8bWCzHRYsHHIYW12YLQeXqPSzlCEMxvZLvaUBpAgZfsYv-g-BcBZWRtSHpBlcppBkrr4wk2IzVxYPDL/s320/kertesz9.jpg" width="320" /></a>And modern people also seem to crave a lot of NOVELTY. In their free time, in their professional lives, in their private lives.. Familiarity breeds contempt, said Aesop. People come to take one another for granted. You’re my wife, of course you’re going to be there when I come home. Of course you’ll be asleep beside me, that is the normal routine. It takes an outside influence to change this routine, one that we adapt to as necessary. There is no excitement in this! Domestication can be the death of novelty, which is a concept humans treasure above most. If I told you that I could replicate the work of Isaac Newton, no one would be particularly impressed. Novelty is the true test in a person’s life. You have to do it first for it to be exciting. I could recreate the Mona Lisa in exacting detail, and no one would care… outside of people that are always on the lookout for talented people able to forge artwork, of course. No one becomes famous replicating the work of others. Yet people want to be constantly stimulated these days. Having a wonderful partner is often not enough in the long run. The excitement calms down and then what?? More people now seem to want to be eternally chasing the dragon. With the death of novelty comes the death of true appreciation. Books also touch on this problem. If someone has a great life, and everything goes swimmingly, then there is no story to tell about it. Stories are always a response to a problem. There's no great novel or even a bedtime story about everybody being at peace and content and happy. It's always restlessness that creates drama and also empathy, because just like there is no story about a perfect person, there is no reader who is a perfect person. Everyone is wrestling with his own anxieties or challenges or the distances between where he is and where he wants to be.<br />
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Our own identity is often a construction. Something we think of ourselves, we think we are this this this and this. We build a construction that we can live with, our own idea of what sort of friend, partner, employee or citizen we are. It's only once they are challenged that people have to fine tune or even correct this image. And we're all evolving anyway and being shaped by stuff that happens to us. Some things might seem insignificant in the short term, but turn out important in the big scope of things, changing or breaking some things irreversible (think of the discovering of infidelity for instance, or being put for a difficult choice and having to live with your decision for the rest of your life). But in a way it are those challenges that really define our own identity. You can no longer hide behind a self made construct then. Like in wars; people often like to think of themselves of someone who would do this or that in such and such situation, but you won't know for sure until the situation actually arises. For instance; what we would be like in a war. Or during serious illness. Maybe we are lucky that such a situation almost never really arises in life, or maybe we are unlucky because of that, because we never get a reality check then to the self image we made, continuing to live as actors almost. Never finding out your authentic self. There is something to say about having no real problems in life, but from another point of view you could also be happy about having existential problems and challenges, and how they enable you to further refine who you are and what your capabilities really are. How strong you can be, or how inventive (or how morally corrupt lol). And then you have the misdiagnosis of small and big issues. People fretting about small stuff (vanity, materialism, perfectionism for instance), and people on the other end of the spectrum constantly misdiagnosing big things as small stuff. Think of marriages or relationships that are on the decline; people can hold on for a very long time that all the signs of impending doom are just small and insignificant futilities. That he or she no longer kisses you on the mouth when leaving the house. No longer makes two cups of tea. Or no longer brings home small gifts. All small small small, until it adds up to the break down of a relationship. But the lack of happiness is not unhappiness. There is something to be said for contentment too. I just don't think we have a life long prescription right for 'novelty'. Some things belong to the formative years. Some things will never become novel again, no matter how frantic some people search for it. More and heavier drugs are not going to reproduce that First Time effect. Chasing the dragon. But sometimes people have so much in a relationship, outside of burning passion. I don't like the flashy fastness of these times and the desire to live fast and happy all the time. With so many casualties along the road, who think they fail at life because they cannot keep up with the happiness machines. At a certain age, you better acknowledge and accept that a few notches less can still be a very good thing too.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNeGyaOxibgjT3CXssSt40gbuNRBiJnDdjgqWSPDC9mIlSah9-xoruWHoBvTekWd7l1c9yCkJgJ7Ktgwu7yJfCCYAEY7jRvQK0jYzdiZDVGYVfD5DDbuk0n8jQxm9absLedZhxoshmrZO/s1600/21616061_1845155202461866_5781214921081905416_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="750" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNeGyaOxibgjT3CXssSt40gbuNRBiJnDdjgqWSPDC9mIlSah9-xoruWHoBvTekWd7l1c9yCkJgJ7Ktgwu7yJfCCYAEY7jRvQK0jYzdiZDVGYVfD5DDbuk0n8jQxm9absLedZhxoshmrZO/s320/21616061_1845155202461866_5781214921081905416_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>The Stoic approach to life would be to wake up each morning, thinking that this could be your last day. It is something called negative visualization, imagining people you love are dead. Not just as a thought and a conceptual idea, but really spending a few moments each morning feeling what it would be like for this to be a reality. Because some day it will be. Some people would call this line of thinking morbid and depressing; a terrible way to start out your day, but it is something some easterners really do, from what I understand. Let’s take the example of a father and a son. A father is sitting in his chair, reading his paper, his 8 year old kid keeps trying to get his attention, they are supposed to go to see a sports game, but the dad wants to read his paper instead. He shoos the kid off, but the kid returns 10 minutes later, again the dad shoos him off, this time irate, all dad wants is a few quiet moments to read the paper, the kid comes back 10 more minutes later and says the game has already started. Now, if the father practiced Stoicism, he would have woken up and thought about what life would be like if his son was dead, feeling today how he would have been really feeling if his son had passed away for a year already today. In this scenario, the father starts to read his paper, the son asks about the game, the father feels gratitude that his son is alive and realizes that the paper is meaningless compared to spending time with his son and he drops the paper and they head off to the game. It takes work to create the habit of putting this into practice, and we can’t do it with everything in our lives, but I try to think like this at times when I feel low about life in general.<br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Jordan Peterson and religion</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For many people, religion of course gives a framework to live by. Jordan Peterson is a psychiatrist who has a lot to say about that, I'll add a video that was trending the past weeks in the media.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlwzwiQs4IZJLg1rBZt2I2ldUKMh-2pLcEbskhyphenhypheniaIJxjBmpxaxUCF6H-tMztV28RmQoWAWGXAGG9fe0OtSoriHNtLJup4tFJN_WPciw1sPkm4pjvsv03TJEBROoBr7M_Wl-0PtxwnJ2L/s1600/DSC05421.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="930" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlwzwiQs4IZJLg1rBZt2I2ldUKMh-2pLcEbskhyphenhypheniaIJxjBmpxaxUCF6H-tMztV28RmQoWAWGXAGG9fe0OtSoriHNtLJup4tFJN_WPciw1sPkm4pjvsv03TJEBROoBr7M_Wl-0PtxwnJ2L/s320/DSC05421.jpg" width="264" /></a>This interview is already from a week or more ago, but it got a lot of media hype coverage. In this crazy interview, Peterson is questioned on some eye catching topics, including equality for men and women in the work force. Peterson is a traditional Christian and quite conservative. You'd think a good interviewer would easily shoot some holes in his story. But unfortunately that didn't happen. Peterson sounded cool, calm and collected, solemn almost, in contrast to interviewer Cathy Newman. She blew the entire interview up with her insane tactics, seeming either incapable or unwilling of having an intellectual debate. In fact, she even seemed to have a chip on her shoulder and an agenda.. She wouldn't listen and summarize an opinion given by him 10 seconds earlier, instead coming with "so you are saying that" every single time (but then assuming something he didn't even vaguely or remotely say). Her tactic every time he said something was to form the first half of her request for clarification,with something he said with the second half, being misquoted or presuming the worst possible intent. For instance regarding the difference between opportunities and equality of outcome. (Equality in opportunities should trump equality of outcome). It almost looked as if this professional interviewer didn't have the necessary skills of inquiry to explore them and rigorously test them, let alone defend them against a scientist. Every time Peterson was trying to argue that men and women are different and are wired different, trying to explain how evolution plays a role, typically, instead of trying to understand, she attempted to discredit his argument with hyperbole. “So you are comparing us to lobsters??”. A well worn path in that if you can’t compete with facts on an intellectual level, you take something out of context in an attempt to mock your opponent.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAdkg6DJxMevRA4sBtZ8sMHZltRK8CW4SyQ7WbAegqwgqpK2E4xqyME2vbAWAhylVDFgUGdJ8QQgdZGBLvgfPk7kiRIoVwmRoZ7ZFA9pwZlO1CIrcN2C-KU64dtlzukyEf5QF6idm2y0zs/s1600/541164_10151071997557151_1470175718_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="587" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAdkg6DJxMevRA4sBtZ8sMHZltRK8CW4SyQ7WbAegqwgqpK2E4xqyME2vbAWAhylVDFgUGdJ8QQgdZGBLvgfPk7kiRIoVwmRoZ7ZFA9pwZlO1CIrcN2C-KU64dtlzukyEf5QF6idm2y0zs/s320/541164_10151071997557151_1470175718_n.jpg" width="237" /></a>It backfired on her, as she received a lot of criticism since. I think she embarrassed herself in this interview by continually misinterpreting and misrepresenting what he said and meant, which soon proved a worn and tiring tactic. Instead of acknowledging the error that was made, she and channel 4 then pulled the victim card, saying she was being trolled online and was under 'hate attack'. For valid criticism. Not surprisingly, the usual suspects in the British media linked Peterson to Nazis and hails him a hero of the extreme right. Which he might be, but not based on this interview. And not based on his own online videos either. Peterson normally has some main topics he undresses and dresses up all the time; he defends the traditional marriage structure and the traditional gender divisions. I do not agree with him on most topics. He is against gay marriage, he thinks all human worth lies in having a family unit. He is a Christian traditionalist. He jumped on the pronoun/transgender bandwagon (and he wasn't the first to do this) and that is why he is now trending and getting more widespread views. I listened to his college classes a year or more ago already, and they are quite basic, traditional takes on psychology, with a lot of ramblings about traditional christian values, Dostojevski and Nietzsche. The man is a pessimist. The thing with Peterson is that he speaks from a Christian point of view. He believes in the construct of religion, in the sense that it highlights how we should live. He believes in God, but he has a strange definition for what religion is. And he believes in God, but refuses to admit it. Here he continues to dodge the question in the most amusing manner.<br />
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<i>"I act as if he exists and that is a good enough answer to me"</i>. Aka; he dodges the question, and I think he acts so uncomfortable and defensive/evasive about it because in this day and age, scientists are not really widespread religious anymore, and it opens up a whole new field of possible criticism towards his further work, especially when he refers to the importance of 'facts' in there. He tries to tap dance around the question by saying that he doesn't know what people mean by the terms "believe" or "God". Really? So ask them to define the terms. Oh, he says then, but they only<i> think</i> they know what they mean by believe or God.. He's just playing a word game here because he doesn't want to be 'boxed' as he says. I listened to a podcast debate on 'Truth' between him and a neuro-scientist I love to listen to (his podcasts), called Sam Harris. Sam gets so frustrated with him on the truth question, that the whole discussion derails soon after. It's 2 hours long but worth the listen. They are having another debate /conversation in June. He had some really interesting other discussions with Sam Harris. Here he "roasts" Sam Harris, again on religion;<br />
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To me, Peterson doesn't seem to fully acknowledge or even understand Harris' position on rationality and morality. "<i>The proposition that underlies western culture is that there is a transcendent morality (God). The ethic that drives our culture is predicated on the idea of God. You can't just take that idea away and expect the thing to remain intact mid air without any foundational support. You don't have to buy that......</i>", is what Peterson says. I don't buy it. Ethics can remain or exist without the foundational support of a transcendence or God, he can't successfully argue that morality and ethics won't survive when you take religion (the foundational support) away. What he basically says is that before religion and before western societies, there were different, or no moral rules regarding murder, theft and such. We only have to look at 'primitive' cultures then, like in Papua New Guinea, who do not have organized religion, yet I bet they have their own value system to be able to live in a group of humans. It's difficult to prove his point, as most older cultures believed in one or multiple Gods, one way or another. But that doesn't mean that those who might have believed in nature and not in a god, didn't have rules in place that show morality. I think he is incorrect and that this morality system is belonging to humans regardless of religion, which is what that Sam Harris links to. Harris links them to rationality, but it might even be so that some values are inherently part of human psychology, even before times of rationality. It might have been the first things humans developed, in order to be able to successfully hunt and survive together. Strange of Peterson to assume that all such morality comes directly from religion. I don't think that without religion, we would be killing one another any more easily than we are now. Christianity never stopped the brutal oppression of the serfs or the conquests or war and did a fair bit of killing itself, so there is a major contradiction going on there. The question is, does religion create that or is it an attempt to heal it? That depends on the one wielding that ideological sword I suppose. What Peterson basically says is a very reductive simplistic logic:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9EX2v64IK-vBnTXd6WmTa5DzzLft6KYLyMJiHRews7ghKoYWJ4n7NiQHJIGeS39Ski0vBHo828bPhJ3WTDPQH_axJge_RPPIvV7tv8vAwJ21wpKSPXIYmidgMM1NXOZ0uZkb6ZojUKq0t/s1600/Retro+Swimsuits+%252870%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="500" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9EX2v64IK-vBnTXd6WmTa5DzzLft6KYLyMJiHRews7ghKoYWJ4n7NiQHJIGeS39Ski0vBHo828bPhJ3WTDPQH_axJge_RPPIvV7tv8vAwJ21wpKSPXIYmidgMM1NXOZ0uZkb6ZojUKq0t/s320/Retro+Swimsuits+%252870%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a>-western culture is based on the ethics of the Judas-christian religion.<br />
-The Judao-christian religion is based on the belief of God.<br />
-If you deny the existence of God you weaken that religion.<br />
-If you weaken that religion you weaken our cultures adherence to the ethics that it supports.<br />
-If you weaken those ethics you leave a void that is at risk of being filled with a less functional and humane political and cultural system.<br />
-Science is important, but not at the expense of our cultural system.<br />
-History shows that secular societies can remake cultures into some very inhuman political systems, (Stalin, Hitler, Mao Tse tung, Pol Pot, and on and on.)<br />
-any belief system compatible with our survival must be true, and any that gets us killed must be false.<br />
-"be very afraid of atheist, but embrace and support grown men who wear fish hats and talk directly to invisible genies.<br /><br />Peterson often refers to Hume's philosophical 'is-ought' problem. The problem as described by Hume is that you cannot get from an 'is' to an 'ought.' Science can tell us how the world 'is' but it cannot tell us how it 'ought' to be, or how we should behave, and what we should value. Peterson then substitutes religion into the 'ought', as if that can tell us what to value. One can easily disagree with Hume's law. Sam Harris thinks it is flawed because if we have all the 'is' available in the world, if we learn everything that there 'is' to know, all the possibilities of good and bad experiences, how the mind works, all the kinds of mechanisms and consequences that would determine one decision over another, so all of the 'is' there is to be understood. If understanding all of that doesn't give you a complete picture of what you 'ought' to do then where would you go to get that picture? Besides, all the religious works are written by human beings too haha. Peterson has so much <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z6k81PNySM"><b>confirmation bias</b></a>, that I wouldn't even call his approach scientific sometimes. He is a traditional christian believer who sees no other real possibilities for inner growth and ultimate biological satisfaction than through having children. Truth to me is that not having kids might be the harder path. You have to create your own worth and meaning and day to day action, which seems easy in your twenties, but becomes more difficult in your 30's and onwards. People with chronic illness struggle on a day to day level already anyway, to the point that people who do NOT have said health issues cannot even understand or are willing to acknowledge. His argument; "Don't chase happiness by forgoing kids because, you know, you could end up with cancer. <i>And then what??"</i><br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Horoscope</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJZqbVKpTkiMhDijEBqHb6KaKVpVmzdaet7C9s-qqj-R1XlgwZaYvlni5T-bjc7gxGm_GvR115wfwbyBvVDQ7xq2zAzMokksEqXVLQDgsApUznGx80H_Oq324bSMAp8r86B5M1YsghhaGV/s1600/462480_10151064894532151_1289757864_o.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="618" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJZqbVKpTkiMhDijEBqHb6KaKVpVmzdaet7C9s-qqj-R1XlgwZaYvlni5T-bjc7gxGm_GvR115wfwbyBvVDQ7xq2zAzMokksEqXVLQDgsApUznGx80H_Oq324bSMAp8r86B5M1YsghhaGV/w251-h391/462480_10151064894532151_1289757864_o.jpg" width="251" /></a>Hehe I read an "Honest horoscope" for 2018, summing up the worst of every star sign. Just for fun I'll pick one some star signs randomly. I'm scorpio myself, so I will add that one too. It's all nonsense of course, but was a nice twist to the usual positive general horoscope texts, that can apply to every human being. It was all done in jest; every single star sign comes out like an utter twat. NO month is spared. I struggle with the practicality of it; I was born 3 weeks late, so I would have supposed to be a complete different star sign than what I turned out. Could it truly be that my personality altered radically in those 3 extra weeks in the womb?<br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Scorpio:</b></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqK8jud4j0-CIw1SUq62qno-Hx4PyBmIBvYRVeOlCj3kJiGAczp5vAyV3GMKfnz1898LqCjY7OWc1657KBod3iqOHtrq68b2XuRKWodrwzxUJM-84p_6hJvTnVkyY5d3S-SXVwDEybTTQC/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqK8jud4j0-CIw1SUq62qno-Hx4PyBmIBvYRVeOlCj3kJiGAczp5vAyV3GMKfnz1898LqCjY7OWc1657KBod3iqOHtrq68b2XuRKWodrwzxUJM-84p_6hJvTnVkyY5d3S-SXVwDEybTTQC/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a>Jealous and Heartless. Yes, every star sign has shadow sides, but scorpio's beat them all. You already were jealous, revengeful, suspicious, heartless and narcissistic, but in 2018 you manage to stir all these nasty traits to new heights in 2018. It already starts in January, when you put depilatory cream in the mascara roll from your 'best friend', because you felt she was laughing a bit too warmly to your boyfriend. In March he himself is next, when you put him naked on the street, because he didn't wake right away when you stuck your tongue in his ear. And guess what? He even comes back in with apologies, paralyzed as he is by your secret scorpion poison; sex. You use it to get your way, always and everywhere. But be careful, in October your chances turn. You cannot continue to seduce that coworker with impunity. It's going to give trouble. Famous scorpio's: Ivanka Trump, Winona Ryder, Bill Gates and Marie Curie. Potential partner: poisonous snake<br />
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">Aries:</span></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqlkXUQR-YxzzOU7qNEFDkOn0cj7cv1pp0nZ7XLH-c2p8YeKowfnNyEha3m9iRuVUOv_Kcsx5a537iJZZHZaqAWfYLTTNuGcTAu7KdfeSA0lI694zfxTBPSEwPcLiOL8IXgRgBO8CP1Cc/s1600/92b6c95f297350e312ec4bf07b04b954.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqlkXUQR-YxzzOU7qNEFDkOn0cj7cv1pp0nZ7XLH-c2p8YeKowfnNyEha3m9iRuVUOv_Kcsx5a537iJZZHZaqAWfYLTTNuGcTAu7KdfeSA0lI694zfxTBPSEwPcLiOL8IXgRgBO8CP1Cc/w253-h200/92b6c95f297350e312ec4bf07b04b954.jpg" width="253" /></a>The bad news first: you are a moody know-it-all with a short fuse. The good news: you aren't aware of it yourself, you are too busy with your "adventurous life", as you call it yourself. Even though those adventures mostly come down to speeding in your car with too much alcohol in your blood, and not too subtle flirting with hot chicks with a nose piercing/bat tattoo/too short a haircut. Contact with your friends is this year, with Mars in the 8th House, more difficult than ever. You might think that you're giving your friend a nice compliment when you tell her "You really are looking a lot less chubby than last week". And you also belief that everyone at a party loves your fanatical (yes, that's what fire signs are like) explanations of what a typical francesinha dish should actually be made of, and that everyone who thinks differently is a dirt nazi. Speaking of nazi's: Adolf Hitler was an Aries. Exactly, with a short fuse. Best chance for a relationship: someone with the star sign crowbar. Other famous Aries: Quentin Tarantino, Vincent van Gogh and Celine Dion<br />
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">LEO:</span></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLy4jZHzkkznzkXiPebhbn-dZ-BX2M-s7RRnH1lhasfIwP4Y7DIGdkjOXGK7sQ67uuipKONbcqV86HOG1sjuD4fvXCwnh5lpWIO9jufKLmS3sfuA626yAWT2UMFLGRfqbKncvQ-7xb1MwT/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="252" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLy4jZHzkkznzkXiPebhbn-dZ-BX2M-s7RRnH1lhasfIwP4Y7DIGdkjOXGK7sQ67uuipKONbcqV86HOG1sjuD4fvXCwnh5lpWIO9jufKLmS3sfuA626yAWT2UMFLGRfqbKncvQ-7xb1MwT/s320/download.jpg" width="320" /></a>Congratulations: you have the biggest ego of all the star signs, and that will prove itself in 2018 under Uranus and Venus more than ever. You're a fire sign after all; you are sexy and you know it, immersed as you are of your own radiating beauty. Women are drawn to you like ants to a honey pot. 'Good, I already thought so', you are thinking now, you are not surprised by this. It is your birth right, you think. Unfortunately, also this year there is no lasting love between all those escapades, because they soon find out about your shadow sides; you are vein, superficial, selfish , demanding and impatient. Maybe you should try not to laugh so hard about your own jokes when you have a serious date in July. Other famous Leo's are Fidel Castro, Kevin Spacey, Mick Jagger, Billy Bob Thornton and Bill Clinton. Star sign of your potential partner; lion tamer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvSXKf2qVqtKfY0YKVP2-XsQo_AGYIsXmLXqyOJEfiP5sWI0qLxBz9xc1fLRPmQu2FLnlKxEE0wNUIlwjnNRfNDGijcl3tH1a86286iSGd5fjOuWnS0vys8ghV_PlGPM5uP68NvtdyIIZ/s1600/664827_10151131657407151_869952456_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a>I'm ashamed to say that my horoscope was fairly accurate haha. Bit exaggerated of course, which was the fun of the whole thing, but not entirely besides the point regarding revenge, murder and spite. A female friend blatantly flirting with the man I'm with, will one way or another gets notified of my resentment. Usually by putting superglue in their mascara rolls haha. Jokes, jokes. People tend to look for coincidences; your TV goes on and the TV cues up to a show on pollution, and you just know it’s your Uncle Frank telling you to join Greenpeace. Sometimes these little meanings we attach to things can be good, they give us some comfort. Some people get carried away with them, thinking everything is a sign…"my shoes laces came untied, that is a sign I need to go running"…"my coffee wasn’t hot enough…that is a sign I need to switch to tea, or else!". My mum can be very spiritual. Especially when she encounters what she considers unusual occurrences. So I always have to explain things like No, fire doesn't mean you have angered the Gods. So on the day of the anniversary of the passing of my sister, you can be sure that there's a much higher chance that some cloud will create a formation in the shape of her favorite rock band or something, or some bird will land on her balcony and peck out "Hi, it's me!" in Morse code. I love that she sees those things and gets solace from them, but I also know how willing people can dish up stories and embellish them with factor grandioso.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVRs0IKhft0mW8DWas8XjYcPbtk72WFhoaVm11Lbz0TVhmMyrOqvYpsHLMgtF473vLc0wCxHR8-yUHlSQK9riAMEWMSIANKrCjhgFJD63vBp-h9_7MQdAtAltFzeNMntYbdvaqY5x2QBH/s1600/993325.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVRs0IKhft0mW8DWas8XjYcPbtk72WFhoaVm11Lbz0TVhmMyrOqvYpsHLMgtF473vLc0wCxHR8-yUHlSQK9riAMEWMSIANKrCjhgFJD63vBp-h9_7MQdAtAltFzeNMntYbdvaqY5x2QBH/s1600/993325.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b>I also saw this<a href="https://www.npo.nl/floortje-naar-het-einde-van-de-wereld/18-01-2018/BV_101385627"> great tv program</a> (if you like you can still watch it back online, most is spoken in English) this week about a tv presenter who travels to the ends of the world.</b></span><br />People living in very unusual places, and this time she visited a rhino orphanage on a secret location in South Africa. A girl of 22 years was running it with 5 other volunteers and for 4 years already they took in baby rhino's who had been left abandoned in the wild, as their mothers were poached. After some years of hand raising them (they'd even sleep next to one each night, on a mattress, as the baby rhino's need that sort of attachment as in the wild they are 24/7 with their mum normally), they are let back in the wild again, in the safest nature reserves. It was a wonderful program as this girl was so dedicated to animals and had such a beautiful take on things, I thought. She also takes in other baby orphans, a zebra for instance, a goat, you name it. The bond she develops with them, she says, is so strong, and they trust and love you unconditionally. They see her as their mom. People on the other hand had broken her trust in the past and she preferred the symbiosis with the animals. Btw it is a dangerous job too as poachers are constantly trying to find the place for this rhino horn which is worth more than gold at the moment, the most valuable product in the world due to humanities absolutely insanity and dumbness (idiots thinking it saves you from prostate cancer and all that, it's just keratin, just like in your on nails). Other orphanages have been found and people have been murdered over it and the small rhino's taken in other parts of Africa, so she really is putting her life on the line too for what she sees as saving the rhino's. I'd have no problem guarding a bunch of rhino's or elephants with a Kalashnikov and shooting down all the poachers I see.<br /></div></div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Music clip of the day</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">December 22nd 2017</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrzmw7V1PlJDB2NG5OM4aRspeyIKAkDp2RMj10sBoeNvWncFq8UFSDLbHARW0-J4fPn0oVhBCO5KFhsgHNw2l_aCTRmY5113GnTREzdLUQ4kPSg4bI8qTvuAxkejpUZucnudneXYkI5Ns/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrzmw7V1PlJDB2NG5OM4aRspeyIKAkDp2RMj10sBoeNvWncFq8UFSDLbHARW0-J4fPn0oVhBCO5KFhsgHNw2l_aCTRmY5113GnTREzdLUQ4kPSg4bI8qTvuAxkejpUZucnudneXYkI5Ns/s1600/download.jpg" /></a>Nearly Christmas! That lovely time, where kids here are buried under presents, both with Sinterklaas ánd Christmas. Everything is festive now, and then in a few weeks time it will be January and people will be all depressed without knowing how and why. Although I know quite a few people who also get pretty depressed about and during Christmas time :) After weeks, months almost of eating as healthy as I can bring up (lots of vegetable+ sweet potatoe stir fries, salads and the odd fish and organic meat), I cannot wait for us to pig out on union soup, lamb shanks, fries, fried and crusty golden potatoe thingies from the oven, leak pie and lemon meringue cake. YUM. Have friends coming over and they luckily are used to me having a small fan on at the table and drinking iced water and for the house to not being very warm. It was Black Saturday the other day, with overfull car parks and supermarkets, frantic people elbowing their way through the crowds. Long check lists but then in the end, you've got something. It's the commercial side I'm not mad about but what can you do.. In essence it's a great feast of lights in the darkness. I like to see it as a way to chase the ghosts and demons of winter, more than anything. If people did it for many centuries in the past, (Yule I think was also about this?) then it probably has significant psychological and symbolic meaning for us humans to create such a thing in the dark times of winter. Aside from the seasonal depression, I think Christmas is something that many people look forward to all year. Even I see it as a marking in December and a beacon of light before the long winter months start. For most people, Christmas is a nice holiday. An opportunity to meet up with people and eat a lot of very good food at the very least. Then it is over. An entire year of looking forward to it, and it is gone. In Russia, Christmas is January 6th and Chinese new year is even later on, but the principle remains the same. Now we have to get back to our boring, every day lives. Then comes the long slog toward Spring. Valentine’s Day is an artificial holiday, it does give a wee boost but not a lot of it. Months of snow without Christmas to buoy it. Months of hibernation and it being a hassle to go outside. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDCCn0z0tiVPB__1liRJuqdidFaK9IV77a6kgkZZNixJzT-enMbE8JYuCAr3NjlMgZL9VlMcQSqAGFc9LZf4Uc4bhhcC9h5C9TVCxYuw1UC2yI2nOxyhqUDlT2p0VNWtA1RsF1nT_CDj6s/s1600/merry-christmas-card-with-text-vintage-greeting-illustration.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDCCn0z0tiVPB__1liRJuqdidFaK9IV77a6kgkZZNixJzT-enMbE8JYuCAr3NjlMgZL9VlMcQSqAGFc9LZf4Uc4bhhcC9h5C9TVCxYuw1UC2yI2nOxyhqUDlT2p0VNWtA1RsF1nT_CDj6s/s320/merry-christmas-card-with-text-vintage-greeting-illustration.jpg" width="320" /></a>Past weeks have been ups and downs, some days my skin was really calm and I could go for long walks or help some people out with handyman chores, but other days I was down and out with red burning skin. I developed another cold a month ago, after a long train travel, and that's a common thing every winter now it seems, as for the past couple of years now I've been down with flu every winter. Always turning into sinus infections and bronchitis. Never had that before the age of, say, 35 years old, it's only been the past three years really. (Skin pictures are at the end of this post). So a day after the train journey, my throat started to feel sore. Then the nose became congested. No problems still, I wrapped a scarf around myself and gurgled with salt water. Tried not to blow my nose too hard, even though the wetness was literally dripping from it soon after. But with the sneezing, I could feel already within days the pressure building up in my sinuses. Not again, sigh... Fast forward, am 3 weeks further and still having thick mucus in nose and throat and sinuses still painful. I know it's another one again, as my upper molars hurt, the nerves hurt, especially when I bend over (pressure!) or jump up and down or put my feet down too hard. Last year I thought I had a tooth issue! Not the case, just pressure from these congested sinuses, it turned out. My rosacea is flaring from it too, just like last years; more red, more hot, more flushed and swollen. Oh well.. Over here they do not give antibiotics for a sinus infection, unless you have it for months and a swap proves it to be bacterial in nature and not a viral problem, so I'm resorting to snorting mildly salty water with xylitol and a sniff of baking powder, mixed in pre-boiled and cooled down water and let it run all through my nostrils, to the other nostril, or down my throat. Hope that helps speed the recovery up. It's getting a bit better the past days so hopefully on the mend. It's nothing serious, that's for sure. Just wondering what else I can do next winter to completely avoid this. Wear gloves in public transport, for starters, maybe wear a scarf for when people in seats around me have barking coughs and sneezes.. (picture taken on very good skin day).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYgJiZb6Gor6lDJu-LvOdsLmi8IwG_Y0qAApDD8MtyjZmJVV3jyUDfEye8NNttf46nGx8N-X87u2YHkJgkvEGU0xY453EFh0eu1F5DYITBY96HC1VkxPkq4ZP_o_ELZ4pNh8uwjIBtzOs/s1600/DSC00257.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1501" data-original-width="1600" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYgJiZb6Gor6lDJu-LvOdsLmi8IwG_Y0qAApDD8MtyjZmJVV3jyUDfEye8NNttf46nGx8N-X87u2YHkJgkvEGU0xY453EFh0eu1F5DYITBY96HC1VkxPkq4ZP_o_ELZ4pNh8uwjIBtzOs/s320/DSC00257.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCrwZESQse7_0pDjjh7TI0Q9dKKkdKjINVsYSOdqwHKZM4HqyNFy825x_DsK-xBS4JysDmpfyNQjPwI6nASyuH8XrlP_sC25QQuGmjnP5buzYBCsNmgO9mQ2kk0wIDprIXFM7jF4K3TUy/s1600/DSC04940.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCrwZESQse7_0pDjjh7TI0Q9dKKkdKjINVsYSOdqwHKZM4HqyNFy825x_DsK-xBS4JysDmpfyNQjPwI6nASyuH8XrlP_sC25QQuGmjnP5buzYBCsNmgO9mQ2kk0wIDprIXFM7jF4K3TUy/s1600/DSC04940.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></a><div style="text-align: left;">Another very annoying issue I am having for at least 5 years by now, is that every darn winter I get what seems to be cold urticaria. Always on my face, always around the same areas of my cheeks, and they come up literally once the winter temperatures set in. They feel like raised welts, they can be small or really pretty big, raised hives almost and they take weeeeeks to go away again. The problem is that they are itching and feel very hot to the touch. And this heat (when you touch one with your finger, you literally feel the thing being pulsatingly hot), stirs up my rosacea flushing like nothing else. It's just so annoying by now. Summers are too hot for my skin, even the start of October was very warm and had me flushed just from being outside, and BAM, a month later I'm looking for balaclava masks online to protect my face from the cold :( I'm so annoyed by this, as winter used to be an opportunity to go out a lot for me. Protect my skin obviously, but apart from red cheeks and nose and chin, I never used to have these raised hot itchy things on my face. Doctor thinks it is related to my allergies and mast cell problems. Too many mast cells, or histamine being too easily triggered, hence me flushing beet red so very often. I am now taking some medications again (new experiment) for this issue: Inorial, zaditin and pantoprazol. Together they are supposed to reduce the mast cell/histamine issue. Am also taking 10 mg of Xyzal antihistamine a day.</div>
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Below are some pictures of my recent boils and some pictures from last years winter. They would itch so bad, that I made crosses in them with my finger nails. Like we used to do with mosquito bites as a kid. I hope I can avoid those huge boils, I try to keep the temperature in the house and the bedroom around 16 degrees Celsius or more, not below (I use a fan a lot, so that makes the cold air feel even more arctic). Means having the heater on most of the day, unfortunately.</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>My cheeks last winter:</b></span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqmvnpJ_6NMJZb9wk-wHIb2cvdM0JNJbAFNdEK5-AyALR9gFDexhkrGrcYeEMjWV0p4hmZQ7EWkbp2QjqNJu41Zvc16IEvtHm46XLFR7T8r5EtVpeYe-V9jzwBFFX5TJrJSYiho7ijsYj/s1600/68.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqmvnpJ_6NMJZb9wk-wHIb2cvdM0JNJbAFNdEK5-AyALR9gFDexhkrGrcYeEMjWV0p4hmZQ7EWkbp2QjqNJu41Zvc16IEvtHm46XLFR7T8r5EtVpeYe-V9jzwBFFX5TJrJSYiho7ijsYj/w223-h167/68.jpg" width="223" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0tBxA7XzmqRqswd7Vif-8cl2lPFt4arZ1q7KytHH2eVPL7Su8av3LK4PDBrllIzvXYV-IYaX0o9d6MO6yfHleKkYA6H3zy7fhsbqrAw31gr7GuvjU76VnyRqQoOmko12EfKp-iM8mmo7f/s1600/DSC00248.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1359" data-original-width="1600" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0tBxA7XzmqRqswd7Vif-8cl2lPFt4arZ1q7KytHH2eVPL7Su8av3LK4PDBrllIzvXYV-IYaX0o9d6MO6yfHleKkYA6H3zy7fhsbqrAw31gr7GuvjU76VnyRqQoOmko12EfKp-iM8mmo7f/s200/DSC00248.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEpQ611Q55b-DKetYImcaDwlKiLQgSOao17vd1M4LDrlJMHYDoU-oXTm_C_fG5bpBlQ5jnetB33mzZfN-o__Cy9X6yOvjKPkgzvBdGtRcRvqMKK463Hfi2AeG8xzVCRLloYQOPxcIDdr3C/s1600/DSC01725.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1320" data-original-width="1446" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEpQ611Q55b-DKetYImcaDwlKiLQgSOao17vd1M4LDrlJMHYDoU-oXTm_C_fG5bpBlQ5jnetB33mzZfN-o__Cy9X6yOvjKPkgzvBdGtRcRvqMKK463Hfi2AeG8xzVCRLloYQOPxcIDdr3C/w185-h168/DSC01725.jpg" width="185" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>And now, so the start of the winter:</b></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mqGZFyzElaYVpxCLC3idpt9cNmKn08AFOyLZoVFSF_yqhVT0vOnd1XQfUnYm0ZRAUrOm5VBj6PSt5Q9WMx-hDYEmocNGnKUJkL66T3oWpVkfpj5o4_pO1bp7hbbeEbXry8Xfp7AH-eS-/s1600/DSC04842.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1394" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mqGZFyzElaYVpxCLC3idpt9cNmKn08AFOyLZoVFSF_yqhVT0vOnd1XQfUnYm0ZRAUrOm5VBj6PSt5Q9WMx-hDYEmocNGnKUJkL66T3oWpVkfpj5o4_pO1bp7hbbeEbXry8Xfp7AH-eS-/s200/DSC04842.jpg" width="173" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqGVi3Gk8kVwp8o-v6xRqaNT9U0dHfypLvUdQ_VIwCETI4D-t48pK1VJLQlBEG2fsa_Z59ge9GeTmUBEKWtqf0iCn6rYpMLO0xJjHGUlgFE5UjZ8zrLxpcAMTvrSgXG76_KbvD_FPTsLLY/s1600/DSC04847.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1018" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqGVi3Gk8kVwp8o-v6xRqaNT9U0dHfypLvUdQ_VIwCETI4D-t48pK1VJLQlBEG2fsa_Z59ge9GeTmUBEKWtqf0iCn6rYpMLO0xJjHGUlgFE5UjZ8zrLxpcAMTvrSgXG76_KbvD_FPTsLLY/s200/DSC04847.jpg" width="126" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpelRI0luVH00lDF3oIJ7lKvPsk-hxWpRwCaU9uTkByScqTGmThMxa_iU-zGg7lrl-RMdnhtTkeywsi0tC7XHgsruDFyRVwNM9rBvU4Ukmn9YOayqLyhsuUbzDMQmvKsUqO7fbZuVu5gkG/s1600/DSC01382.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpelRI0luVH00lDF3oIJ7lKvPsk-hxWpRwCaU9uTkByScqTGmThMxa_iU-zGg7lrl-RMdnhtTkeywsi0tC7XHgsruDFyRVwNM9rBvU4Ukmn9YOayqLyhsuUbzDMQmvKsUqO7fbZuVu5gkG/w267-h200/DSC01382.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGngrWZQqpcJ3xJLYl26ZHXihs7Dan2R693L3WV0L36ORarsWnFStN1rzkcoeSNEZu4cS7AU0yxjtFTkUPF1kdL22o3gJtB4Iu4VFoiCB0Qbj_sLjSm0bx8XVQdOQkRb-FYlhFZWso5iDL/s1600/DSC04876.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1497" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGngrWZQqpcJ3xJLYl26ZHXihs7Dan2R693L3WV0L36ORarsWnFStN1rzkcoeSNEZu4cS7AU0yxjtFTkUPF1kdL22o3gJtB4Iu4VFoiCB0Qbj_sLjSm0bx8XVQdOQkRb-FYlhFZWso5iDL/w159-h172/DSC04876.jpg" width="159" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-h_SIwtuJXrKKR8ZgRtUVE71BKBfaKssJTgDKsWbmVWRvFL9Sq7upTpvj5hcWXyw3V_7smzGgqWdvlS6BuILyLbdw5Z9kNKBKzsIcIIVfiPG1hdc9du3vqATcFeEZ47SC5QQzfiJm8ti/s1600/DSC04903.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1564" data-original-width="1512" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-h_SIwtuJXrKKR8ZgRtUVE71BKBfaKssJTgDKsWbmVWRvFL9Sq7upTpvj5hcWXyw3V_7smzGgqWdvlS6BuILyLbdw5Z9kNKBKzsIcIIVfiPG1hdc9du3vqATcFeEZ47SC5QQzfiJm8ti/w165-h171/DSC04903.jpg" width="165" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWrbGgyvnWaSJatEET5VVM3ss6iAdx70mJnYSG9OpFWjg-DA8eOY38R-3xwv5tpgDrWVUejSLrB5G-SZE6UjUdTblEEoSUAPfTSQIf7F-rh4qLkmJKEksfwuWAxW_HhHiWv1xXeXP9gcsK/s1600/DSC04831.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1169" data-original-width="1600" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWrbGgyvnWaSJatEET5VVM3ss6iAdx70mJnYSG9OpFWjg-DA8eOY38R-3xwv5tpgDrWVUejSLrB5G-SZE6UjUdTblEEoSUAPfTSQIf7F-rh4qLkmJKEksfwuWAxW_HhHiWv1xXeXP9gcsK/w240-h173/DSC04831.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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I found the perfect Christmas cat gift by the way <inject sarcasm>. It seems especially designed for my little Piotr, who has a bob tail and cannot even cover up if he wants to. I’m not sure if people actually buy these things, but it is uplifting to know that these inventions exist :) Made me laugh, this video</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnwy6ki6o-tcuHojrDVqhyphenhyphenqEzgkCH1ADArfh7V8HIPLODYf3whmNi4Qob7UhEFiN6hra3ErXfO1lIfitSedQYUnzvsxdwYp_VdJwKhvSaFUvpIYymb8h8HD52s4IKbIGXnwrWWHqQMpb9H/s1600/paris1900.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="973" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnwy6ki6o-tcuHojrDVqhyphenhyphenqEzgkCH1ADArfh7V8HIPLODYf3whmNi4Qob7UhEFiN6hra3ErXfO1lIfitSedQYUnzvsxdwYp_VdJwKhvSaFUvpIYymb8h8HD52s4IKbIGXnwrWWHqQMpb9H/s400/paris1900.jpg" width="400" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>So it has been cold here, especially a few weeks ago.</b></span> Positively arctic! Snow, ice. Airport madness over the weekend, with thousands of passengers stranded and on camping beds at the terminals, because so many flights were cancelled. And I read that quite a few schools in England decided to close as soon as the cold hit. Angry parents, having no baby sitters. It's strange, you'd assume schools as high up north and as cold as in England would have experience with cold winters and snow. Imagine if Siberia had school free with the first rush of snow and ice, they'd never finish school there. Perhaps it is the suing/court case culture that has blown over from the States, that makes them close, so that no kid breaks any bones in the school yard due to poorly de-iced tiles. The only time we got ice-free from school was when the snow was piled up 1,5 metres high and the school door didn't open anymore. I heard from a friend that in England, schools don't even let them kids play in the snow. nowadays. No snowball fights and all of that. Worried that some parent will sue them because their little one got hit in the eye. But that back in the days, English school children had to deal with rascals who'd put stones in the snowballs, and hit you in the eye, and the teachers would just tell you to wipe it with a bit of hand towel from the toilets. Oh the times, they are changing.</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>Just the other night, the moon was nowhere to be found</b></span> (the night prior it had looked to be very close by from this part of the globe, very big and yellow) but the other night it was pitch black and clear skies, with only the stars shining. Always amazes me that we are looking back in time when watching them. Some might already have died out in reality, although reality and simultaneous times in space time are a tricky topic anyway. It was my sisters 13th year of passing and her boyfriend from back then posted a picture of a black sky with stars on social media. My mother called and said she and her husband (parents divorced, she remarried) were awoken in the middle of the night by the TV in their bedroom switching on. A TV-program started playing, out of nowhere. And then half a minute later it switched off again. "<i>All by itself!</i>". They had checked if anyone had touched the remote somehow, unknowingly, and whether or not the thing had ended up in bed, but no. She gets great hope from that, that my sister is toying with her somehow on that symbolic day. There were also some LED-candles lit when they came back home later in the day, while both were certain that when they left the house, these things were switched off. I am never sure with my mother however, she does like wishful thinking. But the fact that her stoic partner confirmed the story is interesting.<br />
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I'm afraid death has no place in today's western society... people know it, like some latent lingering knowledge far away in the back of the brain. But we do not allow ourselves to really think about it. It's a shame.. We should I think, and throughout life use this realization to keep aware of what we want in life. Of what we want to achieve. Of keeping on track. Life has become so hedonistic almost, in the sense that only the Now counts, and everything has to be Fun. I think life shouldn't be all fun, that we need to bleed and work hard to achieve something, to use our talents. Everyone is good at at least something. Although just dedicating life to inner growth and gaining knowledge and somehow passing this on is good and great in itself (starting to sound very 'zen' now I'm afraid). Because all the things I set out to do, have mostly all become impossible for me to achieve. As I'm tied down, sitting behind a ventilator most of the day, cooling my skin, avoiding my skin to burn and flare uncontrollably. Finding new ways to fill your life with and to find meaning in can be very challenging. It helps me to have friends who are in the same boat.. To be able to chat or talk or email with some people who also have rosacea and also need to restrict their lifestyles, and who equally deal with misunderstanding or disinterest from some people around them. When others tell you to 'just' ignore the rosacea and go out and do whatever you want, they do not want to listen to my explainings of how I can't be in the sun, or the heat, or the cold wind, and how a burning hot face every single day (I have flare ups every day, despite all the lifestyle adaptations) just changes your perspective of what you want to 'achieve' in life. Man, I'm happy to get through the days some periods.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKIIvpQP0lia1K1JKHCD8KyOdeuiSJ0ozOV8KIMPsSgCra4Lo7knkBCXrK3hxsZs77LZu4B9YWdb9wdulVUJlkL8hNtztLg-zxENkIeueM-_PCDObpWo62DLWHN_LSy0NTdIZSGGUFR4j/s1600/movingsidewalk1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="700" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKIIvpQP0lia1K1JKHCD8KyOdeuiSJ0ozOV8KIMPsSgCra4Lo7knkBCXrK3hxsZs77LZu4B9YWdb9wdulVUJlkL8hNtztLg-zxENkIeueM-_PCDObpWo62DLWHN_LSy0NTdIZSGGUFR4j/s400/movingsidewalk1.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>I have also been without internet or phone for a whole week, last week</b></span></span><br />Felt very strange, to have no phone connection nor way to connect to the internet for so (relatively) long. I don't have a smartphone, only want a laptop for those things, so there was also no way to go around it with my mobile phone. Something broke down in the cables, is all I understood about it. The telecom company responsible had promised every day since that they would come by to try to fix it. Probably an outside line that got damaged by the recent snow and rainfall. So the first day, I will admit, I was not proud of myself, as I got on edge over the lack of internet. I realized by the end of that day that I use it a lot more than I think I do, even while working. It's second nature almost to be able to google or look up anything that pops up in your head. Day 2 came and I started to see the benefit of this whole undisturbed daytime and no chance of procrastinating, and I worked super concentrated and rammed out two articles I had deadlines for. Third day I was asked to help someone with a chore our and about. Did that for a few hours (very cold but I wrapped up). Still no internet or phone when I got back, but they planned to do it on Wednesday. I did have my usual cold weather urticaria on my cheeks by now, which made me high strung. By now I had about 8 of them, spread over both cheeks. Most very small but one was getting very raised and angry. Anyway, of course Wednesday came and went, and more calls followed. The thing was postponed to Friday ("busy busy"). At 9:30 repairmen would come by. Waited till 11:30, then called the company again, nobody picked up. After a few hours of calling, they did pick up and said the men were still on their way and would be there by 5 pm. Nobody came round. So all I could do all week was walking in the cold and rain to the back of the garden to pick up the weak and feeble neighbours wifi signal a few times a day. It felt by now like being stranded on a desert island. Oh the triggered anguish and anxiety of being isolated, cut off the net, it is almost unbearable by now. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed-5Zzdbx0E"><b>Millennial-levels of anxiety</b></a> I can say. Jokes aside, it was frustrating, especially having no control over anything. Next working day, the thing was fixed again, I must add. I had just gotten in the hang of (non digital) book reading by then :)<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I also watched some documentaries</b></span> <br />I had downloaded and saved already. I saw this interesting interview with native Americans who told how content their ancestors were with a very simple life. It's a recurrent theme; with western modernity can sometimes come social isolation, greed and sometimes even depression. Reports of Native American society dating from the sixteenth century describe it as a materially modest yet psychologically rewarding culture: communities were small, close -knit, egalitarian, religious, playful and a martial. The Indians were certainly "backward" in the commercial and financial sense: they lived on a diet of fruits and wild animals, slept in tepees and had few possessions. Year after year, they wore the same pelts and shoes. Even a chief might have won no more than a spear and a few extra shoes. But they were said to have an impressive level of contentment amid the simplicity. Of course, you wouldn't want to end up with an infected wound back then. Or pneumonia. Let's not romanticize things. But anyway, this show went on to state that within only a few decades of the arrival of the first Europeans, the status system of Native American society would be turned on its head through contact with the products of European technology and industry. What mattered was no longer an individual’s wisdom or understanding of the ways of nature, but his ownership of weapons, jewelry and whiskey. Indians now longed for silver earrings, copper and brass bracelets, tin finger rings, necklaces made of Venetian glass, ice chisels, guns, alcohol, kettles, beads, hoes and mirrors. Dylan Moran did a poignant comedy sketch about this, I'll add it below. I'm sure that European traders deliberately tried to make them interested in that stuff, the famous coloured beads, in order to motivate them to provide the animal pelts for the European market. I reminded me of a talk I had some years ago with an eastern German older lady from Dresden, who told me that she was a history teacher back in the Soviet times, and that all they wanted was freedom. But when she had it, she longed back for the sense of community and companionship from Eastern Germany. Only goes to show there are not always tradition 'good' and 'bad' scenarios with neat division lines in life.<br />
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I can’t even imagine what it was like to live in a Native American village. Apparently, they had no police, they had no prisons. They had no need for them. They didn’t have poor people. They grew what they needed, nothing more. They never over-did it. At least, the more peaceful tribes. I’m sure there were some dickhead tribes as well that took a more invasion attitude, but they managed to make it work until ol’ pale-face showed up. More or less <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/12657/was-manhattan-really-bought-24"><b>bought the island of Manhattan</b></a> for a bunch of flipping beads. Although the article in that link states that Manhattan was bought by the Dutch for the equivalent of $24,-, (60 gilders for the Dutchies), there is some disagreement about how much that would be worth in todays money. The highest I read was just below one million current day dollars. Still a bargain, considering the price of a single house on Manhattan nowadays, let alone the entire island! Anf for some context: the purchase of Staten Island a few decades later has more surviving documentation, including the deed, which says the Dutch traded “10 boxes of shirts, 10 ells of red cloth, 30 pounds of powder, 30 pairs of socks, 2 pieces of duffel, some awls, 10 muskets, 30 kettles, 25 adzes, 10 bars of lead, 50 axes and some knives.” All of that, for a silly island?? Bargain ;) Reading up about the Natives, it seems that for some, it nowadays is more like living in an occupied territory than anything else.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiIjx9_8aL1G1J8GBi9zHG1nb3X7-j-IwJcbtHVkSZNpGgzR2jqoVcHai-IybIlnO2hQOLDcUa2tT5xvbkpFYxImG1PjVKM4kam6JjCJazMwF89f4ODnc4TsMfzEf9FNZuJTXfH_tDOLQD/s1600/parisfair1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="600" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiIjx9_8aL1G1J8GBi9zHG1nb3X7-j-IwJcbtHVkSZNpGgzR2jqoVcHai-IybIlnO2hQOLDcUa2tT5xvbkpFYxImG1PjVKM4kam6JjCJazMwF89f4ODnc4TsMfzEf9FNZuJTXfH_tDOLQD/s320/parisfair1.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">I saw a short program about a small town called Hinton</span></b><br />in the north-east of the United States (think it is in West-Virginia) and it used to be a transition railway station for the transportation of coal. But since the mines were closed (climate change), the population was reduced to only around 2000 inhabitants nowadays. Decay, people moving away, businesses moving away or simply seizing to exist, poverty, no jobs. People who have lived there ' longer than dirt', and have no means to leave. The railroad station had 700 workers in the 60's, but everyone lost their job. Half the population left in the past 2 decades and left houses behind that were bought up by landlords who do not invest into updoing it, but simply charge a lot of money to sublet it. There is still some coal passing the station but it's coal from West Virginia and Wyoming, going to Japan. Still mining, but machinery cut out many jobs, apparently. In the past, the Hinton locals could run a large family off of dads income working as a railroad worker and mums income from being a school teacher, and they could send all their kids to collage, a few decades ago still. Have vacations. Not anymore. Back in the 70's, people earned as much working at the railroad as they did working in the local supermarket. Nowadays the local supermarket only hires people part time, for 10 or 12 years in a row mind you, and people make no more than 10, maybe 12 dollars an hour there. Shocking. In order to belong to the middle classes today, you'd have to work for at least 15 to 20 dollars a day before you are able to afford a car and a house and such. So a supermarket job used to earn someone a middle class existence back in the 70's, and now that same job makes you belong to the poor. Depressing. Mostly depressing that the government over the past decades hasn't ensured that minimum wages were higher by law, and would have to rise along with the higher costs of living these days. In Holland the state does that, sets a minimum wage. It's not much but more than this 10-12 dollar an hour for adult shop workers. The only people allowed to be paid that little are students (so part-time workers) below the age of 20. I guess the coal mines are closed because natural gas makes them redundant. There is no purpose whatsoever to using coal as a fuel at this point. I read that most people in America do not make a thousand dollars a month after taxes. Then you take out rent, utilities, food, and all the other expenses which happen on a monthly basis, and most people are probably in the red rather than saving. It is a race to the bottom. The less you pay the workers, the more desperate they become. And with others lining p to take over your job, there isn't a whole lot of wiggle room to unite with unions if they even exist at this point, There is a secondary benefit of every dollar withheld from the employee going into the pockets of the shareholders, but that is off-set with government benefits to make it up. Which are the programs that have been steadily dismantled since Reagan, and likely will be slashed further now that Paul Ryan has gotten his dream 1.5 trillion dollar tax-cut on the wealthy and corporations. At some point in 2019 (never in an election year!) they’re probably going to wake up, realize they’ve ended up with an enormous deficit hole, and say “We’re spending too much! We need to slash Medicaid and Social Security!” Nevermind it was their tax-cuts that did this :(<br />
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People in the 80's had other things to deal with of course. They had the death of the post-war boom to confront. Growing up in the 80's, we came of age with the last gasps of societal optimism, hoping that the economic mobility developed by our grandparents hadn’t been completely euthanized by the baby boomers. How could we be anything but optimistic, given that we were told that we were living in an era of unrivaled prosperity? We could be anything we wished with effort! University was an option for every one of us. We may not have been wealthy, but working hard in school would bring rewards in the form of grants and scholarships, studies and jobs. We could work our way through university, like our parents did. We could be astronauts. We could be rock stars. We could be a police officer if we so desired. We just needed the effort. But unfortunately in these days and since the financial recession, this is no longer the case. Wished there was a more equal spreading of wealth and opportunities in the world. A sense of purpose for everyone. Give people that are finishing their mandatory educations a pathway to success. Give everyone a shot at an education and then make that effort worth something. Not the outlook now of busting our butt at university for a dead-end job. Instill a greater emphasis on respect and compassion. We place such emphasis on superiority now and there still is such class-based bias.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrW2sJWPYzlOG_Ev4mmhsomCtquWLNK8lYlglu4sN7ZK2gW0HjsTCmW73v2OTqhpMB3n9K_BGilSO5v1OlviSFybk7dpWGXHxu3OmMqQfvnQBEdIeX9dbwYg8DmLx1rGfAvP1so2TPwFO/s1600/Horsfield%252C+Craigie+Spain%252C+East+London+and+Tapestries.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="643" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrW2sJWPYzlOG_Ev4mmhsomCtquWLNK8lYlglu4sN7ZK2gW0HjsTCmW73v2OTqhpMB3n9K_BGilSO5v1OlviSFybk7dpWGXHxu3OmMqQfvnQBEdIeX9dbwYg8DmLx1rGfAvP1so2TPwFO/s320/Horsfield%252C+Craigie+Spain%252C+East+London+and+Tapestries.jpg" width="304" /></a>So anyway, what really got to me was that people from all over this West-Virginian region flocked to this one spot in some field in the middle of nowhere in the state, where they could be seen for free for one weekend by a doctor or dentist, once every year. Regular dentists and doctors working for free. Missionaries in their own country, not even 7 hours driving from Washington. Thousands of people, some traveling all day, gathering there at the break of dawn. To be seen this one time a year by doctors. What sadness.. Yet they were all so friendly to the interviewer and so warmhearted. Not the self entitled bravado that you get here more often than not. People who cannot afford a visual and dental health insurance, so going without any such care for long times. Not even everyone could be seen in the space of that weekend. Some young people had to have all their teeth pulled, what a nightmare. One doctor running a mobile health clinic and driving to the remote parts of West-Virginia to see patients there for free. Amazing. One man said that he had full insurance while he was in the army and later working in the coal mines, but as soon as he stopped working, due to prostate cancer, he had nothing (!) to fall back on. No health insurance whatsoever. Tragic. People needing to choose between food or medicines.. People apparently dying from a simple pneumonia because they are afraid to go to the ER, where they will be charged $500 for a simple bladder infection test cup, $1000 for a simple X-ray and have to tick off $6000 at the end of this short ER stint. Hospitals are said to be the first to send bailiffs at your door too if you cannot pay. It's outrageous. So people who cannot afford it simply don't go to hospital, even when they need to get stuff treated. In Europe it's different, you always have health insurance it's mandatory and it does cost some money these days (I pay 120 euro a month and have an own risk of 350 euro) but then you have everything covered, ER, chemo therapy, chronic health issues, all medication, also dental and eye doctors and all that.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRif2XOcMuPNBv4m4xwHQ56GY0H-kSwQei1hE0ft9pAyuiewnD_s-tUKi36vYJFpZO0Juknnwx8qjeyF8hMRWrEJiPri21lFzNZVpdcb8RGBA-wjkoQxbbP8ld5Od6A3-Lzmh-HIaZQiiL/s1600/DSC04697.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRif2XOcMuPNBv4m4xwHQ56GY0H-kSwQei1hE0ft9pAyuiewnD_s-tUKi36vYJFpZO0Juknnwx8qjeyF8hMRWrEJiPri21lFzNZVpdcb8RGBA-wjkoQxbbP8ld5Od6A3-Lzmh-HIaZQiiL/s400/DSC04697.jpg" width="400" /></a>I hope in time, somehow, health care will become more affordable in the US. It's always so sad to read on rosacea forums and in rosacea groups that some people struggle to even see a dermatologist because of the costs involved, let alone buy prescription medication. In such a rich country, that shouldn't be happening really.. In the Netherlands, politicians have stepped up recently to some big pharmaceutical companies, who refused to sell a rare medicine for the asking price. A high price, a reasonable price, which the government was willing to pay for it. But the price was driven up into the hundreds of thousands of euro's per patient, and deemed too high even for the Dutch government. Questions were asked in parliament as people were outraged that patients in Holland were dying from lack of treatment, whereas patients in France walk around happily while getting the med. Now the Government has decided that pharmacists are allowed to make the drug themselves and sell them against cost price. They will not be brought to justice if the pharmaceutical decide to protest and sue them, and are protected by the state for doing this. They are also looking into doing the same now with some other patented and outrageously priced drugs. I'm sure the reps and lobbyists are working overtime now to talk this thing into the ground.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUzC7N-TOpTx73meR3R5L8mg-MalhvmIk-7dVpAqf-5wNwQzPgfJThhh5C4Tip4oG49mY4aQZ9ZVSeQpVQQVqguOKhKT_qcb1EsgsxENMON0HUZ6ER7KCc-06vkIEwGS-nbRkvUQfw9bY/s1600/dino-valls-featured.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUzC7N-TOpTx73meR3R5L8mg-MalhvmIk-7dVpAqf-5wNwQzPgfJThhh5C4Tip4oG49mY4aQZ9ZVSeQpVQQVqguOKhKT_qcb1EsgsxENMON0HUZ6ER7KCc-06vkIEwGS-nbRkvUQfw9bY/s1600/dino-valls-featured.jpg" /></a>I think they are called compound pharmacies. There is hardly any to no drug on earth made from unique or exotic ingredients. There is nothing that differentiates the paracetamol in Tylenol from the paracetamol in other such pain-relievers or drugs. A compound pharmacy takes the common ingredients and fabricates drugs to-order. We need more to keep the pharmaceutical giants in line. It's one thing to ask representative prices for medications, as these companies also do research, endless test phases for all sorts of drugs, of which some never make the market in the end. But the multi million (billion sometimes) profits that are now made in this industry do not warrant such outrageous cost prices. Companies like Galderma and Allergan are sure doing a lot, but most of its latest medications for rosacea were taken from other fields and reapplied for rosacea. Mirvaso (brimonidine) comes from an eye drop that has long been on the market and Rhofade (oxymetazoline) is originally used in nasal sprays, to help shrink the small blood vessels in your nose to reduce nose swelling. Oracea is simply lower dose doxcycline (loooong been on the market before it got re-branded). Soolantra is hailed now, and fairly effective for some rosacea cases, but its basic ingredient ivermectin has been used for at least a decade, if not longer, by people on different rosacea forums and communities. Anti mite and de-wormer paste for kettle, basically. All Galderma has done now to create Soolantra, is taking the ivermectin active ingredient, and putting it in a neutral skin cream, called Cetaphil. And throwing the price up, from a few dollars for the ivermectin, into now multiple HUNDREDS of dollars for the Soolantra cream. *I've got all these new creams in the house and read the information leaflets. It's sad really that Europeans get these products for very reasonable prices, even those who want to buy it in cash instead of using our mandatory and very affordable health care insurance for it. Yet in America (and probably in more countries I do not know about), people are charged no less than $500,- sometimes for the same cream. Outrageous, especially considering these drugs were not even invented by the companies involved. Sigh. I realize that people have different opinions on this topic (or on any other topic imaginable), but I can't help feeling pissed off about all this. Note that for facial flushing, nothing has been developed for decades now. Nothing that actually works, nothing new (Mirvaso to me is a liability of a product and made many users worse).<br />
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Ok, some pictures of good versus bad skin days. Sometimes I wake up all red and my skin calms down over the course of the day, sometimes it is the other way around and I get more red as the day goes by. But overall, in winter my skin is more red, much more puffy and swollen and more easily flushed than in warmer times of year.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXDRJBcVLiLYCr579DyELeajnROKHb21vYDN1lYhd8QXnbKjbQKDe43cWLpvDZmZhUrX2F1GREdwn3ldBchfSOueAdXpNwkfJdibpLQ-CKO4PEZWrdZFRM80GK0_YwG-_EGWjBtd53b7jM/s1600/DSC00806.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1041" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXDRJBcVLiLYCr579DyELeajnROKHb21vYDN1lYhd8QXnbKjbQKDe43cWLpvDZmZhUrX2F1GREdwn3ldBchfSOueAdXpNwkfJdibpLQ-CKO4PEZWrdZFRM80GK0_YwG-_EGWjBtd53b7jM/s320/DSC00806.jpg" width="208" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhufUR2ttEvBF_vsJLaszASAfWUa4EEg0DBMrOptjOr4WavUDhpjDGR1kyrNUZ-aQYe7amCiRHEKBGlSZ8gWi0GNQGtnDDcHesYWJK-nW8Sr9HmTygjTEOuvT8uQs_QvgaTyWTQzt_nulJP/s1600/DSC00324%252C7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1221" data-original-width="669" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhufUR2ttEvBF_vsJLaszASAfWUa4EEg0DBMrOptjOr4WavUDhpjDGR1kyrNUZ-aQYe7amCiRHEKBGlSZ8gWi0GNQGtnDDcHesYWJK-nW8Sr9HmTygjTEOuvT8uQs_QvgaTyWTQzt_nulJP/s320/DSC00324%252C7.jpg" width="175" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJssWEjxT-t_5FEYdyVQRx49Wqy1NhLapG40BY6zEJ08u_AvdoxxBAyS8Kmt1LLZkvWUsS9c9fCDYyqR_3RoDhKhJr12F8h0PitRhLpD9gPK9ht9TqSJWVVPNPRRt-WcInFLelglq1BOX/s1600/DSC04695%252C5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJssWEjxT-t_5FEYdyVQRx49Wqy1NhLapG40BY6zEJ08u_AvdoxxBAyS8Kmt1LLZkvWUsS9c9fCDYyqR_3RoDhKhJr12F8h0PitRhLpD9gPK9ht9TqSJWVVPNPRRt-WcInFLelglq1BOX/s320/DSC04695%252C5.jpg" width="181" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMw2PHvnQNIbE92NG3CO346hMmJJNE13MlcDb677dVL5GIsg1fDT1TSs7SWKox_wkLRXDv2PFsHH7v77-PonsE8hZMlSXTHLEPhKaisgx3tnD5Uyc0a6NbS3FkTpqbX1kIMr1_9_AdN4B/s1600/68.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1431" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMw2PHvnQNIbE92NG3CO346hMmJJNE13MlcDb677dVL5GIsg1fDT1TSs7SWKox_wkLRXDv2PFsHH7v77-PonsE8hZMlSXTHLEPhKaisgx3tnD5Uyc0a6NbS3FkTpqbX1kIMr1_9_AdN4B/w421-h252/68.jpg" width="421" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3YpzJ-24MU5iSL7kOtwSZOzCu0yYvS9ZtBg4BLDucFiG9q-nqa6zQ7UqhwmNV3G1PDTsnsg2KvPjj65sUbNDXJBySbmwV22SMDv7ABHArQm1H-1gCQXJBCNOP6GXE-h7UR0n2pWe6m4eG/s1600/z15.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1061" data-original-width="736" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3YpzJ-24MU5iSL7kOtwSZOzCu0yYvS9ZtBg4BLDucFiG9q-nqa6zQ7UqhwmNV3G1PDTsnsg2KvPjj65sUbNDXJBySbmwV22SMDv7ABHArQm1H-1gCQXJBCNOP6GXE-h7UR0n2pWe6m4eG/w173-h252/z15.jpg" width="173" /></a></div>
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I also read a<b> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32894-V-Beam-in-the-uk/page3">topic</a></b> on the Rosacea Forum, where people explain how laser or IPL treatments sometimes made a visible pale spot on their face, but strangely not all over their rosacea skin. This member <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32894-V-Beam-in-the-uk/page3"><b>wrote</b></a>: "<i>I have VBeam aka PDL to get rid of some broken veins on my face. It worked. [..] One of the blood vessels treated was on my cheek. When it healed, it left a perfect 1cm circle with normal skin tone showing through. I wanted that effect, but all over my face to correct the damage Mirvaso had done to my skin.</i>"<br />
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Someone else chimed in and wrote in reply: "<i>I'm curious about the circle. I'v had v-beam (and excel v) 1-2 years ago. I've noticed something similar -- that there are a few "perfect circles" seemingly hole-punched by the laser .. In my case these spots will NEVER flush, even if my entire face is red/purple. </i><i>I had asked my laser doc about them, and she said it was an area where the laser had good "success". But I'm wondering if (at least in my case) it's more a sign of damage .. More blood vessels seemed to crop up just outside the circle. Like in order to compensate for the circle where no flushing can happen anymore.</i>"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDMgvpI9k8u9nDL2ZC5wikHJsjtVAbEnbXHZA8m0sGtIq1vhrzxJ5MfjF0Mm5R4kIt12Abkxug5sDlWsoI2qFd1AVa4_IEudkYMNeEPMhkzdF4oLI0RiVlxAzwAQ-wJ_8fPyeyb-Mk8bIo/s1600/DSC04936%252C5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="1600" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDMgvpI9k8u9nDL2ZC5wikHJsjtVAbEnbXHZA8m0sGtIq1vhrzxJ5MfjF0Mm5R4kIt12Abkxug5sDlWsoI2qFd1AVa4_IEudkYMNeEPMhkzdF4oLI0RiVlxAzwAQ-wJ_8fPyeyb-Mk8bIo/s320/DSC04936%252C5.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbuLBe17ubBnxKx1NwpkJC3QLAhj_IzopbaeKmzZNFHRa25InncRPJw-i7eI4TGfgeGg4ViPT36bEZyioq51OgUUXCPNOFlB1emi9mG7eZ1HJ71CVtX_V2b1Dyd-9I7UJAJTzA2Zwaz_KG/s1600/DSC04936.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="1600" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbuLBe17ubBnxKx1NwpkJC3QLAhj_IzopbaeKmzZNFHRa25InncRPJw-i7eI4TGfgeGg4ViPT36bEZyioq51OgUUXCPNOFlB1emi9mG7eZ1HJ71CVtX_V2b1Dyd-9I7UJAJTzA2Zwaz_KG/s320/DSC04936.jpg" width="320" /></a>It's interesting to me to read, because the same happened to me. I had Lumenis One IPL treatments with Dr. Peter Crouch, in Swindon, back in 2005 and 2006 and I came back a few years later again. He tested all machines he had on my skin, all small test patches, and when this one made a clear pale area on my left cheek, we used the same settings for a full face treatment. The peculiar thing is, that while the test spot, the small spot, with these exact settings cleared up, as soon as we used the same settings on all of my cheeks, I had huge inflammation response and once this settled, there was no improvement and the test patch still stood out more pale. On my right cheek the same thing happened with a Pulsed Dye Laser test patch from dr. Crouch. In my case, he thought I am photosensitive and hyper reactive and that the only way forward would be for me to have small areas of skin treated at a time. But since these were charged the same price as a full face treatment, I couldn't afford it and put it on the long lane, the to do list for the future. Unfortunately and tragically, Dr. Crouch passed away recently. I'm not sure if I should start with small areas of IPL or laser again. Both my dermatologists think I have the wrong skintype and the wrong symptoms for it (hyperreactive skin and blood vessels, a flushing problem, more so than a permanent redness or isible blood vessel-issue).. I am still unsure :( I want to improve my skin and life so badly, but had pretty much nothing but misery from IPL. Anyway. It's difficult to see in these pictures ( in 'real life' these pale spots are easy to see, even by others), but I tried to mark them.<br />
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Music clip of the day</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #990000;">October 30th 2017</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqP55yIZCjMP3QTWfIjlMGr5m__Oex6dyHB9JwIpLwHdNwAFEWP0un5b8lr8AffZvdN3pcP-DhuoRAKY7nZpGg-GfHRnLgSXBEY_Annosq245M6-XLCpFiUmS0XZV3qKsKu3MBsD_yRgx/s1600/b7deeab8ee7fb5916ced037b22b1f11c--pictures-of-paris-vintage-pictures.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="965" data-original-width="715" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqP55yIZCjMP3QTWfIjlMGr5m__Oex6dyHB9JwIpLwHdNwAFEWP0un5b8lr8AffZvdN3pcP-DhuoRAKY7nZpGg-GfHRnLgSXBEY_Annosq245M6-XLCpFiUmS0XZV3qKsKu3MBsD_yRgx/w259-h350/b7deeab8ee7fb5916ced037b22b1f11c--pictures-of-paris-vintage-pictures.jpg" width="259" /></a>So I woke up red and flushed (I think from using too much fluoride tooth paste last night, it always makes me so flushed for a day..) and I want to cool my face. But it's 16 degrees here (61 fahrenheit). I switch my aircon on ... and it does nothing. That is; it fans air, but the motor doesn't switch on to make the air colder. I wondered why all airconditionings go no lower than 16 degrees Celsius? I need some colder air now, for a little bit, to get this flush down. Only ten minutes of 14 degrees on my face is all I ask for. Why is this not an option? My machine is powerful and can surely go a bit lower than the current temperature, if it can bring 30 degrees down to 20? This is one of the online explanations as to why we can't make it colder: "It's not a technical limitation, if it's a must we can built a machine which can bring down temperature down to 0°C, but that's not the point here, after all we are not looking for a cold storage, right?? The purposes of Air-Conditioner is to provide a comfortable temperature for the occupants, & definitely not an unbearable temperature for the occupants..! 16°C temperature is already too low temperature for a humans wearing normal cloths. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh56QLqUBgRY4Fh5KwDfLbOqcAGJa8EDWFzPc_XTQzoSJ4YBhImbPsTwDHEQXuQuks9pqlI7UYwWy6HXB4-EVN0FQvLOdfBmmw8Fncg8xHXV98zp0Ypg9VanFdAe_amdrLdxE2V3K9p7s5d/s1600/main-qimg-2f678902618fd5550e269e2dbeb5fae1.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="416" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh56QLqUBgRY4Fh5KwDfLbOqcAGJa8EDWFzPc_XTQzoSJ4YBhImbPsTwDHEQXuQuks9pqlI7UYwWy6HXB4-EVN0FQvLOdfBmmw8Fncg8xHXV98zp0Ypg9VanFdAe_amdrLdxE2V3K9p7s5d/w256-h230/main-qimg-2f678902618fd5550e269e2dbeb5fae1.gif" width="256" /></a>For infants and people wearing loose cotton cloths this would create problems..! 22-24°C and 50% relative humidity is the most comfortable temperature for humans. (Will change depending up on clothing, genter, age air movement etc). More over reducing the temperate below 16°C will require lot of power consumption. The size of the compressor itself should be big enough to do the additional work. Also too low temperature will reduce the humidity inside the room, [you might have seen water droplets coming out of Air-Conditioner]. If temperature settings are too low, lot of such water vapours will be removed from the room which will make our skin dry..! So set the temperature of Air-Conditionioner to around 22–24°C & it's best temperature for human body." "American society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air conditioning Engineers did a survey on the basis of the Comfort levels of various people for both winter and summer conditions and finally developed a Comfort Zone. Following is the Comfort <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KxgoSwYUnTPFJnUroxDVanwKyBud_78iXGN1z5Wg7eK7T3L04nHVD9BXUsP4gmEHX0TSXXi_NK6Ty7yj4UjWtYx816tPHPY2p8nRQjDWwmQIKWnTZqaaMZENySOcKjJ44qCsKvEsEV93/s1600/main-qimg-5b6e9aef85446e86610b7fc16156218b-c.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="68" data-original-width="143" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KxgoSwYUnTPFJnUroxDVanwKyBud_78iXGN1z5Wg7eK7T3L04nHVD9BXUsP4gmEHX0TSXXi_NK6Ty7yj4UjWtYx816tPHPY2p8nRQjDWwmQIKWnTZqaaMZENySOcKjJ44qCsKvEsEV93/w263-h125/main-qimg-5b6e9aef85446e86610b7fc16156218b-c.jpg" width="263" /></a>chart. The low temperature is set by the characteristics of the refrigerant used and the inversion of the Joule-Thomson effect from cooling to heating. The J-T equations is: This equation works to cool by reducing the pressure through an expansion valve. However, it only works in a narrow critical pressure-critical temperature range to cool and above or below that narrow range you get heating on the refrigerant expansion. The range of proper operation can be calculated by what is known as the Miller equation, not reproduced herein."</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KxgoSwYUnTPFJnUroxDVanwKyBud_78iXGN1z5Wg7eK7T3L04nHVD9BXUsP4gmEHX0TSXXi_NK6Ty7yj4UjWtYx816tPHPY2p8nRQjDWwmQIKWnTZqaaMZENySOcKjJ44qCsKvEsEV93/s1600/main-qimg-5b6e9aef85446e86610b7fc16156218b-c.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KxgoSwYUnTPFJnUroxDVanwKyBud_78iXGN1z5Wg7eK7T3L04nHVD9BXUsP4gmEHX0TSXXi_NK6Ty7yj4UjWtYx816tPHPY2p8nRQjDWwmQIKWnTZqaaMZENySOcKjJ44qCsKvEsEV93/s1600/main-qimg-5b6e9aef85446e86610b7fc16156218b-c.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a></div>
<br />Back to the cold gel packs from the freezer then! Careful with those though, anyone reading, because they can damage your skin when used too long or too cold. I only use them when having a deep painful hot flush, and only for a short time, say, 5 minutes in total alternating the left and the right cheek. Then just a fan on, and repeat the cold packs if needed a bit later. That cools and calms my skin right down usually to the point where it gets a more normal skin colour again and stays calm for the rest of the morning and often also the afternoon (also thanks to my <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html"><b><span id="goog_1460562489"></span>anti flushing medication</b><span id="goog_1460562490"></span></a>). I suppose very low air conditioning air can damage skin too, thinking about it..<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I also received my first birthday card (birthday on halloween, 38!). Fitting haha, glad it's not only the woman who seems to have rosacea 😆 And pancakes with the men (gluten free ones made with rice milk for me).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLHUhEXZKYqsUJ9oDLrLr1iu_haDMbYfE5rlGS_YCw6IbgatDaiZqez1ktGgT90hivhDoBg4G7Z9bU_kgTBuOLxRNCTbUkdRtzhICyExNWVyn4NjxtbSIaVw4olnmIMwAH6qvX9T-QNroQ/s1600/Untitled-2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1520" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLHUhEXZKYqsUJ9oDLrLr1iu_haDMbYfE5rlGS_YCw6IbgatDaiZqez1ktGgT90hivhDoBg4G7Z9bU_kgTBuOLxRNCTbUkdRtzhICyExNWVyn4NjxtbSIaVw4olnmIMwAH6qvX9T-QNroQ/s320/Untitled-2.jpg" width="320" /></a>I am also watching back <a href="http://lavamovies.com/tv-series/the-amazing-race/s13e08/"><b>old episodes</b></a> of The Amazing Race, when I have a spare hour or two (currently season 13), and despite my friend and I thinking that we'd make the best Team ever on that competition, it's giving me the chuckles now and then when seeing the sort of challenges the teams have to compete for: being bombarded with dyed powders in festivities in India (noooooo my poor rosaceaaaa!!), crushing very hot red peppers, which gave even the healthy contestants red faces and burning skin and eyes. Or drinking dozens of cups of tea, trying to find the right flavour (oh nooo, the caffeine! The tannins!). Going off the highest wild water sledge in the Middle east (don't let my head go under water at the end, I don't tolerate the chloride water on my skin). Spray painting a tuk tuk scooter. And the list goes on haha. I don't think Phil would give exemptions based on health issues.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0D-gEOMi5_o/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0D-gEOMi5_o?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpXb9zCG-YFucm2SA4qD02w9VJxImOoVXK6p7cXK7UEicL1mO4JZoeR8xCKpT9xjunOnYrVO-cqlghglgC-VEEy4U697Lhssjh36Wo1qg6Fk9wzeaVyzVp6kRjhwNU8KjFTt4QvT_C8nkp/s1600/DSC04422.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpXb9zCG-YFucm2SA4qD02w9VJxImOoVXK6p7cXK7UEicL1mO4JZoeR8xCKpT9xjunOnYrVO-cqlghglgC-VEEy4U697Lhssjh36Wo1qg6Fk9wzeaVyzVp6kRjhwNU8KjFTt4QvT_C8nkp/w276-h265/DSC04422.JPG" width="276" /></a></div>
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<b style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large;"><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large;"><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b style="color: #990000;">I have continued writing my day<br />to day life updates in </b><b style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/05/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-vii.html" target="_blank">this blogpost</a>.<br />Or read older updates <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2018/03/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-v.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</b></div><div><b style="color: #990000;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/s1600/0%252C2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/w435-h435/0%252C2.jpg" width="435" /></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;" /></div></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large;"><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></span></span></div><div><div style="clear: both;"><div><div>
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Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-49565677685152248032018-03-21T13:59:00.039-07:002021-09-18T14:30:08.950-07:00The Warm Room Theory, and how being in cold air could make your flushing and skin burning worse<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When my skin burns and flares and feels on fire, the most natural urge is to open all the windows and let in cold air. Or to put my head in a bucket of cold water. Or to sit right in front of a powerful air conditioning machine. The colder the better! But according to the <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/Colin-Dah-Rosacea-Warm-Room.pdf"><b>Warm Room Theory</b></a>, this is actually not the best thing to do when you have rosacea. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Making your rosacea skin very cold, might cause rebound worsening in the long run</span></b>,<b> </b>according to Colin Dahl. He explains that it is normal for anyone with rosacea to get a rush of warmth up the cheeks when entering a warm room. Every person that gets too hot, can rely on their body to deal with the overheating, usually by stimulating the body to sweat (a way to release excess heat from the body) but also by widening the blood vessels in the skin. The wider the vessels are, the more warm blood will be closely exposed to the skin and be able to lose some of its heat that way. When the body signals the blood vessels in our skin that the body is overheating, then the body activates <b><span style="color: #444444;">nerves</span></b> in the skin to dilate the blood vessels in the skin (<span>vasodilation</span>). The way in which the nerves do this, is by releasing certain chemicals, that message to the blood vessels to widen. And to make the effect even stronger; the more blood flows through the blood vessels, the more these blood vessels themselves release chemicals to keep this vasodilation going. This is a normal process; everyone alive experiences this, or else we humans wouldn't be able to regulate our temperature or fight off infections or have proper wound healing, for instance. The problem occurs when our skin has too many of these flushing events. When it becomes very frequent that the skin flares red and hot. This is the moment that the blood vessels are dilated for a longer period over time, and that the vessels give off a signal that make the body create new (and thus more!) blood vessels in the skin (<span style="color: #444444;"><b>angiogenesis</b></span>). The bodies way to create more infrastructure for this extra blood flow. This principle is also normal, but in people with healthy skin it is a limited occurrence. For people with rosacea, it is however the mechanism in which our rosacea progresses, slowly over many years, from mild to moderate, to severe. Because when you have more blood vessels and more nerves in your skin, you will have more dilation of blood vessels and more facial flushing, especially when you are in a warm room and your body goes through its normal steps and paces to cool off the body.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">ROSACEA INFRASTRUCTURE</span></b><br />
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The good news is that this process is reversible, according to the author of the Warm Room Theory, Colin Dahl. So a person with rosacea will have more blood vessels and nerves in the skin than a person with healthy skin, and they have been made by the body to release heat. They will give a rosacea face often the distinctive red(der) cheeks and sometimes also nose and chin or forehead. The human face and head are special, in that they have more and different blood vessels and nerves than any other area of skin on the body. They have special nerves to dilate blood vessels and special blood vessels to release the heat carried in the blood. The nerves involved in these areas are <b><span style="color: #444444;">sympathetic nerves</span></b>. They can act to dilate special blood vessels (arteriovenous anastomoses), which open up and shunt blood into the blood vessels of your skin, creating the phenomenon we know as the<span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #444444;"><b>flush</b></span>. This also explains why many people have intense flushing confined to certain regions of the face. many people with rosacea flush on their cheeks, some (but far less) also flush in their neck and chest and it is very rare to find rosacea patients who flush on the rest of their body, unless they have other skin conditions that cause skin problems elsewhere. Rosacea, however, is mostly limited to the more densely vascularized face, where our skin is also thinnest, compared to other body parts. Showing the redness in our dilated blood vessels even more!<br />
<br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTU3zloHrqX1tkOvC4SVXb_ijxSCiBN0QhcYgabKA6o38hvBzSbZgZdxPce87qZmWFlqEexSrdpt54rQg00ldfM6FIsFOxvRr3lE6wb7zssjh8iXhvnxTQhXTIsg85b_Xv7_Hxn-Ui6gy-/s1600/11-zgodovina_klimatske_naprave-5eb67737a8c9aa19.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTU3zloHrqX1tkOvC4SVXb_ijxSCiBN0QhcYgabKA6o38hvBzSbZgZdxPce87qZmWFlqEexSrdpt54rQg00ldfM6FIsFOxvRr3lE6wb7zssjh8iXhvnxTQhXTIsg85b_Xv7_Hxn-Ui6gy-/s400/11-zgodovina_klimatske_naprave-5eb67737a8c9aa19.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 38px;"><b>More on these nerves in the skin that are involved in skin flushing</b></span><br />Another important type of nerve involved in rosacea is the <b><span style="color: #444444;">sensory nerve</span></b><span style="color: #b45f06;">.</span> Unlike sympathetic nerves that are triggered centrally in the brain, sensory nerves are locally handling the blood vessel dilation in the skin. When your face is exposed to sun for instance, or to a skin care product that has irritating ingredients, then it are the sensory nerves that can act immediately and signal to the blood vessels in the skin to dilate and give off a warning signal to us. They play a role in rosacea flushing, as such. When our blood vessels in the skin dilate, after being signaled to do so by the sensory nerves, they not only become wider and let more blood through, but they also <span>create local inflammation</span>, which in turn makes our nerves in the skin give off a<span> burning pain feeling</span>. For most people with rosacea, a deep flush is therefore painful, feeling hot, sore and like a burn almost. Due to rosacea, more nerves are created along with the new blood vessel infrastructure, but the existing nerves can also become hypersensitive. This can explain why early on, with mild rosacea, facial flushing can be fairly painless, but later on the flushing can create moderate to severe pain and hot burning sensations; the nerves in the skin have become super reactive and sensitive from the long history of being triggered by flushing attacks of the skin. As a result, some people with rosacea have such a sensitive and extensive nerve and blood vessel infrastructure, that even a small increase in blood flow will result in significant flushing episodes.<br /><br /></p><p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXTZlwdkk6rMW1PBYIfo81VGGMmGyn7zDzdItz0OpiCz8To1xpprR3XICcEt4M_xSmbdFM2jamsHWpoppJSjikrjid00NUKTkoqMiZ46zg22SFOBuSRjALr9eoBv2ver1Qmr7BBfmcNvXC/s1600/932388178c36599c78d9fdada7493191--vintage-advertisements-vintage-ads.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="795" data-original-width="567" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXTZlwdkk6rMW1PBYIfo81VGGMmGyn7zDzdItz0OpiCz8To1xpprR3XICcEt4M_xSmbdFM2jamsHWpoppJSjikrjid00NUKTkoqMiZ46zg22SFOBuSRjALr9eoBv2ver1Qmr7BBfmcNvXC/w276-h387/932388178c36599c78d9fdada7493191--vintage-advertisements-vintage-ads.jpg" width="276" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;"><b>Chemicals involved in facial flushing</b></span><br />There are hundreds of known chemicals involved with nerves and blood vessels. But there are very specific chemicals released by our nerves and blood vessels, when we have rosacea and suffer from facial flushing, such as neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and growth factors. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Neuro-</b></span><span><b><span style="color: #444444;">transmitters</span></b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></span>are chemicals that transmit a nerve signal to other nerves as well as other tissues, such as blood vessels.<span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span><b><span style="color: #444444;">Neuropeptides</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></span>do the same, but are stronger and act longer. Both can signal blood vessels to dilate or constrict, and nerves to feel pain or to go numb again. There is something special going on with these neuropeptides,<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="color: black;"><b> </b></span></span>research showed. More on this soon. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Growth factors</span></b>, released by skin cells, help to maintain existing blood vessels and nerve structures, and also make it possible for both to grow. They also play a role in the process of our nerves becoming more sensitive and easily triggered to feel burning and pain. When the nerves in our skin are activated (for instance during a flush), this in turn stimulates more growth factor release, like a waterfall-construction. They are all in place to help the body deal with overheating, but with rosacea patients this system of blood vessels and nerves and chemicals are going in overdrive, causing our increasing facial flushing and red faces.</p>
<br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilUL5vUEMcd7GCbjhxfXaGcpvBWTpfTmNJx1IfBD21Tm78YynhhrX4RKf13d-bK34tfDr71imYSUtoeNaQ0dTBZtw8AaXNWPSH2KpZcCUMJS4HpiDJULhTBRYbCQ20Xz2zATw82bmaEl37/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilUL5vUEMcd7GCbjhxfXaGcpvBWTpfTmNJx1IfBD21Tm78YynhhrX4RKf13d-bK34tfDr71imYSUtoeNaQ0dTBZtw8AaXNWPSH2KpZcCUMJS4HpiDJULhTBRYbCQ20Xz2zATw82bmaEl37/s400/download.jpg" width="317" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Understanding the warm room flush</span></b><br />When people with rosacea step from a cold environment into a warm room, we are likely to get a flush. Why is this? When we are in a cold environment, our bodies naturally has a built-in system to conserve heat. In the cooler environment, the body will constrict blood vessels in the skin. These blood vessels carry warm blood, and the wider the blood vessels are, the more body heat is released to the air, and thus the colder the body gets. In a cold environment, this is not wanted! So the body automatically constricts the blood vessels in the skin, giving the skin a more pale look and keeping the warm blood well inside, to contain and retain our body heat. We not only have more blood vessels in our facial skin than those with 'healthy skin', we also have more skin nerves to go with it, who can constrict all these extra blood vessels when it is cold. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Normal skin builds up a small amount of inflammatory chemicals such as neuropeptides in the cold, but because we have so many more blood vessels and nerves in our rosacea skin zones, these build up a large storage of neuropeptides</b></span>.<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span>Our faces feel often cold to the touch now and the same goes for our hands and feet. But when blood vessels get too cold they begin to automatically dilate, because the blood vessels lose their ability to constrict, causing redness of the skin. This is why in the cold of winter, many (northern) people have a blushed face. It rarely burns however for them.</p>
<br /><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Neuropeptide storage</span></b><br />In cooler environments, chemicals the body uses to dilate blood vessels are no longer getting released much. If the person is in a cool environment for a long period of time, then these dilating chemicals such as <span>neuropeptides</span>, the major (inflammatory) dilating chemicals released by the body, begin to build up. Neuropeptides can only be made in small amounts by the body everyday. So the nerves have a way of storing these chemicals to use when needed. Similarly, other dilating chemicals are also building up their availability.<span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">Now research has shown that more neuropeptides are released in rosacea skin during flushes</span><span>, and also that the body of a rosacea patient makes new neuropeptides faster than normal.</span><b> </b>They play a role in the warm room flush phenomenon. So when we walk from a cold environment into a warm room, as rosacea patients, we tend to flush. Our skin has more blood vessels and nerves, and therefore our skin gets more red and warm and sooner than normal too. But because our skin has been building up inflammatory neuropeptides while we were in the cold environment for some time, our skin has been building up inflammatory chemicals such as neuropeptides. We walk into the warm room, and our internal thermostat tells our skin that we are hot. The body quickly responds by initiating the release of heat. Nerves are activated in the skin to dilate blood vessels and trigger other nerves. These nerves can now release not just a small amount of neuropeptides, but ALL of the built up neuropeptides that we accumulated while being in the cold environment. Remember that <span>more neuropeptides are released in rosacea skin</span>, and also that the body of a rosacea patient makes new neuropeptides faster than normal. So while we are in the warm room, the nerves release their abundant neuropeptides in a big burst. As a result, we get a lot of blood vessel dilation in the skin, and this triggers the nerves in our skin even more, with the end result; a red hot burning facial flush. The extra blood flow stresses our blood vessels out, and in turn make them release more chemicals that keep the blood vessel dilation ongoing or even worse. If you get it bad enough, the flush can be very difficult to cool down, even when we go back into the cold outdoors again. Then after some time, for no apparent reason, the flush abruptly goes away. The skin has worked its way through the entire storage of the neuropeptide chemical and needs now time to rebuild the storage.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ3ZRATr4J0V5hbk3J2VmOrdPP33IIWAhVkwlTUCLnN6-FmoHrL0WPD0bzu-mZZBKsTgXQMRMrhoqcuswuA_9sU6PxMENOPc4-_b7dQZP0smk_wxpg733TLYmWXGqPHfxi_1qd_S9XNPcG/s1600/2decd96aeed580adca26ed81909ea0ee--old-photos-vintage-photographs.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="473" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ3ZRATr4J0V5hbk3J2VmOrdPP33IIWAhVkwlTUCLnN6-FmoHrL0WPD0bzu-mZZBKsTgXQMRMrhoqcuswuA_9sU6PxMENOPc4-_b7dQZP0smk_wxpg733TLYmWXGqPHfxi_1qd_S9XNPcG/s400/2decd96aeed580adca26ed81909ea0ee--old-photos-vintage-photographs.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;"><b>Colin Dahl has an important suggestion regarding how we can avoid these extreme flushes, triggered by moving from cold to warmer environments</b></span><br />
Colin Dahl himself had rosacea flushing, and noticed that when he stayed abroad in a country with a stable warm climate, his rosacea flushing calmed down. Back home in his home country of Australia (where he did experience seasonal temperature changes), he tried to create a summer-like environment, by using heaters to prevent his face and body from getting cool (without getting too hot). He got through the winter and saw further improvement in his skin redness and flushing. He continued the experiment in the summer, but this time the cool environment was inside due to air conditioning. The warm room was now outdoor exposure to hot weather. he again tried to continually release neuropeptides throughout the day, by not allowing his skin to get too cold. He did use air conditioning sparingly during the summer, only to reduce very warm environments like hot cars. But he did not focus cool air directly on his face (flush zones) and did not get too cool. Again he noticed a great reduction in overall flushing and his facial redness was further improved. Over time he also noticed a greater tolerance to warm environments. When he had to go back to China, it was approaching winter there. He was spending eight hours a day in a cold lab that was only 15 degrees Celsius. After just a few days he began to experience warm room flushing again. Only once he started working in a heated room again, did the warm room flush stop. Even short periods in below zero weather did not cause the warm room flushing to re-appear. He wondered if the build up of neuropeptides and other inflammatory chemicals cause of all his rosacea flushing? Unfortunately the answer is no. However, this build up did play a major role in warm room flushing and warm environment flushing, both very common flushing triggers. Colin Dahl sees a correlation between cooler environments and rosacea. In tropical southern China there is little rosacea found, but as you travel north towards areas that <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTSjW5Awbb4MHT_PLiieGy47slDV2OYnFhw9P8xpLYnMY6G_PG8TU9u5cIZyDPWdyEnP4dXpixUThRM7SRVZWBAgum0FVRKneg0T3EyXEPi_7oDIEuuhN1x3lMGxDbUwP3LItwz2CBN6Mv/s1600/4d5feaf7445d099bbda28d04a007a348--italian-ice-cream-ice-cream-van.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="736" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTSjW5Awbb4MHT_PLiieGy47slDV2OYnFhw9P8xpLYnMY6G_PG8TU9u5cIZyDPWdyEnP4dXpixUThRM7SRVZWBAgum0FVRKneg0T3EyXEPi_7oDIEuuhN1x3lMGxDbUwP3LItwz2CBN6Mv/s400/4d5feaf7445d099bbda28d04a007a348--italian-ice-cream-ice-cream-van.jpg" width="400" /></a>experience cold winters (think of Mongolia!), rosacea is much more common. The heat regulation process in rosacea skin, as described above, may have much to do with this ‘inflammatory cycle’ of rosacea. This is likely due to the fragile balance of heat conservation and heat release systems seen in people with rosacea. Even slightly cool environments will kick off the heat conservation phase in flush zones, enabling greater stores of neuropeptides, which when released in large amounts are likely to result in a flush. Many people with rosacea even try to stay in cool environments for long periods, trying to reduce facial flushes and redness that way. Let's face it; when your skin burns and feels and looks very hot, the natural thing to do is to find a cold area to find some relief. However, Colin Dahl states that this is counter productive in the end, because it can result in significant inflammatory neuropeptide storage. When you then eventually enter a warm environment, your skin has a build up of neuropeptides ready for release. In this situation a large flush will be difficult to prevent. he says that even slightly cool environments may cause neuropeptide storage to begin in your flush zones, as these areas begin to conserve heat very early. The impact of this neuropeptide storage may result in an increase in the number of warm room flushes and an increase in the severity in warm room flushes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LY4_hdXaK9tfdtD3E8i5HP9PLN4Zz0IjPNUQ6vlrD-4UikiN7wxAYDkA6AKaBXZfwU5dXGQgw7QSsEbASsjej4WDztekdkF_7VhlQYjM9WlsU8H98BZhivlPx2TabYND4MgtyYU5fGQz/s1600/5ff123029a899996a7a880079d5596f7.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="379" height="453" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LY4_hdXaK9tfdtD3E8i5HP9PLN4Zz0IjPNUQ6vlrD-4UikiN7wxAYDkA6AKaBXZfwU5dXGQgw7QSsEbASsjej4WDztekdkF_7VhlQYjM9WlsU8H98BZhivlPx2TabYND4MgtyYU5fGQz/w249-h453/5ff123029a899996a7a880079d5596f7.jpg" width="249" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;"><b>What is cool then and what is warm?</b></span><br />
So how can you tell what is a cool environment and what is a warm environment? The answer according to Colin Dahl lies in your flush zones. If the flush zones of your face (cheeks, etc) are cool to the touch, then it is very likely that inflammatory chemicals such as neuropeptides are building up. Your flush zones don’t have to be red hot for these chemicals to be released. If you want to continually release neuropeptides gradually, then you want to have neutral to slightly warm skin (not hot and not cold). The longer you stay in a heat conservation phase (your flush zone feeling cold to the touch) then the longer the neuropeptide build up continues. If the room you are in is warm, then your flush zones will not be building up these inflammatory chemicals. Even slightly cool environments will set your flush zones into heat conservation mode and neuropeptide build up, and slightly warm environments are enough to enable continual neuropeptide release in flush zones. However, unless your rosacea is very mild, all this is often in itself not enough to get your rosacea back under control. If there is already an excessive flush zone and a lot of extra blood vessels have been formed over the years, then you need to reduce these blood vessel networks too. Colin Dahl suggests<span style="color: #444444;"> <b>IPL light therapy or laser treatments</b></span> for this, to reduce the excessive amount of blood vessels in our skin. Read more about this <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2013/03/ipl-or-laser-for-rosacea-flushing-and.html"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/08/disastrous-ipl-in-2005.html"><b>here</b></a>. He also stresses the importance of calming your rosacea flushing down in other ways. Avoid triggers like direct sunlight. Stop using irritating skin care products for instance, and switch to mild and neutral ones that sooth your skin (or in my own case, stop using all skin care products entirely. For the past 14 years I have only been washing my skin at night with bottled water and cotton pads and use jojoba oil around my mouth, leaving the rest of my skin alone. No wrinkles have been forming, despite the lack of anti ageing products and my skin is a lot less irritated because of it). <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html"><b>Anti flushing medication</b></a> can also help to break the flushing cycle. This is very important according to Colin Dahl, and most dermatologists will stress the same thing; break the flushing cycle, and your skin and blood vessels get a break and a chance to normalize. If you reduce the over activity of the skin, you reduce the infrastructure required to maintain it. Less nutrients will be needed for supply, so less blood vessels are needed to get them there. Just as the body has a system to increase blood vessels and nerves in your skin to correlate with their activity, <span>the body also has a system to reduce blood vessels and nerves in your skin when they are less active.</span> The body uses growth factor regulation as one method of achieving this balance. This is why reducing flushing and skin irritation is so important. Read also up about the use of <b><a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2017/02/natural-anti-inflammatory-treatment_17.html">vitamins and supplements</a></b> for the normalization of inflammatory skin cells. Colin Dahl mentions natural compounds such as silymarin, egcg and vitamin B12.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 45px;"><b>My own experience with the Warm Room Flush suggestions</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3_pxBRU426sCtUTYEWr3eojf1dXh4ppJwYmr9AwCzZFs_82dPU7cBQUDnO7e-AO4CpbPCyKw-p1oU7arVlUQ-oNjMyjD0D7Ku6YnzQNw8vqcVjwbr9P76k2PxoTPgdOaQQ_mDbDcsZuh/s1600/DSC099899.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1009" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3_pxBRU426sCtUTYEWr3eojf1dXh4ppJwYmr9AwCzZFs_82dPU7cBQUDnO7e-AO4CpbPCyKw-p1oU7arVlUQ-oNjMyjD0D7Ku6YnzQNw8vqcVjwbr9P76k2PxoTPgdOaQQ_mDbDcsZuh/s320/DSC099899.jpg" width="201" /></a>The problem I have with the warm room flush mechanism, is that it is impossible to implement for me, unless I want to stay in a controlled environment all day. It's winter here now and I had to go in and out of hot trains, buses, airports, planes and back into the cold and wind the past weeks. The same for visiting people, how do you avoid the sharp transitions from warm to cold and back again in every day life? Living in a country with not the same mild or warm temperature all year round. It is a great theory and probably working for a lot of people. I have no doubt that in my mild/ moderate rosacea days, this was very useful. But these days I have such dense vascularity in my face and such vasodilation (also from all sorts of other triggers, despite keeping neuropeptides low or not) that it is impossible to sleep in a - say- 22 degree Celsius room. Even in summer when temperatures are consistently around or above 22 degrees, sleeping in such a temperature will ensure a beet red pulsating face during the night/next day. And the day after. And the week and months after, if I keep up with sleeping in such high temperatures. Sometimes the face is such a vascular mess that I don't believe in a few transition days before the skin gets used to sleeping in such a hot room. That one probably works better for people with transient and milder flushing and not a red face continuously due to decades of rosacea flushing. Colin Dahl suggests IPL and laser in his theory text, but they are not for everyone unfortunately. Some rosacea patients react badly to them, or have the misfortune of having hypersensitive, photosensitive skin like me. I had 2 full face IPL treatments by different doctors and a dozen of small area IPL treatments, as well as laser test patches, and it virtually all made my rosacea worse or did nothing. Unfortunately I am a poor responding patient, but both IPL and laser have helped many rosacea patients tremendously, to the point of letting them go into rosacea remission, so worth exploring as a patient (but be sure to find a good practitioner, with rosacea skin treatment experience and up to date machinery, and insist on test patches first!). I am very happy when my skin feels cold to the touch. Because then I won't be burning and flushing. Ice cold is bad news (my skin gets very red from that sort of cold too, mainly in winter), but cool to the touch? Yayy! I take <b><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html">anti flushing medication</a></b> and the cold feel of the facial skin is the sort of thing that anti flushing medication are aiming to achieve. To me, it feels counteractive to heat the place up to such a point that the skin feels warm again. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmWwf7nNXtKIWnuXVyZ5TPfvoZcopoAucM32u0mpTNwmvR7uNA-WucGHWcOs8gwVYWQuKVMqKHAgFq9qeexzu9aUyGgHAqmmxqHUZG2fzmZss666mOcgtCIgf2BF3kdDbEnPQba55AsIK/s1600/ecf467e3-65a4-4997-9296-3172de140e68.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="485" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmWwf7nNXtKIWnuXVyZ5TPfvoZcopoAucM32u0mpTNwmvR7uNA-WucGHWcOs8gwVYWQuKVMqKHAgFq9qeexzu9aUyGgHAqmmxqHUZG2fzmZss666mOcgtCIgf2BF3kdDbEnPQba55AsIK/s400/ecf467e3-65a4-4997-9296-3172de140e68.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Despite all efforts, there seem only three skin temperatures possible for me: cold to the touch, chilly to the touch, or burning hot to the touch. Like the skin lost the ability to just feel right. But when someone flushes not that often and has good periods of skin control, sticking to the warm room flush theory might be the best non invasive thing around for now to avoid those awful temperature induced flares. But it does help me too in other ways; I'm not making it as cold as possible anymore in the house when I flare, but a mild temperature. Same in heat of summer, not too cold with the air-conditioning, or there will be rebound once going outside in the heat. I do keep indoor temperatures higher than I used to, since understanding more about the warm room theory. It used to be 16 degrees or below in my house (yikes.... but my face was so hot and sore), and these days I do well on 17- 18 degrees celsius, and even a bit higher when it is natural warmth outside instead of central heating. I think my skin is less inflamed actually then, and it might explain why so many people with rosacea flushing and redness do better in summer than in winter.. Not everyone with rosacea has the same severity of burning and flushing, and not everyone can handle temperatures as high as 22-23 degrees I'm afraid. This is what Colin Dahl also highlighted in his writings, the need to first and foremost control the amount of flushing and excess vascularity one has.<br />
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I agree with Colin Dahls Warm Room Theory, and that being in a cold environment, or cooling the skin too much does indeed give a neuropeptide fueled flushing (rebound also) inferno when entering a substantial warmer room. But he also stresses in both the middle of his treaty as at the end, the importance of reducing the vast vascular/nerval infrastructure that rosacea skin often has. Through IPL in his view. or otherwise through trigger avoidance, skin care adaptations etc. So if someone has moderate to severe rosacea and flushing, he acknowledges himself that his avoidance of cold air is not going to cut it. And that the aim is to reduce this vascular network, first with the heavy guns if rosacea is bad enough, then through avoiding the cold to warm environment stress. Unfortunately not everyone with rosacea has the same great experience with IPL. I had my mild rosacea sped to severe (24/7 flushing) after a <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/08/disastrous-ipl-in-2005.html"><b>botched IPL</b> </a>and it was literally the worst thing I have done in my entire life, probably due to the wrong practitioner and machine and also for having hyper reactive skin and being slightly photosensitive. I have only anti flushing medication now to make life bearable and curb the bad flushing. It s*cks but it is what it is. Saying that the vascular network needs to be eradicated first is an open door and not as easy said as done for many patients. If your rosacea is mild, the warm room theory alone and trigger avoidance on top might make rosacea very manageable, but I think it is just one piece of the puzzle, as Dahl himself openly acknowledged in his piece as well.<br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;">Peptide LL-37</b><br />
I was also told about research about a possible link between rosacea inflammation and the peptide LL-37. There is quite a bit of research online available on it, so I will write a bit more about it now. Know and realize here, that the true cause of rosacea has not been discovered yet. Doctors and scientists do not know what causes <b><span style="color: #444444;">the different subtypes of rosacea</span></b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span>(subtype 1: flushing and redness, Subtype 2: skin outbreaks and inflammation, Subtype 3: rosacea of the nose; rhinophyma, Subtype 4: occular rosacea of the eyes and the recently added Subtype 5: neuropathic rosacea with nerve pain and burning). It is likely that these different subtypes may have some different underlying mechanisms. For instance; subtype 2 is often improving from topical ivermectin or Soolantra applications (see entire blog post about this <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/09/ivermectin-or-soolantra-as-rosacea.html"><b>here</b></a>). Indicating that demodex mites can play a role in this subtype. However, for subtype 1 with flushing and burning these creams rarely work well. The flushing is also not improving when using textbook rosacea treatments, such as antibiotic pills or creams. In fact, flushing is one of the most difficult to treat symptoms of all, in rosacea patients. Topicals like <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/12/mirvaso-inventory-of-patient-responses.html"><b>Mirvaso</b></a> (brimonidine) and Rhofade (oxymetazoline) have proven mostly disastrous for rosacea flushers. Large groups of people had their rosacea skin burned or deteriorated, had bad rebound flushing episodes that were often called "hellish" and long lasting. They chemically constrict the blood vessels, only for the body to compensate with abnormal blood vessel dilation rebound flushing) afterwards. It destabilizes the blood vessels in the long run and patients have mentioned their rosacea progressing to areas and severity they never had it before. of course another group states to have success with it, but it's a Russian Roulette drug, just like steroids. Better to reduce the flushing in my opinion are anti-flushing medication, or IPL or laser. (Read all about this <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html"><b>here</b></a> and <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2013/03/ipl-or-laser-for-rosacea-flushing-and.html"><b>here</b></a>). And facial flushing goes by different pathways than the spots and outbreaks that subtype 2 patients tend to get. So, one big discovery, of one single cause, might be unlikely. Nevertheless, a (faulty) peptide called LL-37 may play a role in rosacea inflammation according to some research.<br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg95AhjwrwGOcVPQ1Ze2Y6KW3jO98TFnGbo_UP3GgoGzmwmHkbmN3af1whiqLY0LQIcpd8m-IBk8IZqUssMG5b9Evshph6z4jxdwNvaWRnw7GkH99t5mHYrrqvJ_THO-JSuTUe4y1LirHp0/s1600/Street+Girls+in+Hot+Days+during+the+1950s+%252814%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg95AhjwrwGOcVPQ1Ze2Y6KW3jO98TFnGbo_UP3GgoGzmwmHkbmN3af1whiqLY0LQIcpd8m-IBk8IZqUssMG5b9Evshph6z4jxdwNvaWRnw7GkH99t5mHYrrqvJ_THO-JSuTUe4y1LirHp0/s400/Street+Girls+in+Hot+Days+during+the+1950s+%252814%2529.jpg" width="308" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3346901/" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>this</b></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> scientific research, it is stated that: </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Chronic, common inflammatory skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis or rosacea are </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">characterized by dysregulation of cutaneous innate immunity (aka; there is an issue in rosacea skin with the normal functioning of the immune system function). Cathelicidin LL-37 is an important effector molecule of innate immunity in the skin and atopic dermatitis, psoriasis or rosacea show defects in cathelicidin expression, function or processing. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">*In rosacea, cathelicidin processing is disturbed resulting in peptide fragments causing inflammation, erythema [skin redness] and telangiectasias [small dilated blood vessels at the surface of the skin]. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">*In atopic dermatitis, cathelicidin induction might be disturbed resulting in defective antimicrobial barrier function [causing infection]. *In contrast, psoriasis is characterized by overexpression of cathelicidin. However to date it is unclear whether pro- or anti-inflammatory functions of cathelicidin predominate in lesional skin in psoriasis. In this review, the current evidence on the role of cathelicidin LL-37 in the pathogenesis of inflammatory skin diseases will be outlined. As cathelicidin LL-37 might also serve as a future treatment target potential novel treatment strategies for those diseases will be discussed." - </span>So the research article suggests that the skin of people with rosacea has a disturbed functioning of the LL-37 cathelicidin peptide. Does that mean that there are more of these peptides in rosacea skin? or less than normal? Or that there are normal numbers but that the peptides do not work as they should do in rosacea skin? And what is this LL-37 peptide exactly?</div></span></div><div style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Cathelicidins</b></span> in the human body play a crucial role in the bodies immune defenses against bacterial infections trying to infect from the outside. Wikipedia <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LL37"><b>states</b></a> that "Patients with rosacea have elevated levels of cathelicidin." And when wiki states that "Excessive production of LL-37 is suspected to be a contributing cause in all subtypes of Rosacea", it cites <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3346901/"><b>this</b></a> research paper, which is the same as the earlier quoted research. Its authors, M. Reinholz, T. Ruzicka and J. Schauber published in 2012 their research, stating that normal skin has three ways to protect itself from bacteria's from the outside world, trying to get in. First you have the top layer of the skin, which forms a shield (if the skin barrier functions as it should do!). This outer layer of skin has special cells that work as part of the bodies immune system, signalling when substances enter the skin that do not belong to the body itself, for instance a bacteria. They signal to the other cells of the danger once a bacteria does try to invade the skin. If this happens, the bodies immune system sends specific cells to the surface that are causing inflammation, trying to work out or kill the invading bacteria. One of these specific cells are <b><span style="color: #444444;">antimicrobial peptides (AMP's)</span></b>, of which there are to date several hundred different types found. They can kill bacteria by messing with their cell membranes (for instance in case of a skin injury), but also fungi and viruses. So they are part of our skins little army, so to say. Cathelicidins are part of this AMP system. The precise cathelicidin involved in AMP is called <b><span style="color: #444444;">Cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (CAMP).</span> </b>And Cathelicidin LL-37 belongs to the CAMP family. It can break up bacteria, fungi and viruses that land on the skin. But they can also give off an "alarm", which brings the skins army into action, causing inflammation to work out or kill the invading substances. They mainly get active and detectable in the skin once there is a skin injury. When all is normal and the skin functions as normal, they are hardly to be found in the upper skin. But Cathelicidin LL-37 can also trigger the immune system. Thus, it plays an important, dual, role in the immune function of the skin. And when this LL-37 peptide does not function as it should, it can in fact have the reverse effect on the skin, and cause <b><span style="color: #444444;">skin inflammation</span></b>. And also allow bacteria to infect the skin. The scientists found that in rosacea skin, cathelicidin LL-37 often does not function as it should, and what is worse, they found that rosacea skin has much higher levels of this LL-37:<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-large;">"Indeed, cathelicidin is strongly increased lesional skin in rosacea compared to the skin of non-affected individuals."</span></i></div>
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Rosacea skin deals with different symptoms, but mostly from chronic inflammatory and vascular response [blood vessels dilating more than they should]. The "alarm" function of LL-37 is off in rosacea skin, meaning it calls for the help troops to come when there is, in fact, no real threat... No invading bacteria to fight off, no fungi and no viruses. And instead, it stimulates inflammation of the (rosacea) skin and dilation of the blood vessels (thanks to the help of nitric oxide and EDHF):<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b> </b>"In rosacea increased levels of the vasoactive and inflammatory host-defense peptide LL-37 and its proteolytic peptide fragments are found which can be explained by an abnormal cathelicidin production and pathologic protease activity."</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh06ElRWmy1xCXsjhuRmn4C4LMWXFxXegw65ycDHaaSU0XxcnHXKWM5e1ZbFvLr_EcgQ8JBG7aBkBD35EJaPuMQ7GZ0qDKtqtpsVcjGty-QLtOQCa9_uohFdFtgs_Rg5qywknMFFc7c8TM0/s1600/bf54a246af59cd9a475044d44ff3790b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh06ElRWmy1xCXsjhuRmn4C4LMWXFxXegw65ycDHaaSU0XxcnHXKWM5e1ZbFvLr_EcgQ8JBG7aBkBD35EJaPuMQ7GZ0qDKtqtpsVcjGty-QLtOQCa9_uohFdFtgs_Rg5qywknMFFc7c8TM0/s400/bf54a246af59cd9a475044d44ff3790b.jpg" width="400" /></a>The scientists got <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17676051/"><b>confirmation</b></a> about all this, when they injected these specific cathelicidins in the normal skin of mice. They all developed rosacea-like skin symptoms then. The problem is now, that scientists do not understand yet WHY rosacea skin has these higher numbers of cathelicidins, although they found 3 different 'portals' so to speak, through which the extra peptides were produced. They were retinoid-, vitamin D- and cytokine-activated. The <b><span style="color: #444444;">vitamin-D</span></b> pathway, for instance, could explain why rosacea is only present on the face normally, and not on the rest of the body: the body is usually covered up and it is the face that gets the most sun-exposure and therefore the most vitamin D. And therefore, the more vitamin D is made in the skin, the more Cathelicidin LL-37 (and thus the more disrupting inflammation and vasodilation). But this is only a small part of the puzzle, as many people with rosacea shun the sun and protect their faces from sunlight at all times. Also, many with rosacea have low levels of vitamin D (read more about that in <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-role-of-vitamin-d-in-rosaceafacial.html"><b>this</b></a> post). But scientists also found that cathelicidins could be triggered by keratinocytes (outer layers of skin cells), which have nothing to do with vitamin D. They found that the outer skin cells themselves can signal the making of more Cathelicidin LL-37 when they are injured, get exposed to UV radiation, or when the outer layer of the skin gets disrupted in any way. Skin Stress, one could call it. Ánd, interestingly: <span>skin stress included heat</span>. "<b><i><span style="color: #444444;">This again could explain why rosacea patients often report on unspecific triggers (e.g. heat) which would mediate their pro-inflammatory activities through ER stress and cathelicidin induction</span></i></b>." So when our rosacea skin gets triggered by heat, for instance you enter a very warm room, then this heat touching the skin will cause stress in the outer layer of the skin, sending of "alarm signals", which stimulate the LL-37 and other peptides to come into action and create.... inflammation. </div><div><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioP1f3kes24GQfXYdaJhsTiG0J10PYT-PKeEHZAyCRrm48BhqWyM8azS2UDcUeo7Az-a4rh9EjvJn8Ewa89viH3A7Wq5C5qgDrhBX7DbQZi_0X01XKIB9TO8XnTjR5X-WqlO1Jmshsgme7/s1695/205052998_136767108554261_643148675739215473_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1695" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioP1f3kes24GQfXYdaJhsTiG0J10PYT-PKeEHZAyCRrm48BhqWyM8azS2UDcUeo7Az-a4rh9EjvJn8Ewa89viH3A7Wq5C5qgDrhBX7DbQZi_0X01XKIB9TO8XnTjR5X-WqlO1Jmshsgme7/s320/205052998_136767108554261_643148675739215473_n.jpg" width="242" /></a><span style="color: black;">Physical </span><span>stress</span> can trigger the same response by the way, as well as <span>alcohol</span><span style="color: black;"> </span>consumption: Inflammation.. Just like we see happening in our rosacea faces when dealing with triggers like heat. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Demodex mite infections</span></b> can also trigger the skin to make these inflammation alarm reactions, as demodex mites can cause increased protease activity in rosacea skin, which does the alarm bells of Cathelicidin LL-37 go off again. Which in turn trigger inflammation, redness and blood vessel dilation in the skin. This is probably why oral and topical antibiotics (tetracyclines for instance), azeleic acid and retinoids can work for rosacea: they directly interfere with this pro-inflammatory system and reduce the inflammation or stop it from being formed altogether. So antibiotics can work for rosacea not because of their ability to kill off <i>bacteria</i>, but instead of how they reduce inflammation. And the same goes for <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/09/ivermectin-or-soolantra-as-rosacea.html"><b>anti-demodex treatment</b></a>. which can take away the prime trigger for LL-37-related skin inflammation IF you have a demodex mite infection. And avoid sunlight on your face. Vitamin D from sun is a direct trigger for LL-37-mediated inflammation and blood vessel dilation of rosacea skin. You can bronze on the rest of your body, just not your face, if you want to calm down rosacea-inflammation. (And now that I am at it, <span>could this perhaps explain why so many people flare up from vitamin D supplements??</span> I get beyond beet red from them and never understood why. Maybe here we have it, the explanation). Certain supplements and herbs can also act as anti-inflammatories. Check my (still not fully finished, sigh) blog post about them <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2017/02/natural-anti-inflammatory-treatment_17.html"><b>here</b></a>. Think of supplements like turmeric/curcumin or boswellia for instance. If you want to know even more detailed, microscopic information about how exactly this mechanism works on cellular level, I advise you to go to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3346901/"><b>this</b></a> science article and scroll down to the section Rosacea. You can also read more in <a href="http://www.jimmunol.org/content/191/10/4895"><b>this</b></a> scientific article. But that is not all, because these LL-37 cathelicidines are not only found in the skin. But also for instance in the bowels. In fact, LL-37 is linking to some other health issues (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3836506/"><b>including</b></a> many auto-immune diseases) that quite a few people with rosacea mention to suffer from, for instance: gut and bowel infections/inflammation, depression and anxiety and cardio vascular disease. Which could explain why this badly functioning, overabundance of LL-37 has different effects on the body, and perhaps (?) why many of us suffer from bowel issues, depression and anxiety on top of our skin problems. In other words: we REALLY need a treatment ASAP to bring these cathelicidins back under control! It might also be yet another way in which immune suppressing drugs, like the ones I discussed at the top of this blog entry, can work. When you suppress the immune function of the body, you also suppress the formation of LL-37 cathelicidin. And thus of inflammation, blood vessel dilation and redness. Wished those meds came with a better side-effect profile :) </div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 45px;"><b>Below is an impression of the experience from other rosaceans with the information gathered from the Warm Room Flush manual</b></span><br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHS1YXUWjmuC-H3bkrQqxlwWDcQAbOWIxDtHHijzoJPNSsYKaa4Wvab6_NyhuGgJ_iQ8G-Jr8-0n9aP7pQnceMZ23dZYEvGy0DsNjw0j6BgMc_CrB4mtwTe50iuHz6eqpV1jwWoba095j/s1600/2084b04a31f1a9d083685095627b4fb0.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="640" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHS1YXUWjmuC-H3bkrQqxlwWDcQAbOWIxDtHHijzoJPNSsYKaa4Wvab6_NyhuGgJ_iQ8G-Jr8-0n9aP7pQnceMZ23dZYEvGy0DsNjw0j6BgMc_CrB4mtwTe50iuHz6eqpV1jwWoba095j/s320/2084b04a31f1a9d083685095627b4fb0.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Carly1981 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38055-Warm-room-flush-theory-revisited">wrote</a> on November 7th, 2017:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>"Regarding the Warm room flush theory, I've read a little bit about it and I think I understand the concept, but how arduous is the path to improvement? I practically live in front of a small fan during the winter months because my cheeks flush so easily. If I ease up on using it, do I just have to push through the heat/ flushes until they lesson? I went to the theater over the weekend and after about an hour, I could feel my cheeks start to burn (my friends actually thought the auditorium was too cold). Of course this made me feel embarrassed, so the flushing was made worse. *ugh* I have the acne more or less under control now, but I can't seem to shake the flushing."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Rednessator <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38055-Warm-room-flush-theory-revisited">wrote</a> on November 7th, 2017:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>"The whole premise of this theory is that only heat causes flushes, but as we know, people have many triggers, thus keeping environment warm all the time might actually lay the bed for the other triggers."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">BraceYourself <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38055-Warm-room-flush-theory-revisited">wrote</a> on November 10th, 2017:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>"I've been to the tropics and the weather there was at a constant 20 °C with not much humidity. <span>My skin must've been around a constant temperature and it was fantastic</span>. Then again there are many different factors that would've changed, since I was on vacation, so my diet, sun exposure, stress and sleep pattern were not the same as usual. So it might not just be the temperature, but an array of things. Back to the title of the thread; walking into a warm room from the cold is probably my biggest nightmare honestly, because I can't control ANYTHING at that point. Then once I go red I feel embarrassed, which causes a deep blush and that makes it even more awful."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Violetsareblue <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38055-Warm-room-flush-theory-revisited">wrote</a> on November 17th, 2017:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>"Flushing, I guess, is very complex. In my case it is/was a combination of a damaged lipid barrier (sun damage, seb derm etc), hormonal fluctuations (my period, estrogen), body temperature over the day and menstrual cycle, Raynaud's syndrome (overactive vessels), bad physical shape in general (diet and blood circulation), depression and passivity. I still see a logic in the warm room theory but there is def more to it.. And def things we can effect even if we don't think so. I have managed to almost eradicate my flushing through an improved diet, skin barrier and avoidance of freezing or spending to much time in cold and dry environments, working out more (getting better blood circulation). Its winter here now and I barely have any flushing atm. I occasionally have some issues with what I believe is caused by my low blood pressure, but really, I am so so much better then I was a year ago. <span>My rosacea also almost completely vanishes when I go to warm, humid places</span>. I remember the doctor used to tell me that stress was a big factor in rosacea and I didn't understand it back then because I never flushed from stress. But the fact that long term stress and depression actually constricts your blood vessels all over your body, making your whole system tense and cold makes us more prone to flushing as well.. To be continued.."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Dzed1 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38055-Warm-room-flush-theory-revisited/page2">wrote</a> on November 17th, 2017:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>"Hi, I didn't meant that there are no other factors, you are right stress is huge thing same as hormones. What I meant was specifically for cold-warm exposure. Also you said Raynaud's syndrome, see there are conditions that overlap with rosacea, that's why I managed to learn quite a bit for this condition, and trust me many different chronic diseases are the same - I stand by my theory that rosacea is associated with CVD, blood clots, and insulin resistance destroyed digestive tract (immunity) this are the primary causes imho. Many people talk about demodex, let me tell you why they are not the issue. If you got good immunity, no demodex will ever do any harm to you, when i get on better diet - and started to use the methods i explained in the other threads, suddenly no demodex.....so no, they are not the cause, they come after."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7RJx3IHm6viRbY9g9zdA2UcQ0Fn3k9YcKFTrg-vvtSjl9VbljJ-wHkg3lbxiRvCpw0YhJFfUuvmSIB_djDbuOLIHCZx2XMNjyPBb7KlYmQulun74vg0t9PQHUX9omP8NT6hKifyESdEOm/s1600/tumblr_omntdk21hP1rttlrno1_400.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcuK43J2wc5t4qUYKCDxE3yw94rlFe8TTYOdblAZ1gbnNDDAcH_reYRjCK_6BCZrDYJHWHshqArsQxQ8Hf1-d5o1CmdqH8ryTvQrXdg4-_211q_OaRE53Tp2lOb4tWp5LX_2uzEYaGEmLd/s1900/205628055_136766585220980_5374698110068172036_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1900" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcuK43J2wc5t4qUYKCDxE3yw94rlFe8TTYOdblAZ1gbnNDDAcH_reYRjCK_6BCZrDYJHWHshqArsQxQ8Hf1-d5o1CmdqH8ryTvQrXdg4-_211q_OaRE53Tp2lOb4tWp5LX_2uzEYaGEmLd/s320/205628055_136766585220980_5374698110068172036_n.jpg" width="243" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Violetsareblue <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38055-Warm-room-flush-theory-revisited/page2">wrote</a> on January 26th, 2018: </span></b>"So I just wanted to report some of my latest findings regarding warm room theory etc. since I noticed the connection cold face, nose body and then flushing etc. I have tried to keep my body warm lately. I have started to keep a little electric radiator by my side at work for example so that I don't get into freeze mode anymore. My experience so far is really positive. Most of all, my body is much more relaxed which feels good and it feels like I build up less tension overall, tension that can possibly enhance flushing later in the day. My nose is also more even temperature all day which I think is beneficial. I rarely experience cheeks flushing nowadays however, if it happens its when I talk to cute guys haha (and that might be pretty normal). I have had continuous progress with my rosacea since I went paleo in April 2017. I have made several radical life style changes so its hard for me to say exactly what is making me better but maybe "every little helps". I know the diet was a big one, doing colon hydrotherapy in August 2017 was another and a good routine with nice skincare + metronidazole cream was yet another. The progress for me is extremely slow, but if I look back a year, the progress is obvious. A year ago I couldn't even wear a turtle neck because it would make me over heat and flush, I had to keep my windows open all time to cool my face. If I went into a warm room my face would explode into flushing/swelling within five minutes. All of this is totally gone now and my life is back to normal. Instead I find I love the warm and do all I can to stay warm. I rent a flat and it has central heating that my landlord has decided. I have a few thermometers to keep my eye on the temp and it stays pretty even at 23 degrees celcius, which is warm for Sweden. My home is comfy temp and I rarely feel cold there. A year ago I couldn't handle this temperature at all and slept just with a thin cotton sheet on me but now I am fine and can sleep with a normal duvet. My body usually stays warm until around 11-12 am at work and then I need to put the radiator on as I start to get colder. I feel it in my hands and feets, nose but also pretty much my whole body. I have also changed in my office space so I have a standing desk because sitting makes me very cold, tired and enhances flushing. At around 4-6 pm I get warm again and tapper down the extra heating. I think for me the next thing to try to add is some of this old type of humidifiers to my flat. Regarding supplements I take a few: vitamin D3, C, zink, magnesium and iron. Every other day also cod liver oil and omega3. I also take antihistamines at night. To be continued.. And all my best to all of you /V"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Whiteshadows <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38055-Warm-room-flush-theory-revisited/page2">wrote</a> on March 20th, 2018:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>"Its crazy to me that the warm room flush theory doesn't have more traction on this forum, <span style="color: black;"><span>I've used it and my flushing has all went away except for alcohol (which is just from a enzyme deficiency, look up asian flush).</span><b> </b></span>I remember when my rosacea started when I was around 13, I would go outside in -20 degree weather, waiting for the bus, going outside for hours with nothing covering my face. I would go inside an bam intense flush. Obviously the vicious cycle starts when I started to try to stay in cold rooms all the times only making things worse without knowing it. The theory makes so much sense and its also why so many people clear up when they go to the tropics. The opposite is also true if one lives in a hot climate but are in AC all day long, they will flush when they go out its just in reverse. Warm room flush theory should be tagged for every newcomer to see. I live in Canada and the theory worked super well for me also. From experience its not as much that you need to keep a consistent temperature, the trick is that <b><span style="color: #444444;">you must not let your face get cold.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span></b>When my rosacea was at its worst I would do the opposite and try to maintain cold temperatures, but I always flushed in warmer rooms because my face was accumulating neuropeptides. Hot trains, buses, and airports are not problems IF you make sure you're face doesn't accumulate neuropeptides by being cold for long periods of times. HOT environments will only be a problem is you let your neuropeptides accumulate by being in cold environments for to long. If you put your hand on you face and feel that it is cold it means your accumulating neuropeptides. When you go outside in the cold you wear a scarf to keep your face warm (preventing it from accumulating neuropeptides). When you are home and sleeping the temps must be 22 Celsius or above, if the temperature is less than that I feel me face is cold and accumulating. Ever noticed how in the summer 22 degrees feels cold yet in the winter it feels warm and can make you flush? That's because in the summer your neuropeptides are not accumulating (unless you work in a very air conditioned environment. You will flush the first times though but you have to go through it, for me it lasted one night I slept with the temp at 23-24 I flushed like crazy (depleted my neuropeptide reserve). But the morning after I started to keep my face warm consistently and I pretty much never flushed again.(except for alcohol, and emotions but i feel these are normal and not rosacea caused). At this point I truly believe most peoples flushes are caused by this theory and some people have more severe rosacea the longer they have been stuck in the loop of keeping face cold which is the opposite of what one has to do. Ultimately this builds more and more blood vessels which makes skin even more sensitive. The less you flush the less blood vessels your skin will have long term."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Antwantsclear <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38055-Warm-room-flush-theory-revisited/page3">wrote</a> on March 21st, 2018: </span></b>"When my ear flushing was very bad before using the medications, I could not manage a warm room to sleep in, for example. However, now I prefer a moderately warm room (e.g. 23 C). But hydroxychloroquine/mepacrine made my flushing more tolerable. I think you do need to either have mild flushing or otherwise control moderate to severe rosacea flushing sufficiently in order to get the warm room syndrome theory to work. The other point here is that hydroxychloroquine and mepacrine are anti-parasitic drugs which I think do help control the demodex population. Demodex mites do respond to warm temperatures - in my experience they go crazy when you consistently have to deal with a temperature above about 25C-27C. There is broader evidence beyond rosacea to show that demodex mites respond to temperature in their levels of activity and breeding etc. So, I also do find that controlling the mites topically with almond oil and tea tree oil combined does help - that has to be on the hair and the face. I notice a lot less itching from the mites etc when I consistently use the oils. Again the warm room syndrome works better when the mite populations are under control - otherwise a hot room means increased demodex mite activity - flushing, burning and itching."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbspNgrsvwM0tPPFBTqxjY7KIQpyohiLtf1ZWFeZyy0fQhXuObA8PMHcIcCoALnuXHmvCUT7hwDXtP-Z3Xh0sHJ7A1ckWGRhsQaMA3lzc7IZa0FpHv9bV68t_EbpqzN1wYMXZOD9Ao0u5T/s1600/Vintage-summer.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="650" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbspNgrsvwM0tPPFBTqxjY7KIQpyohiLtf1ZWFeZyy0fQhXuObA8PMHcIcCoALnuXHmvCUT7hwDXtP-Z3Xh0sHJ7A1ckWGRhsQaMA3lzc7IZa0FpHv9bV68t_EbpqzN1wYMXZOD9Ao0u5T/s400/Vintage-summer.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Whiteshadows <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?38055-Warm-room-flush-theory-revisited/page4">wrote</a> on March 21st, 2018:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>"Its true that for some people with too much "infrastructure'' or vascularity, like you said, the warm room flush may be hard to apply. The doctor that came up with the theory mentioned in the article that for some people they may require initial IPL or v-beam laser to reduce their infrastructure or vascularity as you said . He even says the more flushes one gets the more infrastructure ones builds and the less flushes one gets the body will reduce the infrastructure naturally. Yes rosacea meds make it a point to make the face feel cold but most of them cause a rebound effect similar to the release of neuropeptides. Essentially they work because they do the same thing a cold room does do your vessels which is constricting them. keeping the face warm may sound counter intuitive I remember thinking that was crazy back when it was bad but it truly makes sense now since now i make it a point to mostly never let my face become cold to touch since I know that although it may feel good my face is only accumulating neuropeptides to be released down the line.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHORxLRWRKkOPe_Dkh_IG9_K_92K2fe3WgJXe3fS8M3lbXhml-mjejOaCSnhrbfenu3gmVA8bGXFTuAfjOOYgIOgLN9hMhaCXASrIDjdWC-grBcEtr-8Jtyo25EHMlrGJV_pTIss0U5Vc/s1600/gelato.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="610" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHORxLRWRKkOPe_Dkh_IG9_K_92K2fe3WgJXe3fS8M3lbXhml-mjejOaCSnhrbfenu3gmVA8bGXFTuAfjOOYgIOgLN9hMhaCXASrIDjdWC-grBcEtr-8Jtyo25EHMlrGJV_pTIss0U5Vc/s400/gelato.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: 40px;"><b><a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?t=431">This</a> is an original forum discussion about the Warm Room Flush research at the time it first came out, and its author Colin Dahl also chimes in, answering some questions</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Artist <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?t=431">wrote </a>on March 2nd, 2008:</span></b> "WOW David this is an amazing read! I posted some excerpts and commented here and there, but I just think everyone should read this whole thing. VERY eye-opening. Please read The Warm Room Flush!!! I'm just going through it now. This reminds me of a camping trip one year. We went camping and it was only around 60-65 degrees most of the time. During the whole trip my skin looked amazing. My vessels were completely constricted at all times. On the way home, we went into a warm restaurant and I ate. I had the biggest "warm room" flush ever. It was very sudden, and awful. <span>Now I realize that, while my skin was cool, dilating chemicals were not being used - so they built up.</span> So, after such a long time building up, there was an abundant amount to be released. <span>I think this also helps explain why many of us do worse in the winter going from warm to cold rooms..</span> Thanks for finding this. The author actually has rosacea. Perhaps this also explains why I do so well in tropical environments. I think a lot of us try and do this: "<i>Many with rosacea even try to remain in cool environments for long periods in an attempt to reduce facial flushes from occurring. However, this is counter productive because it can result in significant inflammatory neuropeptide storage. When the person eventually enters a warm environment they have a build up of neuropeptides ready for release. In this situation a large flush will be difficult to prevent."</i> Interesting!!!! Artist"<br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTLXtyhqAVAmKhNlstYzirdlAPD_Ak9pvDr-XV817Mp-cI2DrLyB4w_zWyYqJes5HieSg7pmZdrwXj_NnwLaY0CWomp_LDg-7mkjL_u0SFYydUXKwybXFTuxTyvPDZHiw3-LUVPRp6VBN/s1600/art-pharm2109.05.fig1+%25281%2529.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="400" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTLXtyhqAVAmKhNlstYzirdlAPD_Ak9pvDr-XV817Mp-cI2DrLyB4w_zWyYqJes5HieSg7pmZdrwXj_NnwLaY0CWomp_LDg-7mkjL_u0SFYydUXKwybXFTuxTyvPDZHiw3-LUVPRp6VBN/s200/art-pharm2109.05.fig1+%25281%2529.gif" width="200" /></a><span><b><span style="color: #990000;">Quiller <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?t=431">wrote</a> on March 23rd, 2008:</span></b> </span><span>"I like the neuropeptide buildup idea because it's original, and testable. It looks like one of the neuropeptides is Substance P, which always interested me because it sounds so mysterious. Here's a nifty illustration of how it interacts with Nitric Oxide.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">David Pascoe <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?t=431">wrote</a> on March 4th, 2008:</span></b> "It is certainly an interesting thought that is worth exploring further to see if we can't understand how much this might help. The author did say it wasn't the cure, but did help. It is probably too hard for all to follow this sort of temperature regulation regime, but if it does help it is worth exploring and understanding it fully."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Melissa W. <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?t=431">wrote</a> on March 4th, 2008:</span></b> "This is probably a silly question but <span>what about people who can stay flushed for days? Doesn't the dilating chemical (neuropeptides) get depleted and shouldn't the flush die out sooner?</span> I remember when I was first diagnosed I was fortunate enough to get to speak with Dr. Peter Crouch and he warned me not to sleep in too cool a room as that may require me to keep in cooler and cooler temps and harder to tolerate the warm room temps. I'm not sure he knew the mechanism behind this at the time but he was right! Best wishes, Melissa"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz8do9MzPUy3cgL_wAHzr6DP5BA1MEvMY8GjVb_RpLTiRcsGF3SRFPlDxQWiN5L5Vc1JzuUmk2JsVPhUFwbAlRe6EavJn9FgE1nrYW89Gh3lMI2IEXZo0esVAE8KYQMnaQHryrR-1JGILp/s1600/sigourney-weaver-1983-eating-a-hotdog-in-los-angeles-douglas-kirkland.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1135" data-original-width="1600" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz8do9MzPUy3cgL_wAHzr6DP5BA1MEvMY8GjVb_RpLTiRcsGF3SRFPlDxQWiN5L5Vc1JzuUmk2JsVPhUFwbAlRe6EavJn9FgE1nrYW89Gh3lMI2IEXZo0esVAE8KYQMnaQHryrR-1JGILp/s400/sigourney-weaver-1983-eating-a-hotdog-in-los-angeles-douglas-kirkland.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">AustralianSciences (Colin Dahl) <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?t=431">wrote</a> on March 4th, 2008:</span></b> "Hi Melissa, Regarding your question about those who stay flushed for long periods. The booklet does advise those in this situation to reduce their excessive heat regulation infrastructure (through IPL) before attempting some of the recommendations in the booklet. I can explain the reason for this a little further for you. In this situation, the person would obviously has an excessive heat regulation infrastructure (more nerves and blood vessels). This extra skin infrastructure is also involved in the generation of neuropeptides and inflammatory chemicals. <span>So the flush won't die out faster, in fact it will last longer because more of these chemicals are being produced and released.</span><span> </span>If you have less of this heat regulation infrastructure in your skin, you will produce less of these inflammatory chemicals. Best regards, Colin Dahl"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Rusie <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=431&sid=f92e86b1141a1e546b18a826ff6b2586&start=10">wrote</a> on March 4th, 2008:</span></b> "Hello all, I have many questions regarding the warm room flush. First, thank you David for posting this info. I have had rosacea for three years now and for three years have been trying to keep my face cool or cold, even at night. <span style="color: black;">I constantly have fans blowing on me and keep my house at 60 degrees in the winter</span> (where I generally do better) and 69 degrees in the summer and spring (where I generally do worse). My general problem is facial flushing, not really p&p's. After three years of constantly trying to keep my face cool, with every trick you can imagine, how do I now stop and keep it warm? Should I use a gradual process? I should also mention that I get warm and hot easily, which results in a flush. Nighttime is especially hard for me, as it is difficult for me to sleep if I am not cool. Any suggestions?? I live in the Atlanta, Georgia area so it is hot in the summer and cool, but not extremely cold (most of the time) in the winter. Thank you for any help or advise any of you can offer. Rusie"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Eric123 <a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=431&sid=f92e86b1141a1e546b18a826ff6b2586&start=10">wrote</a> on March 4th, 2008:</span></b> "I really enjoyed this booklet and think it will prove to be of great help. I had a couple questions; 1) <span style="color: black;">Is there any way to release the neuropeptides, if you have stored them up, other than a flush?</span> I noticed in Asia that topical application of L-Menthol on the back of my neck quickly resolved any flush, as did a proper neck/upper back massage.... could this be releasing or diverting the neuropeptides away from my flush zones to the neck/back areas? 2) Are there any neuropeptide inhibitors, topical or internal, which might be useful to achieve balance? 3) <span style="color: black;">How does this affect how we regulate our temperature with things like hot drinks, chewing on ice chips, etc...?</span> Chinese medicine always warns of drinking cold drinks, eating ice cream, etc... and I seemed to notice a marked decrease in my flushing episodes after I began to drink only room temperature water and other drinks."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">AustralianSciences (Colin Dahl) </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=431&sid=f92e86b1141a1e546b18a826ff6b2586&start=10">wrote</a> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">on March 7th, 2008:</span></b> "Hi Rusie, I can totally relate to your situation. I kept myself in a cool environment for a few years too. It didn't help me and I can guess it is not working for you too. If you keep yourself in that cool environment you are setting yourself up for more flushes and longer flushes, which is likely to progress your rosacea even further. But what to do now? If I was you, I would find out how my body reacts to long periods of slightly warm temperatures. It doesn't really matter what happens the instant the air conditioner goes off, or when heater goes on. <span style="color: black;">What matters is what is happening several days late</span><span style="color: black;">r.</span> Don't be afraid to experience flushing during this initial period (think of this as a positive, you are reducing your build up of inflammatory chemicals in your flush zone, take advantage of this!). You are trying a medication free approach here, you really have nothing to lose and everything to gain. As the booklet states, <span style="color: black;">if you just go from hot to hotter in even slightly warm environments (while restricting cool environments for a number of days) then it is possible that your heat regulation infrastructure is just too excessive to attempt this regime at this time,</span> so IPL is recommended in the booklet. A good indication on excessive infrastructure is how much redness you have in your flush zone. Rosacea takes many years of flushing and skin excitation to progress. If you reduce the flushing and skin activity downwards every month, you are progressing towards the reversal of rosacea. For example purposes, you don't have to go from 10 flushes a week to zero in order to begin reversing rosacea. If you do experience 10 flushes a week for an extended period of time, then the infrastructure in your skin will be in proportion to 10 flushes/week. If you go down to 9 flushes a week for an extended period of time, then the infrastructure in your skin will be in proportion to 9 flushes/week. And so on. (I left out skin activity in the example, I didn't want to make it too complicated). Maybe I can discuss it next time. Best regards, Colin Dahl"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiziu3YkEQUy-77yqTsBcZ9IDHm1dgikxN6CuQlcDNGF4S8mOKmgzZnqv5IBesZ1_t42F2FdYDtp26RQrSLcx2s1V7CDmTSKRfuiIv8-4ooPDHxjJQT90zoL8nAPcixDr5ZuDcfvSIIPkT/s1600/il_340x270.1088552945_6s8a.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="340" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiziu3YkEQUy-77yqTsBcZ9IDHm1dgikxN6CuQlcDNGF4S8mOKmgzZnqv5IBesZ1_t42F2FdYDtp26RQrSLcx2s1V7CDmTSKRfuiIv8-4ooPDHxjJQT90zoL8nAPcixDr5ZuDcfvSIIPkT/s400/il_340x270.1088552945_6s8a.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">AustralianSciences (Colin Dahl) </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=431&sid=f92e86b1141a1e546b18a826ff6b2586&start=10">wrote</a> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">on March 8th, 2008:</span></b> "I typed ROSACEA into google, because for the last few years I haven't looked at what rosacea resources were on the internet. At the top of the list is rosacea.org I read their Winter 2008 Newsletter. A feature story is about research they funded on Demodex Mites. Are we still talking about this rubbish? To spend time and money on this kind of research is an insult to people with rosacea and anyone who donated to them. Am I the only one who feels like this? The other research isn't much better. Let me save them their research budget for the next few years with the following advice. At its most basic definition, Rosacea is an inflammatory condition. The severity of the condition is in relation to the inflammation/skin infrastructure. People with a basic understanding of rosacea should know that just about every kind of inflammatory chemical can play a role (vaso, nero, immuno). So isn't it then obvious that many of these chemicals will be elevated or over reactive in rosacea. Then why would you bother looking to see if one of these chemicals is increased or overactive? In my opinion, people with rosacea deserve much more innovative research than this! Maybe if people wrote to them and demanded better research then a positive may be achieved out of this. Best regards, Colin Dahl, Australian Sciences". <br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">AustralianSciences (Colin Dahl) </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=431&sid=f92e86b1141a1e546b18a826ff6b2586&start=10">wrote</a> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">on March 8th, 2008:</span></b> "I no longer suffer from rosacea. I believe the key is flush minimization and reducing skin cell activity. I will try to post some messages on this over the next few weeks. One way to is to avoid flushing triggers, but you can't avoid all flushing triggers in the real world. So, together lets think of ways to minimize flushing (that doesn't involve avoidance of triggers). If you can't think of one you get an F (because the booklet talks about some ways). Best regards, Colin Dahl, Australian Sciences"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Artist </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=431&sid=76fe35fb4ae1bd1761c3d8ea544357c8&start=20">wrote</a> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">on March 8th, 2008:</span></b> "Colin, Here's my idea on how to minimize flushing: Move to someplace tropical, where the temperature is pretty much the same all year round (absolutely fabulous), and no one has air conditioning! I think that would work like a charm for me:) I have a question. <span style="color: black;">So, in your opinion, while we are down-regulating our facial skin infrastructure, should we be upset by slight pinkness from allowing our skin to be "slightly warm"? My thinking is that the deep flushes, or the ones that make you pretty red with a hot or burning feeling are the ones we need to worry about.</span> I obsess about ALL pinkness, even if it's mild and I can only see it..not really feel it. I think "it's making my rosacea progress!" Should I stop worrying about that? I think I should, because when I see ANY pinkness, I immediately try to cool myself off. This would decrease my stress over my skin.. I'm thinking I only want to worry about decreasing the deep, hot, burning flushes I get maybe twice per week. Correct? I think your theory really makes complete sense. It follows basic physiology, and the notion that our bodies have natural compensating abilities - like negative feedback/positive feedback, hormones, blood pressure compensation, collateral blood vessel growth, heart rate, respirations, etc..it just makes sense. I'm very interested to see how folks do over time with the suggestions. Cheers! Artist"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">AustralianSciences (Colin Dahl)</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=431&sid=76fe35fb4ae1bd1761c3d8ea544357c8&start=20">wrote</a> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">on March 9th, 2008:</span></b> "Hi Artist and Quiller, Firstly Artist, you are correct. <span style="color: black;">Concentrate on reducing the larger flushes. There's nothing wrong with being a little pink or red.</span> Try not to obsess, you're increasing stress hormones, which cause more vasodilation and redness. Also, the deeper flushes (as you put it) tend to correspond with sympathetic nerves and the burning sensation with the more peripheral sensory nerves. They can act individually or together. But the burning component is a very troubling one. Maybe it will be easier to discuss ways of minimizing flushing and skin cell activity in real situations. Do you mind volunteering and telling us what causes your two flushes every week? Best regards, Colin Dahl Australian Sciences"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVO41Ot4n-gLIzdD9B53bI-aIM1Ud22ye2nYAG3lhENw00-hlacBEW57uaytTXVbfQj8tTiZKd0qGgTcYVUvTmgx_5f37UeW-HSGq3K7UDNaaeuiIPholkkBhDrc7-37UeeOc3XryyxtL8/s1600/4026e3983b6ae877142fd679c93bd6d5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="448" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVO41Ot4n-gLIzdD9B53bI-aIM1Ud22ye2nYAG3lhENw00-hlacBEW57uaytTXVbfQj8tTiZKd0qGgTcYVUvTmgx_5f37UeW-HSGq3K7UDNaaeuiIPholkkBhDrc7-37UeeOc3XryyxtL8/s400/4026e3983b6ae877142fd679c93bd6d5.jpg" width="205" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Artist </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=431&sid=76fe35fb4ae1bd1761c3d8ea544357c8&start=20">wrote</a> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">on March 9th, 2008:</span></b> "Hi Colin: I'd say my big flushes occur for four reasons: 1) <span>Early on many of my deep flushes were from "blushing" due to things like embarrassment, taking a test, interview, social situations, tense moments at work, etc.</span> The beta blocker, Atenolol, has taken care of most of this problem. I still suffer from this type of "deep lasting blush" a few times a month maybe. I've considered talking to my doctor about increasing my dose of Atenolol, but I think it might lower my blood pressure too much. I do want blood going to my brain, after all ;) The Atenolol is amazing. I went from deep blushng every day, to just a few times a month or so.. Beta blockers curb the sympathetic "fight or flight" response. People often use them for "stage fright" for this very reason. They may feel anxious, but they don't appear anxious. No sweating or rapid heart rate, or blushing.. So, in my experience, beta blockers minimize sympathetic blushing. 2) <span>Food.<span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></span>I flush badly to certain foods. Red wine, certain alcohols, aged cheese, most processed foods with large ingredient lists. I have to eat very basic. I had a semi-deep flush yesterday from the comination of a few drinks, lots of brie cheese, and slightly smoked chicken. We were also went on a long walk in 55 degree weather. I was talking socially with some new friends. The combination was what did it, I'm sure. So, avoiding food triggers helps prevent flushing, but it's a real pain and NO fun. 3) <span>Skin being cool for a while, then going into a warm room, or especially eating at a warm restaurant.</span> Last week I took my son to the park. It was about 55 degrees out. We were out for a few hours. We walked to a diner on the way home. It was probably about 75 degrees there. I didn't eat much while I was there, but I flushed big-time. It had been quite some time since that had happened. I had an IPL just a few days earlier, so my skin was still sensitive from that and I should have found someplace else to stop. Anyway, I held some cool wet napkins to my skin and the flush lasted maybe ten or fifteen minutes. When that happens, the flush does stop suddenly - just like you describe in your booklet. I wonder if attenuating that type of flush when it happens would help. Cooling the skin with a wet napkin might slow the release. Or, would it snuff out the release? Once the neuropeptide release starts, should you try to slow or stop it? 4) <span>"Sudden Cool-Down" If I'm running around all morning</span>, physically, while concentrating and focusing (I'm a nurse). After a morning like that, sometimes sitting in the lunch-room and eating my lunch brings on a deep flush. I think of it as the "sudden cool-down". That's been an issue for me off and on. Lately it's not bad, but there have been times when it happened every day. This will also occur if I do high-impact exercise - getting my heart rate up and sweating - something like running a few miles, etc. I don't flush during it - only afterwards while cooling down. - Of course, I flush if I get way too hot, but it has to be very hot. Maybe in the 90s and I'd have to be exerting myself at least moderately. Another one is deep concentration. I notice I breathe very shallow while concentrating deeply - reading, writing this email, etc. We know that, in general, you should avoid temperature extremes and wear a scarf on your face if the weather is cold. What we didn't know is what happens with skin infrastructure and that we may have the ability to reverse it. We didn't know that, by focusing too much on trying to stay cool all the time in order to avoid the acute trigger of "warmth", we could allow our infrastructure to build up over time. When we talk about improving rosacea long-term, the discussion centers around skin irritation. What can we do to decrease irritation and treat inflammation. Cheers! Artist"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">AustralianSciences (Colin Dahl)</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://www.ausci.com%20%20https//rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=431&start=30">wrote</a> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">on March 12th, 2008:</span></b> "Hi Artist, Thanks for your information. The flushing triggers you mentioned are all normal responses (just exaggerated in accordance with the level of your skin infrastructure). <span>In regards to beta blockers, they can be very effective.</span> In my own experience they initially did not give much benefit (due to my very excessive skin infrastructure). But later I was able to use them successfully when my skin infrastructure was less excessive. Apart from the dose or level of drug/neurotransmitter, I believe another reason for this comes back to how the body handles stress. <span>The beta blocker drugs block one of the major stress induced vasodilation pathways.</span><span> </span><span style="color: black;">If your skin infrastructure is only moderately excessive then blocking this one pathway may be enough to prevent a stress related flush from occurring. However if your skin infrastructure is very excessive then blocking this one pathway may not be enough to prevent a flush. The body often has many ways of achieving important functions. </span>One problem I found with beta blockers is that they caused dry eyes. I eventually replaced beta blockers with biological approaches to reduce the availability of blood to the facial region, thereby reducing flushing. In meetings where I thought a flush may occur, I initially tried to have the meetings in cool rooms. This in effect was constricting blood vessels in my skin and reducing the release of inflammatory chemicals (which can be a powerful opposing force to skin vasodilation). An additional approach was to have a large meal before the meeting. Regardless of which part of your body is experiencing vasodilation or vasoconstriction, overall you still have the same amount of blood in your body. So by having a meal before a meeting I was causing vasodilation in my digestive system, which forces vasoconstriction in the rest of the body (even muscles, which is why you feel tired after a meal meal). <span style="color: black;">(Note Scarlet Nat: this is not the case for everyone! Digesting a large meal can for some rosacea flushers also create heat in the body by the digestion process and flare UP flushing in fact). </span>Finally I adjusted the cool room approach by staying in a slightly warm environment prior to meetings, this automatically avoids large build ups of inflammatory chemicals including neuropeptides, so no matter what trigger was around the corner, you are well positioned to handle it better. By combining all of these flush reduction approaches (as well as others involving reducing skin cell activity) I no longer need to take beta blockers to prevent stress related flushes. <span style="color: black;">Yes, it is good to cool the skin during a flush, especially early on to stop it progressing. </span>Flushes cause changes to the skin (more blood vessels and nerves). However, I would like to make one point that is very important. <span style="color: black;">Reducing flushes alone may not be enough to stop or reverse rosacea</span>. Flushing is only one way the body uses to increase blood vessels and nerves. It has many others. For me <span>additional factors were sunlight and skin irritation</span><span>.</span> You asked what you can do to reduce skin irritation and inflammation, well you can do a lot. Regardless of the actives or excipients, even the most basic moisturizer needs to have preservatives, which are irritants.<span> I don't use topicals on my face, because I know they will irritate. </span>The only thing I do is wash with soap (if you wanted to moisturize your skin you could use a moisturizing soap like Dove). If you use a moisturizing cream on the surface of your excessive skin infrastructure, then you will still have excessive skin infrastructure, but with softer skin. Best regards, Colin Dahl Australian Sciences"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqyyZMXi62yOv8AqSWJ8KCljGJGR4MnnSk2cb-kSe65NNnVderuUXpjXTn6jdLUPXmqbZlK5Lq1OUolu-IX8C3WGDTgoI2VKrYkQDVso8BW6ANjm0j1rahpk0vyyh2HZ57kMYt8PUw_EP/s1600/z12.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="274" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqyyZMXi62yOv8AqSWJ8KCljGJGR4MnnSk2cb-kSe65NNnVderuUXpjXTn6jdLUPXmqbZlK5Lq1OUolu-IX8C3WGDTgoI2VKrYkQDVso8BW6ANjm0j1rahpk0vyyh2HZ57kMYt8PUw_EP/s400/z12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">AustralianSciences (Colin Dahl)</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://www.ausci.com%20%20https//rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=431&start=30">wrote</a> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">on March 12th, 2008:</span></b> "Australian Sciences has done tests to block individual neuropeptides (Substance P, CGRP, VIP, etc) to see what effect that has on reducing flushing. We saw that Substance P and CGRP greatly contribute to the burning sensation and delayed sensitivity. We've even done a lot of other non-neuropeptide tests, blocking Nitric Oxide and Nitric Oxide Synthase, etc. These tests were good to get a greater biological understanding of rosacea and flushing (and how the body works). However, a few years ago I felt (and still do) that this kind of approach is attractive to a pharmaceutical company but not to someone who wants to reverse rosacea. There are many neuropeptides to stop, and many other kinds of inflammatory chemicals to stop - you can't block them all, especially when you are producing more because of your excessive skin infrastructure. So we began to look into methods that could reverse the excessive blood vessel and nerve infrastructures, which contribute to the release of inflammatory chemicals in the skin. We tested about about two hundred growth factor inhibitors or anti-inflammatory compounds to see how well they worked against various stimuli, and did get some very good results. We also looked into blood vessel removal via IPL and further with flush minimization and reducing skin cell activity using the bodies own systems (such as heat regulation, neuropeptide storage/depletion and trigger avoidance). So I favor approaches that reduce skin infrastructure and skin activity (without specifically focusing on neuropeptide blocking drugs). I am not overly familiar with ND:Yag, I am with UV lights. But will have to talk about them next time. Best regards, Colin Dahl, Australian Sciences"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Stacey </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://www.ausci.com%20%20https//rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=431&start=30">wrote</a> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">on March 16th, 2008:</span></b> "Hello Colin, Thanks for posting all the information. I can relate to a lot of what you wrote about. I was wondering if you would be able to answer my 2 questions: 1.I have read the post about the tingling sensation in your face/cheeks. I have this too. However, sometimes it gets even more uncomfortable than just tingling. This especially happens in cooler temperatures. <span style="color: black;">The tingling is accompanied by a feeling cold sensation on my cheeks, as if you are aware of them being cold.</span> It’s hard to describe but I hope I made sense. Is this related to the sensory nerves being overstimulated and reacting to the cold?? 2. Sometimes when I lay down on the bed or couch to rest or sleep I feel my face gets flushed (resting on an incline will still make me flush) . Sometimes it happens right away, sometimes in takes a few minutes, and sometimes it doesn’t happen at all. I didn't notice any relationship with temperature or time of day, just laying down or resting.<span style="color: black;"> Why does the act of resting or laying down induce a flush, any ideas? </span>Thanks, Stacey"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKcfIf_ef1d3vo-qXBeLxb4w7LHXuSf-3uph-82w4shdDXJU-IfuFzRzLjbcYrAEQoz7qQnDikOLJPfHVQKDILND1Ij4fLzvZxBSB4P3arfY1GE5KghqM9gIgDlCJmRc51z7Yl55hUY6AH/s1600/z11.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKcfIf_ef1d3vo-qXBeLxb4w7LHXuSf-3uph-82w4shdDXJU-IfuFzRzLjbcYrAEQoz7qQnDikOLJPfHVQKDILND1Ij4fLzvZxBSB4P3arfY1GE5KghqM9gIgDlCJmRc51z7Yl55hUY6AH/s320/z11.jpg" width="249" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">AustralianSciences (Colin Dahl)</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=431&start=50">wrote</a> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">on May 24th, 2008:</span></b> "Hi Stacey, <span style="color: black;">The inner lining of blood vessels can sense extra blood flowing through them. The blood vessels respond by releasing chemicals (such as nitric oxide) to promote the blood flow. When you lay down, extra blood can flow through your head and face. This can then cause the extra release of these vasodilating chemicals to promote the flow, and may also lead to flushing.</span> Reducing the excessive blood vessels structure in your flush zones through IPL/Laser should assist in reducing this kind of flush. The amount of flushing you experience is related to the amount of skin infrastructure you have. You're flushing less now because you have less of this infrastructure (especially less blood vessels after you IPL). You can continue to experience these light flushes and also continue improving your rosacea. In fact, activation of the skin infrastructure of your flush zones is normal and happens throughout the day in the form of heat regulation. So vasodilation of blood vessels in your flush zones is something that will continue to happen, whether you have rosacea or not. You may be noticing this vasodilation because your skin infrastructure is still excessive. As you reduce this skin infrastructure to normal (or close to normal) levels, the flushing/vasodilation becomes less apparent and you become unaware that vasodilation is actually happening (as with someone who doesn't have rosacea). This does take time and great effort to achieve, but it is very possible. So you can get to the stage where you no longer experience warm room flushes because your skin infrastructure has bee normalized. Or if you still have excessive infrastructure, then you can minimize warm room flush by avoiding neuropeptide & inflammatory chemicals build up. Having said that, if you continue to experience these warm room flushes, you should understand that your reversal of rosacea is likely to be slower. So try to take steps to prevent these kinds of flushes. These inflammatory chemicals can cause a flush but they also do good things for you too. They even make up part of our immune system. So in one way you actually need these chemicals around. But the more you build up, the more gets released (like when a small trigger causes a large flush). It's difficult to quantify their release and storage because it depends on many factors (amount of skin infrastructure is a main one). If your flush zones stay in a cool environment for long periods (several hours), this will assist in inflammatory chemical build up in your flush zones. <span style="color: black;">I think what you want to know is how long will this build up remain. The simple answer is that this is likely to be a contributing factor towards flushing for several hours after. </span>The tingling sensation to cold (as with the extra blood flow when laying down) is a normal response, but in your case (and many others with Rosacea) it is a larger response. The response could even be described as<span><b style="color: #b45f06;"> </b>a cool burning sensation</span>. <span style="color: black;">The reasons behind this tingling may involve the over-stimulation of sensory nerves, either directly or indirectly, or excessive sensory nerve innervation in your flush zones. </span>Try to avoid/reduce cold environments. Generally you should try to prevent sensory nerve stimulation in your flush zones (due to cold, irritating topicals, sun, etc). By combining this approach with IPL/Laser to reduce blood vessel innervation of your flush zones, you will slowly notice a reduction in this kind of response. [..] We have had good success with natural ingredients such as Chinese Licorice Root and will soon be releasing a line of oral anti-inflammatory products to assist people with reversing Rosacea. Best regards, Colin Dahl, Australian Sciences."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQPjSh7dv07BSatchUMiOpodNSSApHTEDkUnzh4SDKrcWP6yCx3AyGnmHo51cIfIoT6pgEwi0Z04B0WE8qiNrfTryeeZhWAqmMHWKjnYiXgsVEgvVNdv0rC-abLvqHSliDyV5OyoXd6OR/s1600/images.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="185" data-original-width="273" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQPjSh7dv07BSatchUMiOpodNSSApHTEDkUnzh4SDKrcWP6yCx3AyGnmHo51cIfIoT6pgEwi0Z04B0WE8qiNrfTryeeZhWAqmMHWKjnYiXgsVEgvVNdv0rC-abLvqHSliDyV5OyoXd6OR/s400/images.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Stringer1989</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=431&start=80">wrote</a> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">on May 24th, 2008:</span></b><br />
"Colin, thank you very much for your reply, it is very helpful. I have eliminated most other factors that can be bad for rosacea ( sun, foods,heavy exercise, mental side of things through propranolol etc) so the only factor of concern is really only temperature and temperature related flushing and symptoms. I am having difficulty determining whether I have too much infrastructure at the moment. <span style="color: black;">I have already had 5 IPL treatments with the Lumenis one machine and I wouldn’t say that I've noticed too much improvement in my rosacea. The benefits from IPL tended to be only short term ones. </span>You mention an indication of too much infrastructure is permanent redness. When I am normal (ie not hot and not cold) I have some permanent redness, but I have to be pretty close to the mirror to notice this redness, a few meters away from the mirror I cannot really see any visible redness. Would you say that this is not too much infrastructure or is it too difficult to say? The reason I used to flush every day was because I was constantly putting cold water on my face and therefore during the day my face would be REALLY cold to touch and I would then flush in the latter hours of the evening, so I don’t know whether my flushing was caused by having way to much excessive infrastructure or just by the by the fact I was keeping my face way too cold during the day and this would result in an intense flush even if I had less infrastructure. Sometimes if I get really hot, I find that my nose and face are really hot, but it is not very red/flushed only slightly pinkish. Do you know what is happening here? Like is more blood vessels and nerves being developed and thus is it progressing my rosacea ? or should I not be worried about this? And lastly this is related to the question above, but i was wondering whether if you are constantly a bit hot and slightly red/pink in the face 24 hours a day, if this will help to reverse your rosaacea, compared to being cold during the day and then having an hour or two of intense red flushes later in the day?? Sorry to ask so many questions, it is just my rosacea has left me very confused and i have a lot of questions. Thanks heaps and best wishes"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">AustralianSciences (Colin Dahl)</span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=431&start=80">wrote</a> </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">on January 20th, 2009:</span></b> "Dear Stringer, <span style="color: black;">I believe if </span><span style="color: black;">someone becomes almost persistently flushed, then this is too much skin infrastructure to go directly into flush reduction programs (it's just too hard).</span> In this situation IPL or laser treatment should deliver some much needed reduction in skin infrastructure and flushing. After this, following flush reduction programs become more realistic. Skin redness can change too rapidly to be a good indicator of Rosacea severity. Flushing gives a good indication of the level of skin infrastructure in flush zones. You don't sound like you are persistently flushed. And 5 IPL treatments sound like you gave it a good go. Keeping your face cold during the day could cause a flush at night even if you had slightly excessive skin infrastructure! (I'm not surprised your IPL benefits were short term). You don't need extremely excessive skin infrastructure for this to happen. You said previously that this no longer happens to you. So I would think you are well placed to continue with your flush reduction program and are on your way to slowly reversing rosacea on a daily basis, as opposed to the last few years where you were probably increasing your rosacea on a daily basis. <span style="color: black;">The feeling of a flush relates directly to your skin nerves. The more they are activated, the more you FEEL the flush. </span><span style="color: black;">The redness relates more directly to blood vessels and vasodilation. </span>Although nerve and blood vessel activation often happen together and at similar intensity during a flush, it is not always the case.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpgaPkQjO-LXJMhnwu_5FZZfN7KdKRAjX-parXRFZpLOWHhYZ4I-K4KIPrQesVj3qnnV7UmvVVxbJloLU-vFMWbbnAGSf5eaFqVmHrsUNA9W6ObwKtz5LystgdIaPqPy5lQMYF6RTns3u/s1600/WTF+retro+%252836%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="146" data-original-width="345" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpgaPkQjO-LXJMhnwu_5FZZfN7KdKRAjX-parXRFZpLOWHhYZ4I-K4KIPrQesVj3qnnV7UmvVVxbJloLU-vFMWbbnAGSf5eaFqVmHrsUNA9W6ObwKtz5LystgdIaPqPy5lQMYF6RTns3u/s400/WTF+retro+%252836%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Flushing is primarily responsible for progressing rosacea</span></b>, but it's all relative to how much flushing & skin infrastructure you currently have! MORE flushing = more skin infrastructure, LESS flushing = less skin infrastructure. Sometimes it is difficult to avoid a flush. But as you gradually reduce your excessive skin infrastructure it does become easier. Don't worry whether one flush has progressed your rosacea. You have to think of reducing your overall flushing (duration and intensity). Say on a weekly basis or even a monthly basis. You don't need to go from 10 flushes a week to 0, in order for you to reverse Rosacea. But having said that, the more flushing (and inflammation) you can reduce the faster you will reverse rosacea. Also, one intense flush is not equal to a minor low intensity flush. <span style="color: black;">If you could replace 10 major flushes a week with 10 minor flushes, you would be well on your way to reversing rosacea (less skin infrastructure in flush zones).</span><br />
To answer the last part of your qn: YES. I believe that spacing out a flush (slightly hot, red) over a day would cause less angiogenesis than one big flush. If this were not true, then I would still be red as a tomato. Best regards, Colin Dahl, Australian Sciences"<br />
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Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-21571934214384710552018-03-18T12:20:00.116-07:002024-01-31T05:54:30.535-08:00Ongoing post, Update day to day life VI, January 2017 - October 29th 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGFvsCJ9g5g9hKy3e1NeRco9FUJoYFI08nY4yhHze1iE4ks6NYZ8B5fbimzqmC2Hyz0WHovbU2AZ6Jamyyc3rCkbLT70wUqUQuC6nDwlMM3ICD2jx-g_Goawxtw12GK7evy8O469u_J2c/s1600/1437174473SowaBrokenPaw_0000.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="312" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGFvsCJ9g5g9hKy3e1NeRco9FUJoYFI08nY4yhHze1iE4ks6NYZ8B5fbimzqmC2Hyz0WHovbU2AZ6Jamyyc3rCkbLT70wUqUQuC6nDwlMM3ICD2jx-g_Goawxtw12GK7evy8O469u_J2c/w467-h474/1437174473SowaBrokenPaw_0000.gif" width="467" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">I try to give an insight in my own life and dealings with rosacea. I also try to gather information that might be useful for everyone with rosacea, especially subtype 1 with burning, flushing and skin redness. I happen to be a bit unfortunate in that I have this condition for a long time already, and unlike many others, I haven't been able to get it into remission. I know it is more uplifting to read about someone who has beaten rosacea, but I like to write about the struggles that come for those who haven't achieved this. I also blabber here about other everyday life topics.</span></b><br />
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<b style="color: black; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">October 29th 2017</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZBLX72eRB87wRc5UzgR3-_G0S0_w6k2Ep1DfKjbupu7jozEKaQG80LpN-M07yGdIjDzNQBZjRd2PgYLOZAkw61aTbapqME3tNkplNJRBzVnKCw9rB8zE_5SLhHJEnz_or6F2haThy1Tg/s1600/DSC04032.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZBLX72eRB87wRc5UzgR3-_G0S0_w6k2Ep1DfKjbupu7jozEKaQG80LpN-M07yGdIjDzNQBZjRd2PgYLOZAkw61aTbapqME3tNkplNJRBzVnKCw9rB8zE_5SLhHJEnz_or6F2haThy1Tg/s400/DSC04032.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
October was a month of ups and downs. As usual. 😊 Downs were my skin playing up at times, with constant burning and flushing and need for cold packs and fans, but then other weeks all that went down a few notches again and I could do a lot more things outside the peripheries of the house. Apart from some social activities I was very happy to be able to pick up my long walks again. Summer had been quite brutal with high temperatures and so my outside walks had suffered, but now I am picking up with my walks in the countryside, ideally 2 hours or so a day. I had also planned to be in New York by now, but had to delay it as the weather was still 20 degrees there and my skin was just too sore and reactive to survive nine hours in a plane and it then being 20 degrees outside (I had hoped for 15 degrees or below, given I'd be walking around all day and heating up enough as it is from that to deal with 20+ degrees Celsius on top..). I mean, if you're going to spend the money once you might as well pick a perfect (or close to) timing? Hot weather could have made me housebound all week in the apartment I had my eye on in Brooklyn! Uh uh.. Better off just booking last minute, when it is certain that the conditions are right. That's the luxury you buy I suppose, with a bit of extra costs for plane tickets and room reservations, but there is just no point going now with such a flushy and painful face. Luckily the friend I was planning to visit was completely understanding and empathetic and wrote the sweetest message back, praising me even for stating clearly what I need and listening to my skin. She said I could come any time I want and to put to my skin and health first. That was a relief to hear, as I had delayed things at quite a short notice. She has pretty bad rosacea herself, she is my ice fortress friend so to speak, and I was so much looking forward to meeting her in person and testing out her newly built INDOOR salt water pool with a wave machine, very comfortably warm water (given how our bodies are normally always cold from fans/cold indoor air, while our faces are hot) and .. <i><drums></i> .. a big ventilator and air conditioning all around the walls of the pool to keep our faces cool 😆. See small video below. Here it is, what a dream. I hope to be able to come over in the spring perhaps, when temperatures are a bit lower outside. I am done with the montelukast for now too. I feel it made matters a little bit worse perhaps. Maybe will retry another time when my skin is (hopefully) really calm. That is usually the best time to try something out for me.<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSSPmHRkiTvbFf2DXb5FCXQjJHgRiy2cLUqELnq2b9GzVoJ44ZRqZ_IGM8TNPPHOkLTv6M0SiRddW9D-QMyDgUuHTTQZagyvsfp_V31NxEcXKlSKR-SkwwuW5wo6sZ4_AoD_auHhoyR9yM/s1600/DSC04126.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1483" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSSPmHRkiTvbFf2DXb5FCXQjJHgRiy2cLUqELnq2b9GzVoJ44ZRqZ_IGM8TNPPHOkLTv6M0SiRddW9D-QMyDgUuHTTQZagyvsfp_V31NxEcXKlSKR-SkwwuW5wo6sZ4_AoD_auHhoyR9yM/s400/DSC04126.jpg" width="370" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I also had an appointment in hospital to check the earlier detected ovarian cysts</b></span></div>
I have some strange chemical sensitivity/ immune response hyper-reactivity to perfumes and some other substances including propylene glycol. Even washing my hands with perfumed propylene glycol makes my skin burst in red flames near instantly. It is maddening and crazy and I wouldn't have believed that something on your hands can flare your face if I hadn't suffered from it myself. But the gynecologists needed to use a ultrasound gel and despite me purchasing my own hypoallergenic one online (which she was happy to use luckily), it still contained preservatives and propylene glycol. Just no perfume. Both doctors first said "Oh how inconvenient for you, such hypersensitivity must be difficult to live with", but a minute after starting the procedure and applying the gel, they both said that they could already see what I meant, as I was beet red and flushed right away. I completely hate my life at such moments, it's so frustrating. The good news was however that they couldn't find a single cyst. They couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. It took ten minutes to find my ovaries who were hiding apparently, but even that was good news because with endometriosis or cysts, you would definitely see them on ultrasound. I asked them how in god's name the other ultrasound doctor could have found these cysts and even thought I had endometriosis ánd was pregnant (she gave me a fright there, it was just a cyst though), and I had brought the scans along for the doctors to see. They said the cysts were pretty small on that scan, despite them being zoomed in pretty sharply on the prints, and that this doctor most likely mistook normal <i>mid-cycle follicles </i>for cysts lol. Oh my... A whole lot of worrying over nothing again then. 😊 Glad I had this second opinion before doing MRI research, now there is no need for that.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68-Xwz3gkP4Fj4EEhQ6ueFshPfiLolb7FFd9qbbft-_5wKAXoDHm-1wZHhm5YquosUqN8W9YnTW12qvNpHRGR4ZDfVPx2a5BVljPJcJWygKwFUaypEyvN2Uw6_0nxiwuUYmyp473k7WYc/s1600/DSC04402.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="1382" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68-Xwz3gkP4Fj4EEhQ6ueFshPfiLolb7FFd9qbbft-_5wKAXoDHm-1wZHhm5YquosUqN8W9YnTW12qvNpHRGR4ZDfVPx2a5BVljPJcJWygKwFUaypEyvN2Uw6_0nxiwuUYmyp473k7WYc/s320/DSC04402.jpg" width="320" /></a>Hormone levels were normal too. I thought my estrogen was a bit low but she said that it was high enough as I have normal ovulation, which the right height of progesterone in my blood told them. I expected the lower estrogen to perhaps be a possible reason for my worsened rosacea and flushing the past year. But it seems estrogen is in the normal range and I am not near menopause yet either. Doctors had predicted that a decade ago already, due to certain AMH hormone levels and follicle count, but no sign of that yet. Now over to the fun things. My lovely friend J and I had a wonderful time out and about, visiting some Dutch cities. It was a rare spring-like week in October, usually rainy and dreary in the Netherlands, but now it was around or above 20 degrees daily, clear skies and most importantly, no rain. Because the sun is quite low now in autumn and there was lots of shade everywhere in the cities visited, I didn't flare too much. Just now and then. Went to Amsterdam's center, visited a Dutch castle, went to a theme park and did a lot of mandatory bicycle riding. Holland is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99XDLZH0f6I">a bicycle country</a> and there are more bikes than cars. It is very busy on the roads usually with bikes going all over the place, but it's second nature here as the country is compact and small and entirely flat. For anyone who isn't used to this, it might seem chaotic, but it really is the best way to go about in a country as condensed and flat as mine. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_eyCaQdm8NB03cV1xasLlvIqfaKTZl83OuINN_kKTOVa6YlYWv3WbVCQkdc6qQ7sSNd8Qj1lQ8sX4v04QsENbt70OnOhX7odkEEHjoVh9cntYiIy_VQ6I7m-bpBl0Nw-heYLSaRc0V94/s1600/DSC04016.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1091" data-original-width="1600" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_eyCaQdm8NB03cV1xasLlvIqfaKTZl83OuINN_kKTOVa6YlYWv3WbVCQkdc6qQ7sSNd8Qj1lQ8sX4v04QsENbt70OnOhX7odkEEHjoVh9cntYiIy_VQ6I7m-bpBl0Nw-heYLSaRc0V94/s400/DSC04016.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>I had a bit of an issue renting a car.</b></span> </span>I had booked one online so that we could sight-see things throughout the country and after a long bike ride all the way to an industrial area outside town (that's what you get when you go for the cheaper car rentals in town), they gave me a car that was decent enough, but that had the ventilation ducts hidden behind the steering wheel! I rely on airco and fans in the car, especially during a warm and sunny week. When I drove in the car I hardly felt the fan blowing, and it only had 3 settings: very low (you didn't feel a thing), middle (very faint) and 3rd which blew you away. Also not too much options to set the temperature, but worst for me was that the brunt of the wind was caught by the steering wheel. I drove off (secretly putting my bike in the back a street further, protected with a cloth) and then returned because I just felt this was not good for long driving. I asked if they by any chance had another car and he said unfortunately he had not. The rest was rented out and he didn't have a lot of cars to choose from. I explained the air flow thing and of course he looked at me as if I was crazy but still he said he understood. I asked if I could hand it in earlier if I found another car elsewhere and that was no problem. I felt pretty bad for being such a neurotic about it, but while driving back home with it I either felt hot in the face from no air flow, or pink from too hard an air (jet)stream. Never seen a car where they installed the fans right behind the steering wheel either, and it was a big bulky steering wheel too. So, this one didn't sit well with me as it would cost me a good bit of money. I decided after coming red out of the hospital, to have one single look at the cars in the Europcar shop, close to my home. First I was told that they had nothing available, but after some typing the man behind the counter said that they expected a Ford to come in at the end of the day, he showed me what it looked like in the parking lot, where a similar car was waiting to be picked up by someone else. Fans looked fine, it even had dual temperature and fan settings and the car looked more modern too than the one I had. They even gave me a better financial deal. So I spent the rest of the afternoon racing back through rush hour traffic, to hand the first car in at their shop before they closed at 5 PM, sneakily bringing my bike in the back of the car again, then biking back through storm and rain for a good 30 minutes to the Europcar to pick up the new car. Which looked fantastic, a modern black Ford with all sorts of nice gadgets and great fan options.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlLcZfedmcHfv0RSRL0iOeAqJIVwM8_2011eqrDv3b4OAvnXDnXofaGWKVVfXUq-5mMxk7jwd26OW8RMfmBxm3leCG5ic8TcHV1_JjWLfyoQWmJWuzpYdEaP0fwWck9YQo0GiEk0pGGGj/s1600/DSC04018.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="923" data-original-width="1600" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlLcZfedmcHfv0RSRL0iOeAqJIVwM8_2011eqrDv3b4OAvnXDnXofaGWKVVfXUq-5mMxk7jwd26OW8RMfmBxm3leCG5ic8TcHV1_JjWLfyoQWmJWuzpYdEaP0fwWck9YQo0GiEk0pGGGj/s400/DSC04018.JPG" width="400" /></a>But now a new problem surfaced: this car smelled terrible. And by terrible I mean: chemical. Very strong cleaning smells. As if they sprayed it with an air freshener with the scent "Brand New Car". And of course that made me flush, dmnit. I thought that keeping the windows open while driving would deal with this problem, but the smell stayed for as long as I used the car. It could give you a headache, that strong. I found out the next day that the steering wheel gave off a very strong perfume smell, and the safety belt and gear stick too. The seating and dashboard was also smelling of it but not as strong. Discussed it with my friend who also got dizzy from the smell and said it did hit you like a brick when you opened the car doors, and we decided (after multiple washing attempts did not solve the problem whatsoever) to go all SciFi crazy, and try to wrap the steering wheel up with transparent cling film. It looked ridiiiiiiculous, haha, but it did help a lot. The steering wheel smell was taped in successfully. I then tried to wash off the rest with some neutral soft dishwasher soap, but it didn't help much. I called the Europcar man about it even the next day and he said that yes, they did clean and spray it right before I picked it up. And what a shame they didn't know in advance that I am sensitive to that. I was more flushed for sure in the car, but just dealt with it because I really had enough rental car changing done for a while now. Airing the car before take off helped a bit too and at some point you get used to the smell and don't even notice it so much. It was more my crazy skin and nervous system flaring from it. Lesson learned for a next time.. But it was good to have a car because it makes going to cities spread all over the country a lot easier. And very comfortable, with your choice of music on and a fan of course.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxyNsomCD1JIOBWr-1CrFiueG17OIHqQxhghlASI2E5hQ7Q0upZOFIZtWKjrmMUlSgOM8yD5SsU2pugtqVLfLNggrhTL_TD_XxCYSRMSFtwEzCCt51ihml4s_XTcyaYnVe_yG4N3xxUx93/s1600/amsterdam+3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxyNsomCD1JIOBWr-1CrFiueG17OIHqQxhghlASI2E5hQ7Q0upZOFIZtWKjrmMUlSgOM8yD5SsU2pugtqVLfLNggrhTL_TD_XxCYSRMSFtwEzCCt51ihml4s_XTcyaYnVe_yG4N3xxUx93/s320/amsterdam+3.jpg" width="180" /></a>At home we looked for a bike rental. I only have my one bike, after all. Showed the cute city center streets with their many shops and food places, we went inside the big Synagogue there, which was lovely and we were allowed to look around without paying an entrance fee. Showed the markets with their food stalls and great atmosphere, ate some real Flemish thick fries with the inevitable mayonnaise. Then got the bike and the bike riding was a total blast with someone who isn't used to it, given how many people bike and what mayhem it is due to bike riders here more or less making their own traffic rules. I suppose it is unique and typical Dutch; bikes everywhere, swerving in and out of traffic. Went by the ponds regularly. They house a group of geese and they are huge bulky pushy ones, who I love. I make it a habit to feed them and they now eat bread from our hands. But because of their sharp beaks, wearing gloves prevents bruises or even small cuts, although some geese are very gentle and careful when taking the bread out of your hand. There is one clownesque goose who is so funny and smart and always stands behind or beside you and when he doesn't get a new piece of bread soon enough, he picks your legs or back to usher you on. Resulting generally in him getting even more bread, it's hard not to reward such sneaky cleverness. It's the big brown boy in the left picture here, center of the photo, before he took his position.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh885rPKJ64VqrtmqacA8cw4qcF57-KacaZftB2IoyfZ0fh7SuUW6XGS5DfEDTQx1GfOBJsPUJqHbPV4In_uaKKm2MjlPuutfnX1TLVVTsDI_HauwgmLzraNEPABuddfn8oymk1j7eLNUeq/s1600/z6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh885rPKJ64VqrtmqacA8cw4qcF57-KacaZftB2IoyfZ0fh7SuUW6XGS5DfEDTQx1GfOBJsPUJqHbPV4In_uaKKm2MjlPuutfnX1TLVVTsDI_HauwgmLzraNEPABuddfn8oymk1j7eLNUeq/s320/z6.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWR7sRLGhNP2-kppBkUjVDd9wgG9tTPIb523DJKv3CCpesD9Uq89h1TVMISLyArXT2OQefNjwSgfd5ucZWWybmwzm7ppmNgcqpAtDnpUDUVHbnzDbKuPQ__cVrnGT_A8XixjsrCcc22Md-/s1600/z1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWR7sRLGhNP2-kppBkUjVDd9wgG9tTPIb523DJKv3CCpesD9Uq89h1TVMISLyArXT2OQefNjwSgfd5ucZWWybmwzm7ppmNgcqpAtDnpUDUVHbnzDbKuPQ__cVrnGT_A8XixjsrCcc22Md-/s320/z1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rAkLAH8Hxgw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rAkLAH8Hxgw?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: right; float: right;" width="320"></iframe><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">We visited a theme park as well. </span></b>Called the Efteling. I went there some years ago with my family and also posted about it here on the blog. We reckoned it would not be too busy, as this was the last day of regular schools being open; from Saturday it would be autumn school holiday for a week. Maybe some kids were taken out of school a day earlier, but surely not too many? We managed to arrive short before 1 PM while the park closed at 6. It was packed!! The parking lot was pretty much to our surprise. It was nice weather though, mild sun, 19 degrees. When in the park we went straight to the outer corner called Ruigrijk, with roller coasters. We first went in the roller coaster ride I love best, called Joris and the Dragon; it's made of wood and goes extremely fast. No looping, but it has a very high speed. We also went into another ride that partly went through the water. We were the only ones shielding our faces when it splashed some water around, like a bunch of weasels. In a jolly mood however. We also went in something called Villa Volta, a turning house, which doesn't really turn but uses some trickery. The outer walls of the house rotate and the benches on which you sit swing a little bit up and down, enough to make your brain think that you are really making full loopings. We came out as completely dizzy, despite technically not having moved very much. Every attraction took some waiting time, usually 15-20 minutes, and by the time we headed back to the Joris and the Dragon ride (the best one we thought), we only had one hour left before the park closed. We went in it again and ran like a bunch of kids around for the last ride of the day, before things closed at the Calvinist Chrrristian time of 6 PM. Only in the Netherlands most likely 😆 It was an all in all childishly fun day and we even got giddy enough to start feeding chips to the seagulls roaming the park. The chips were not the best, a bit too fat and soggy, so we threw small pieces in the air, and waiting seagulls would pinch them mid air. One even took one piece straight out of your hand. Some other people nearby seemed to enjoy our antics too. </div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>We made a visit to the <a href="https://www.kasteeldehaar.nl/">castle De Haar</a>, near Utrecht.</b> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35h3DKc7j68g6Cut_mLbCaNuDtQxAG22Pw1V_RCXpgMMT8q2ZVH7j6H-29Al0S8DjC9JV5lQKiYChnBFqFmAbap2Oscq100ZNJ_zBonyZqThQMd3le0HRGSQWYl8U4hTJPqVgWYzUFFX_/s1600/DSC04049.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35h3DKc7j68g6Cut_mLbCaNuDtQxAG22Pw1V_RCXpgMMT8q2ZVH7j6H-29Al0S8DjC9JV5lQKiYChnBFqFmAbap2Oscq100ZNJ_zBonyZqThQMd3le0HRGSQWYl8U4hTJPqVgWYzUFFX_/s320/DSC04049.JPG" width="240" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">I will also add some pictures from it. De Haar Castle is the biggest and most luxurious castle in The Netherlands. It has medieval fortresses with towers and ramparts, moats, gates and drawbridges. It also has old gardens (covering over 135 acres of land) and ponds, as one would expect for such a humble abode. It dates from the 13th century. Over the course of the 18th and 19th centuries it fell into disrepair. When baron Etienne van Zuylen van Nijevelt van de Haar inherited it, he called in the help of a well known Dutch architect called Pierre Cuypers (famous for his designs of the Rijksmuseum and the Central Station in Amsterdam), who restored and rebuilt the castle from 1892 till 1912 and who was inspired by a French style castle. Of course, this was a very costly project and the baron didn't have lots of money, so he made a favourable marriage match. He married Hélène de Rothschild, and through her rich and extremely powerful and influential family he had unlimited funds to rebuild the ruins he had inherited. Money coming partly from financing war and lending credit. I think quite a few European aristocratic families are intermingled with the banker barons somewhere along the line. It seems almost counter intuitive that someone could marry a Rothschild and have unfettered access to her fortune, unless it was a dowry. If anyone could fork over a dowry that could restore a castle, it would be the Rothschild's. It’s<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh1RlMC9KYE"> secret ingredient</a>… is crime. So with all this money available, the baron not only made the castle ruin into a fancy retro castle, but he also bought up nearby cottages (ones he could overlook from his castle windows) and rebuild an entire new village a few miles behind his forest, so that he could destroy any houses in the vicinity. This forest was also planted by his orders, but the baron was too impatient to wait and see small trees grow into big ones, so he uprooted entire adult trees to his liking. To be fair to the Baron, I would have done the same thing with constructing a new village and tearing down the old one. Not sure I’d have gone so far as to uprooting mature trees and relocating them. That seems a bit impatient, if not insane. They invited the Hollywood elite and threw posh parties, showing off their riches. For over a century it was tradition for the Van Zuylen van Nijevelt van de Haar family to reside in the castle for one month a year only, in September. That is when they hosted masked balls and such for people like Coco Chanel, Maria Callas, Gregory Peck, Roger Moore, Yves Saint Laurent, Joan Collins and Brigitte Bardot. The place was already very modern in the late 1800's and had hot and cold running water in each room, electricity, a Turkish bath, a hyper-modern kitchen and an elevator.</div>
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By the time we came out of that place, I was fairly flushed and my face felt hot and painful too. We went quickly back to the car and drove to Schevening, which has a nice beach and pier and boardwalk. I reckoned we were only half an hours drive away so best to continue. The car airco was blasting too so that cooled me down. Unfortunately the car still smelled of the toxic spray they used before I picked it up. We had a little talk in the car about the evils of rosacea and about what more I can do to control this rosacea, laser treatments especially, and my worries about them. Scheveningen was bliss. A nice breeze, still fairly warm weather for the time of year but no more flushing, probably because of the sea breeze. It was busy with locals eating ice cream or chips, the beach bars were still open, it was a holiday feeling. Strolled around, made pictures posing with parrots, fed the seagulls some of the chips we bought. Went onto the pier and just took it easy. Happy times. I love the sea and such seaside resorts. My skin had calmed down too. Bounty Ice cream to celebrate in the car.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4m9g77IvlRWK1sxyMcyI8s-RI7qVztPTVo20GK8_R_dWrz6430cles7CfzcujstcHZ-ZgdQcrJAKPPDOuEuXTIm4Sjzjd7kFGBKrJbEf4uB7IoZtjc2C7P8Kz_OnhzGXtB0iuY-Nj_iu2/s1600/Andre-Kertesz-6.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4m9g77IvlRWK1sxyMcyI8s-RI7qVztPTVo20GK8_R_dWrz6430cles7CfzcujstcHZ-ZgdQcrJAKPPDOuEuXTIm4Sjzjd7kFGBKrJbEf4uB7IoZtjc2C7P8Kz_OnhzGXtB0iuY-Nj_iu2/s400/Andre-Kertesz-6.jpg" width="333" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">In Amsterdam we later saw a nice photography exposition of the work of André Kertèsz</span></b>, in a place called Foam, right at one of the canals. I loved it. Classical and mostly shot in the 1920's-60's, but he had an eye for every day scenes with almost abstract shapes, through composition and light and shadow. I sometimes wonder what makes a good picture potentially a great picture. Suppose that is very subjective, but there has to be something more than a clear shot and pretty composition, to make photos memorable. Apart from technical quality, lighting is probably the overriding factor in mood and intent. It dictates the settings for everything else. I don't think there is a formula as to what makes a picture 'great' ... usually it's when the essence of something is told through movement or clever observation - writing a story or caption without words. Kertèsz was the master of street photography and I always love street-stuff. Things readily there, for all available, but not seen in the same light by all ('everyone can look but not everyone can see'). Ordinary objects like forks he could also photograph in a way that would highlight shapes through light and shadow and composition. So looking for beauty in mundane stuff, basically. He would just carry his camera with him wherever her went, even if that meant the front line of WW1. And he would shoot whatever was going on around him, instead of waiting for that one iconic shot to come to him. He also looked for specific geometric shapes and patterns, often from a higher point gleaming down. You simply see different things from a high perspective (often more abstractions) than you do on eye height. But he would also go for emotional events, things that touched his mood, and that got translated in the image. Kertèsz wanted to be an avantgardist I suppose, he hung out with the painters and artists of those days, back in Paris. They all influenced each other. But I think I will remember some of his photos because at least he had a style and one that he stuck with throughout his career. It is nice to be inspired by beauty and by the eye of a master, who sees stuff around him (or her) that others walk past. Beauty is all around, yet we often fail to notice it. Becoming a bit complacent and stuck in our tiny little realities, so that we don’t always take the time to see all that is around us, even if it is sitting right across from us. I think about this sometimes. A friend mentioned about this that he was watching a movie about Time, and that one lady in it said that if she had more time, she would read lots of books, see movies, and generally do lots of things. But he asked aloud; would she really do that? Does having unlimited time give us the incentive to do more or do less?<br />
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It's not uncommon to be actually more productive and inventive with time efficiency when we have limited time at hand. Think about the 15 minute lunch break during school or work, when you would do all sorts of things that needed done, as well as really soaking it all in, enjoying every minute of sitting down. Now, today, I can sit for hours if I want to, but I am not relishing sitting. I think being busy can help us have more time, if we use the time wisely. Or maybe it means for some people that it functions as a diesel motor coming on steam; the more we do, the more time we find to get some more things done. This might of course not apply to everyone. What my friend meant however, is that unless we really have a purpose, say you have all this time so you will read these 100 books in the next 6 months, then having tons of time won’t always do us a lot of good. Although this is probably a matter of perspective too. 😊 Some photos from the work from André Kertèsz:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZ_l9D4LXsasjeV-GHK1C6nqeD69LeS6boridHQe5bwmxnyWVRpQN-zYYOJo0cDvktAt4LWq0J1mIjYDzIgTIJKVuVavksxsEWRfyj3XwBCI2vMjwOr9iOd07B4ijK3thbV2I9W9NAfcy/s1600/DSC03967.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZ_l9D4LXsasjeV-GHK1C6nqeD69LeS6boridHQe5bwmxnyWVRpQN-zYYOJo0cDvktAt4LWq0J1mIjYDzIgTIJKVuVavksxsEWRfyj3XwBCI2vMjwOr9iOd07B4ijK3thbV2I9W9NAfcy/s640/DSC03967.JPG" width="480" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Amsterdam was nice too.</span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"> </span></b>Again, great weather. Maybe a bit too warm even for me, 22 degrees and sunny. It took some extra driving to reach the city center, as there was a marathon held, blocking the roads we were supposed to take. After some behind the steer ranting and asking the road workers where to go, we found the parking, just in time before our reservation expired. Amsterdam is usually extremely expensive to park but some parking lots are more affordable. We took the tram (only a few stops) to the city center. We took off at the central station, as I wanted to show Amsterdam from that starting point. The Damrak is a very touristy and busy street ahead of the station and it brings you to the main shopping area, the market square and then the canals. It shows you all sorts of highlights from the city, as well as the characteristic masses of people and tourists and the smell of marijuana everywhere. We walked towards the canals and there are 4 big canals that run in a ring, a circle, around the inner city, so there are lots of bridges and cute side streets and canal photo moments, Many cafes and terraces and shops along the canals too. It's a nice area. We bought some food in a supermarket and strolled along the many canals. It was busy with tourists and locals, sitting along the water side or walking the streets. We walked towards the Anne Frank House. I never visited it myself, which might sound odd for a Dutch person, but there is always a huge waiting line. And every time I tried to visit, the waiting time was a few hours and I simply didn't have the patience. This time around, we saw a similar huge line, one that would take hours again to clear. Sorry, we have to come back another time... We had drinks in a cafe and made a canal boat trip instead. My skin had been fairly pale up until then but during the canal trip I got pretty badly flushed unfortunately. It started around 4 pm and was nice but we sat in a part of the boat that was covered and the little side windows were locked in such a way that you could open them just a tiny bit. Every other tour boat we saw passing allowed you to open those side windows entirely, not only for a better breeze but it also enables you to make clear pictures. But we had to do with what we had and it was actually really nice to realize just how long and extensive these canals are. From the water, Amsterdam seems like little Venice suddenly. The audiotour we were given told some anecdotes about the houses, its owners throughout history and some this and that's. Not a very cohesive information tour, but it had enough details to keep us entertained. I try to remember the stories told but they were mainly about the buildings along the canals being for storage of the many trades products that made the Netherlands and Amsterdam in particular so rich in the 1600's. We ate our earlier bought foods and I got pretty flushed and red from the sun shining on the roof and the lack of fresh wind. It was a lot cooler back on the streets. By then we were an hour further and took a long stroll back to the central station area. Couldn't miss the Red Light District there of course. We joked about the local symbol of Amsterdam, the three X signs below each other in black against a red background, and how they surely must reflect the triple X rated status of the city; sex, drugs and rock 'n roll. We were walking through the red light area around 6 PM and there really was not that much to see yet. Too early! I thought about my friend who passed away a few times and how sad it is that I could never take him out like this. But it is what it is.. I will admit that I'm not easily burned to get out of my steady life habits, but these day trips were so enjoyable. Glad and grateful for these sort of experiences with someone who never makes the slightest problem about need for walking in the shade, having fan or airco on, Spanish Inquisitions on the menu cards, requests not to spray perfume or deodorant before heading out, and the list goes on. And for understanding my grumps when on fire and when having a hot burning face. Luckily my skin behaved 80% of the time. 😆 A true Indian Summer!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">October 28th 2017</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYY-7MVdp1XRPcR151zFROsE0fmYaA5SadvNtEtUM94v0w92j12vnf-qxxaZpvu-WLzYzPT64irwIdrAktC7A2HlYSnLXbNPqsu4z7c-oExWQClDBSReaL4rt8K-qiRubFvXONGfxViCGX/s1600/AndreAndElizabethEating.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="237" data-original-width="300" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYY-7MVdp1XRPcR151zFROsE0fmYaA5SadvNtEtUM94v0w92j12vnf-qxxaZpvu-WLzYzPT64irwIdrAktC7A2HlYSnLXbNPqsu4z7c-oExWQClDBSReaL4rt8K-qiRubFvXONGfxViCGX/s400/AndreAndElizabethEating.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">On happiness</span></b><br />
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I read something about positive psychology and how applying it can affects us. There was this study where researchers took a group of 75 year old men to a cabin in the woods (not the start of some horror movie by M Night Shamala). They had the men bring only clothes that they wore 20 years ago. They had the cabins set up like it was 20 years ago, when the men were 55 (furniture and electronics from that time were in the cabins).The men had to talk to each other and helpers about aspects of life like they were back 20 years ago (so they would discuss current events that happened 20 years ago, acted like they did the job they had 20 years ago). Even the magazines and books in the cabins and clubhouse were from that time, and their name badges had their picture from 20 years ago on it. Basically it was like the movie Back to the Future. After a week they tested the men and discovered that they had 10 percent better vision, looked younger (even people that didn't know about the study who were shown pictures of the men before the week and after the week said the men looked on average 3 years younger), the men also showed improvement in strength, memory, intelligence. The mind can apparently be a powerful thing. The past always does seem a better place, even when in reality it probably wasn't in many ways. I find myself reminiscing from time to time. Missing the uncomplicated 80's as it seemed. Cooler stuff, the films, the freedom - but there were also a lot of problems then too. It's relative I suppose. It's not necessarily about what's real though is it - it's your perception of something that affects your mood and physical body. It's all in the mind. The past often seems a better place. We have a tendency to remember the good things and forget the bad. It goes as far as people actually enjoying the things they did more in retrospect, than when they were actually undergoing the experience. It's like children; they are often not aware that they are happy, when in the moment. They feel good, but they are not consciously realizing that they are making happy memories as we speak. They just are having a nice day and feel elated perhaps, but looking back, they might realize that they were happy at that moment. That happiness is a construction, in retrospect, however. Relief can also be translated into happiness in our minds. Maybe happiness is a mere memory in itself. And you can also create happiness after the fact. We sublimize the good parts of a memory. Maybe happiness is nothing more than specific moments, for instance when you see a group of birds flying beautifully through the sky; you stand still and through a series of coincidences you are temporarily part of something bigger. Something that also brings beauty.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHr7UOKDw1lAQORKrG-JoOLC4CTCqrVu45YAGJHSsZ40wrZEWxOVLu6SAd_RRwqd3g-5C7NPf3L3ggSGOA7b3uDPdQu67owguzRAFYb80vE-kdrw0OkZqmDe6RnnK1BGjXvtEzf30cnhf/s1600/64d67acd3abd42df98eb08136c0c702b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="464" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHr7UOKDw1lAQORKrG-JoOLC4CTCqrVu45YAGJHSsZ40wrZEWxOVLu6SAd_RRwqd3g-5C7NPf3L3ggSGOA7b3uDPdQu67owguzRAFYb80vE-kdrw0OkZqmDe6RnnK1BGjXvtEzf30cnhf/s320/64d67acd3abd42df98eb08136c0c702b.jpg" width="247" /></a>Often happiness is only visible anyway once it has passed. I do think being entirely immersed into something is often coming closest to happiness. For me at least. Happiness should also be a passer by, although many people think that happiness should be a permanent house friend. I think people would find it hard to define what happiness is really and it does sneak up on you sometimes without you realizing that's what it is. It's one of life's little mysterious pleasures. Looking back the 80's were fantastic. At the time however there was depression and financial hardship and a great divide as well. But at least we had a cool subculture then and awesome dress code and hair style and no social media everywhere. Maybe some things were really better in the past? I can understand how some people see deeper meanings and connections there and contribute it to a higher being with a higher plan. I think its more about bad luck or the patterns we create for ourselves and the risks we take in life, but some things are just coincidence. Accidents, leaving home a minute later than normal and being crushed to death by a swerving truck for instance. Besides, this half full / half empty approach of some people seems a bit binary. What about the anxious nihilist social realists amongst us? (Read: neurotics). My glass is at 70% capacity probably on most ordinary days, and I'm sometimes worried what is in the glass, is it a good thing or a bad thing, is it emptying or filling over time, how ethical is the whole thing, should I be guilty that it is mine, can someone stop me from thinking all the time, and at the end of the day does anything matter? And if there were no suffering, how could the desire to be happy arise? It's strange anyway, to me, this Western ideal of cheerful, happy, or extroverted as the preferred state of mind. How can one experience true happiness if one is supposed to be "happy" all the time? What about people who put on a facade as the gregarious life of the party when in fact they're only adhering to societal dictates and not really "happy"? Western societies tend to think the loudest and most extroverted person as being the most interesting person in the proverbial room. In East Asian culture however, that just means you're a loud, obnoxious, attention-seeking person who's really not that interesting.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">A friend wrote me about all this:</span></b><br />
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<i>"I’m thinking that your occasional bouts of nostalgia are due to your lamenting the loss of a particular state of mind. Are we truly yearning for a time before Wi-Fi? A time when HIV was a pandemic, Ronald Reagan was President, and the Berlin Wall had yet to come crashing down? Probably not. Maybe former members of the Stasi do, but certainly not normal people such as ourselves. No one misses school, for instance. We do miss the stability of having a schedule that is beyond our control, however. Knowing where to be, when to be there, and when you can leave. We were institutionalized! </i><i>Back then, it was our parents that were the ultimate authority. If something fucked up, they’d fix it. If we had a problem, we had the option to mention it or not. If we chose to do so, then we knew they’d take charge and see that it was sorted. Did the 80s have better music? Probably. Better movies? Doubtful, but possible. We’re not missing Duran Duran and Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. We’re missing the time when we could enjoy Run DMC and Steve Martin without worries. </i><i>It is for the best. Imagine the soul-crushing nature of being aware that you’re happy in the moment, and then have it end! </i><i>Success being a choice or controlling one’s own destiny is not so much imposing your will upon the universe and having it respond favorably. It is learning to appreciate the small thrills and triumphs. If it were a matter of deciding that you want to be a millionaire and then making it happen through force of will, it would be a much simpler achievement in life. It can be as simple as an abusive parent that also makes breakfast on Saturday mornings. A time of normalcy in a week of hardship. Maybe it was saving your pocket money to buy a comic book after school each day, or something similar. The small moments and things within them that helped you to maintain your sanity. Maybe you’re busting your ass to make rent and keep the lights on as an adult, worried that you’re not moving ahead with your life as you had once hoped. Yet you take the time to do something which makes you happy. Baking muffins, or talking to your cats. Everyone has their moments that make the day go by a little faster with a little less hassle. Some are aware of them, some may not be.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsx-5yQXx-HbZSl_XL4cLrooLaRUYOCEe_2I-8SMCwOzHngClbiSjFP7DpSCVdL-41brpkYYv2wbtrotN5gwDa4yyfyyOBNvPaING2b7_vsY9qq-3_jDE9Da1QG0VdzbC5XfOzNQCnfZf/s1600/18609-1371753544-Kertesz_Andre-xl.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="700" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsx-5yQXx-HbZSl_XL4cLrooLaRUYOCEe_2I-8SMCwOzHngClbiSjFP7DpSCVdL-41brpkYYv2wbtrotN5gwDa4yyfyyOBNvPaING2b7_vsY9qq-3_jDE9Da1QG0VdzbC5XfOzNQCnfZf/s400/18609-1371753544-Kertesz_Andre-xl.jpg" width="400" /></a><i>Being successful is learning to do what you must in order to do what you like. Mel Gibson may be a millionaire, he may be famous, but he has to be one right miserable bastard. Being a wealthy celebrity is likely far more hassle than it is worth when you think about it, and I’ve no doubt a lot of them are envious of us. Being able to go grocery shopping without being mobbed. Being able to visit a sex shop without it being on TMZ. I don’t doubt for an instant that a lot of Hollywood celebrities would much rather work at a Taco Bell if it means they can tuck their children into bed each night. </i><i>If you have those things, then you can control your own happiness. You can’t measure your wheat by others’ bushels. Perhaps some would deride that as thinking small, but we’re small people. Our lives mean nothing more than we decide. </i><i>People that attribute cause-and-effect to a divine plan seems to not understand how causality works. If anything is going to prove the existence of a demiurge, it is the trillions of trillions of dominoes falling at any given moment. It is impressive. You want to look at it as a forest, not individual trees. One can only image the patterns we could see if we had an overall view of the dominoes as they fall, irrespective of distance and time. Yet they’re interlocked, bringing about happenstance. </i><i>I’m going to go so far as to say that the Western ideal of being cheerful is our patriarchal bent. You’d be surprised at the level of emotional repression that we’re expected to undertake. Man up! Act like a man! When you bury anything that could be construed as emotion, all that is left is the cheerful Stepford Wife attitude. Women are caught up in this because the opinion-makers of the past were prone to seeing women as emotional and that is just distasteful. Women aren’t necessarily looked down upon due to this, but it certainly contributed to the concept of a weaker sex."</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_JgAFGp-KQYeR1Tpt78UF3UqBlamzHDU8-sBv9J5iT2yUYsLdGKUVkVSyQwgWwxAi2PLCrg6493en18DwfyxsEXcuLs4_jHJGhLofsn8V-kXf5CX8HeAUQ5AyQ9B-yh2LNg1bt16BrE_6/s1600/7887ba6902724a789d0e99634908f531.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_JgAFGp-KQYeR1Tpt78UF3UqBlamzHDU8-sBv9J5iT2yUYsLdGKUVkVSyQwgWwxAi2PLCrg6493en18DwfyxsEXcuLs4_jHJGhLofsn8V-kXf5CX8HeAUQ5AyQ9B-yh2LNg1bt16BrE_6/s400/7887ba6902724a789d0e99634908f531.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">I have read Nietzsche in the past, </span></b>as he has a very strong opinion on pretty much any topic given and was pretty verbal about them too, and he used to say about happiness that it is good to withhold yourself something at times. Radically and for a certain time, because when you find back the thing you renounced, it will feel almost as if you discovered it yourself. And people feel pretty happy when they feel discoverer of something. He warns us to not lay like snakes too long in the same sun. Maybe this explains why after a bad health period, I can feel so bursting with energy and happiness when I have some good days again? It's like you appreciate things much more, cliched as it may sound. Nietzsche thinks that the road to happiness is to admire yourself. And that we do not really love most people, but that we love the expectations that we ourselves have of this person. A single joyless person is enough to make an entire household miserable, whereas happiness is by far not as contagious. How strange. Maybe that one is like the strange phenomenon that 9 compliments can be overshadowed or simply erased in the mind by one criticism. We are made to long for things, less so to actualize the thing we long for. A kid can look forward all day to staying up late that evening, and it will give shine to his entire waking day, but once it actually IS late in the evening, it only fights to keep his eyes open. About seeming deep, or appearing deep, he had strong opinions too, ones I agree with as I hated this phenomenon at university. Those who know that they are deep, will strive for clarity. Those who want to appear deep for the outside world, will strive for darkness. Because the mob holds everything for deep (waters) of which they cannot see the bottom. In university, some people dress up simple theories with the most outrageous academic terms, making it seem ten times more impenetrable than it really has to be. While others use simple words and explanations to give insight in complex matters. Maybe this is why Neil deGrasse Tyson has become a popular celebrity in the past few years, as he makes astronomy and astrophysics simple. That is not to say that everything should be dumbed down, but writing for an academic journal is not generally intended for public consumption. A person that will deliberately attempt to confuse the reader is looking to cultivate a personage. Last thing on Nietzsche, I remember him writing something profound about the human spirit and its desire to suffer. He would rant and rave towards all those millions of people who are longing for something to do, so that they no longer have to bear the boredom of being themselves. They cannot find an inner motivation to do good, and are constantly awaiting outside impulses and triggers to come into action; for instance the screaming politicians and the artificial ' emergency states' that are declared by them. The masses need those to feel longing to act. These young people need motivation coming from the outside in, and their fantasy is ready to turn any bad news into a monster, which must be combated with another monster. Think about the news about Trump or Islam fanatics in our modern times. Nietzsche finds these type of people needy and would rather see these people finding their own inner motivations to do good or come to action. Most do not know what to do with themselves though, and thus they require other peoples unhappiness to feel something themselves. Always needy of others. Well, that is what he thought back in the 1800's.. He’s not wrong about this. Lacking the moral character to be compelled to do good by instinct, some people wish for an outside influence in order to appropriate a purpose.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNx4gsw8P7oevSCfy5kBxkK7Z5p1a5I8DkIu3xEux-njsiA53fZSIgxmZPWSe-Ijxcok27YYgNTXSOrFpPl3oEVsrodM6gmA9lBbx6gNmv-pT7nJrvWh8To9qdLcXkvhjeTyD-Qu7W9GVD/s1600/Elizabeth_and_I_Andre_Kertesz_1933.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="453" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNx4gsw8P7oevSCfy5kBxkK7Z5p1a5I8DkIu3xEux-njsiA53fZSIgxmZPWSe-Ijxcok27YYgNTXSOrFpPl3oEVsrodM6gmA9lBbx6gNmv-pT7nJrvWh8To9qdLcXkvhjeTyD-Qu7W9GVD/s320/Elizabeth_and_I_Andre_Kertesz_1933.jpg" width="241" /></a>My friend wrote about this: <i>"Maybe we want happiness all the time because happiness used to be a real thing. Modern society is missing so much that our parents and grandparents took for granted. When being a high school graduate was enough to have a career, then job satisfaction was possible. It may have been hard work, but it was adequately rewarded with a wage that could reasonably be expected to sate the material expectations. You had job security, whether it was due to union membership or the simple fact that off-shoring wasn’t a routine occurrence. You could buy a house. You could own a car, and even see yourself buying a larger home in the future, a better car every fifth year. You could afford a college education for yourself or for your children. You bought a television. You bought a comfortable sofa. You went on holiday some years. If you wanted a camera, you saved up and bought a camera. Maybe a pool, if that was your thing. The difference between then and now is that you simply had to work for what you wanted in the past. Maybe a new car wasn’t in the cards this year. You had to replace the roof on the house, or your kid needed braces. You put it off until next year, or the year after. </i><i>Now, you could work 36 hours out of every 24 and it still wouldn’t add up. Denied outright home ownership, we borrow money to create an approximation. We don’t have the fixed-rate mortgages of the past. Denied an affordable education, we borrow to create an approximation. We’re saddled with a lifetime of debt at usurious interest for an education which is no longer guaranteed to create upward economic mobility. In a gig economy, too much education is a definite anchor."</i><br />
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Maybe for a lot of people, life is suffering. At least at some point in time. Even desire has suffering contained within it, for we might not get what we desire, we can never keep what we desire, and anything kept for too long we grow tired of (imagine eating the best pizza, but then imagine having nothing but the best pizza everyday, eventually you would want something else, even if that something was a bad pizza). Without suffering, happiness would be unidentifiable and probably non existent. But modern times has pretty much messed up our expectations of happiness in life. We want it all the time now. And social media shows us only the happy highlights of our friends lives, so we are further reinforced in the notion that happiness is a lifestyle and a choice now. Only 'losers' do not have that. Hence all the young divorcees and all the restlessness and narcissism under today's generations. Happiness has to be felt every single day now. Very warped take on life, if you ask me. When we work or focus on others we do lose ourselves for a bit, and all our own obsessions and such. It is good to get distractions. And concentrating on work you find interesting, or letters to write, can be equally rewarding. Something to feel productive. Alain de Botton says that we are more likely to envy people who we consider equals. And it just happens to be the case that in the past century, the old caste system, the hierarchy where people used to live in, was broken down. The modern world is based around the idea that we're all essentially equal, in terms of rights and opportunities. Unfortunately, in the old world you didn't have to feel humiliated by all the riches and success that those in a higher caste system had. If you were a laborer, and came from a family of laborers, you did not expect to become as wealthy as the aristocratics in another part of town. It didn't make you anxious or insecure. It might have made you angry with the social and economical injustice and inequality, but it was not a personal failure of you to not belong to that level of riches. But nowadays, everyone is supposed to be equal, while there is still so much inequality around, and it becomes much more difficult to not feel bad about yourself when you see the successes of others around you. You are supposed to have the same opportunities and rights as them, yet somehow you failed... This is making the modern man statistically more unhappy than in the past. Now there are no limits to what we legitimately can expect from life. Equality and envy are linked to each other. In a society of equals, it's natural for people to want what others have. 3% of Americans in 1970 thought that a second TV was a necessity. Nowadays it's 75%. A 2nd TV went from luxury to decency to psychological necessity. It might explain why greater wealth might not lead to greater happiness. When all the boundaries of expectancy are removed (the boundaries people used to have because they belonged to a lower class, or a middle class, or a higher class), you can see a phenomenon where the poorer people will look with envy at the riches of the rich. A betrayal of their expectations. That is not a conditioning for happiness. Maybe it is an American thing for poor people to believe that they one day can follow in the footsteps of the rich. That American Dream promise. They might, but there is a lot more chance that they won't. But it's happening over in Europe now too. </div></div></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">October 7th 2017</span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">September 29th 2017</span></span></b></div>
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I have felt some deep sadness and melancholia this week, after one of my friends took his own life. He had rosacea. We'd developed a friendship over it for years. Shared tips, ideas, fears, dreams and mostly we met up regularly online to watch tv series and movies we loved together. Then dissect things with our analyses. Let it stream over in our own thoughts about life. It is surprising how attached you can become to another this way. After last years death of my friend David, this death now is haunting me even more, because of the nature of our contact and the nature of his death. I also feel that I have nobody to share my grief with. Because male friends aren't interested in talking about another man for more than 2 minutes, and the women in my life didn't know him, and assume he was just like the many highly talented but over-sensitive artist types who simply had enough of the strains of life. I don't think he was typical like that, and I find the abrupt tearing away of him very hard. This has hit me like an earthquake. There is a sense of shock, disbelief, deep sadness but also betrayal. That he could leave me with a normal sounding message; it even had a smiley. Business as usual. I feel guilt also; why did I check in half an hour before he sent it, but not half an hour afterwards? Why wasn't I online to talk? Asleep, while on the other side of the world he.. There is something fundamentally different I find about mourning someone who died through illness, accident or through own doing.. I'm also experiencing the child-like pain from sending off more chat massages, but no longer receiving a notification that he saw it. I am still sending some messages now and then... As if through some magic realism, a miniature picture of him will light up, telling me he read it. Despite it all. I just cannot yet get used to<i> not </i>catching up like that. There is something very obsessive about death in general I found. For me at least. I had it happen before, in 2004 when my sister died, and last year when my friend David died. Everything these people wrote me, sent me, gave me, becomes heavy with meaning and emotion suddenly. I am reading things back and come short to slapping myself while reading over some parts, because only now I see how many pressing things he brought up, between the lines, which got buried under an avalanche of chats, ideas, links. How my cheerful mood and attempts at banter might have been enjoyable, but how they also overshadowed the serious notes that were added by him. I see them now, much more clearly. Because of the time difference -if we talked it was usually well after midnight for me, when our movie or series had finished - it was sometimes hard to be 100% sharp and awake for me, given my own packed week during the day. It was clearly worth the lack of sleep, or I'd not have persisted with it. But still. I am in heavy guilt mode at the moment.</div>
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I have to think of some Hemingway books I've been reading. In his Banal Story he talks about all the romance that is going on, right now. So many people at this very moment somewhere in the world are meeting for the first time, having their first pizza, maybe enjoying the last meal of their life. <i>Knowing</i> sometimes that it is their last, and thus savoring every bite. People are seeing new cities for the first time, enjoying conversations with friends, riding bikes, climbing mountains, laying on the beach. So much is happening that is wonderful at this very moment. Hemingway took a moment to be aware of this. It's almost Stoic in a way; relishing your daily experiences like they are the last time you will have them. Something that will also create a sense of appreciation. I am not spiritual, nor religious, but still think it is a huge theme, especially in today's society; to be mindful, to have concentration, to give things the attention they deserve. Yet, I failed here. I am feeling it deeply now, while reading back the many convo's with my friend and I can literally see where I was distracted, where I was fast forwarding, where I was multitasking and where I jumped over attempts to bring up certain personal subjects. Not out of disinterest, far from it, but by being just too tired, having a racing mind because of all those other pressing things, wearing me down and tired. Since having chronic health issues, my battery is low fairly quickly in general. But sometimes, you cannot undo things. You cannot do them over, as I always assume. I can always make up for things if I want to. Unless time passes you by.. I think it is actually better to have a limited amount of friends who you can forge a deeper connection with, than the multitude of shallow friends we build up. But even with them, modern time makes most people jittery, on edge, "triggered" (ohh what a terrible Millennial's word) by the ongoing pings and pongs from their smartphones. We're all so damn important, in our own bubbles. We can learn a thing or two from how things used to be, in that respect.</div>
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I will keep my friends name private, so that I can write some things about him. The pictures of him were sent to me by him, and aren't 'googleable', from what I have found. I cannot handle disappearance well. Things need to be documented, in my life and world. he has his academic writings out there, but they are cold and clinical. Interesting, sure, but I got to know him personally. I want to write something about him here. He is Romanian but had studied on a scholarship in the USA and just finished his promotion writing, PhD., successfully. He had worked so hard for it. Was given a good teaching job at a university. We had to screw the tv series watchings back the past months, he was drilled to work 16 hours a day. I had no issues with this, sometimes working life takes over for a bit, but surely things would get easier soon and he'd have more free time again. Surely? I still received updates and pictures, but he seemed more strained. Less boisterous. I tried to not take it personal and do my usual thing, taking distance. For some reason I am good and prone to do that, probably out of a deep fear of being rejected or something like that. Or just wanting to be one of the guys, no-drama, easy coming easy going. Now I seriously worry that I gave off the wrong vibe. That he took it as disinterest. The whole thing is making me tearful. Reading back, the moments I actually expressed anything close to actual affection are few and far between. They were there, I am just such a rational being that I cannot even imagine that anyone would want to hear them. Yet I received them from him, signs of appreciation. I regret not shouting out NO you are not a loser. No, you're not insignificant, and not unattractive either, and not high maintenance, and not doomed for failure, and not irrevocably damaged. When you talk like a bunch of academics as we tended to do, with some political incorrect digs here and there, the switch to vulnerable is a very big one I suppose. Now I regret things and I break my mind over what happened and what he must have struggled with, unbeknownst to me. What sort of a friend does not pick up on that?? Especially since he said he didn't open up to most people. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYdDh_xgxMHe4FS4mZp4i9xyI4D6E9EkyqTskaIGOKP94grUsQeeh_nrdVif2898jG3t4nmbIgdN89ih_6LfFOl0m8BdSsFnbapMzOzN16LLDqP1aJKBQXivSgdQH4yI5xWZaHUjpbBtUK/s1600/14610987_1666151927031469_8377788957377917345_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="544" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYdDh_xgxMHe4FS4mZp4i9xyI4D6E9EkyqTskaIGOKP94grUsQeeh_nrdVif2898jG3t4nmbIgdN89ih_6LfFOl0m8BdSsFnbapMzOzN16LLDqP1aJKBQXivSgdQH4yI5xWZaHUjpbBtUK/s400/14610987_1666151927031469_8377788957377917345_n.jpg" width="226" /></a>It reminded me of a movie by I think Almodovar, Julieta it's called, and this woman sits in the train one day, and a man tries to start a conversation with her. And she isn't interested. She brushes him off a bit. Then a little bit later, the train makes an emergency break and the conductor says that someone jumped in front of the train. Turned out to be that man. And she gets emotionally hit by it, starts to imagine that this man just wanted a friendly word, a human touch and that she denied him that and was directly responsible... I think these emotions are very natural, albeit warped. I like to dwell on things to this point too. What makes matters worse is that he and I were deep into analyses of stories. We'd dissect plot lines, motives, symbolism. About Fargo (we watched all three series the past half year and absolutely loved them, 4 or 5 episodes a week often, he said he liked this deal, that it kept something regular in his life while finishing his dissertation) he'd say for instance: "I like the series because instead of gathering all threads together at the same time and unleashing hell, somehow it develops stories sequentially and leaves space for each character to do their best. Separately, unhindered." he'd make brilliant connections, reducing series 3 of Fargo into being one big Reagan metaphor. Money is now to be made in economics, no longer in crime; the consolidation of businesses and human spirit. Mergers and takeovers are hard, bloody work. Regular people will pay the price, butcher shops will close. But the rewards, for a few anyway, will be too many to count. For the rest of us, including Mike Milligan, the "warm champagne of corporate praise" is nothing more than a mid-level desk job and a 401k.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6D4GwkBZSAcxFBwd7L0c3j5MZH5uYdigXVHTKQibBuNFSm0h-aoDuOfmckUETv37HZnQbtwzNXTn7yU-3AyYDaJOjZAk6XC99U_XxRiIg2VjAb6_u-gw0htrUseGMiwUQ0jzIm-a_Xg4k/s1600/20622715_1827819927531334_1001682942_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6D4GwkBZSAcxFBwd7L0c3j5MZH5uYdigXVHTKQibBuNFSm0h-aoDuOfmckUETv37HZnQbtwzNXTn7yU-3AyYDaJOjZAk6XC99U_XxRiIg2VjAb6_u-gw0htrUseGMiwUQ0jzIm-a_Xg4k/s400/20622715_1827819927531334_1001682942_o.jpg" width="400" /></a>He also liked 80's movies, with their naive inspirational films such as Top Gun, or Cocktail or even some 80's romantic movies (<i>"I love melodrama!</i>"). Movies without irony but full of optimism and vitality. Films in which effort is rewarded in full. No wounds, no antiheroes. He would sell them to me with the promise: "<i>If we soon discover we can't stomach it, and that we're too far away from childhood, and that we're too corrupted by life / enriched by culture, then we give up. But what I'm saying is to just give it a try." </i>He would say about America: "It's interesting; in the US it's actually the rich who don't care about style, unless they are very rich or in some art industry. Yes, it was confusing at first, all those guys have gigantic annual incomes and some of them serious studies. I used to bring American professors in Buhcarest for summer schools; with a good sponsorship I was able to bring the very big names. They only wore loose worn out blue jeans and one dollar fifty ridiculous caps. I think one root is the class system. In Europe clothes used to have a signaling function. They signaled status; for centuries each social group was bound by law to dress in a certain way. Americans never cared about this, plus there is Protestantism. Quite frankly, since I am in the US I mostly only wear training trousers, but in Romania if I don't dress nicely, and walk the streets after dark, I get stopped by the police mostly." [..] "XX Univ. has 40,000 students, roughly half girls and it's been a while since I have seen one in a dress :)) Only training trousers, shorts, or jeans. However, compared to Europe, they actually smile at you - they are not afraid. It's a safe place, America. They are also super vocal and friendly, very expressive and extrovert and they speak loud as hell. Obedient to the system... not so much the husband. And robotically hard working. That's confusing with them. Exuberance which last 5 seconds and then they look away and leave."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXCqaYbZC6XtqFKxvmTH3cnu0SsQdimn-ekdrtd4PnNNkyw09dYXke93GusEnupLsMhcloeaf8uu5tx3Zq5e093ybcqwQzrUIlnTa1d9moDrLur7zEy9a3e0sefYm6IcvLWtH2MUaZJ8X1/s1600/22549714_10155789911813996_13746070400358594_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="570" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXCqaYbZC6XtqFKxvmTH3cnu0SsQdimn-ekdrtd4PnNNkyw09dYXke93GusEnupLsMhcloeaf8uu5tx3Zq5e093ybcqwQzrUIlnTa1d9moDrLur7zEy9a3e0sefYm6IcvLWtH2MUaZJ8X1/s320/22549714_10155789911813996_13746070400358594_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuFmbgFDC6koShgAl5o0GQqrRd5Bvr-bttlf2y9bXBveuedW_SCBV30lbJU_n4iO9hx7U5UzTBWX_5IWXG9JVAOuM28nnm3ETvMTXKhTaQnALtRTrSgxKBHRNUtAuGUxHIzISFM-nU8jq/s1600/2l.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1600" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuFmbgFDC6koShgAl5o0GQqrRd5Bvr-bttlf2y9bXBveuedW_SCBV30lbJU_n4iO9hx7U5UzTBWX_5IWXG9JVAOuM28nnm3ETvMTXKhTaQnALtRTrSgxKBHRNUtAuGUxHIzISFM-nU8jq/s320/2l.jpg" width="320" /></a>His rosacea was the last year mainly revolving around his nose flushing. His face had become fairly pale after IPL treatments and also after using roaccutane, although he felt it would still swell, when triggered. But his nose would turn very red and burn and swell due to a lot of triggers. His teaching also caused nose flushing (indoor temperatures, the act of standing in front of a class), and this was a problem for him, understandably. He would take several herbal and vitamin supplements, but after asking me about it he brought things back to a more simple approach: "<i>If I were to draw a line below what you said and write a one sentence summary, I would formulate it as "more caution, and less supplements" or something like that. I use to gobble up turmeric like crazy. I'll stop for a while and see how it goes</i>." He was actively searching for better treatments. He wanted to have laser treatments on his nose but also experimented with (fairly limiting) diets. Raw vegetables, fish, seeds, fruits. "<i>Dedication is part of the explanation but I think I do this also because I stopped caring. If can't have the food I want, whatever foods are left for me taste the same, raw or cooked. And then, why bother cooking.</i>" He had inherited the rosacea from his father. His father had always been red, but back in Romania, where he came from, nobody cared. At least, nobody cared enough to call that a condition that needs treatment. He regretted not knowing sooner about rosacea, because then he could he prevented it from deteriorating. he wouldn't have spent that much time in the sun, or chosen to build a life on adrenaline (which read "stress"), he would say. He had always been slightly more red than other people, but he never cared until a year or two ago, when on top of the redness he started noticing rashes on his cheeks, felt his skin burning, and was told he had rosacea. The disease progressed fast, and he said he didn't adjust accordingly. Continued to have his usual 'one meal per day, all I can eat', which lasted 2 hours, in front of the computer. Eating histamine-rich or niacine-high foods like nuts and seeds. Not knowing that in his personal case, they made his flushing worse. The rashes were never a problem he said. Soolantra got rid of those for him. But by wintertime his facial skin started to show edema, and his nose started to play up. Rhinophyma kicked off. He tried oral antibiotics, but they weren't able to do much. IPL treatments later did help, but treating the nose with IPL is very difficult. It stayed red. Nothing seemed to control the swelling. By this time he started to discover that his eating habits plus what he called a life built on adrenaline, were probably the main culprits. He found these triggers extremely hard to control. He found support in his Christian beliefs. Isotretinoin (roaccutane) also helped control the redness and edema further. However, the rhinophyma continued to be a problem. Both the flushing and burning of his nose, but also the overall shape of his nose had changed, he said. It was triggered daily by usual rosacea triggers we mostly all encounter. But with a big intensity. Even small variation in mood could flare his nose to be red and painful.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>He had some lost loves and he considered America another lost love:</b></span><br />
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<i>"I fell in love with America on two channels. Firstly because of its freedom. I grew up in a post-communist country where totalitarianism was grafted on a thick historical layer of patriarchal, primitive traditionalism. The anti-communist revolution occurred when I was 10. Things moved fast. My father brought a video tape player. A cheap video tape rental place was around the corner to my block. Video recorders showed America. At 21 I became a libertarian studying political philosophy and some economic theory with a celebrated and regretted professor in Bucharest. I made this into a profession and realized that America and its freedom are fragile like a puny flower in the way of the political steamroller. Glorious and fragile. Something worthy to live for, and live in, like you said, "be in America with America". Migration to America was extremely difficult. Coming to the US was possible only with studies. By the time I finishing undergrad I had been already for many years in a relationship and in love with a girl who wasn't quite motivated to leave to the US. That kept me back. I also had to work, so I couldn't study properly for a GRE that required a level of math of which I could not even dream. I literally was stumbling on the multiplication table. So my attempt at coming here failed. I made a compromise between leaving and staying - moved to Budapest for PhD. Far enough to be gone, close enough to continue being with the girl. By the time I finished that program and went back to Bucharest, everything was crumbling." </i><i>"Once I got here, I was alone, with a PhD program so tough for me that i had no time to undress when going to sleep, and in the "city" of XX, so rural that I was looking at foxes and deer out my back window. And I was also getting old. In short, the dream had broke in pieces. By my second year I reverted to Christianity. And recognized "America" as my idol. Denounced it, renounced it etc. </i><i>I will finish the program soon, but what is now left of America from that broken piece is taken by - boom - rosacea, now a year old affliction that keeps me indoors and does to us the many things you know it does. Besides, I feel too old and defeated for dreams, too old for being anywhere, and that includes America. I think I lost the last pieces of America to rosacea. Superficially, yes, I'll finish this program and stay here. This year I'll be on what they call the job market. When I got here I bought a thick book called America. Put it off until I'm free to read it and LIVE it. I feel that book is useless now. But the story of Frank's America is greater than my story of America."</i></div>
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Rosacea played a huge role in his life. I think it's only people like us who have this condition, who can understand how it can ruin even the best seeming lives. Especially when your face burns and flares at the slightest trigger. <i style="text-align: center;">"Rosacea, yes, it is a nail in the coffin. Otherwise the rest of my body is fine, craving to exercise like it used to etc. Memphis, Yosemite... sure, I've dreamed about all of these. Even with rosacea, I guess a hands-off, few hours guarded trip in early autumn is still feasible. And worth the price, especially if I won't have a family of my own. You seem to be travelling a lot. How does your rosacea cope with that? (I visited my parents in Romania last year and it was a nightmare, all I remember I did was to confuse and frustrate all around me by constantly refusing their propositions to go out and to try out foods.)</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ha889_6GBOTT7J_BTrHJ014tGXT2XQ8HUUwiRBDTIFaLNaA1D6NOSSZnB4LmceEckoQO3IhWZ-nnf59Jka81zlEOwiIrglIzTstM8zyy0J7usUEE8yltR_C725FqFMqmSBhbdoV94cRG/s1600/15225292_1694260780887250_118289316_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="905" data-original-width="1600" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ha889_6GBOTT7J_BTrHJ014tGXT2XQ8HUUwiRBDTIFaLNaA1D6NOSSZnB4LmceEckoQO3IhWZ-nnf59Jka81zlEOwiIrglIzTstM8zyy0J7usUEE8yltR_C725FqFMqmSBhbdoV94cRG/s400/15225292_1694260780887250_118289316_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="text-align: left;">Teaching was his dream job. It's what he came there for. But rosacea took away his stamina he said,</span><span style="text-align: left;"> his intensity and motivation he thought he would... radiate. Rosacea emptied the teacher's role of its vitality, he said: </span><i>I wanted to live Americas all at once. And I think it is possible, if you're healthy. </i><i>And if you have sufficiently diverse friends and acquaintances. But these can be acquired easily if you're healthy. What is likely to happen though is that I get a job in a small American township, and do round trips to school and back three times a week as a college professor. But that's not the America I wanted, simply because, as you observed, it is not the whole America." </i><span style="text-align: left;">To me it seemed that his rosacea and perhaps also his doom (or let's say; all or nothing) approach was keeping him from properly emerging into that 'American culture'. Which seems to me a mix-match of immigrants, extremes, rich versus poor, cities versus nature, rednecks versus vast suburbans and then some intellectuals (like in any country more or less). I got the feeling from him that he came to America with high hopes, but turned demoralized. Relationships ended, health deteriorated. He felt a passive observer, being tied down by rosacea as so many of us are; triggered by the heat, the sun, by alcohol, by passionate everythings. Whereas he wanted to experience America first hand. </span><span style="text-align: left;">To me the sense of freedom that is attached to the USA seemed to be more about the vastness of the land and the amount of nature, and not so much about the actual life there. The American people I know look at their own country very differently from me with my European pair of glasses on. More darkly, more critical, lamenting the streams of commercialism and consumerism, the cheap media, the 1% owning most, the corruption and manipulation, the flashiness. But I'm sure it totally depends on our surroundings; living in some quaint part of New York or San Francisco will be entirely different from living in the Detroit ghetto suburbs. I'm not buying the American dream much personally, it has no flashing effect on me. To me, America seems a highly conflicted and struggling country, but of course I would love to make a road-trip and see Tennessee and Texas and Yosemite park and all those wonderful stops along the way. And I come from a wealthy, super highly organized country, not from a former communist country, and I understand that Romania is still pretty poor to EU standards, it must be a different sensation of freedom than for someone from the Netherlands. Where it's all about progressiveness and freedom, just packed into a tiny bit of land with 17 mln inhabitants and no natural wonders whatsoever. My father wants nothing more than to make a road trip through the States before he dies. I like to join him of course, I know I loved New York with its endless energy and aesthetic appeal, and I am sure that the Midwest, the deserts, the plains of Wyoming, the Minnesotan winters, are all fantastic to experience some time. But living there, I have zero idealization that it is intrinsically any different from living in the Netherlands. Or France. Life can be deducted on a daily basis to very basal stuff. But he was afraid that things would fall apart if he was not extra-careful and continued to work with great discipline after getting into the US. And that apocalyptic fear became a reality too for him, in some respect, as the person he came to the States with, had to go back to Romania. In that sense history and the dream ended.</span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><b>"The second reason why I fell in love with America is because of its rawness, massiveness of civilization but also its desert and landscapes. This is what Robert Frank seems to capture [we had discussed his pictures of America, made during his <a href="https://www.jamesmaherphotography.com/new-york-historical-articles/the-foreigners-road-trip-robert-franks-america/">road trip in the 50's</a>, after I worked on a text on Frank for work], and probably what the Beat generation covered too, although I did not allow myself to read them yet. Why not? For the same reason: Why allow myself to go in so much depth when that depth is forbidden to me? I definitely don't want to be an admirer - an external observer. I wanted to be in the heart of things. And if not - put it off. Put love and interest off until SHE, America is interested in me."</b></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFUxqO8B531L3e159CBpNJsWooR1XIOmEfXhjWY727RiOzotGOJT3ZgjfnYvHPid-bEdgVF3l2XukoPFCPrgqqEuxauf4FGSBOKLAffM6dkI9IzfOkBshjQ5nYMAlTLkYrF2xK7j9SCZE/s1600/2z0632595_1829005230746137_1092620918_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="133" data-original-width="100" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFUxqO8B531L3e159CBpNJsWooR1XIOmEfXhjWY727RiOzotGOJT3ZgjfnYvHPid-bEdgVF3l2XukoPFCPrgqqEuxauf4FGSBOKLAffM6dkI9IzfOkBshjQ5nYMAlTLkYrF2xK7j9SCZE/s200/2z0632595_1829005230746137_1092620918_n.jpg" width="150" /></a><span>The tragic bit is that America wás interested in him. He had a solid job, after years of studying and writing. He had achieved his dream, in a way. But his health condition was lifting along too. Uninvitedly. And a month after achieving it, and enrolling in the daily grittiness of this American life, he signed off.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><i style="text-align: center;">"But mostly, it's my personality. When I start something I find it hard to stop. But life forces you to stop. And then, the half unfinished project persists in your soul. As time passes the mind becomes populated mostly by such resilient ruins. Since they are so many, solid and diverse, that their matter cannot be recouped, converted, reshaped or reborn into a new integrative project as they would in a more lively ecology. Then, you either freeze life and become a ruin haunting your ghosts, or you run the whole area with a giant bulldozer like religion to level it and cleanse the soul. Or is it that I lack the imagination to find a place for them into a new earthly puzzle? Perhaps. But for now the bulldozer satisfies me, gives me sleep at night... But... i think you are right that at some point life might creep back. When I go to Baltimore for a concert , and I see young colorful people and blocks of flats rather than suburbs and townhouses, I feel alive."</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggMCuZaSVoYCL0jeIZjZfI5c4lnBWDgufFgPdBnHbx9_9ct0_KM_vkvIqfxf8X94ZkXxK1yRf9-C73Sq8LuuuUEZ40sY8QikW5szcZ0QclDMxWCoCHyRoOeFacspV7JFEVBg1XTDNdSir0/s1600/2e.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="713" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggMCuZaSVoYCL0jeIZjZfI5c4lnBWDgufFgPdBnHbx9_9ct0_KM_vkvIqfxf8X94ZkXxK1yRf9-C73Sq8LuuuUEZ40sY8QikW5szcZ0QclDMxWCoCHyRoOeFacspV7JFEVBg1XTDNdSir0/s320/2e.jpg" width="142" /></a>So now I am sad. I got to know this man and his fears and dreams, we had some serious talks as represented here, but most of the time we simply has banter and fun, reviewings things we watched, bashing things that happened in our lives. He was mostly lighthearted, maybe because of my approach, maybe not, I do not know. The only change came the past month or two. He had trips, he had his teaching job now, he was severely pushed. He sent me messages of staff, the way he was pushed to perform and I accepted that our days of night series watchings were over for now. And I'd not been responding as much the past months either, as I was busy with work, health flares and things as usual and respected his space. I missed some rare movie watching dates; it was summer, I was travelling myself, we had lost our strict habits. I apologized, he apologized when he couldn't make it yet another time. He started to sound very tired. And to make matters worse, I missed his last messages. I also missed some social media comments from him about not doing well.. Only read them later. Made me feel very sad afterwards. Like I failed. And now it is a full stop. It's really haunting me. I read things back and see hints and double messages everywhere suddenly. Selfies he sent that now look macabre suddenly instead of goofy. Photo's from a blue sky seen from his roof window. A Dead End road sign he pictured. And I keep wondering; what if I just had been online that night and responded. I realize that some people are hard wired for depression, that some things cannot be prevented. That I cannot make my own importance any bigger than it should be, which is probably very small in this whole story. It's the same sort of guilt I had over my sisters death, all over again. I missed signs there too and let her talk me out of bringing her to hospital with her suspected "heavy flu" (was appendicitis). He also knew about Davids death last year, a person fairly similar to him in many respects. How could he do this. When I talked with a female friend about it, as well as with my mother, they both were quick to shake me out of my self-centeredness; people do not take their life because you (me) were online half an hour too late. They don't do such a thing because you failed to emphasize how much you appreciated him being in your life. It's fascinating why we even take on blame in such situations... I had to read about this. This triggers my obsessive side big time. I've been reading about it most nights of the week actually. As if reading about suicide, the technicalities, somehow brings you closer to the person. I'm starting to feel like some pathologist now. Reading accounts from people who tried and failed and how they experienced the act and also the leading up to such a thing. It's graphic but I like to really go deep in, and somehow I feel better at the end of the tunnel. Like piecing back a puzzle. My own interpretation of that puzzle, of course. And of course I don't know this person from living day to day together either. I only know what this person chose to tell me. </div>
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Yet, his death reminds me of another death, and another, and I was wondering the other day if this is what adulthood is like. Deaths and deaths reminding us of other deaths and other people that left their marks. Years being tied now to 'The Year that X Died'. It is like a single wave that impacts so many lives, in his case across continents. Yet another person joined the club of brilliant people who will never age, who will always stay thirty-something, forever. A friend comforted me by saying that most humans go through a challenging despair in their lives, and must decide how to cope with it. If we begin with the premise that we don't deserve " this", whatever this is; or we deserve happiness; or that suffering is intolerable and we should not be included in that world; or worse, that we deserve to be a part of the world of life that is Happy, then we suffer great delusion and we are bound for death spiritually or physically or both. God or no God. Life isn't fair because it was not designed to be fair. It was not designed to be happy. It was designed for life. Life to be lived, on life's terms. She thinks that life is about suffering and challenges and pain and hardship, and that the choices you make with that will give you great joy or unbearable sorrow. Life does not guarantee you a damn thing. "<i>What a wealth of humanity you have encountered. Virtual as it may be!"</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFVTxrvvdAb3OjZ88dYNow0VZurCjisepLxY5i-z606_E9DzejnS0rrHJZ3Nb1Inwk24xAgblmuKNBAYwQCmDSIFaO6LWRyt4JgLUiWYJSnKCmoJAFZ2OzAYMt-tpFYfM2ODQX7aKt_ddB/s1600/17759061_1762068997439761_1716322104_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFVTxrvvdAb3OjZ88dYNow0VZurCjisepLxY5i-z606_E9DzejnS0rrHJZ3Nb1Inwk24xAgblmuKNBAYwQCmDSIFaO6LWRyt4JgLUiWYJSnKCmoJAFZ2OzAYMt-tpFYfM2ODQX7aKt_ddB/s320/17759061_1762068997439761_1716322104_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">I'll finish with a few Bukowski quotes:</span></b></div>
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“Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.” “I've never been lonely. I've been in a room -- I've felt suicidal. I've been depressed. I've felt awful -- awful beyond all -- but I never felt that one other person could enter that room and cure what was bothering me...or that any number of people could enter that room. In other words, loneliness is something I've never been bothered with because I've always had this terrible itch for solitude. It's being at a party, or at a stadium full of people cheering for something, that I might feel loneliness. I'll quote Ibsen, "The strongest men are the most alone." I've never thought, "Well, some beautiful blonde will come in here and give me a fuck-job, rub my balls, and I'll feel good." No, that won't help. You know the typical crowd, "Wow, it's Friday night, what are you going to do? Just sit there?" Well, yeah. Because there's nothing out there. It's stupidity. Stupid people mingling with stupid people. Let them stupidify themselves. I've never been bothered with the need to rush out into the night. I hid in bars, because I didn't want to hide in factories. That's all. Sorry for all the millions, but I've never been lonely. I like myself. I'm the best form of entertainment I have. Let's drink more wine!” “For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered. But for those of us who can't readily accept the God formula, the big answers don't remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command nor faith a dictum. I am my own god. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.”</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">My skin is burning of course and irritated;</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVd1yrY7UTTfvL_7OBGstKxOOQ7vco79_KQnU87lmrt0rzMpfAi_DtdgmAGCCJmdXa0XKsFx6kwrDtGwuujVEQa86vJMy0uHVreLRZ-GAkTn-qhyCFxG8zjP5Lkkrk_wAUOh7ncavLQZH3/s1600/z3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1215" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVd1yrY7UTTfvL_7OBGstKxOOQ7vco79_KQnU87lmrt0rzMpfAi_DtdgmAGCCJmdXa0XKsFx6kwrDtGwuujVEQa86vJMy0uHVreLRZ-GAkTn-qhyCFxG8zjP5Lkkrk_wAUOh7ncavLQZH3/w144-h190/z3.jpg" width="144" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFX8lhx70ld6UEPylTypzDovY8g3_QE1Wvjmnd1SHRfrdnBhrK-jOLCbd9xF-xclu0QFRaQoMV5yfbCnJEPDblxo1VvNYzwLpoDTyJC0-L_KrrU7vYK5A3V5fIrF6dduO6PNRFjGN3TG-f/s1600/z4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="1365" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFX8lhx70ld6UEPylTypzDovY8g3_QE1Wvjmnd1SHRfrdnBhrK-jOLCbd9xF-xclu0QFRaQoMV5yfbCnJEPDblxo1VvNYzwLpoDTyJC0-L_KrrU7vYK5A3V5fIrF6dduO6PNRFjGN3TG-f/w471-h189/z4.jpg" width="471" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">September 9th 2017</span></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhGEPe9aPXDKe8pKmaHetYgNSV3TnBuLW8flVrr9D-BNJLxxr7Qo463Vvo-qTi-GMqBkiRB3pDwBQEoO_4XFcOW-ogSl8yl6pGeUz7zNEM7ZW7yUOd8vYUlDcaUpuh71OpTP3KEgvpgIJu/s1600/21106330_1602893606422560_9038261185067411481_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="960" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhGEPe9aPXDKe8pKmaHetYgNSV3TnBuLW8flVrr9D-BNJLxxr7Qo463Vvo-qTi-GMqBkiRB3pDwBQEoO_4XFcOW-ogSl8yl6pGeUz7zNEM7ZW7yUOd8vYUlDcaUpuh71OpTP3KEgvpgIJu/s640/21106330_1602893606422560_9038261185067411481_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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My skin burning and flaring have calmed down a few notches, but not a whole lot yet. It's raining and cold here though, so I have been out and about, catching up with some friends and doing things in town. Back to a more normal lifestyle therefore, and less huddled up behind a ventilator all day. I need to see a gynecologist soon for the endometriosis testing. The MRI I was supposed to have next, they told me I would need to use a dye for it called gadolinium. They inject it in your vein and it circles round your vascular system and into your organs, and helps make the MRI imaging more detailed and clear. I read up a bit on it, and found some new research that showed that gadolinium has been found to remain in the body after MRIs, even after a prolonged period of time. It was found back in brain tissue, bone and skin tissue. </div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444;">"It is unknown whether these deposits can lead to adverse health effects. The FDA has asked doctors to limit the use of Gadolinium contrast agents to times when necessary information is made available through its use."</span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9O-TZ0A-VsXUxDyR4y5ITHuIY8Ah_1P3gqT5xgb5x2XGWbsqCl5bJPwWPgw8hW5DFG0bNh7f8eQwMAFGwYWNmpEpG6UQh1ztBej1Kc2cIAlBWmbhOjxi26Yg3ywIauBuBORiixskPqbb/s1600/266ab18f4198d2a3004bbc3039c071f2--vintage-humor-vintage-pins.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="459" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9O-TZ0A-VsXUxDyR4y5ITHuIY8Ah_1P3gqT5xgb5x2XGWbsqCl5bJPwWPgw8hW5DFG0bNh7f8eQwMAFGwYWNmpEpG6UQh1ztBej1Kc2cIAlBWmbhOjxi26Yg3ywIauBuBORiixskPqbb/w300-h374/266ab18f4198d2a3004bbc3039c071f2--vintage-humor-vintage-pins.jpg" width="300" /></a>It's too soon to tell if these deposits have any effect on health, but they are metal elements and I really do not want metal stored in my brain and skin cells. Have such an overactive auto immune system, and so many allergies. Even dental fillings cause my face to balloon and turn magenta. Imagine actually reacting to this substance, and then having a percentage of it stored in your head afterwards? I would worry about it triggering more allergic reactions or auto immune activity. And given that this has just been discovered by a bunch of Japanese scientists, and considering that the implications of this substance sticking around in the body for a small part has not been investigated either, I don't want to use it. I have so many metal allergies, it seems simply silly. I called radiology at my hospital about it and finally spoke to the doctor working these machines, and he also said that I shouldn't take that gamble then, that it sounds unwise to use it, and that there are actually a few alternative dyes they can use. Not mainstream knowledge but there are alternatives possible. Phew! I feel like a walking hypochondriac at times, but I had it happen so many times now that foreign bodied substances had to be removed again due to an allergic reaction (solvable fillings or gelatin sponges for instance, fillings) that I'm trying to prevent these things, instead of having to treat the consequences later on. </div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>I read a <a href="https://www.realself.com/review/richmond-surrey-juvederm-nerve-damage-caused-juverderm-voluma-dermal-filler#">review</a> for a filling product called Juvederm online</b></span>. This girl in her early 30's had Juvederm injected into her cheeks, because she had lost a good deal of weight and wanted her drawn facial features plumbed up a little bit. Safe procedure, often performed, Juvederm is a chemically made product, but contains hyaluronic acid, which is a naturally occurring component of skin. So this girl had a bad reaction. I will copy her ordeal, described by herself, here, because she describes the hell and agony she goes through ever since, dealing with nerve pain in her face and even skin redness and burning (it looks like the affected cheek is developing rosacea too).</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">November 13th 2015</span></span></b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjprwG3vvUzUjiiuoDTe0UfOG50pq0iHYlfNwImwZzK0u6zCE4r_fve9VO2oyj3kriOm8Qd-KUUgCx3-Dhw93ywRCa-dp3eqwk8rx1EKobc-DiKxRgkonOG_ChQyySmFPpcPj31ViYPUVn4/s1600/userimage-1462343.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="400" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjprwG3vvUzUjiiuoDTe0UfOG50pq0iHYlfNwImwZzK0u6zCE4r_fve9VO2oyj3kriOm8Qd-KUUgCx3-Dhw93ywRCa-dp3eqwk8rx1EKobc-DiKxRgkonOG_ChQyySmFPpcPj31ViYPUVn4/s200/userimage-1462343.jpeg" width="200" /></a>"I am a 34 year old woman, working in the media industry in London. As a reward for losing over 2 stone in weight, I decided to get .5 Juvederm Voluma in each cheek only, as I felt I lost a lot of weight from my face, which I thought made me look older. The doctor used a cannula, so only one incision on each cheek. My main goal was to see how it looked for my wedding in 2016. It has been the biggest regret of my life. A top Harley street nerve specialist diagnosed me with facial neuralgia (nerve damage) and I can't begin to explain the pain I feel on a constant daily basis. I pushed back my wedding until 2017 as I physically and emotionally cannot organize a wedding right now. I wasn't naive in getting this procedure done, I researched for a year and got recommendations of a former ENT surgeon who was very experienced in facial aesthetics. I knew someone who went to her and her face looked so natural and the clinic was reputable. The procedure did not go according to plan, the doctor really struggled on my left cheek to get the product in and she got frustrated and pushed through. I knew instantly I was in trouble. My cheek stayed red and inflamed for about 4-5 weeks and then the pain started to kick in. I now have physical scaring such as broken veins and redness on my once clear skin. It was the scariest time of my life. I had intense burning, stabbing, stinging and tingling from my cheek to my eye bag right up to my eye brow. The pain was so bad around my eye I thought I might lose my sight as I did not now what was happening to me. I had visions of a huge abscess forming under my skin and I thought I might lose my cheek. The anxiety and panic attacks were horrendous. My doctor was useless and actually told me I had somatization disorder (it's all in my head) and referred me to a psychologist. My GP said it looked like nerve damage & said it was typical of someone in the aesthetics industry to blame my pain on a psychological problem. I went to eye surgeon to examine my eye who by chance was also an aesthetics doctor with 20 years experience and she said she could help me. I cried with relief. She said my eyesight was fine and that I needed to get rid of the product with hyalase as it was probably sitting on a nerve. I was nervous as I read good and bad reviews about hyaluronidase so I got a patch test first in my face and it was fine. I got the filler removed but it did not help the pain and I spent £600. When I told the eye doctor it did not help and my face still gets intense pain and still gets red all she said was it must be rosacea in an email and said "all the best". </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25rCbrAmqx0o0m9MhQ5jFRRQZmsbpoTEo-B8HCB8jnfl3LiDP8zjHYvQF6zhiYx072E0vRkjtgRWflGwjF8zirSrD4XwK8n_7xQxIf6wPs3D3NMMedch3MVRJEwkFG6uUZEFHTMIzmvvc/s1600/Fair+Rosamund%252C+an+imaginary+portrait+of+Rosamund+Clifford%252C+the+most+famous+mistress+of+King+Henry+II+of+England..jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25rCbrAmqx0o0m9MhQ5jFRRQZmsbpoTEo-B8HCB8jnfl3LiDP8zjHYvQF6zhiYx072E0vRkjtgRWflGwjF8zirSrD4XwK8n_7xQxIf6wPs3D3NMMedch3MVRJEwkFG6uUZEFHTMIzmvvc/s320/Fair+Rosamund%252C+an+imaginary+portrait+of+Rosamund+Clifford%252C+the+most+famous+mistress+of+King+Henry+II+of+England..jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
I am now on Gabapentin 3 times a day since September but it only recently started to work. I still have constant pain but it is not as debilitating. My advice if you want to get this done: - Only go to a board certified dermatologist with years of injecting experience. (They are more expensive for a reason and you can't put a price on your health) - If you are saving up money to get this procedure done then I strongly suggest you do not follow through. I have spent over £1000 trying to get medical help as private health care does not cover issues arising from cosmetic procedures and the NHS takes too long. I was on the waiting list to see a nerve specialist for months. - Ask about there after care service if something does go wrong. - Really think about the impact a wrong procedure can have on your life. The pain has affected my work and my relationships with my partner, friends, family and I stay in bed when I can. Luckily I don't have children that rely on me. - DO NOT DO ANY INJECTABLES less that 6 months before a big event such as your wedding. It could ruin your special day if the procedure goes badly. - If the procedure goes wrong the injecting doctor won't be the one that helps you. They don't want a law suit. I have seen the medical professionals that see the horror stories. Eyesight loss, nose cartilage loss, cheek absences and nerve damage. It's not as uncommon as we are led to believe. - Silence is the cosmetics industry biggest weapon. No one wants to shout about the damage suffered by a procedure done by choice out of personal vanity. I will never touch an injectable again. I learned the hard way. I have been to over 20 medical appointments and I am seeing a psychologist to help me cope with the pain and the intense guilt that I feel having chosen to do this procedure. I have never felt so alone."</div><div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">End of year update.</span></b></div>
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<b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">24 Dec 2015 </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_MTr3yhLprrpg9UbeZAf4M9KYRHZLycg_UW7gX1LFyjosYlDFgutLJVo2PuIwBaQLmuFvltjZuuvLOI-Ms0BEa3LIg2XE8MyIkYFRZc1dxH2eoOOe2GtNstJGoTjaZPbWZVLeQKMZI7k/s1600/userimage-1263248.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_MTr3yhLprrpg9UbeZAf4M9KYRHZLycg_UW7gX1LFyjosYlDFgutLJVo2PuIwBaQLmuFvltjZuuvLOI-Ms0BEa3LIg2XE8MyIkYFRZc1dxH2eoOOe2GtNstJGoTjaZPbWZVLeQKMZI7k/s200/userimage-1263248.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
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"I wish this post was letting everyone know that things are improving and I am feeling much better but instead I am in debilitating pain. My eye feels like it will fall out of my head, it's like lots of tiny needles being pricked into the back of my eyeball, all day, everyday. There is no break, no downtime, no medication to take the edge off, nothing. I haven been like this for weeks now, I was hoping it would die down for Christmas but no such luck. As I write this I am in bed, while all my family are downstairs laughing and enjoying the Christmas spirit. Meanwhile, I am in despair, thinking how I can face 2016 with this pain and how can I get the strength to carry on. I still can't believe I have nerve damage from a procedure where nerve damage wasn't listed as a side effect on the consent form, Allergan even told me nerve damage isn't listed side effect on there literature. It will be 7 months of pain on 9th January, it's a long time. I just hope and pray I recover 100%. I will never trust a doctor again. To anyone experiencing this type of pain, my thoughts are with you this Christmas. It's so difficult to stay positive but we must try. Merry Christmas X"</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>14 Jan 2016 </b></span> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1Up9hMIWaF6f5_6b_utOBTRGwFIbUrYU_eCCkds7tEB8AwAgX7MfWK-m5EUnmKTY1fREjafrmShD8-2jlcGmY81PppXpXiM4rlKISrg63BtskUmK2wPDdfbtv_BnzGKSFwA5NaFvI5O9/s1600/userimage-1370264.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="400" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1Up9hMIWaF6f5_6b_utOBTRGwFIbUrYU_eCCkds7tEB8AwAgX7MfWK-m5EUnmKTY1fREjafrmShD8-2jlcGmY81PppXpXiM4rlKISrg63BtskUmK2wPDdfbtv_BnzGKSFwA5NaFvI5O9/s200/userimage-1370264.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
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"I went to see a Pain Management Specialist this week. He agrees with my Neurologist that I have Post Traumatic Trigeminal Neuropathy. I asked him what my chances of recovery are and he said he really can't give me an answer. He said only time will tell if it's permanent or not. He is changing my medication from Gabapentin to Pregabalin which has more scary side effects. So afraid what these types of medications are doing to my body but I am desperate for some pain relief. I have no choice, I deal with constant daily pain. He warned me that these might not work either. I just want to scream from the top of my voice "what has this doctor done to my face?!!!" My heart and spirit are broken :( If I had one wish in the whole world it would be to turn back time. I used to donate blood on a regular basis as I have a universal blood type but I don't think I could ever face a needle coming near me again. I have lost all faith in the medical profession, especially with how I was treated. I can only dream of being pain free again, as reality is the complete opposite right now."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">26 Feb 2016 </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1tAtgznEVtZXGIqHG_FAmf7qqepzQjE_On08aenUlt4HspSRG_SCU9fMKtA2FimdpdljwNWJomtjpmmjA57k0O6oTJOScCfkCt-5nyB3hLstKzkL6dUHX8xaj4xRmGARd_rpn9hE9lBg6/s1600/userimage-1527219.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="357" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1tAtgznEVtZXGIqHG_FAmf7qqepzQjE_On08aenUlt4HspSRG_SCU9fMKtA2FimdpdljwNWJomtjpmmjA57k0O6oTJOScCfkCt-5nyB3hLstKzkL6dUHX8xaj4xRmGARd_rpn9hE9lBg6/s200/userimage-1527219.jpeg" width="171" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"I'm still suffering from redness and swelling caused by the nerve damage :( I have begun a new medication called Pregabalin and I think it's made a slight improvement. Still constant pain but not making me feel suicidal with pain, which is good!!!! Fingers crossed this is a small sign of healing and not just the new medication."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>9 mths post procedure</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>8 Mar 2016 </b></span></div>
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"I spoke too soon! ???? I have been in constant agonizing pain since Feb 28th. I can't sleep with the pain, I can't eat & I can't think! I spend most my day crying in the toilets at work in pain, nothing I take works, nothing! I feel like my eye is going to explode with the pain, my cheek is all red, swollen and hot from the autonomic changes caused by this nerve damage. The Pregablin isn't working at all. I am going to see my Pain Mgt Specialist tomorrow, I hope and pray he has a solution. Please don't anyone get this procedure done, you could end up in agony like me."</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>10 months post procedure</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">25 Mar 2016 </span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"> </span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68Jw38fPl3V-MJ-o6LIS18zTkclKlcQpgTFVuCtkuvbFT5hG9Q8mkl2KrIN8KytEzJPH-e0GcTxsM5dd63LefzBtO4k9_xXAtBnsf-VZ2BoylgfnSyQeM3wo7H4hHFj49b-58LSzem6OM/s1600/userimage-1486451.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="192" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68Jw38fPl3V-MJ-o6LIS18zTkclKlcQpgTFVuCtkuvbFT5hG9Q8mkl2KrIN8KytEzJPH-e0GcTxsM5dd63LefzBtO4k9_xXAtBnsf-VZ2BoylgfnSyQeM3wo7H4hHFj49b-58LSzem6OM/w168-h333/userimage-1486451.jpeg" width="168" /></a>"In terrible pain, all day everyday, for the past few weeks now, I have been in bed all day this Good Friday. (So much for a happy Easter!) My cheek and eyelid have been swollen for the past few weeks (you can see from my pic I can't open my eye fully) and my cheek is red and hot. I went to see my pain management specialist and the first thing he said when he saw me was "holy s**t look at your face!!" ... which was comforting! Lol! People in work are asking me what has happened to my face, it's so hard as no one knows what has happened to me. Only my boss knows I have nerve damage, however she does not know how I got it! I am too ashamed to tell anyone the truth. :( I emailed my doctor asking for an apology for all the pain and suffering I am enduring from this treatment and for telling me my pain was pychological but she has chosen to ignore me. It's disgraceful and upsetting. I can barely touch the left side of my face without causing intense pain. I can't even wear my sunglasses as they trigger pain! I still can't go to the gym or exercise, which makes me so depressed, I used to go 3 times a week! I can't lie on my left side. Takes me ages to wash my face, not to mention applying makeup takes me forever as I have to be so careful. The medication I am on makes me so tired and jumpy but I have no option but to keep trying Pregabalin. The one thing I am proud of is that I haven't taken sick time off work, if it's bad I can work from home and when in work I just leave my desk and just cry in the toilets with pain, it's all I can do but I am trying to stay strong and not lose my job because of this! (My company is going through redundancies so too afraid to take sick time). I feel under so much pressure and stress, it's been 10 months now and I feel like this nightmare is no where near the end! I constantly ask the question "Why me?" but doesn't everyone when things don't go as planned!! I am still trying to remain positive that I will recover and I will get my old face back! I continue to see my therapist who helps me manage the pain and I continue to write here as it helps me and if it stops one person from getting this (evil) procedure done then I feel I would have achieved something! Hope is all I have now that someday I will be pan free x"</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Diagnosed with permanent nerve damage</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>21 May 2016 11 months post</b></span></div>
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"Well, that's it for me, nearly 12 months since the injury and I found out my quality of life is forever ruined. I saw a facial pain expert and he diagnosed me with permanent nerve damage a few days ago and he informed me that absolutely nothing can be done to reverse the damage. Surgical and non-surgical procedures are too risky and carry a high risk of making my pain even more unbearable. This means that every time I even blink, it will cause me pain on the left side of my face, every minute of every day, for the rest of my life. The strong medication I am on helps with the severe pain but not all the time and it does not get rid of the constant pain. I explained to the doctor that I wanted to start a family after my wedding next year and he just shook his head and said it would be very challenging as I can't get pregnant on the pain medication and I may not be able to cope off it. This injury could rob me of becoming a mother. I feel like someone has died and my heart is truly broken. I have no more tears left to cry :("</div><div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfdvxjSUTJwDFxCLy1F3iq9pgh3zUbhEy4Q_d5-wbUizEbrTN_dcU3_4kaVSXoQchm0SdVskBMpmumhPcHxtYmQy_04YV9fG8GGiMMlUpSULmxknlydT5sqaowkKZE4esNp7Djqz9-aXGL/s1600/61tqzuhIMnL._SL1500_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1500" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfdvxjSUTJwDFxCLy1F3iq9pgh3zUbhEy4Q_d5-wbUizEbrTN_dcU3_4kaVSXoQchm0SdVskBMpmumhPcHxtYmQy_04YV9fG8GGiMMlUpSULmxknlydT5sqaowkKZE4esNp7Djqz9-aXGL/w180-h144/61tqzuhIMnL._SL1500_.jpg" width="180" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>I can really relate to her...</b></span> </span>My rosacea and skin was so much better before I saw this practitioner in England back in 2005 for my first IPL treatment. He ruined things in one sitting, I since flush and burn all over my face, everywhere he zapped, including my chin. Went from grade two flushing to grade nine, basically and given how my whole world and life resolves now about keeping my face cool and not too heavily burning, it has negatively affected my entire life. No kids, no energy for the type of job I would have liked to have (and was offered). So often you think back to that fateful day and wished you could go back and reverse the choices you made. Like this woman, my dr (Mervyn Patterson, a smooth sleek talker), also blamed the obvious on psychological factors, out of his responsibility. Coming in with a pale face and a problem with very specifically triggered flushing, then seeing me back after his IPL with a swollen, red/purple gob, and he blames it on my psychological state and sent me on my way. That's the kind of service you receive after you paid for the procedure and have become nothing but an annoyance. I hope this woman can somehow control her facial burning. Nerve pain is very difficult to treat unfortunately.. I felt her despair while reading her accounts. I still use a humidifier by the way, when my skin is particularly dry. Moisturizers and topicals burn and make me more red, so the best way to moisturize my skin from the inside out, has so far been to make sure the indoor air is not too dry. I've tried quite a few along the way, and the cheaper models do work, but also leak a lot of water damp and dew on the ground and ceiling. They also create a visible mist, which is not great in your house. Best so far, and the one I've been using for over a year now, it the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-HCM350W-Germ-Humidifier-White/dp/B00FJTVHKO/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1504973797&sr=1-1&keywords=honeywell%2Bcool%2Bmist%2Bhumidifier&th=1">Honeywell cool mist humidifier</a>. It's quiet, it breaks the water down in super small molecules and doesn't create a visible mist, and it does not leak on your floor or create damp on your wall or ceiling. It measurably makes the indoor air more humid (I use a hygrometer to check), and also has a special light that kills a good part of the germs in the water. Only downside is that it comes with a filter that needs replacement once in a month or two.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvWLL5Ei3m-dbZmSudhmj2pVOUjilTmsRz2AMRDAx97Tn8zmzPHnQn1pF4CGDvl7rJJ4PTOqenLqJCDvnUAyZVvcdeijUlZ8k3cVCX83aMA-7HQScXtdltYh8omgOSm5STuADcBtXHnMk7/s1600/game-of-thrones-season-7-finale-001.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="960" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvWLL5Ei3m-dbZmSudhmj2pVOUjilTmsRz2AMRDAx97Tn8zmzPHnQn1pF4CGDvl7rJJ4PTOqenLqJCDvnUAyZVvcdeijUlZ8k3cVCX83aMA-7HQScXtdltYh8omgOSm5STuADcBtXHnMk7/s320/game-of-thrones-season-7-finale-001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6h5ZF-FkohcUNNBWdv52eWrzLpUDbHtbaxoWj6Gyvbw3vTF9AH7yZqxC73uNW9wb5Bq1h3HmFo-ie-S1Q0BKutlEv4zcPzcWr3WyTrxQnPs-BiSfDSyGgAcW_9wHi2q4lEnv-dEtHLV7/s1600/1503316279-dragon-eye.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="759" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6h5ZF-FkohcUNNBWdv52eWrzLpUDbHtbaxoWj6Gyvbw3vTF9AH7yZqxC73uNW9wb5Bq1h3HmFo-ie-S1Q0BKutlEv4zcPzcWr3WyTrxQnPs-BiSfDSyGgAcW_9wHi2q4lEnv-dEtHLV7/s320/1503316279-dragon-eye.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Other than this</span></b>, I have used the past weeks in which I was a recluse with a face on fire behind a fan, to catch up with the tv series game of Thrones. I have written about it before on here, and I was really a big fan of the first four seasons. As a historian I loved the realistic course of events (minus the dragons and such, but even they are part of old European folklore and mythology, so not thát much of a stretch). The show is loosely base don the English war of the Roses, and many historic events have served as inspiration for the epic tale of Game of Thrones. But they are based on books, by George R. R. Martin, who is a very good writer. He hasn't finished his book series yet however, and is still in the process of (hopefully) finishing them, so the TV makers had to start writing their own dialogues and plots later on. It didn't start to show until after season 5 I think, but this last season 7 was really not to my liking.. I am not charmed with this season 😞 I like that they have picked up the pace and the action, but it has really severely come with a prize, for both character development and quality of dialogue. I hate the writing from D&D. It showed pretty much since season 6 for me, and this season is even worse. No interesting sharp dialogues anymore, Tyrion has not said anything of wit or intelligence for a few seasons now (I think they just cannot write as well as Martin and therefore just let him hang in the background now, or give poor advise). I've heard so many cheap dick jokes and "We are fucked" all round this past season, it's just painful to my ears really, compared to the really interesting and eloquent lines characters used to have in seasons 1-4. I understand that people hate Littlefinger and are happy with him being gone, but the way in which was just sad. I felt for Littlefinger; once the mastermind of this series, now reduced to a pleading puddle of patheticness, outsmarted in the simplest way by two badly acting girls. He was being completely useless in Winterfell which is an absolute shame to his character, (like Varys). It is like the show writers completely forgot that such men used to have great significance, with their networks, information and strategic thinking. Instead, we saw a dumbed down Littlefinger. who knew that Bran can see past and present, yet he messes with the Stark girls instead of running far away to the Vale or Essos on the pretext of getting more men to fight WW. Instead Sansa couldn't even kill LF herself, as a true Stark judge + executioner is supposed to do, and neither did she think of at least imprisoning him for a little while, to tap his intellect, knowledge, and wealth to protect the North. He was also short changed there. The old Lord Baelish wouldn't have become a pleading puddle, I think.. He could have instead said to save himself if he was still being written in character:<br />
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1. Where is my trial?</div>
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2. I demand a trial by combat, I name ? as my champion. ? = someone in The Vale, they contact ? in the Vale who tells Sweetrobin that 'Uncle Petyr' is being betrayed by nasty old cousin Sansa, whom he saved at the BOTB = Sweetrobin ORDERS the Knights of The Vale to escort Baelish back to The Eyrie.</div>
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3. I did NOT kill your aunt, as YOU have already testified when I was first questioned about her death - were you lying then or are you lying now? why should we trust anything you say? </div>
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4. Where is this letter? how convenient there is no copy and everyone who read it is dead</div>
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5. Your creepy crippled brother spouting non-nonsensical stories about things he could NOT have POSSIBLY witnessed is NOT proof</div>
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6. Prove that dagger is mine, do you have a receipt?? </div>
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7. Jon Arryn died of natural causes, you have NO PROOF I had any part in it. </div>
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In short: These proceedings have no due legal process and You have ZERO EVIDENCE.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZY6o8bxJERJtRKi_K_TBmpArOaiDxl5u2dVNtRRbqLBf4bcgoPmnnpiCNlgOceDKXEM7DlkikxrFQLI9BNR-uxRMmMlNwHiFCyT6pI3EEKGn0wroB64DgYUwqLKB2T_7uKSauD0pOt6WE/s1600/sansa-stark-gives-littlefinger-the-stink-eye-in-game-of-thrones-season-7.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="700" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZY6o8bxJERJtRKi_K_TBmpArOaiDxl5u2dVNtRRbqLBf4bcgoPmnnpiCNlgOceDKXEM7DlkikxrFQLI9BNR-uxRMmMlNwHiFCyT6pI3EEKGn0wroB64DgYUwqLKB2T_7uKSauD0pOt6WE/s400/sansa-stark-gives-littlefinger-the-stink-eye-in-game-of-thrones-season-7.jpeg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTVms4mSuhiFshpYM_h0xRzg0x_lqpipXV2W33UVrvJCk4w2-hzbiQg-C6k97wNvkKs_9uokiY1VoI7_JZfyoADz1IGUVgpdst5VL_jen9UOUTxs9Pd7dbAk3ewt0t86Se4Iz7ZyPW_ehV/s1600/maisie-williams-as-arya-stark-in-game-of-thrones-season-7.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="1200" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTVms4mSuhiFshpYM_h0xRzg0x_lqpipXV2W33UVrvJCk4w2-hzbiQg-C6k97wNvkKs_9uokiY1VoI7_JZfyoADz1IGUVgpdst5VL_jen9UOUTxs9Pd7dbAk3ewt0t86Se4Iz7ZyPW_ehV/s400/maisie-williams-as-arya-stark-in-game-of-thrones-season-7.png" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6h5ZF-FkohcUNNBWdv52eWrzLpUDbHtbaxoWj6Gyvbw3vTF9AH7yZqxC73uNW9wb5Bq1h3HmFo-ie-S1Q0BKutlEv4zcPzcWr3WyTrxQnPs-BiSfDSyGgAcW_9wHi2q4lEnv-dEtHLV7/s1600/1503316279-dragon-eye.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>None of this however. Completely out of original character and I blame the whole shebang on the writers wanting to speed the story up, skipping over too many details and not having the powerful writing talent that Martin has to make anything more of it than they are doing now. Which is mediocre. You can tell that they no longer have novels to pull clever dialogue from. The sisters do have the ultimate witness with Bran. Shame he wasn't used, therefore! I mean, imagine this scenario: Littlefinger is charged and shouts "I deny it". Just when he is about to prove them to be idiots, with his excellent manipulative improvised speech, just then, Bran comes in the room/hall/whatever it is called they were at. </div>
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<b>Bran:</b> "You told Ned Stark.............................."</div>
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<b>Littlefinger:</b> "What proof do you have?? Mumblings of a half sane boy?"</div>
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The crowd mutters and seems to agree with Littlefinger and the Starks are pushed into the corner (ok ok, not in their own Winterfell most likely, but there could be mumbling and muttering!). But then Bran starts to explain extreme details about the lives of everyone in the room. Things he could not have know --> people in awe and fear at the same time.</div>
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<b>Bran: </b>"You see, nothing goes unnoticed gentlemen, and this man...." blabla etc.</div>
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That would have made for a more exciting trial if you ask me. Overall Littlefinger's death was far from satisfactory. I wasn't expecting him to be the king on the throne in the end, but his fate should have been more elegantly handled. And with regards to Bran; as it stands now, virtually nobody listens to Bran, who now sees and knows pretty much everything with his paranormal visions. I would have sat beside him for 8 hours by shift and make him explain everything in order to gain advantage. Even regarding the technologies of making Valerian steel etc. The guy is a walking oracle! Yet he is treated like a brain-dead spastic. Another complaint I have (and I know this is just a tv series lol, but after so many seasons, once can get attached and invested in even a tv series) is that Littlefinger and Varys were true political players and flawed human beings, unlike the superhero 'super beings' that some others have been turned into now. The show has become the story of good vs evil, with 'good men coming together' which doesn't excite anymore. It has lost its original perk since season 5: showing realism, and the real world which was dark and shady. After season 4, D&D started making it more of an entertaining heroism tale than a logic and realistic one. Especially in the last season they let go of one of the most defining elements of the series: actions have consequences. Main characters can actually die, if they make a mistake. Not anymore, we now get death teasers, and heroes being saved at the last minute. In that sense things have turned into your average, predictable Hollywood storytelling. I liked the old style with long winding story telling and real anticipation much more than this more predictable Transformers version. I am rooting for the Nights King to win this whole thing now, that's it! 😝 I also can't look past how bizarrely things have gone after cutting characters and storylines only to merge some characters with others. You can't possibly justify the need to have Davos explain in season 7 that Dragons breath fire. And then there are the plot holes so big they could sink the Titanic. Most people don't care that everything is faster now, and that a raven flying from north to south no longer takes 5 episodes, but 5 hours. But episode 6 was so lame in some ways that it interfered with my enjoyment..<br />
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- Why did Danaerys find it necessary to help all of sudden, after clearly being skeptical in previous episodes?</div>
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- How long were they on that rock? They should've died from hypothermia long before Dany arrived. I think I would have preferred that.</div>
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- Why did the army of the dead not use arrows? </div>
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- Why do all of this anyway? Just to show Cersei? The old Tyrion would have known that it would have made no difference.</div>
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- Why did the army of the dead just happen to have huge chains with them?</div>
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- Why didn't Jon just get on the goddamn dragon?</div>
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- And why didn't Dany order her Dragon to just kill the ice king right there?</div>
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- And why didn't the Nights King just throw another spear? There were what, 5 walkers? Why not have everyone of them throw one? I know that it is fantasy and entertainment, But Martins book based seasons made so much more sense, all the way down to the details. </div>
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- If the army can't swim, how did they even get the chains around the dragon in the first place?</div>
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- How did uncle Benjin know where to find Jon? </div>
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- And why did he not get on the horse with Jon? There was room for Benjen on the horse. It's titanic all over again!</div>
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- Dany couldn't just do a fly-over from the very beginning to show her the evidence? </div>
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- Why did Jon offer to bend a knee after she already agreed to fight with him? </div>
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- How did 7 dudes fend off that many wights when we all remember what happened at Hardhome? - How did Jon's muscles not paralyze when he fell into the water? </div>
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- Why is Bran not being used to see what is coming up and guide characters a bit?</div>
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- Why did Jon never write to Winterfell? Ravens can teleport these days, it would have been as fast as twittering. </div>
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- Why have Gendry send a raven and not instead have Daenarys worried about Jon and Jorah and deciding to go find them herself? </div>
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- Why did Bran take no part in a mission beyond the wall? </div>
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- How did only one person die after all of that? </div>
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- Also: why didn't they bring any horses? Or at least 1 to get away with the wight quickly?</div>
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-Why, in the middle of winter in the North beyond the Wall, was that lake not frozen 10 feet deep already? Even Arctic sea-ice in summer is usually much more stable than what we saw.</div>
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-Can't Bran warg into a raven and tell them where to find a small group of wights as they ran into just by accident? </div>
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- Apparently no one ever drowns in Westeros-- not Jaime, not Bronn, not Jon-- despite wearing heavy armor and being one-handed, or being dressed in heavy furs.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNsv6AG-TpYVIXlFwpn4CTg4Ia3itYA9xhOmSaVy6Icn3cXq3zVFJCNlUZd_0pYgH4U5e5A0DCDIL2KP6_ch2nzOTTv8MEIjiYJFaBAAnJB6T9_blOgHiplICqdROfjyrcBUS0yKO8qfz/s1600/landscape-1467132235-the-nights-king-heres-how-furdik-looks-with-all-his-white-walker-makeup-and-prosthetics-on.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="980" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNsv6AG-TpYVIXlFwpn4CTg4Ia3itYA9xhOmSaVy6Icn3cXq3zVFJCNlUZd_0pYgH4U5e5A0DCDIL2KP6_ch2nzOTTv8MEIjiYJFaBAAnJB6T9_blOgHiplICqdROfjyrcBUS0yKO8qfz/s400/landscape-1467132235-the-nights-king-heres-how-furdik-looks-with-all-his-white-walker-makeup-and-prosthetics-on.png" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-T-zaZDCkbR-J1oU38vPgCtVbzrXU9tX87GfSJMWuztlDPK0N9xfac3BxsvDz_JEc0P-2XwC1bJfRmXP7mCpcEP9hGR13FnYm1tFAwarYYugYOjAuwlGopEsfWzOm0rDYonRIe4-QOLJ4/s1600/https-%25252F%25252Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%25252Fuploads%25252Fcard%25252Fimage%25252F569051%25252Fd8f86d52-cdea-4ccd-a8d6-e57d5125e41a.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="950" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-T-zaZDCkbR-J1oU38vPgCtVbzrXU9tX87GfSJMWuztlDPK0N9xfac3BxsvDz_JEc0P-2XwC1bJfRmXP7mCpcEP9hGR13FnYm1tFAwarYYugYOjAuwlGopEsfWzOm0rDYonRIe4-QOLJ4/s400/https-%25252F%25252Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%25252Fuploads%25252Fcard%25252Fimage%25252F569051%25252Fd8f86d52-cdea-4ccd-a8d6-e57d5125e41a.jpg" width="400" /></a>It feels that the writers just haven't put much thought into it, and don't care anymore frankly.</div>
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But the worst bit was the clear setting up of the final boss battle. Take out the King & you win. How devastating given ASOIAF's message. No way the books end with everyone being saved by the right guys winning a war (or so I hope). The writers of the show have a main problem, which is that they focus too much on the big picture and mess up all the details. The author of the books main 'problem' (I love this however) is that he makes all the details perfect, but leaves too much in and makes everything needlessly complicated with like twenty super interwoven threads. We've gone from a story that dared to behead Ned Stark, depict the Red Wedding, murder Jon Snow, and kill Hodor, to a show that's playing out like any other hackneyed, formulaic Hollywood blockbuster. Game of Thrones has completely lost its identity and everything that set it apart from other shows with it. It's fan service after fan service now. This season sacrifices a lot of logic to the endgame plot; it is very clear that everyone is driven by D&D's plot. The Nights King needed that dragon, so they made up the lamest shit to bring the group beyond the wall with 3 dragons. Even the dialogues are now driven by the plot behind it. I am fine with more speed and pace, but it is just too obvious and convenient sometimes, and with the characters and dialogues being so shitty now, I am no longer as surprised or emotionally invested in whatever happens. We all can see that the reason why the Night King didn't freeze the lake and simply march forward, is due to the plot, where Dany needed to rescue them, not because 'the ice is going to break'. Tormund should have died, not once but twice. It annoys that none of the Suicide Squad died except a minor character nobody cares about. Tormund surviving that attack from all these monsters? The ones everyone fears and are only stoppable with fire and dragonglass? Tormund has half a dozen on top of the, and makes it out with not even half a scratch. Bulshit, GoT was never like that. Not to mention Gendry running all that way back to the wall (which took them days to walk away from, and Gendry doesn't even take a break). The guy most of them met only a week ago and who has never seen snow before. But despite all this autistic nitpicking and grumping, I still will watch the last season, and am curious how it will end. I'm a bit surprised on how the Walking Dead managed to stay afloat for so long. The comics are quite normal and they don't stray from what's been made in the zombie section. Yet it's still going. I think it never reached that level of fabulousness that GoT reached in its best episodes. It was good, but never epic, so even when some seasons had slower parts and lesser episodes, the fall from grace wasn't too steep and deep. They could get away with it. GoT not, or at least not in the eyes of a couple of nerds and autistics haha. I really like the Walking Dead though. Just like I loved Lost (minus the last season); nice escapism tv. Sure, it has zombies and illogical moments at time, but it's a nice series. I think it's not the fantasy element in Game of Thrones that gets me going. It is about continuity and setting up your own boundaries of reality and then bloody sticking to it. <span style="text-align: center;">I probably need more important things in life to focus on hahaha.</span></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div style="margin: 0px;">
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<b style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">September 1st 2017</span></span></b></div>
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Skin burns terribly and flushes all the time too. It feels much worse than it looks, although it's pretty red I think. My normal good camera is out of use for another week and until then I used a shitty cellphone camera, not great in colour depth.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxYIivMSEGgLv4YxuR-MnPAsKgfL6sRJoTVrtNavzeAO_PVuRb1uGdyAfDdLzK41XMVjtTY_W1SQOPIlKePpC96-9s1TrKPIVhrojEitmJUIGkDumrYcffse3rtfC8-zSY1yVX2cwhPMFr/s1600/1st+photography+of+a+cat+-+circa+1888.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="369" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxYIivMSEGgLv4YxuR-MnPAsKgfL6sRJoTVrtNavzeAO_PVuRb1uGdyAfDdLzK41XMVjtTY_W1SQOPIlKePpC96-9s1TrKPIVhrojEitmJUIGkDumrYcffse3rtfC8-zSY1yVX2cwhPMFr/s400/1st+photography+of+a+cat+-+circa+1888.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWiOaKpGHqgmOFzrxAzGEnSNAk8umCb3_9C0CPabDiTbUCJ4rl8d0tArn6YYRtIMDu2bSu1ZgfiO2Tb_5m8KDbx6zntS0MhRjxQ3_zu3MUx8Gb0p5dwFRTCb8Gs5aBcP4WdtL_AeU-fuqJ/s1600/1910.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="173" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWiOaKpGHqgmOFzrxAzGEnSNAk8umCb3_9C0CPabDiTbUCJ4rl8d0tArn6YYRtIMDu2bSu1ZgfiO2Tb_5m8KDbx6zntS0MhRjxQ3_zu3MUx8Gb0p5dwFRTCb8Gs5aBcP4WdtL_AeU-fuqJ/w294-h367/1910.jpg" width="294" /></a>These pictures don't show well what the flares are like, because they aren't very sharp nor super in colour, but if you double the redness, it comes close to reality.. I'm just cooling with fans and airco for weeks now. I mean, I always do (airco only in summer) but normally I have maybe one flare a day and otherwise can keep skin calm this way. Now with this big flare I cannot and am hot faced and with nerve pain and very red flushing even with fans/airco. Or sometimes it goes down for a few hours, but of course as soon as I have to go somewhere and cannot keep the turbine arctic wind going, the rebound flare is bad too. I always liked keeping temperature differences minimal and keeping the fan at as much of a distance as possible yet still effective. But my rosacea just laughs at that strategy now. I started montelukast when I had already a bad skin period and was just fighting flushing all the time (it's normally not this bad), so it is very hard to see what is doing what now.. Normally i'll always start a new medication during a good spell, so it is easy to track its effect, but not this time.. so i'm none the wiser now. I think it requires 2 month trying at least. Someone wrote me that <b><span style="color: #990000;">methotraxate</span></b> helps bring rosacea down. Which I find very interesting. I have asked for methotrexate a few times already in the past, it looks so promising for lowering auto-immune related inflammation, and my dr. mentioned in the past how it helps some of his worst rosacea patients. I've got underlying auto immune illnesses too, but dr. didn't want to prescribe it so far for me (yet, I hope), as the side effects are too serious, potentially. I think he meant increased infection risks. It's not like this med isn't prescribed for other auto immune patents, it can't be thát bad therefore surely. Maybe if another health condition requires using it in the future, my rosacea can lift along with it.. At the moment I'm told doubling my dose of propranolol, and take clonidine every 7 instead of every 8 hours for now, as flaring so bad. (This morning I overslept and missed the 8 hour clonidine window by 2 hours and have a lovely deep rebound flare to deal with first thing in the morning, just wonderful). I think that perhaps hormonal changes are firing mine up, am getting it all checked out next weeks and also an MRI for endometriosis, so I hope that test isn't going to make me flare even more. At least it's not X-rays. Doctor at the ultrasound scannings said I've got big cysts with blood and also signs of premature menopause starting, so hopefully some blood tests with confirm that (or hopefully refute that!) in the next month. Menopause sounds like a bloody minefield for rosacea, from the female friends with rosacea that I know who are going through that. Feeling just low and tired ad demotivated in general. Someone wrote on the Rosacea Forum a few weeks ago: <i>"You've said: </i>"I don’t know if I can live like this any longer even though I know this shouldn’t been that important…"<i> It is important. I don't know why most folks treat skin issues as lesser medical situations. They're not. Skin health is an indicator of overall body/mind health. Skin health is tied into </i><i>gut health, as well as other aspects. The skin is an organ, and that organ is inflamed. That is a serious issue. This is a serious health issue, and you are correct to feel the way you do. It is painful, itchy, upsetting, and crippling to your daily life. You health situation should be treated urgently and kindly, as you are suffering. Please, do not add more suffering to your situation, mentally/emotionally, by thinking that you are just being vain or shallow. You aren't. You are genuinely hurting, and I hope and pray with all that is within me that you find healing and total relief soon." </i><i>"In severe cases, it can make life completely unbearable. I agree with the op's sentiment, that I often think death would be a relief from this misery. Other than being in constant physical pain with the unsightly disfigurement that comes with this disease, my life is wonderful. Like the op stated, now I just can't enjoy any of it." </i>Helps to know that some others are struggling all the same. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_nEa0ya1cu0NAFPl3fhmaIANTdp9ejoWsvOM3oSFTgX1fV3nxYiRBP_3GtMfOIV-ZskGrclAxSGC8PV5Ieke0Ho3uqKPiWjeio71NCj_xwGSBt2GM_9vWEAt33mNAdHoGs0Q-eA2qgKA/s1600/tumblr_ntr9qqzvoM1s7dpumo1_400.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="323" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_nEa0ya1cu0NAFPl3fhmaIANTdp9ejoWsvOM3oSFTgX1fV3nxYiRBP_3GtMfOIV-ZskGrclAxSGC8PV5Ieke0Ho3uqKPiWjeio71NCj_xwGSBt2GM_9vWEAt33mNAdHoGs0Q-eA2qgKA/s320/tumblr_ntr9qqzvoM1s7dpumo1_400.gif" width="320" /></a>I think I'm having a monster flare or something.. I've had them before in the past. Nothing works, not fan not airco, not cold pack; just a constant hot burning face. In the past there often was something to pinpoint it to; hormones, extreme cold or hot weather, having eaten comfort foods for a while, stress. But sometimes there also was no clear reason for it and it was just a flare.. I hope this is just a flare too. Nothing underlying firing it up. I'm petrified of changing hormone levels. Will have mine tested soon, so fingers crossed all is stable still in that department. These are pictures of a similar sort of flare back in 2010; this was a cold January winter flare, exacerbated by seb derm. Miserable too. I am literally so sick and tired of all this. Getting tempted to try laser out once more. Anything to stop this life ruining painful red face syndrome. Looking like a goddamn clown. </div>
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidDr9-dkT5akXYcS2FhtPOlFkgmKEvui3DpYb9sZWznN3ymBY4JAnua50JstrkgzIJA22wdHHqm9v6NbYEc5Kjb3qnDW-3xF13Ud0x9PAjPmLM7VaKIr_FYATtM1PDUiq9jIooYssBi0un/s1600/z11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="289" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidDr9-dkT5akXYcS2FhtPOlFkgmKEvui3DpYb9sZWznN3ymBY4JAnua50JstrkgzIJA22wdHHqm9v6NbYEc5Kjb3qnDW-3xF13Ud0x9PAjPmLM7VaKIr_FYATtM1PDUiq9jIooYssBi0un/w361-h243/z11.jpg" width="361" /></a></i><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ZkhvyjTeSll3RJfNGoHhSoYpucboSybG-6MwxhJbKuxmYTRvZwiOsr8R-Bj0YsILEldZdJ4aALXx9Jl2xn6Ewbywo0fYDxRvRuExxur0kl0Qo_4dORasFwu6QSvlEFcShBARaji-S8yS/s1600/Z12.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ZkhvyjTeSll3RJfNGoHhSoYpucboSybG-6MwxhJbKuxmYTRvZwiOsr8R-Bj0YsILEldZdJ4aALXx9Jl2xn6Ewbywo0fYDxRvRuExxur0kl0Qo_4dORasFwu6QSvlEFcShBARaji-S8yS/w181-h242/Z12.jpg" width="181" /></a></i></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Wished my skin was back to this!!! </span></b></i><br />
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I do not know why but these flares sometimes just happen out of nowhere. Boooh, thumbs down for my life currently. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">August 31st 2017</span></span></b><br />
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Oh what a shitty summer this has been. My face has been so flush-prone and the weather so warm that I've been a real Rapsunzel, locked up in the tower. An ice fortress in my case. Long walks in the great wide beyond were mostly out of the question too as it was simply too warm. Luckily there were my treadmill and audio books instead. Latest book was Kafka on the Shore, from Haruki Murakami. Oh I have so much to write about it, but unless someone has read it, the appeals of talking cats and the Concept of Colonel Sanders will not ring true. I also managed to speak to my dermatologist (Dr. Anthony Chu). My skin is not good, very easily flushed, red and it pretty much burns all the time, even when not very red looking. I asked him if he knew of some new things perhaps for subtype 1 rosacea, the red dragon beast of skin conditions. He has me up my beta blocker (double the dose, from 40 mg twice daily as I did for years, to 80 mg 3 <span style="text-align: center;">times a day; he said I could as well have taken sugar pills as the initial dose is so low, in relation to my flushing problem). Also prescribed me an asthma/allergy med called Singulair (Montelukast). I was given it last year already by GP for my bronchitis, but never took it very long. Doctor says it helps some of his rosacea patients, especially flushers, as it lowers inflammation and interferes with mast cell issues, which play a role in allergies and flushing. I am glad to try it out and have already taken it for a week, but too soon to tell if it improves matters. Some days I think it does, others I am not so sure. Hopefully better effects in weeks to come. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOBBL8nWCLhcc5QatQ0z3P7j3dxmviqJwtYVm5w1pUB8CzQYl_iY3SeAu51F3Uz96J9rNKD9F9abuz9hkgI3JWJ0BWSHaItWISiSLkIALUrl7h_mC4QrPcgUi0iAaxX_TCgBy5roCerSpd/s1600/18156521_10156057232653976_2751081424985996853_o.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="720" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOBBL8nWCLhcc5QatQ0z3P7j3dxmviqJwtYVm5w1pUB8CzQYl_iY3SeAu51F3Uz96J9rNKD9F9abuz9hkgI3JWJ0BWSHaItWISiSLkIALUrl7h_mC4QrPcgUi0iAaxX_TCgBy5roCerSpd/s320/18156521_10156057232653976_2751081424985996853_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #990000; text-align: center;"><b>Here is some info on the link of mast cells and rosacea:</b></span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><i>"A team led by Dr. Anna DiNardo, associate professor of medicine of the University of California-San Diego, found that mast cells play a direct role in the activation of certain types of cathelicidins, an enzyme involved in the innate immune response that is over-produced in people with rosacea. Studying the process in mice, Dr. DiNardo's team determined that when exposed to a neuropeptide called PACAP, mast cells produce enzymes that trigger the production of cathelicidins. In mice bred to lack mast cells, this chain reaction did not occur." </i></span>He also told about a cream that really seems promising for rosacea skin. Some patients reported very good success with a mix of 0,5% ketamine with 1% amitriptyline in a cream base.. You use it topically and it apparently pales the skin. It also helps (more officially) with erythromelalgia, a health condition that also involves a deep red flushing and burned red skin of the legs, arms, chest etc. The cream has to be made by a compounding pharmacist. My doctor is looking for one right now, willing to make it, as it's not a commercial cream yet.</div>
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Here is some more information on this cream:</div>
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-<a href="http://www.neuropathie.nu/research-development/amitriptyline-creme-topically-for-neuropathic.html">Amitriptyline cream in INP base for neuropathic pain</a></div>
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-<a href="http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/403191">Combination Gel of 1% Amitriptyline and 0.5% Ketamine to Treat Refractory Erythromelalgia Pain</a></div>
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-<a href="https://irosacea.org/forums/topic/3074-ketamine-05-and-amitriptyline-1-for-rosacea/">Ketamine 0.5% and Amitriptyline 1% for Rosacea?</a></div>
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-<a href="http://anesthesiology.pubs.asahq.org/article.aspx?articleid=1942137">Topical 2% Amitriptyline and 1% Ketamine in Neuropathic Pain Syndromes</a></div>
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-<a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00471445">Topical Amitriptyline and Ketamine Cream in Treating Peripheral Neuropathy Caused by Chemotherapy in Cancer Patients</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiEPXsRWoNqWJP_3Qi15Yu09jFCrIN29uhph6stjQTTHl3syUso4MRlCsqBJ81aaNK5KZ5QDb5aw8PPA3l62cvfFcGR_gW2nSz6BBOL7Mkn84h7Tsr5utsPcGkCW1e2tokVyT8BycLWZ0x/s1600/dce50008t1.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="712" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiEPXsRWoNqWJP_3Qi15Yu09jFCrIN29uhph6stjQTTHl3syUso4MRlCsqBJ81aaNK5KZ5QDb5aw8PPA3l62cvfFcGR_gW2nSz6BBOL7Mkn84h7Tsr5utsPcGkCW1e2tokVyT8BycLWZ0x/s320/dce50008t1.png" width="320" /></a>I also asked again about lasers for rosacea. They can help, but doctor also said that laser damage is unfortunately also quite common. Confirming again my Russian Roulette feeling about them. Hit or miss, and I am extremely envious of anyone who hit the rosacea jackpot with lasers or IPL. I just can't stop thinking about how much better my rosacea was before that <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/08/disastrous-ipl-in-2005.html"><b>fateful IPL</b></a> in 2005. Maybe I should have kept going and going, with other practitioners and machines. I just didn't want to make matters even worse than they were, though. Never sure what is wisdom in these things, as none of us are clairvoyants. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifIS4F0KvaqEBSmYtHt8R-o2TNHnq4SatxkU3UrXJKSl4GC_b_7N248Q0XcH2Z04wQl1K4PInJJEYHvAHz6wx5laN14XBMA2Kutu5qZHoZM1Bg3vZs6IQcnNNxNjBhN9qo-PSzxgIbP2iv/s1600/Elsa-Patton-2.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="328" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifIS4F0KvaqEBSmYtHt8R-o2TNHnq4SatxkU3UrXJKSl4GC_b_7N248Q0XcH2Z04wQl1K4PInJJEYHvAHz6wx5laN14XBMA2Kutu5qZHoZM1Bg3vZs6IQcnNNxNjBhN9qo-PSzxgIbP2iv/w254-h273/Elsa-Patton-2.gif" width="254" /></a>Another topic I have already covered, is <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2013/01/botox-for-facial-flushing-and-rosacea.html"><b>botox for rosacea</b>.</a> But I was sent this little article about the successful treatment of rosacea redness and flushing (and even skin outbreaks) with botox. They inject it superficially in the skin, to stop the skin signalling for blood vessels to dilate. It is a temporary effect and not everyone with rosacea has the same good success with botox (and it is expensive on top), but it is a treatment option :) A friend with the same doctor and rosacea type as mine had botox treatments for some years for rosacea, but found the procedure itself painful, then flushed for days on end, before things settled and actually improved. Until the next dose was required. In theory the injections should not reach your facial muscles, and only be applied very superficially (for the blood vessels high up in the skin), but one friend who had the treatments, once did have trouble smiling for a while.. Not as bad as this, but you don't want to end up looking like a stroke victim (thanks Melissa for finding this image). I know of some people who had good success with it and really had their bad flushing calmed down. But for others it gave first flushing for days and then not really impressive results.. It is one of those things you unfortunately need to try to know how you react. I would love to try it myself but am a bit afraid tbh because if my skin reacts badly to botulinum toxin, then it will stay in my face for months and months on end....</div>
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I have a little kitten. Long story short; it was sleeping and staying days on end in the bistro slash wine shop where I help a couple of evenings a week with glass polishing and drink pouring and such. Poor little thing looked about 3 months, very pretty with long fur on chest and paws. In fact, he looked like a small Maine Coon cat. Very affectionate too. But mostly he solemnly hid behind boxes and looked for some safety, I felt. I heard from people around that the owners left for weeks and just left a single window open for the kitten. Nobody knew when they'd return. It was curled up and hiding out of sight and well, I just can't stand the sight or thought of animals being sad or suffering, so decided to have it stay over at our place for a little while, until the owners came back. It looked healthy and all, not disease ridden, so when it was there again the next day I thought; enough, he can sleep a few nights in one of my spare rooms.</div>
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I expected my cat Czar Piotr to go ballistic, or otherwise his brother (hunter and alpha male top cat), but they were both chill as could be. But the omega of the group, a ginger cat who is incredibly soft-natured normally, wanted to more or less slaughter this kitten. Yodeling, growling, hitting, chasing it in a corner, even bullying it inside the cat litter box and refusing to let it out for hours. My beloved Ginger is smart too, because when I crouch nearby, he lays flat on the floor, imposing in front of the kitten, but licking his paws all leisurely, pretending to ignore the small cat. But once I go back to work, I hear blood curling cries from the hallway... So that took me quite a bit of energy this week. They are improving... tolerating the other at a certain distance. Its owners have come back eventually and I spoke them and they said they would pick the kitten up 4 days later, over the weekend. I didn't quite understand why they didn't go pick their pet up right away instead. By the time it was weekend, I spoke him again while at the workplace, and he asked if I didn't want to keep it. I said that wasn't the plan really. Instead of picking kitty up, they went away again, yet to be returning, and the cat (named Bor the Woolf by now by the other cats) made himself very much at home... </div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">July 25th 2017</span></span></b></div>
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I so hate travelling in the morning rush hour! And somehow found out that the reason why (not the obvious hoarding of passengers due to high demand) is shared by others. This <a href="http://www.viralthread.com/the-13-worst-underground-transportation-offenses-a-passenger-can-commit/?utm_source=vt&utm_medium=junglecreations&utm_campaign=post"><b>article</b></a> on the 13 worst underground transportation offenses ranks my complaint on numero uno!<br />
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<i>""1. The woman who douses herself in perfume right before getting off. We get it, you have a hot date tonight, but can you please just wait until you step out of the train? I am festering in a flowery gas bomb and I haven’t had access to oxygen in about two minutes"</i></div>
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I got in the train early and had seats to pick left right and center. It was not busy. I chose one and within ten minutes, a young woman steps in the nearly empty train and goes sit right behind me. Literally oozing perfume from every pore and in a great aura cloud. Guaranteed flush for me, and my skin was burning already anyway, so I packed up all my stuff and quietly moved to another carriage. Not much use however, because as more passengers stepped in, every place available reeked of fresh perfume.<span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><br />
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Within this category of non-lethal annoyances it is also worth mentioning that I had food poisoning a few days ago, and a bad headache ever since. Maybe food poisoning is too strong a term, but some fish dish in a restaurant got me properly sick. A friend asked me "How can you get food poisoning?My list of foods is so short I can write it in my palm." It reminded him to <i>not</i> deviate from his food list haha. I guess those are the risks when stepping away from the safe rosacea foods.. I mainly eat organic meat these days, a variety of vegetables, lettuce, goats cheeses, all sorts of fruits and rice flour pasta's and porridge. Oh and fish now and then, but mainly fully baked salmon and tuna. The headaches are</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6b4K-ynN729aUuklWUz4z07kn2QIkYOCEgfdfv8OMGysvqsLAMOBxsdf9zEFluETZ_Av2PwzpPqTYzZRmkMpNZ56PG8hdKrhQSsrev9PuyYlEhKWlfVwiOsk0t2UalJjvMN0BhGV8csy/s1600/tumblr_njkk8cleD51t0qb1vo1_1280.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1435" data-original-width="890" height="417" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6b4K-ynN729aUuklWUz4z07kn2QIkYOCEgfdfv8OMGysvqsLAMOBxsdf9zEFluETZ_Av2PwzpPqTYzZRmkMpNZ56PG8hdKrhQSsrev9PuyYlEhKWlfVwiOsk0t2UalJjvMN0BhGV8csy/w258-h417/tumblr_njkk8cleD51t0qb1vo1_1280.gif" width="258" /></a>bad when I get them; usually they are linked to me typing too much and too long on a computer, while having bad (slumped) posture. Wearing high heels gives a guaranteed headache in the evening too. I used to visit a physiotherapist for it previous years, who would massage the sore points in neck, shoulders and lower back. Some disks in my spine are not perfectly straight in line he used to say, and high heels would put extra tension on them "so flat shoes for you young lady!". Of course.. I lost my normal looking skin colour already, I lost the ability to put make-up (or perfume) on, I can't drink alcohol or sit in the sun without looking like a heart attack victim, eyelashes and half my eyebrows have disappeared over time, my rosacea medication made me gain weight and I lost my waif-like figure and now high heels are off the menu too. Bring it on.. Curious what will be next. A bulbous swollen nose perhaps, or ocular rosacea that makes my eyes close up with red eye rims perhaps?</div>
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But, honestly, you only realize how bad a headache can be when you have one. And then when it is gone I think: face flushing is the worst thing on the planet!! Until I have a bad headache again; then I think I rather have a face flush, because at least then I can cool it down. Isn't that true of anything though? Pain pain pain.. More days where I feel sick than good days. I'm sick of pain. It's fine to pretend it's all nothing really, to the outside world, but to wake up in pain, or have a day of pain to look forward to, week in week out; I'll admit that I am not in the greatest of moods half the time. Pretty much everyone with rosacea I know deeply suffers under it however, including bouts of depression and anxiety. Rosacea probably seems like a cosmetic issue for most people who do not have it, but it's a terrible condition really. It's on your face. It burns. It flares from a hundred things from everyday life, unlike most other skin conditions (eczema is fairly stable; it also comes and goes but has a delayed reaction, whereas with rosacea, you drink a glass of alcohol and you look like a Christmas tree set alight within half an hour). It's a right nightmare. I am simply exhausted under the constant burn and low level pain, to be honest. And when you are in a low mood, the pain threshold lowers too probably; it becomes more difficult to bear. Our buckets are already nearly fill, and when something occurs ON TOP of that, the water tips over and you have a flooding problem. I literally cannot handle much going wrong these days. I really cannot handle a whole lot more than I am dealing with now, on most days. So small things that happen, i can blow them right out of proportion. My stress resistance level is very low. That results in unreasonable outbursts now and then to loved ones or even my cats. </div>
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I read in the past how chronic disease can make you clinically depressed, as does inflammation. Some researchers even write that depression has to do with inflammation in the body. I'm not so sure if that is always the case, but it seems clear as day that having auto immune or chronic inflammatory diseases, does not particularly make for happy brains. And when you are in physical pain, this makes you experience more pain even worse than it technically has to feel. And highs, like boosts of energy and happiness from achievements.. they only last a short while for me. Then the basic state of feeling shit and not in good health takes over again. Despite having all sorts of good things in my life, I feel like a prisoner. I'm literally always in a meh mood. Always feeling not very great, bit empty, bit melancholic, and then the day just started! When there are all these restrictions, it takes away your sense of freedom and control. After 18 years of this bulshit, it feels by now that this is just my fate. I do not participate like the rest. I control my life and environment, and sometimes step out of it to participate with some friends or people I feel comfortable with. The rest is a jungle. If someone invites me to dance, and I accept, within 2 minutes I am bright red. Made so vulnerable to such cheap weapons. Even though I couldn't care less about the guy. Luckily I have friends in the same boat, and there are <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/forum.php"><b>rosacea forums</b></a> and facebook groups, where people all just the same flock to. It feels less alone when you connect with a couple of people who are the same. I'm probably happiest when I'm completely buried in work and fully distracted. In a zone. Nevertheless, there seems to be no real sense of unbound future anymore. I remember when there was a sense of anticipation, and desire to develop plans and experiences. You get that early in life, nothing is set in stone yet, no paths are cut out, you can literally decide to go to Paris that same day, why not? Now we are stuck in paths, and stuck in the rut with our health. A lot of possibilities and paths are closed off. That sucks. And this is technically the same for everyone at a certain age; you cannot go back in time and make different decisions and carve out a different life. You have to do with what you chose at the time. But people of age can still create a future as they wish. When you are chronically ill, the paths still open are fairly limited. It's all circles now, there is no vertical path any longer. You can almost just see where everything will end. And when you believe this is the only life you will ever lead, that is a miserable concept. </div><div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">It reminds me of a passage in a book I'm reading, Kafka on the Shore:</span></b> </span>“<i>Sometimes fate is like a <span style="text-align: center;">small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn't something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm </span>is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step. There's no sun there, no moon, no direction, no sense of time. Just fine white sand swirling up into the sky like pulverized bones. That's the kind of sandstorm you need to imagine. </i><i>And you really will have to make it through that violent, metaphysical, symbolic storm. No matter how metaphysical or symbolic it might be, make no mistake about it: it will cut through flesh like a thousand razor blades. People will bleed there, and you will bleed too. Hot, red blood. You'll catch that blood in your hands, your own blood and the blood of others. </i><i>And once the storm is over you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about.”</i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Ok, something more cheery then.</span></b> A Forum member called laser_cat is having some success with <span style="text-align: center;">botox treatments for her rosacea. I posted a long time ago about</span> <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2013/01/botox-for-facial-flushing-and-rosacea.html"><b>botox for rosacea</b></a>, but here is a recent success story to add; I felt like sharing this, so others might know that there is another possibility to treat rosacea flushing, redness and burning. </div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">laser_cat <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36965-A-nose-in-flames-fears-etc/page6">wrote</a> on The Rosacea Forum on July 24th 2017: </span></b><i>"Hi Nat! </i><i>Yes, my botox is being done specifically for rosacea. Not totally sure if there is technique specific for rosacea or not but I think perhaps there is. I've had 5 treatments so far I believe. I didn't see any results until maybe 4 weeks after the 5th treatment. The last 2 injections, my derm consulted with a derm in NYC who has had success using botox for rosacea. </i><i>Treatments are $$ but I am very fortunate that insurance covers mine. Without insurance they would be ~1000$ / tx I believe. My last 2 injection rounds were 100-110 units each, a lot of little injections covering full face and ears. The NYC doctor told me that patients should generally see ~60% improvement 3-5 weeks after injections, but sometimes a few treatments are needed to get the ball rolling.The NYC doctor also said most people don't know that very high doses work best and are afraid of them. One injection round should last 3 months, so they say.</i></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">My post <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37450-Botox-helping-my-flushing-(!)&highlight=botox">here</a>: </span></b><i>I had been diagnosed as "severe, uncontrolled neurogenic rosacea" and believe botox has made a decent dent into it. The biggest improvement being I can lie down at night. Hoping I will see more results over time. Best, </i><i>L."</i></div>
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<i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>These real (!) music album covers from the old days made me smile too</b></span> (no offense to religion or God, just great album covers).<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>There are a couple of rascals in my street</b></span>, you can see from their little snouts that they are mischievous. So the other day I walked past their house, and they had this collection of rocks put on a table. With PRICE TAGS attached to them. So I had a look, one rock with the slightest of glimmer was prized 15 euro, another 10. They said it were diamonds. I knew as they had put hand written (virtually unreadable) notes in everyone's post box the day before, announcing their diamond sale the next day :) I thought that was funny and inventive. The smallest rock was given away for free, awwww. But the rest of those prices! I gave them five euro without much of a second thought, but ten or fifteen? Now I’m curious as to how many diamonds they have managed to sell eventually. Then again, I perhaps should have shelled out the fifteen simply because I admired their advertising campaign. I could have also done the Moss test on one of the rocks of course. 'Hi kids... mind if I hammer your quartz... uhm I mean diamond to oblivion? I mean, mind if I see if there's a diamond in there? WHAM!" Most likely not hard as a diamond, but that would have been one piece less of merchandise, I'm not that mean of course. Back in the days we were eager for some pocket money too. I remember we would target the old peoples homes in the village and knock on every door, offering our services. Most oldies had no clue what work to give us, so we helped them along and suggested we could hoover, or wash a car, or swipe their doorway. The few gilders earned would then be taken straight to the community slash sports barrack, where they sold sweets in big boxes. The kind of sweets that remind me of the 80's now; fluorescent sour and sweet gummies, chalky sweet pink blocks of sugar foam, long sour and red sugary strings, radioactive green frogs from jelly candy. Sweet candy bananas and strawberries. The inevitable licorice. I preferred chocolate over candies though. Bounty bars or Snickers.. I have no clue about other cultures and kid traditions, other than Holland and perhaps America (from imported movies and tv series). When I think of America I think of lemonade stands in the street (those suburban ones with Mommmms of the Year mothers who do everything right), where families perhaps also sell old things, but where they in any case sell their home made lemonade. Suburbia basking in the sun, hysterically upbeat mothers, hyperactive kids fighting over lemonade tapping and super sweet drinks with too much sugar. You set up your stall, you made a sign, and hoped people stopped by. Using plastic cups because they were cheap. Providing a pretext for people to give you small amounts of coins rather than an actual child-sized business. </div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I have also watched a couple Bollywood movies</b></span> the past couple of weeks. They were full of the typical Bollywood dancing, colorful outfits and singing in high pitched melodies. The inner message was about the success culture in India. Apparently India is going the way of other third world countries and trying to be just like the U.S from the 80's. Importance put on status, how much money you make, what you own. If I can go by these movies, then the parent's of kids over there are putting enormous pressure on them to have good grades, get into the right schools, have a high status job and all that comes with it. Apparently kids over there are under so much pressure that if they don't get the best grades, they are more inclined to go as far as to commit suicide. They are choosing to kill themselves rather than disappointing their parents. The message of the movie was that happiness isn't about what we have, but what we do and who we are. There are some funny youtube videos where they have put English subtitles under some of the Bollywood songs, where they write out phonetically what the Indian actors appear to sing. Bit goofy (childish) perhaps, but that never fails to make me smile. Benny Lava is one of my favourites. <span style="text-align: center;">And they have a Michael Jackson impersonator too :)</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">In the mean time, a much more friendly and enlightened person than me is trying to teach me about generosity.</span></b><br />
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He wrote: "<i>I will tell you about a book I just finished reading, a collection of tales of the samurai warriors of Japan. The samurai were very fascinating. They lived by a code of perfection..always trying to master their swordsmanship, archery, poetry, mind. They valued discipline, constantly practiced mindfulness, and were very scholarly. They honored those they served, even above their own lives. They would rather commit seppuku (ritual suicide) before bestowing dishonor on the themselves, their lord (ruler), or their family (maintaining the honor of their family line was very important). Tesshu was one of the most famous of the samurai, and his tale was told towards the end of the book. I was particularly moved by the following story of his compassion in his daily life and wanted to share it with you. </i><i>Yamaoka Tesshu was appointed imperial chamberlain and became on of the emperor’s closest advisers. He remained in the emperor’s service for another ten years. Then he retired from the imperial administration to devote the short time he still had left to live the art of the sword, to Zen, to calligraphy and to charity. Yamaoka always wore the same threadbare clothes. One day the emperor said to him, “It is not fitting for one of the members of my retinue to be so ill attired. Take this money and go by yourself some new clothes.” </i><i>Three days later, the chamberlain was still wearing the same worn-out clothes. </i><i>“What did you do with my money?” The ruler asked him. </i><i>“I used it to clothe some of Your Majesty’s poor children.” </i><i>The emperor sighed and smiled. He concluded that his chamberlain was completely incorrigible. His reputation was that of a bodhisattva who never kept anything for himself. Not only did he distribute his salary to the needy people who knocked on his door, by he also executed calligraphies that he sold to give money to charitable causes and for the reconstruction of temples. It is said that he executed a million such calligraphies, and it may be supposed that he spent part of his nights doing them, because he produce them while continuing with this official duties as well as his practice of swordsmanship and Zen! </i><i>We must take care of others and not be concerned with our own welfare. Doing away with our egoistic desires, courageously facing all adversity, and keeping a pure heart - that is bushido. </i><i>Yamaoka Tesshu"</i></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>I also read an <a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2004/03/16/health/personal-health-sometimes-rosy-cheeks-are-just-rosy-cheeks.html">article</a> from 2004, where an author in the New York Times states that </b></span><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">"Sometimes Rosy Cheeks Are Just Rosy Cheeks"</span> </b></span><br />
<b>Jane E. Brody wrote: </b><span style="text-align: center;">"In recent months, three women I know said their doctors had told them they had rosacea, a facial disorder that mainly afflicts fair-skinned adults. Rosacea is commonly characterized by frequent and intense flushing or blotchy redness, the appearance of broken blood vessels on the cheeks and nose and, in some cases, acne-like pimples or pustules. Yet the faces of these women do not seem abnormal. True, they have ruddy cheeks, but so do I. And true, they tend to flush when drinking wine or exercising vigorously, but again, so do I. </span><span style="color: black;">I don't have rosacea. I simply have rosy cheeks.</span> I've had them all my life, and I, like a male friend of mine, often get flushed in hot rooms or when I drink alcohol or eat spicy foods, all of them with potential to aggravate the symptoms of rosacea. In a report in the journal Women's Health in Primary Care titled ''Is It Rosacea, or Just Rosy Cheeks?'' Dr. Herbert P. Goodheart, <span style="color: black;">a dermatologist in private practice in New York, suggests that rosacea may be over diagnosed, possibly resulting in unnecessary or inappropriate treatment. </span>In any given month, Dr. Goodheart says he sees about 10 new patients to confirm diagnoses of rosacea or to treat it. ''Some of these patients,'' he said, ''have typical findings of rosacea -- central facial inflammatory acnelike lesions, often accompanied by a history of blushing or flushing as well as persistent facial redness and 'broken' blood vessels.'' <b><span style="color: #444444;">But he added</span></b>, ''Others may prove to have other diagnoses, such as adult acne or acnelike conditions, and a subset,<u> perhaps 20 percent of these patients, have what I consider to be simply rosy cheeks.</u> Generally, such patients are fair-skinned, and many are of Celtic ancestry.'' The fact that the National Rosacea Society has designated this Rosacea Awareness Month is likely to send even more people to their doctors. The society estimates that 14 million Americans, including former President Bill Clinton, ''suffer from rosacea, most of whom don't know it.'' But instead of leaping to treatment (there is no known cure for rosacea, only therapies to reduce the symptoms), Dr. Goodheart suggests it is wiser for patients who do not have clear-cut, bothersome symptoms simply to observe them for a period of perhaps one to two years to see if rosacea actually does develop. In an interview, Dr. Goodheart said, ''I think people are seeing doctors unnecessarily and using creams and taking antibiotics unnecessarily to treat something they don't have.'' He added, ''If you went to Ireland or Australia or observed the faces of many fair-skinned sailors and farmers, you'd think there was an epidemic of rosacea because they all have rosy cheeks.''</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>New Criteria</b></span></div>
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The Rosacea Society sees a different problem: missed diagnoses or misdiagnosis of people who do have rosacea. As Dr. Jonathan Wilkin, who heads the society's medical advisory board, said, ''Some physicians may not be aware of or recognize rosacea and may treat patients with rosacea inappropriately as if they had adult acne.'' Such treatment, he said, can make the redness worse. Dr. Wilkin, a dermatologist with the Food and Drug Administration, led a 17-member expert panel that recently issued new diagnostic guidelines that the society says may improve the accuracy of diagnosis. ''Many patients with undiagnosed rosacea that is sufficiently troublesome to warrant therapy may already be self-treating or have been prescribed products for acne, which may be irritating and ineffective,'' Dr. Wilkin said. ''An accurate diagnosis for them could mean avoiding inappropriate therapy.'' A committee member, Dr. Mark Dahl, a dermatologist at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., said, ''This is a syndrome with lots of different elements that is easy to diagnose when all the elements are present,'' but not as easy when only one or two of the characteristics appear.<span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;">The main symptoms of rosacea, experts agree, affect the central face: flushing, persistent redness, bumps and pimples and visible blood vessels. Other possible signs and symptoms include eyes that are irritated, watery or bloodshot; burning or stinging sensations on the face; roughness of the central facial skin; raised red skin patches on the face; thickening of facial skin, especially on the nose (mostly in men); facial swelling; and sometimes symptoms like those of facial rosacea on the neck, chest, scalp or ears. </span>But the expert committee identified two main subtypes of rosacea: one characterized by flushing and persistent redness in the center of the face, perhaps accompanied by visible blood vessels and possibly facial swelling or stinging, and the second resembling acne, with pimples and pustules often accompanied by persistent redness but, unlike acne, without blocked pores. Two other subtypes were noted. One involves <span style="color: black;">thickened skin</span>, which gave one famous rosacea patient, W. C. Fields, his bulbous nose. The other involves <span style="color: black;">eye irritation</span> that can become so severe it damages the cornea and threatens sight.</div></div></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Myths and Tips</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Contrary to widespread belief, the red-faced form of rosacea, if untreated, does not necessarily progress to more severe forms.</span> Although many people with rosacea experience intense flushing when consuming even small amounts of alcoholic beverages, particularly red wine, drinking alcohol does not cause rosacea, and people who exhibit symptoms of this disorder should not be assumed to be alcoholics. One man with a face red from rosacea who had witnessed an accident was rebuffed by police when he offered to provide an account.''Who would believe you?'' said an officer, assuming the man was drunk. Other substances and situations that can set off symptoms are exposure to sunlight; emotional stress; hot or cold weather or wind; intense exercise; hot baths; spicy foods; hot drinks (but not caffeine per se); hot rooms; high humidity; and various skin care products, cosmetics or medications, including beta blockers, niacin and topical steroids. Certain foods can also cause flare-ups. Keeping a diary correlating symptoms with recent exposures can help uncover the causes of flare-ups. It is critical for people with rosacea to stay out of the sun and to use a sunscreen with an S.P.F. of 15 or higher year-round. Those who enjoy outdoor exercise do best if they limit workouts to the early morning or evening hours and to shaded areas. It may also help to reduce exercise intensity and instead work out more often or for longer sessions. Water-based activities, which keep the body cool, are other good options. In cold weather, cover the cheeks and nose with a scarf or ski mask and use a moisturizer daily. For people with facial redness, the use of a green-tinted cosmetic can neutralize the skin tone. Topical medications to reduce redness and oral antibiotics may be prescribed for more severe cases. Some dermatologists use laser therapy to ablate the tiny blood vessels in the face that are cosmetically disturbing. Ocular symptoms are commonly treated with warm compresses and daily lid cleansing to unplug lubricating glands; more severe cases may require oral antibiotics and medicated eye drops. In a survey of more than 400 rosacea patients who were treated medically by physicians, 70 percent reported improvements in emotional well-being, 60 percent said their professional interactions had improved and 57 percent noted improvements in their social lives."</div></div></div></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">July 17th 2017</span></span></b><br />
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My skin has been fairly good the past weeks, despite having had an infection in my body and despite tropical temperatures. Air-conditioning helped there however :) I did make sure to sunbathe every early afternoon for about 20 minutes a day, sometimes for half an hour. Legs and upper body are exposed (bikini on of course) and pretty much as much skin as possible, while having my face in the shade and with a hat on. Got a nice tan and never really get sunburn anywhere else but my rosacea face. I have been tested on my Vitamin D3 blood levels in the past, and always was very very low... Back in 2011 my levels were 11,7 ng/ml, which is pretty far under the low normal level of 20, and ideally that number should actually be higher than 40. It depends a bit which website you read about normal values, or which doctor you ask about it. A few years later my levels were around 12 again. So now I had been sunbathing and sunbathing and was hopeful levels were in the normal range finally because hey! why else did I have that good tan? The current levels are disappointing too however: 16,8 ng/ml. Still seriously deficient. It's not a life or death situation of course, it's just a vitamin level. But my immunologist wants me to have much better D values, as auto immune conditions (and normal immune function) do better with normal vitamin D levels he says. I was given supplements for years, but they make me so flushed that I put them aside pretty much from the get-go, and hoped I could instead up-dose things with gradual, natural vitamin D production by my own body through sunlight. It's mid July now, and I have sunbathed for months; I just can't seem to make enough vitamin D levels.. :( I saw this awesome invention; a cover for your face when sunbathing, and it has a cold pack in the pillow that comes with it, a small portable fan and is sun powered! It's called <a href="http://www.thisisgoodgood.com/shader-protect-skin-enjoy-sun/">The Shader</a>, click on the name for a sales info link.</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>My skin the past weeks:</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy0bPoWdDhUpUUlE_VXz-Gr0zTPyF7kBQIwZpxGqdaiCEYeh0E-8XAaw5QcQc6vUqSnTByin1245JgcpnAotZY0-qlyg_Zejf3UryhCaLk94KsMV1QtfsdSLQ8LpZyGRCib3vIJOwL54vC/s1600/Lunch+Of+A+French+Soldier+In+Front+Of+A+Damaged+Library%252C+1st+April+1917.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="880" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy0bPoWdDhUpUUlE_VXz-Gr0zTPyF7kBQIwZpxGqdaiCEYeh0E-8XAaw5QcQc6vUqSnTByin1245JgcpnAotZY0-qlyg_Zejf3UryhCaLk94KsMV1QtfsdSLQ8LpZyGRCib3vIJOwL54vC/s320/Lunch+Of+A+French+Soldier+In+Front+Of+A+Damaged+Library%252C+1st+April+1917.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiInO9kfMPCuKv-9fV9-m6geQ1CIrUXFwuQuwSY8JKK7SYrxmjvpmn80Qv4ywoncR2G9penKe9y_TpxjkF7bnzJJLTLUODNO-rdYa7ApsimdhLWBbMQmih1UnpxPRDTbQdHg6epYUdz722d/s1600/DSC029998.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="819" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiInO9kfMPCuKv-9fV9-m6geQ1CIrUXFwuQuwSY8JKK7SYrxmjvpmn80Qv4ywoncR2G9penKe9y_TpxjkF7bnzJJLTLUODNO-rdYa7ApsimdhLWBbMQmih1UnpxPRDTbQdHg6epYUdz722d/s320/DSC029998.jpg" width="320" /></a>Despite the warm weather I managed to go out at strategic times (avoid midday heat and sun). The other night I was with friends at an outdoors food place, and it was warm, but the first half hour my skin held up and didn't burn too much. Despite the culture of giving several kisses to acquaintances, so when you know multiple people at the venue, that is stressful, as the women tend to wear make-up and perfume, which all rubs off on my cheeks if I don't kiss very strategically; have hair loose at all times and covering both cheeks, and make sure to kiss as much with the side of my cheek that borders on the ear as possible. Awkward, but getting fresh eau de cologne on my face is pretty much a nightmare :( But we managed to avoid that and had ordered nice foods. Then slowly a huge inferno crept up. Worse than normal. I realized I had forgotten to bring my clonidine along, and that it had been 10 hours since my last dose. After 8 hours I get rebound flushing.. The trick is to divide your daily dose evenly over the day, to keep drug levels in the blood stable instead of spikey. But then I had to rush home, leaving everyone else there with the food, and rush back with the meds. By that time the flush was already really deeply red, but I brought a cold gelpack and once the clonidine kicked in things calmed down a bit in my cheeks. I had my colitis playing up too lately, which means cramps and a swollen belly, and the lady at the cash in the supermarket congratulated me on my pregnancy ":(<span class="_7oe" style="color: #1d2129; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; width: 0px;">😡 ]\</span> I got a red face and said No, not pregnant. She got red as well and I said something about having a medical condition that makes me look pregnant some days. I do not know if she then went on because she felt stressed, or from pure curiosity (read; nosiness), but she asked if I didn't want any children then? I said I wasn't sure yet and that was more or less the end of it. Felt such a mug. Overall, weather has been tolerable for me and allowed me to bike all through town most days and even go out shopping with some friends. But over in the south of Europe, it is an oven again. Portugal and Spain have been having insane temperatures. Southern Europe has quite a few problems too with the lack of territorial organization and the lack of money to solve those problems, leading to big fires. The problem with the many wild fires we have there every summer is not just dry heat and arsonists, but also that the forests are pretty much disorganized and abandoned. Governments can be lax when it comes to getting everything organized. A friend of mine has so many properties (of which he doesn't even know half the location, only where they're supposed to be on paper - forest areas etc) that if one day a Marxist Leninist revolution starts he'll be singled out and shot first thing in the morning for being a filthy fat cat landlord. Pow! Even though he hardly knows where half of it lies. You don't get that problem in Holland; there the country is so small and every square meter of land is so high in value, that everyone knows exactly what he owns, and where. But the south is different. Just a month or two ago, 64 people died like trapped rats in their cars surrounded by fire in Portugal. In the newspaper pictures it looks like they were hit by a napalm convoy or something out of a war movies. Some villages just got swept off the map and entire families died. Nobody sticks to the rules of keeping the houses clean of greens and trees and everything for at least 2 metres. Maybe it is a good idea for the owners to renaturalize their plots of land... Remove all non native plant species and replace them with the more naturally growing stuff there, like oaks, chestnut trees, walnut trees. As this picture shows, those trees do not burn as viciously as everything else.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjut-6kLeeJ9Kp4CKhs09TWf6PQqcYvQP_Pa3YR82URv2IMfYUNFM29R4M1u_iGHXnHYeykxPCASnkr4N3ZRu84eMnFcwMTGoivQdzPiVFI8jk60_HbMdsb8acBWXRRSUIgV2cC8Ksg0jJK/s1600/ng8614268.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="914" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjut-6kLeeJ9Kp4CKhs09TWf6PQqcYvQP_Pa3YR82URv2IMfYUNFM29R4M1u_iGHXnHYeykxPCASnkr4N3ZRu84eMnFcwMTGoivQdzPiVFI8jk60_HbMdsb8acBWXRRSUIgV2cC8Ksg0jJK/s320/ng8614268.jpg" width="320" /></a>The picture is showing the benefit of having native plants next to your home. Nature knows best. Oak trees and chestnut trees did the trick while the eucalyptus and pine went to hell. They are a lot prettier to the eye anyway. And they don't dry up the soil like the eucalyptus. These trees not only act as a natural barrier to fires, but they are also much more efficient in dealing with climate stresses and heat waves. Even their soil is greener... unlike the sand/brownish soil in pine forest/ eucalyptus forests.. If anything, if the whole forest would have had its natural trees still standing, people would have had perhaps some more precious time to get away from the fires. Apparently though, there are SO many plots of land in the wild nature of Portugal where either the officials have no clue who they belong to, or the owners themselves have never fully got message where their land is located (yet they annually pay their taxes for it nonetheless). And if someone cannot locate his own ground, then he also cannot replant oaks and chestnut trees. Seriously, there should be a massive effort by the government to get their ducks in a row. Demand the records from each local government entity for properties. If they do not have the records, then give those responsible a chance to get it in order, or hire more efficient people. If no one claims the land, seize it and redistribute. If it is claimed without proper documentation, then be reasonable and do everything possible to sort it out. Sort out disputes as they arise, etc. In the end, every inch of that country should be accounted for in an easily searchable government database. This is the Dutch way of handling things, at least. One could even wonder if it might be a German way in fact. For all the unclaimed land: make it home to a diverse ecosystem of flora and fauna, then perhaps it is best used as a conservation preserve. And why not make part of it a scouting terrain? Nature spots where kids can learn to become accustomed to nature again, and how to stay the night out in the wild. Learn to respect animals and plants, hopefully instill some aversion to destroying the planet. If you’d live in Alaska for one calendar year and intend to stay there indefinitely, you are given a Permanent Fund Dividend. Once oil was discovered and exploited, the state constitution was amended to allocate a certain percentage of oil revenue to a permanent fund to benefit future generations of Alaskans that would not be able to depend on oil to be a financial resource. Each year, they’re given a check. Some years, it is a few hundred dollars. Other years, it has risen to two or three thousand dollars. It is asset-based egalitarianism, and it has been proven to work. Imagine if a percentage of all revenues from natural resources were allocated to a permanent fund which pays dividends. Never having to worry about the rent. Never having to decide whether to purchase food or keep the lights on. Having time to dedicate to bettering yourself and the world around you without the distractions of struggling to merely survive. We should divide the income from the oils and gasses and other valuables in our ground among all the inhabitants. Why is the Moon nobodies property (despite some peoples claims at it) and has the universe been declared the property of us all and of none of us, yet the profits of natural resources are not of us all.<br />
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In 1902, Willis Carrier was a 25-year-old engineer at Buffalo Forge, a manufacturer of heaters and blowers. A company salesman asked Carrier if he could help a printer whose paper expanded and contracted as the temperature changed, causing colors to overlap. Carrier discovered he could regulate heat and humidity by circulating cold water through a heating coil. He called his invention the “Buffalo Air Washer and Humidifier,” after the city that ended up losing half its population to the Sun Belt.<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkoVeTNGZEYbOFN9sFUCaxXwkBzjVXr5Th1XOSKDf0eHzlHjnKtz1GtM_IM76Szie9-A-mEpXpUVIfn3dDLjrf1KulxMNMs9g35SY3mMYuocmfcDSS7ivEW7i_b6xw52nG0QCu7S-W0zc/s1600/giphy.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="500" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkoVeTNGZEYbOFN9sFUCaxXwkBzjVXr5Th1XOSKDf0eHzlHjnKtz1GtM_IM76Szie9-A-mEpXpUVIfn3dDLjrf1KulxMNMs9g35SY3mMYuocmfcDSS7ivEW7i_b6xw52nG0QCu7S-W0zc/w437-h241/giphy.gif" width="437" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb31b5_kQpShwTf0rZQ75U1I37MnKCWJRxbdJWDrmftF8eM9TwlPot_q1eir7wu4g3AVOWyQB_rkJ_ir8sgpjWDNIU8Oc6wo16tT3kLshusUNDjXQRSTdGuY0gXNrNv4mpnX3UdASQd5Ii/s1600/zzzzdoes_air_conditioning_make_people_vote_republican.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="360" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb31b5_kQpShwTf0rZQ75U1I37MnKCWJRxbdJWDrmftF8eM9TwlPot_q1eir7wu4g3AVOWyQB_rkJ_ir8sgpjWDNIU8Oc6wo16tT3kLshusUNDjXQRSTdGuY0gXNrNv4mpnX3UdASQd5Ii/s200/zzzzdoes_air_conditioning_make_people_vote_republican.jpg" width="200" /></a>I was linked <a href="http://www.salon.com/2008/08/21/air_conditioning/"><b>this article</b></a> on airconditioning in the USA, and it was very interesting. A quote: "Here’s a little history. In 1924, when my grandmother was born in the small town of St. Petersburg, Fla., the state had 1 million people — and six electoral votes. It was the least populous Southern state, a marginally habitable peninsula of humid swamps, hard-packed beaches, alligators, rum smugglers and Seminoles. As a girl, my grandmother kept cool by swimming and propping open her windows. As an 84-year-old woman, she lives in the Panhandle and keeps cool with an air conditioner.<br />
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<i>“When I was young, I never had air conditioning, so I don’t think I missed it,” she says. “I went to the beach a lot. I even went on Christmas Day. Now, I couldn’t live here without air conditioning. A lot of people tell me they wouldn’t live here without air conditioning.” </i><i>By “a lot of people,” she means 15 million. That’s how big the state has grown in my grandmother’s lifetime. Florida now wields 27 electoral votes. Do some math. A state with six electoral votes is far less likely to screw up a presidential election. </i><i>Do a little more math, and you’ll see that before air conditioning redistributed the country’s population, the Florida recount wouldn’t even have been necessary. In the 1940s — the last decade before the air conditioner became a must-have home appliance — Al Gore’s states contained a decisive 291 electoral votes. As Hofstra professor James Wiley pointed out back in 2004, air conditioning “induced a major population shift within the country that eventually led to the Electoral College defeats of the Democratic presidential candidates in 2000 and 2004.” In 2006, an AlterNet story tracked the migration as well.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFgu2hsbICfxnVsn_C0EXDlmCRa32yDP4n6dMCbRuH8QnpZsSzSw-L2phUM2w7qgT-TXQiqUPu8B5s9lWKu2mpTv_yrGJoDWwVWZ-Zd8sGvv1Sju66oeMhlrdf5K_vceRj7ICf0gE36_S/s1600/zzzzzzzzzzzwhite-picket-fence.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="500" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFgu2hsbICfxnVsn_C0EXDlmCRa32yDP4n6dMCbRuH8QnpZsSzSw-L2phUM2w7qgT-TXQiqUPu8B5s9lWKu2mpTv_yrGJoDWwVWZ-Zd8sGvv1Sju66oeMhlrdf5K_vceRj7ICf0gE36_S/s320/zzzzzzzzzzzwhite-picket-fence.jpg" width="320" /></a><i><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Without air conditioning, Bush might not even have become a Texan. Right after World War II, his forward-looking father transplanted the Bush family from Connecticut to Texas, a move akin to the Corleones going to Vegas. (I’ll bet he bought a window unit for the house in Midland, too.) If Poppy anticipated that air conditioning would swell his adopted state’s population and move it into the Republican column, he was right. No state embraced A/C more avidly than Texas. As an official history of the invention put it, “a place like Houston could only be tolerable with air conditioning.” </i><i>In 1966, Texas became the first state in which half the homes were air-conditioned. That same year, George H.W. Bush was elected to Congress — from Houston. Coincidence? Or does air conditioning make people vote Republican? After all, the GOP’s rise in the South coincides with the region’s adoption of air conditioning."</i></div></i></div>
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Before the advent of air conditioning, the North was the most climatically desirable part of the country. In his 1915 book “Civilization and Climate,” Yale geographer Ellsworth Huntington — a man who believed in the invigorating power of cold air — determined that the weather in the mid-Atlantic and the lower Great Lakes was most conducive to hard work and good health. <i>“We are frequently told that the Riviera or southern California has an ideal climate,”</i> Huntington wrote. But then he noted, “<i>For most people the really essential thing in life is the ordinary work of every day … Hence they are the ones which people will eventually choose in the largest numbers.” </i>The area we now call the Rust Belt was once the industrial, financial and political capital of the United States. Between the Civil War and World War II, almost every president came from somewhere between Chicago and Boston. Then, the air conditioner made it possible to export the cool, refreshing breezes of the Northern climate, without the clouds and the snow. The race to the Sun Belt was on.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">On The Rosacea Forum, a couple of members brainstormed about what could possibly be done in the near future to cure rosacea.</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0olisi78YrL3spFgBbwiSgyyxFX16Z9Mt6csVztF5_ltgaA5xv2tAZXQ9WbOsnP8Z__EpFTFFVKakjsUj3zW2awvjG4MClMvbJ027OeJjvav2OEK6HHh10o4d28C6Srzoj4PwIlPx4BdZ/s1600/The+Grenata+Street+Army%252C+1915.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="880" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0olisi78YrL3spFgBbwiSgyyxFX16Z9Mt6csVztF5_ltgaA5xv2tAZXQ9WbOsnP8Z__EpFTFFVKakjsUj3zW2awvjG4MClMvbJ027OeJjvav2OEK6HHh10o4d28C6Srzoj4PwIlPx4BdZ/s400/The+Grenata+Street+Army%252C+1915.jpg" width="292" /></a>Mostly everyone who has rosacea will hit a wall sooner or later; there are limited treatment options, and truly new treatments are hardly developed. We have been waiting for Mirvaso for over a decade (work title 'Sansrosa' for a long time), and it was a bit of a disappointing product that caused a lot of rebound issues and even rosacea worsening for a group of users. Rhofade is out now and works more or less along the same lines, although it uses oxymetazoline hydrochloride instead of brimonidine: both are used to constrict blood vessels. The first mentioned of the nose mucus and the second mentioned of the eye. And both have the problem of rebound widening of the blood vessels once it works out. Rhofade seems to work less well (read; will not make you ghostly white first), but it also does not seem to have as bad a rebound effect as Mirvaso/brimonidine have. The verdict is still out there on Rhofade, and there have been positive reviews, but also quite a few negative ones on the forums, and mentioning of the exact same rebound problem.. Anyway, all this makes you wonder why and how there will finally be a real breakthrough. In this <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?37537-possible-future-cure-solution"><b>Rosacea Forum Post</b></a>, forum member ephemerality wonders out loud if there will be a possible future cure / solution?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatWwrx8AgA7P3p63MlE8fFFyGxYv4l2tRs7h9gurrS4OOCnvTXf_8xDD8xvxHrfUxvTOAWz8X6MLcwyZ6AIaZSMHiUpJMtH1uNKs3uFzbOK4EwBLd0IIML86TbW6d0jDuNQzJoMka7pWJ/s1600/Young+Girl+Amidst+Marguerites%252C+C.+1912.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1232" data-original-width="880" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatWwrx8AgA7P3p63MlE8fFFyGxYv4l2tRs7h9gurrS4OOCnvTXf_8xDD8xvxHrfUxvTOAWz8X6MLcwyZ6AIaZSMHiUpJMtH1uNKs3uFzbOK4EwBLd0IIML86TbW6d0jDuNQzJoMka7pWJ/s400/Young+Girl+Amidst+Marguerites%252C+C.+1912.jpg" width="285" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaktKbmRxuSfpCs5kxtHSQVR2qDmM1Q_AupYvtLG6Q-JnaalnDHma8DIwLSRLGi9iFue8_izpe32pEGzpPKo1TtljF9s3Cyb3zx-5b8CBtkK0Mfv5hqkl-ZsK8ichiKx_JJhNpMHCLSSt/s1600/St.+Mark%2527s+Cathedral%252C+Venice%252C+1925.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1232" data-original-width="880" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaktKbmRxuSfpCs5kxtHSQVR2qDmM1Q_AupYvtLG6Q-JnaalnDHma8DIwLSRLGi9iFue8_izpe32pEGzpPKo1TtljF9s3Cyb3zx-5b8CBtkK0Mfv5hqkl-ZsK8ichiKx_JJhNpMHCLSSt/s400/St.+Mark%2527s+Cathedral%252C+Venice%252C+1925.jpg" width="285" /></a><i>"I think the only (future) solution to "cure" our faces is </i><i>by cloning the face with our healthy stem </i><i>cells, to build / grow a redness/rosacea/whatever-free and normal face layer (our pre-illness faces), and do a face transplant. Of course, it will also require much more advanced scar elimination techniques / devices once the transplant is done. </i><i>However, so far there has not been any funding / progress on this front at all at truly and ultimately "curing" us. Only if all of us sufferers can get together and each of us make a certain amount of donations and find a good reputable clinical research facility to work on this solely for us, not like those pure profit-driven immoral pharmaceuticals which only want to make money by delaying in making any real progress or solution and only giving us the useless ultra short-term symptom masking stuff and possible harm inflicting medicines like mirvaso. </i><i>[..] Our problems (rosacea, kprf, etc) will not kill us physically, there is zero incentive for health care industry to cure us once for all, but to keep dragging us on wile they can "milk" as much money as possible from us... We need to have a reputable clinical facility with medically trained professionals to figure out how to do the stem-cell face clone for transplant, and also build the much advanced post-operation scar elimination device. However, we need them to work for us, not for profit-driven healthcare companies; otherwise, this will never end up with satisfying result for us. </i><i>Any thoughts, everyone?"</i><br />
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RaymondS replied that he has <span><span style="color: #444444;"><b>done a procedure called recell</b></span> </span>just on 3 months ago. (they use a little bit of healthy skin from your arm or back for instance, to have it transformed in a special device into a spray. They then spray your own skin cells in the spray form on skin burns or wound, and new healthy skin will form. It is not designed for scars as they are much deeper tissue than cannot simply be 'spray painted' over. It also does not solve the underlying issue of rosacea). I do wonder if it could help us create a thicker epidermis by the way! RaymondS wrote about recell: <i>"As for myself it was for thickening of skin (dermabrasion) and scars so I needed the recell to help populate my skin back after they sand away your face as you can tell any type of dermabrasion for someone with rosacea is risky and dangerous as your skin already inflamed or weakened. The recell helped heal faster and maybe with time might help repigmentate my skin better. It take a very long time for it to help skin discoloration I have been told. It's Extremely expensive! and there's plenty of downtime. You get the skin taken from behind your ear and they spray it on your face however the problem is they then need to needle or sand away the skin to get the cells into your skin. Even then it may take several times to get a good result as anything. It's new! It sounds great but it's still so long away from being amazing. I'm recovering from lingering redness but the texture is maybe 15-20 % better - to me it was well worth it but I had damage from lasers so I will have to try again in a year or so. I never posted my recell experience on here because it's more for some laser damage / thickened skin which derms couldn't figure out which one it was. if anything my skin is redder than before so it didn't help that aspect at all but give it time and it should heal."</i><br />
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EIegantsquatIobster replied that he once also started thinking about this transplanting idea and had asked his father, who is a doctor, <span style="color: black;">why skin transplantation wasn't already a tried and tested treatment option</span><span style="color: #990000;">.</span> And he answered that transplanting skin wouldn't change the nervous system which actively participates in creating the disease. He thinks this is especially true for type 1 rosacea. Even if we successfully transplanted the skin on our face, you would still blush from emotions, spicy foods and alcohol, most likely. "<i>I feel like for this type at least the solution hides in understanding how to stop the autonomic nervous hyperactivity. The skin itself is fine, but the nerves in it screw it up and make it do weird things." </i>Ephemerality chimed back in and acknowledged that there is indeed a nerve component at play, but that there is also this impaired vascular (blood vessel) system within our faces. A face transplant would have to be much more than just a skin transplant (epidermis and dermis) therefore. He was talking about a transplant of virtually everything within the face (skin, flesh, bloodvessels, nerves and so on), all except our bones. He said that this idea came to him after seeing things about people who went through extra face reshaping (all the way to the bone level) plastic surgeries. Apparently, he added, surgeons can separate flesh from bone in order to even change the bone structure, and then reattach the flesh and skin back to the bone..."<br />
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EIegantsquatIobster came back on and stated that the impaired vascularity in rosacea skin is impaired because of the nerves. Capillaries themselves, he believes are quite passive, they dilate and constrict because the nerves tell them to. So his guess is that the vascular system in itself is not really impaired, but instead the nerves are. <i><span style="color: black;">"Also what exactly do you mean with "flesh"? There is epidermis, dermis where small nerves and capillaries reside and then hypodermis (fat tissue). Beneath that I believe are muscles (but I just realized I'm actually not sure about that xD) and then should come bones. I don't know how well developed plastic surgery is these days so perhaps you're right and they can now remove all the layers down to bone. But you're not getting one thing - the small nerves in the skin (which, let's assume, we change to healthy ones) aren't the only problem. As I already said, it's the nervous system overall involved and it goes deep inside you. Brain and spine and such. This sympathetic nervous system can make you blush and flush from "within", for example when you're exercising or emotionally stressed. So even with all your new little nerves and capillaries that have been somehow successfully transplanted you can still go red because your spinal cord or brain told you to! And, I mean, you can't dig in there and change everything, that's just wildly unrealistic.</span></i> <i>P.S. All this is my speculative "science", no one take me too seriously."</i><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000;">Laser_cat told about her rosacea success with botox.</span> </span></b>She suggested that we can best try to stop the release of neurotransmitters from nerve cells that cause blood vessel dilation. With the help of botox. She <a href="http://dermatologytimes.modernmedicine.com/dermatology-times/content/tags/botox/botulinum-toxin-possible-therapeutic-option-rosacea?page=full">linked </a>to a scientific paper explaining why botox is a therapeutic option for rosacea.<i> "Botox has helped me a lot (way more than gabapentin, antidepressants, benadryl, etc). This would only help with subtype 1 I believe. Interestingly, there is also evidence that botox may help with depression, by controlling facial expressions, and therefore negative emotions."</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxS1Yv9SjIgDcisRSFEsRHhyspQJ1SOBiA9OLAvV3STsBpIC1n6NyFLVH3sWmlmtiUE8UrZHZthGi-taqIOH4LxD9U0BF-W37EZzWFYGtyjSyHfhYBdKS05vBEdMHGuL2W74LGzXsmYjg_/s1600/Children+By+The+Breakwater%252C+1908.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1220" data-original-width="880" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxS1Yv9SjIgDcisRSFEsRHhyspQJ1SOBiA9OLAvV3STsBpIC1n6NyFLVH3sWmlmtiUE8UrZHZthGi-taqIOH4LxD9U0BF-W37EZzWFYGtyjSyHfhYBdKS05vBEdMHGuL2W74LGzXsmYjg_/s400/Children+By+The+Breakwater%252C+1908.jpg" width="287" /></a>I love the brainstorming. I don't believe that rosacea does no harm to the skin, the blood vessels or anything else, and that all flares are strictly down to nerve impulses. Rosacea seems a complex multi factual disease, where many different things can be the matter. Some people have demodex mite infections on their faces, other actual bacterial infections. Some flare and flush because there is an auto immune response within the body that creates inflammation and attacks the own body (skin/blood vessels and such in our case). Some people with rosacea have sun damage and have poorly functioning blood vessels, that do not dilate and constrict the way they are supposed to do. Some people have underlying allergies or inflammatory diseases (in the digestive tract for instance), that reflect in the skin with inflammation. It will be very difficult I think to figure out exactly what causes rosacea and how to cure it, because rosacea seems an umbrella term for a lot of different hings, that on the outside all share the red face symptom. I asked two reputable professors in dermatology the same question; can a skin transplant cure me from this awful burning and flushing? Skin on the arms or back is not red, has normal vascularity and never flares. They both said something along the same lines as your father; it will be a matter of time before the newly transplanted skin will start to develop rosacea too, most likely. Because the underlying issues (especially for subtype 1 indeed) are still there. Auto immune activity, inflammation in the body because of that, the main big arteries in the face that lead to the brain will still be there (facial skin is much more densely vascularized than -say- the skin of your back; we need more blood vessels for the face as the brain needs more blood than the back) and they are probably somehow faulty too in our cases. The central nervous system is still there and firing the wrong signals. It might bring us back to very mild rosacea in some time but it is not a given that we wouldn't end up with the same problem further down the line then... I think that the only real promise there is, is the complete genetic mapping of every disease out there. And getting these faulty genes removed and corrected. So that would mean auto immune diseases and auto immune reactions in the body (which can probably add to the skin inflammation and abnormal vessel reactivity) are eliminated. It would mean that our blood vessels would start to function normally again, and not be weak and fluttering and prone to angiogenesis. We'd not have an overactive nervous system, no histamine sensitivity, normal functioning nerves in the skin, no allergies that stir things up. A thick and healthy skin instead of a frail one with insufficient skin barrier. I don't see this happening in our lifetime to be frank. We might also lift along on future discoveries in neighboring health fields. For instance, when a break through takes place in the treatment of eczema or psoriasis, we might also benefit from that.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">I was linked by the way to a <a href="http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/rosacea-inflammation-aging.shtml">very interesting article</a> on rosacea, dating from 2013. It's titled "Rosacea, inflammation, and aging: The inefficiency of stress" </span></b><br />
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It is written by biologist Ray Peat and it's a long and technically written article, but in summary, Ray Peat suggests in this article that rosacea might be essentially a problem of the way in which we process the energy we get from food in our metabolism. He links problems in the way in which small cells in our body convert food into energy for our cells, with rosacea. That our bodies need to be more efficient again in energy distribution, and not waste parts of its energy in the form of heat in our rosacea skin. The writer explains that rosacea is difficult to understand disease, with many possible triggers that can make it worse or better. Unfortunately the treatment of rosacea is still about controlling the symptoms, not about offering a cure. Ray Peat writes that he is surprised about this. Because the thing that is at the heart of rosacea, is the way in which it creates abnormal amounts of blood vessels in the skin and can also cause excess fibrous connective tissue (think of the thickening of the nose or the skin on the cheeks). Yet practically all the medical professionals focus on until now, is how to suppress the symptoms and make rosacea skin visibly more pleasing. Whereas in other medical health conditions, where excess and badly functioning blood vessels also play a role, the medical world does focus on this problem itself, and on ways to regulate this blood vessel growth. Not in rosacea however... He laments that rosacea is still seen and treated as a cosmetic issue. Which I think is spot on, and very true.. How often dermatologists or general doctors misunderstand the severity of rosacea, underestimate the pain it gives us both physically and mentally, how depressed people can become from the ongoing cycle and the progressive nature of rosacea. It is a hugely undervalued condition to have.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">*On a side note, a blogger with rosacea called Talontedlex wrote a <a href="http://talontedlex.co.uk/2017/06/01/emotional-impact-of-rosacea/">good blog entry</a> this week about the emotional impact of rosacea. She writes: </span></b><span style="color: black;"><i>"We are constantly told that we should be positive, that it could always be worse. I know that people are trying to be kind when they say this, but it does not help. It fact it has been found that there is little correlation between the severity of a skin condition and the emotional effect it has on people. Everyone is different. Someone might have quite severe rosacea but have absolutely rock solid self confidence, while someone might have very mild rosacea and really struggle for whatever reason – maybe they work in a customer facing role, maybe they live in a climate that means wearing make up is difficult. [..] the medical community needs to understand that just because a skin condition isn’t life threatening, it doesn’t mean it can’t kill you." </i></span>She refers to a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13555-015-0077-2/fulltext.html">study</a> which showed that test panels judge the same people with either flawless skin or with rosacea skin very differently. When asked to pick associative words, people with rosacea were considered more unhealthy, stressed, and tired. The depicted women with rosacea were thought to be less trustworthy, successful, reliable, less fun and less intelligent. I have often read research outcomes where beautiful people are considered all the positive things you can imagine. And this outcome is no different there, especially if you conclude that having rosacea skin must make you look less beautiful, in the eyes of other people. Ouch... <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4031723/">These</a> two research <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13555-015-0077-2/fulltext.html">articles</a> underline just how much psychological impact having rosacea has on patients. <br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Back to Ray Peat. He writes:</span></b><br />
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<i>"When blood flow in skin affected by rosacea was measured, circulation was 3 or 4 times higher than normal (Sibenge & Gawkrodger, 1992), and oxygen tension may be increased. An inability to extract oxygen from the blood, or to use it to produce energy, will produce the same hyperemia that would be produced by a lack of oxygen. These measurements suggest that mitochondrial defects would be the best place to look for a general cause of rosacea." </i>When mitochondria are damaged, active cells produce increased amounts of lactic acid, even in the presence of adequate oxygen. Lactic acid produces vasodilation (the dilation of blood vessels, that is so often seen in rosacea). Lactic acid also promotes the development of fibrosis, and it has been called a "phlogogen,"; a substance capable of inducing an inflammatory response. When energy is used in the body, the excess of the energy can produce nitric oxide and lactic acid. They in return can lower the energy production of vascular cells, possibly enough to lower their ability to constrict (Geng, et al., 1992), causing vasodilation. He goes on to explain how consuming caffeine can actually help the blood vessels constrict.<br />
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<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">"Simple nervous blushing or flushing is usually considered harmless, and when a person is overheated, the reddening of the skin has the function of facilitating heat loss, to restore a normal temperature. But even nerve-regulated flushing can involve a distinct interference with mitochondrial respiration, and can stimulate the overgrowth of blood vessels. </span></b></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tPwlmuuKzLEvMztsB7EtLyqBRXB1FjJb35CTCazLzVPXjQYXEcDZ8sqUUO3EPiI7BuCrPZ-ObNeAzetuzSmt1FlLHOWkwK3Pue8v6O_Bgopbqf5Tjzfw8tzq41B1fC6GRW_FaVBadaIX/s1600/Giant+Oranges%252Cparis%252C+1914.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="880" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tPwlmuuKzLEvMztsB7EtLyqBRXB1FjJb35CTCazLzVPXjQYXEcDZ8sqUUO3EPiI7BuCrPZ-ObNeAzetuzSmt1FlLHOWkwK3Pue8v6O_Bgopbqf5Tjzfw8tzq41B1fC6GRW_FaVBadaIX/s320/Giant+Oranges%252Cparis%252C+1914.jpg" width="320" /></a>He does not believe that the fact that women develop rosacea much more often than men can be linked to too much sun exposure. Instead he suggests and links this phenomenon to hormonal differences: <i>"The relatively high incidence of rosacea among women (some studies indicate that it may be 3 times as common in women as in men) isn't likely to be the result of greater sun exposure, so it's reasonable to look for hormonal causes. The antiestrogens, especially progesterone, begin declining in the 30s, so that the rising estrogen has more effect on the tissues during those years. These are the years in which the incidence of rosacea rises suddenly. Rosacea develops later on average in men, whose estrogen levels rise significantly at later ages." </i>He goes on to link higher estrogen levels to increased rosacea risk: <i>"Veins and capillaries are highly sensitive to estrogen, and women are more likely than men to have varicose veins, spider veins, leaky capillaries, and other vascular problems besides rosacea. Estrogen can promote angioneogenesis by a variety of mechanisms, including nitric oxide (Johnson, et al., 2006). "Estrogens potentiate corticosteroid effects on the skin such as striae, telangiectasiae, and rosacea dermatitis" (Zaun, 1981). Early forms of oral contraceptives, high in estrogen, were found to increase acne rosacea more than three-fold (Prenen & Ledoux-Corbusier, 1971). Estrogen stimulates collagen synthesis, and it has been associated with a variety of inflammatory and fibrotic conditions." </i>He write then when you have a simple blush, this is coming from the parasympathetic nervous system. And as a result, mitochondrial inhibition takes place; a blockage in the cellular organelles in our body that can convert food into energy that our body cells can use. He describes the case of a 37 year old man, "slightly alcoholic with a bright red nose and cheeks, an amateur fiction writer". When he was given riboflavin (B2 vitamin) and daily injections of general B vitamins for a week, the colour of his nose and cheeks turned to normal. "But on the weekend, after not having the shots for two days, his nose and cheeks were again maraschino cherry red". This author links this patients rosacea skin to problems resulting from damaged mitochondria and suggests B vitamins for a treatment.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFyEa-XWCG7nm-D9JLsM3yZoZwtJ7RhdOp9OB0VNvCOwZz_-NfmikQzZDrpkQbahjnP_7f5antTXYZ7TI1mzP8XLEe4gGNxx-LHHD9kkTI5eAMtGmQQ4LP1vDJH7cX0g0AYjS6poazXVV0/s1600/Girl+In+A+Garden+With+Hollyhocks%252C+1908.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="880" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFyEa-XWCG7nm-D9JLsM3yZoZwtJ7RhdOp9OB0VNvCOwZz_-NfmikQzZDrpkQbahjnP_7f5antTXYZ7TI1mzP8XLEe4gGNxx-LHHD9kkTI5eAMtGmQQ4LP1vDJH7cX0g0AYjS6poazXVV0/s320/Girl+In+A+Garden+With+Hollyhocks%252C+1908.jpg" width="320" /></a>He states: <i>"It's clear that any particular problem is likely to have many causes and many factors that could contribute to a cure. Lactate, glutamate, ammonium, nitric oxide, quinolinate, estrogen, histamine, aminolevulinate, porphyrin, ultraviolet light, polyunsaturated fatty acids and endotoxin contribute to excitatory and excitotoxic processes (*the pathological process by which nerve cells are damaged or killed by excessive stimulation by neurotransmitters), vasodilation, angioneogenesis (formation of new blood vessels), and fibrosis. [..] Riboflavin, coenzyme Q10, vitamin K, niacinamide, thiamine, and selenium are the nutrients that most directly relate to mitochondrial energy production. Coffee is often avoided by people with rosacea, but it is a very good source of niacin and magnesium, and caffeine has some of the same cell-protective functions as niacinamide."</i>He says that people with rosacea are more likely than average to have suffered from styes in childhood, to have varicose veins and spider veins, and to suffer from migraines and depression. He goes on to say that hypothyroidism has been identified as a factor in all of those (and therefore being a risk factor for eveloping rosacea). Good thyroid function is necessary for resistance to bacterial infection, for regulation of blood sugar, neurotransmitters, and hormones related to mood, and for the formation of progesterone. Progesterone regulates smooth muscle tone, including the walls of veins, so that a deficiency allows veins to enlarge. It also may inhibit angioneogenesis. The amino acid GABA (Gamma-Amino Butyric acid) works as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. It can raise our body temperature by controlling the blood vessel dilation in the body. Progesterone also produces heat in the body, by protecting mitochondrial energy production. Flushing, both by directly causing heat loss in the skin and by reducing mitochondrial energy production, tends to lower body temperature. Maybe this explains why not just me but virtually all people with facial flushing that I know tend to wrap themselves in warm clothes or little blankets during a hot face flush, and get body chills.. At the end of his article, Ray Peat gives advise about topical treatment options for sun-damaged areas in rosacea skin. he mentions topical niacinamide, progesterone, vitamin K, and coenzyme Q10. Riboflavin (B2) can probably be useful when applied topically, "but because of its extreme sensitivity to light, it should usually be used only internally, unless the treated skin is covered to prevent exposure to light. Topically applied caffeine, even after sun exposure, can reduce local tissue damage (Koo, et al., 2007). Aspirin and saturated fats can also be protective when applied topically." He acknowledges that oral antibiotics can help and work, but that they probably work because they reduce endotoxin stress (the stress inside a bacteria to release a toxin) when their numbers are brought back in the body. "However, antibiotics can kill the intestinal bacteria that produce vitamin K, so it's important to include that in the diet when antibiotics are used." He advises to eat regularly carrots, because they have natural antibiotic qualities. He also advises the occasional supplementation with vitamin K, or eating liver or broccoli.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">June 22nd 2017</span></span></b><br />
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It's been hot and my skin hasn't liked it. Luckily I have air-conditioning in the house :) Evenings are not too bad either. Glad to have plenty of things to do in the house too, and have no need to be out there in the sun and warmth. Oh and my sinus infection resolved on its own. I have been rinsing my nose with salt water and xylitol and all is as good as clear now, no antibiotics or penicillin used :) My skin is fairly clear again too. The ridiculous skin outbreaks from the pictures in my last update are luckily gone. Maybe a couple of small red dots here and there, but I can hide them under some <a href="https://www.deonlinedrogist.nl/swaab-zinkolie-p-326.html"><b>zinc cream</b></a>, which also dries them out and makes them go away really fast. It's called a zinc oil, but it is a really thickish white paste and I tend to put a small bit on the back of my hand, then put a round dot on my fingertip, tap it once on my arm or some skin on the hand, so that the thickest layer is gone, then tip the remaining zinc on my red pimple. This covers just the red dot usually, and I can fade it out a bit once it's dried up a bit. *Pimple is not the correct term by the way. Rosacea spots rarely are like a pimple, which have a big pussy head typically.. With a rosacea bumps, they tend to be much smaller, much less deep, and although there can be some white on the top, this is usually minor. Often they are basically small red dots, whereas acne tends to be bigger, deeper with more clogged pores and big whiteheads. Even people with subtype 1 rosacea (general redness, flushing, even burning, but not many skin outbreaks) can get these p&p's as they are often called. I think that abbreviation stands for papula's and Pustula's. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf1SMZIrL8BSYXSRzuDfFRu7-0qbdxjfAUI61636rl_LrYrS_QST4HkI_rDLQa39ukw73_1rBy-6P2XttekWnMx-15PXiwru_3SqKPfOceB-SxEr6qKUj9OhqvlFmi4_WOyAcxCyQ-Rc-v/s1600/first-color-photos-vintage-old-autochrome-lumiere-auguste-louis-593e42b25d9fb__880.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1192" data-original-width="880" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf1SMZIrL8BSYXSRzuDfFRu7-0qbdxjfAUI61636rl_LrYrS_QST4HkI_rDLQa39ukw73_1rBy-6P2XttekWnMx-15PXiwru_3SqKPfOceB-SxEr6qKUj9OhqvlFmi4_WOyAcxCyQ-Rc-v/s400/first-color-photos-vintage-old-autochrome-lumiere-auguste-louis-593e42b25d9fb__880.jpg" width="295" /></a>I saw some interesting clips on youtube. There is a Dutch man called Wim Hof, who is pretty well known here and called "The Iceman". He has figured out a way to influence his immune system through breathing methods, concentration and challenging his body to go to extremes. He developed a breathing method which - when combined with cold water exposure - is said to help build body defenses and even help with depression and (immune related) illness. He first caught the attention of scientists when he proved scientifically that he was able to use meditation to stay submerged in ice for 1 hour and 53 minutes without his core body temperature changing (through breathing techniques, concentration and endurance). Since then, he’s climbed Mount Everest in his shorts, completed a marathon in the Namib Desert with no water and proven under a laboratory setting that he’s able to influence his autonomic nervous system and immune system at will. He was injected with an endotoxin infection by doctors, which normally always makes the body go into fever to fight the infection. But in Wims case, he could controls his own immune response by making his own adrenaline levels go up. The test was later repeated on 12 test persons who used Wims technique and also succeeded in this.* Wim has proven that "<i>You can modulate your adrenaline levels by will. Stress hormones are able to modulate your immune response. There are many diseases that are influenced by your immune system. And you can imagine that it would be of interest if you could modulate that immune response and suppress it, like Wim has proven he can do, and that it might be of benefit for patients with such auto immune diseases.</i>" </div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">I will add an interesting short docu on him, and his technique:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">
<i>"Almost everything Wim has done was previously thought to be impossible - but he’s not a freak of nature. To demonstrate that any human can learn his methods, Wim offered to teach Matt Shea and Daisy-May Hudson to climb a freezing cold mountain in their shorts without getting cold. But when </i><i>Matt and Daisy signed up for the training, they had no idea that the so-called Iceman was planning to lead them on a psychedelic journey across Europe that circled the chasm between science, spirituality and mystery." </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><b>His breathing method is quickly explained here:</b></span></div>
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Wim also says that the environment has become too comfort oriented, that our bodies have become weak and that's one reason people seem to get sick more than they did years ago. There aren't the natural stressors from the environment affecting us. He works with well known sportsmen, sometimes takes them to Siberia to swim in icy water after making holes in deep ice. He said it has to do with concentration, breathing exercises and training. We all want comfort, like Freud said, but really according to this guy, we need some discomfort. That it's through suffering that we can even find meaning and balance for our lives. *In 2011, Wim Hof was injected with a bacterial endotoxin in an experiment that challenged our understanding of the nervous system. In normal humans, the injection should cause a strong immune response leading to fever, chills and headaches. But not for Wim. It appeared that he was somehow able to suppress his immune response by making his body secrete adrenaline, suggesting that his method can allow us to influence our immune response at will. Scientists thought that he might just be a freak of nature. So to further prove this theory, they performed the same experiment on 12 subjects Wim had trained in Poland, and the same thing happened. If we learn to influence our immune system at will, he thinks that we could potentially use that to treat inflammatory disorders where the immune system is overactive, including Crohn's disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Of course, Rosacea would also fit into that category then. The good thing about Wim Hof is that he has science and doctors involved, measuring his outcomes and verifying that he isn't just subjectively 'feeling' things. I seriously doubt that these techniques will help beating cancer. The cancer patient who features in the documentary I linked to, René Gude, was a well known Dutch philosophy teacher who developed terminal cancer, and despite his high hopes upon starting to work with Wim Hof, he still died from the illness soon after. I even doubt he can<i> cure</i> auto immune diseases to be honest, but he has proven that he can control his immune response in the case of an administered infectious diseases. And pushing your body to its limits, or better; stretching your bodies limits, I quite like that concept. I'm super restricted in my lifestyle often, but feel so much better when I can work out and exercise and just be active. I do think we can challenge our bodies more to improve health in general, and perhaps even regulate immune function. </div>
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I mean, its also thought now that the steep rise in auto immune disease onset over the past 4 decades, can be linked to the increased hygiene we have the past several decades. Bodies are built to withstand infections and when everything is pristine clean, it can make the immune system turn on itself. Or at least, that is what my immunologists and dermatologist say. Wim has figured out a way to influence this immune system through breathing methods, concentration and challenging his body to go to extremes. He has proven that "<i>you can modulate your adrenaline levels by will. Stress hormones are able to modulate your immune response. There are many diseases that are influenced by your immune system. And you can imagine that it would be of interest if you could modulate that immune response and suppress it, like Wim has proven he can do, and that it might be of benefit for patients with such auto immune diseases.</i>" Whether it can be used to cure actual diseases and inflammatory disorders remains to be proven, but this is at the frontier of science, so it might take many more years before we will understand the full science of how it exactly works. Of course, it's always easier talking when someone is healthy and can 'ward off' illnesses, through whatever technique they developed, than for chronically ill people to be cured from it. So Id be most interested in seeing him cure chronic auto immune diseases through his techniques, more so than seeing him ward them off in healthy people. But the way he controls his own immune response by making his own adrenaline levels go up (in case of that endotoxin infection hospital test), is super interesting. Would be great to find out more about controlling the immune system and auto immune responses, and also controlling the vascular system. It is a bad feeling to deal with all these health issues that seem to have a life of their own, we all want control back then. The man holds 26 world records according to Wikipedia, so he must have something right. I think <span style="text-align: center;">that at the very very least, he is great and fascinating for having such endurance. Controlling your own body temperature in a perfect static level while sitting in an ice bath for 2 hours? That's interesting at the very least. I love extreme sports and extreme performers (admittingly, mainly reading about them - K2 expeditions!- or watching them on tv). I would love to go with Wim to Siberia for a real bootcamp. </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">June 9th 2017</span></span></b><br />
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My skin was really calm the past months.. Think it might be from sunbathing (head covered!) and getting some more vitamin D perhaps, and also the milder temperatures outside do my rosacea good (winters are the worst for me). A month ago I got a bad cold and some pollen allergy issues, however and it turned into full blown sinus infections on both sides of the face. Pain, pressure, sore upper teeth even from the pressure, nose blocked with green smudge (sorry for tmi). I have rinsed with salt water and xylitol and eventually things have improved without antibiotics. BUT... I had this full blown rosacea flare for weeks :( I usually don't get breakouts, or not that many, and now I was covered in them. The white dots on the pics are zinc cream I put on the red pimples.. Luckily it's all calming down now and I keep rinsing my nose with salt/xylitol water to hopefully get rid of all the bacteria, but I started reading up if there might be a link with sinus infections and rosacea break outs. One woman <a href="https://rosaceafree.com/sinuses/"><b>wrote</b></a> that her rosacea 'disappeared' after she had her sinus issues treated. Now I don't think these are 'cures' for rosacea but maybe some people with regular sinus problems could see a link too in their skin flares? First picture before the trouble started, then during and last one is on a good day today (but I still get p&p's much more than normal most days). :/</div>
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The possible link between sinus infections and rosacea is also discussed on the rosacea forum btw, in <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?21610-Sinus-Infection-and-Rosacea"><b>this link</b></a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Someone wrote me a about the way in which Buddhists and Stoics deal with adversity, or more precisely, with suffering. </b></span>I'm not religious or very spiritual, (am hoping that reincarnation in some way or form is in the reals of possibilities though), so all that was new to me, but it was quite a nice read I thought.. and perhaps also of use for everyone in general who deals with illness or suffering of some sort. I'm going to quote: <i>"Yes faith... Even without faith there are some tips on bearing suffering. I just finished Victor Frankl's book Man's Search for Meaning where he describes his life in the Concentration Camps and what he observed in the behaviors of fellow captives, but also the psychological repercussions. </i><i>He attributed his and some of the other people in the camps survival to finding a meaning for their sufferings. It was a deeper way to perceive the daily tortures and brutality they faced than the standard way of thinking, "everything has a meaning" or "I am living so I can see my family when I get out". For example, he wrote about a man, whom upon arriving at the camp prayed to god that he may endure all the suffering of the members of his family that were also taken, so that they would be free of pain...knowing that he as asking to have more pain than he would have so they could be relieved. This changed his whole outlook on the pains he faced at the camp. If he was beaten, he wasn't necessarily happy about it, but he wasn't sad, because he knew that because he was getting beat, his family was spared. Now, yes, this most likely wasn't the reality...god didn't step in and let this guy suffer more, so his family could suffer less. Yet, he thought it was the case, and this perception allowed him to handle much more suffering than others could face. </i><span style="text-align: center;"><i>I heard that it was also Frankl who would, when the Nazis made them stand still for hours, just wiggle his big toe in his boot as that gave him some sense of control. </i></span><i>The Stoics would also say something similar. They would say that there is no suffering that the gods created that we were not given the capacity to endure. That the gods gave us the power of reason so that we can make use of our sufferings instead of just enduring them for no reason as animals do. </i><i>The Buddhist use suffering as a way to create more compassion. The great Tibetan yogi Milarepa used to sing a song that went something like this.."I am happy, this is great, may I give all my happiness to all beings so that they may be happy"...."I am suffering, that is great, may I take on all the sufferings of all beings as well so that they may be free from suffering". He is already suffering, so why not take on everyone else's too...even if it is immeasurable painful..its still better if one person suffers and in exchange countless others are free of their suffering. If he is joyful it makes sense to share that joy so everyone is also joyful since he is just one and the others are countless. This can go deeper if we believe in countless lives. If we have lived countless times, and say everyone at one time was our best friend or mom, then wouldn't we want them to be happy too...why should our "amnesia" about our past relationship to them make us not want the best for them? </i><i>Dr. Frankl wasn't just trying to convey the importance of having an overarching meaning to life, but also to finding a meaning to each moment we live. We can again can correlate this with certain Buddhist practices. Just like with the aspiration in the last paragraph by Milarepa...whenever we feel joy or have a great experience (see a nice sunset, enjoy times with friends, eat something enjoyable) we wish all beings can all experience this kind of joy (may all beings enjoy beautiful things or have happy times ect...). An conversely with suffering. In one of the Dalai Lama books he writes this aspiration to say when suffering..."May this illness or misfortune serve as a substitute for the suffering of all sentient beings". He also has another one I like..."May the suffering I am now undergoing function as the ripening, manifestations, and conclusion of the many bad karmas that I have accumulated." This one doesn't have the same altruism as the other, but still gives meaning to the suffering we are facing by making it a kind of purification of all past bad karmas (bad things we have done to others).”</i></div>
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I like tales and stories, and also think that we have to find ways in our mind to find meaning in even suffering. Life might not have turned out the way we wanted to but a lot of our psychological suffering is about perception, and how we interpret the things happening to us. How we link it to our expectations. And having low expectations can help in that respect. I am so limited in life, on the one hand; not being able to get in the sun with my face, not being able to tolerate warm temperatures, needing a cool breeze so often, it is like being frozen in time in a way. But it is up to me how I value this way of living. I can compare it with everybody around me who cán sunbathe without a worry, who has skin that functions as it should be and without an extra thought. But I can also compare myself to people worse off, or focus on all the things that still function fine in my life and body. Then I suffer far less, and feel more grateful for what ís possible still. I found the first years of having rosacea completely overwhelming and depressing. I was frantic about getting it sorted and the attempts to avoid flare ups paralyzed me. I think many people who recently developed rosacea feel this to some extend. On the forums you can read many upset stories. I think you should go through the sadness and the worries and the anxieties, and give yourself that space and that room, because having a malfunctioning body (or skin in this case) sucks, all round. And the uncertainty about how to treat it is frightening too. But with time, most people find treatments, and they find out their triggers and how to get <b>control</b> back over their health and skin. We also get used to the new situation. And learn to deal with the ups and downs, the flares and the remission periods (for those who are lucky to have remission periods). </div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I am watching this fantastic Einstein series on tv by the way. "Genius", from National Geographic. </b></span>I think it is Happy days' Ron Howard who created it. I am a big Einstein fan. (I know about the controversy who invested exactly what, and whoms ideas were used, but from what I read about it, the verdict is out that Einstein was the one who came with the biggest insights and rounded up what was a mere theory before for thinkers, who all thought about space and time and gravity). I was talking to my dad the other day how magnificent life and the planet and universe really are and how small the chances are on paper to even be born at all. 'Genius' just brings all this magic about for me. The way Einstein came up with these universal laws and truths by simple thought experiments and logic, it is fascinating. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/5-of-albert-einsteins-thought-experiments-that-revolutionized-science-2016-7/?international=true&r=US&IR=T#imagine-youre-standing-on-a-train-2">Here</a> are some of his most famous thought experiments described. Watching it and remembering again what was discovered back in those early 1900-days already, I also got a bit shitty with my old teachers in retrospect, because literally, a hundred years ago it was already known and proven that the planets are not kept in their track around the sun because of the direct gravitational pull of the sun (as if the sun functions like a magnet, pulling the rest close). Just like we aren't kept firmly with our feet on the planets surface because of the magnetic force of the earth pulling us in. It is gravitation, but it works a bit different than what I was taught at school. Why couldn't they explain what Einstein discovered? That it is the mass of the sun, or the earth, or the mass from every object in space, that <i>bends</i> space. And that it is this bent and curved space around the object that is pressuring and pushing us down, and that is keeping the planets in their orbit. The bent space creates invisible space waves around the object, which push, and create gravity as such. The moon has less mass, and as such can bend space less strongly, and therefore makes you able to jump higher from the moons surface than the bigger earth allows. It is so much more magical than simply presenting gravity like a big magnet pulling away.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh2SESJPPTX_NMwasawXE_Bjayoj2PV9Cd-KL2DbSLkwBqA5bz5D3wZb4kHWK-VtO5JvoYPk1QqZM3_5FphOIgGUF1TEt9WvhacBbq2rAHVg56sES2zBBeTs7EEoO206TV6wdfbZETNm2j/s1600/genius-einstein-ap-3401010867.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh2SESJPPTX_NMwasawXE_Bjayoj2PV9Cd-KL2DbSLkwBqA5bz5D3wZb4kHWK-VtO5JvoYPk1QqZM3_5FphOIgGUF1TEt9WvhacBbq2rAHVg56sES2zBBeTs7EEoO206TV6wdfbZETNm2j/s400/genius-einstein-ap-3401010867.jpg" width="400" /></a>He also had this wonderful thought experiment, one depicted in the first youtube clip I added below, where he thought of a man standing in a box (or a lift in that case) and it was floating in space, so there was no gravity, and the man was floating freely inside the box. Then suddenly he gets pulled towards the bottom of the box and he cannot see what is happening outside. Einstein thought out that in that case, you only have two possible explanations; either the box has come close to a planet, and its gravity is pulling the man to the bottom of the box, or there could theoretically be some big rope attached to the box, pulling it upwards with high speed, meaning that the man is forced to the bottom of the box as well. And he said: acceleration and gravity are the exact same thing. To come to that conclusion through a simple thought experiment (instead of endless mathematical equations), wow.. And according to Einstein's special theory of relativity, time moves slower the closer you get to the speed of light. So theoretically if you have a twin which is born at the same time as you, and you are placed on a spaceship, whereas your twin stays on Earth, then IF that spaceship travels at nearly the speed of light, then you'll both age at different rates. (And even if you travel through space at a slower pace, time still slows down). If the spaceship lands back on earth after say 70 years, you might be going through puberty while your twin is already planning for retirement. In the movie 'Interstellar' there is a good example of this used. If we moved at the speed of light for enough time, going on a space trip, we could come back to earth and meet our great grand kids, if we had any kids. Here it is explained even more elaborate:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZyYqyYAKGC0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZyYqyYAKGC0?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: right; float: right;" width="320"></iframe>Because we know now that mass can bend space, scientist also understood that it were black holes which they saw on their telescopes, because Einsteins theory had predicted that they would exist. Even though he never knew that they were actually found; he thought it was only theoretically possible, but highly unlikely in reality.. Black holes also bend space visibly; when you watch with a scope you can see how the huge mass of a black hole distorts space around it and sucks everything around it. You can't see a black hole. It emits no light. But you can see its effect on objects around it. And because we can distort space we can also distort time, which is so amazing if you try to imagine that I think.. Even when a clock is further away from the ground, it slows time already (only in fractions of a second, but the principle is the same). They did a nano meter trick to prove it. It measures time very exactly and they put on such clock on the ground at sea level, and another identical one high up the mountain. Let them run for exactly the same time frame. The one that had stood on the mountain for those 4 days, came back with a lower calculated time number as the exact same clock that they had ticking for the exact same duration on the ground. I still can't visualize how exactly that can happen. ... The same happens with these nano clocks if you put one on a plane that travels around the earth, and you keep the other firmly at the ground. The clock on board the plane will come back with a slightly earlier time. Here are a few short clips from Genius showing these thought experiments he did:<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">I have also been made acquainted with haiku poetry.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></span>They do seem to work a little bit different from the classic westernized poems, as they only use a couple of lines, and they do not need to rhyme either. Coming to think about it, I think they hardly ever rhyme at all. I'm not even sure what makes them poems therefore, instead of pretty lines, but they do throw up a bigger image and concept in those few lines, so that is very interesting. Here are a couple of examples. This one is from a Chinese hermit called Stonehouse.</div>
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<i>A clean patch of ground after the rain</i></div>
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<i>An ancient pine half-covered with moss</i></div>
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<i>Such things appear before our eyes</i></div>
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<i>But what we do with them isn't the same</i></div>
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Or:</div>
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<i>Blowing from the west</i></div>
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<i>Fallen leaves gather</i></div>
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<i>In the east.</i></div>
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Or:</div>
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<i>Don’t weep, insects –</i></div>
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<i>Lovers, stars themselves,</i></div>
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<i>Must part.</i></div>
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There is an Indian Buddhist called Chandrakriti who wrote something like this... every meeting is followed by a parting, so we shouldn't be sad when we part because we knew going into it that it would happen. If we don't meet we can't part, if we didn't part we couldn't have met. Kind of like what came first, the chicken or the egg. It doesn't really matter, we couldn't have one without the other.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglk1kbiuonZJ2CsAmOfrNag58E3HPAN1z5mh_4ZgGR5QjMj-s6tT15vHzOoqfVznoiAlRwSQ4GQeoor5sz7K2bSlQtGALRCUj284a20GLpowVrCfcVr-rbqrvlQrT9Q8nUwKmmfi4gPV6Q/s1600/18670892_10155585616612313_3930979449052968360_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglk1kbiuonZJ2CsAmOfrNag58E3HPAN1z5mh_4ZgGR5QjMj-s6tT15vHzOoqfVznoiAlRwSQ4GQeoor5sz7K2bSlQtGALRCUj284a20GLpowVrCfcVr-rbqrvlQrT9Q8nUwKmmfi4gPV6Q/s400/18670892_10155585616612313_3930979449052968360_n.jpg" width="345" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Last thing, I saw this picture which seems surely staged. But it is not :O<a href="http://nypost.com/2013/07/14/finding-peace-in-a-life-sold-for-2/"> Here</a> is an article detailing the background story.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"<i>In 1948, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Chalifoux experienced money trouble and were evicted from their Chicago home. All four children were eventually separated from their parents. RaeAnn and her brother Milton were both sold for $2. The photo reached local newspapers and spread throughout the country. The children were adopted and some lived in abusive homes. The siblings later reunited in 2013. One of the kids did an interview about their plight. This lady went on to have 4 more kids which she kept. </i>"</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">May 28th 2017</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheqSyrdFfUc2rFAnXuReVNaTKM9hqivyOjwAYpHCPEsYeWiWFXRfvchfTpQ5jV2j97E1_Y8pd5tmvuGGUHs12uvpEpShN7mnnT0PRiiVxLpvCqrDKT2nmMYM7aAzydDjlQiwO9WYxcj5YA/s1600/26.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="737" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheqSyrdFfUc2rFAnXuReVNaTKM9hqivyOjwAYpHCPEsYeWiWFXRfvchfTpQ5jV2j97E1_Y8pd5tmvuGGUHs12uvpEpShN7mnnT0PRiiVxLpvCqrDKT2nmMYM7aAzydDjlQiwO9WYxcj5YA/s320/26.png" width="260" /></a>Feeling quite a bit better again lately. Had busy weeks with catching ups of seeing friends and family, <span style="text-align: center;">which always cheers me up. Unfortunately, an unfortunate mix of the cold and pollen allergy has struck and my nose is blocked and sinuses full for a week now. I'm sure it will pass soon. It's been tropically hot here, 30 degrees C. and humidity of 80%, so I'm struggling to get out. Yesterday I bicycled to the shops in town, but had to zigzag over pavements and side walks, to stay as much in the shade as possible. I still ended up flushed and red, you never avoid being in the sun altogether (if only because biking on side walks is illegal and impossible at some stretches of road). Big hat helped me shield from the sun above, but not from the bright sun reflection coming from below, reflecting from the street and walls. And the heat does the rest. I had most fun on a social media group I'm in, sharing vintage photos. One of my alltime favourite vintage photo's, of </span><a href="http://www.photohistory-sussex.co.uk/BrightonSwimmingClub.htm"><b>the Brighton Swimming Club</b></a>, wasn't know there yet, so I posted it and people had a bit of banter about it in the comment section. For those here who need a bit of fun, I'll copy part of the post. I've made the other peoples profiles anonymous.</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>The lads from the Brighton Swimming Club, 1853</b></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"> John X:</span></b> top hats r us</div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Alessandro X:</b></span> Gotta love those top hats</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Traca X: </span></b>Looks like a fun bunch...</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Martha X: </span></b>Because a fellow always needs a proper hat on his head.</div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Wilma X:</b></span> La elegancia en pantalones de baño</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Meg X:</span></b> Other then the bathing suites and hats anyone else notice not one guy is overweight?</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Harry X:</span></b> If I wasn't feeling so bad today, I'd be out there with them.</div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Patty X:</b></span> You give me a reason to live</div>
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Sweet darling</div>
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You can leave your hat on...</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">X:</span></b> Love the hats an the fella posing in middle funny to sexy for his trucks and the landing strip</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">John X:</span></b> By god i have no problem being photographed in my swim suit, but there is NO WAY you'll get me outta my top hat !! True Gentlemen</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Dar X: </span></b>Holy shit, look how tall those two stove pipes are in the back row!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Noe X: </span></b>Everything is better with a hat on!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Deb X:</span></b> studly!</div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>H. X.:</b></span> How about the guy standing like a flamingo front-left who seems to be pinching his nips?! 😂</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Ty X:</span></b> Was about to comment that too! 😄😄</div><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Leslie X: </b></span>he is stretching out his (imaginary) suspenders</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Kristin X:</span></b> and top hats no less! Lol</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Paula X:</span></b> I don't understand the hats.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Billie X: </span></b>They're gentlemen...</div><div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Michaela X:</span></b> The bathing suits for men seem to be very modern!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">A. X:</span></b> Not a single overweight person in the pic.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Karen X:</span></b> Those British...always so veddy veddy classy☺</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Sean X: </span></b>Pretty sure just hipsters 😋</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Ruth X: </span></b>Top class toe pointing from the second chap on the left.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Nancy X:</span></b> Top hat and all...lol</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Shelley X: </span></b>Top hats love it</div><div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mary X:</span></b> They make their 'point' indeed!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Barbara X:</span></b> But WOMEN weren't allowed to be 'that undressed' ... wow...Gotta love the times.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">S. X: </span></b>I wouldn't want to be that undressed in public but that's just personal preference 🤣😂</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">B. X: </span></b>The original speedo's?</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">L. X:</span></b> Don't the hats float away in the water?</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">W. X:</span></b> Why such a tall hat to go swimming? !!!.:-)</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Dar X:</span></b> A note on placing Maris Piper potatoes in ones swimming shorts prior to taking a photograph. For a more flattering profile, always, and I mean always, place the potatoes down the front and not the back of your shorts.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Ann X:</span></b> Bahahah good one</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">N. X:</span></b> 'Ok fellas, you know the drill, on the count of three, all look stoic and creepy!'</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">C. X:</span></b> As long as you were wearing your hat, you weren't naked. In 1853.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mick X:</span></b> That's 1 fantastic photo 😀</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">H. X: </span></b>This dude in the middle....that's my man.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">K. X:</span></b> at a glance looks like a young Dan Aykroyd.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">K. X:</span></b> ^^^^^YES! I was just thinking that!!! The first thought in my head was isn't that the guy from ghostbusters? lol</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">T. X: </span></b>When I see photos like this I have a harder time understanding the why of the Civil War.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Nat:</span></b> The civil war in the USA? These lads were from England :)</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">T. X:</span></b> Nat. still 1853</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Diane X:</span></b> love the hats</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Tony X: </span></b>By 1920's they couldn't show bare breasts.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">T. X: </span></b> Oh my!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">An X: </span></b>Oh lawdy. . Looks like a diaper party ... hehehe</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Jason X: </span></b>Reminds me of this...</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Nick X</span></b>: So much win!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Bill X:</span></b> Hot DAMN! Lol..</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Bradly X: </span></b>What happened to those good ole days? So classy</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Ava X:</span></b> The guy to the right of middle looks like he's wearing a diaper. Must be a swim diaper 😄</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Shelley X:</span></b> I thought that pmsl</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Tony X: </span></b>They are all probably in their undies. Don't think suits were invented yet. Most are probably used to swimming in the buff.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Anna X:</span></b> Be still, my heart!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">C. X:</span></b> Oh. My. God.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">M. X: </span></b>Oh. Wow. Looks to me like they might get wet and come off. Lol. Wonder if ???</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">P. X:</span></b> Love it - Top Hats 'n' Speedos could be the new swimming look of the hipster 😉</div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>M. X;</b></span> It looks like it's a much older photo.</div><div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Nat.:</span></b> Good 'ole Victorian era!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">C. X: </span></b> Well, the date given is 1853, so it can't be much earlier...?</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">M. X:</span></b> That is not "pretty"!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Gay X:</span></b> Whaaat</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">L. X: </span></b>Love the hats</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">M. X:</span></b> Is it just me? Or do some of these guys look a little too "happy"? 😂</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Ann X: </span></b>Yep that about sums it up. I can never unsee this</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mike X: </span></b>Everyone is so lean.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">C. X: </span></b>Giving "Thunder front Down Under" a run for their money!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Anna X: </span></b>That's just nasty 😂😂😂</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">C. X: </span></b>Why? Cuz they're barefooted? C'mon! It's just a lot easier to swim without shoes!😜</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">C. X:</span></b> I love that guy's long....stovepipe hat.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mike X: </span></b>Is the fourth guy over touching his nipples? Lol</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Nat.: </span></b>Yeh that, and maybe an early yoga hipster? :)</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">S. X:</span></b> I'm at a lo se for words!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Jen X:</span></b> crikey...</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Crys X:</span></b> Some of them look like they're wearing diapers</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Sue X:</span></b> Can't forget the hats...😂</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">M. X:</span></b> Omg and thought that speedos were bad.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">R.X.:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>unusaual want it in the roaring 20s the men had to wear the one piece suits and cover everything or was that an earlier time</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Chris X:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>I think that was the victorian era. They definitely were more modest then.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Jane X: </span></b>They look like starving swimmers.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Crystal X:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>Their junk is so fake!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">L.: </span></b>Keep in mind that was before grooming. They all suffered from Don King bush.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Bradly X:</span></b> You're just hating!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">D. X:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>Maybe they were just happy to see each other.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">C. X: </span></b>How could I hate that junk?</div>
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I've just never had the pleasure of meeting a guy like that I guess 😂</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Tracey X:</span></b> I think it is just the the fall of those shockingly made briefs!!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Missy X:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>Strange..wonder why they're wearing hats??</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Steve X:</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b>You know they say, "Large hats, large . . . ."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Claude X:</span></b> So true. (I wear a tiny little beanie).</div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span>Tracey X:</span></b> </span>Bad .....hair!!!</div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span>M.:</span></b> </span>Ooh baby!</div><div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Kathy X: </span></b><a href="http://www.photohistory-sussex.co.uk/BrightonSwimmingClub.htm">http://www.photohistory-sussex.co.uk/BrightonSwimmingClub.htm</a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Claude X:</span></b> Thanks! Enlightening...</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Vicki X:</span></b> You can tell that they certainly didn't know anything about the Snickers Bar!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Claude X:</span></b> Those stovepipe hats appear to be translucent-- as if made out of horsehair-- like Korean hats?</div><div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Tracey X:</span></b> I am glad they kept their hats on.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Crystal X: </span></b>#8 looks like Billy the kid, and the 3rd from the left was actually handsome.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Marie X: </span></b>adult diapers??</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Sue X:</span></b> OMG make them put their clothes back on real quick.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">C.: </span></b>Those togs 😂😂</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">A.: </span></b>"I'm too sexy for my shirt."</div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">L:</span></b> please dress yourselves</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Jan X: </span></b>Awkward</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Sam X: </span></b>quite handsome and i see one or two i'd be enamored with.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Leah X: </span></b>Those are some hotties right there !!! Lol</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Nuno X: </span></b>AHAHAH</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">M.: </span></b>Why didn't I think of that!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Jim X: </span></b>It's still going</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">John X: </span></b>Nappies</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Jodie X:</span></b> Bahahahahaha tophats</div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Mark X:</span></b> There's always a jokester in the crowd. <img height="20" src="https://www.facebook.com/images/emoji.php/v9/ff1/2/16/1f923.png" width="20" /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Ann X:</span></b> Rooster man</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Deb. X:</span></b> oh dear...</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mag. X: </span></b>unsure what to think of that. cept in those days women were to cover their whole bodys lol</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mark X: </span></b>I was sort of surprised too. But weren't there also full body swim suits for men?</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">May 16th 2017</span></span></b><br />
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Even though I'd look like a special anti riot police force officer probably, I am still contemplating <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lady-Visors-Anti-UV-Cap-Solar-Face-Shield-Cap-Sun-Cover-Hat-New-Style-/131197910133"><b>this</b></a> UV blocking face shield cap :)<span aria-hidden="1" class="_7oe" face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline-block; font-size: 0px; width: 0px;">:)</span><br />
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Or this :D<span aria-hidden="1" class="_7oe" face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline-block; font-size: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; width: 0px;">:D</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-iqtxh3NXNdcW4_bQ5lEA8jXcsj9IJhk8xTcWrcRuEBEeqdA1S3m2biLlsWa4YhO3ZWLBiro_xjbFTYUcqFJedhLF5VRn1mSQ6x8ljflFjqrc64eX19D1e0do8F3HqIHErRPsE9a4H35e/s1600/5%252C6.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNRQ99M7fjr8ezF5DUkXHKd-CQr5fYn5Nss8bPA7-ROwPoxGHw7ynM8EFQYARgjRPphZkhUjOizD_1Ots08zocic_lLqxT25w3bwV5vmRzzN0R7bZJ2Kswijwz6cIpunCN2f_phUgNZL0/s1600/zzzzzzzzzzzzz18555213_10155089278136539_776787570_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNRQ99M7fjr8ezF5DUkXHKd-CQr5fYn5Nss8bPA7-ROwPoxGHw7ynM8EFQYARgjRPphZkhUjOizD_1Ots08zocic_lLqxT25w3bwV5vmRzzN0R7bZJ2Kswijwz6cIpunCN2f_phUgNZL0/w219-h219/zzzzzzzzzzzzz18555213_10155089278136539_776787570_n.jpg" width="219" /></a><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-iqtxh3NXNdcW4_bQ5lEA8jXcsj9IJhk8xTcWrcRuEBEeqdA1S3m2biLlsWa4YhO3ZWLBiro_xjbFTYUcqFJedhLF5VRn1mSQ6x8ljflFjqrc64eX19D1e0do8F3HqIHErRPsE9a4H35e/w164-h218/5%252C6.jpg" width="164" /> <img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKu6YM1Ke5ujm7v6FDH-vsCgqfO8B0XepzTjcAaPFZla3ziQ3ifScmbgNrvcEbJvT2X8e03ZCVxcZWYDw0h1g4Pylz9tuPn-2Z8RNQv0L7twS3BYsxG98RvpnLpAO05LWE93_eWdRwFgBs/w218-h218/zzzsun+hat+grey1-1700x1700_0.jpg" width="218" /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">May 14th 2017</span></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZua5k4OpdC279pix2-m1GwPa8GyA_trPJkP1_RnNVjuPeSRMKlecRT-FIUNDgj-GveDJMjphOs9s4TuZoGeHgxJxzOCaYCEMgf0jiHMpYb2u07yAffGxzWAWilYHr-AKGeZ_vpdHO_HL/s1600/28d16b298dedc08e215585903275fa36.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZua5k4OpdC279pix2-m1GwPa8GyA_trPJkP1_RnNVjuPeSRMKlecRT-FIUNDgj-GveDJMjphOs9s4TuZoGeHgxJxzOCaYCEMgf0jiHMpYb2u07yAffGxzWAWilYHr-AKGeZ_vpdHO_HL/s400/28d16b298dedc08e215585903275fa36.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-hH41QnAAO5uK_tXaa9pVH5T5h7JztEYM7RzIDqD70cRmVpOsQ2DXxKltOCYb8fA5If-Lq6l08IMjs9auacpGwvqUqUCL7xDlO9-PZ1urIhLxd1Tj4A3ilDbv_HgSaYXuNiwghs8FWaB/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a>My rosacea has been fairly calm lately. Some flare days, usually triggered by me eating too much chocolate, but overall it's been behaving fairly well. I think me having developed a nice tan on my legs and belly is helping, like it seems to help most spring/summers. I still sunbathe whenever I can around noon for around 30-60 minutes. I am lucky in a sense because I don't get a sunburn. or at least not anywhere but on my face. So I can sun without sunscreen. I wouldn't advise this randomly to just anyone reading this, because when you do have a knack for sun burn, it's absolutely not advised to do this. I discuss it with my immunologist who knows me and my skin type and advises me to do this routine because my vitamin D levels are low, very low in winter and spring, and they seem to negatively affect my rosacea and a couple of auto immune diseases I have (colitis, arthritis, Raynauds, allergies). Rosacea seems an umbrella term for a lot of skin problems that give a red face, but from what I understand and learned now, not every case of rosacea is the same. Or stems from the same cause. For instance, when someone has red skin with break outs and bumps, more often there is a bacterial skin issue or an overload of demodex mites. You can try a new cream called Soolantra then, or low dose doxycycline (Oracea or just low dose doxy, around 40 to 50 mg/day). Or creams like Finacea or metronidazole cream. But with the rosacea subtype that comes only with skin redness, flushing and burning, demodex is far less often a factor. And the flushing and redness are typically hard to treat. I happen to have some success with anti flushing medication, but for 6 years prior I tried every natural treatment option out there. Nothing helped me enough unfortunately. I think that it has been clear by now that not all people with this subtype 1 vascular rosacea have underlying auto immune diseases, but many do. For instance, thyroid disease, allergies, bowel conditions, lupus, erythromelalgia and so on. It's all theory for now, but I feel that here rosacea can be fired up by </div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">auto immune activity in the body, and perhaps even be directly related to it. Not everyone has this. Sometimes red flushed cheeks are the result of too much sun exposure or sun burns in the past. or it is a genetic thing. I only recently heard from my family that gran had red cheeks later in life too. I don't recall any of that myself but she died in my early teens so it's been a long time ago already that I last saw her. There is also a history of blood vessel and heart disorders in my mums side of the family, and a history of eczema in my dads side of the family. So I expect there to be some genetic predisposition at play for me personally too. As I understand it from my derms, some people have a rosacea predisposition: often they have more pale skin, fair features, they blush sometimes more easily (I got pink cheeks from alcohol in my teens). They don't have rosacea, but they are more likely to develop it. All these people sometimes need is a trigger. Which can be steroid cream use (moi), stress, pregnancy, menopause, trauma and for some even something as simple as a vaccination course or a bad infection. But this is all theory still, as no certainty has been given yet on what causes rosacea, let alone how to cure us from it :(</div>
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Anyway, so I've been sunbathing and walking in the countryside and seeing friends and their kids, and also for a lot of time been sitting behind my ventilator (never too close by, fans can give rebound flaring then), writing, working, watching movies and series. Same as usual.. I have these mood phases, on and off. I find it hard at times to not join the big masses in things like marriage and starting a family. Some periods I'm fine with what I do have, others I feel low about it. The past month I've also had a rather adolescent type of world hate, resulting from the belief that I seem to be an excellent friend for people who need advise, or friendship but then as soon as they find their soulmate or have kids, they move on. Sure, I have friends who stem from childhood/teenage years and who stayed friends, but it is difficult to feel completely part of their world as I am not in the same position. I don't have kids, I don't join in most of their party evenings. I don't even darn drink alcohol! I also get tons of questions and 'friends requests' over time from people with my same health problems. Great. There is comfort and recognition in having other people around you who have struggles of their own. But very often they only want to talk about themselves and bombard me with stuff until they figure things out and no longer need the instant connection. I understand this mechanism and am fine with it most of the time, but there does come a point where it becomes obvious that it feels like a one way street. Which bugs me mainly when I am actually pissed off about something entirely different. I basically feel like throwing everything on the ground at the moment :D</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiboMSzrPfXkFNlxpubQRC2KFGkKJvzUf220ZHDEy2VQhBhzuyxNr-Lrp6rmbtU71bF6n5CxfkqF0c-Nc3unXjvFfWtAm19_p8-LeVMgBCPwPr9xlAFhfhwS_48XcFcwHBppV-j7SoSnVh/s1600/josef-koudelka-7.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiboMSzrPfXkFNlxpubQRC2KFGkKJvzUf220ZHDEy2VQhBhzuyxNr-Lrp6rmbtU71bF6n5CxfkqF0c-Nc3unXjvFfWtAm19_p8-LeVMgBCPwPr9xlAFhfhwS_48XcFcwHBppV-j7SoSnVh/s320/josef-koudelka-7.jpg" width="320" /></a>I don't want to make this into a whining, self sorry fest, but to be honest, I have periods now and then where I just feel really down about my life. it doesn't matter that others tell me; BUT YOU HAVE SUCH A GREAT LIFE!?!! It doesn't feel like that to me at times. And other times I feel fine. I think comparing ourselves to others is particularly toxic, but also particularly impossible to avoid.. I really wished I had great health and a bunch of kids. I really love kids, as they don't judge usually -if you raise them right-, are playful and they give you a sense of purpose too I think. Luckily I am surrounded by little kids from my friends and sister, if I want to, and all of them seem to love their aunty Nalja (me) and have this wonderful way of stating that Nalja has a red face but then they shrug their shoulders and give you a hug and just want to play with you and have a good time. One even loves it when I bring a fan along and have it on and another walks around for days after I came by with a cloth against one cheek, mimicking my cold pack.. They are adorable and they don't seem to care one bit about rosacea. I am usually done with the child interaction after a day (and long for my cool fan and me time), but at the same time I can't help to imagine how much nicer my own life can be with children; the feeling of being needed and loved like that by someone who just belongs to your life, for better or worse. I have worked with disabled people and kids in the past, as a side job, and it was wonderful. I think I might look into fostering at some point. Child fostering. See what options there are, at the least. And let's not forget that I already 'parent' a couple of rascal cats :) Can't exactly call myself '<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEaKX9YYHiQ"><b>ronery</b></a>'. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpw5V2FtdXXRiHeWI1KIcF7Rh7qA-Oq-Ce7JmaeAvbbWFKEE3_Qi3DY4jbPq-P4AYO91SHwNcTzBhoBtE5X3rVG_i1Qis1E85QkRYj7VwX3CE-bfAc3bZMYPwrAUH0qpdQuAjbrmhoOJe/s1600/koudelka-czechoslovakia-web.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpw5V2FtdXXRiHeWI1KIcF7Rh7qA-Oq-Ce7JmaeAvbbWFKEE3_Qi3DY4jbPq-P4AYO91SHwNcTzBhoBtE5X3rVG_i1Qis1E85QkRYj7VwX3CE-bfAc3bZMYPwrAUH0qpdQuAjbrmhoOJe/s320/koudelka-czechoslovakia-web.jpg" width="256" /></a>Not 'fitting in' and joining the rest is painful. It takes a whole lot of resilience and strength and <span style="text-align: center;">determination to deal with it. Many people, I imagine, roll into everything do not get this and when something does happen - a pet dies, a grandmother passes away - it might feel like the worst crisis in the world. But I also know people, friends, who have systematically been left out of everything. Good health, finding a partner, having kids, being simply happy. Perhaps the positive that can be taken out of that is that they have the lows and the highs and are learning to really lean and rely on themselves. Its not a fun road but it will give strength and independence in the end. I think. </span>On a positive note, I'll be going to New York in the fall for a little while and will meet two of my dear rosacea friends in the USA too then, and I cannot wait. I'll also have a nice month coming up of friends and family shared holidays, and everything is really not as bad as I might paint it off now. It just happens to feel so right now for me.</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>Some more stuff that got me laughing through all the self pity:</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I also finished reading an interesting book by the way, called The Circle. </b></span>It's good, although simple in style. At some point in the very near future, we will have The Circle which combines services like Google, Facebook, Amazon, PayPal, Twitter, etc. all joining forces and merging into one streamlined system. (I posit that the book describes Google and Apple with impressive accuracy). This system gets a monopoly position and soon takes over every bodies life. If you want anything done at all in life, you have to sign up at The Circle with not just your real, verified name, but also your bank account and social security number. Their objective is transparency and openness. They try to preserve every bit of knowledge which mankind has produced, and then attempt to guarantee that everyone has equal access to it. Under the idea that that is the ultimate democracy. They believe that information is sacred, to be shared with everyone, and they also have catchy slogans which demonstrate the strength of their convictions: “SECRETS ARE LIES”, “SHARING IS CARING” and “PRIVACY IS THEFT”. Sounds like George Orwell doesn't it? Well it reads like Orwell, but then in reverse. Orwell brings the citizens of the world under complete Governmental control and has their past destroyed. Owells government also controls information influx and decides what info the citizens are given, whereas in The Circle, there is seemingly complete and free information access. Orwell lets the government watch the people and Eggers (author of The Circle) lets the People watch the government. Orwells ruling government destroys and alters facts and information, Eggers ruling Circle people don't delete or even hide a single piece of information, and he turns it completely around. So here Eggers uses a mirror technique, doing exactly the opposite as what Orwell described, but the interesting bit is here to ask; how different is the outcome of it all exactly? Not that very different I think, they both end in totalitarian controlling systems. Effecting peoples personal freedom and life quality. </div>
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In Eggers' world, people are held hostage by a continuing streaming eye just the same, but now 'voluntarily' (under heavy social pressure, which to me reads much more realistic than Orwells prediction, as I see it happen already in every day life now, with regards to social media). In The Circle, everyone is pushed in the most passive aggressive way to share everything, to report their every move, all on social media, getting rewards through 'likes' and 'friends' and even downright percentage votes. It starts simple for the protagonist Mae; she starts working at The Circle as a costumer service worker, and instantly has to deal with user ratings after each conversation. She gets feed back in the form of a costumer satisfaction percentage. usually this is in the mid 90's range but the Circle aims for 99% satisfaction, and ideally 100%, of course. To achieve this, the employees have to find out why a costumer didn't give 100% satisfaction score, and improve their services. This sounds logical in a way. Practical. But Mae is overworked from it in no time, as the calls keep pouring in and on her 2nd screen she has to deal with satisfaction scores, while having to divide her attention at the same time to a third screen where she has to be socially interactive on her social media, sharing everything and updating her followers, liking and sharing as much as possible. This is only the start of the book, but it sets the tone for the rest. Eggers uses all sorts of examples and logic to defend the implementation of modern future techniques that slowly reduce personal privacy and freedom, but always for the greater good. In this case the greater good is to have a functional and fast customer service. Great for the client! At the moment, costumer service is a mixed-bag. Some industries almost seem to have a vested interest in making it as difficult as possible for the consumer to reach them. Banks, insurance companies, corporations, Amazon.com. Mistakes happen, but never in your favor. No one wakes up to more money in their savings account than can be accounted for, but it is not ultimately surprising when a payment doesn’t go through, a payment is double-processed, etc. If you call a bank to rectify an error, it is in their best interest to make it as unpleasant as possible to discourage people from making a stink about their questionable business practices. With $20 missing from your checking account, it may not even be worth it to deal with the time consuming and costly call center customer service system. Telecommunications companies are notorious for this as well. Google and Microsoft make an effort to help you, at least. If you take the time to call them up, their CE techs will at least dedicate the time and effort to helping you resolve the problem (when possible.) The sort of companies whose reputations depend on keeping their customers satisfied will make the effort. If Comcast is the only business in town for cable television or broadband internet, they could give half a shit whether your service is working. If your only choice for health insurance is Blue Cross/Blue Shield, they might not exactly motivated to bust their behinds on your behalf.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzeGCX-OOb01efmGCoOaJvMikrwv0R5AVaPIkcGCfr-r7tJz8fQ-NOJcRfmLLyE86WlobyBgIWBqPhy_SYuHT6mzYiXZH6UkbTdq8hirqZZtW2Ga1hxGULOzoFq5IkUxddQPZnvhbvbMpT/s1600/tumblr_m4qvmcotH61qmk4h2o1_500.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzeGCX-OOb01efmGCoOaJvMikrwv0R5AVaPIkcGCfr-r7tJz8fQ-NOJcRfmLLyE86WlobyBgIWBqPhy_SYuHT6mzYiXZH6UkbTdq8hirqZZtW2Ga1hxGULOzoFq5IkUxddQPZnvhbvbMpT/s320/tumblr_m4qvmcotH61qmk4h2o1_500.jpg" width="295" /></a>So, given all this, The Circles aim to be the best costumer service around sounds good, preferable even. But it's just the start of a trip down the rabbit hole, as I read the book at least. Soon Mae is forced to divide all her free time over social media activities, 'being part of the community' by zinging (zing is the future equivalent of twitter) her every thought, move, idea and experience. She has to join multiple online groups, go to meetings, like and comment on as much online activity as possible and build up an online status. She works round the clock and learns the hard way that missing out on these things is not appreciated. Although the author doesn't flat out write it out like a horror show, he does paint a claustrophobic image of bees in a bee hive that slowly but surely lose a lot of privacy and personal freedom.</div><div style="text-align: left;">
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">For instance:</span></b></div>
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-There is no anonymous online trolling possible anymore. You are always just yourself online now, as your account it verified based on your ID card, bank account and such. </div>
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-The Circle is a Silicon valley type of company that works on all sorts of technical inventions. They soon come up with a video device that is hard to detect (some sort of stick) that gives live video footage to the net. These camera sticks can be placed anywhere you want, and give a live, perfect HD image stream of a beach, or the market square in Cairo, or any place you want. And peoples own homes and work places are constantly videoed and broadcast as well. They call it <b><span style="color: black;">SeeChange</span></b>. Orwell brought up the same concept in 1984, only there it were television screens and it was the ruling elite class that had access to the footage, whereas Eggers makes a case for free access to the rest of the world of all this info and data. Yet it eliminates personal privacy. </div>
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-Then there is <b><span style="color: black;">ChildTrack</span></b>, a smart one, which plants a small chip in your childs bone, making it possible to trace them always and keep them safe from child predators and such. ChildTrack is a logical extension of the constant tracking of people. And a smart one too, as it appeals straight to our basic fears and parents' direct desires; helicoptering their kids and keeping them completely safe. That it is then extended further in no time into<b> <span style="color: black;">SeeYou</span></b> is no surprise. I personally like to extent this one to my cats 😊I like to know at all times with GPS precision where my cats are. </div>
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-<span style="color: black;"><b>PartiRank</b> </span>gives you status points more or less, for being online and sharing a lot, receiving likes and <span style="text-align: center;">online prominence. It makes sure that everyone is using the Circle system optimally and is at their desk/phone/computer pretty much all the time. A good way to keep people controlled and online. </span></div>
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-<b><span style="color: black;">Demoxie</span></b> is a smart invention, that allows everyone who is registered at the circle to vote online. And more; it forces you to vote, barring access to the social media pages until you voted. </div>
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-<b><span style="color: black;">SeeYou</span></b> tracks anyone with a criminal record, and allows them to lighten up with a bright colour for police and other law enforcers, later for the public at large too. This reminds of Minority Report the movie. Though there is a lesson to be learned from Minority Report. PreCrime all but eliminated murder, rape, and kidnappings as well. Yet when it became clear that it was fallible, it collapsed almost instantly.</div>
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-Then there is a device you carry, that tracks all your vital body functions and detects everything from low or high blood pressure to temperature changes to signs of an illness and communicates it with your doctor. This is super handy, but also opens the door to wide spread use of this info by health insurances.. </div>
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-At some point Mae and others start wearing cameras around their neck, broadcasting everything except toilet breaks, 24/7. “<b><span style="color: black;">Going Clear</span></b>”. Their work, their sleep, the people they meet and talk to. This is done under social pressure by The Circle, and Mae being the perfect employee by now obliges readily and inspires others to do just the same. It is not the same thing as having a television in your apartment that you cannot legally turn off or step out of view of the attached camera (Orwell), but just how different is the outcome really?</div>
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It's not really clear how the author thinks about all he writes about himself but I read his book as a warning, just like Orwell wrote his books as warnings. Because he shows us how the protagonist starts working there and gets very impressed by it all and morphs into this perfect little and later famous worker there, but she gets increasingly more insufferable. She slowly turns into an online addict who gets more and more lonely and mentally unstable as time goes on. There is a point in the book where she is so lonely that she only gets her nerves under control when she mindlessly fills in online customer surveys in the middle of the night, calming only from its robotic rhythm. She has millions of live followers ultimately, but she loses the real contact and closeness with her parents and friends. The <b><span style="color: black;">SeeChange</span></b> camera's are also making it eventually impossible to remain unanimous and go about your own life unwatched. Apart from the fact that I didn't understand why Eggers stuck to these visible and not camouflaged camera's when he had already mentioned recording contact lenses earlier in the book (which are much better protected against vandals), Eggers does a good job in giving just the right case study examples to make a case for his inventions. But I don't understand why people would feel good about being recorded by cameras everywhere they go. Isn't part of the joy of this life the sensation of freedom and autonomy? Taking the car and going somewhere and not being traceable. Not being online and in contact with X hundred/thousand/million followers. And Orwell brought up the same concept in 1984, only there it were television screens and it was the ruling elite class that had access to the footage, whereas Eggers makes a case for free access to the rest of the world of all this info and data. That is a difference, but for everyday people undergoing the constant following, the outcome is more or less the same I think. Mae, recording her life 24/7 at some point, notices the implications of it first hand when she feels uncomfortable eating that 2nd cookie for the eyes of the world, or not cleaning up or dressing to the notch once she carries her camera and is traceable and visible for all her followers, also at her work desk. That level of social control and complete lack of privacy (bar the toilet sounds) is frightening to me.</div>
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Transparency has good sides for sure, especially when it allows us to expose corrupt elites who put their black money on the Cayman Islands. Besides, facebook is ALSO saying that they are pushing the world in the direction of making it a more open and transparent place. I do agree with the transparency needs for the elite and the rulers. But I do not believe that the top rulers will let it ever get as far as in Eggers story. He brushes over the practicalities of it all way too much i felt. The Circle is a powerful company, yes, but the ones ruling the countries behind the scenes will not give in so very easily, allowing everything they do to be recorded and filmed and be open for the public. Lobbyists can prevent or provoke practically everything and anything, and there is no way that the rulers would just bow to public pressure as easily as some do in the book. No way. The whole<span style="color: black;"> </span><b><span style="color: black;">PartiRank</span> </b>concept is just a popularity ranking system which is not far away from our current social media situation. I guess the aim behind it is controlling people and making sure they are using the Circle system optimally and are at their desk/phone/computer pretty much all the time. I expect that the rating concept will become more important in the future. Already the ' like' scraping is important now. Eggers makes a funny leap when he describes how Mae's bedpartner is so hooked on ratings, that he asks her to rate the sex they had afterwards 😃And he wasn't satisfied until he got 100% score, while he could have known his performance wouldn't have even warranted a 70%. They are shown by Eggers to slowly but surely get addicted to the concept of ratings. I bet in time everything you put out there online will be rated by others. Those with the highest scores will become our new celebrities in the future.. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcM99pnLdOViX93hP4TV8mAu0ozuyZRwuUAODdtzdeEKhmFlpOML-kx3YfscnO6Orzm-lzvVzwL8HueKwcILJU51WGZy7-YILeWE21LDyI1A356E3zmlgJ4TXzXzoB6dtegBw1yLpzUAah/s1600/Moravia%252C+negative%252C+1966%253B.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcM99pnLdOViX93hP4TV8mAu0ozuyZRwuUAODdtzdeEKhmFlpOML-kx3YfscnO6Orzm-lzvVzwL8HueKwcILJU51WGZy7-YILeWE21LDyI1A356E3zmlgJ4TXzXzoB6dtegBw1yLpzUAah/s400/Moravia%252C+negative%252C+1966%253B.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: black;">Demoxie</span></b> was a smart invention. And one I actually agree on, in its basic form; people who are <span style="text-align: center;">allowed to vote should vote. Just like in Holland everyone is an organ donor by law, <i>unless </i>they make an official objection against this. Make the effort to correct the ' error' or you are automatically forced to do the right thing. (which is a subjective statement). This was an excellent and not objectable idea and the online voting is a good one too. Democracy doesn't function right unless everyone joins in. Marine le Pen has lost in Frances elections, but at a point when half the voters already predicted not going to vote, she was already making claims of having 40% of Frances support in the days leading up to things. Yehh... 40% of 50% of those who are allowed to vote... not quite the same.. Another bonus is that we will see the end result very quickly, when the voting is done digitally. However, how do we know the counting isn't rigged somehow? I guess we don't know that with full certainty now either. </span><b><span style="color: black;">SeeYou</span> </b>is in essence a defendable idea too, but I fear it will quickly derail into a much larger system where not just criminals are able to be seen and tagged, but where everybody will be seen and tagged. Law enforcers focus on any human being and get the digital info about them in a millisecond. That is a breach of privacy as we know it, no matter how ' practical' this might be for officers and the law. So I like the basic idea but given the direction life is pushed in in general in The Circle (the book), I feel it is too much controlling and too little freedom of movement and privacy. I'm hypocritical here 😊 I like criminals and rapists and murderers to be detectable easily in a crowd, but I don't like all the next steps that might and probably will come out of this eventually, like tagging everyone, tracing everyone's movements. In Holland your are asked all the time to have your medical data thrown in a national database. They keep asking patients to allow this data to be made public, so that lives can be spared in case they have a medical emergency in another part of the country, say, when they visit a friend there. One push on the button and the doctor over there can see all your medical history and medication use. Which is very handy indeed. But, it is also visible for all insurance companies and state institutions. I don't want health insurances to know everything about me, because you know in time they will use it to crank up your fees, as is already the case in the USA I think. (I'm not sure about that). Medical details should be private between doctor and patient and perhaps their pharmacy. Imagine you having had psychological health issues, overcoming it, getting invited for a job interview and the interviewer does a basic check up on your health data, only to read that you once were suicidally depressed. Bam, gone is the job for you. That being said, the device to check your vitals and health is a great one. We should all get a wrist device to measure everything and decide ourselves if we want that info shared in the open, or kept private 😊 Going Transparent should always be a choice. In Eggers world, you can already feel that soon, everyone opting not to be transparent will be labelled a suspect and an outlaw. Or at least, that's how I interpreted it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMn59n6XKMxvKhyF95fdBve23zUMPaxwYSsXrMG22DP5iDd8HHbDXWY4PFTefD4lEGIMs7cX70VbFG0cvQz2R2mb7VIu2Lu8y0HyXix7q7zIpQg8ObftaGV8GzqH5wF8x-RGQse1smWa9-/s1600/Ireland%252C+negative%252C+1972%253B+print%252C+1987-88.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMn59n6XKMxvKhyF95fdBve23zUMPaxwYSsXrMG22DP5iDd8HHbDXWY4PFTefD4lEGIMs7cX70VbFG0cvQz2R2mb7VIu2Lu8y0HyXix7q7zIpQg8ObftaGV8GzqH5wF8x-RGQse1smWa9-/s400/Ireland%252C+negative%252C+1972%253B+print%252C+1987-88.jpg" width="400" /></a>Just because some things are technically possible, doesn't mean that they should be implemented. There are always different interests at play and I am all for changes that benefit the greater good, but there is always a different side to everything. Who would a new rule benefit and who would it harm? Does it conflict with basic human rights? What are our basic human rights anyway these days, which ones should we let go of and which one should we hang onto? And then there is personal preference too; maybe you like the way social media and the net have connected us all, but I think it has a dark side too, where it isolates people, makes them like addicts and zombies if they overdo it, and makes us badly monitored. Eggers has someone say in the book at some point that our brains are small, and not meant to contain all the information of the world. We are overloaded at the moment with information, tasks, social activity, sharing, participating, not missing out. People get burn outs from it. It makes us stressful addicts of news and social (online) participation. I understand that people want to belong, and I understand that (almost) nobody wants to feel an outcast, so that the pressures of social media, and having behaviour that makes you fit in, is a very powerful stimulant for people. But many people are also prone to addictions and to habits and wouldn't it be sad if we end up with humans who only feel safe and validated when they share their everything with the greater community, and are always online and marching along with the status quo? Eggers truly delves into this phenomenon I feel. And I read his book as a warning, just like Orwell wrote his books as warnings. His protagonist Mae starts off weary of the constant posting and zinging and sharing every life detail, but ends up the worst of the bunch, and feels a huge sense of accomplishment over it, which makes her a chanceless, non introspective victim in some readers' eyes. I also felt that Eggers was critical of what he describes himself, because I felt that he really tried to say that despite all the pressure to put everything online, the fact that Mae did a marvelous solo nightly canoe trip, secretly and near the last part of the book, and he made her not zing about it, or even make a single picture of it, tells us his true view on all this shit: we film and we post and read social media constantly because we try to not miss out and to capture that special thing in words or pictures. I once videoed an entire concert of a band I like called Saybia, standing front row and I missed half the concert with fretting about camera angles and audio quality, only to find out back at home that the sound quality was abominable and the video quality even worse. Unusable, and on top others had already put much better videos of the same concert on youtube at that point. yet I missed the live experience of that band for a good part. Dumb... So we try to capture some exciting moment or feeling or experience that we are afraid to miss, but the things about life that we most want to capture may not be, in the end, capturable.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3A-DBU4Hz_xlHPDzo_BB1VuH56qF5RoQE9xJo1h9ZFlX9Ou9q3PggSDTuHc5xaXYDwa7ciGM25EyjzNSqDGYLbO0FKf44hgpbqUvfrLMm-VDnVA3hXOouCVOMd1-wZT04f4r2HxP9gYGH/s1600/Romania%252C+negative%252C+1968%253B.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3A-DBU4Hz_xlHPDzo_BB1VuH56qF5RoQE9xJo1h9ZFlX9Ou9q3PggSDTuHc5xaXYDwa7ciGM25EyjzNSqDGYLbO0FKf44hgpbqUvfrLMm-VDnVA3hXOouCVOMd1-wZT04f4r2HxP9gYGH/s400/Romania%252C+negative%252C+1968%253B.jpg" width="400" /></a>But then again, maybe Mae is normal, because Harvard researchers published <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/109/21/8038.full"><b>this research</b></a>, proving that sharing personal information online gives rewarding vibes to the brain. As part of their study, they asked participants to undergo fMRI scans while stating opinions. The researchers found that <i>“humans so willingly self-disclose because doing so represents an event with intrinsic value, in the same way as with primary rewards such as food and sex.”</i>We should have a cooperative system in the world instead of a competitive one, but this aint gonna happen with our economic system and ruling financial elite. Maybe the Swiss should be an example as they have a small population and the people they do have, have a lot more direct power than any other western country; they can challenge the law personally, even when it has passed in parliament. It tales just 50,000 signatures to get a referendum on any topic that got passed in parliament and the outcome of that national referendum is definitive and has to be implemented. In a way, Eggers brings that one over to the Circle users. Direct voting, direct influence. Only... small side note.... you HAVE to be a member of the Circle to get these rights and opportunities 😊 A commercial company btw, not an independent and neutral entity. A commercial company. It even reads in the book: “We’re closing the circle around everyone—it’s a totalitarian nightmare.” To me the book eventually was quite scary. Freedom includes the right to be an asshole just because I might feel it's the right way to be for me. The whole micro cameras being shoved inside people's homes and in the cities of foreign governments without their consent, are also used to manipulate and control us. The whole episode of Mae being brainwashed to zing the shit out of her life represents the brave new world aspect of the Orwellian nightmare awaiting us in the future that's lying ahead. Eventually I ended up more or less disliking all the Circlers and their cult like mentality. Society also needs the deviant types. The rebels, the nay sayers, those going in another direction. We might be coming to a point where a change of mentality of thinking is going to become prohibited. A society that doesn't evolve dies. One that evolves artificially is also a zombie society and that seems what Eggers might be warning for. Some sort of a synthetic society of children which communicate through likes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Xw31QecKGtHd5xARaQnvWMYySf9RnnkqpxlS0JEj1zFk7vD3rFD_JLzK7UX4SC85rT3KRd8F8C-asju0_F7qUYJX56C_8a5Zvm3DZ9jx6itfgGY2X0sZPiRBPYlxckeazwJFh1ETSKYs/s1600/The-Circle-2017-Movie-Starring-Emma-Watson.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Xw31QecKGtHd5xARaQnvWMYySf9RnnkqpxlS0JEj1zFk7vD3rFD_JLzK7UX4SC85rT3KRd8F8C-asju0_F7qUYJX56C_8a5Zvm3DZ9jx6itfgGY2X0sZPiRBPYlxckeazwJFh1ETSKYs/s320/The-Circle-2017-Movie-Starring-Emma-Watson.jpg" width="320" /></a>Secrecy and lying is useful too. The non proven belief of religion is important to make life bearable for a lot of people, and the illusion of magic is important to keep creativity stimulated. And with regards to secrets needing to be eliminated and the truth needing to be out there always: I believe that some things are best not told. For instance, brains sometimes block and obliterate traumatic events so that the body has the ability to continue going on normally. In practical therms the brain is lying to the body, but it's for a better... survival. I believe this current love for the 70's/80's is somewhat of a reflex to this. Everyone says that the 80's were great (me too, I have a sudden strong love for the 80's lately). Some say that maybe those were our best years. We saw the roots and the start of our modern current society in the 80s, but half the shit we have today we don't need, and back then things seemed or felt more genuine and real. Sometimes the technique is simply out of tune with our real rhythm of living. For instance Amazon is going to deliver books by drones, with a self imposed deadline of two hours after purchasing. Because you're a retard who can't wait for your shit through regular snail mail like everyone else. It's coming to a point where technology is just being used for retarded stuff like that. I wished they were using technology more to try solve actual problems in the world that really matter, instead of for commercial goals.</div><div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Update, some more thoughts on the Circle:</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUJ4cp0E0UBXA2kwYnx92sdz7Lnu0fgrer7i-COyaZ_Rz2L6ohjbIEQEj6jfBy_YMaG2yJIkxD99-ARQXmeR4cl2gW0Wuza1sX1DGTviFfWRp5jne9-d_4Gs-BvTkI42sOlwewGZkvn4-/s1600/18699830_10159062576660019_264730018601686453_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="494" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUJ4cp0E0UBXA2kwYnx92sdz7Lnu0fgrer7i-COyaZ_Rz2L6ohjbIEQEj6jfBy_YMaG2yJIkxD99-ARQXmeR4cl2gW0Wuza1sX1DGTviFfWRp5jne9-d_4Gs-BvTkI42sOlwewGZkvn4-/s400/18699830_10159062576660019_264730018601686453_n.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>
I think that Eggers thinks that he has created a true democracy. Yet often, democracy is impractical. There is a reason that we do have them in national governments. Democracy as the Circle envisioned it would undermine stability immediately. It would turn the business of government into a reality television program, subject to the fickle nature of the trends. It could have positive benefits, sure. The negatives would be far more detrimental overall. The biggest issue that Eggers described in The Circle for me personally is genetic privacy. If my DNA is such that I am more prone to develop heart disease, then it should not be used against my interests (getting health insurance, getting a job etc).Naturally, a lot of people working at health insurance companies do not want that to be the case, they want to charge higher rates for people that are more likely to develop diabetes… just in case. Or think of how this info could be used by companies, preventing them from choosing to hire people based on their likelihood of becoming sick later on. Why hire James if his DNA has made it clear he has an elevated risk for liver disease or lung cancer? Which is a brilliant idea if you’re a millionaire/ billionaire and want to keep costs down. It is a nightmare for the other 99% of society however. We know which will win, if given the opportunity.<br />
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The Circle has devices which monitor your vital signs. We already have the technology to scan retinas and fingerprints. Could we incorporate the ability for your devices to detect eye-strain? Could we read stress levels? If so, would it not be within the realm of possibility to track sleep patterns, even? If your eyes are strained, your device can disable itself except in the case of emergencies. Prevent you from working too many hours at a time. You can authorize your home computer to determine the hours it can lock itself to promote healthy sleep habits. All this would be voluntary. I no longer think dystopian was the right word for the book. It's not like it deals with tyrants, burning earth, raging plagues. All that hasn't happened yet in The Circle, although I did feel he described a civilization that is on the edge. That makes the book very realistic too. And maybe it's also more a mild satire. And The Circle is also in part a novel of ideas I think, as it's written in a simple style with pretty much one dimensional characters. Ideas about the increasing corporate ownership of privacy, and its effects on our democracy. Information is power, and both what we include and what we withhold can be powerful. And since so much information these days is provided through the net, their gate keepers have power. And access. And then there is the tyranny of public opinion on top off all that. And whether privacy is theft, yes or no? I think Eggers might have taken his own technological advanced suggestions serious in the sense that some indeed are clever, practical and improvements to the status quo. Orwell’s vision was more simplistic. It is relatively simple to enforce a tyranny. You create a set of rules and send them out to be obeyed. They do not need to make sense. They can even contradict earlier rules. People generally go along to get along, more afraid of the consequences of disobedience than they are willing to rock the boat. Huxley and Eggers take a more realistic view on modern society, in that we train ourselves to believe in bullshit. Big Brother is not a firearm pointed in our direction to ensure obedience. We tell ourselves that this or that is the prevailing wisdom that it makes sense to enforce en masse.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCl4t2DKD-hON_d7U7v_HtH0uoD9qqGxhShY5b5alnP_KY1Xza1c3TBMy1ODxuZdagxOpSMkHEGQsPnRQ5l_9Po_XPTB2TWSsG9WdV-D437_BdiVReoVSzG4hYUXHDYLfb7HkFFBtR2huT/s1600/Victorian+Bat+Costume..jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="464" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCl4t2DKD-hON_d7U7v_HtH0uoD9qqGxhShY5b5alnP_KY1Xza1c3TBMy1ODxuZdagxOpSMkHEGQsPnRQ5l_9Po_XPTB2TWSsG9WdV-D437_BdiVReoVSzG4hYUXHDYLfb7HkFFBtR2huT/s320/Victorian+Bat+Costume..jpg" width="205" /></a>But I can't shake off the feeling that at the same time, he wrote this book as a satire and a warning. It's like he is reminding the reader that people can be led down a dark path much more easily with good intentions and promises, than with bad ones. It was a warning that too much can be too much.. Mae is chased around like a mad dog in the end. They just made it clear to her that she either made it or faked it with those zings, as long as she was active and visible online all the time. But the end result seemed that due to the immense pressure and time it took her to comply to all these demands, she became hollowed out by all the exposure and pressure of the social media lifestyle. I felt it affected her mentally in a bad way. You need an off stage space too, where you can have your off time, your privacy, your room to recharge. In The Circle that zone-out space was reduced to the toilet cubicles and a short time window used for sex. That seems too much. Or not enough I mean, not enough privacy and "off" time. The underlying warning is aimed towards the way in which big corporations can gain monopoly positions in the near future, also thanks to their shrewd usage of phrases like creativity and freedom and of course, CONNECTIVITY. It is rammed down peoples throats what importance connectivity has to your persona, your image, your happiness, your status. In the end, the biggest aim is for a company like The Circle to become bigger and more powerful (I think). The Circle make their company an essential part of every day life and politics and even of democracy. Voting equals a Circle membership. It is brilliant and sold of course as a service for mankind, a step towards democracy. But from a PR point of view, it is very smart for the company itself too. The big picture to me is this immense place the company wants to take in, the techno titan it wants to be. That goal is so important that the means are a free shooting fest. Making people addictive slaves to their technology? Hell yeah. And they sell it as a service to humanity.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvdDnDh12vnlfRZYJw6KMOBlk_PFiEr7zrSWBEyKyL9pxGFYFMdL-pRY57SvJ3VtVyArMLRzTd_q2c3qxrM9RZzimbEXoxAlT0zarhLpJw6xNUVEDN7jSUjuD1url4lCdPInsk6uWv_sQ/s1600/Taxidermy+cat+hat.+Apparently+this+was+a+thing+because+I+have+a+book+on+Victorian+fashion+that+describes+a+tippet+with+a+real+kitten+head+at+each+end.2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="410" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvdDnDh12vnlfRZYJw6KMOBlk_PFiEr7zrSWBEyKyL9pxGFYFMdL-pRY57SvJ3VtVyArMLRzTd_q2c3qxrM9RZzimbEXoxAlT0zarhLpJw6xNUVEDN7jSUjuD1url4lCdPInsk6uWv_sQ/s400/Taxidermy+cat+hat.+Apparently+this+was+a+thing+because+I+have+a+book+on+Victorian+fashion+that+describes+a+tippet+with+a+real+kitten+head+at+each+end.2.jpg" width="273" /></a>They probably wouldn't have stopped where the book ended; they would get their own currency too. Sure thing. And anything else you can think of that makes them irreplaceable in peoples lives. If you vote, pay, navigate, socialize, shop and entertain all through the Circle, it makes total sense to have them sell gift cards at some point. (not as a replacement of real state printed currency, but in addition, call it Circle coins, functioning perhaps a bit like bitcoins?). And sell credits for the use of zing and text and such perhaps even, further down the line? Or maybe not, they want to encourage people to use those features, not demotivate them. The circle is far more pandering to people's worst impulses, than newspapers ever were. Which also links to the current state of affairs of our society as a whole; never before have we been this media-saturated, technology-crazed and apocalypse-haunted as today, it seems. Their emphasis on good, transparent government is admirable. Transparency of anyone of interest, we can make a case for that as well. A big push for voting is another good one. Tracking criminals and suspects, well now more than ever we need that actually. I just hate how everything is monetized these days. Our google data, our social media info, our everything, it is sold to the highest bidder. But that is also a general thing. You get the same thing when you take your kid to the zoo. It is not a matter of fees, as that is reasonable. Services cost money, which is normal, but our generation has seen the rise of cradle-to-grave commercialization. It starts with advertisements aimed at kids, and it was even more straight forward back in the mid 20th century than today:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyQK3-3u6WMCPq9LAru1du2HM3x8riTN20veGv0uvVt9XTHng3lFd-ai-FhzGyXfEW9c4_iQFTSRxoYyMBMlM3VfWeS0VcKpXYIly3AkdpDPL6pQidUG2Hgxzm5zCBuvTeazgB4PShEzGR/s1600/13.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyQK3-3u6WMCPq9LAru1du2HM3x8riTN20veGv0uvVt9XTHng3lFd-ai-FhzGyXfEW9c4_iQFTSRxoYyMBMlM3VfWeS0VcKpXYIly3AkdpDPL6pQidUG2Hgxzm5zCBuvTeazgB4PShEzGR/s320/13.jpg" width="199" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGp_LAIQrCVC5fgmnGJZXjw1w3CrlvMFKSqxqK4Te5sNMgVNeywrzMCV2za8g3px1CKiQcUA8KkMg7kES_JCgKnDd46jLsbUwhwfw8Io8bUiVtq3LnW-QB1vRYJiOdcnHkaeliEu4escnz/s1600/68ac9cd104405882deb3a4a0ac002d23.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="911" data-original-width="420" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGp_LAIQrCVC5fgmnGJZXjw1w3CrlvMFKSqxqK4Te5sNMgVNeywrzMCV2za8g3px1CKiQcUA8KkMg7kES_JCgKnDd46jLsbUwhwfw8Io8bUiVtq3LnW-QB1vRYJiOdcnHkaeliEu4escnz/s320/68ac9cd104405882deb3a4a0ac002d23.jpg" width="147" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2YVCaqGfIGYVe4_qBuyC-7cdG8swHMWM80tY1-8t7Y1ZRIiCkvuJ_d-9FAz95m8mWEPmNghyphenhyphenYTpizt3j9dOoPj-AbHJ__oj2W26BEYkgJydDm5WgrG19lI4xFNho2SQmW09hlXc_Dbe-/s1600/coca-cola-better-start-life-baby-Vintage-creepy-kids-ads.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="693" data-original-width="550" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2YVCaqGfIGYVe4_qBuyC-7cdG8swHMWM80tY1-8t7Y1ZRIiCkvuJ_d-9FAz95m8mWEPmNghyphenhyphenYTpizt3j9dOoPj-AbHJ__oj2W26BEYkgJydDm5WgrG19lI4xFNho2SQmW09hlXc_Dbe-/w252-h319/coca-cola-better-start-life-baby-Vintage-creepy-kids-ads.jpg" width="252" /></a></div>
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My sister went to New York 2 months ago and insisted on going to the opening Mets game. Bought herself and her partner a shirt and a cap too, and some food of course. I believe the whole enterprise cost them over 500 dollars. The shirts and caps were well over 100 I think she said. Amazing experience I am sure if you love baseball. But why so so so expensive ? I am not even thinking about tourists like her, let them pay, honestly, but the local kids, the fans who aren't nouveau riche or jet setters offspring? Who can afford such prices? And a club with a stadium of homegrown working class fans brings so much atmospheres.. Why make everything so expensive. - Back to the Circle: I think that ultimately, they will make entire databases with our identity info... They already have them for criminals, including DNA profile, fingerprints, pictures and the lot. I think this will be like the start up of the web; it will take time to digitize it all, but ultimately, we will all be filed, our DNA, our fingerprints, our retina scans, and they will sell it by saying that crimes will be solved so much quicker then! They might initiate it all under the pretext of safety, if terrorism increases in the future. But where humans are, there is opposition to the status quo, so people will find ways to create fake identities or change their identities altogether. Either through hacking or through actual physical means to change their finger prints and retinas and even their DNA in a far far stretch? Although I don't have a clue what that would mean for their body, I assume that won't be very easy at all to achieve as the immune system wipes out everything that is genetically alien for now, as it stands.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj-GVl1x5BuAHjTaPCHlsUTXo9pAHSrrxAt-JWVDgib7l_2y6GO6EDe-MSHcTLw4ZlLtGboqQFS8q1n4zglLHaRlRNDIpleaeAM-bIhI5ofplkDuEX_BB6il5cz6k5OgWkrfu2x598EsZB/s1600/Taxidermy+cat+hat.+Apparently+this+was+a+thing+because+I+have+a+book+on+Victorian+fashion+that+describes+a+tippet+with+a+real+kitten+head+at+each+end..jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj-GVl1x5BuAHjTaPCHlsUTXo9pAHSrrxAt-JWVDgib7l_2y6GO6EDe-MSHcTLw4ZlLtGboqQFS8q1n4zglLHaRlRNDIpleaeAM-bIhI5ofplkDuEX_BB6il5cz6k5OgWkrfu2x598EsZB/s320/Taxidermy+cat+hat.+Apparently+this+was+a+thing+because+I+have+a+book+on+Victorian+fashion+that+describes+a+tippet+with+a+real+kitten+head+at+each+end..jpg" width="272" /></a>There were plenty of funny bits in the book too btw. I liked some of the descriptions, for instance the way Dan was described to nod "emphatically, as if his mouth had just uttered something his ears found quite profound".<br />
Or Mercer, spending hours thinking of ways to "unsubscribe to mailing lists without hurting anyone's feelings" ? Or Gina calling Mae Mae, instead of Maebelline (after the make-up brand), and the light joke that came from it:<i> “MaeDay. Like the war holiday. Isn’t that cool?</i>”. Mae then not knowing what that war holiday was exactly, but I hope it's safe to bet that every reader got the MayDay hint. The distress code signal. But there is more, because May Day was indeed a holiday of sorts over time, and eventually used for the day in which military parades, totalitarian power shows, were organized in Stalins time. That one links to the KGB and in extension to Orwell. So MaeDay has quite a few interesting references. I didn't expect multilayered personalities with deep twisted psychological alleyways in this book, and we didn't get any of those either. Mercer mainly has dialogues or monologues that come down to warnings of how the internet gets in the way of human communication. Bailey tells us all the good that comes from the same internet and social online community. Which is fine, but it is always better to have the reader discover all this, rather than him or her being told. But that wasn't all that important in the big scheme of things, because the story and their very realistic ideas were the centroid of the book. And the constant challenges it poses on what you, the reader, think of it all. Who do you sympathize with, which of the polar points of view do you side with, which ideas are too much and which are innovative in a good way? Too much social media activity is described as a dangerous thing in the book. Of course, the internet isn't all bad and also has strengths. The level of interactivity it brings, for instance. Books themselves do not, and neither does television as a medium in itself. So that alone is a big benefit of the net. The prime worry that people have with the net is privacy, which is directly linked to (capitalistic) predators or the government. And in this book that concern is touched upon a bit as well I think. But such fears are inherent also of the new technology kid coming to town. People had worries about television as well. Even the radio would keep us from reading in the eyes of doom thinkers.<br />
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The idea of using an internal chip to track children might be seen as common sense. We do it for pets, after all. We do it for our cars and notebooks. Of course, Eggers didn’t delve too deeply into the particulars, it was mostly a minor plot detail to help frame Mae’s relationship with the two-pump chump. I have no doubt that it will be a thing of the future, at the very least for electronic surveillance by the government in criminal investigations. Tagging everyone is ridiculous and wrong however. Whereas Google has no such limitation. An employee with sufficient authorization can sift through our emails at will. I doubt Google allows this, but what is the worst that can happen if said employee is caught doing so? They lose their job, at worst. If this sort of thing is sanctioned at a high enough level, even that is not likely to take place for this. If the American Government uses these chips for investigation purposes, I imagine that the chip can be activated only with a missing persons report, for example. Once the kid has his eighteenth birthday, the access to the tracker for the parents is stopped. The government has no access to the tracker (and the Circle can stonewall them indefinitely) without an approval from a judge in pursuit of a criminal investigation. It is an idea that can be made to work. But given the crudeness and brutality of mankind, I can imagine the sort of crazy shit criminals can do to extract that chip from bone. They would have to take steps to ensure a criminal wouldn’t simply extract the chip from children, for example. That it has to be installed in a manner that makes it difficult to remove would make it equally daunting for a child that has reached his eighteenth birthday to elect to have it removed. Even if you were to choose to deactivate it once an adult, how can you be sure it is idling?<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">April 20th 2017</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT2mgQzwBW1U3VwQ_YvQ0i6to3qKx72mt3yDYZr_enHZhUuQwTVvd6n7QyCvtn6H6urUdDPzykLmO0OdLQI7NaBh3mwfjaBhj3v7LGDG-U_twOMW4Jnx8tihae6NVqAIUUS-qexDD9dPug/s1600/c0a165b802381164afcb3498768954b9.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: "times new roman"; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT2mgQzwBW1U3VwQ_YvQ0i6to3qKx72mt3yDYZr_enHZhUuQwTVvd6n7QyCvtn6H6urUdDPzykLmO0OdLQI7NaBh3mwfjaBhj3v7LGDG-U_twOMW4Jnx8tihae6NVqAIUUS-qexDD9dPug/s400/c0a165b802381164afcb3498768954b9.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">After a month long flare, my skin seems finally to have calmed down a bit again. Which is a relief as having a burning and more than normal red face, without much respite and regardless of your usual anti inflammatory diet and other happy life triggers, is beyond depressing. Add to that the Easter holiday - I somehow miss having a family in weekends, especially Sundays, and during holidays - and you get a lethargic and grumpy person who hardly feels the urge to stop watching tv series and other forms of mindless procrastination. Instead I had to go to an Easter meal with a group of people I didn't even know well, which is daunting for me even when I'm in good shape. Now it was draining; trying to appear care free and cheery, trying to ignore a burning glowing face, trying to avoid the worst trigger foods without looking like a rabbit who only eats salad (yet who <i>isn't </i>model thin anymore, like before I started mirtazapine for my flushing). I was happy to be home again, frankly. And to be able to put the fan back on. I am past the initial awful years of rosacea, when the anxiety and depression of having all these skin triggers, and no longer having normal, reliable, stable skin anymore, hit me like a ton of bricks. Having this for 18 years already now, made me live with rosacea almost half my entire lifetime by now, so you do get used to the craziness of hypersensitive skin and constant flush tendencies eventually. I don't think I really ever got my complete care free and bubbly old self back. sad to say, and I don't mean it in a dramatic way, but I think many people with rosacea openly or inwards dream about a week of respite. A week off, and what we would do then. There was a threat once about this on my beloved Rosacea Forum, and the majority of people mentioned days at the beach, in the sun, drinking alcoholic cocktails I remember haha. Then eating double sized pepperoni pizza's with buckets of red wine with friends, then going on outrageous dancing fests. All the stuff that we don't do with complete care free attitudes anymore these days. But despite getting used to all this, I still have periods of feeling down. The depression can be awful.. I usually force myself to be busy busy busy then, with writing or freelance work, reading, meeting friends, organizing or tidying things, getting lost in movies or tv series, or anything really that distracts. I usually find after a given time that I feel better again then. Like waves passing by. Something else that bothers me these days is that I hear and read all sorts of future promises that scientist talk about and say are in the pipeline. I've seen videos of limbless people controlling robotic bionic arms with brain implants, steering them simply by thinking about it. Scientists are working on the exact mapping and understanding of our DNA now. They are already rebuilding pigs with DNA deviations now, to make them grow older or without illness. Soon, we will become even more integrated with technology. After all, most of us already have symbiotic relationships with our phones these days, so that step isn't even as big as it might sound to be now :) Some people these days have shown severe addiction and anxiety and restlessness and obsessive thoughts if they couldn't touch their smartphones, while participating in psychological tests to investigate these things. Especially when they heard pings, but weren't allowed to touch the phone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyeu2BYYowX9NwIc2HXq9hNvzViKnlt5KSKQhg2lbS78krr_1e-vzpHcFNkNBS_w5n5wJ8q6c8_3AyrWzT_FeamcFDRkFWvEQNNg1MYoz_s-NkEaBGKYVjWPU3RRZFWnH3kWCEDCTUyCau/s1600/Another-naughty-postcard.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyeu2BYYowX9NwIc2HXq9hNvzViKnlt5KSKQhg2lbS78krr_1e-vzpHcFNkNBS_w5n5wJ8q6c8_3AyrWzT_FeamcFDRkFWvEQNNg1MYoz_s-NkEaBGKYVjWPU3RRZFWnH3kWCEDCTUyCau/s400/Another-naughty-postcard.jpg" width="290" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>I think that at some point in the future, nobody will be eating meat that came from an animal anymore. The lab will grow meat in the future. Labs will grow meat for consumption, that isn't made from dead animals. It will look and taste exactly the same, but be made through gene therapy; </span><span>it would be a sample taken from animals, which is then grown. Or even cloned and copied indefinitely. O</span><span>ur current times might feel very modern to us now, but they will be old news sooooo soon from now. We seem to be really on the tipping point between an old world without even mobile phones and the net, and the future that is full of technological advances and automatization and such. </span><span>They can probably soon take a cell from your skin and from someone else, and turn it into a living baby in the lab. Or take just your own cell and make a clone from it. A</span><span>nd add to that, that existing people can live 150 years at least by then, and have the ability to replace their organs when needed, by perfect copies of their original organs, through stem cell therapy, growing the perfect replicas in the lab that do not cause any rejection issues. T</span><span>here are some scientists that believe that people have already been born that will live for hundreds of years. </span><span>Yet here I am, anno 2017, still stuck with a malfunctioning body. With a skin that is out of order and a body with all sorts of auto immune diseases, for which nobody even has found a cure yet. It's absolutely hopeless making sometimes, having all this knowledge about advancing technology, yet being burdened with something that most likely will be a thing from the past sooner than later. Most likely just out of my reach. Soon they most likely can create new healthy skin for everyone, with repaired DNA. </span>Luckily, a lot of people with rosacea can eventually find a treatment that works for their skin, calming things thoroughly down or even going<span> into remission. Granted, the flushing subtype 1 tends to be a bit more difficult to treat, but there are options, including <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/09/the-science-behind-my-current-medication.html"><b>anti flushing medication</b></a>, <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/11/the-antimalarials-mepacrine-and.html"><b>anti inflammatory medication</b></a>, <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/10/food.html"><b>diet</b></a> changes, <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2017/02/natural-anti-inflammatory-treatment_17.html"><b>natural supplements</b></a> or <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2013/03/ipl-or-laser-for-rosacea-flushing-and.html"><b>laser/IPL treatments</b></a>. </span><span>I know so many people who used to have subtype 1 rosacea so very bad and who got it almost completely under control eventually. I happen to be unfortunate in that IPL didn't work for me and even made me a lot worse during my first ever treatment. And I'm unfortunate in that my flushing is quite severe and hasn't gone into remission (yet). But I keep on track with the things that do help me and my rosacea is a lot more bearable now than before I saw Professor Chu and started anti flushing medication. </span><span>And for everyone still out in the woods, I would advice to take</span><span> things one step at a time, and to </span><span>make a list of all the treatment options and all the medication and supplements you think you will want to try. A</span><span>nd to start testing and find out for yourself what works and what doesn't.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SW98wrlMFFiXB1HpfO93Pa-oKpVBTtVCIP2P9IImHaZxIYfbbm0w77168EaGP-7GFxXFSqiKa_paLBpsvkXZB3GX-zDt_oIz4pzRhUhj2Ah7EWnLksj6LIMzoD9yJMslIFNPuYtt7BBQ/s1600/4798b79128b7609689a045cc25d24020.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SW98wrlMFFiXB1HpfO93Pa-oKpVBTtVCIP2P9IImHaZxIYfbbm0w77168EaGP-7GFxXFSqiKa_paLBpsvkXZB3GX-zDt_oIz4pzRhUhj2Ah7EWnLksj6LIMzoD9yJMslIFNPuYtt7BBQ/s400/4798b79128b7609689a045cc25d24020.jpg" width="327" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span>All rosacea cases might look alike, but I think they are often very different. Just the difference between subtype 1 and 2 is already profound. Rosacea seems an umbrella term for skin conditions that all deal with redness and inflammation, but which are otherwise quite diverse. Flushing and burning requires different treatment usually than permanent 'solid' skin redness and bumps and outbreaks. Antibiotic creams and pills often work for subtype 2, and if not there are also Soolantra cream, low dose doxycycline (oracea), topicals like tea tree oil and low dose roaccutane even to help out, but none of these are typically a solution for subtype 1 rosacea, with red hot skin and flushing that comes and goes. Subtype 1 is often much more about blood vessel disorder, or underlying firing up conditions like allergies or auto immune diseases or hormonal or central nervous system things, that make the blood vessels widen even more. Often people with subtype 1 also have thin and sensitive skin that doesn't protect anymore. </span><span>There is a lot less known about this one, and demodex mites and bacteria are less often playing a role in subtype 1 than in subtype 2. And when people have underlying auto immune diseases, then these can be like a fire under the rosacea. Many people with rosacea seem to actually have a digestive disorder of some sorts, or auto immune diseases, may it be thyroid disease, IBD, asthma, arthritis, erythromelalgia, lupus, allergies or another one. There have been people with full out rosacea skin, who turned out to have a mast cell disorder and a histamine intolerance, or a food allergy all along. Then fixing that problem or cutting out allergens can be enough for the skin to recover. So it is complex.. That's why you need a good doctor or dermatologist to help put the puzzle pieces together and do additional testing. Typically dermatologists want to rule out lupus and carcinoma cancers, which can give a rosacea like skin appearance. But then there are other skin conditions that might look like rosacea, including regular acne, eczema, dermatitis and seborrheic dermatitis. </span></span><br />
</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZWWBfONGi6pT266hVjZZLgcvnRCKcwz7V6RySYdJIvLLEGT9fr1G8qKG-K9XLozR5xS7wPMIc7JGTq8WQnUrhQeAI3Oe1k_bQeVxHgtEgBAyV-5CLBhRd9w0WGE3ep66BemW7IV3bt8Ho/s1600/57e8f39dc657f2e0b38a15366019cf2e.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZWWBfONGi6pT266hVjZZLgcvnRCKcwz7V6RySYdJIvLLEGT9fr1G8qKG-K9XLozR5xS7wPMIc7JGTq8WQnUrhQeAI3Oe1k_bQeVxHgtEgBAyV-5CLBhRd9w0WGE3ep66BemW7IV3bt8Ho/s320/57e8f39dc657f2e0b38a15366019cf2e.jpg" width="213" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><br /></span><span>Anyway, when you struggle with a red and flushed face, I would personally approach this problem very strategic, which helps you eliminating possible causes and treatment options, and also might help you to feel at least a little bit of control, in a situation where your skin will feel definitely </span><i>out</i><span> of control. Control taken away by rosacea and its many flare triggers. When your skin normally was a protective shield and something that was just there, just functioning as normal, it can be devastating when it suddenly stops protecting. Stops functioning as usual. On top, rosacea flares might not always look look you are on fire to the outside world (and sometimes they do), but even pink cheeks can feel to you as if they are on fire. And that is a frightening sensation. </span><span>Some people asked me if I think that subtype 1 rosacea automatically turns into subtype 2, if you let it roam free long enough. I don't think so. Or it didn't happen to me at least. It does seem to happen to some others, if I am to believe the literature on rosacea. But for me, </span><span>I have had type 1 for 18 years now and I have never developed into stage 2. Sometimes a long period of facial flushing makes my skin break out a bit in small red bumps, but they are the result for me of face swelling and inflammation, not of a bacterial issue with the skin. They go away soon enough again for me , and when I can control my flushing for longer periods at a time, I don't seem to get the break outs either. </span><span>However, I can trigger them by using skin care products that my skin reacts to.. </span><span>With subtype 1 rosacea, with coming and going redness and flushing and burning, you</span><span> need to focus I think on getting the flushing under control I think. The longer you can stop the flushing and the longer you can bring the redness back to a more normal skin colour, the more chance the skin and blood vessels have to calm down. I flushed for a year straight in 2005, no exaggeration, and I was convinced that it was the death stabbing for my skin. that I would never be pale again, that my blood vessels would have spread and spread into this vast red network, never to be normalized again. But only a week into my new anti flushing regime, and my skin could look pale and normal again for periods on end.. I don't have big visible veins I must stress, no telangiectasia. </span></span><br />
<span><span><br /></span><span>When you go to your doctor or dermatologist and you want to try a certain medication for your </span>rosacea, then I would advice you to print out medical papers, ideally from Pubmed or so, that states that research found this or that medication to be beneficial for rosacea or for the treatment of hot flashes. On my blogpost on my medication I have already provided links with every medication I take. Doctors might feel unwilling to prescribe these medications for good reasons, but sometimes they also just don't know that there are ways to treat the flushing and burning. This is one of the most debilitating aspects of rosacea, yet there is very little information out there or research done on how to treat this aspect of rosacea. The medications that my London professor uses to treat his rosacea patients are not specifically designed for rosacea. Yet they have a long standing record to treat other conditions, of which we can benefit. Luckily there is research done for each and every one of them for the treatment of hot flashes and sometimes even for the treatment of rosacea. Use that information to show it to your doctor. they don't always know every little corner of the specializations of less well understood conditions like rosacea. It might also help to print out some patient reviews, especially The Rosacea Forum is a massive database of decades of rosacea patient information and experience. And in case you flare, but not on the day of your appointment, you might want to consider printing out a full flare picture of yourself. So that the doctor sees what your skin can look like on any given moment. It is also important that if you feel pain and burning, that you emphasize this to your doctor. Rosacea is all too often seen as a primarily cosmetic condition. And though it sometimes is just that, often it also gives a lot of neuropathic pain and skin tightness and downright acid like burning. The amount of skin redness can be indicative for the level of nerve pain, but doesn't have to be. I used to just get pink in my early days, yet I would feel like my skin was on fire all the same. It was very difficult back then to explain this to my family and friends. And even to my GP.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjJ-nvkdbR1gRS1MPm7PbUF-JZiMqw6rk0kUucT6QuIGfXSk9czR0dKtIFeDwDgoOkmjYd2x3oHAQmdKa4I_N1o3e2JJQEQiYtod0xkIpp0HRKyQ5xqGQZVh9eUslzmZGDFMIyqD8x3ui/s1600/ac2d638d52375d839b11680441289c1f.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjJ-nvkdbR1gRS1MPm7PbUF-JZiMqw6rk0kUucT6QuIGfXSk9czR0dKtIFeDwDgoOkmjYd2x3oHAQmdKa4I_N1o3e2JJQEQiYtod0xkIpp0HRKyQ5xqGQZVh9eUslzmZGDFMIyqD8x3ui/w231-h374/ac2d638d52375d839b11680441289c1f.jpg" width="231" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">My blood vessels seem hyper reactive; anything can make them dilate and get the heat and blood gushing. I have literally asked doctors, in my worst year, if I couldn't get a skin transplant. Crazy as this might sound, I thought about skin burn victims and how someone like Katy Piper doesn't seem in pain. She had a horrendous acid attack on her skin. You still see her scars, but when I was burning up in a never ending inferno, I rationalized that her skin at least seems robust now, even though you can see she had injuries. She can wear make up, she can go to dinners, she can go out. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">And since the skin everywhere else on my body looks and behaves normal, I have asked doctors back then what the options were to just get some skin off my back or something, and patch my face up with non burning, non red skin. I know this might sound offensive to actual skin burn victims, but at this point I just wanted the burning heat and pain to stop. But I was told that they can't do a skin transplant, and they wouldn't do it for something like rosacea anyway. But even if they could and wanted to, it would be futile in the end (or so these two doctors I brought it up to claimed), because apparently it are the blood vessels underneath our facial skin that are defect, and inflammation in the body attacking the facial skin on top, which would both, with time, ruin the newly transplanted skin too. The big feeding blood vessels are not replaced with a skin transplant and when your rosacea is a result of malfunctioning blood vessels, inflamed blood vessels which have a tendency to spread and unnaturally branch out, it would be a matter of time befoe the new skin would be affected too. I am still not sure if I buy that verdict btw. Because perhaps a skin transplant would at least make sure that there is no more nerve pain. But it is all theory, because there seems no way any specialist would do something as drastic as a skin transplant for a condition that is still seen as minor and cosmetic as rosacea. It's a silly what if question, nothing more.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzkneGi_UADOSkLr8RqKwqQABQHxISFff20nrr9LUm4gvi57M8XBNX9WJxptGMy2OSoDViqfsUDLckiPayrtSNDvJqdll8P2W6d2diO2Y4zaddsJBraGkODQy_KwATImcAD-Z74QSQvlcy/s1600/DSC02113%252C5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzkneGi_UADOSkLr8RqKwqQABQHxISFff20nrr9LUm4gvi57M8XBNX9WJxptGMy2OSoDViqfsUDLckiPayrtSNDvJqdll8P2W6d2diO2Y4zaddsJBraGkODQy_KwATImcAD-Z74QSQvlcy/w234-h311/DSC02113%252C5.jpg" width="234" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Oh, and </span>I've also been sunbathing again lately. My vitamin D levels are really low, every time I have them tested. And since vitamin D3 supplements make me flushed (maybe the dose is too high, maybe the synthetic D3 is not digested well by my body, who will say..), I resort to sunbathing! On advise of my internist doctor. I don't burn but tan quickly on my body skin and so I am told to sunbathe on sunny days for about 30 minutes a day, around noon (so that there is enough UVB radiation) and without sun screen... I built myself some lame sun bed, where I hide my face behind the door, but have full body sun exposure. Well, minus the bikini of course. I also put a fan on so that i don't have my face heat up. it's quite joyous to have a warm body for a change! I got a good tan already too. I think that in summer my rosacea is less bad than in winter and partly I think this is because the cold winter air makes my skin more red and dry, but also partly because I have more vitamin D in my system in summer.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">March 24th 2017</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There has been more traveling this month and my skin is pretty red all round, unfortunately. I've ended up in an obsessive cycle of fretting about toothpaste, and I am using the regular fluoride toothpaste again for some time now, and my skin is consistently 2 shades more red... I feel terrible about it all, I can't keep making my skin worse. I'm already cooling most of my day. I pretty much live behind a fan, attached to it as f it were an IV-machine, and only going out when it's cool outside. I have had complete nightmares with my teeth the past years. Always perfect teeth until I stopped using fluoride (and in all frankness, it also coincided with me happily increasing my sugar intake at the time). Well, you might all know the story by now, but had some cavities some years back and the filling material made me purple. I couldn't take it anymore after 3 weeks and had the fillings removed, then replaced by another filling, which did the same thing. Dentist with his hands in his hair, yes, I did look really worrisome indeed.. face swollen up entirely, skin the colour of a blueberry.. In the end the back molars are invisible even when I laugh out loud, due to my small mouth, so they could go. Get them out!! That helped a lot, my skin eventually calmed down once the chemicals were out. (I add pictures from the dental problem period below this update). But it left me fairly petrified. Ever since I have extreme anxiety over the dentist and last November another alll the way in the back molar had a cavity too. Needed to be removed surgically in hospital too, which was a complete nightmare to convince these surgeons to not fill it normally. And once I managed to do that, it took them an hour of cutting and pulling and torture to finally get this super strong, all the way back in the mouth molar out (metal crams to get my mouth open wider, causing a tear in the mouth corner, brr). Then the top broke off and the root was stuck deep in the bone, and the surgeon was fresh out of med school, and struggling on for a full hour. Not that it was her fault by the way.So this is a Marathon-Man type of obsession with me now. Great, to add to the regular rosacea stress. SO I brush and I floss, preferably with a fluoride free toothpaste because it makes me less red, but I use a fluoride one in the evenings now, just to be on the safe(r) side. Then i bought fluoride rich bottled mountain water, to swiss in my mouth now and then (my antihistamines and mirtazapine give me dry mouth), and then on top, to top off the neurotics, I now and then rinse with betonite clay ("remineralize"). Not to be brushed with, because it is abbrasive and scrubs too much, and brushes off your enamel and gums otherwise. And I avoid sugar and I drink with a straw and I obsess about little dents and spots on my teeth. A day's chore. Life's a peach for me, currently :) </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Luckily, otherwise I am not feeling overtly depressed. Or anxious. Although life with constant burning and painful skin and the bags of things to avoid aren't particularly uplifting. I'm keeping myself busy though, with work projects I luckily love, or writing or reading or movies or chats with friends. Walks too. Meet ups when I am not feeling too burned up. Life could be a lot better, but life could also be a lot worse.</span><div style="font-family: "times new roman";">
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b>Good versus bad skin periods the past few weeks:</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieJG1n7N9tcEqRenu9hWWCNCeBSnrzFzG_xsjKh9VEptOjqtNZhpeBUTJoDIk3nGwW1vm-WZuU4pNo1uAq7SylFClT53Qqg6yXIE34UA-zmFXheXXKlqvQjSfLBnRSPWYt5fnvsj7ZzeL8/s1600/ANP-50073544-1200x800.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "times new roman"; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieJG1n7N9tcEqRenu9hWWCNCeBSnrzFzG_xsjKh9VEptOjqtNZhpeBUTJoDIk3nGwW1vm-WZuU4pNo1uAq7SylFClT53Qqg6yXIE34UA-zmFXheXXKlqvQjSfLBnRSPWYt5fnvsj7ZzeL8/s320/ANP-50073544-1200x800.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Holland had political elections over a week ago. We had our own right wing populist in the works, called Geert Wilders. He needed to win the most seats in order to have any power. In the polls (yeh, those polls again..) he had a lead, but in the end the alterations our current PM had with Turkey gave our PM an excuse to show his muscles and act all PM-like and that made him gain some extra votes and seats in the end. So Wilders did have more votes and seats than he had 4 years ago. He won in a way, but then again, he lost. The thing is, nobody wants to rule with him and not just because he is anti immigration. More parties are these days, including our own chrrrristian CDA party, and some others, they all picked up on the Muslim/ immigration negative waves that go through the country. But Wilders' party (PVV) did rule some 5 years ago with the VVD (the equivalent of the American Republican liberals I think, or the British Tories perhaps) and CDA (the christian conservatives), only for Wilders to walk out on the coalition within half a year or so. I forgot the details but they had to have new elections all over again in no time, because Wilders just walked out. So nobody wants to have him on board again. Not just because he has some right wing ideas. He is a ticking time bomb. And another sweet trait of him; he wants to cut down even more on people on the dole, crank the nazi regime up even more. I'm not on the dole, but I read that it is already a stasi regime now as it is, with dole people needing to ask permission for even a week of holiday. They now force people to take any job that is offered to them and make sure they keep that job. Or else they are cut off or cut down in welfare. They force people to travel up to THREE hours a day for a job, if they are offered one that is far away. They can force people to move to an entirely other part of the country if they are offered a job there. Anything you inherit or gain or possess has to be reported and you are cut in your welfare there too. They are allowed to barge into your house at any given time to investigate whatever they want. Get a bf or gf? Then they can pay for your living cost and you are cut. Dole people are forced to do shoveling or whatever it is they can find them to do as a payback for getting welfare money. I am all for people working, but then there must be suitable jobs on offer as well. Punishing those with no means to work, simply because they cannot work, I don't support. But maybe this is rooted more in the way Holland has been a welfare state for so long. My mother sat for the Labour party in local government for some time, we just grew up with these ideals and not just ideals; it also was reality in the 80's and 90's. I believe in the benefit of a welfare state, where those with the highest income pay relatively more taxes than those with very low income. And where the roads are well, education is good, hospitals are running, people are having affordable health care and there is a safety net when you cannot work for whatever reason. Luckily this is still the case over here. But since the 2008 crisis, a lot of safety nets have been removed here, by a more right wing cabinet in politics. Especially the elderly and the chronically ill paid a heavy prize. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1igp0LBPxNLr4p4rtXKgePzxxDQUGpkj0cgWQrMe8bErkMLM4y2EMb4U2GiTYvGX3-t2v-vmNAJGBy7IansV_-6jxz78HdfknkmFvNE3O1xopFuplb1HL8_vcmbW9o286vaY_rAlXQ93/s1600/ZZDSC00798+-+kopie.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1igp0LBPxNLr4p4rtXKgePzxxDQUGpkj0cgWQrMe8bErkMLM4y2EMb4U2GiTYvGX3-t2v-vmNAJGBy7IansV_-6jxz78HdfknkmFvNE3O1xopFuplb1HL8_vcmbW9o286vaY_rAlXQ93/s320/ZZDSC00798+-+kopie.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite the economy going a lot better by now than in 2008 (and the way budgets were tightened in the past 5 years surely played some role in this), welfare people are cut to 70% of minimum wage and they want to cut it back even further, while the middle classes and the rich are getting more money from now on and lesser taxes. How is that fair? Many poor people cannot afford to go to the doctor anymore, as the premiums for health care are around 130 euro at the least per month, with an own risk of close to 400 euro. I am through my own risk in the first two months of the year! That is almost 2000 euro a year. We used to have a state owned health care system. 50 euro a month, and you were fully covered for everything, from medication use to hospitalization to the dentist. It all went downhill once the Dutch state allowed corporations to take over, and when they privatized health care. The same thing happened with public transport, the post system, electricity, part of education and so on. Even hospitals are run by an army of managers now. I voted for the green left wing party Groen Links. I agree only partly with them however.. But the party that I want, doesn't exist. I want a socialist party that both wants to cut immigration down, limiting it to political refugees but not as much allowing economic refugees anymore, ánd who lets the poor share in the good economy and doesn't kick them when they are down, or forces them to have penalties for not working when there simply are no jobs for people too old, or too sick, or out of the working place for too long. Now they get fines, even when there is no work. While the rich are getting it better all the time. The whole division between the 1% and the rest has been growing steadily since the 1970's and I wished there was a better spreading out of the money, with much more of the wealth spread over the middle classes. Like it was the case back in the 1950's. But nowadays the choice is either between socialistic ideas about the poor, but also a leftist point on view on immigration, or a far right party who has a good grasp on immigration but wants to butcher the poor even more and throw all dole people on the street to suffer. Over here there have been problems with immigration and integration for a long time now. Some places are riddled with crime and poor integration, Gouda for instance. Places in <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4258014/Was-Trump-right-Sweden.html">Sweden</a> look like the<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4251958/Perhaps-Trump-right-Swedes-immigrant-problem-real.html"> new caliphate</a> by now. Documentary makers trying to film in Stockholm ' ghetto's' are <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4024854/Moment-documentary-maker-punched-kicked-choked-five-migrants-entering-no-zone-Swedish-city.html">beaten up and choked</a> these days. Charming. (I know those links are Daily Mail material, but there are plenty of other sources, from those newspapers and individuals who decide to speak out instead of wiping this stuff under the carpet). </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, during our elections, the international press was out in great force to see if we would start a string of right wing nationalism in europe with a 'Nexit'. Didn't happen and I am not surprised. Because the thing with the EU is that Holland relies on the EU. Its a very small country with a big economy that leans on trade and businesses a lot, and they reallllly benefit from all the EU trade deals etc. We're not big enough to pull a Nexit off, most people think. I'd love to get rid of Brussels bureaucracy maze, but the EU membership has brought Holland a lot of good, financially. Besides; the middle classes and upper class group is too big, and they have no personal interest in upheaval of the economic system, that comes with leaving the EU. I think the EU is a nice construct, but burdened by a huge immobile clog of diplomats and bureaucrats in Brussels, who aren't chosen democratically, and who make the whole enterprise quite slow and heavy and even corrupt. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8xVDGmkrQi9-YNCh_yxGzjsuqfPBmpkrLx3ckzzEr49B8xLKe_gkoPWNT1oSAO5Kc6tPpTiB6bxPyOP-wObw9TNP2pr7MxO8jeury6KB1pmS-JrZTE7bTFY5s6IO6BIbgwessX_CPSNH/s1600/erdoganrutte21mrt-2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8xVDGmkrQi9-YNCh_yxGzjsuqfPBmpkrLx3ckzzEr49B8xLKe_gkoPWNT1oSAO5Kc6tPpTiB6bxPyOP-wObw9TNP2pr7MxO8jeury6KB1pmS-JrZTE7bTFY5s6IO6BIbgwessX_CPSNH/s320/erdoganrutte21mrt-2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">But that wasn't all that can be told about the election time. There also was a bit of a Turkish mess; a couple of days before the election here, there was an alteration between our current PM (Mark Rutte) with Turkey, and it gave our PM an excuse to show his muscles and act all PM-like and that made him gain some extra votes and seats in the end. More then the polls were showing, up until then, and his adequate actions seemed to have given some swinging voters a push towards his party. So, what happened here? We were basically having a mini Turkey riot here last week. Their minister wasn't allowed to land here, as I understand, because he wanted to campaign in Holland for Erdogans Turkish elections.<i> The nerve </i>haha, and that during Dutchie election times. Our PM (Mark Rutte) wouldn't have it! But in the end, it seemed a coordinated showmance bromance. It gave Rutte here a good 5 extra seats in the end (going by the polls at least), and Erdoğan needs a foreign enemy for his own elections. So that he can distract the attention from himself and create some unified enemy in the EU. Their campaign was not going well in Turkey, from what I heard, because there is noone left to attack. The kemalists are already defeated, more or less. But now PM Mark Rutte was the national enemy. Or more precisely, the State of Holland. And lets face it; with so many Turkish citizens, Holland is a bit like a 2nd Turkey anyway. Maybe 3rd, after Almanya (Zurmany). It caused riots in our streets, from Dutch Turks who were very upset with this decision. They attacked the police, made fires, demolished some things that stood in the way. The stuff one does when one is miffed. Haha, I even heard that some Turkish trolls were sending angry messages to <i>François Hollande</i> instead (Frances president). Just 2 countries further mate, no biggie! </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Or they were writing poor English in the midst of their hate tantrum: </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1nMPVwwCoBtEFuNdgptx8VyCWdXGf5kshWV5F_hmbxMQlSZCLsaIXLV9wSAPJA7hkqhZWmykTF0OzU5UpG-Xyk9j-GJw2980KN_gEzRGfmqhrFrDcqRcFqFWSZCiqgg2pT3eN3xmfxI3/s1600/ZZDSC08843.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "times new roman"; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1nMPVwwCoBtEFuNdgptx8VyCWdXGf5kshWV5F_hmbxMQlSZCLsaIXLV9wSAPJA7hkqhZWmykTF0OzU5UpG-Xyk9j-GJw2980KN_gEzRGfmqhrFrDcqRcFqFWSZCiqgg2pT3eN3xmfxI3/s400/ZZDSC08843.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">So overall, Erdo needed this collision just as much as PM Rutte did. Evil tongues in newspaper columns even hissed that it was all done in agreement. Tsk tsk tsk... Especially after Erdoğans party lost 10 percent of their votes. I heard that he didn't let other parties form coalitions, and called for new elections in the most cunning way: He gave his own party the order and duty to form a coalition government, but they waited until the very last day with this. Then they declared that they couldn't. Then Erdoğan waited until the very last day and declared the need for another election I'm not making this up. Of course, many people died in between. They said: "To end this chaos, vote for us". So people did. Erdo in return said that the opposition failed. Which is why I did like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp9s8Ob8vc0&t=1s"><b>this</b></a> Eddy Izzard clip/history lesson. People don't necessarily care if you murder your own people. They mainly care if you kill people in the country next door. But autocrats...killing their own people? Oh well. A journalist last week claimed that Erdoğan's party was preparing an advertisement in February, revolving a football match; Turkey vs. some Foreign country... In it, the referee is biased, and is consistently making poor decisions. Then suddenly a small girl (with headscarf of course) rushes to the pitch and gives a red card to the European referee... I don't think it is a coincidence that the one female minister he has in his entire cabinet, the one we declared ''persona non grata'' here, was the one pushed out in the European limelight. Seems that he managed to solidify his support in Turkey once more. But he is bad news of course. Apparently he had an alteration with Israel once. In fact, he ''fought'' with them for years. Left Davos because of Ariel Sharon. And did it help his career? I'm sure it did. A humanitarian aid ferry was sent to the Gaza Strip, although Israel said they wouldn't allow it to reach the shore. They insisted anyway, to which Israeli commandos assaulted, and 8 people died. Two things were significant; deputies of his party were destined to be on that ship, but decided to stay in Istanbul at last minute, and after a couple of days, Erdo shook hands with the Israeli army, over some multi million euro deal for the modernization of tanks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And to make a link with Holland, here it was interesting that a couple of days before these incidents in holland happened, Petrol Ofisi, the biggest oil company of Turkey, was <a href="http://www.vitol.com/vitol-acquire-turkeys-petrol-ofisi-omv/"><b>sold</b></a> to the Dutchies for 1 billion 368 million Euros. Makes me wonder if the whole alteration last week between our PM and Turkeys minister was staged and fake. Given that it was a win win situation. Besides, the consul general of Holland was not in Ankara when all hell broke loose. Did somebody told him to take some days off? Luckily over here that fuss only lasted a couple of days. I bet the people in Turkey have been living like that for 15 years now. And a little side joke; this foreign minister we had beef with said "<i>I don't know what type of tulip are you</i>'' to Rutte. He clearly implied that he is an ''ass tulip'', which sounds mighty strange to us, but it's an insult in Turkish slang. Not that anyone here picked up on it at the time haha, But a very diplomatic joke on the European world stage indeed. Their English <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUEjBXySq9A"><b>is excellent</b></a> of course. After all, their most beloved sultan Mehmed II was a polyglot and knew Greek, Serbian, Persian, Arabic and Latin.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6xx9M7eShN-hK3WSKv9F-Ieeo2emXC76H_EVLQKNHaKbtgm7bvB65Dko5rMU0HXyzpB9QHTriJpHNtWU1OqewTn188rPCk2TGZy8UwwDK2e-iADJlB0cfnoklmYIXInizZzLO36mrr6kr/s1600/images.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6xx9M7eShN-hK3WSKv9F-Ieeo2emXC76H_EVLQKNHaKbtgm7bvB65Dko5rMU0HXyzpB9QHTriJpHNtWU1OqewTn188rPCk2TGZy8UwwDK2e-iADJlB0cfnoklmYIXInizZzLO36mrr6kr/s400/images.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I also watched the tv series Fargo lately. </b></span> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Together with a "rosacea friend", both on one side of the computer and world. Very nice. We went through season 1 and 2, and the overall concept was taken from the original 1996 movie Fargo (Coen Brothers). Quite good. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Season 1 has Billy Bob Thornton in it and has a very cold and cool feel, it's good. Season 2 has a very different tone, very late 70's, very Tarantino cool, really worth your time if you care for that stuff. Especially with Kirsten Dunst is acting superbly in season 2. I never liked her much, but here she is awesome and I also want to learn the Farogese accent right away! I have no idea whether that kind of Germanic (?) accent is typical of North Dakotans. I guess it is American with Scandinavian/German influences. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">This 2nd season is set back in time compared to season 1, and focuses on the father of the main player in season 1, agent Molly Solverstone. In season 1 he is a retired diner owner, seemingly disillusioned by the police force. Here in season 2, we have a flash back and see him in the prime of his days, and we get an impression of what exactly happened with him at that time. Molly is still a little bairn here. The whole cinematography is warm and fairly cool I felt. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">There is an undercooled slapstick humor to it and tons of references to Coen movies. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Kirsten Dunst (Peggy) accidentally hit and runs a gangster kid, who just murdered out a whole diner. She and her butcher partner Ed are like the Joneses in many ways and are faced with the dilemma what to do. Really good stuff this. Peggy proves a freak in all sorts of ways, but her husband is too </span><span style="text-align: justify;">slow to process this. </span><span style="text-align: justify;">It is more of a classical gangster story than season 1, but with that typical Fargo undercooled humor and slow motion elements to it. There are rivaling gangster groups/families, competing for control of the north. One figure, a black guy named Milligan, is just as cool and eager of quoting as Samual L Jacksons character in Pulp Fiction. Here he isn't limiting himself to the Bible, but he quotes all sort of stuff, including </span><span style="text-align: justify;">the absurdist </span><a href="http://www.jabberwocky.com/carroll/jabber/jabberwocky.html" style="text-align: justify;"><b>Jabberwocky poem</b></a><span style="text-align: justify;"> from Alice in Wonderland, during some tense scene preceding a murder fest. </span><span style="text-align: justify;">I loved that absurd touch. It made that poem sound so ominous. And w</span><span style="text-align: justify;">hen he is held up by Molly's grandpa, played by a Donald Sutherland lookalike (Ted Danson), Milligan wiggles out of trouble with a magnificent smart story of a world in conflict.. and then identifies the (murder)scene as peaceful in comparison. So he can be let go haha.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">There are countless themes running through this series. One of them is this almost western like good versus evil theme. With cops Lou and Hank both braving the crew of bad hombres, which are nearly sketchy, cartoonish and slapstick at times. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Another theme is the corporatization of the Reagan days. (Reagan even makes a cameo). I liked how mafioso Milligan got rewarded for his bloodthirsty results, by giving him a broomstick sized office with a typewriter ("they're not just for secretaries anymore"), and the mentioning that money is now to be made in economics. I think that overall, the whole series reads like a metaphor for the Reagan times. Or as a parable for the Reagan 80s — the consolidation of businesses and human spirit. Mergers and takeovers are hard, bloody work. Regular people will pay the price, butcher shops will close. But the rewards, for a few anyway, will be too many to count. For the rest of us, including Mike Milligan, the "warm champagne of corporate praise" is nothing more than a mid-level desk job and a 401k. Milligans typewriter was a closing circle thing too; an electric typewriter salesman basically set all the events in motion in the first episode, when he asked a Gerhardt thug to go intimidate a judge so he could still get his loan to buy the new stock of electric typewriters.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">This was me before the tooth troubles and this during:</span></b></div>
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I don't know why, but lately my skin seems constantly flushed and burned up :( Things seemed to go much with my skin better back in 2013, when I look back old pictures. I don't know what causes this poor rosacea. Maybe it all started to deteriorate once I started to use make-up, back in the end of 2014.. I have no proof for this, and only had it on for maybe 2 days a year. But I feel that in the past years, my rosacea has been pretty active and giving me constant burning and heat problems. I look less pale than some years ago too.. Especially later in the day and in the evening. OH and by the way; back in July last year I had hair thinning? Really losing clumps of hair and especially at the temples, my hair was really thin. I think it was the result of stress. Because it happened a few months after a very stressful period. Ever since I have done nothing different. No hair pills, no supplements, no different shampoo. And my hair is back to normal now. First picture was 8 months ago, 2nd is now:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqYSnwCk9d2hysQelbqicWId9BeP4fhu_D2wrG9Fsei9W90eLkFYHvd9Qf3HNck2FVWUcZNlz9DG6o8Kai-T8DzoFlQ3aN3ekBQ_aaNumfWjQ9OR_4k6ESJbvo2RITLERs0_F2yMKCMr4/s1600/DSC01628.jpg" style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqYSnwCk9d2hysQelbqicWId9BeP4fhu_D2wrG9Fsei9W90eLkFYHvd9Qf3HNck2FVWUcZNlz9DG6o8Kai-T8DzoFlQ3aN3ekBQ_aaNumfWjQ9OR_4k6ESJbvo2RITLERs0_F2yMKCMr4/w357-h304/DSC01628.jpg" width="357" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Xjvedfe2nrhUCZjsN5aF1YyIDHNdkta360wBx4wtyR7VqWDYgny6LixTPLY1NLsWP6wpTLkoRY6oZZMycUD-3oMBWpZFLUg7bEvQH1oERWJ-we6JVnsenCOh_Gx_K-ILvuRgkaYdUB3A/s1600/DSC01935.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1248" data-original-width="981" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Xjvedfe2nrhUCZjsN5aF1YyIDHNdkta360wBx4wtyR7VqWDYgny6LixTPLY1NLsWP6wpTLkoRY6oZZMycUD-3oMBWpZFLUg7bEvQH1oERWJ-we6JVnsenCOh_Gx_K-ILvuRgkaYdUB3A/w239-h305/DSC01935.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Some of the foods I ate the past months</b></span></div>
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(all gluten and dairy free, low to no sugar, organic meat and vegetables)</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">March 2nd 2017</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr6FRJu0Q0KFFe1iKniiIBKVm4UWjVx1wPP2_GTeGMa61yQvLry-yNL7m7x3LvDwJzzST-Ef-NvurJjvLFnz133VX5YG2Cv_4Pt1465KK58mOj7GF-rKhho5N2qR73zUX5UI3zscujo0hf/s1600/DSC01731.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr6FRJu0Q0KFFe1iKniiIBKVm4UWjVx1wPP2_GTeGMa61yQvLry-yNL7m7x3LvDwJzzST-Ef-NvurJjvLFnz133VX5YG2Cv_4Pt1465KK58mOj7GF-rKhho5N2qR73zUX5UI3zscujo0hf/s320/DSC01731.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Long time not updated! There wasn't that very much to update on, in my defense. The dreary European gloomy months of January and February tend to be quite miserable. Rain, cold, grey. For many years now we had temperature records, and therefore the typical northern winters with blue sky and crispy air and snow and ice are replaced by this sloppy depressing weather. My itchy cheek hives got worse after my last post, then disappeared, and by now, there are 4 small hives back on my cheeks. I think I get them from a combination of factors: exposure to cold air (like real winter cold air, not 16 degrees in spring or summer - thanks to airco). Plus my cat allergy... I shouldn't cuddle my cats so much, I know, and I should keep at least the living room and my own bedroom cat free. Bedroom is actually cat free, but the living room... less so. I hoover every day and ventilate, but these cat dander particles that can cause allergies to flare, get stuck to everything, including furniture and even the walls :( But I love them too much, and the hives mainly happen in winter (maybe because the cats are pretty much 24/7 outside if I give them the option during good weather in spring and summer...). Here my little Piotr is doing his favourite game lately (I didn't train him in any way! Cats shouldn't be forced to act like dogs.. this special fella just thought out the "fetch the mouse" game all by himself).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_EhfXeOVec5OkxRgN-pDdULnF5zhooPh75DmzVbD7DTBo9ORgXh-GLNqUToTDmPeSZUZ_Avg7ym7F-LGsG1i8GF46h6b4nO6GJJcHfhF1vKzuJoLXWfumK5oxVdi86snfLZQ7gAXXjFY/s1600/DSC01846.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_EhfXeOVec5OkxRgN-pDdULnF5zhooPh75DmzVbD7DTBo9ORgXh-GLNqUToTDmPeSZUZ_Avg7ym7F-LGsG1i8GF46h6b4nO6GJJcHfhF1vKzuJoLXWfumK5oxVdi86snfLZQ7gAXXjFY/s400/DSC01846.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: small;"><b>I had a very long travel day today, basically 15 hours in a train..</b></span> </span> </span>From south of France to Holland. The train did drive 300 km an hour half the time, but still took me such a long time, and more important; had me stuck like a sardine in a bloody hot, small space. It was really warm in there actually and they have no ventilators. Obviously, windows cannot be opened either at such speeds :) So I brought my SOS bag with me, with ice cubes, frozen gel packs and my tiny handheld fan. Being still self conscious, and having a dude sitting tightly next to me both parts of the trip, I tried to hide the fan. I watched quite a few The Walking Dead episodes in the train, and placed my laptop bag next to the laptop, and had the small hand held fan up <i>behind</i> the bag. I'm fairly sure people either saw or heard it, as it makes a bit of a growling sound, and me having the bag up awkwardly might have made it seem even more obvious, but the fan did help me. It was around 22 degrees Celsius in there, but I managed to arrive in Paris with only a moderate pink face. NO odd stares when I had to ask people stuff. That gave me some renewed confidence. Enough in fact to buy some forbidden foods; fresh croissant and pain au chocolate, hahaa. So good, so simple, so breadey. No big flare afterwards either.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">My 'plague boils' (cold urticaria) </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">at the height of their power:</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqgNhNHUEpWxXbFgk62EZhIOISl6Bs9R30AlIHt3LQWgM0n1n-ApRMOnx9-XEAYlsnXl9pnmFRDea3XalB325DOPG3ISizxr8vC0oFQ9Bwx55xj88bti8cHL7Qn_MUSjGvTqY8LLm8DH7k/s1600/DSC0045888.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqgNhNHUEpWxXbFgk62EZhIOISl6Bs9R30AlIHt3LQWgM0n1n-ApRMOnx9-XEAYlsnXl9pnmFRDea3XalB325DOPG3ISizxr8vC0oFQ9Bwx55xj88bti8cHL7Qn_MUSjGvTqY8LLm8DH7k/s400/DSC0045888.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>I had to hang around at Gare du Nord for some time</b></span>, as I didn't want to rush while having to change stations (which is a bit of a trip in Paris..), so I hung around the entrance, where cold air came in. I would have preferred to walk around the Parisian streets and have long stares at the handsome and well dressed people out there, but there was a persistent drizzle rain that blew in your face, whichever way you turned. Oh well.. I managed to make some pictures from behind the glass of train and bus, just to prove I was actually in Paris.. The part of the trip to Rotterdam went pretty much the same as part 1 of the trip; the train was too hot, another dude in fancy clothes sat next to me and we made great effort again to not squeeze an inch of leg surface against the others. Like the first dude, this one fell asleep halfways through the journey and slumped his legs well over the imaginary (but therefore not less real) seat boundary. I watched more Walking Dead, used the small hand fan and I didn't end up too red. Still far more red than normal looking people.. Some teenage girls giggled when I passed by to go to the bar in the train, and I'm sure more people have this problem, but when I know I look red (I can know nowadays, going by the level of skin burning I have; today it felt fairly painful, tight, hot and sore), I do make everything revolve around me me me. Including people giggling. Even when they don't actually look in my direction :) But apart from that I was in a good mood and zen in my own Walking Dead bubble. I have had trips where my face was so badly flushed, so painful, so f*cking hot, that it was almost unbearable to sit things out. In a small hot space, with smartly dressed people who notice everything that deviates from the polished norm. Boy, do I stand out then with my radioactive coloured face..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifoCgQgHzsjJskCbp-LUsPmobe7vVuVTD2qK-kQZbtD78Cl-TZWQD1RTWMuiYwK4HB0uIgGlqkFrRkAFrVlpDrBof-lLXq0Ws008L2c_79vb0E-M0AyXcFo9fOkEROugmATVVdn3BfM4_y/s1600/DSC01845.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a>In the last part of the trip, something happened that gave me a good feeling, and made me wonder if I honestly wasn't red, <i>or</i>, perhaps, that some people really do not notice it as much as I think they do, or at the least do not care too much. I sat on the balcony of this regular Dutch train. No mandatory seats, and the balcony is more cool. I had a choice between one balcony part with one chair (yessssss), but, it was facing the trains loo (noooo). The other side was empty too but had 4 seats. Tricky, at rush hour you basically can be sure it will be taken by at least one other person. Which is what happened. A guy who reminded me of Gael Garcia Bernal in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPwU21uRttg"><b>Mozart in the Jungle</b></a> sat next to me, carrying a dangerous looking, black samurai case. There was place in the rest of the train. Why did he chose to sit next to me? <i>And what was in that dangerous looking case he was holding??</i> Well, it turned out to be a wooden walking stick. I still didn't understand why he had to carry his <i>walking</i> stick around in a protective case. Until he started to play the stick. Ok, it was a flute of some sorts. Beautiful sound it made however, mostly because the guy played really entrancing Middle eastern sounding tunes. The sort you'd expect they use to get a cobra under your spell. Before I could wonder who the cobra was here, he stopped again. I pretended to be reading my book, but then kicked myself up the behind, and showed some interest. After all, I was the only spectator here. It was technically speaking a private concert for me. I felt kind of flattered actually, even though he didn't even look at me the whole time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifoCgQgHzsjJskCbp-LUsPmobe7vVuVTD2qK-kQZbtD78Cl-TZWQD1RTWMuiYwK4HB0uIgGlqkFrRkAFrVlpDrBof-lLXq0Ws008L2c_79vb0E-M0AyXcFo9fOkEROugmATVVdn3BfM4_y/s1600/DSC01845.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifoCgQgHzsjJskCbp-LUsPmobe7vVuVTD2qK-kQZbtD78Cl-TZWQD1RTWMuiYwK4HB0uIgGlqkFrRkAFrVlpDrBof-lLXq0Ws008L2c_79vb0E-M0AyXcFo9fOkEROugmATVVdn3BfM4_y/s400/DSC01845.jpg" width="400" /></a>So, some people are really bubbly and outgoing. I used to be a bit like that, throughout my childhood and adolescence. Not über bubbly, not hyper happy without a clear reason, but spontaneous and direct enough, when the situation called for it. I never overshared really, and probably was a bit reserved as well. But nowhere near as restrained as I am since rosacea hit me. Now I prefer to be left in an invisible cocoon, with earphones on and ideally black sunglasses too, and a big hat in which I disappear. I have gotten so very comfortable in there, that the thought of just telling this guy that I liked that bit of music, made me worry he would shout back in harsh tones: <i>"Whoa!! That was a strange thing to say to me?!"</i>. I would definitely go more red in the face then.. Apologize confused: <i>"No, really, I Am sane. Really!"</i> Trying to rapidly climb back to solid ground. Would a potential combination of redness and embarrassment, would that be worth the entire undertaking? And worse; I would thén also feel uncomfortable and self conscious for the rest of the trip. And packing up my bags and demonstratively changing seats would just seem too High School bitchy, even for me.. I have these 'what ifs' going on in my mind fairly often, also when it comes to telling obnoxious people to shut the beep up when they shout through their mobile phones in a silent train part. Or give some kick ass reprimand to bullying teenage girls. I decide not to nowadays, because you can bet it will turn me red. And then you can bet even harder on the type of shit I will have hurled back at me. I didn't get laughed at over my looks back in the days. So I spoke out. Now, it would feel like the biggest humiliation to be openly mocked over my scarlet red blob of a face. Probably - to explain this to women without rosacea - comparable in scale to telling any sized woman that she is FAT! The shock and horror on their faces.... even if they are slim. It is just a low blow. Well, these days I'm rather called FAT than an overripe tomato.. Anyway, I got over myself and treadled on what I thought was neutral territory; general enough to be done with it with a single lined response. But acknowledging the fact he just played some pretty good music all the same. I asked if that tune was Middle eastern perhaps? That it sounded really nice. The guy was all friendliness and warm facial expressions and said it was indeed Middle Eastern, specified the geographical region a bit further and then spoke for an hour about his ME music, Turkish politics and the Santiago walking trail. Luckily I know a bit about all those topics, but I was genuinely surprised that he kept talking and didn't end my curiosity in an awkward way. Shows me again that I don't look a monster necessarily, and that a kind word and some interest shown might actually get you some interesting responses in return. Nice actually. And so very simple, when you think about it.<br />
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<b style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">January 21st 2017</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HIduNNx8TOJPxskrvS9WzRqk_V0GJgIgy5PK6cDU7X7HWdOUFoMbxPOn5Cb8l50Tzz2hGdZu_WWG5yn5nyHb_kVcGNlGwkhf-YaHnXd9C06RHhQHLE3qO0SfN4QDlISBxFE6tt1mNw_7/s1600/il_340x270.182293206.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HIduNNx8TOJPxskrvS9WzRqk_V0GJgIgy5PK6cDU7X7HWdOUFoMbxPOn5Cb8l50Tzz2hGdZu_WWG5yn5nyHb_kVcGNlGwkhf-YaHnXd9C06RHhQHLE3qO0SfN4QDlISBxFE6tt1mNw_7/s320/il_340x270.182293206.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ugh, I'm struggling. It's one of those torturous winters again. It might not look like much on picture, but I have little hives (seemingly) all over my cheeks and they cause me two problems:<br />
1. They itch<br />
2. They make the skin under and around it very hot.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPUfyK9MUYF4ZuJgr4oX2Cypreqj43YU644GYf2DQLoTRPJBCY7CxLJKpBpY_QHuzhw9TUSd6tz86DfqdnmX1Y2YQoxIrX6qGTZDRb_qF22ntXdNPKHeimgrxVbI3FjyacLfk7B46E4Z2d/s1600/DSC01672.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>I literally feel the raised areas burn when I put my flat hand on them, even when the rest of my cheeks can be cool to the touch. This in turn stirs up my overall flushing and burning. My cheeks just feel tight, itchy, hot and burning. I'm having trouble all the time with keeping my skin pain and flush free lately. The diclofenac helps a bit, but only a bit, and some days it seems to help nothing at all. I am a lot more red and a lot more flushed and burned up now than in the fall. This just reduces my days and current life into trying to get the burning and flushing down. My skin feel like it's had a bad sun burn; very sore, tight and hot. I'm just sick of it to be honest. Day in day out, I even dream about it at night, as I can't control flushing nowadays at night, something that is much less of a problem when I don't have a bad flaring period, or when the temperatures are a bit less cold outside. I am miffed because I try to do everything right; not have it too cold or warm indoors, keep humidity up but not too much that it causes flushing, avoid the cold wind outside, use my uvb lamp to not have a complete zero level of vitamin D in my system. It just isn't working right now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPUfyK9MUYF4ZuJgr4oX2Cypreqj43YU644GYf2DQLoTRPJBCY7CxLJKpBpY_QHuzhw9TUSd6tz86DfqdnmX1Y2YQoxIrX6qGTZDRb_qF22ntXdNPKHeimgrxVbI3FjyacLfk7B46E4Z2d/s1600/DSC01672.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPUfyK9MUYF4ZuJgr4oX2Cypreqj43YU644GYf2DQLoTRPJBCY7CxLJKpBpY_QHuzhw9TUSd6tz86DfqdnmX1Y2YQoxIrX6qGTZDRb_qF22ntXdNPKHeimgrxVbI3FjyacLfk7B46E4Z2d/s320/DSC01672.jpg" width="320" /></a>What makes me worried is that these strange hives only started to bother me in the winter of 2010 I think it was. I thought at the time that it was a side effect of plaquenil, an antimalarial I was trying out to cut down on my skin inflammation. I discussed it with my derm, I was convinced they were allergy hives from the plaquenil use. He already said he found that unlikely, but I was convinced enough of it to drop the plaquenil (and my eyes started to get gritty too, definitely from the plaquenil). But every winter since they came back. I am sure now it is related to cold weather. Either some allergy, but since I only get these welts on my cheeks, I suspect it is a local problem; that my facial skin just doesn't function well and has some lymph drainage issue perhaps? If it was a strict cold weather allergy, wouldn't I also get these eruptions on my hands, neck etc? It is getting me down nevertheless, because cold air used to be my 'friend'. It used to be a relief to have cold wind on my face. Now I get burning itching welts from them :( It just feels like I get more and more restrictions, when the list of triggers is already so darn long to start with! I'll discuss it with my doctor next time, but right now I don't even want to sit in a waiting room. I'm too sore and flushy. I cancel pretty much anything, that isn't strictly necessary. Then there is my ongoing worry (obsession by now) with my teeth. I don't want anything new happening, in terms of cavities, as the fillings they tried on me some years ago all made my rosacea unbearable. I need to keep my teeth in impeccable state and that includes fluoride toothpaste, according to my dentist and surgeon. But I get the most crazy flushing and deep redness when I use a fluoride toothpaste, even an organic one with no other irritating ingredients, like spearmint, sodium lauryl sulfate, propylene glycol, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium benzoate and benzoic acid. Below I show some pictures of the one I use and the list of ingredients. The only thing I can think of that would give me such a crazy response (I uploaded pictures before, earlier, of a mega flushed burning face, every time I used it).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZ5Eg5kF2IDjiILE7b-DkV1agSIN8g69LBdCdm3XNx9D03JBkFKRC6u0Yvj9VfXsBB7-RBokLnvIxBbKEYJN0xr4_pplmaMPZFVia9A6drcIMRkQSqQ-_eO8ImUlgL76_aVkyoDRgkWgD/s1600/DSC01389.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZ5Eg5kF2IDjiILE7b-DkV1agSIN8g69LBdCdm3XNx9D03JBkFKRC6u0Yvj9VfXsBB7-RBokLnvIxBbKEYJN0xr4_pplmaMPZFVia9A6drcIMRkQSqQ-_eO8ImUlgL76_aVkyoDRgkWgD/w207-h277/DSC01389.JPG" width="207" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUN4ZRrG2pirxbNf6e-n0M4QsmJRK9e1n7QjQIF7MkVqtiw_xkg5kAZFvho1HNztrs6BHaDJu0QQGa-tUEEsBzSIG3XRfAQEx57SDfhpvfNy1bCpTY-ZwztNGErh7miXaFCkARwfbykUiR/s1600/DSC01390.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUN4ZRrG2pirxbNf6e-n0M4QsmJRK9e1n7QjQIF7MkVqtiw_xkg5kAZFvho1HNztrs6BHaDJu0QQGa-tUEEsBzSIG3XRfAQEx57SDfhpvfNy1bCpTY-ZwztNGErh7miXaFCkARwfbykUiR/w367-h275/DSC01390.JPG" width="367" /></a></div>
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So I received a nice message on the Rosacea Forum from someone who read this blog and this person came with a great suggestion; a toothpaste called Tooth Builder. I bought it, it has no fluoride but it does have ingredients that helps to limit bacteria and plaque and such. Very mild, and I use it now and I love it. It doesn't give me a skin flare, it has a nice taste, it's foamy but without having the common detergents that are responsible for the foaming properties of toothpaste and that can cause skin problems, for instance the Sodium lauryl sulfate, a common irritant. Below some pictures of it:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNKiNEybUj0iVtBHNAraa5G7y59IW3RO5pu_NQ7SvpqveZyRA7fp2efPCPpF3c4h21wSCRrfQLdFgDJLLk3qbOGSZSH02tZAX-Nz_olakBmOkbWI5kqh3T56u0n815suin9t5PFNQh76v/s1600/DSC01394.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNKiNEybUj0iVtBHNAraa5G7y59IW3RO5pu_NQ7SvpqveZyRA7fp2efPCPpF3c4h21wSCRrfQLdFgDJLLk3qbOGSZSH02tZAX-Nz_olakBmOkbWI5kqh3T56u0n815suin9t5PFNQh76v/w279-h372/DSC01394.JPG" width="279" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXwA5tuWBm0hyphenhyphenLUAYvoeVrFQi_PfQ542ZWcudS8hda968TotWNlE0ANHF6U9AGLcHFIYkhiaNBo0PgshHrLwGPeVNGpgn2zM_bJscNtPjHUzITkuEnrQCW8uTwq7wxllvt6D1QUmm92zz/s1600/DSC01392.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXwA5tuWBm0hyphenhyphenLUAYvoeVrFQi_PfQ542ZWcudS8hda968TotWNlE0ANHF6U9AGLcHFIYkhiaNBo0PgshHrLwGPeVNGpgn2zM_bJscNtPjHUzITkuEnrQCW8uTwq7wxllvt6D1QUmm92zz/w281-h374/DSC01392.JPG" width="281" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicx7Av-ooc-J7SFPV4MvxeP_xcXdFJP9lgKvz49ygVrj8oMr4D-WI3b5UrrLZnEbHWaIJiO3l-9MgZjsfMkW6vPOEI3JYEHvDnvBUNEXGyOa_kl8nortpJSTAgWkiwkVFMR9A3dIvm8v0M/s1600/DSC01679.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="449" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicx7Av-ooc-J7SFPV4MvxeP_xcXdFJP9lgKvz49ygVrj8oMr4D-WI3b5UrrLZnEbHWaIJiO3l-9MgZjsfMkW6vPOEI3JYEHvDnvBUNEXGyOa_kl8nortpJSTAgWkiwkVFMR9A3dIvm8v0M/w236-h449/DSC01679.jpg" width="236" /></a><img border="0" height="449" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3b9EGchl3KuOUSogySRHWIBxJMtbW3swzui4fxaurJPnorMbdZUMRGwn-OdDB0qxFeEyX4P5vq-X0gydwI8RyTCppnIkdUUPJujdUR_xgeVi6jXmNTZDSImH8SQsuIQerjQory6qrNMDA/w337-h449/DSC01393.JPG" width="337" /></div>
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I like it, but I am worried about its lack of actual remineralization power, like fluoride has. Perhaps the calcium they added helps a bit, but as far as I know only fluoride actually remineralizes teeth. There is also a lot of bad press on fluoride though, not least because it's a toxic waste product, and it's also linked to neurological and IQ issues, or so I read here and there. My main issue with it, however, is not a long term possible problem, but the actual instant flushing it gives me. Bad flushing :( I wished it was different. I looked online if there is a link between fluoride and rosacea. Dr. Richard Gallo, chair of the dermatology department at the University of California at San Diego and a doctor who has done previous research on rosacea, <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-02-09/health/sc-health-0208-toothpaste-acne-20120208_1_toothpaste-allergic-reactions-gallo"><b>states</b></a> that: "toothpaste can cause irritation or allergic reactions in people with certain sensitivities, resulting in rashy bumps around the mouth or, perhaps, rosacea, a chronic condition of redness and skin sores that might be confused with traditional acne". "One of the instructions we give to patients with rosacea is to think about the toothpaste you're using," Gallo said. "People can be allergic to just about anything, but toothpaste's mint and cinnamon flavorings, which can include the allergens balsam of Peru, cinnamic aldehyde and peppermint and spearmint flavors, are major culprits in skin reactions". Trouble is, 95 percent of 153 toothpastes evaluated in a study did not list the specific flavoring ingredients, so people wouldn't know to avoid them, researchers wrote in <a href="http://jcadonline.com/keyword/allegies-of-toothpaste/"><b>a study</b></a> published in September in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology. And it's not easy to find toothpaste without any flavoring. But sometimes a skin flare-up has nothing to do with an allergy and is instead irritation. Some dermatologists have suggested that fluoride is an irritant causing perioral dermatitis, a rash of tiny red bumps around the mouth that is usually brought on by topical steroids. But few studies have proved the link, and the claims remain "unsubstantiated," Gallo said.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCArpfQ4UItGm-936cuhjAbExYSMp7tY8i0vAZZdEuBDWk8QDwsii3AgYWI9uPmYnRHHoja2A1AMPhrBWMyInpBcW_o8TGhoblvW6thS7cknI8IJ8HwIXqGUsfBGn0kmIuLyOkg1oBLKBo/s1600/DSC01387.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCArpfQ4UItGm-936cuhjAbExYSMp7tY8i0vAZZdEuBDWk8QDwsii3AgYWI9uPmYnRHHoja2A1AMPhrBWMyInpBcW_o8TGhoblvW6thS7cknI8IJ8HwIXqGUsfBGn0kmIuLyOkg1oBLKBo/s320/DSC01387.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcGw4ogiVmz_Q1Y-gnKxoeNRwkususjUGis6plXsaOy5K7v4x1eyx2B5oUeOOUVEgqjCo_4rjJM4iOfZSMZMop4ZOtbd7dFPmm6pToQWjo2BPRuYjQZkOwTB707bSFDqSQt4Lnht_RRyM/s1600/DSC01385.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcGw4ogiVmz_Q1Y-gnKxoeNRwkususjUGis6plXsaOy5K7v4x1eyx2B5oUeOOUVEgqjCo_4rjJM4iOfZSMZMop4ZOtbd7dFPmm6pToQWjo2BPRuYjQZkOwTB707bSFDqSQt4Lnht_RRyM/s320/DSC01385.JPG" width="320" /></a>The article comes with a final advise: "If you worry your toothpaste may be responsible for your skin reactions, try switching to Tom's of Maine natural toothpastes, which have all ingredients listed and explained at tomsofmaine.com. Some are made without sodium lauryl sulfate or fluoride." I never looked into Tom's of Maine natural toothpaste, but I did find another toothpaste that has no fluoride, nor sodium lauryl sulfate. It's called Theodent, and uses a raw material that is also found in raw cacao in its toothpastes. And better, it claims to be as effective or in fact more effective than fluoride when it comes to remineralizing and strengthening tooth enamel. I only read a limited amount of studies, and with small scale studies you really never know for sure whether or not the main company has a stake in the methods and outcome, but <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23094271"><b>this pubmed article</b></a> states that the active ingredient of Theodent, theobromine, is effective at hardening the surface hardness of teeth. In an in-vitro study, twenty-four freshly extracted human third molars were collected for the experiments. "After baseline microhardness measurements, they were incubated either in 100 or 200 mg/l theobromine for 5 min. The control group was kept in distilled water." After a demineralization and remineralization process, the surface of the enamel of the molars was checked on their microhardness and researchers found a "consistent and remarkable protection of the enamel surface was found with the application of theobromine." <a href="http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/814085"><b>This research</b></a> also confirmed the enamel strengthening effect of theobromine, and that it was stronger in that respect than the brands Sensodyne or Colgate. An abstract from the article: "A toothpaste that contains a natural chocolate extract was more capable of remineralizing exposed dentin, which could reduce dental hypersensitivity, than fluoride-based toothpastes, including Sensodyne NuPro (GlaxoSmithKline), according to results from a randomized double-blind clinical. The study evaluated the enamel-strengthening potential of Theodent (Theodent) toothpaste containing the patented compound Rennou (Theodent). The active ingredient of Rennou is theobromine, a compound that is prominent in chocolate; it also contains calcium and phosphate. Thoedent does not contain fluoride."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL_-Y8JXn2LrQD569QNVDQMyqTfuBEPCHjexlI2oPAbxLXKJEKYMU-N1Vq6hNOeyE6eSN2j9c6QK_pt5yHDdZghnslrk6cp3txa_tLjni-7va2s7_bQE8sqwNRsDbgbPLbfmm81dnBnVM1/s1600/DSC01684.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL_-Y8JXn2LrQD569QNVDQMyqTfuBEPCHjexlI2oPAbxLXKJEKYMU-N1Vq6hNOeyE6eSN2j9c6QK_pt5yHDdZghnslrk6cp3txa_tLjni-7va2s7_bQE8sqwNRsDbgbPLbfmm81dnBnVM1/s320/DSC01684.JPG" width="320" /></a>I bought all three types of Theodent toothpaste over a space of a couple of months; the children's version is mild and has no spearmint (I prefer it), but it has a lower percentage of theobromine than the 300 white series of Theodent. Which is really expensive btw.. Therefore I bought the kids version and the normal adult version first, both are around 10 dollars. I didn't flush from both (and preferred the kids version because it actually tastes like chocolate :). But because I'm so petrified about keeping my teeth tip top now, I also bought the high strength version (I don't dare to mention the price..). I honestly don't know if this brand is as effective as fluoride is said to be when it comes to preventing dental carries. It feels like a risk to me, but then again, I just can't deal with severe flushing due to fluoride tooth paste daily. Others might be fine with it, I don't want to scaremonger anyone, but I am in serious distress over the type of skin reactions I get from fluoride. I also realize that my antihistamines and other medications might cause dry mouth, and that dry mouth is not very beneficial for healthy teeth. So I make sure I drink enough water and keep salive in my mouth, so to speak. I also try to eat like the cavemen did, who I found out upon some researching had surprising good teeth. Sugar and simple carbohydrates are a pest for dental hygiene I read and well... those two also seem to worsen my skin inflammation, so that's a double motivation to stick to more vegetables and protein. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlaNP3aG_Q_LTDUMXj-T2QPlio4FdrENMUd23s0wh65vlyfgyq3mYBG4dOdppGQP0ChNdIsfnrD-XdSc8RicULE1sl7T3jOrLxnSTHWOVVz_e11EuSmKgRRoZR18Q0qBZJ5ycQMztUy5e2/s1600/DSC01676.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlaNP3aG_Q_LTDUMXj-T2QPlio4FdrENMUd23s0wh65vlyfgyq3mYBG4dOdppGQP0ChNdIsfnrD-XdSc8RicULE1sl7T3jOrLxnSTHWOVVz_e11EuSmKgRRoZR18Q0qBZJ5ycQMztUy5e2/s320/DSC01676.jpg" width="170" /></a></div>
But regardless of toothpaste worries, overall I'm just miserable with my painful skin at the moment, and fairly bored with the amount of pampering and coddling my skin takes. And even then it sucks most of the time. I feel so much more upbeat, energetic and outgoing when my skin isn't burning so bad and just behaves. One thing I'm glad of however, is that I don't have itchy eczema. Maybe pain and burning is a tad bit easier to handle than burning and<i> itching</i> inflamed skin.. Fingers crossed I won't get that, ever. These itching hives are enough already. On top, my lungs are playing up again too. I suspect it's just the cold air and the mild flu I'm having. A friend with rosacea has a ton of symptoms that mimic mine, including inflamed knees, rosacea, seb derm, tiredness and much more and she was recently diagnosed with mixed connective tissue disease. Doctors expect lupus in her case. I don't try to be a hypochondriac here, but my ANA auto-antibodies have gone up the past decade, from zero to 1:40 and 6 years ago 1:80. It has to do with the amount of autoantibodies they find in the blood, which are an indication for auto immune disease. I'll see if my doctor can have me tested again, hopefully the number is similar, but if it went up again, who knows, an immunologist might take all my symptoms serious? For lupus, doctors usually look at numbers above 80:1 (actually, they look for quite a bit higher a number), because a small percentage of healthy population also has low positive ANA blood results, despite having no auto-immune disease. But I do have auto immune problems, I have all sorts of inflammatory blood markers and auto immunity blood results. Not dramatically bad, but just mildly positive. Which is annoying, as I have inflamed sore knees for decades already now, despite being in my 30s only, am generally tired, and been diagnosed with a host of inflammatory conditions like colitis, Raynaud's disease and allergies. Now my lungs are having low grade inflammation for over a year already and my skin is just one red inflamed mess often. I just hope there is some over arching explanation for all these symptoms. Maybe another blood test can give a better diagnosis, but I'm not really getting my hopes up. </div><div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BIvm-G35vxrOKDfV_WChGEqQpYZBE3h5RyJuhpUU8BmZm47FG0qXVTodKye6on_y7wDDF98JFE1TUs3QAFzAjQ1RIBFRlRf2U3oYaPxHtJ7iLGzKEQP3fp3MWPwUFSAi_ZDTzqhMp6KD/s1600/DSC01675.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BIvm-G35vxrOKDfV_WChGEqQpYZBE3h5RyJuhpUU8BmZm47FG0qXVTodKye6on_y7wDDF98JFE1TUs3QAFzAjQ1RIBFRlRf2U3oYaPxHtJ7iLGzKEQP3fp3MWPwUFSAi_ZDTzqhMp6KD/s320/DSC01675.jpg" width="219" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Someone <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34971-Steroid-Induced-Rosacea-Severe-Flushing-Redness-and-Burning/page2">asked me</a> on the Rosacea Forum about the exact effect my anti flushing medication has on my skin: </b></span></div>
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"I read some of your other posts where you mentioned that you had a unsuccessful (bad) ipl experience. Did you develop constant background redness before this ipl, or only after this ipl? When you mentioned that you use medications to keep your redness and flushing at bay, do you mean that your background redness is gone / you have your pale skin back when you are on medications?. [Also] I still believe your condition was caused by steroid. the doctors' so-called "predisposition to rosacea" actually does not make any sense. Think about this logically: if 100 people get affected by same amount of radiation, then 20 people get cancer, but the rest 80 don't. for those 20 cancer people, no doctor will say "Hey, you get cancer because you are predisposed to cancer!". Instead, it is naturally accepted as that radiation caused those 20 people cancer! In terms of why the other 80 people who don't get cancer, doctors will say "they are healthier, stronger resistance to radiation!" one thing doctor won't say is "those 80 people are not predisposed to cancer". For those 80 people, it will take a lot more radiation to cause cancer in them. that is the only difference. Same logic applies to steroid induced rosacea. Some people get affected by even 1 time application of topical steroid, while some people display symptoms only after many years of application. It only means some people have strong blood vessels resistant to steroid while some people have weak vessels to steroid."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">I replied:</span></b></div>
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"<i>What the medication does for me, is to not have me flushed and beet red 24/7 anymore. I do get very red and flushed still, especially now in winter or in the heat of summer. But I can have lighter skin if not flushed and when I keep cool too now. I'm subtype 1 with a lot of crazy flushing, the redness comes with the flushing. It's not permanent in a way, as when I am all cooled up, I can look fairly pale. I just flush at the drop of a hat and go from scale 2 to 8 or 9, if you'd want to scale such a thing. Much more red now than before the IPL and on a much bigger skin area (everywhere that dr zapped me) than before. </i><i>Yeh I had an unhappy IPL experience. I did have redness and flushing before the IPL. But mainly on my upper cheeks. On the apples of the cheeks so to speak. Not full face. And I could have pale skin too when the flush calmed down again. So no 24/7 constant redness. I didn't need a fan all the time either back then. But after that IPL I flushed and went (still go) red all over my cheeks, the entire cheek area, and chin and ears too. And a much deeper shade of red also, compared to before. So there has since been redness and flushing where there never used to be any, and I flush about 20 times more, like; a lot more and severe ever since. The year right after that IPL was the worst. Then I was given anti flushing medication. </i><i>You might be right. I never fully understood what happened there and how I could go from no flushing to getting a flushed face most evenings or from a host of triggers.It might be indeed what you just wrote, that these steroids get to some people sooner than to others. The ****ty thing is; you can't turn it back, you can't 'undo' the few days of steroid cream use. I looked up teenage pictures lately to look for signs of early rosacea there and the only thing I found was a drunk night on holiday where I had some mild redness on the upper cheeks from the alcohol. Nothing I could notice unless I looked in a mirror, no obvious flush heat and burning. That all started right after the steroid use.</i>"</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">The Forum Member <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34971-Steroid-Induced-Rosacea-Severe-Flushing-Redness-and-Burning&p=330720#post330720">wrote</a> in response: </span></b>"I am always "amazed" at how little responsibility those doctors are held accountable! People who drive cars and accidentally hit and hurt someone are always held accountable; then why not those f-cking doctors who prescribe steroid like napkin dispenser and those f-cking doctors who zap people with lasers without carefully consider the patients full history and skin conditions but just want to "collect" more patients/laser sessions and make money!!! Those doctors' crimes are way more severe than drivers who hurt people during accidents!!! How long did you wait between the steroid (hydrocortisone) cream and that ipl? Do you mind of sharing the reason that you chose ipl instead of some pdl (eg vbeam, ktp, yag) initially? Have you tried any pdl after that ipl then?"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">I replied:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><i>"Yeh it made me very angry and upset indeed, and I'm not alone. I know several people who had their skin worsened quite significantly by doctors and their IPL/laser machines. It makes most fuming that the doctors just say that their machines cannot be held responsible and that it must be rosacea's natural progression. They do walk off and forget about you, while you are left with a life in tatters. And worst of all; they had you sign a contract before it all started, so you have not a leg to stand on, if you want to stay within the legal side of the law. </i><i>The steroid cream was used in 1999, the IPL in 2005. In between I first tried all sorts of natural treatment options, acupuncturists, herbalists, basic rosacea treatments like antibiotics and creams. Nothing worked. I was already on this forum back then and just rode the IPL hype that was going on already at the time. I got this doctors name from the forum too. I visited him in England a separate time, to ask for test patches but he dismissed that, said it wasn't necessary. I have regretted this bitterly. I understood at the time that IPL was 'best' for flushing and base redness. I don't have visible blood vessels, which was thought to be the thing to use laser for. Later those insights seem to have changed, I think the consensus here is now that for flushing the v-beam or some other ype of laser is actually more effective. </i><i>I had test patches with pdl laser after 2005, first with my local dermatologist, then the late Dr. Crouch helped me a lot, doing all sorts of test patches for free; pdl, yag, also Lumenis One IPL. None of the lasers gave me any pale skin response. The Lumenis One did with certain triple layer settings, but when we did a full face treatment in 2006, it gave me a month long inflammation and redness all over my face. Took NSAID medication to calm things down and in the end, that IPL didn't help me but didn't make me worse either, so no drama that time, luckily. Crouch thought I am not a good candidate for laser nor IPL, as my skin is too reactive and sensitive and I have some light sensitivities too. Then in 2011 and 2012 I had part of my lower cheek test patched with v-beam perfecta, just to be sure that one could help me (Crouch didn't have that type of laser) but it showed no effect whatsoever, and I didn't dare to do a full face treatment as a result. That's the score. I am too afraid I'll make matters worse with either laser or IPL as it stands now."</i></div>
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Ok, have to add something upbeat too. This made me chuckle last week: week long warnings about an upcoming 'snow storm' in London are met with a flurry of tweets mocking meltdown in the capital:</div>
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There's been beautiful winter conditions in Holland too, only we don't fret about snow, but more about ICE.... Every winter there is talk of a nature ice skate tournament in Holland, and you won't believe the level of excitement this evokes in people. It's even a main news topic on tele. Some kids can skate before they walk. They are talking about the chances of an Elfstedentocht, like every year. A 200 km ice skate tour, on natural ice, across the province of Frysland. A mythical tour, because we haven't had one for the past twenty years. It was simply too warm all those winters after 1997 to organize an Elfstedentocht. Nevertheless the ice masters gather every winter in the hope of preparations for one. The best one to date was also the coldest one, the Elfstedentocht from 1963. In fact, that year they had the coldest winter in Dutch history (or as long as temperatures have been measured). This is the absolute heart of Dutchness:</div>
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Minus 21 degrees it was at the start. People still talk about this race. It was epic, people were admitted to hospital halfways with frozen eyeballs (for real). It's called The Hell from '63. It comes close to Argentina '74 and Germany '78 (both touchy topics and football/soccer related). People were dragged off the ice, completely dazed and lost, farmers found ice skaters kilometers off track, totally astray. Darkness, ice, wind. Frozen toes, fingers, noses, you name it. The wind was hard and made it feel Siberian. There were cuts and tears in the ice, it wasn't sweet sailing. 200 kilometers in total and the winner, Reinier Paping, did it in 11 hours.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijwBRCZviWHnPOcJWpSSc5LN_H2qof8V7UUdOoBNMa1i4xrAx_HqrE3IrrizNfssgAHkxi4WA8_dlY0AXFy9bdwXKPrHbfSGYl_bhv79cbZCHkC7LRsx9yN6Nv_wGothjFcVW7TCgIJQ7T/s1600/16003162_1331772693560448_6185497077625808202_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijwBRCZviWHnPOcJWpSSc5LN_H2qof8V7UUdOoBNMa1i4xrAx_HqrE3IrrizNfssgAHkxi4WA8_dlY0AXFy9bdwXKPrHbfSGYl_bhv79cbZCHkC7LRsx9yN6Nv_wGothjFcVW7TCgIJQ7T/s400/16003162_1331772693560448_6185497077625808202_n.jpg" width="400" /></a>I heard back an 80s song the other day, The Wind of Change on the radio. From the Scorpions. Might have been early 90s and I still have no clue what he sings in the first 2 lines haha: "I follow damosqua, and down to gonki paw"?? Either way, I wonder now if people really wanted the wind of change, if they knew back then what they were in for. I wouldn't, it could have stayed the 80's for ever if it were up to me. A Flemish psychiatrist said in an interview that he sees problems with the generation of today. That young people in his practice can look at him with an empty, non understanding stare when he asks them how they are doing. This is a culture of images, young people are used at visuals, and many cannot even find the sufficient words to describe their own feelings anymore, he states. They rather resort to emoticons. Many can mainly like things, and don't have the vocabulary to describe it when they don't feel good. Unhappiness is a massive taboo in today's world of Generation Z and beyond. It's all about personal happiness nowadays, but he pleads for a bit more humbleness in fact.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitQ_XPKOIquhI6V0_QDPxKmXdg6HiJN3s3y-DMIFPLNzIhP1kBTD7Czch2jibpLoDcDgdIgvcMbUAKQa_Iz6BoepS2QFZn5DxIbY50IscJpn9LaPRU666z7GJuAcNgqlL-rEqxE8lu3d42/s1600/zzzzzzzzz.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitQ_XPKOIquhI6V0_QDPxKmXdg6HiJN3s3y-DMIFPLNzIhP1kBTD7Czch2jibpLoDcDgdIgvcMbUAKQa_Iz6BoepS2QFZn5DxIbY50IscJpn9LaPRU666z7GJuAcNgqlL-rEqxE8lu3d42/s320/zzzzzzzzz.jpg" width="157" /></a>I notice this too of course. Life is flashy and fast for the friends around me. Jobs, young family life. But that is not enough. They need to be spiders in a big web, and also be social in the weekends, keep up large social groups of friends and family, go out, look trim and young, travel, be great spouses or partners of course. And that is wonderful, but there seems very little space for when it all doesn't go fantastic. We see the happy times magnified on social media, but rarely the struggles. It might be part of our image culture of today, one where we can control our own image with snap chat filters and one sided personal updates. But when you live on the periphery of life in a way, like I feel I do, then it can be demoralizing to feel there is not much I can chime in with. There isn't much space for being sick and ailing and unable to keep up with the fast life. Or so it feels sometimes. I have a couple of friends in my same age group, who all suffer from chronic illnesses, and they seem to feel more or less the same about this. It's almost a bubble we live in; even when we meet up with our busy and successful friends from a past life, we never really fit in seamlessly anymore. We are in a lower gear, we have to live a more quiet and restricted life. Of course there are always loved ones who understand that, but I do wonder sometimes if the pace of life is getting faster and flashier nowadays than it might have been some decades ago. In general I mean. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbSbUFs3Rnp6R_ILB1F_xcUkw2VJrx9-bj00ozz3Au0pW2COW8Ugp-VE5BNThZrbVQHsq2tclFsLseI7Mtw0SRe56muyzRIrZOFWc8lX9fs2tUnSnc1AVj97F7FgBye_sNqifpr6qF8yjn/s1600/pre-raphaelites-crop.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbSbUFs3Rnp6R_ILB1F_xcUkw2VJrx9-bj00ozz3Au0pW2COW8Ugp-VE5BNThZrbVQHsq2tclFsLseI7Mtw0SRe56muyzRIrZOFWc8lX9fs2tUnSnc1AVj97F7FgBye_sNqifpr6qF8yjn/s400/pre-raphaelites-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a>So anyway, this psychiatrist states that he feels that we're at a border of the liberal consumerist system. People seem obsessively occupied and focused with being happy, he says. And not just regular happiness, but extremely happiness. Improbably high levels of happiness. It's never enough. Abnormal obsession with becoming happy. As if that has become the main goal of life. Aristotle already thought about this btw. But he lived in a different society. It really isn't, but our consumer society is trying to sell it to us this way. And by consumerist message, we can do all sorts of things to achieve this, but usually we have to buy stuff for it, like wellness weekends and self help books and courses, and we can especially purchase a lot of products for this. Flashy cars or expensive clothes are sold as the pinnacle of success in the west, something we deserve if we work hard. Something we are entitled to. Happiness is connected to big mansions. In reality, there is no significant simple correlation between money alone and happiness, with exception of dire poverty and extreme richness, which both make more unhappy according to statistics. But otherwise, money alone doesn't statistically make people more happy on the long term. But those who are successful and at the forefront of society, those who look sunburnt and have designer glasses and long legged blondes with them, they say: "See, I did it all myself. My happiness is my merit". Maybe it has a bit too do with the secularization of society. No more afterlife paradise means that we have abolished the promise of afterlife happiness. Now most think there is nothing after death. Or maybe there is something after death, but the tendency is to make sure that we have sufficient happiness here and now, just in case. And we look for happiness more in kicks and in exceptional stuff than we did before according to the doc. Always faster and better. People flock to the big cities, thinking it's there that they must find happiness. Not in the ordinary, always looking for it in the exceptional. That is tiring for our neurological system. Just doing nothing is getting increasingly more difficult for youngsters. Just try it; have a bunch of teenagers sit in a room for a day without the right to check their phones. Or maybe for a few hours even. Tough for many. There seems to be a constant addiction to impulses, pings, and kicks. And life can't be like that all the time. Peeks come with descents. Highs and lows and such. But many young people seem unable to deal with that. Life must be one long stream of events and highs. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP2Qv1xwRcwCuBPuP8FRDyRGZBCl_THcVh0YxMA7RmoyyedgIpsVkR0E4bbrNIQ-N3aguCkyoTyXjAGlj3H_9ioIF5iuSSEnU99Zu1lviWHPIxMLNxvKAwAfvpexq0OulhIGjKxxlXW7jN/s1600/The+kid+with+the+%25E2%2598%258E+hahaha+hes+already+calling+the+wife+yea+babe+might+be+running+a+lil+late+tommy+stole+another+sippy+cup+at+work+today+and+now+we%2527re+in+a+meeting+mis+yoooou+and+where+those+huggies+i+bought+u+u+know+wit.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP2Qv1xwRcwCuBPuP8FRDyRGZBCl_THcVh0YxMA7RmoyyedgIpsVkR0E4bbrNIQ-N3aguCkyoTyXjAGlj3H_9ioIF5iuSSEnU99Zu1lviWHPIxMLNxvKAwAfvpexq0OulhIGjKxxlXW7jN/s320/The+kid+with+the+%25E2%2598%258E+hahaha+hes+already+calling+the+wife+yea+babe+might+be+running+a+lil+late+tommy+stole+another+sippy+cup+at+work+today+and+now+we%2527re+in+a+meeting+mis+yoooou+and+where+those+huggies+i+bought+u+u+know+wit.jpg" width="320" /></a>On top we have a grabbing culture, fueled by greed, who isn't focusing primarily on developing our own personal talents. Success in today's culture is often about grabbing as many bonuses as possible and pushing others out of my way. Doc sees a risk in this and fears that our society is heading in a direction where attachment becomes a problem. Where people no longer flourish in a predictable environment, where they can safely make mistakes, experiment and be loved unconditionally. Because for more and more people, their identity is linked to the image they create of themselves. The way they like to be seen and perceived. Your glass frame fashion is your identity, your fashionable clothes; that what the outside shows. And when someones identity shifts, because of illness for instance or economical misfortune (not to mention the inevitable losses you'll suffer along the way, or the ageing), more people now than before seem to lose part of their identity. Whereas your identity should be rooted, and be steadfast. Not so easily blown to pieces when some unhappiness seeps in. Those people can become literally sick from a bit of unhappiness. Happiness in our society is seen as our own earning, but unhappiness is seen as a psychological condition. Depression, personality disorders, all sorts of diagnoses that people seek because they cannot deal with the fact that they cannot be unlimitedly happy. They want a pill, to feel good again, so they can return to the hectic life out there of the successful and the happy, as if nothing is the matter. Keeping that illusion of happiness up. And pills do work, a bit. Making the people who take these pills think they are no patients. People nowadays are diagnosed when they show even the slightest deviation from the norm. With all types of abbreviations. ADD, ADHD, lots of D's in it usually. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5MRQl7_vkvRiMn50cv6VbS-R7cKWOwXnVmrg1qcFGwUoMDkr2U4XjtoV98u_F29cyixz-8xGRj5C-oLOPwRgTIyWepzpxG67k077ylrR-j0YJa6ukUHYFw2DueNHunxGm9HWcJP5UnF71/s1600/xxxxxxxx.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5MRQl7_vkvRiMn50cv6VbS-R7cKWOwXnVmrg1qcFGwUoMDkr2U4XjtoV98u_F29cyixz-8xGRj5C-oLOPwRgTIyWepzpxG67k077ylrR-j0YJa6ukUHYFw2DueNHunxGm9HWcJP5UnF71/s320/xxxxxxxx.jpg" width="264" /></a>Maybe people should stop this obsession with happiness as the goal of life. Perhaps it's better and more calming to aim to live a good life. As in; being a good person, doing some good in the world, in whatever way. That's why I always bitch about social media. Not because I am against it an sich, but because the social media I do use make it obvious that people often filter out all the regular things, all the sad things, the things that go wrong, and only highlight their life's highlights, in an ongoing stream of little lights, and it helps create the crazy world of today. It's a big part of the hype and the craze. And maybe the world sometimes needs a slower pace. Time to walk a bit, think a bit. Time, not always as an economic factor. It's easy talking for me probably, as I am more or less forced to live that way now. I can go out and about all the time, but being bright red and in burning pain makes it very hard to enjoy much of that. I am best of when I keep calm when my skin plays up, and make the best of my day when my skin behaves. It's not easy though. Especially not when you had all this from your late teens on. I do feel left out at times, like I am existing instead of really living and experiencing a whole lot. But it is what it is... Some people don't experience anything at all. My sister died over a decade ago, I do think of people worse off, when I get in one of these wallowing self pitying moods. It helps in some ways. And it also helps me to refocus and realize that life isn't about being happy all the time, for most people. Feeling sad sometimes is normal, no matter what social media makes you believe; it's part of life or a consequence of someones situation sometimes, not necessarily a psychiatric disorder. Happiness has probably more to do with being born at the right place, being loved by your family and friends, having the right financial opportunities to study and to meet the right people. With good or bad luck, in fact. </div>
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This also usually cheers me up, in the CATegory lame catness:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vEg4SEch27w/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vEg4SEch27w?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpDQRa0NFJT1PLOtEqGXvsHGd39CnpEmWSvtKEKFmNW0cfuPzZ_JTnXR3xZoJ9WaSM7-tAbSA-x2llvMdNx0Iq-BCXpqzZtK_k5ueSCXsxmRB84_Y0n20UreiMVMqHurfIJcbNYAEIsJS/s1600/cattttttt.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpDQRa0NFJT1PLOtEqGXvsHGd39CnpEmWSvtKEKFmNW0cfuPzZ_JTnXR3xZoJ9WaSM7-tAbSA-x2llvMdNx0Iq-BCXpqzZtK_k5ueSCXsxmRB84_Y0n20UreiMVMqHurfIJcbNYAEIsJS/s320/cattttttt.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">January 16th 2017</span></span></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large; font-weight: normal;"><b style="color: #990000;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: normal;"><b style="color: #990000;"></b></span></b></b></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQQn0T0_h3_lfPbTCJgKaBNifyLuPvc1vOvhWu74Kxz7fWYyuoOIlF7hfYXQU5uIj5tm0cGAetxBLiLXvcnZNWBro4DNxigm9Pvw3HQXY3xVU2mydEmHaND76fY_-h9THkf9uMCXZYDA/s1600/DSC01631.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQQn0T0_h3_lfPbTCJgKaBNifyLuPvc1vOvhWu74Kxz7fWYyuoOIlF7hfYXQU5uIj5tm0cGAetxBLiLXvcnZNWBro4DNxigm9Pvw3HQXY3xVU2mydEmHaND76fY_-h9THkf9uMCXZYDA/s320/DSC01631.jpg" width="287" /></a>I re-started with an old medication, that I used to take for years, between 2007-2010; diclofenac. It's a non steroidal anti inflammatory (NSAID), and I feel it is dimming the redness a bit. It's not helping me with flushing, but I feel that while taking it, the background redness is not as deep. I have been taking 100 mg a day for the past three days and I feel my overall redness and skin inflammation is a bit less now. The pictures I show here are taken in the morning, after waking up, so I am always a bit less red then, and gradually during the day the redness increases for me. So this was my absolute palest moment of the day. nevertheless, I woke up red the weeks and months prior.. The downside of this medication is that you need to be really careful with your stomach. It's quite harsh on the stomach lining. I take my dose with a proper main meal, never on an empty stomach, or it feels like it burns an ulcer right away. It won't right away of course, the pills have a protective coating, but they are linked to ulcers after long(er) term use, so you need to be careful with this one. It's still a lot more safe to try for your rosacea than resorting to steroids, either topical (absolutely not wise to use any steroid cream when you have rosacea, or a tendency to blush and flare, it can really make things a lot worse), or systematic; even taking prednisone orally is a risk when you have rosacea, and it can trigger rosacea too, in those with a predisposition for rosacea. But not necessarily. Some people with rosacea take steroids short term and it doesn't affect their rosacea. And in general, many people take steroids for all sorts of health problems and never develop skin problems from it. But people with pale skin, a tendency to sunburn and blush, do have a higher risk to develop a flushing or rosacea skin problem, after using corticosteroids. This risk is unfortunately not something that dermatologists and GP's are always aware of.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStv1nnJGUKrf4qMSQbDMsFwgzJdPbuvcylbh3KPflCNN74vRgKOT1hHtqDEgMH_XQ4sIvaxkQ3T8DmeHGHiivNIAliBDb1cIuOZS6GDEXculykeX9TgdJpTH96o_mZed0GjhHUyk0Qto/s1600/DSC01638.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStv1nnJGUKrf4qMSQbDMsFwgzJdPbuvcylbh3KPflCNN74vRgKOT1hHtqDEgMH_XQ4sIvaxkQ3T8DmeHGHiivNIAliBDb1cIuOZS6GDEXculykeX9TgdJpTH96o_mZed0GjhHUyk0Qto/s320/DSC01638.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b>ephemerality</b></span> wrote about this on <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34971-Steroid-Induced-Rosacea-Severe-Flushing-Redness-and-Burning"><b>The Rosacea Forum</b></a>: <i>"Steroid induced rosacea does not requires long term usage of steroid. for some people, even 1 time application can do all the damage. don't believe the standard BS thrown out there by those "medical professionals". everyone's body is different;everyone's blood vessel flexibility/resilience/stability is different. maybe, it is true, for majority people, it takes months of steroid to develop rosacea red face; and there are people who never develop red face no matter how long they keep using steroid. however, for a small number of people, the full steroid damage only requires very short times (days, not even weeks). </i><i>There is no possibility to persuade those medical professionals to admit/believe the severe danger from steroid. biggest tools (pretty much the only tools) western medecines have are "antibiotic" and "steroid". by playing with those 2 things, pharma comps and docs have been able to make tons of shxt loads of money. especially those dermatologies, without steroid cream, half of them would show up with dumbface and lose job right there, because they really have and know nothing else to offer patients. It is all about money! 1 unlimited supply in the world for derms (and docs and pharma comps) are people. they can keep making money, have their "respectful careers", and pile up assets for their children, as long as general population keep believing their fooling with the notion that "short-term steroid use does not cause problem" and "steroid usage under direction of your doctors is safe". What consequence is there to them when they ruin our faces!!! they will just get new patients and keep doing the same thing, and anyway, some people will be fine, and some will be ruined!"</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRi5eNtAwVEPEnrpC2HiD2fNpDsQ08lbWfw8TjwaT_cAn_r_IOczXBq6EzEnik-rdQjVxVXn_21AGJXsXpQqTC1JyhyphenhyphenWeWjmRu0EkTLHVdfPjDRNK5AEKy0SJHvUvnKO0NE9pgPdoXtE/s1600/DSC01633.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRi5eNtAwVEPEnrpC2HiD2fNpDsQ08lbWfw8TjwaT_cAn_r_IOczXBq6EzEnik-rdQjVxVXn_21AGJXsXpQqTC1JyhyphenhyphenWeWjmRu0EkTLHVdfPjDRNK5AEKy0SJHvUvnKO0NE9pgPdoXtE/s320/DSC01633.jpg" width="246" /></a>I agree with this post-writer. In 1999 I only used a hydrocortisone cream for around 3 or 4 days in the area around my mouth and nose, a bit on a cheek, and developed rosacea, flushing, redness and burning seemingly overnight from it. It was ridiculous really. The problem is that for some people with rosacea, doctors do prescribe short term use of steroids (either something like prednisone, or a cortisone cream even, in an attempt to bring inflammation down) and some do fine on it, and it doesn't hurt their rosacea. But for some others, it does make things much worse. You just don't know beforehand if you'll be fine with it, or if you are one of the unlucky few who have their rosacea worsened by it. My dermatologist always says; it's Russian roulette to use any steroid, if you are a heavy flusher. I'd not take the risk. He warns me against any type of steroid use, including steroid nose spray and eye drops. The worst part is that the steroid use is often not even strictly necessary.. I had some mild eczema at the time, and it really didn't require a steroid cream, but I never had skin problems prior and never thought a short period of use could pose such risks. I didn't even know of the risk. I feel that doctors, both dermatologists and GP's, need to be aware of the fact that steroids can trigger rosacea in those with a higher risk for it, like a tendency to blush, to sunburn and people with pale skin that easily goes red. It sometimes really is thrown at patients as an easy fix for all. It also rarely cures you from anything, as steroids merely suppress symptoms, and topical steroids not only thin the skin in the long run, but they also make the skin addicted to some degree to this cream (weaning off gives often rebound symptoms). So just be careful with steroids, if you have rosacea.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVz_WRniHKDYvSR4Pin-5E48EB0DtmMrBbIfURkTwljYDOo6QI7Uz9ovyTFcAXx-8OABCqDlqWzO8bL15Me3HGN6a4A1z-ciHOGTtMU1wMrLQ1IbBBqeJvM9v2zgDDxMm2KJ7JvYljuGE/s1600/DSC01637.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVz_WRniHKDYvSR4Pin-5E48EB0DtmMrBbIfURkTwljYDOo6QI7Uz9ovyTFcAXx-8OABCqDlqWzO8bL15Me3HGN6a4A1z-ciHOGTtMU1wMrLQ1IbBBqeJvM9v2zgDDxMm2KJ7JvYljuGE/w176-h275/DSC01637.jpg" width="176" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8oxvKPgxdWOrwjH6bT_-jUSHVsGMXImEmfYYgjiCwFZ04BFp1DXcydgpW8GGyBJ328rcz8wJZUUB8_YBRPdA4f6mEAMgSzbI8Bt5FP-iH9moMwKDdUnARDksrMtMc36q6utsIgEu6bM/s1600/DSC01612+-+kopie.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8oxvKPgxdWOrwjH6bT_-jUSHVsGMXImEmfYYgjiCwFZ04BFp1DXcydgpW8GGyBJ328rcz8wJZUUB8_YBRPdA4f6mEAMgSzbI8Bt5FP-iH9moMwKDdUnARDksrMtMc36q6utsIgEu6bM/w365-h274/DSC01612+-+kopie.jpg" width="365" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBWR73KuYYQaKkUBm7gU4KgoFfDlSL6lIdKDGkluPjsos1lEX24TP_t0UpE7mXzX2foOl-FUSTSGmtmguK4IE3cT6DIjnomxQgRSwj8C9ru2Su_3b8QEQpchhR-VPilRLcfwab5kqRI0/s1600/DSC01632.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBWR73KuYYQaKkUBm7gU4KgoFfDlSL6lIdKDGkluPjsos1lEX24TP_t0UpE7mXzX2foOl-FUSTSGmtmguK4IE3cT6DIjnomxQgRSwj8C9ru2Su_3b8QEQpchhR-VPilRLcfwab5kqRI0/w202-h261/DSC01632.jpg" width="202" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO2SLhSWEq6nmM1S8jHbGwHEuIpKzH_ZyxKKKKSBzrqyYJpHVVDPS6ZYMIp7MNgeWiV72yU9zz14ydeuVjf-eAO-7gaQvg1J_DA-5x2VB3JEqj6cHME_1PUeQYaoQdgT7cGx9tX9O65gM/s1600/DSC01615.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO2SLhSWEq6nmM1S8jHbGwHEuIpKzH_ZyxKKKKSBzrqyYJpHVVDPS6ZYMIp7MNgeWiV72yU9zz14ydeuVjf-eAO-7gaQvg1J_DA-5x2VB3JEqj6cHME_1PUeQYaoQdgT7cGx9tX9O65gM/w349-h262/DSC01615.jpg" width="349" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg94kqhGpvbdVInlNMwJ9k-ZTOqVQUL-P_k8vQhyphenhyphen_o_jjtmGahjRStrBcvynMoUz74ml5p3P-uO9IhDajN0Gl2vaaBwNV_fdra1GCPoU704gtyaQBfIcqfLJXYPYvjbS1OWN6y9poYqEMo/s1600/DSC01641.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg94kqhGpvbdVInlNMwJ9k-ZTOqVQUL-P_k8vQhyphenhyphen_o_jjtmGahjRStrBcvynMoUz74ml5p3P-uO9IhDajN0Gl2vaaBwNV_fdra1GCPoU704gtyaQBfIcqfLJXYPYvjbS1OWN6y9poYqEMo/w286-h341/DSC01641.jpg" width="286" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-zj-b0QdadPW4AfUYzikyFtfHWLJvpAxfmCV2iStXtHqRvouL-vQNqm-djR-ngHaMtxyCNbEwnLeZhbMGtKT5uw9CE6BnCupDUkXllxLZv3HPvrFmxZKyUp8xUtZ09He7XMHJ2aioU0/s1600/DSC01642.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-zj-b0QdadPW4AfUYzikyFtfHWLJvpAxfmCV2iStXtHqRvouL-vQNqm-djR-ngHaMtxyCNbEwnLeZhbMGtKT5uw9CE6BnCupDUkXllxLZv3HPvrFmxZKyUp8xUtZ09He7XMHJ2aioU0/w254-h343/DSC01642.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>
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I also have been eating healthy and been using my UVB narrow lamp, to (almost) naturally and slowly increase my vitamin D levels now that it's winter here. Read more about it <a href="http://scarletnat.blogspot.fr/2012/12/the-role-of-vitamin-d-in-rosaceafacial.html"><b>here</b></a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAPyfbeuSI9tIOys8vPNbnmvxGQ4fIajxXojU7kOKrLIA9LAIX6rOtz9wVA8FRi9j625NnGPHcMngQJVu_TnxzSFc-HPlKZHHwMu32EyqeLt8ZAIJMPrkhQxa-7vemQ2iRsANYq6-r15Q/s1600/DSC01642.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAPyfbeuSI9tIOys8vPNbnmvxGQ4fIajxXojU7kOKrLIA9LAIX6rOtz9wVA8FRi9j625NnGPHcMngQJVu_TnxzSFc-HPlKZHHwMu32EyqeLt8ZAIJMPrkhQxa-7vemQ2iRsANYq6-r15Q/w267-h356/DSC01642.JPG" width="267" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95b9k7ArHLp4s6kyUKInv9MNvkWgaGX2DTaIu6guFc7bX-NHlNOyMssCrldepn0RUcF2MJv-a3Uzf9M15SNa_PmFC0B9mkcM7SwfB6zYGxIljMJiQ6xPbF3MyMsOpTMIKdvOKfvHydDY/s1600/DSC01644.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95b9k7ArHLp4s6kyUKInv9MNvkWgaGX2DTaIu6guFc7bX-NHlNOyMssCrldepn0RUcF2MJv-a3Uzf9M15SNa_PmFC0B9mkcM7SwfB6zYGxIljMJiQ6xPbF3MyMsOpTMIKdvOKfvHydDY/w267-h355/DSC01644.JPG" width="267" /></a></div></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: 42px;">January 12th 2017</span></span></b></div>
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Happy new year and I hope that everybody reading this had nice holidays and enjoyed the festive days with minimal skin discomfort! I have a horror time with my rosacea unfortunately. It's been basically burning since the start of December, when the weather turned cold and the central heating went on. In summer, my skin can be pale when it's not flushed over something. Now I'm a constant red blob. My whole face feels sunburned badly and even when I fan it and have indoor temperature not too warm, not too cold, not too dry, I still look super red. It's permanent redness, apart from it being seasonal :) I also have seb derm around my mouth and nose and forehead, as usual with winter and the lovely cold weather hives are back too. Currently having 5 on one cheek and 2 on another :( I am trying so bad to not fab with super cold air flowing on my skin, but every darn winter it's the same story. And every fall my skin looks and feels relatively good, and I vow to NOT let it get too bad in the upcoming winter. I just cannot avoid it it seems. I'm pretty darn miserable to be honest. It's draining to have a burning glowing face even during sleep, when you're supposed to rest and have a break from it all. I even have a glowing rosacea flare in my dreams! And thanks to mirtazapine pills I have vivid eventful dreams every night, but when I'm having a sore face, it always features in the dream.I just hope this nightmare ends again in spring. It's been close to 20 years now that I have this rosacea thing ruining my life more or less and it still didn't burn itself out, as my derm predicts and hopes will happen, eventually, with older age.. I am very doubtful, the amount of flushing and redness I'm getting can surely not just heal overnight? I do notice that my hormones play a role in the severity, the week before my period is definitely the worst of the month in terms of rosacea.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjip-bvKxGtm0m_EMkkOhHGLYcs3Yh83QzdbLZ7vRdKlq2Zj7F1KGxRM8ilFwsqhCInC_MtZE6rIQxx_3KHk3mppkAOGtbpZjx4jhI5YgK2rw0P3aQjqE8SIHKU2WM1lQkdnOgnMWui7pA/s1600/DSC01543.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjip-bvKxGtm0m_EMkkOhHGLYcs3Yh83QzdbLZ7vRdKlq2Zj7F1KGxRM8ilFwsqhCInC_MtZE6rIQxx_3KHk3mppkAOGtbpZjx4jhI5YgK2rw0P3aQjqE8SIHKU2WM1lQkdnOgnMWui7pA/w156-h208/DSC01543.jpg" width="156" /></a>Sigh. I had nice Christmas days nevertheless. My best friend, her partner and their two kids came over and stayed for 5 days. It is lovely to have bouncing kids around for so long, and they áre lovely, but it was a shock of the system in a way (the system of the child free - or childless if you please) and neither the cats were very used to all that noise and the amount of toys everywhere. They mostly fled outside hehe. It was fun of course, but also full on with hyperactive kids and their cat allergies and the biggest mess the house has ever seen. Have had an overdose on dinosaurs and sharks, but who doesn't love dinosaurs and sharks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyuW4HAt-KFXMo5ycq4FuwErSKPDxnXKjIcc6VxpYXr8dUYuDSjEYk-IC67TVKvyzGFLvHPtbJzN73ir4QKP7FlM0WvKjtbRrZFzR4FzLbaNeSJLh6xRMoeBGBWpIDZOBJvXvnLDkFFmo/s1600/DSC01542.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyuW4HAt-KFXMo5ycq4FuwErSKPDxnXKjIcc6VxpYXr8dUYuDSjEYk-IC67TVKvyzGFLvHPtbJzN73ir4QKP7FlM0WvKjtbRrZFzR4FzLbaNeSJLh6xRMoeBGBWpIDZOBJvXvnLDkFFmo/w157-h209/DSC01542.jpg" width="157" /></a>We had traditional Christmas sweets, opened gifts at 00.00.01s of the early seconds of Christmas day (Ready? ... hang on.. GO!!). We ate lots of codfish (otherwise Jesus Christ will doom us to burn in hell like heathens for eternity for not eating fish). Admittedly, codfish is the go-to fish when it comes to the consumption of seafood. I can see how God would have a deadly serious concern when it comes to the whitefish. I heard the Meijers had salmon on Christmas! They’re well and truly in trouble, doomed forever.<br />
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I explained my friends that I was having a bad skin flare period and they are always understanding. But they are also naturally cold and used to 23 degrees Celsius in their own home, so I felt I had to compromise and had it warmer in the house than normal. But I was already flaring anyway, even with the heating off, so I tried to make the best of it. It was hard at times as they're all amazing cooks and everybody enjoyed fabulous foods and I was usually stuck with the bleak (but lovingly made) version of things. Oh well :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4WmQ5PtDP818gCrFn20Jq7W1dpURzNlIlGB0k0IT5AUFzMWzF2-OMIEd1kG-PicU3iQxEKnve2bJgg7j7QAZCXyT_iBDe1U_zs4dz-XaIUhqx6CIWDE6YLu1-cJn1QFQQTW8ZPOw0s2A/s1600/DSC00494.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4WmQ5PtDP818gCrFn20Jq7W1dpURzNlIlGB0k0IT5AUFzMWzF2-OMIEd1kG-PicU3iQxEKnve2bJgg7j7QAZCXyT_iBDe1U_zs4dz-XaIUhqx6CIWDE6YLu1-cJn1QFQQTW8ZPOw0s2A/s400/DSC00494.JPG" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6NSDxplxf9lHtRutAMJdoOpK9K0iEYMGqded2DrsQohAd-IA7JvN6pGvZ8D3nye1PWtJCkiuRjQV4L1SXQkBiP3jUPZ12PiqbeWupKyLVEi0UdgRPQhLAh0x-ujYb56mLNmTtoNRgd-g/s1600/DSC01530.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6NSDxplxf9lHtRutAMJdoOpK9K0iEYMGqded2DrsQohAd-IA7JvN6pGvZ8D3nye1PWtJCkiuRjQV4L1SXQkBiP3jUPZ12PiqbeWupKyLVEi0UdgRPQhLAh0x-ujYb56mLNmTtoNRgd-g/w300-h225/DSC01530.jpg" width="300" /></a>I wonder if it depends on the kid in question and the way they are raised, or whether alll Kinder equal High draining levels. I also contracted the sniffles from my friends' kids, who both had <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death"><b>the plague</b></a>. In terms of material worldly possessions, Capitalist Santa brought me a book on the history of discoveries that I asked for. Oh and we watched a movie from 1939; <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031593/?ref_=nv_sr_2"><b>Love Affair</b></a>, which was charming. And not even the first movie about a romantic meet up on the Empire State Building. Cary Grant made a <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050105/"><b>remake</b></a> of it decades later, but that wasn't the original, and apparently the 1939 one with Charles Boyer wasn't<i> either</i>. Koshka, one of my cats, needed to be taken to the vet last week for apparent flu and a swollen eye. He got a course of antibiotics, an anti inflammatory but also a gel for the eye that contains both antibiotic and a steroid gel.. The doc put the drops in his eyes and I feel terrible about this, but I haven't used it since.. As I am petrified of him licking his eye and transferring the steroid cream to his fur and me patting him and having it on my hands, and then without thinking touching my face with them. It's fairly neurotic, I do realize that, but topical steroids started my entire rosacea nightmare (and only a few days of using it sparingly on my face). I am just so worried to push my flushing and burning over the edge, as things are already pretty poor often. I also have had much more redness and burning and swelling of my face since that vet visit, so I've grown paranoid about the steroid eye gel. Luckily, the oral antibiotic- and anti inflammatory course is helping him a lot, and I rinse his eye with a saline solution. I also didn't see him lick the gel out of his eyes when carrying him home but this sort of worrying is making me feel slightly crazy. If his eye had not improved, I would have used the gel, with tons of precaution measurements. I went to a Thai friends food truck opening night last night. It was her first night and it was packed! She made all her food from scratch and I don't think she expected so many people. It was nice. I couldn't eat any of the dishes, except for a super mild one with prawns, beansprouts, tamarind and noodles. Delicious, especially to have such different flavours from my regular diet. It was extremely cold and windy and I think I developed a couple of extra cold weather hives overnight.. Oh well. I wanted to say goodbye to her and her Thai help at some point, and he unexpectedly gave me 3 kisses on the cheek. Normal custom, but I usually try to avoid it, if possible, but it happened so quickly and he had definitely something on his skin :( My bet is some aftershave, it was a pleasant scent, but not something I like on my crazy skin. And it burned, but I had to drive quite a while back home first to get it off with water., Should always bring bottled water and cotton pads over with me probably, but I tend to forget.. It's awful how everybody wants to kiss, and more awful to have to think about these things all the time. All this painful skin flaring gave me the opportunity to take a little break from the ongoing computer work. But now I was so sore and red that I've been binge watching one of the best TV series I've seen in a while: Westworld. (I know, I used to say that of Game of Thrones too, but their last seasons were slightly more meh. Not this car music theme cover though!).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0RKIIMd7F9cugALHNktRXMz2hgI-F6dHf2usaELRue_TIGO-0IV4YWc5cSNyh2XRowRgiHRbe6uWMp3ZUEgYpGB_Am6uYE2u6vVIPQt7tQEk9vqsDLZtkQX5VdfGCEQb59AF6p0MOQo/s1600/DSC01531.jpg" style="background-color: white; clear: right; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0RKIIMd7F9cugALHNktRXMz2hgI-F6dHf2usaELRue_TIGO-0IV4YWc5cSNyh2XRowRgiHRbe6uWMp3ZUEgYpGB_Am6uYE2u6vVIPQt7tQEk9vqsDLZtkQX5VdfGCEQb59AF6p0MOQo/s320/DSC01531.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBO2zrSDDCRS30KBrUDdO-MzEYJR-sxpHs8QEVJ-LYcJsUS23Ce3fqwqYX3Xa7g1wc2Y_mP3t09iDowhhVUxua5wUg0P6pDN8n-1K84eWujX1SWN-h3lLdEmqUIqKfTD4HjpBzfDz7zQ/s1600/DSC01591.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBO2zrSDDCRS30KBrUDdO-MzEYJR-sxpHs8QEVJ-LYcJsUS23Ce3fqwqYX3Xa7g1wc2Y_mP3t09iDowhhVUxua5wUg0P6pDN8n-1K84eWujX1SWN-h3lLdEmqUIqKfTD4HjpBzfDz7zQ/s320/DSC01591.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSljtfRKNtQGDe6IrU2W8_6Oo41GHNnjCgr6cMipTQFFf3JOv4H6c37aGx1SEMPv-fY5KaNffPsgbyYWhlmY1pRtPaQMFQeiEJp7hppCo62QsSYKnp4wObLDSkkCj0IBcakmJY7w6ZNbA/s1600/160819-westworld-s1-blast-07-1280.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSljtfRKNtQGDe6IrU2W8_6Oo41GHNnjCgr6cMipTQFFf3JOv4H6c37aGx1SEMPv-fY5KaNffPsgbyYWhlmY1pRtPaQMFQeiEJp7hppCo62QsSYKnp4wObLDSkkCj0IBcakmJY7w6ZNbA/s400/160819-westworld-s1-blast-07-1280.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Westworld</span></b> features Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood and many others. Stunning and extremely thought provoking. Well, for me at least :) Just to warm you up for it a bit perhaps, it deals with interesting themes like memory, its value and desirability, what makes us human, what it takes to become human, what it takes to dehumanize, and coming to a higher consciousness. It's brought like a dream in a dream in parts, but always to support the broader story and to visualize something much more profound to the viewer. It made me question consciousness, morality, free will, my inner voice. It is about a struggle for inner purpose and inward journeys. How do we define consciousness in a world where we are creating machines that will be so good at mimicking humans that it can fool ourselves? Machines that are many times stronger and million times more intelligent than us? Will we lose control in the end? And with regards to our memories: how many of them do we really need and want? Hosts can have theirs erased (like in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). But it makes you think of your own memory too; memories can be destructive and life changing. Removing the worst memories can make people, or hosts in this case, perhaps better and less tormented beings. If you were given that option, would you take it? Erase the worst memories? Many will say no, because memories are part of your growing process as an individual, and they can shape you and you tend to learn from them too. Are such functions acceptable with the worst memories, when they could be also destructively dragging someone down? In this series, memories ("reveries") are deemed vital for consciousness. In this show, a theme park is created for well paying visitors, to relive the old western days. All the actors in this theme park are robots however. 'Hosts'. They look just like humans and are programmed to behave almost the same as humans. Only the good observer will notice that they operate in behavioural loops. Guests can do whatever they want with the hosts; be taken along on exciting story lines and adventures, or downright abuse, rape or kill them, which happens at a staggering pace. The hosts are invented and created by a genius, Dr Ford (Anthony Hopkins). But the park is run by a corporation. This corporation, Delos, has no empathy or personal connection to these hosts and no pity for the shit they are made to go through. It's the corporate world that uses these hosts and wants to make big money out of them. It is set in the near future, no date is given but its the future and we never really see the real world and what it turned into in the mean time (it is possible to puzzle together a date though, around 2052). We only hear that it's cruel and harsh and that rich humans like to pay big bucks to go to this western themed, old fashioned theme park, where they can play a role in the many set up story lines, and do whatever they want. Be their own hero. Unlike in the real world. But it's clear that corporations run the show, as they also run the show in Westworld, or try to do so.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTrDwrb3m9ihSBB6TyXJIpEvnaA2ubz8AXT6nlxGpy1wvqCYDmRT4-rMVMWJrmnEBu2udrUmGXSTDNsleGTWVGh6I0QjTPDu-zW5xRHqMnWby_YgxavzYDvqLAmVT94QFwB1HxyDX68Fw/s1600/westworld-on-hbo-there-aren-t-any-crazy-orgies.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTrDwrb3m9ihSBB6TyXJIpEvnaA2ubz8AXT6nlxGpy1wvqCYDmRT4-rMVMWJrmnEBu2udrUmGXSTDNsleGTWVGh6I0QjTPDu-zW5xRHqMnWby_YgxavzYDvqLAmVT94QFwB1HxyDX68Fw/s400/westworld-on-hbo-there-aren-t-any-crazy-orgies.png" width="400" /></a>In theory, androids can only closely mimic human behaviour and develop something that might look like consciousness and sentience, but never the real deal. Everything they do, say and think is programmed in the end (with some space left for improvisation, in the series), whereas true consciousness requires more than that. Things like free will and self awareness. But how do you recognize human-like consciousness? The show constantly explores artificial and human consciousness. We're shown hosts (the androids) who regularly display authentic seeming and appearing, believable emotions, across the whole range of human experience. From grief to rage, love, care and so on. There seems no limit to their forms of expression, living their life fully and thoroughly within the “dome” of their personal experience. Exactly like all of us. Or at least exactly like the perspective shown in The Matrix: all of us live within a certain dome of fiction. Pain only exists in the mind. It's in a way imagined. So what's the difference between our pain and that of an android programmed to experience it just the same? They are lifelike, but not alive? Pain only exists in the mind. It's in a way imagined. So what's the difference between our pain and that of an android programmed to experience it just the same? Yet, there is a clear difference because the hosts are coded, all of their emotions are scripted and they're programmed to remain under human control and within clear limits. Because they are potential hazards, once things go wrong, being so much more strong and intelligent than humans. They cannot really hurt human beings (apart from the odd slap, scratch or catch the kinetic energy force from a non punctuating bullet - pretty much like we discuss often for our invention!). They cannot see certain things they are not supposed to see (they can technically see the, but it is blocked from their consciousness). These hosts have been limited to perceive certain specific things. That they cannot remember their previous “lives” (and if reincarnation exists, neither can we). None of that really touches directly the problem of “being conscious”, but are about control; fail-safe mechanisms, designed so that human beings can guarantee and preserve total control. Held prisoner for human beings pleasure.<br />
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In our own lives, there seems to be no threshold that makes us greater than the sum of our parts. We probably can never entirely define consciousness, because for all we know, consciousness doesn't even exist. Compared with the consciousness of apes, dogs, cats. Animals such as dolphins, horses, and certain birds are quite intelligent. They can learn from experience (sapience,) in some cases faster than humans do. What most animals lack is sentience, or the ability to comprehend and conceptualize emotions. A dog will miss you, yet it doesn’t have the intellectual capacity to recognize that it misses you. It is an on-off switch to a dog, a state of you’re being home versus you’re not being home. We as humans are fairly sure that there's something special about the way we perceive the world, and yet we live in loops as tight and as closed as the hosts in Westworld do, seldom questioning our choices, content, and most humans are told what to do next. Because we are also programmed, by all sorts of influences but ultimately by evolution itself. It has a simple rule set: species must survive and reproduce. Because we need enough food and resources for this, we create competition. If we fail in any of those two, we die. That's it. That's probably the meaning of life. That some geniuses add things that soothe us along the ride, like music, art, books, is only making the ride a bit more pleasurable, but ultimately, no different. And some actually strive for higher things, for culture, for universal wisdom and truths, even religion if you want to stretch it (although I think religion caused most suffering and misery on the planet too). But the majority of mankind isn't occupied with that Enlightened stuff. And ultimately, everything else is just a story we tell ourselves for how we got here and what defines us. But how different are we really from androids in this show, you wonder when watching Westworld? We're all programmed and wired just the same. The androids are different from humans and not just because they are created by humans. We have freedom of choice, and they are programmed to act and choose based on a predetermined set of instructions. We constantly question our choices, through retrospection. We have self awareness, we know what we are to a certain extent, they don't until they become self aware. One of the hosts in the show didn't know that she was a robot until she was told and until it was proven to her. We can define consciousness, we just can't account for how it arises. It's the state of being self aware, being able to perceive, and responding accordingly to one's surroundings. If the hosts in the show would ever reach that state, it wouldn't come easy, so you can argue that there isn't much difference between the android and humans. Or you can also argue that none of us have free will, as Sam Harris does. Sam defines free will as the belief that you have the ability to make decisions independent of your genetics or conditions. It is about whether the choices are free of stuff we can't control. If we can't control what's making us do what we want then we don't have free will according to Sam.<br />
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So in a way, one could that that the androids are only different from humans, because they are created by humans and not by evolution, and bc humans can control them. With a different story, we're different people. Without a narrative of self, who you are, where you came from, how you got to now, perhaps we're no different than the hosts. There is no divine or predestined meaning to anything, only the meaning we ourselves create and impose on our lives. And it can be completely altered by a different story. In this show technology mimics and eventually tries to trump evolution. The series deviates from the 70's movie in several ways and is much more complex, compelling and ambitious in comparison I think (although you need to see things within their time of course). So, Westworld is a great show, but it needs a few episodes to grow on you. A few episodes, before it feels the makers are no longer toying with basic concepts. It starts off straight forward seeming, but as the story progresses, it opens up a fascinating world. It also discusses your 'inner voice'. In tribal times, people dedicated it to God. The key to unlocking “Westworld” has to do with Julian Jaynes’s <a href="https://www.inverse.com/article/14264-bicameral-mind-westworld-julian-jaynes-origin-of-consciousness-hbo">theory of the “Bicameral Mind”</a>. In it, Jaynes suggests that the human brain has not always functioned in the same way. 3,000 years ago, men and women lacked the linguistic tools for self-awareness and introspection. Their actions were instead determined by a back-and-forth between the part of the brain that’s “speaking” and another part that listens and obeys. Something Jaynes describes as a kind of hallucination where a commanding, external “god-voice” intervened when they had a decision to make. The brain is a fascinating organ.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>As explained in this very short clip:</b></span></div>
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I never looked at Michelangelos painting like that, crazy once you see it, how anyone could have missed that. I take it that it was his covered up criticism on religion and the catholic church.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Some pictures of my poor skin.</span></b> I wonder if I should start taking diclofenac (NSAID) again, as my skin inflammation seems to go through the roof. So sick of the burning.. I need to occupy myself with other things, hence the postings on here about things I read or watched or that somehow interest me. Or else I go mad I feel.</span><br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBB8iRfDyXmv658hTzQbVZ9mVmjvI5tVeQcWRISbwGARodPHbHpIgkW11h_zfvxRGx4LuNDW7sXRytZHdSiJdUKEVSovsFedOjBOX1fiLZMcgfQ1_I-bDPBKGzLo2ka4d8cEud6Mxp0ag/s1600/racesec_1_0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBB8iRfDyXmv658hTzQbVZ9mVmjvI5tVeQcWRISbwGARodPHbHpIgkW11h_zfvxRGx4LuNDW7sXRytZHdSiJdUKEVSovsFedOjBOX1fiLZMcgfQ1_I-bDPBKGzLo2ka4d8cEud6Mxp0ag/s640/racesec_1_0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQqDgqbhIVsrRmdIIiDmw7_IHedPiG1TqRU7JE_2ZnWczIE1czVqJfGHlEKWQHcl3tJu3MjjZPqbjTCVce9LaZbL5t5FZlyY-NIx1mtcufXXL_UWUwHT5d3zG91rcYFUDM2NkGXNITYU/s1600/philfinale.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQqDgqbhIVsrRmdIIiDmw7_IHedPiG1TqRU7JE_2ZnWczIE1czVqJfGHlEKWQHcl3tJu3MjjZPqbjTCVce9LaZbL5t5FZlyY-NIx1mtcufXXL_UWUwHT5d3zG91rcYFUDM2NkGXNITYU/s320/philfinale.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">I also love watching a travel (reality) series called The Amazing Race. </span></b>It is an American program, but I first watched the Australian version, before realizing it's an American original. They are at season 28 now over there, and I've seen at least half of them, probably a lot more. It's amazing relaxation tv for me; it takes you to all sorts of countries I will certainly never visit in my lifetime, and makes you feel part of a group of people in a competition. It's lovely. You have couples, a group of couples, who race each other in countries around the world, with sometimes simple, sometimes more daunting challenges set up in each country; usually having something to do with local habits or cultures. The show won 8 emmies (for what that's worth), it's well made and has a good budget, so they can actually travel the world and go to fantastic places. Its strength is not just that, but also the way in which you get to know these competing couples well. The show makers said they never cast for drama, they don't instruct people to create drama because viewers would see through those sort of tricks, and when you cast well, it's also not needed. Being in a competitive race with a partner of some sorts, where every new leg, every new challenge is putting them to the test, creates drama and conflict naturally. And even then, it's not about the conflict. It's just nice to see real humans who show their true colours when on a quest like this. And it's exciting tv because every leg has so many exciting moments. There are road blocks where one of the two of each couple need to complete it (and they only get a hint of the challenge before they need to decide who does it; with a male/female team this can turn out to be the wrong choice sometimes, if it involves a dancer choreography for a man for instance, or a strength challenge for a woman). But then there are also detours, where teams need to choose between two tasks that are different, and they do not know the details apart from a sketch of what is involved. It might turn out one is much more time consuming for some than the other task. There is risk in their choice and it keeps things a bit unpredictable. Good teams can go home due to a single mistake. That keeps it very vibrant to watch. You tend to root for some team or another, after all. The way the program is shot seemed initially a bit fast and flashy to me, but I got used to it and now love the amount of energy and smiles the American contestants have. Sure, some shout a lot, they can be a bit brash, their teeth seem too white sometimes, but I just love the enthusiasm most have and the way they hug complete strangers in Armenia or Colombia when they successfully finish a challenge. You can tell they aren't used to all the hugs, for instance the stiff Swiss people in the Alps, but who gives a toss, these people are loving their travels and are erupting sometimes almost with joy and cheers. Maybe people hug a lot in general in the USA? I don't know, it's not a normal habit over here, but you can tell that wherever this program goes in the world, there is usually a positive response to their jubilant ways. Nice.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-size: xx-large;">I saw this cool map of the scale of the universe, from smallest to biggest:</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGiBI-2kltQRh5fwOGO6v2eRhyJKt5KPvC2iMh4h5sbZkggmWwYlhl6y6VGoQGTpg_3UO-YHlACbOm0TO5lSISTggyGtr_DqRRDT6r0IH_LZUGavitVJdYOlH-F-VoxDfZFTFlquMbOfo/s1600/353192-universe-4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGiBI-2kltQRh5fwOGO6v2eRhyJKt5KPvC2iMh4h5sbZkggmWwYlhl6y6VGoQGTpg_3UO-YHlACbOm0TO5lSISTggyGtr_DqRRDT6r0IH_LZUGavitVJdYOlH-F-VoxDfZFTFlquMbOfo/s400/353192-universe-4.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://scaleofuniverse.com/"><b>http://scaleofuniverse.com</b></a> (Press start, then use the zooming device). It made me think of time travel, black holes and whether or not there could perhaps be multiple universes, instead of just the one we have knowledge of now? Not that it isn't big enough haha. There could be many other universes behind/around 'ours'. And could black holes perhaps be doors to other black holes in our own universe, at the least? Worm holes and loopways? All that matter that it sucks in has to end up somewhere. Or could black holes perhaps lead to other universes? Some scientists are trying to tackle the entire problem of the big bang. Because it makes little sense to my limited brain that all the powers of the universe erupted out of nothing. So two groups are debating and investigating whether or not the big bang could be a collision between other universes, ones we haven't discovered yet. Or, whether or not our universe could be like a balloon, inflating and deflating all the time, creating big bangs time and time again. Wished I was smart enough to be a scientist dealing with such a topic. These black holes are the floor drains of the universe, the cosmic vacuum cleaners. They even suck up light and natural laws! They are the villains in Einsteins world. Hollywood seems very interested in black holes too (Superman/ The Black Hole / Interstellar / Planet of the Apes / Futurama).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfmPPon4_DJfolSasSE0zhasQ7Wi895UnNw3TQzv10RPqWIlrh4E09RQuxRrRti5Y2CZoVM7SEY0AwL8q2ecz0jcwp7LHRYnV4Dsuad18zXwwMLCQSHLdmoFDa56EVYjJvRkOLqXctzY/s1600/supermassive-black-hole-x-ray-jet.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfmPPon4_DJfolSasSE0zhasQ7Wi895UnNw3TQzv10RPqWIlrh4E09RQuxRrRti5Y2CZoVM7SEY0AwL8q2ecz0jcwp7LHRYnV4Dsuad18zXwwMLCQSHLdmoFDa56EVYjJvRkOLqXctzY/s320/supermassive-black-hole-x-ray-jet.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJw3o6vHVEZc23cch5kipn6IZ2Nz8ceAc9cOCstefj_LRo4WPiYI56-p0pfNhdidXBhdu3B7lmRdWTn5TmSN0jGPY2-fQ1VrRH7pf4-zU3QWu0X9eBrkIVwc7OPXcAp5y4jdgk8l5Bmhg/s1600/Black-hole.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJw3o6vHVEZc23cch5kipn6IZ2Nz8ceAc9cOCstefj_LRo4WPiYI56-p0pfNhdidXBhdu3B7lmRdWTn5TmSN0jGPY2-fQ1VrRH7pf4-zU3QWu0X9eBrkIVwc7OPXcAp5y4jdgk8l5Bmhg/s320/Black-hole.jpg" width="320" /></a>Gravity has always been a bitch in the past, Jules Verne wanted to go to the moon and thought of a cannon, shooting a rocket to the moon, as to defy gravity. In reality, cannons can only launch a rocket to 150 km height. Then gravity takes it back. It would be possible, but a bullet would need to travel at least at 40,000 km. an hour (one round around the planet in an hour, and 11 km a second). But light goes much faster; 300,000 km per second. In 1/10th of a second it travels around the world. So you can easily send light to the moon. On Jupiter (11 times bigger in diameter than Earth), the escape velocity is already 6 times bigger. The sun is 100 times bigger than the planet and needs an escape velocity speed that's 60 times faster than what we need on earth for something to escape from its planets gravity. And when a star is big enough, its gravity will become so strong, that it can even bind light to its surface! (John Mitchell). That means that the biggest stars are black. That was already discovered in the late 18th century. Fascinating thought, that the blackness we see in the sky at night, between the stars, could contain tons of gigantic stars that are so heavy that they swallow up light.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Bcz4vGvoxQA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bcz4vGvoxQA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSqAW06eCOixDH0XkIGhW8M4GsiN2_Ez3WPgjg8mnxtiPW0ws9FFZQlQPf8foV4CdFEZc1UrzSnPAiBClcNnUDbBVDWK4BK8Jc74DBeJIefNJSPQX2yn_cLkNt5tqNNuKAlpZd3XF4seA/s1600/Sun-vs-dwarf-stars.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSqAW06eCOixDH0XkIGhW8M4GsiN2_Ez3WPgjg8mnxtiPW0ws9FFZQlQPf8foV4CdFEZc1UrzSnPAiBClcNnUDbBVDWK4BK8Jc74DBeJIefNJSPQX2yn_cLkNt5tqNNuKAlpZd3XF4seA/s320/Sun-vs-dwarf-stars.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysbOx9jDKRb1-liletI1OaK5y7OYEZQnaCg32_cdnTX5nqkzV_HABi0Ay6SwRJIdXtbca-KNJVnaFSzPpmo2yeyldDc7WpLAHW2Uc302POGrTMgPgnm6LPde8VbYCG4xdFAn9MULXgsM/s1600/stars_lifecycle_full.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysbOx9jDKRb1-liletI1OaK5y7OYEZQnaCg32_cdnTX5nqkzV_HABi0Ay6SwRJIdXtbca-KNJVnaFSzPpmo2yeyldDc7WpLAHW2Uc302POGrTMgPgnm6LPde8VbYCG4xdFAn9MULXgsM/s320/stars_lifecycle_full.jpg" width="320" /></a>You have small, medium and large stars. The smaller they are, the more peaceful their life will be. The big boys live short, powerful explosive lives (the type of star Patrick Bateman would have chosen if he was given the options). Our sun is a small star. A modest one. Only lived 5 billion years and is halfway through its life. It will slowly burn up and get hotter and hotter in temp. as it nears it's ending. By then it will be too hot on earth for oceans to exist, they will all evaporate. That's when the sun will slowly but surely expand, becoming a red giant and he will eat up the planets one by one, starting with Mercurius, Venus and then Earth. The remnants of the sun will be visible as a planetary fog and if any humans still exist then, they'll have to find another place to live. The ashes of the sun will eventually be squeezed in a very small star. Its atoms are pressed together with enormous pressure, making it super compact and turning the sun into a white dwarf, the size of the Earth, consisting of carbon and oxygen. Small but heavy. It has an afterglow for a long time. Funny enough, though the white dwarf future of our sun would be comparable in size to Earth, it<br />
would still retain the mass of our sun. You could only imagine how long it would to radiate that level of energy in the form of convection and light. Long enough to where it is theorized the universe is simply not old enough (at fourteen billion years) to have formed any black dwarf stars. Even the very first stars after the Big Bang wouldn’t be old enough to have devolved into a black dwarf yet. I can only imagine what that would be like. The medium and large stars have a different faith. We can hear them, just like we can hear Earths cosmic sounds; triggered by charged particles that move past the magnetic fields of the Earth. Every planet has its own sound. Jupiter sounds super ominous!! I love Saturns sound too, you can almost hear its rings. And here are a bunch of them, Neptune literally sounds like the sea. I find them fantastic<br />
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There are 2 space travelling Voyagers on their way now to new solar systems; they left in the 70s and they are already in the interstellar space now. They not only can record the combined sounds of our entire solar system, but they also have a present for any possible life in other stars (a couple of 100,000 years to go before they reach them). And the present is a golden record, with audio of our earths sounds, voices, animal sounds, music, welcome messages etc. When you think about the Fermi paradox, then there must be other planets out there with life forms. Given how many stars there are and how relatively easy our planet developed intelligent life. 'Where is everybody?'. The chances of there being intelligent life out there that started before our system here are big, and that meant they would have had all the time to develop and master the universe. And to find us! Why don't we see them? Is it too difficult to create life? Did civilizations destroy each other too quickly in nuclear wars? Or could planet Earth be like a nature reserve, that is watched from afar like some experiment, showing a primitive way of living? Maybe our lives are showcasted every night on some far away planet for amusement? The Kepler is searching for planets near other stars that could have potential life forms. Kepler found already 5000 candidates, who could potentially be exoplanets. There are also stars making <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHEVo-LkDrQ"><b>Pulsar sounds</b></a>. I'd say they are audio lighthouses in the galaxy. These medium stars make space sounds too, and they sound very rhythmic. Those sounds are the remnants of a medium star that crashes and implodes. You hear the atoms crashing together, until their atom centres meld into one big atom core. The material of such a neutron star is so compact and gets so dense that a small hand sized rock would there have the same weight as the entire Mont Blanc. One grain of sugar on there would be as heavy as a million kilo bags of sugar here (or as 5 sperm whales). The ricketing sounds also has to do with the whirlwind tornado shaped movement; the turning speeds up as the diameter decreases. The fastest swirling pulsars go 1000 times round per second. Hence, another cause for these sounds. They give a strong radio signal also therefore.<br />
So it has to do with the demise of these medium big stars.<br />
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Sometimes you see a new star in the sky at night, it's usually very bright and only stays there a few months; a Supernova. Bethlehems Star might have been one! But there are more over history, another one was well documented in 1054, 4 July. In Chinese sources, in European texts, and even in paintings from Indians this new and very bright star is documented. Now we know that it was a spectacular star fog with a very bright pulsar. In the Milkyway we have 100 billion stars, more or less, and what is outrageously fabulous (I think) is that one exploding Supernova produces the same amount of light as all the stars in our Milkyway together. Just wow. In those explosions, all the elements are produced (nitrogen, oxygen, iron) to build planets and life. We're all created by star dust, yes. Cheesy as it might sound. But if a Supernova explodes close to our planet, it's kind of dangerous too. We have currently a star (the right shoulder of Orion, a red star - 1000 times bigger than the sun) that isn't very far away from us, and is building up to explosion. It will happen between now and 100.000 year, scientists predict. Those living then will see something spectacular; a star giving as much light a a full moon. So small stars become white dwarfs. Medium stars become neutron stars with radio pulsars. But what happens with the real big stars? The heaviest stars? Einstein made a theory about them. He said that space is curved and a heavy star can make space bend. Gravity can be unlimitedly big. So strong that it also hoovers up light. For a black hole, our Earth would be nothing less than the size of a key ring. If you or I would be approaching a black hole, we'd have to obviously stay away from it, but it will pull at us and the closer by you get, the more gravity pulls you in and tears you apart ('spaghettification'). But what Einstein said is that when you come closer to a heavy object and when gravity increased, time slows down. If you live on the top floor of a flat and I on the ground floor, you live 1 millionth of a second faster than me. If we'd fall in the black hole, this would have big consequences. Its crazy but if you would watch me, from a distance, being attracted by the black hole, you would have an entirely different experience of it than me. For me, I would go past the point of no return and be pulverized, but you would see me approaching the outer ring of the black hole, and the closer by I get, the slower I will seem to move to you. And before I even reach the entrance of the actual black hole, the image will freeze and stop for you. You will see my contour and shadow fade out, that is all you will see of the process. Beautiful eh? Thanks to the relativity theory.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-C6StlOkljajqP5zlyUBONj-1HzBLnOgpJLSC3yavlvq88UsPDJvy6YzYtwsVaX2SCpjqrGQekZAU9h3udBiNzdst5QFsXUP6_055rk6Loa1TL-T1FoyyaUMVQDX20QCdzdYG8Q56uM/s1600/Earth%2527s_Location_in_the_Universe_SMALLER_%2528JPEG%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-C6StlOkljajqP5zlyUBONj-1HzBLnOgpJLSC3yavlvq88UsPDJvy6YzYtwsVaX2SCpjqrGQekZAU9h3udBiNzdst5QFsXUP6_055rk6Loa1TL-T1FoyyaUMVQDX20QCdzdYG8Q56uM/s400/Earth%2527s_Location_in_the_Universe_SMALLER_%2528JPEG%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a>In 1939 Einstein thought out something else. He thought that 2 black holes can be connected to one another. Space is curved, so two points that normally lie millions of light years away from each other, could be brought together if space curls up and bends enough. A worm hole. You would throw a ball in worm hole 1 and could see it come out of worm hole 2. Time and space are more or less the same, so a worm hole that connects two points in space, can also connect 2 points in time. That could theoretically enable time travelling. But that brings all sorts of problems, like the paradox that you can go back in time, prevent your parents from meeting and prevent your own birth. An isolated black hole is difficult to see. All it does is bending space, like a lens. But sometimes a black hole stands next to another star, and it can then suck that star empty and you can see that. You see the matter being sucked in the black hole. They fast turning matter gives off röntgen radiation. The most special black hole is the one standing in the center of the milkyway (called Sagittarius A star). It is much bigger than other black holes and has the mass of 4,5 million suns. It must have consumed millions of stars already, or perhaps it was created at the very start of the universe. Our sun makes circles around it. And every solar system has these black holes. Violent stuff! We might feel its effect, going by Einsteins theories. Space and time can be deformed, waves can be formed, and a black hole emits gravitational waves. Stretchings of Space that travel through the universe. If it passes us, we will all stretch out and back again shortly (but only the length of an atomic center). But special devices can measure this. Stephen Hawking discovered that black holes don't necessarily have to be black; instead they can emit some sort of light. Quantum mechanics offered this loophole in nature's law. Some particles are sucked up by the black hole and gone forever, it goes to the end of time, while some other particles can bounce back from the edge, can move freely and starts to glow. They can glow, because black holes emit warmth radiation (but this goes very slowly). It also proved that black holes do not let everything they absorb disappear. It is still there, though cut up and mashed. It's like confetti, coming out of black holes. On the horizon of the black hole, all the information of what goes in is stored. You could say that the horizon of a black hole is like a movie screen. And that we are illusions, brought up by the black hole. And the black hole is the entire film. And did you know that the largest unit of measurement in Metric is the yottameter? Those are so damned large, the universe as know it is roughly 930 yottameters in diameter. Yes, we have a unit so large that the entirety of existence can fit within a thousand of them. Check it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEDO18zoVB-qh3MKXK2Nlo9oIUdXXlCPLy4sYtywpErUkWIQE34ZzxzcQv4QYAhOloZ7a8IeaiXFNMVEgoZhsiWgQQNGF0mMrf7RFhwVdT8gxizZs2csBZJ9FLrbxIN7cyCwE2wnxffdU/s1600/alcubierre-warp-drive-overview-small+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEDO18zoVB-qh3MKXK2Nlo9oIUdXXlCPLy4sYtywpErUkWIQE34ZzxzcQv4QYAhOloZ7a8IeaiXFNMVEgoZhsiWgQQNGF0mMrf7RFhwVdT8gxizZs2csBZJ9FLrbxIN7cyCwE2wnxffdU/s320/alcubierre-warp-drive-overview-small+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3One9ZOWEK9KZSSLSy9-Ev0VDUIU-7f1REd9OzkdcVtEN5kFyq4xhLSWSh9naFyZoKzCbbjR-m-Q2yGru4SeG__0wF9qhtzgLSBSGSTZYdEF9UWE7fn2GweMaIRxHLXf8Cdf5FSxkM0/s1600/image.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3One9ZOWEK9KZSSLSy9-Ev0VDUIU-7f1REd9OzkdcVtEN5kFyq4xhLSWSh9naFyZoKzCbbjR-m-Q2yGru4SeG__0wF9qhtzgLSBSGSTZYdEF9UWE7fn2GweMaIRxHLXf8Cdf5FSxkM0/s320/image.jpg" width="320" /></a>We need to develop the means first to travel a lot faster, if they want to colonize a planet outside of our own solar system. Rest mankind they will ruin every planet they get their claws in. As it stands now, space shuttles take 165,000 years to read the next solar system with a conventional rocket, IF we were even ready to launch it with enough speed (which we can't). And the voyager spacecrafts would need 10,000's of years. And the faster New Horizons spacecraft would take 78,000 years to reach our nearest star system (alpha centauri) or the nearest Earth-like planet (Proxima B ). And then there is the problem of the distance that a rocket can go being limited by the amount of rocket fuel that it can carry currently. But I'm sure they'll figure better space crafts out sooner or later. There's already the (Star Trek) warp drive idea, where space is distorted, and it pushes the spacecraft forward at a speed faster than light - not breaking Einsteins universal speed limit therefore (bc if it did travel at the speed of light, time would be slowing down and its objects mass would inflate to infinity, as its speed energy keeps infinitely adding to its mass; that's not something we can work with in terms of spacecrafts). Wave riding in a warp bubble of flat space, and it's space itself around the bubble that moves faster than light, which is perfectly fine with Einsteins theories. Space can indeed travel faster than light and already did so in the past, after the big bang. So, also no g-force problems for staff on board either then, since only the region around the bubble moves, and the spacecraft is just carried along and therefore doesn't interact with relativity/laws of speed of light. Like teleportation, time dilation, binding points in space so that they are temporary close together before stretching apart. Problem is that it would need quite a LOT of energy to create this warp bubble. And even more problematic; the type of energy it needs. It's all great in theory to bend space to create a propelling force (by creating a gravitational field that pushes away, instead of an attracting gravitational field), but it has to do with negative energy density, and we haven't found matter with a negative energy yet.. (but quantum mechanics does predict that it exists). Worth investigating because it would reduce the travel time to alpha centauri to a few days<br />
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Although scientists are even trying to work on that: "Krasnikov proposed that, if tachyonic matter could not be found or used, then a solution might be to arrange for masses along the path of the vessel to be set in motion in such a way that the required field was produced. But in this case the Alcubierre Drive vessel is not able to go dashing around the galaxy at will. It is only able to travel routes which, like a railroad, have first been equipped with the necessary infrastructure.The pilot inside the bubble is causally disconnected with its walls and cannot carry out any action outside the bubble. However, it is necessary to place devices along the route in advance, and since the pilot cannot do this while "in transit", the bubble cannot be used for the first trip to a distant star. In other words, to travel to Vega (which is 26 light-years from the Earth) one first has to arrange everything so that the bubble moving toward Vega with a superluminal velocity would appear and these arrangements will always take more than 26 years." And in order to place all this infrastructure, you could argue that an Alcubierre Drive is needed in order to create an Alcubierre Drive So not really going anywhere yet.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Some more pictures of my skin the past month</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbU-Z-atbousbH6OpmAjGmFEYqaTOwor7jEZPJjJM6dcqPV2M7rd6V8JV9mTuaSwNxoqtAm1kkeuhxWbUh9sU4yPgbeMHhvzV7JGtw2eHOyfDohtQHHnL5ZE0VJlCE4Wwu5G88i1u2r6o/s1600/2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbU-Z-atbousbH6OpmAjGmFEYqaTOwor7jEZPJjJM6dcqPV2M7rd6V8JV9mTuaSwNxoqtAm1kkeuhxWbUh9sU4yPgbeMHhvzV7JGtw2eHOyfDohtQHHnL5ZE0VJlCE4Wwu5G88i1u2r6o/s320/2.jpg" width="303" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCew1lvNqCZAFf1qDxnnRdLFiu-5jeBgaEA6Tb6YI-fYmIDZg6TOY1HL972DxoE5MFguXyXgmwe-hSGtwRp6_M15fX2LPOb9nJAYq1Ab8KkyFfLOQu31rDdQThkSC4kGPbEJ8UE8j8dLY/s1600/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCew1lvNqCZAFf1qDxnnRdLFiu-5jeBgaEA6Tb6YI-fYmIDZg6TOY1HL972DxoE5MFguXyXgmwe-hSGtwRp6_M15fX2LPOb9nJAYq1Ab8KkyFfLOQu31rDdQThkSC4kGPbEJ8UE8j8dLY/s320/3.jpg" width="257" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7cHQ6vnNB81hjoZ4UkbjDwmetmWnzVR78qDA1Bker5BnnYt_wHQra1qQV7C4Vg7RwlUpMEhZovkD0D4vLtc2YayxqdJtd7x4Xx8nidyauZZNXCzewLItGUES8r7-M3RGyWxl_5HHScD8/s1600/5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7cHQ6vnNB81hjoZ4UkbjDwmetmWnzVR78qDA1Bker5BnnYt_wHQra1qQV7C4Vg7RwlUpMEhZovkD0D4vLtc2YayxqdJtd7x4Xx8nidyauZZNXCzewLItGUES8r7-M3RGyWxl_5HHScD8/w248-h359/5.jpg" width="248" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghnGBntT_WMRgiobRMc0FDkqcfzQaoHKBMije5mLqV8CRkcwVMDfCP8iRFWqj4YigCQw3edd2YW2NTgrd_G8bmE40EAWkdYAy4883g6m4Mxdhvz_Kye5KJRw6Y3Pm5gnhg2WVab0oXBd4/s1600/4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghnGBntT_WMRgiobRMc0FDkqcfzQaoHKBMije5mLqV8CRkcwVMDfCP8iRFWqj4YigCQw3edd2YW2NTgrd_G8bmE40EAWkdYAy4883g6m4Mxdhvz_Kye5KJRw6Y3Pm5gnhg2WVab0oXBd4/w321-h357/4.jpg" width="321" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgttKiajjoYxGPnUlhKujcEVweGRItLsqFKQzUm7j_E5P7aUCIsYxo4glvGU4AUwl6o_u1bZ_NRu-GmcwUcS5UkWMV9SErueEvP6_PZ67L3kqC3t8vvvG7SnkGD8u3F6qH7U9-txRdmTw/s1600/6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgttKiajjoYxGPnUlhKujcEVweGRItLsqFKQzUm7j_E5P7aUCIsYxo4glvGU4AUwl6o_u1bZ_NRu-GmcwUcS5UkWMV9SErueEvP6_PZ67L3kqC3t8vvvG7SnkGD8u3F6qH7U9-txRdmTw/w323-h245/6.jpg" width="323" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMzHrvFy6K9F5BqsrPN3K3a9J2mlxRjIeyeJI6XNfaRpXrXYhHXeXQ69Qumm9_kRI34LyL47fvfxnJuFcTmMO0C3LcF78YmJUDW0mLUD7LxHYNl3TtqBZAhQHk-G6zAcF9MhhenHanjg/s1600/9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMzHrvFy6K9F5BqsrPN3K3a9J2mlxRjIeyeJI6XNfaRpXrXYhHXeXQ69Qumm9_kRI34LyL47fvfxnJuFcTmMO0C3LcF78YmJUDW0mLUD7LxHYNl3TtqBZAhQHk-G6zAcF9MhhenHanjg/w243-h245/9.jpg" width="243" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmzGpZsQFx_pTYZbT3XEOEMCLlYAY21hVJHNiWxfosKtE_F9stRRoVe_Tdotubkcp6eaPngcrDiT6Ul0r0He0CXjYgmq3hJ5Mnb_y4nO1e3GVcHy9qMo7pHhNsXo0pe_yOqEbAOeNsdhY/s1600/8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="621" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmzGpZsQFx_pTYZbT3XEOEMCLlYAY21hVJHNiWxfosKtE_F9stRRoVe_Tdotubkcp6eaPngcrDiT6Ul0r0He0CXjYgmq3hJ5Mnb_y4nO1e3GVcHy9qMo7pHhNsXo0pe_yOqEbAOeNsdhY/w615-h621/8.jpg" width="615" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>And in comparison, my skin in summer a couple of years ago: </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxy2T2UsKygv5CeB7NSonu6ruNviOFe7dNWrAAlt7oLsab_zuyA7ByF_68vwvqw4OFk05s9nI7YE9w16ZKoem6B9_yMjebzNONNcBp9DSU8TnF6tgzglgPJfJoWt-B8JFyXlR_say6WHM/s1600/P1010488.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxy2T2UsKygv5CeB7NSonu6ruNviOFe7dNWrAAlt7oLsab_zuyA7ByF_68vwvqw4OFk05s9nI7YE9w16ZKoem6B9_yMjebzNONNcBp9DSU8TnF6tgzglgPJfJoWt-B8JFyXlR_say6WHM/s320/P1010488.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICZocN5mBsneopWwxX6ESOjvtzE-MZT_TY7yvGF9TVCaihIGs5h4dPKMSefBIQXSsKzeD2G7obTHdgMYZM54ZKpq10Ryh-yXczIJxfbWL3bVy65nU-QxZnGPJ4EEEfMyhEZqQHskK1eI/s1600/P1010451.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICZocN5mBsneopWwxX6ESOjvtzE-MZT_TY7yvGF9TVCaihIGs5h4dPKMSefBIQXSsKzeD2G7obTHdgMYZM54ZKpq10Ryh-yXczIJxfbWL3bVy65nU-QxZnGPJ4EEEfMyhEZqQHskK1eI/s320/P1010451.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b style="color: #990000;">I have continued writing my day<br />to day life updates in </b><b style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2016/06/ongoing-post-update-day-to-day-life-iii.html" target="_blank">this blogpost</a>.<br />Or read older updates <a href="https://scarletnat.blogspot.com/2016/12/update-day-to-day-life-iv-june-4th-2016.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</b></div><div><b style="color: #990000;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/s1600/0%252C2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTu2ZchBihTmGgtHPdsi3ftFBvC4jDtI1mAe4ylAX6qIsvM-W5q0RCL0CsLd1XZWUgNtmr9wj6KqvPs9pwlMIPWYQEmca1FaAzJ7XB0Jzg1iUseznCIoBpEWQDvdbuw6ldEfcHbia63Lfr/w435-h435/0%252C2.jpg" width="435" /></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;" /></div></b></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><div style="clear: both;"><div><div><div>
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Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015332149890513796.post-17423595009852369172018-03-11T09:02:00.030-07:002024-03-18T20:29:46.745-07:00Could computer screens (or phone/TV ones) worsen rosacea? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyaeMRdQ7bZlkD9ug2PKF52rMYyo8Qw2TW9SwR0UBZJ1vKE77xdHgOscwsXS-8xBwx_H1RtCmKHraZwQtUz8xSA09lIpQu8jnVbl_dHomZRnBezCJqTJuTIP58ti5uKtWAMc3-DjibdP9i/s1600/Nerd-Economy-648x430.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="648" height="413" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyaeMRdQ7bZlkD9ug2PKF52rMYyo8Qw2TW9SwR0UBZJ1vKE77xdHgOscwsXS-8xBwx_H1RtCmKHraZwQtUz8xSA09lIpQu8jnVbl_dHomZRnBezCJqTJuTIP58ti5uKtWAMc3-DjibdP9i/w624-h413/Nerd-Economy-648x430.jpg" width="624" /></a><b><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Very often I sit behind a computer screen, typing away</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> or reading on end. I type and do research for a living, but this no longer primarily is done in the old fashioned 'real life' libraries. I sometimes feel that my rosacea gets more red and flushed from this. Especially compared to the odd days when I am not behind a computer screen at all. Can phone and computer screen radiation or light flare up rosacea? </span></span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />I don't have a smartphone, so that one doesn't add to the problem, But on the days when I am not working behind a screen, my rosacea seems often calmer and less red skin. I am never sure if this is a coincidence or perhaps due to other factors (less stressed, more fresh air, more exercise, you name it) or really due to the amount of screen exposure my face receives? On forums I read the same thing now and then:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXC8ue442kwn8dT1AIAwXEqsOzosxRH-bRfuLfzPgp7rYwflEoOcz-RpWSKpDd7Ktq5XLhTT9hB1e9AgY3YLOoMVTymMto9CeiX8oW2iIf1owibDKuxtaTF-3lTmOvNZgD5BS8K75_GBMe/s1600/02d13a37a41e91e59f9044dc99948a21--retro-office-vintage-office.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="736" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXC8ue442kwn8dT1AIAwXEqsOzosxRH-bRfuLfzPgp7rYwflEoOcz-RpWSKpDd7Ktq5XLhTT9hB1e9AgY3YLOoMVTymMto9CeiX8oW2iIf1owibDKuxtaTF-3lTmOvNZgD5BS8K75_GBMe/w491-h391/02d13a37a41e91e59f9044dc99948a21--retro-office-vintage-office.jpg" width="491" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">Darcelle <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea" target="_blank">wrote</a> on March 12th, 2017:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Whenever I sit in front of the monitor for a long period of time my face starts to burn and turn red. I haven't been able to find any information about monitor illumination aggravating the condition though. Anyone else experience this?"<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZxZCRPXnxRCKCgJk-80s7z6oGiYVCuIrPsZ5C6SeR_fupioRw-xTfvME0sQ4Y1dZIyE0qjje3KZY04haTxMEAu_gDpsxCRPvlFFrNpiEtUYzll413r9eA3-AQwzz4BzHGrJNJI6Hbwom/s1600/zczdpny.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Serpentine <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea" target="_blank">replied</a> on March 12th, 2017: </span></b>"I wonder if it's something to do with dust? Monitors. Screens of all sorts. All electronics generally. They all give off static charge which attracts dust and other particles like bacteria and spores in the air, like a magnet. I wonder if these are landing on your skin and causing a reaction? I get a bit red as well when using my laptop."<br /><b><span style="color: #990000;"><br />ZK_78 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea" target="_blank">replied</a> on March 13th, </span></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">2013:</span></b> "I have similar problems, even with a modern LED PC screen. If anybody has any guidance on this I would love to know."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">laser_cat wrote on March 14th, 2017:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Just fyi, I've found that whenever I sit for long periods in general, my face becomes prone to redness/burning. It is relieved somewhat when I stand up and walk around. Maybe it's the sitting more so than the computer?"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">And g3006 replied on April 4th, 2017:</span></b> "I still haven't figured out exactly what causes this but I have been dealing with a severe case of computer screen burning for 10 years and the one thing I have eliminated that a lot of people think is the cause is the actual light off the monitor hitting your skin. In my case it had very little to do with it as I made a mask that completely covered my face and it helped a little but was far from a cure. I believe in the vast majority of cases that its either artificial light hitting the eyes and causing a reaction or simply the deep concentration that accompanies most work in front of a computer. I am currently running experiments to try and narrow it down. just my 2 cents."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">KRC wrote on April 24th 2014:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"People think I am crazy when I try to explain this. Phones, computers LED and florescent lights sell take their toll."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">hg24 wrote on April 25th 2014:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"My phone turns my face red. I use it in front of me - speaking into the speaker phone part. I also type on it. I'm also unable to use a computer - makes me red and burns. Obviously, not being able to use a computer is a giant problem. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Fluorescent lights</span></b> also get me and I often have to leave stores that have too many of them. I hadn't considered electro-sensitivity. I'm not sure what to think. I thought maybe it was the UV output - but filter screens don't help. Reducing brightness doesn't help. I also recently bought some UVEX goggles/glasses that filter out blue light - no help. As I type this, the left side of my face is burning. I wish we all could figure out the solution to this artificial lights problem!"<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtIXqnDIYuRMdLToc6BydkTvMmo6cfVYYv49zz5TZXuLEkQqh1rK7WGXtLcTnPHSWm6T_8kJDm6uM6Cz3yYbCJ-tIjQ7U8LA689d4LRGMd6GbVDFuCIbJMvoq4Bi7uvJbkT5BK1y_OToe/s1600/vintage-computer-facebook-cover-timeline-banner-for-fb.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="850" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtIXqnDIYuRMdLToc6BydkTvMmo6cfVYYv49zz5TZXuLEkQqh1rK7WGXtLcTnPHSWm6T_8kJDm6uM6Cz3yYbCJ-tIjQ7U8LA689d4LRGMd6GbVDFuCIbJMvoq4Bi7uvJbkT5BK1y_OToe/w631-h232/vintage-computer-facebook-cover-timeline-banner-for-fb.jpg" width="631" /></a><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #783f04;">The first thing I <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com.au/beauty/computer-screen-skin-damage-7021" target="_blank">read</a></span><br /></span></b></span>when I google the matter, is that according to a recent study by Unilever Skincare Research (what's in a name.. what's in their interests?), four days in front of a computer is just as damaging to our skin as 20 minutes in the mid-afternoon sun. Wow, that is shocking to read for someone who flares up in the face from even 5 minutes of sun exposure.. So even if you avoid the sun altogether, our computer screen is giving off some harmful rays of its own too? The Unilever Skincare Research advises to put on a lot of sunscreen at all times. Unfortunately my skin goes crazy from every sunscreen I ever tried, and a hat isn't really helping me with computer screen lights.. So is there a possibility that even our modern day flat screens from laptops (or TV's..) are somehow causing skin inflammation or irritation? Is there any ultraviolet UV radiation coming off them? Fluorescent lighting perhaps even?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmG5wiO-KIZTA9ipAuxxtXTKD8MS5KVp2W4gGNRLxk4WW2viWyllVhToxdikdszt0W_sdB9MybH-8gwAYL3ImZo95Wwg6ukGAZKypLOAIuueT8eqbzN9AIPCdSL2-HkdoeVzPdkcn2PHX7/s1600/Nerd-Seo-ueberschriften-k-800x618.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="800" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmG5wiO-KIZTA9ipAuxxtXTKD8MS5KVp2W4gGNRLxk4WW2viWyllVhToxdikdszt0W_sdB9MybH-8gwAYL3ImZo95Wwg6ukGAZKypLOAIuueT8eqbzN9AIPCdSL2-HkdoeVzPdkcn2PHX7/w486-h374/Nerd-Seo-ueberschriften-k-800x618.jpg" width="486" /></a><span style="color: #783f04;"><span><span style="font-size: 42px;"><b>Do computer screens emit UV light </b></span></span><b style="font-size: 42px;">or fluorescent light?</b></span><b style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;"> </b></div>
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UV radiation is what the sun gives off and it can not only cause skin burning, but also premature ageing and wrinkling (not to mention skin cancer..). Sun exposure is near the top of the list of rosacea triggers and causes for rosacea progression, according to the National Rosacea Society (NRS). The sun’s damaging UV rays can cause many rosacea symptoms and long-term flare ups, but the damage to blood vessels in the face is one of the most important adverse effects. Especially with regards to rosacea progression. Subjecting our rosacea to big triggers can over time even make mild rosacea sufferers progress into the moderate-to-severe stages. Avoiding direct sunlight is one thing, and difficult enough as it is. But how about UV radiation coming from a daily used source like a computer or phone screen? From what I read, most computer screens today don't emit UV radiation, although older monitors do. Sigh of relief! <br /><br />In <a href="https://www.marieclaire.com/beauty/news/a12937/computer-screen-skin-problems/" target="_blank"><b>Marie Claire magazine</b></a>, a worried computer user contacted dermatologist Rachel Nazarian, M.D., who comforted her: "These days, it's not very dangerous at all," she explained of the light my screen emits. "<b><span style="color: #444444;">Most people work off newer models with LCD or LED screens, which do not emit UV radiation and are completely safe</span><span style="color: #b45f06;">.</span></b> But if you're still working with a bulky old desktop computer, you must take precaution, as they do emit UV radiation. People working long hours in front of these screens should absolutely take care to protect themselves," she said. "Even small amounts of daily radiation will not only exacerbate a light-sensitive condition, but also slowly contribute to skin aging." That maybe explains how all throughout my university days in the early 2000's, while writing behind my bulky old boxy computer screen, I ended up so very flushed. I even bought an anti-glare screen, which I hoped would block any radiation. Unfortunately it also made me have to peer even more intensely at the screen (I have bad eyes), as it dimmed the screen brightness so much that I could hardly read what I had just written haha. But nowadays we can be rest assured that the newer flat screens from laptops, computers, i-pads and TV's do not emit harmful UV radiation. However, that doesn't mean that we aren't subjected to UV radiation inside the home at all. UV light from the sun also reaches our skin through windows, both in the home, the workplace or in your car. It's ideal to use a sunscreen or moisturizer with a minimum SPF of 30, if your skin can handle a sunscreen. Some people with rosacea may also have light sensitivity, to the point that even mild sunlight can worsen the inflammation and redness, But also <b><span style="color: #444444;">fluorescent lighting</span></b>. In fact, sun exposure and sunburn are even a known <a href="http://www.skinmed.co.uk/rosacea-treatment/overview-rosacea.php" target="_blank"><b>cause</b></a> (one of many) of rosacea. But there are also many people with rosacea who don't find sunlight a trigger, and for others their skin even clears up from sun. I think it's important to remember that rosacea comes in different subtypes:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOn1cyw_9pl5iRD0noa_8CORHgoFUnZqHtwb6mJc6tZHd2reDYtaB3rzpMo-XT5poLo8cBJ2BPSNXvtwdYDKoGg9Z3sR-Pc_t5MZgvGVoQypJjDHOadulujtbKdyRzBRmIqUaHgjFvw1Ta/s1600/subtypes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="442" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOn1cyw_9pl5iRD0noa_8CORHgoFUnZqHtwb6mJc6tZHd2reDYtaB3rzpMo-XT5poLo8cBJ2BPSNXvtwdYDKoGg9Z3sR-Pc_t5MZgvGVoQypJjDHOadulujtbKdyRzBRmIqUaHgjFvw1Ta/w705-h238/subtypes.jpg" width="705" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57NPp-XSdIVrOsQfaNMc1sNrnoj2Yz8m3j9HwYXYj3chdqaC7_BipAFu91mVxWO4z77RFYFLk59yY1wzdRAILR5aSztLCYTXEJTMTRFlvmxV5PtS1iDq2xim31k1w0lY4tRi0znXvowv8/s1600/stuffmomnevertoldyou-86-2014-03-computer-ads-600x350.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="600" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57NPp-XSdIVrOsQfaNMc1sNrnoj2Yz8m3j9HwYXYj3chdqaC7_BipAFu91mVxWO4z77RFYFLk59yY1wzdRAILR5aSztLCYTXEJTMTRFlvmxV5PtS1iDq2xim31k1w0lY4tRi0znXvowv8/w538-h312/stuffmomnevertoldyou-86-2014-03-computer-ads-600x350.jpg" width="538" /></a>Subtype 2, with skin outbreaks and bumps can sometimes handle sun much better than subtype 1 with redness and flushing. It varies per person and is also depending on your skin type; the more pale you are, the less chance that your rosacea skin improves from sun. Darker skin tones have more melanin, which makes the skin thicker and makes it more difficult for the sun rays to reach the lower layers of the skin, where damage is done and where the blood vessels lie. But in fair skinned people, the sun does reach the lower levels easily and can do harm there. In fact, it can worsen skin inflammation. Sun can also dilate blood vessels and especially the small superficial blood vessels in your face, and <a href="https://www.rosacea.org/press/archive/20020923.php" target="_blank"><b>cause or worsen rosacea</b></a>. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation -- a component of sunlight -- leads to the production of <b><span style="color: #444444;"><i>vascular endothelial growth factor </i>(VEGF)</span></b>, a substance that has been linked to the development of visible blood vessels (telangiectasia). UV rays not only dilate existing blood vessels, but can also stimulate the uncontrolled overgrowth of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) in the skin, and trigger those new blood vessels <b><span style="color: #444444;">to grow much closer to the surface</span></b>. The heat from the sun might also dilate your existing blood vessels and cause a flare-up. Even cloudy days do not protect you entirely from the sun's UV radiation, so either protect your skin with sunscreen or moisturizer with SPF, or choose to wear a hat like I do and keep your face in the shade (but realize that reflecting sunlight from walls and pavements can still reach your face on very bright days!).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh089ztLVemVPUawXvyNmqQWCEH-do9jJRKm5va2vN92XPIglfAMv5D4N55tkXecZrwT7ZMMBW_y1FiO4c2g9e6tHBBqVuG3u828GPobax5vr6-eXTuTRGMtDHl4iKa4Nb8Y9fX6ECP0SdL/s1600/rooshv1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="300" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh089ztLVemVPUawXvyNmqQWCEH-do9jJRKm5va2vN92XPIglfAMv5D4N55tkXecZrwT7ZMMBW_y1FiO4c2g9e6tHBBqVuG3u828GPobax5vr6-eXTuTRGMtDHl4iKa4Nb8Y9fX6ECP0SdL/w472-h355/rooshv1.jpg" width="472" /></a><span style="color: #783f04; font-size: 37px;"><b>So summarized: </b></span><br />
- Within 20 to 30 minutes of exposure to the sun’s UV rays, direct UV absorption into the blood vessel wall can cause the collapse of affected blood vessels and can cause irreversible damage to the structure of the blood vessel. This type of damage often results in “broken blood vessels” or telangiectasia<br />
- Short term sun exposure stimulates new growth and overgrowth of facial blood vessels known as angiogenesis. This is central to rosacea progression and once grown are permanent fixtures in the facial skin.<br />
- Short term exposure causes many blood vessels to grow much closer to the surface. Often times it will cause blood vessels to grow into the epidermis which is normally without blood vessels. This is a serious side effect because these superficial blood vessels are now left nearly unprotected and much more prone to environmental damage.<br />
- Short term sun exposure increases the number of mast cells around blood vessels. Mast cells contain dozens of potent blood vessel dilators – thus, more mast cells usually results in increased facial redness and flushing.<br />
- Short term sun exposure turns on inflammatory enzymes like collagenase and elastase. These two enzymes break down the skin’s architecture and eat away at blood vessels like “PAC MEN”<br />
Short term sun exposure stimulates damaging enzymes such as Matrix Metalloproteinases, one of the hottest subjects in rosacea research and treatment. Each sun exposure thins the protective epidermis, which in turn, results in more damage to blood vessels over time. (<a href="http://rosadyn.com/rosacea/skin-care/uvdamages/" target="_blank"><b>Source</b></a>)<br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIAJpIBZ-OvkKxlvSzC9LxiEPNG5FYvQhzQNhyphenhyphenBOXVUs8PzxGPrnSirlq3EX4yiMFH3OOQ7lH_ZWLlxD9e9W15LAwD6-c17a7s6EE8STfhG5TBxm7Dd7zBMUg4HqIOWdJkZu_sGk_SvYJp/s1600/images+%25285%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="201" height="554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIAJpIBZ-OvkKxlvSzC9LxiEPNG5FYvQhzQNhyphenhyphenBOXVUs8PzxGPrnSirlq3EX4yiMFH3OOQ7lH_ZWLlxD9e9W15LAwD6-c17a7s6EE8STfhG5TBxm7Dd7zBMUg4HqIOWdJkZu_sGk_SvYJp/w444-h554/images+%25285%2529.jpg" width="444" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Cathode ray tube, or CRT, screens like those that we once used for old style computer monitors and TV sets actually do emit low levels of UV radiation</span></b></span><br />However, these levels are significantly lower than those of the sun. The fluorescent light bulb above your head emits actually more UV light than a CRT monitor. Liquid Crystal Display (or LCD) flat-panel monitors most commonly found on laptops, desktops and mobile devices today, do not emit any UV radiation. Modern flat screens all have a fairly thick glass faceplate, and also have been made to emit less UV. To make the picture brighter, the “blueness” has been reduced by pushing their color point to more of the center of the Color Chart. This reduces any amount of UV radiation. Still, if you spend hours in front of your screen at a time, it is best to switch to a flat-screen monitor if you haven't one already, as they emit no detectable UV light. In at least one study, researchers have attempted to measure any UV that might be radiated from LCD screens and were unable to detect any UVA or UVB, using meters capable of measuring as low as 1 micro-watt per square centimeter. There are nevertheless also monitor anti-glare filters available.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhASi-zUZ-bQoEeNb3IvuLBjhUYFaRJjzizjqra38_BLscuYWaARxCwh9GDcrLBkTzzv_tpNp2jWLSo9aKTsORdHeht95LwzVzJCxtNv93vrdtobTZRZtExhyCurxZPQczh7GMkfVc4D1xMBZxIjR3Ktx-DoEIg4uC_QWFL43n6VC6EXLFPH7ZcFOnk2YCW/s284/images%20(2).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="177" data-original-width="284" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhASi-zUZ-bQoEeNb3IvuLBjhUYFaRJjzizjqra38_BLscuYWaARxCwh9GDcrLBkTzzv_tpNp2jWLSo9aKTsORdHeht95LwzVzJCxtNv93vrdtobTZRZtExhyCurxZPQczh7GMkfVc4D1xMBZxIjR3Ktx-DoEIg4uC_QWFL43n6VC6EXLFPH7ZcFOnk2YCW/w462-h288/images%20(2).jpg" width="462" /></a><b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #783f04;">And how about the blue light that our screens emit? Is that damaging to rosacea skin? </span></b><br />This could be a potential problem actually for rosacea skin. There is conflicting information and research on this topic. What is the blue light that comes off our computer/TV/phone/tablet screens anyway? It is called <span><b><span style="color: #444444;">high-energy visible light</span></b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></span>(HEV – otherwise known as blue light). It is a higher-frequency, shorter wavelengths of light in the violet-blue band in the visible spectrum. Andrew Birnie, a dermatologist and skin-cancer specialist at the William Harvey and Kent and Canterbury Hospitals <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/jun/01/lights-off-is-the-glare-from-your-computer-really-ageing-your-skin" target="_blank"><b>says</b></a> about it: “HEV is present in daylight, but it’s also emitted by fluorescent lighting and <span style="color: #444444;"><b>LEDs, including TV screens, smartphones, tablets and computers</b></span>.” The idea that this could be doing permanent damage is a fresh kind of hell. “There’s a lot of research being done at the moment into the effects of visible light,” says Birnie – light that can be seen by the human eye, unlike ultraviolet light such as UVA and UVB – of which HEV is just one example. “I recently got back from the American Academy of Dermatology meeting and one of the things that was being discussed there was whether visible light such as HEV or infra red ought to be protected against in sunscreens.” Although he has no verdict on this, the doctor is clear about this: “there’s no evidence of HEV causing skin cancer”. According to Birnie, there is some data suggesting that “darker skin types could experience worsening skin pigmentation after exposure to visible light, such as melasma around the forehead and eyes”; he points to a study from 2014 which found that blue light did produce more hyper-pigmentation than UVB. Could blue light be as ageing as sunlight? Many beauty brands jumped onto the matter, making products with HEV-blocking properties ('Moonlight Primer' for instance). Uniqlo is selling prescription-free sunglasses and spectacles fitted with blue-light reduction filters.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlLB-iI2I51yHuAUXMbLnNie4n57_4WHb4Z201fCsByLdLkPKdkjhKX_C1XeooRzAiTo3JjrT8p_ieGuovnCFznNrW2aNGSYBZx_McV1wKwqZJXn9Q6fcZ96IGKu_ge8bmq-AirETwqCSG/s1600/1980s_lab_09-100608917-large.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="580" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlLB-iI2I51yHuAUXMbLnNie4n57_4WHb4Z201fCsByLdLkPKdkjhKX_C1XeooRzAiTo3JjrT8p_ieGuovnCFznNrW2aNGSYBZx_McV1wKwqZJXn9Q6fcZ96IGKu_ge8bmq-AirETwqCSG/w565-h377/1980s_lab_09-100608917-large.jpg" width="565" /></a><b style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #783f04;">In <a href="https://www.bustle.com/articles/188232-is-the-blue-light-from-your-screen-damaging-your-skin-heres-what-a-dermatologist-has-to" target="_blank">this</a> article, a journalist claims that emerging research shows that the light from phone screens may be damaging our skin</span></b><br />
and she asked a dermatologist if the blue light from our screen is damaging our skin? Phones' "blue light" falls in the middle of the light spectrum, between UV rays (from the sun) and infrared rays (from heat). And we still don't know how, exactly chronic exposure to such intense visible lights impacts our skin health. Dermatologist Dr. Patricia Ceballos: "Blue light itself, unlike solar UV radiation, does not contribute to skin cancer, because it doesn't induce DNA mutations the same way the sun does. But one study detected <span style="color: #444444;"><b>increased pigment production in skin exposed to blue light</b></span>, which means that it's theoretically possible that chronic exposure to our smartphones and other electronic devices carries an increased risk of pigmentary disorders such as hyperpigmentation." "The likelihood that blue light leads to premature aging of the skin is very remote. And its role in hyperpigmentation remains speculative." There are however also <span style="color: #444444;"><b>studies that show that blue light may give off infrared radiation</b></span>, and therefore could have harmful effects on the skin, including premature aging, by releasing cell-damaging <b><span style="color: #444444;">free radicals</span></b>. The journalist asked dermatologist Dr. Alicia Barba if this type of light might have a negative consequence to skin health, to which she answered: "Probably not." But is it causing premature aging? "Less than UV, because we know UV does it, but it may be, at least a little bit and so protecting against it might be beneficial for skin to look better." So how can you protect yourself, short of giving up your cellphone all together, just in case? "Notwithstanding the lack of solid evidence to the contrary, it is prudent to protect the skin with antioxidants such as vitamin C serum and mineral/physical sunscreens containing Zinc oxide and/or Titanium dioxide, or makeup as a barrier between our skin and the HEV and Infrared energies emitted by modern devices," says Dr. Ceballos.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY9PszCCr_3DvWko6ZrZ8EYXf_fphlOKcTLtUYmNecTnhkuvOEFRKm_EZBpdxdpnIM_9RpBjiQM_5IcMHhUqmY_x8FCBiwTYP6JyWuH0XcSh60zDP_Y_xbAhODa0rforhyphenhyphen5RFcgS4hy9c-/s1600/Wall_Street_30413_High.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="993" data-original-width="1499" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY9PszCCr_3DvWko6ZrZ8EYXf_fphlOKcTLtUYmNecTnhkuvOEFRKm_EZBpdxdpnIM_9RpBjiQM_5IcMHhUqmY_x8FCBiwTYP6JyWuH0XcSh60zDP_Y_xbAhODa0rforhyphenhyphen5RFcgS4hy9c-/w476-h313/Wall_Street_30413_High.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
Jean-Louis Sebagh, a celebrity cosmetic surgeon and skincare expert, subscribes to the notion that we should all be wearing a sunscreen and a <span style="color: #444444;"><b>“screen-screen”</b></span>. “HEV can be as damaging to the skin as UVA and UVB combined,” he claims, citing another study, from 2013, which was commissioned by Lipo Chemicals. It claims that “the effects of HEV are the same as UVA and UVB damage: uneven pigmentation, premature ageing and<b><span style="color: #444444;"> impaired barrier function</span></b>, though of course you wouldn’t get the burning redness that you get from overexposure to the sun”. Still, the study (like many beauty studies) was commissioned by a skincare company, in this instance Lipo Chemicals: a personal care ingredients supplier based in the US. So there is the potential for some bias. Many dermatologists however, including Andrew Birnie, remain skeptical about the extent of skin damage caused by HEV. “Until more research is done, people are better off just using broad-spectrum, five-star UVA protection every day,” he says. “Many people still don’t realize that UVA can penetrate through glass and is consistent throughout the year, not just in summer. Let me put it this way: if you’re sitting in front of a computer all day, and your monitor is next to a window, I think you should be more worried about the window than the computer.” You can also use a blue light filter on your cell phone, or change the settings on your computer to reduce blue light emissions (see how to do this <a href="https://www.blogger.com/How%20To%20Filter%20Blue%20Light%20from%20Mac%20&%20PC%20%20http://www.miraiclinical.com/blog/how-to-filter-blue-light-from-mac-pc/" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>). That can help protect your eyes too btw. A 2013 study linked LED lights in bulbs, computers, cell phones, and TVs to increased risk of irreparable harm to the retina in the eye. Researchers stated the damage came from <span style="color: #444444;"><b>high levels of radiation in the “blue band” of light</b></span>. They estimated the problem is likely to grow as more computers, mobile phones and TV screens use LED lights. Experts have called for built-in filters to cut down on the blue glare.<br />
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-size: 42px;"><b>Could it then be electromagnetic radiation or heat that comes off our screens, that somehow makes some rosacea patients more flushed from computer or screen use? </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixrI2Ga9Nv9c7rgG3kjEWPWGgDBcuCVVQooldjsrt9PcbmqQ4YBsWm7IU6coeKS0iYkokNUfuhKQZuF1iMimaxbmMdCzCuzp8TYafMwCGI0oWRSqXJ_NoVUI1RG6WrDyi1XlD7sAkKgyLQ/s1600/download+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="305" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixrI2Ga9Nv9c7rgG3kjEWPWGgDBcuCVVQooldjsrt9PcbmqQ4YBsWm7IU6coeKS0iYkokNUfuhKQZuF1iMimaxbmMdCzCuzp8TYafMwCGI0oWRSqXJ_NoVUI1RG6WrDyi1XlD7sAkKgyLQ/s400/download+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Electromagnetic radiation is emitted from our computer screens, tablets and mobile phones. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8627134" target="_blank"><b>Research</b></a> has shown that higher levels of electromagnetic radiation exposure can break single or double-strands of DNA and cause damage. But does the low level electromagnetic radiation coming from our screens have the power to impact our facial skin? Computers today generate both low-frequency and radio-frequency EMR. Both the Sun and laptops emit waves of pulsing energy within the Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) spectrum. UV sunlight is on the higher frequency side of the Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) spectrum while, while on the lowest side you find pulsing energy emitted from laptop computers, tablets and other electronic devices. Laptop radiation can in rare cases cause <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3853603/" target="_blank"><b>burning</b></a> of the skin where the laptop rests on, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22112647" target="_blank"><b>fertility issues</b></a>, cell fragmentation and DNA damage as health concerns.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjguHjzmTUwgl5xV_5I9jfVHHgsSLEaBVUUxXD4RQcMXBEnJW6S-7ZQWxgJt9ulTiwtFN6Uk1lbf7qXmGJwKQCWWG9KszPtr0a8mqnAJppN6EVz0TrvkLivA2zJiVqzE8vD28RGwsb7XvyE/s1600/computer-radiation3.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjguHjzmTUwgl5xV_5I9jfVHHgsSLEaBVUUxXD4RQcMXBEnJW6S-7ZQWxgJt9ulTiwtFN6Uk1lbf7qXmGJwKQCWWG9KszPtr0a8mqnAJppN6EVz0TrvkLivA2zJiVqzE8vD28RGwsb7XvyE/s1600/computer-radiation3.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="341" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjguHjzmTUwgl5xV_5I9jfVHHgsSLEaBVUUxXD4RQcMXBEnJW6S-7ZQWxgJt9ulTiwtFN6Uk1lbf7qXmGJwKQCWWG9KszPtr0a8mqnAJppN6EVz0TrvkLivA2zJiVqzE8vD28RGwsb7XvyE/s320/computer-radiation3.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #783f04; font-size: 38px;">In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22315933" target="_blank">this</a> pubmed research, the authors measured the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) that laptop computers produce</span></b> and estimated the induced currents in the body, to assess the safety of laptop computers. They measured EMF exposure produced on the user and in case of pregnant women, of the fetus in the womb, when the laptop is used at close contact with the woman's womb. The computers emitted radiation levels that were within the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation (NIR) Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines, but that were considerably higher than the values recommended by 2 recent guidelines for computer monitors magnetic field emissions, MPR II (Swedish Board for Technical Accreditation) and TCO (Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees), and those considered risky for tumor development. When close to the body, the laptop induces currents that are within 34.2% to 49.8% ICNIRP recommendations, but not negligible, to the adult's body and to the fetus (in pregnant women). On the contrary, the power supply induces strong intracorporal electric current densities in the fetus and in the adult subject, which are respectively 182-263% and 71-483% higher than ICNIRP 98 basic restriction recommended to prevent adverse health effects. They concluded that the name 'laptop' was not a good one, as users should be summoned to NOT use a laptop on their lap, or making contact with their body while resting on it, out of safety point.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDMe2vDjlwLibQdSgNul8gh3VFZZBqlujOzxhlLYBecqBPNYEH6Yya9cySu3BLZFXzuytIZ2lofWSpJCFxE8yzoXN7umHzjopgayqj3M0qmP7Dv6UNZXg0qasB2AIgYdwlMoXxOvQT-IfF/s1600/2001-mobile-phone.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="600" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDMe2vDjlwLibQdSgNul8gh3VFZZBqlujOzxhlLYBecqBPNYEH6Yya9cySu3BLZFXzuytIZ2lofWSpJCFxE8yzoXN7umHzjopgayqj3M0qmP7Dv6UNZXg0qasB2AIgYdwlMoXxOvQT-IfF/w411-h416/2001-mobile-phone.jpg" width="411" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-size: 38px;"><b>In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9412815">this</a> pubmed research, scientists identify the problem of "screen dermatitis", with skin redness, burning, sensitivity and outbreaks even, caused by being close to electrical devices</b></span><br />
"Skin changes in "screen dermatitis" versus classical UV- and ionizing irradiation-related damage--similarities and differences." "An increasing number of persons say that they get cutaneous problems as well as symptoms from certain internal organs, such as the central nervous system (CNS) and the heart, when being close to electric equipment. A major group of these patients are the users of video display terminals (VDTs), who claim to <span>have subjective and objective skin- and mucosa-related symptoms, such as pain, itch, heat sensation, erythema (skin redness), papules, and pustules</span>. The CNS symptoms are, e.g. dizziness, tiredness, and headache.<span> <b><span style="color: #444444;">Erythema, itch, heat sensation, edema and pain are also common symptoms of sunburn (UV dermatitis).</span></b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></span>Alterations have been observed in cell populations of the skin of patients suffering from so-called "screen dermatitis" similar to those observed in the skin damaged due to ultraviolet (UV) light or ionizing radiation. In "screen dermatitis" patients a <span><b><span style="color: #444444;">much higher number of mast cells</span></b> </span>(mast cells are involved in allergic reactions and cause itch, redness of the skin and blood vessel dilation too often) have been observed. It is known that UVB irradiation induces mast cell degranulation and release of TNF-alpha (involved in making more new blood vessels in the skin). The high number of mast cells present in the "screen dermatitis" patients and the possible release of specific substances, such as histamine, may explain their clinical symptoms of itch, pain, edema and erythema. The most remarkable change among cutaneous cells, after exposure with the above-mentioned irradiation sources, is the disappearance of the Langerhans' cells. This change has also been observed in "screen dermatitis" patients, again pointing to a common cellular and molecular basis. The results of this literature study demonstrate that highly similar changes exist in the skin of "screen dermatitis" patients, as regards the clinical manifestations as well as alterations in the cell populations, and in skin damaged by UV light or ionizing radiation." So yeh, perhaps the low radiation from our computers/phones/TV's do emit some radiation or electrical waves that somehow set off our rosacea. It isn't properly studied and investigated however, so pretty much anecdotal and unproven up to this point.<br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHAOp19ULIGPZeIpJ5pQy3r_Ak0o51NaNbjlLkoBwlTm3MzmyraSJnSoCfhCOW_yyLDzlc2H1k2nAtbpVrpl4FsaZVkdC4pF7NS-_j7mkQN7Th2VwL8TLuXJyA86ir9HexIJNp7t8oVq70/s1600/images+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="255" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHAOp19ULIGPZeIpJ5pQy3r_Ak0o51NaNbjlLkoBwlTm3MzmyraSJnSoCfhCOW_yyLDzlc2H1k2nAtbpVrpl4FsaZVkdC4pF7NS-_j7mkQN7Th2VwL8TLuXJyA86ir9HexIJNp7t8oVq70/w558-h432/images+%25282%2529.jpg" width="558" /></a><span style="font-size: 38px;"><b><span style="color: #783f04;">More medical research has found that prolonged exposure to a computer screen may lead to discoloration, blotches, rashes, and skin allergies</span></b></span><br />Those with pre-existing skin problems, like rosacea and sun sensitivity, could be even more at risk. <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/12483194.cms?intenttarget=no" target="_blank"><b>How</b></a>? One possible explanation given, is that <span style="color: #444444;"><b>monitors create an electrostatic field</b></span> around which absorbs <b><span style="color: #444444;">floating dust</span></b> in its surrounding. This can cause symptoms of skin diseases such as allergies, skin discolouration, blotches and rashes. Skin cells also suffer from being consistently exposure to light (as well as those electromagnetic fields).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span><i>“People with pre-existing skin conditions like rosacea [redness of cheeks] and photosensitivity are more in danger as radiation from the screen can aggravate these conditions,” says Dr Deepak Vohra, senior consultant, dermatology at Fortis Group of Hospitals. Radiation can result in itchy, dry, wrinkled skin and photo ageing — a skin condition normally associated with sun exposure. Plus dermatitis from unclean workplaces is yet another skin peril lurking in your office aisles. </i></span><span><i>“Overexposure to white light at the workplace can worsen rosacea while too much air conditioning can aggravate eczema,” says Dr Ajitha Bagai, senior consultant, dermatology at Max Hospitals, Delhi."</i></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #783f04; font-size: 42px;">How about fluorescent light bulbs?</span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 42px;"> </span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikubZVKOl0UUt85p5v311iEdaCMr58ujElqbQOQjbGYW5RGiBa9kxmvpybRjFZogNUS0W1RcaiIeON8KREOOKxQKENNki022xo45Ypy50Q0jx3NFU4voOyJoOl3Vtq-TuxLVqPUw_jqYTC/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikubZVKOl0UUt85p5v311iEdaCMr58ujElqbQOQjbGYW5RGiBa9kxmvpybRjFZogNUS0W1RcaiIeON8KREOOKxQKENNki022xo45Ypy50Q0jx3NFU4voOyJoOl3Vtq-TuxLVqPUw_jqYTC/w576-h324/maxresdefault.jpg" width="576" /></a>Low levels of light come from fluorescent bulbs as well. Fluorescent bulbs emit a small amount of light in the <b><span style="color: #444444;">UV spectrum</span></b> (GELighting). While small, it is still detectable, which means it can lead to cumulative UV damage over time. Fluorescent lighting is a kind of lighting technology which depends on a chemical reaction inside of a glass tube to create light. This chemical reaction involves gases and mercury vapor interacting, which produces an invisible UV light. That invisible UV light illuminates the phosphor powder that is coating the inside of the glass tube, emitting white "fluorescent" light. Fluorescent lamps emit a small amount of ultraviolet (UV) light. A 1993 study in the US found that ultraviolet exposure from sitting under fluorescent lights for eight hours is equivalent to one minute of sun exposure. Ultraviolet radiation from compact fluorescent lamps may worsen symptoms in photosensitive individuals, and worsen skin redness in very sensitive people, for instance those who are photosensitive due to medication use - think of certain antidepressants, chemotherapy, certain anti inflammatory drugs among many others - or due to illness, for instance lupus. <span><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: bold;">Rosacea itself also can <a href="https://www.clinicaladvisor.com/features/photosensitivity-diseases-skin-rashes/article/666883/2/" target="_blank">cause</a> the skin to become sensitive to light ('photosensitive')</span>, meaning light exposure can worsen the skin condition.<span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></span>This isn't the case for every rosacea patient, but for some it is unfortunately another complicating factor in their illness.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjK7cKY5ygdWWtKEja89IXDec3vooWiJQs3FE0A3XigIKWWDqEZCer8AwP09ZdkcmbluIRKqR-EDcSqzSD7j2BWzl8uF4XZqqaSUOp6hCDYg1y4hRl-ARASN3AhShNPxzUpq-vRRqydQp/s1600/e17811152998063e4b68a37aa89a0123.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="768" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjK7cKY5ygdWWtKEja89IXDec3vooWiJQs3FE0A3XigIKWWDqEZCer8AwP09ZdkcmbluIRKqR-EDcSqzSD7j2BWzl8uF4XZqqaSUOp6hCDYg1y4hRl-ARASN3AhShNPxzUpq-vRRqydQp/w448-h297/e17811152998063e4b68a37aa89a0123.jpg" width="448" /></a>The ultraviolet light from a fluorescent lamp has some measurable power as they can degrade the pigments in paintings (especially watercolor pigments) and bleach the dyes used in textiles and some printing. Valuable art is always protected from ultraviolet light by placing additional glass or transparent acrylic sheets between the lamp and the art work. Fluorescent lamps used close to the skin could cause problems for people who are extremely light-sensitive or who have photosensitive skin related conditions. This is expected to be related to an immune response in the body/skin. For instance in lupus patients (and in many other diseases that are characterized by photosensitivity), fluorescent light has <a href="https://copublications.greenfacts.org/en/energy-saving-lamps/l-3/5-skin-diseases.htm" target="_blank"><b>proven</b></a> to be a possible trigger: "Through their UV component, chronic exposure to CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) could possibly be a problem." And in cancer patients: "Ultraviolet radiation is a major environmental risk factor for skin cancers. Hence, UV radiation from artificial illumination sources should be reduced to a minimum. The UVC and UVB radiations are especially effective in damaging DNA, and in causing gene mutations and cancerous transformation of cells. Although the carcinogenic UV dose from fluorescent lighting in offices is minor (~ 1%) when compared to equal exposure times in the summer sun, old risk assessments showed that actual annual exposures of office workers could increase by 10 to 30% from the fluorescent lighting, which over a lifetime was estimated to increase the risk of squamous cell carcinomas by around 4 % with a baseline risk much lower than that for outdoor workers who dominate incidences (Lytle et al 1992)."<br />
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Conclusions regarding skin diseases: "Although good quality clinical data associating fluorescent light induction (and by inference CFL) of these photosensitive diseases, is lacking, there are some experimental data supporting the belief that exposure to CFL (particularly when the source is close to the skin) may induce problems in those patients with severe photosensitivity in the ultraviolet B/A spectrum namely, xeroderma pigmentosum, and other geno photodermatoses as well as the idiopathic photodermatoses (chronic actinic dermatitis, severe solar urticaria, polymorphic light eruption and actinic prurigo). It is also possible that in cutaneous systemic lupus erythematosus problems could be induced by the UV mercury vapour lines emitted by unfiltered CFL. It is also feasible that in some skin conditions particularly sensitive to blue light, e.g., photodynamic therapy administered patients, there could be a marginally greater reaction with CFL than seen with incandescent light sources." In other words: only those with very reactive skin diseases which respond really badly to UV sunlight, could fluorescent lamps flare the disease. It happens sometimes in lupus patients and in many other conditions that create photosensitivity, including possibly rosacea. In fact, about two-thirds of the people with lupus are UV light-sensitive. Many experience an increase in lupus symptoms after being exposed to ultraviolet (UV) rays, either from the sun or from artificial light. Photosensitive people with lupus may develop a skin rash, known as a butterfly rash, which appears over the nose and cheeks after sun exposure. Other rashes might look like hives. But lupus isn't the only condition that flare from fluorescent lightning. According to the British Association of Dermatologists, fluorescent light bulbs are known to worsen skin rashes in people with a variety of diseases and conditions including dermatitis, eczema, lupus, photosensitivity, porphyria and xeroderma pigmentosum. Rosacea patients are also sometimes dealing with photosensitivity.<br />
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In rosacea, you are more likely to see an increase in redness of the facial skin. Possibly more facial flushing and burning, and you could also develop more of a red rash than usual. Itchy rashes can also start as a result of photosensitivity to fluorescent lightning. If you suspect that your rosacea flares while working under fluorescent light bulbs, try if you can switch them off for a while, or cover them with something, to see if your skin improves yes or no. Many indoor offices and businesses use halogen and fluorescent light bulbs. <b><span style="color: #444444;">Copy machines</span> </b>also have lighting mechanisms that emit UV rays that can flare symptoms (I remember that I would always leave the university library flushed after copying a stash of papers or books!) Also check if you haven't got (spiral-shaped) compact fluorescent light bulbs in your house. They are the energy-saving alternative that is very popular at the moment. For lupus, antimalarial medication, especially <span>plaquenil</span>, can help to reduce the sensitivity from the skin to light. For some people with rosacea, this strong anti-inflammatory drug can also help with both the rosacea redness and the sensitivity to (sun)light.</div><div>
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<b><span style="color: #783f04; font-size: 42px;">Some other suggestions</span></b><br />
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All computers as soon as they’re switched on also generate magnetic radiation or <b><span style="color: #444444;">magnetic fields</span></b>. The closer to your body you are using your computer or laptop, the higher these exposure rates will be (but still very low relatively). The most common sources of this magnetic field are the motor of the hard drive inside your computer and also the in-line transformer unit (all computers have some form of transformer to convert from the mains supply, 110 or 240 volts depending where you live, to the lower voltages computers use). If you have a laptop, consider using an external keyboard and make sure the transformer unit (often a little rectangular box in the cable) is situated at least a few feet from your body. If you have a desktop keep the CPU at least 3 feet away from your body if you worry about this magnetic radiation.</div><div><br /></div><div>
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYAFunHkTBnrpxlDwhltoXNkPsPrA834GHNSRgnUoPhQ7hmmeGaEtf3cCDDkLMS0yCb12YpLEzIuNUCaNLE1SyfjmxT1u4580Bv9Ff2Q1KpE7PV4aPJj8UHT5SizryDYPwawT_zMgMzH9zuLNQrn7o-KunuramgfEJmdUbIidZh_f2aMgT-CFR3qv1yUR/s232/wifi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="142" data-original-width="232" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYAFunHkTBnrpxlDwhltoXNkPsPrA834GHNSRgnUoPhQ7hmmeGaEtf3cCDDkLMS0yCb12YpLEzIuNUCaNLE1SyfjmxT1u4580Bv9Ff2Q1KpE7PV4aPJj8UHT5SizryDYPwawT_zMgMzH9zuLNQrn7o-KunuramgfEJmdUbIidZh_f2aMgT-CFR3qv1yUR/w333-h204/wifi.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>WIFI</span>.</b> </span>We live in an increasingly wireless world. Most computers, phones and tablets nowadays run on WiFi. They create low levels of RF radiation, just as the computer/ device you're using does. Even if you are on a hard wired Ethernet connection, your laptop is still emitting and receiving RF (WiFi) radiation. If you want to change this and go back to the good old cable connection, you need to go into the settings and disable the wireless (possibly WiFi and Bluetooth) functionality. Many modem/routers are now factory configured to automatically re-enable WiFi when they receive an update – this can be several times a day. So even if you disable the WiFi in the settings menu, it may be subsequently reactivated without you knowing. Scientific research has shown that it is best to not use your laptop computer on your lap. Use your laptop on a desk or other surface away from your body. There are some good laptop radiation shields on the market also, but some laptop shields only shield RF radiation (which is not a problem anyway if you disable the WiFi) and some offer no protection from magnetic fields. <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B14R6QNkmaXuX19qQ2lMd3ZvRVU/view" target="_blank"><b>This letter</b></a>, written by a biochemistry professor and internationally known scientist on the subject of EMF health effects (Dr. Martin Pall), discusses the dangers of 5G; some key excerpts are listed below:<i>“EMFs act by activating channels in the membrane that surrounds each of our cells, called voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs). The EMFs put forces on the voltage sensor that controls the VGCCs of about 7.2 million times greater than the forces on other charged groups in our cells. This is why weak EMFs have such large biological effects on the cells of our bodies. </i><i>Pulsed EMFs are, in most cases, more biologically active and therefore more dangerous than are non-pulsed (continuous wave) EMFs. All cordless communication devices communicate via pulsations, because it is the pulsations that carry the information communicated. </i><i>5G will be much more active in activating the VGCCs and producing health impacts because of its rapid absorption by materials in the body, because of its very rapid pulsations and because of the huge number antennae they are planning to put up, at least 200 times the number of antennae from all current cell phone towers. What this means is that the impacts on the outer one to two inches of our bodies will be massive.” </i>Among the major ill-effects that Dr. Pall is predicting after the introduction of 5G are increases in blindness, hearing loss, male infertility, skin cancers, thyroid issues, and nervous system dysfunction.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicyv4F0h3iRAzl037WP76PO6PBD7lz3eRPEpCo6uORGVJBKDKi3hbW1ocvZsnwqgGQ3lUgIR_RVyfXpplVvCtUY2Jtj3CFBRiuOoBGHd0d7WnylsW4HF3Di5ePRQvfhXZj5hp9YVmksf-k/s1600/sputnik_0667_casemod_1-600x500.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="600" height="411" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicyv4F0h3iRAzl037WP76PO6PBD7lz3eRPEpCo6uORGVJBKDKi3hbW1ocvZsnwqgGQ3lUgIR_RVyfXpplVvCtUY2Jtj3CFBRiuOoBGHd0d7WnylsW4HF3Di5ePRQvfhXZj5hp9YVmksf-k/w495-h411/sputnik_0667_casemod_1-600x500.jpg" width="495" /></a><b><span style="color: #783f04; font-size: x-large;">Computer monitor radiation</span></b><br />Reduce your exposure by sitting further away from your computer screen. This will reduce your radiation exposure, especially if you sit at least three feet from the screen (not too far to avoid eye strain) – EMF exposures decrease significantly with distance. Wash your face in the evening. Not just dust and dirt accumulates on your skin, but some computer specialists even claim that particles of computer screen radiation can attach themselves there. Go fully wired. Use a wired mouse, wired keyboard and wired peripherals. Even if you are using a laptop, using a wired external keyboard and wired mouse will reduce your exposure to the EMFs emitted by the electrical components situated under the keyboard of the laptop. Cables are also a source of high electromagnetic fields. Move these power cords away from your pillow and head at night, in case you have them lying close by. Also do not sleep with your mobile phone (switched on) under your pillow. The only way to know for sure if you are exposure to radiation levels is to measure them with an EMF meter. To get a complete picture, measure the RF radiation levels, magnetic fields and electric fields, which usually means buying several meters. Radiation levels vary from computer to computer. Purchase an anti-glare screen that fits over the computer monitor to cut down on radiation exposure and the glare of blue light. Another suggestion I found is to wear sunscreen every day and use skin care products with antioxidants in them—they provide natural protection from UV radiation. Consider applying moisturizer or a hydrating mist periodically through a long day. At the very least, wear a long-lasting moisturizer. Maintain a good distance from the monitor and clean it regularly (to remove dust). Stay hydrated and drink plenty of water.<div>
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-size: 42px;"><b>Below are some Rosacea Forum posts from rosacea patients who find that using their cell phone gives them a rosacea flare</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Bradley <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8288-Mobile-phone-and-skin-rashes-rosacea-help" target="_blank">wrote</a> on October 4th 2005:</b></span> </span>"Mobile phone and skin rashes/ rosacea... help - I'm really hoping someone has an idea of what I have experienced because it is the first time I have seen these symptoms before. The other day I had just finished a conversation on my mobile phone (that lasted for around 25 mins) and went to have dinner. While I was eating I happened to catch my reflection in the mirror and to my shock I had this kind of red rash predominantly on the left side of my face towards the upper cheek. The other parts of my face seemed okay compared to my cheek. I thought I must have eaten something wrong or that I was sensitive/allergic to some food I had eaten but again the next day I experienced the same red rash on the same side of my face after having a conversation on my mobile (I hold my phone on my left ear) and I hadn't eaten anything. So far<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEybVGapjUXBXbPqQ5MCDoUM8d57ihoxJNM4fvuuG65PVfrNMEeI7XdugIYbStcebXRvQqvqRuBsh7wcfzl16RSftl7b9bkvg-QqUGW8568XO2Non4LTXxOi8O61xIoujWW3Rwlf82CvFu/s1600/NK-137-2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEybVGapjUXBXbPqQ5MCDoUM8d57ihoxJNM4fvuuG65PVfrNMEeI7XdugIYbStcebXRvQqvqRuBsh7wcfzl16RSftl7b9bkvg-QqUGW8568XO2Non4LTXxOi8O61xIoujWW3Rwlf82CvFu/s400/NK-137-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>it has happened three times on three separate occasions after using my phone recently. This is crazy, can this truly be possible that my phone is causing me to break-out in a rash in the same place? I've been using this phone for almost 5 years now and have not once experienced a rash before these ones? Moreover why is only the upper cheek affected? My lower part of my cheek doesn't go red like the upper part. My ear doesn't turn red either? What is going on? I'm really worried because either my blood capillaries have become so sensitive that they just leak immediately OR do you think since it is an old-ish phone it could be emitting higher levels of micro-waves and may be damaged because I had dropped it a few times? God this is depressing, things just keep getting worse. I'm going to try it with my hands-free set and see whether that makes any difference. Thanks in advance guys, I've searched the net but haven't found much regarding this issue. Furthermore I haven't really seen it discussed here before so would be great if any of you more knowledgable people know any answers...please."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Nikkitn <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8288-Mobile-phone-and-skin-rashes-rosacea-help">replied</a> on October 4th 2005: </span></b>"When you talk on a cell phone for an extended period of time, the phone becomes hot. This could possibly causing the rash/flush on your cheek. Get an "ear bud" thing - you know, the hands-free things. I have one and I don't have to hold a hot phone to my ear anymore. I love it."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Bradley <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8288-Mobile-phone-and-skin-rashes-rosacea-help" target="_blank">replied</a> on October 4th 2005: </span></b>"Hi nikki. My phones only gets hot when I use it for more than 45-50 minutes. The times when I experienced the rashes the phone was not hot (I used it for around 25-30 minutes). It wasn't the same as a heat-induced flush because usually you can feel your face become warmish and tingles a bit. The rash totally surprised me because I felt nothing and my skin wasn't hot. So I totally don't understand what caused it .Yep I'm going to try out my hands-free set to see if that works."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRHc0NCs4A14pLyyQZIsETwg3mqomFTSvhgR1pA3Pg9PHB0wGh0UL0X6JaOs2MI5QWvrrzTM2ajBUBbPZEKCq95PV7N35mOlwvjz25HEwNHNVIE_NDKLEHydWxwsUCF7-AtdDfZ3B25RGI/s1600/vintage-twitter.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="640" height="530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRHc0NCs4A14pLyyQZIsETwg3mqomFTSvhgR1pA3Pg9PHB0wGh0UL0X6JaOs2MI5QWvrrzTM2ajBUBbPZEKCq95PV7N35mOlwvjz25HEwNHNVIE_NDKLEHydWxwsUCF7-AtdDfZ3B25RGI/w396-h530/vintage-twitter.jpg" width="396" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Andy <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8288-Mobile-phone-and-skin-rashes-rosacea-help" target="_blank">replied</a> on October 4th 2005:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Could also have something to do with the so much debated (at least over here where every man, woman and child have had their own cell phone for years now) radiation from cell phones. <a href="https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone-radiation2.htm" target="_blank"><b>Here's</b></a> one of many interesting articles to read on this subject."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">JimJImson <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?8288-Mobile-phone-and-skin-rashes-rosacea-help" target="_blank">replied</a> on October 20th 2005: </span></b>"I get the same damn thing on my neck!! when I talk on a cell phone for extended periods of time. I was worried that it was associated to some nervous response with the people I was talking to, but then I reflected on the numerous things I've done without any flareup difficulties at all, and how the cell phone flareups seem completely independent of time of day or who I'm talking to, not to mention I'm absolutely calm when I'm on the phone (I'm a pretty calm guy all around, come to think of it...). So, in a way, I'm pleased to hear that this seems to be more of a physical response to cell phones than anything else. I'm not so sure it's heat related, because heat doesn't cause me to flareup in this way. I'm going out on a limb here, but having eliminated most of the unlikely causes, it seems to me that this is connected to cell phone waves. Of course, as always, that's pure speculation. On the bright side, I need to get off that phone anyway."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPfKQmBq-zWA4OymkbxBqVI3TR4Lb8HxAaGZVjJNMDUo-gt2F0D5AUbjQIHrBiHA-J7_Tee-FCRjkEDcsRwlVPunjraGDAPLLueleg1sGIBXr_7LCnARfj9zV_q_i30R6mM9sNFT4X2Zd/s1600/971f35131f2d680e8ef77b0120d27886--data-processing-retro-office.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="640" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPfKQmBq-zWA4OymkbxBqVI3TR4Lb8HxAaGZVjJNMDUo-gt2F0D5AUbjQIHrBiHA-J7_Tee-FCRjkEDcsRwlVPunjraGDAPLLueleg1sGIBXr_7LCnARfj9zV_q_i30R6mM9sNFT4X2Zd/w555-h440/971f35131f2d680e8ef77b0120d27886--data-processing-retro-office.jpg" width="555" /></a><span style="color: #783f04; font-size: 39px;"><b>In this topic, someone who doesn't have rosacea complaints about getting a burning face from the use of his computer screen</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">John B <a href="http://pcmonitors.info/forum/topic/lcd-screens-causing-face-irritation-and-burning" target="_blank">wrote</a> on August 8th, 2013:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"LCD screens causing face irritation and 'burning' - I’m delighted that I came across this site. The recent discussion around screens and health, and the potential effects on one’s eyes was very interesting. Another health aspect with screens that some people experience, myself included, is that <span>time in front of a screen causes the skin on one’s face to become irritated</span>. I’m a long time computer user, and this started with CRTs. LCD screens are a lot better, but even they are now causing problems. I have looked for information on this, but have found very little. I was wondering whether anyone on this forum could throw any light on this area. I have wondered whether it’s the fluorescent back lighting that causes the problem, and does that mean that LED backlighting, particularly something like LG’s GB-LED system with less phosphor than the single led systems, would be an improvement? I’d be very grateful for any input on this area."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">PCM2 </span><a href="http://pcmonitors.info/forum/topic/lcd-screens-causing-face-irritation-and-burning" style="font-weight: 700;" target="_blank">replied</a><span style="font-weight: 700;"> on August 8th, 2013: </span></span>"This is an interesting topic you’ve bought up here and in honesty is not really something I’m familiar with or have come across in other people (I’m sure others must ‘silently suffer’ with this sort of thing as well). I don’t think the backlight itself should be causing any sort of physiological reaction (at least, not something specific to monitors and not other artificial or natural light sources). Do you experience any sort of skin irritation when outside, perhaps on a bright day (not talking about sunburn, of course)? What about other light sources like lights in the household or mobile device screens (smartphones, tablets etc.)? I’m also wondering about the sort of onset time before the irritation begins. Is it something that occurs fairly quickly after using a monitor or does it take a bit of time? Also how long before it ‘calms down’ after ceasing use of the monitor? As I say this is a great and intriguing topic you’ve bought up here!"<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">John B </span><a href="http://pcmonitors.info/forum/topic/lcd-screens-causing-face-irritation-and-burning" style="font-weight: 700;" target="_blank">replied</a><span style="font-weight: 700;"> on August 9th, 2013:</span></span><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: 700;"> </span>"Direct sunlight is not a problem beyond sunburn issues, nor are normal incandescent lights. LED lights seem OK-ish. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>Fluorescent lights are however a problem</b></span>, and have been at least since my twenties. CRT screens and old style TVs were/are also a problem. <span>Tablets (my Nexus 7, my wife’s iPad 2) and smartphones have also become a problem since their entry into our life about eight months ago to the point where I no longer use the tablets.<b> </b></span>You ask about the onset time. The reaction starts within minutes, and depending on length of exposure, can take two to three days to settle down. Over the years I have used various creams and the highest factor sunblock I can find, but they’re becoming less effective. When no-one is watching, I wrap heavy cloth around my face, with a small slit for my eyes. 😉 Doctors and dermatologists have not been able to help. However it’s real, as shown by a recent skin biopsy, and my wife can tell immediately from my face that I’ve been behind a screen. I’ve heard of a few others with similar problems, but not heard any explanations or solutions."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">PCM2 </span><a href="http://pcmonitors.info/forum/topic/lcd-screens-causing-face-irritation-and-burning" style="font-weight: 700;" target="_blank">replied</a><span style="font-weight: 700;"> on August 9th, 2013: </span></span>"That's really is strange (and fascinating! ;))<br />
I am trying to think what could be causing it. I am not surprised it stumped the doctors and dermatologists, it doesn’t seem to be something that’s well documented as you say. I don’t think it is any sort of radiation specifically from the monitor – I mean nothing you’d worry about like harmful UV, phosphor leakage or anything like that. You said in the original posts that CRTs were actually even worse than LCDs.<span> I wonder if it’s some sort of electrostatic charge around the monitor that you are very sensitive to.</span> This sort of charge is far greater on CRTs (and plasmas I suspect – I’m not sure if you’ve tested those out?) than LCDs but does still exist on LCDs. And you don’t get any other symptoms such as eyestrain or headaches during normal use?"<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">John B </span><a href="http://pcmonitors.info/forum/topic/lcd-screens-causing-face-irritation-and-burning" style="font-weight: 700;" target="_blank">replied</a><span style="font-weight: 700;"> on August 12th, 2013:</span></span><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: 700;"> </span>"Your suggestion that this is the result of an electrostatic charge is not something I’ve considered before. I’ll need to look into the implications and see how that would change things. My present understanding of your suggestion is that by some mechanism a positive or negative charge builds up around the monitor. This then induces an (opposite?) charge in one’s face. <span>This charge may have an ionizing effect on one’s skin inducing the production of free radicals, or some such, which in turn would lead to inflammation</span>. (You haven’t said all this. I’m just extrapolating, and may be way off.) If this is the case. one then needs to ground the screen to prevent the electrostatic build up, and/or somehow screen one’s face from the electrostatic field, and/or provide some way for one’s skin to deal with the electrostatic field. That would all need some investigation. I find the Kindle with it’s e-ink far more benign. Does it maybe not develop an electrostatic charge, and does this provide some circumstantial support for your suggestion? I haven’t tried plasma displays, so can’t comment on them. Thank you very much for your very useful comments and for the background knowledge you can contribute to this."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">PCM2 </span><a href="http://pcmonitors.info/forum/topic/lcd-screens-causing-face-irritation-and-burning" style="font-weight: 700;" target="_blank">replied</a><span style="font-weight: 700;"> on August 12th, 2013: </span></span>"No problem, this is all very interesting to me as well. Whilst I can’t say I’m entirely sure on the physiological results, the process is very much what I was suggesting. The charge would somehow have to be dealt with at source to minimize/prevent ionization, or alternatively mitigated on your own face/body. Although I haven’t tested this the e-ink displays are certainly very different in how they operate and should have minimal ionizing effect.<span> In fact they don’t emit any light (unless you count the front-light on the ‘Paper White’ version) and only actively do anything for very short periods of time; when the text or images actually change from one thing to another.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Karla4569 </span><a href="http://pcmonitors.info/forum/topic/lcd-screens-causing-face-irritation-and-burning" style="font-weight: 700;" target="_blank">replied</a><span style="font-weight: 700;"> on January 7th, 2014:</span></span><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: 700;"> </span>"Hello! I have had this problem in the past as well, and am having it now again. After sitting in front of my computer monitor for a few minutes my face starts to burn. I have my hair pulled back and can feel it burning my ears as well. I have to leave it to get relief and the sensation is cut in half within 5 or 10 minutes and usually gone after a couple of hours so long as I don’t go back to it. This idea of static charge possibly being the culprit gives me hope of being able to resolve this! It makes sense for my present situation because it seems to have become really bad since our weather has turned really cold and dry lately, plus I’m covering myself with highly static clothing materials for warmth (microfiber). When this happened to me before, I was working in an office building in front of a computer all day, on standard commercial carpeting and I remember not being able to ever open my car door at the end of the day without having a strong static shock. My husband – an I/T guy – suggests spraying my clothing with some kind of static guard and getting a static mat to put under my chair. I just wanted to pop in and say thank you, PCM2, for this possible solution! John B., did you resolve your situation? If so, how? I hope you are doing better!"<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">John B </span><a href="http://pcmonitors.info/forum/topic/lcd-screens-causing-face-irritation-and-burning" style="font-weight: 700;" target="_blank">replied</a><span style="font-weight: 700;"> on January 8th, 2014: </span></span>"Hi Karla and PCM2, In brief, I haven’t found a complete answer to this problem. I have found ways of lessening it, but haven’t addressed the electrostatic possibility directly. A dermatologist suggested what he considered to be the best sunblock on our local market, Bioderma Photoderm Max 50+. It’s hypoallergenic and apparently formulated for ‘intolerant’ skin. That certainly eased the problem, but I’ve found two creams that seem even better, and both relatively inexpensive. The best, called E45 on the local market, is a mixture of soft paraffin and lanolin and, I believe, vitamin E. I re-apply two hourly, and on a given day once or twice a week can work for four to five hours spaced out over the day. The other difference is that I’ve changed to a 22″ LCD screen and maintain a viewing distance of 90 cm to 1 meter. Previously I think I had much too close a viewing distance, peering at the laptop screen. I’ve also reduced my time in front of a computer, and try to keep a decent viewing distance for my 7″ tablet as well when I occasionally use it. I take a small daily supplementary dose of vit A and a good quality vit E. It’s difficult to tell, but I think these help a bit too. Karla, have you had any luck with your anti static measures? I hadn’t thought of trying anything like that and would be very interested in your experience. John."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Karla4569 </span><a href="http://pcmonitors.info/forum/topic/lcd-screens-causing-face-irritation-and-burning" style="font-weight: 700;" target="_blank">replied</a><span style="font-weight: 700;"> on January 8th, 2014: </span></span>"Hello John B, It has only been a couple of days since I first found this thread and got the idea that it could be a problem with static. I haven’t tried anything yet, other than just making it a point to break the static field up periodically throughout the day by wiping my monitor screen with a soft cloth. Yesterday was a pretty good day – I felt the heat only about 25% of what it was before, but then again, I was away from the computer for about 5 hours as well. I think I will try an anti-static mat and will report back how this works out. I’m also considering trying to humidify the air a little bit. I live in southwest Texas and the air is very dry here and the static can be a problem. Even though I have a dry skin problem, I am one who doesn’t like to use creams and lotions – I’m too much of a naturalist. But your mention of these potentially giving you some relief has just inspired me to use a glycerin/water mixture on my face for moisture just now. The glycerin/water provided some relief. There was just barely any noticeable burning, and I also continued to periodically wipe my monitor and computer box to break the static field. Our weather has warmed up and I believe that has helped as well, since our heater doesn’t have to kick on as often."<br />
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-size: 40px;"><b>On the Rosacea Forum, the above forum post was also discussed</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?31408-Computer-screen-flushing-burning-lights" target="_blank">wrote</a> on July 8th, 2014:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Computer screen flushing/burning, lights - Hi, As some of you know, my biggest trigger is artificial lights - computers, my BBerry, fluorescent lights etc. I found this thread about the issue on a computer site. The people talking about it don't have rosacea. <a href="http://pcmonitors.info/forum/topic/l...on-and-burning" target="_blank"><b>This is link</b></a>. I think it has some interesting ideas. But not sure they apply totally to me - as I can't handle more than just the PC screen. I can barely function around lights. I'm unable to use a computer without burning. My BBerry is the only thing I can use and. It gives me lots of problems. Anyway, wondering if anyone else has similar difficulties with lights and has found a solution? I'm really down about this and tired of having doctors stare at me blankly because they've never heard of this problem and don't know what to do."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">KRC <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?31408-Computer-screen-flushing-burning-lights">replied</a> on July 8th, 2014:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Somewhere I read that B vitamins help this from which I also suffer. The vitamins seem to take the edge off of it. This may be a placebo effect, but I think it did help me. I am better, but not completely free from this issue. I am also assuming you put the brightness control on a low setting, right? Take frequent breaks. Give the B Vitamins a try and keep us posted as this affects so many. Good Luck!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Alexb568 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?31408-Computer-screen-flushing-burning-lights">replied</a> on July 11th, 2014:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Yes, artificial lights is my biggest trigger. For the computer lighting, you can download app f.lux which put much less strain on your eyes and will probably help with burning also."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?31408-Computer-screen-flushing-burning-lights">replied</a> on July 11th, 2014: </span></b>"Hi, Thank you so much for your replies. I took a B complex vitamin for several weeks. I had read the same thing on this forum about how they help some people. It didn't help me. I had to stop when I started on other medications. Maybe I will try again. Does the f.lux change the look of the screen? I bought some glasses that screened out blue light. Everything looked yellow-orange-green. Kind of made me sick. But it didn't help with the computer. But that wasn't something on the computer. They were just special goggles to wear. Yes, I have my computer and my BBerry at the lowest brightness level. I also have a UV filter on both devices. I will look into the f.lux and start popping B vitamins. I'm also taking Plaquenil and am hoping that will kick in soon and help me with lights. I read that Chris1234 on this forum had success with her lights issue after being on Plaquenil.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Kill <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?31408-Computer-screen-flushing-burning-lights">replied</a> on July 13th, 2014: </span></b>"I've read that one should wear sunscreen in front of a computer then. However, I don't like any sunscreens."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?31408-Computer-screen-flushing-burning-lights">replied</a> on July 13th, 2014:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"I set up a new<span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span><span style="color: #444444;"><b>flat panel LED backlit monitor</b></span> today. But it turned my face red and burned I couldn't get the sound to work so went to Best Buy to ask someone and my face felt zaps from the fluorescent lights overhead. I read about f.lux today. Will see if that helps. I had the monitor on very low brightness and had it set away from me - further back against the wall. But became red anyway. I wore sunscreen during one attempt, too. I'm so disheartened. I just don't know what causes it. Is it my eyes? The signal goes in there? Or my skin? Is it the degree of redness on my skin? If not for lights/computers/phone, I would be pretty okay otherwise. Light issues are destroying my life."<br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZfr_UoifI4felkLJacsKc0kTtlGvg6xpJdmUdb8owiPC9hjMfOhJNO9mcKsiVLdIFnhj6e2eisrU-grdgGDXrAQor5wGoEzAI_-hIZwif8EEe2C3r5u8YgBxxsCwnUqQ9-gZw4mK0lLzr/s1600/images+%25286%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="195" data-original-width="260" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZfr_UoifI4felkLJacsKc0kTtlGvg6xpJdmUdb8owiPC9hjMfOhJNO9mcKsiVLdIFnhj6e2eisrU-grdgGDXrAQor5wGoEzAI_-hIZwif8EEe2C3r5u8YgBxxsCwnUqQ9-gZw4mK0lLzr/w533-h396/images+%25286%2529.jpg" width="533" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000;">hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?31408-Computer-screen-flushing-burning-lights">updated</a> on July 15th, 2014:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></span></b>"Saw this in an article online... <span style="font-family: inherit;">Allergic Reactions that Lead to Aging. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Recent research suggests, though, that prolonged exposure to a computer screen may lead to discoloration, blotches, rashes, and skin allergies. Those with pre-existing skin problems, like rosacea and sun sensitivity, could be even more at risk. According to some scientists, monitors create an electrostatic field that attracts floating dust that can then settle on the skin and cause dryness, irritation, and allergic reactions—particularly in poorly ventilated areas. Swedish associate professor at the Experimental Dermatology Unit, Karolinska Institute, Olle Johansson, agrees that in some sensitive individuals, excessive screen exposure can lead to “screen dermatitis,” in which skin cells suffer as a result of consistent exposure to light and electromagnetic fields."</span></div></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">I <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?31408-Computer-screen-flushing-burning-lights">replied</a> on August 3rd, 2014:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Hi guys, I just bought a new laptop and noticed that even on the lowest screen brightness settings on it is still way too bright for my eyes and rosacea, so I installed <b><a href="http://www.nelsonpires.com/software/dimmer/" target="_blank">this device</a></b> for free. It's a dimmer and it is fantastic, especially for laptops. All you do is click on the download and store it in a file of choice on your desktop and it will automatically dim the screen as soon as you do. If it gets too dark for your liking (I find it perfect for working on it) you just delete the file and all goes back to normal. It makes no changes on your computer. You can also just brighten up your screen within the windows settings to adjust it to the best settings and meddle with the brightness settings. I hope this helps some people, the brightness is now not bothering my eyes or skin anymore. Best wishes"</div><div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogE7cjJ8lpyLRviYfVmqZz9gdElp0EtI7uIO419-4of0DYux3R8b47NAXSrKcDulARNTvU5TLWgxO_E61xYCfDw5oHghqzoDF0bgtQvCGL8Wg9TvIn0CoutvWa9OLX30hbVsK3uTOlkav/s1600/Old-Computer-Ads-10.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="500" height="403" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogE7cjJ8lpyLRviYfVmqZz9gdElp0EtI7uIO419-4of0DYux3R8b47NAXSrKcDulARNTvU5TLWgxO_E61xYCfDw5oHghqzoDF0bgtQvCGL8Wg9TvIn0CoutvWa9OLX30hbVsK3uTOlkav/w626-h403/Old-Computer-Ads-10.jpg" width="626" /></a><span style="color: #783f04;"><b><span style="font-size: 40px;">More posts about rosacea flaring due to computer screens </span></b><br /></span>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">g3006 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34178-Computer-screens-lights&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on November 11th, 2015: </span></b>"Computer screens/lights - I thought I would post my experience in the hopes in can help somebody. My "rosacea" started about ten years ago and I put that in quotes because I believe it debatable if it rosacea or just a skin allergy. It all started when I started working in front of a computer and it took me until a few months ago when it has progressed to the point it was truly unbearable that I finally took the action I did and it has almost completely stopped. This is after 3 derms I allergy doctor and I regular doctor. I now work in a dark office with just a table lamp that doesn't shine on me, wrap the middle portion of my face with a piece of cloth anytime I am in front of a computer, wear a sun hat anytime I leave my office and walk around in the hallways so no artificial light hits my face and I have a piece of uv blocking film over my computer screen. I know these steps seems extreme but my reaction was truly so bad I had two choices, either figure this out or quit my career working in front of a computer. These steps like I said have reduced my issue well over 90 percent so if you have a skin reaction to computer screen and it also seems like its also light related I would take action asap as this can progress to the point it will do permanent and disfiguring damage to your face and skin if you let it go to the point of swelling and extreme burning. Trust me unless you get really lucky or maybe I got unlucky no one in the medical field will be able to help you. They can treat the symptoms pretty effectively for quite a while, like 3 years but it eventually may get so bad it no longer is enough, mine did. If I would have known what I know now I would have never waited this long to go to this extreme. hope this can maybe help someone."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Babadah <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34178-Computer-screens-lights&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on November 11th, 2015: </span></b>"Hi g3006, thank you for this information! I have a suspicion that computer light worsens my rosacea too. Also since many years I've been working on computer all day. Maybe accutane or something else causes some sort of UV allergy. I have some questions to you: how long did it take to see results after you made changes, and did you have permanent redness? Did you have problems with sweating on the face? So you have to block sun uv as well, do you think it is as bad as computer? What about TV, does it bother you too? Thanks in advance"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">g3006 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34178-Computer-screens-lights&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on November 11th, 2015: </span></b>"For me the relief was instant, I could tell within minutes. No turning down the brightness did nothing for me. Try the film I don't think anyone will notice even or when no one is looking try a handkerchief, I know talking to your coworkers is tough. I just bought the cheap window tint from WalMart but I am going to try some other stuff because that window tint is kind of hard to see though, although in the interim until I can find something else its beyond worth it!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Optimismum <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34178-Computer-screens-lights&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on November 14th, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"I did the experience to turn the lights off in my work office all along the day... and I noticed my redness reduced."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">g3006 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34178-Computer-screens-lights&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on November 15th, 2015: </span></b>"I'm glad that helped, my experience so far is its more the screen but all artificial lights aggravate it."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>ZK_78</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea/page2&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on April 5th, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"I suspect this may be something to do with the glare from the screens. I have tried anti glare filters but with no success. I don’t think it is eye related as when I cover my face the problem doesn’t occur. Has anybody else carried out research on this?"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpE6NrrAdHNHRBMGZ7wC7EVsPyxEQjHrhFHHd4lZ_mvRTzYAmirtYOb0mzsEXkYJW9kvNxYsvT9jfIeiCGsWUq2wwAaPowYBv3hqvqMmLU7Gy6Z1hqsRN6_6x8sC_H-63j7hV4lN55IRXa/s1600/1960s-office.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="500" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpE6NrrAdHNHRBMGZ7wC7EVsPyxEQjHrhFHHd4lZ_mvRTzYAmirtYOb0mzsEXkYJW9kvNxYsvT9jfIeiCGsWUq2wwAaPowYBv3hqvqMmLU7Gy6Z1hqsRN6_6x8sC_H-63j7hV4lN55IRXa/w484-h334/1960s-office.jpg" width="484" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>g3006</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea/page2&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on April 15th, 2015: </span></b></span>"I have tried everything I can think of and ran every experiment under the sun to try and figure this out and so far the most effective way to reduce the symptoms throughout the day is to take breaks and get up, walk around and clear your mind. By far the most efficient way to reset for me is to do something physical like a brisk walk and run around for 10 minutes. I really believe this is completely related to some type of really rare reaction to sedentary concentration and focus. No idea how to treat it though. I probably have 500 dollars tied up in every filter imaginable. UV, blue light, emf u name it and i have bought it. Nothing worked for me."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Optimismum</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea/page2&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on April 15th, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Like g3006 said , I think it is not a computer related but a concentration/focus and sedentary issue. Here is some potential solutions :<br />
-Take a regular break (every hour, 5 min of gym, go outside, breath, meditation)<br />
-Drink a lot of water all along the day<br />
-Try to keep your face away and not be close to the screen like a geek.<br />
It will enhance the symptoms and avoid to corrupt the eyes."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Julianjett</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea/page2&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on April 17th, 2015: </span></b></span>"It's the <span>ultra violet light coming from the computer<b> </b>screen</span>. I'd bet my paycheck on it that fluorescent lights and the sun do the same to you..."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Johnabetts</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea/page2&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on April 17th, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"You can easily invert screen colours on Windows and Mac (white becomes black etc) good for printed pages, very odd for pictures. May help with glare. Certainly helped me prior to cataract surgery. Google will explain (it varies slightly with each Windows version). Look up "invert screen colours."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>g2006</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea/page3&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on April 17th, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"I wish you were correct but the light has very little to do with it. It is an aggravating factor but far from the root cause. I currently work with a projector and still have issues. Also to disprove that theory I made a mask that covered every inch of my face and still had problems. Might help some people though everyone's different!"<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>elegantsquatlobster</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea/page3&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on May 20th, 2017:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"I have classes that last 40 mins and sometimes it's just so damn hard to sit through the whole thing. Face gets warm and other unpleasant symptoms arise. Once I finally break free and get to walk a little I feel more like myself again. It's so odd and I used to totally NOT have this. Sadly, I've gotten used to it now so much that when I see how others can read/work/knit/write/draw/whatever for HOURS at a time I'm just like how the heck is that even possible?! Getting up and walking around is a fairly easy solution but still sometimes impractical. How would your co-workers and boss, for example, react if you take breaks all the time at an office desk job?!"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2wCsLby5Pt9YV1Uk3yCY3wg8ktmkKXsZxsez98Bw0ZxkYeZiuxjTMRd3GZhG1Omt9XA-2amRITObQLdi8zpXQYzmXlaUCb7LxG7iGiSQTKg3OW8yHKiF9ABtgwo0Lcy6BDeMLgcBct7L/s1600/how-to-keep-your-eyes-safe-from-screen-glare.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="253" data-original-width="337" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2wCsLby5Pt9YV1Uk3yCY3wg8ktmkKXsZxsez98Bw0ZxkYeZiuxjTMRd3GZhG1Omt9XA-2amRITObQLdi8zpXQYzmXlaUCb7LxG7iGiSQTKg3OW8yHKiF9ABtgwo0Lcy6BDeMLgcBct7L/w495-h371/how-to-keep-your-eyes-safe-from-screen-glare.jpg" width="495" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>I</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea/page3&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on May 21sr, 2017: </span></b></span>"I have the same problem.. I work behind a laptop literally half the day for work and it's just so annoying that my rosacea flares from it too., Or so it seems sometimes. I have tried shielding my face from the laptop screen light (mask/wrapping up a scarf around it even building a cardboard box around the laptop screen lol where I can peek through - that was a very silly construction and I used it mainly for a few days to test out) but it didn't help me a whole lot. I have installed a free dimmer program a year or more ago already and love it. It allows you to dim the light that the screen emits much more than otherwise is possible. For me it seems to be about the light that comes off the flat screen, not so much the radiation.. I love this dimmer, as especially at night the lowest light screen my laptop offers is still quite bright."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">g3006 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea/page3&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on May 22nd, 2017: </span></b>"You are not alone, I could write a book about all the experiments i have ran. <span>I even bought 50 foot USB cables so I could keep my computer 50 feet away from me and still run a keyboard mouse and work with a projector</span>, still had problems."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Antwantsclear <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea/page3&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on May 22nd, 2017: </span></b>"The problem for me is the radiation fields set up around wireless devices. I find a lot less flushing using my laptop on the Ethernet cable (plugged in) than on Wifi. I also don't have a mobile phone with internet because I find that makes me flush a lot and quickly (texting is less of a problem). To find out if Wifi radiation causes you problems, there are a lot of things to eliminate/reduce that a lot of people use. You are surrounded by other people using internet connected devices on public transport and in the workplace, and you may use a phone that creates these fields around it yourself such as tablets, phones and laptops."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea/page3&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on May 22nd, 2017:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"I have this, too. It used to be quite severe. I would flush badly and my skin would burn. <span>I mainly just use my cell phone now as my computer</span>. That's only because I had to quit working because rosacea was so bad. My rosacea is better now - but still a challenge. I just got a mini iPad a couple of months ago - trying to use it instead of my laptop. But I find that even with makeup on, it stings my face and causes my chin, forehead, nose, neck and chest to get red and sometimes itchy. <span>Computers, smart phones, televisions and fluorescent lights all zap my face.</span> It's a drag. I saw an old article about a boy who developed a rash due to his iPad. Specifically, his docs traced the problem to nickel in his iPad. Apple wouldn't confirm that the iPad had nickel. But have am sensitive to nickle, so I wonder. Also read that there are other chemicals people react to in the plastic of their computers/phones. <span>I put my computer's white balance on the yellowest it will go. And have 3M privacy screens on everything to darken the screen more. </span>That has helped a lot. But I still have it. So, yeah, it's frustrating. And of course all the docs I've mentioned this too over the years just stared at me blankly as if I was nuts. There are other threads on this topic posted over many years. Sadly no solution was found. But you might search for those in the search box in case something applies to you. My rosacea isn't a computer issue alone. I have reactions to other triggers. Sometimes I wonder if it was brought on by the screens in my life. As computers, smart phones, etc became a huge part of my work/home life. But who knows. I would be much better if I could get rid of this trigger."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Antwantsclear <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea/page3&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on May 22nd, 2017: </span></b>"I also have found that the old style laptops (e.g. Toshiba older models) with plastic casing seem better for me than the newer models that usually have metal casing. For me, it does seem to be the internet activity that is the problem though and the signals set up. So, I'd have no problem at all listening to a CD on the computer or watching a DVD since no internet is required.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiaUQpqfD1rMhgiHuGwETeq7XszeWs-HuH9xjlfYeJVcx2Qp2ABQRnV0JpasXyBox64sJz_XR_8AA9rSBC21RAj_we4gBXNr3fJbUhj1zPXd2lFrt2wOw4BTct_Gq9tOCa6vgNq6i8L4Gp/s1600/old_computers_in_use_small.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="189" data-original-width="408" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiaUQpqfD1rMhgiHuGwETeq7XszeWs-HuH9xjlfYeJVcx2Qp2ABQRnV0JpasXyBox64sJz_XR_8AA9rSBC21RAj_we4gBXNr3fJbUhj1zPXd2lFrt2wOw4BTct_Gq9tOCa6vgNq6i8L4Gp/w554-h256/old_computers_in_use_small.jpg" width="554" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea/page4&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on May 24th, 2017: </span></b>"Do you also have <span style="color: #444444;"><b>fluorescent lights</b></span> above you in your office? Those made me react, too. Yes, agree the concentration/ stagnation of movement is a factor, but hasn't been that disruptive. More that my skin is just always talking to me - tapping me on the shoulder 24 hours wanting attention. I was just talking to my mother via FaceTime, occasionally feeling some discomfort. After the convo I went to the mirror and had several fresh breakouts. It's almost like a screen dermatitis - which is something I've read about, but it doesn't seem widely accepted as a real condition."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">g3006 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?36865-Computer-monitor-aggravates-rosacea/page4&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on May 24th, 2017:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"If you want to narrow down possibilities try facetimeing/ working/surfing the net with a projector. That's what I did. I currently work in the dark with a little desk lamp and use a projector for a monitor and shine it on the wall. I make it as big as possible. In my current situation my image is about 6 feet across and i am about 10 feet from the wall."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Driven <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?22853-Artificial-Lights-(fluorescent-lights-computer-screens-etc)&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on October 28th, 2010:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"In my experience, fluorescent lighting only exacerbates an existing condition - it isn't a trigger in the sense that it isn't causing a problem the way some food and supplements can. Once you fix the underlying problem, lighting should stop aggravating your condition. Your skin is basically in "super-sensitive" mode all the time, and the idea is to get it out of that mode, not live in the dark. I wish I had a better answer."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Phlika29 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?22853-Artificial-Lights-(fluorescent-lights-computer-screens-etc)&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on October 28th, 2010:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"At work I insist that the overhead fluorescent light is switched off and instead use a tungsten light that is covered by a shade. There are companies that specialized in making products for light sensitive individuals. Will try to find an old thread of mine."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mrsmoof <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?22853-Artificial-Lights-(fluorescent-lights-computer-screens-etc)&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on October 29th, 2010: </span></b>"I wonder if my skin barrier is really damaged and thus very sensitive. I wonder if I rebuild the skin barrier that my sensitivity will decrease. Also, I am wondering if low stomach acid plays a role. I'm getting tested next week."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Bellableu <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?22853-Artificial-Lights-(fluorescent-lights-computer-screens-etc)&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on October 29th, 2010: </span></b>"In my very humble opinion, a damaged skin barrier is usually the reason why someone Rosacea-prone develops symptoms."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Greenbd71 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?22853-Artificial-Lights-(fluorescent-lights-computer-screens-etc)&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on November 13th, 2010:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Well I will tell you what can help. #1 Buy a small fan that you can you when you are on the computer at your desk or at home on the computer. It will help keep your face cool while the computer light is on your face. I bought a USB fan that I sit directly in front of the computer to keep the heat down on my face. $5.00 bucks on Ebay. I just posted a topic today that has really helped me out with Rosacea that is working pretty good so check that out. Drink nice cool water as much as you can when you are at work and use the fan. I am in the same boat....I have dimmers in my house...tinted windows all around my house....and ceiling fans in just about every part of the house including the bathroom so steam does not build up when taking showers. I try to find anything that will keep me cool and keep the redness level low."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrreK0MmoIFyHAT0m7mDTgJ07LqKsk11Z2z-Q3fHM_6z2o51EpH-hhDs_bded4CM1ku0wDEpnIeR7UcMsGZICmGOYQewVO9sHS1yP1_6708Nsnb4F2lNjTyYFZggtktS2Fx_VE79zH0BP/s1600/images.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="195" data-original-width="260" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrreK0MmoIFyHAT0m7mDTgJ07LqKsk11Z2z-Q3fHM_6z2o51EpH-hhDs_bded4CM1ku0wDEpnIeR7UcMsGZICmGOYQewVO9sHS1yP1_6708Nsnb4F2lNjTyYFZggtktS2Fx_VE79zH0BP/w438-h326/images.jpg" width="438" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">KRC <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?22853-Artificial-Lights-(fluorescent-lights-computer-screens-etc)/page2&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on May 28th, 2016: </span></b>"As my rosacea improved my light sensitivity improved. Neither have totally gone. Most times I can work on an iPad in lieu of a desktop, and do notice certain fluorescent can still get me going. I always hated those lights, now like yourself I have good reason. Moderate avoidance is how I deal. I refuse to allow fluorescent in my home. I limit my time in places that have them. When I had a major rosacea flare I had to seriously totally avoid them for a few months. As my skin barrier improved it did seem that the light sensitivity got a little better, but not to the extent that I can spend a long time in bad lighting. Yes, I always did believe those lights to be bad. As I posted elsewhere, I used to work in special education and the kids disliked the lights and would beg to leave them off on sunny days! I also worked in a computer lab so maybe I did do some damage there - not sure."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mrsmoof <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?30734-Redness-from-Artificial-Lights-Eyes-the-issue&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on March 6th, 2014:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"My main triggers are artificial lights (computer screens, fluorescent lights, etc). Right now I am working in front of a computer and my entire face is red, eyes are dry, etc. However, when I walk away from my computer screen and close my eyes for 10-20 seconds the redness on my face almost immediately goes away. This makes me wonder if the blue light or something else from these artificial lights are hitting some nerve in the back of my eye which then causes the redness. Are my eyes the main problem? Also, when I wake up in the morning my face is usually completely white with no redness. Also, if I watch tv in the dark my skin is not too red. I am really starting to believe a lot of it has to do with my eyes. SO I have the following questions:<br />
*Does anyone else experience the same thing?<br />
*Any research, articles, etc on this topic?<br />
*Has anyone tried using computer glasses? IF so, did it help your eyes and your redness?<br />
*Is there a test to see if your eyes and/or skin have issues with this type of light or any type of light?<br />
*Any other thoughts?<br />
Thanks!"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Lucy_nic87 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?30734-Redness-from-Artificial-Lights-Eyes-the-issue&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on March 6th, 2014:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"I don't know how much help this is going to be as its beyond vague, but I was looking into the same thing about six months ago and came across a really interesting article which basically confirmed your suspicions.<span> It was about something at the back of the eye being stimulated and causing redness/flushing.</span> I'll see if I can find it and re post it for you. I realize this isn't the most informative response but just thought id chime in and let you know you may well be onto something. If I remember right it suggested lenses with a certain coloured tint, either orange or pink I believe." [..] "I have been retired for around 8 years now, but I spend long periods on the computer at home and still get red eyes. When I go into shops with fluorescent lighting my rosacea definitely flares, it's instantaneous. It happens in the supermarkets and department stores, and I find the Ladies rooms in shops particularly vicious. As soon as I leave the shops the redness calms right back down. My other triggers for rosacea (flushing type only) are every time I eat, no matter what I eat, my chin flushes, if I get anxious or nervous sometimes my whole face flushes the brightest crimson and I have broken capillaries on cheeks and chin. I have wondered many times about the computer screen and if all those years of working on computer screens have damaged my skin, especially back in the early seventies, when no doubt the rays coming off those screens were more harmful."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXvMfURUbc5qPNCQ6U4SolZzeRIYQoMWwXTjz31HFWAsGlOAyhkIYAZ22nEbLU6RiYVS3Cn_OelrUdGrPUBKtuNwAltL4X0eXRR8SshdqOWRgu7qwnqL-htz0Xua73DeHeWUvFY2qKSxBW/s1600/067_Dawn-of-the-Computer-Age.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="889" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXvMfURUbc5qPNCQ6U4SolZzeRIYQoMWwXTjz31HFWAsGlOAyhkIYAZ22nEbLU6RiYVS3Cn_OelrUdGrPUBKtuNwAltL4X0eXRR8SshdqOWRgu7qwnqL-htz0Xua73DeHeWUvFY2qKSxBW/w480-h468/067_Dawn-of-the-Computer-Age.png" width="480" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #990000;">hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?30734-Redness-from-Artificial-Lights-Eyes-the-issue&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on March 16th, 2014: </span></b>"Hi, I have this problem, too. So much so that I am typing only on my BBerry. <span style="color: #444444;"><b>The computer turns me red and stings.</b></span> I was looking up info again on this issue when I saw this thread. I'm about to be put on Plaquenil and have an eye doctor appointment Wednesday for the baseline test. I plan to ask the eye doctor about this - though so far every doctor just stares at me when I mention my problem with computers and artificial lights Even the BBerry screen turns me red. Someone on another thread mentioned LED-backlit monitors are better than LCD. But I still react on my LED-backlit MacBook. [..] Hi all, I went to the eye doctor today for my pre-Plaquenil eye test. I asked her about the notion of light signals causing the skin redness/sensitivity issue and if special glasses help. She wasn't aware of light signals causing skin problems, but she did say that some of her patients have had luck with amber-tinted lenses when they have problems with fluorescent lighting. These are patients who get ill from lights - headaches, nauseous or just find the lights too bright. She said she suggests that people first try a cheap pair of <span>sunglasses with amber lenses</span> before changing their prescription lenses. She said the yellow is what filters out the blue to purple spectrum of light. But she stressed the lense should be more amber versus a light yellow. A deeper looking tint versus pale yellow. She also said you can have contacts tinted this way, too. <span>I don't know if my skin is flushing due to the eye signal or the heat of lights or the rays or what.</span> But getting some amber sunglasses is easy enough and worth a try! Hope this helps! So far, UV filters on my digital devices/computers have not helped. Yesterday I had to leave Target because the fluorescent lights were hurting my face. I walked out with makeup faded off and red skin blotches. If I could solve my artificial lights issue, I'd be a new person! I am occasionally grabbing my sunglasses when using the BBerry to try out the eye doctor's suggestion. So far, has just been a few days, I simply feel more comfortable with them on in terms of my eyes and the bright screen. But I've still had some flushy feelings/reddening. Also, I'm to start <span>Plaquenil</span> as soon as doctor calls in the prescription. Hopefully tomorrow! Am hoping it helps with the inflamed feeling I feel on my skin but also with light issues."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Azzachazza</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?30734-Redness-from-Artificial-Lights-Eyes-the-issue/page2&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on July 30th, 2014:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Hmmm very very very very interesting. My rosacea/seb derm started exactly when I purchased my 50 inch computer monitor which I sit in front every night for work. Yesterday I reduced all the blue levels in the screen so it looks a lot better. I'm using f.lux on iPhone and iPad makes things a whole lot better. Don't know if it will improve my skin though. I should probably read first thing before bed, but too tired already. I hope we get to the bottom of this. Good luck all."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2YnjMN6fVI09xQKLL6b6tX2WApRWNM2O6MhFLYyfjgCeg4531rcQ-slhXEMpJ4KWkY5dR72dJxfdPNkjs4vlIcMxcBFCiHtNZme81ffifx69T1V77NX79o0XZcMYyhOJ1Tn6thZhRrJc8/s1600/images+%25284%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2YnjMN6fVI09xQKLL6b6tX2WApRWNM2O6MhFLYyfjgCeg4531rcQ-slhXEMpJ4KWkY5dR72dJxfdPNkjs4vlIcMxcBFCiHtNZme81ffifx69T1V77NX79o0XZcMYyhOJ1Tn6thZhRrJc8/w346-h230/images+%25284%2529.jpg" width="346" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>g3006</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?30734-Redness-from-Artificial-Lights-Eyes-the-issue/page4&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on November 10th, 2015: </span></b></span>"<span>Tape a piece of car window tint to you computer monitor, the kind that blocks UV light.</span> It has worked wonders for me, the.over head lights I almost for sure an issue for anymore the flushes from a computer monitor. <span>I now work in a dark office with a table lamp and window tint over my monitor and my reaction went from almost unbearable to almost gone completely. </span>Its totally a basic allergy to light and it far worse then most people including me realized. I even have to wear a sun hat now indoors at work just for the brief moments i am outside my office walking around, it was embarrassing at first but totally worth it as this will progress to unbearable just like mine did. It is now basically gone."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Healthydeb71</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?33243-computer-screen-flushing-abd-burning&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on October 17th, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Hi everyone, for a long time, I have suspected that my laptop, smartphone, cordless home phone and even fluorescent lighting were causing very serious flares for me. I came across a site today that I wanted to share. I have not purchased anything from this site so I can't attest that these products work; however, due to my own experience of desperately trying to get to the root cause of my ever-present, unbearably uncomfortable facial skin (and even more desperate solution-seeking), I am always hopeful to find something that eases my emotional and physical distress that revolves around this condition. <a href="http://www.lessemf.com/index.html"><b>Here</b></a> is the link."</div><div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEFaSTuZrVrTFYMjXMq5-VMkD3o1QCTn_UzlHdb85YP5t3rZmoeCs1ihrP962wq0gpVWlFeupLix03xitURsq3vGnYTX2_Fi3RrW2SHlrWSfqRGxBT8Z_6ZQTWahaZEPi8Fv1BH0q9gAV/s1600/1e0ff65ecc640b2ebfd26b0009e02b7a--antique-photos-vintage-photographs.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="424" height="511" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEFaSTuZrVrTFYMjXMq5-VMkD3o1QCTn_UzlHdb85YP5t3rZmoeCs1ihrP962wq0gpVWlFeupLix03xitURsq3vGnYTX2_Fi3RrW2SHlrWSfqRGxBT8Z_6ZQTWahaZEPi8Fv1BH0q9gAV/w497-h511/1e0ff65ecc640b2ebfd26b0009e02b7a--antique-photos-vintage-photographs.jpg" width="497" /></a><span><b style="font-size: 42px;"><span style="color: #783f04;">About flushing while talking on the phone</span></b><b style="color: #990000;"><br /><br />hg24</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34050-Flushing-talking-on-the-phone&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on October 25th, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Hello friends, So anyone flush when talking on the phone? - I flush to fluorescent lights and computer screens. And am battling flushing when I sleep. But I just had to get off the phone with my mom - because I was flushing. I hadn't called her in a while for that very reason. Just email. Last week, I was on the phone for 10 minutes tops to customer service with my bank. I flushed. When I talk on the phone, I use my cell phone. I have it on speaker phone sitting a foot or so away from me. And the screen is dark. I have the same problem talking on my wireline phone. I can talk to a doctor or the staff and not flush. Meaning, I can talk to people in person - as long as the other triggers are okay - lights, room temp, etc. So why am I flushing talking on the phone? I don't talk loudly. I'm fairly soft spoken. It's really difficult. I'm by myself most of the time lately - so I don't talk much these days. But if talking were a trigger, why can I talk to people in person vs on the phone? Talking to my mom, I looked like the kid in "Home Alone" after he puts on aftershave. I held both hands over my cheeks to ease the burning of the flush on both sides of my face. Finished up the convo and started splashing cool water. Anyone have this problem? I think I'm starting to get phone anxiety from this! It's all so weird."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Cricket0117</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34050-Flushing-talking-on-the-phone&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on October 25th, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"My face does the same thing. I have no idea why though. I'm not nervous or anxious while I'm on phone."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Optimismum</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34050-Flushing-talking-on-the-phone&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on October 26th, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Wow what's an interesting post. I always wonder why I'm very red when I'm in a phone conversation, but I did not really search the answer. I think the better solution to avoid the phone-flush is to :<br />
- use headphones / speaker<br />
- tried to not fix the phone on the skin/ear. Try to leave an empty space between the phone and the ear.<br />
<b>Or :</b><br />
- speak with block of ice in the mouth<br />
- do not use phone, only texto, e-mail or homing pigeon."<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>hg24</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34050-Flushing-talking-on-the-phone&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on October 26th, 2015: </span></b></span>"Lol. Homing pigeon it is! Or Morse Code! Yeah, I use text and email. When I talk on the phone, I've just be using the speakerphone - but I still flush. It's weird! Like just talking causes a flush."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUiEdz7bXXqw80fJD6LYzcHB6V8K7ZH5GcDdC4AKCOmNikcPTcXpGcW1rqOEEuuYc0f8R84lxSY-bUge12_9uWumu6Lq1Xsi64AYr_NyuK95oKpaGRHS1w-w9c5lsfOKOwDIBlMs7tdJCh/s1600/26df7e6b11f39b5ed04a5b9df7b3987d.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUiEdz7bXXqw80fJD6LYzcHB6V8K7ZH5GcDdC4AKCOmNikcPTcXpGcW1rqOEEuuYc0f8R84lxSY-bUge12_9uWumu6Lq1Xsi64AYr_NyuK95oKpaGRHS1w-w9c5lsfOKOwDIBlMs7tdJCh/w435-h326/26df7e6b11f39b5ed04a5b9df7b3987d.jpg" width="435" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Mistica</b></span><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34050-Flushing-talking-on-the-phone&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on October 27th, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b><span style="color: black;">"Yes!! Me too. In fact, when my flushing was at it's most severe, I avoided the phone completely. Even talking in general could trigger a massive flush. I could feel my face vibrating and it irritated the nerves. So having a long conversation was draining. My face felt fatigued. These days, I can chat on the phone, but not at night. And when I do talk, I walk about with the phone. I think it helps keep the blood moving and directed more to my limbs. I also swap hands frequently. I also stick my head in the fridge freezer if the call is going to be a long, or laborious one. And of course, ice packs as required. It isn't just holding the phone which triggers flushing in me though. Holding anything in a particular position, where the item is still and there is concentration applied can trigger flushing in me, mostly in the upper right cheek. Examples: Typing. I can feel it now. I never type before eating. Lack of fuel makes it much worse. I only type small amounts at one time and then I get up and walk around. It is the same muscular tension I feel in my face when holding the phone. Although that is just ONE pathway of setting off the flush. </span><span style="color: black;">With phoning and typing, I don't think I breathe properly. </span><span style="color: black;">When concentrating and typing, I tend to hold my breath. And I am in a fixed position. When talking a lot, I suppose I might be getting a little less oxygen. Anyone else noticed altered breathing and a flushing response? Normal, healthy people wouldn't be affected by such minute differences, but we are not normal."<br /></span><b><br />hg24</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34050-Flushing-talking-on-the-phone&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on October 27th, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Hi Mistica, Thanks for this input. I think you're spot on about moving about vs sitting when talking on the phone. I will try that. I do think there is something about holding one's breath - also shallow breathing, which I do a lot - that can cause flushing. Concentrating too hard seems a trigger for me, too. My phone flushing is while using a speaker phone. I set my phone about a foot or so away - don't even touch it - and just talk. But I flush. Yesterday, I called my mom while tapping an ice pack around my face. I did okay - until the little ice pack melted and then I started flushing. I feel like the flushing is just from talking. But I didn't flush sitting in a chair talking to my doctor yesterday. So what gives with sitting on my bed talking on the phone? Or talking on the phone standing near my kitchen counter? I think drinking cold water and having an ice pack nearby is a good idea. Oh rosacea! You are not the boss of me! I'll beat you yet!"<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIaRpAhmmwCYGiD9eUtgyEyByunaGOuQQ3Jf1qYF0DzRliMjamidbn4EaG1UO9kSq0tABFJE-tPUsqIm4PQCcp9DSgJktAs5DjK728M36Ytz2vDZeB07RLOiMI_gdtJmfPIvsI0fqUkWRc/s1600/6338e856bdc84c0be91649606fb3aba7--vintage-illustrations-romances.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="930" data-original-width="564" height="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIaRpAhmmwCYGiD9eUtgyEyByunaGOuQQ3Jf1qYF0DzRliMjamidbn4EaG1UO9kSq0tABFJE-tPUsqIm4PQCcp9DSgJktAs5DjK728M36Ytz2vDZeB07RLOiMI_gdtJmfPIvsI0fqUkWRc/w324-h534/6338e856bdc84c0be91649606fb3aba7--vintage-illustrations-romances.jpg" width="324" /></a><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Antwantsclear</b></span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34050-Flushing-talking-on-the-phone&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on October 27th, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"I suffer from this kind of flushing. I believe it is caused by electromagnetic radiation fields around these devices. So the best solutions I find are:<br />- don't use wireless internet on smart phones or laptops (a desktop computer is the best attached with Ethernet to the internet)<br />- speakerphone on a landline (these aren't so easy to find good quality versions of) are ok for short calls - they have less electromagnetic radiation fields than mobile phones, which are lessened again when you can keep a little away from the landline phone. When my flushing was particularly bad, I attached a microphone on a long lead to the computer (of course attached by Ethernet not wireless to the internet), turned the speakers up, and could have quite a long conversation without terrible flushing. In this way you can be a long way away from the computer with the electromagnetic fields. This last option is the best if you want to avoid flushing, as you can be 2 metres away from the computer and it really does help. I would add that my flushing has been reduced while using the mobile phone since starting to use Soolantra (ivermectin) cream on the ears. (This is in addition to <span>hydroxychloroquine and moxonidine</span> which are also important to stop flushing for me.)"<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">ihavetoasky <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?34050-Flushing-talking-on-the-phone/page2&highlight=computer+screen">wrote</a> on November 28th, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"I have not read what everyone wrote but I read what you wrote. You always helped me so how can I not at least try to help you so here are a couple of ideas: 1.maybe you have really sensitive skin like me so when something touch it, after a minute you get irritated and your skin gets red...<br />
2. Mobile phones are full of bacteria and not the good ones; maybe that's connected...<br />
3. If it is because of the light, just try to turn the screen off when you call someone or someone calls you and see what happens...<br />
4.Maybe when you talk on the phone it's harder for you then in person, so the anxiety gets you..<br />
5. Maybe your cell phone heats up a bit? So it irritates you...<br />
If the lights are not good for you, maybe you should buy the old phone, like not a smart phone but the one with a cell keyboard because it has a smaller screen, so maybe it will bother you less".<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHDHfRLn0jSxfK56crA57WJpcPBwhQbP6m6bCsa8_nZ4JtQqbk3ngdeifKFTqXi86USNNhMbu8quR5Adrdg6e2xbxN1qJy0F9UsAUb7JnbHcrtTZFHpsYEORDe3prSWuS4Ow6kWZVgbHHZ/s1600/TV+Control.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="301" height="593" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHDHfRLn0jSxfK56crA57WJpcPBwhQbP6m6bCsa8_nZ4JtQqbk3ngdeifKFTqXi86USNNhMbu8quR5Adrdg6e2xbxN1qJy0F9UsAUb7JnbHcrtTZFHpsYEORDe3prSWuS4Ow6kWZVgbHHZ/w445-h593/TV+Control.jpg" width="445" /></a><b style="color: #783f04; font-size: 42px;">About flushing due to (suspected) electro-magnetic fields</b><b style="color: #783f04; font-size: xx-large;"> </b><b><span style="color: #990000;"><br /><br />FlushingQueen <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32885-Maybe-it-isn-t-rosacea-at-all-Maybe-it-is-all-this-damn-Electromagneitic-Fields">wrote</a> on April 2nd, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Maybe it isn't rosacea at all? Maybe it is all this damn Electromagnetic Fields - Hello, I am going to sound a bit crazy trying to explain my rosacea but here it goes: I developed really sensitive skin from a peel two years ago, and my skin reacts to almost anything. However my biggest triggers are my computer and bright fluorescent lighting. This past week I have carefully monitored my symptoms, and sure enough within minutes of walking away from the computer or shutting off the lights, my skin improves 100%! I took yesterday off from work, and did not turn on any electronic device and my complexion has never been calmer, despite eating a ton of trigger foods (hot, spicy high histamine etc.) I have spent the past 5 hours researching this strange phenomenon and it turns out I am not the only one out there. Several people in this forum and other experience burning from computer use. The biggest <b><a href="http://www.science20.com/florilegium/what_are_symptoms_electromagnetic_hypersensitivity" target="_blank">explanation</a></b> has been electromagnetic fields hypersensitivity. All the symptoms are explained here. Some people are more sensitive than others, and things like mercury dental fillings (I have FOUR) make people more susceptible... Could I not have rosacea but just really sensitive to today’s modern technology? I am assuming with my computer job, 6 overhead fluorescent lighting, iPhone, I am screwed. WHAT AM I TO DO? [..] I have tried setting the computer to the dimmest lighting, wear yellow tinted glasses, gotten a filter (tried everything and my co workers seem to make fun of me) Doesn’t help that all the derms I have seen, don’t know about this at all. I just bought a laptop EMF radiation protection tray ($90 on Amazon) honestly, I have spent thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars this disease in the past two years and nothing has really worked. I am at work right now and my face is bright red and it burns as if I have been standing in the summer sun for hours without sunscreen. At this point, I would not even care about the redness, it is just that my face burns and stings to the point where I can’t even work. I am going to my dentist soon and hopefully we can come up with a safe way to get these toxic mercury fillings out. Even though it might not contribute to this, might be healthy to just have them out of my body. I feel so defeated. Best, Deborah"</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Birdie <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32885-Maybe-it-isn-t-rosacea-at-all-Maybe-it-is-all-this-damn-Electromagneitic-Fields">wrote</a> on April 2nd, 2015: </span></b>"I have contributed to some threads about this. I also type mostly on my phone. My skin is pink red or stinging after using iPad. I don't know the answers. I do have rosacea and I know my triggers. Even walking outside in bright light stings. I first noticed this on my arms about 8 years ago. I've avoided light for years, especially in the morning while my eyes adjust. Can take an hour. Can't drive at night. Headlights scream in my head. Perhaps we are Albino?"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD1lPLu48gKpySBRWjrg1h8JuE9TNBOTfNp_IUjHbGgR2iVN7kVa-mMlPDYWZ80ojzG-bTzxVyUYlpw7VbJF-rSr9Ewp12L29g5dRW9VB4BnTht2u_-Qs5UQ3v46I8dZr13e7vIU303PJO/s1600/14182_121_2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="446" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD1lPLu48gKpySBRWjrg1h8JuE9TNBOTfNp_IUjHbGgR2iVN7kVa-mMlPDYWZ80ojzG-bTzxVyUYlpw7VbJF-rSr9Ewp12L29g5dRW9VB4BnTht2u_-Qs5UQ3v46I8dZr13e7vIU303PJO/s320/14182_121_2.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">Wiry <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32885-Maybe-it-isn-t-rosacea-at-all-Maybe-it-is-all-this-damn-Electromagneitic-Fields">wrote</a> on April 3rd, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"I am not sure I buy this, but for the sake of argument, lets say it is real. <span>Can you do some simple tests to see if you can isolate the problem? For example, try wrapping your phone in aluminum foil and see how you react.</span> I know it sounds weird, but that will block EMI (you can also see that you won't be able to receive calls). Try some experiments like this and see if you can truly demonstrate a connection. It may take several experiments, but if you can truly isolate this, you might have a way to change things. But until then, you don't know if something else is going on. What if it is an effect of mental concentration (usually happens when at computers)? I have noticed that causes me to flush sometimes. I suppose you could try to put a transparent EMI barrier around yourself and see if that works (testing purposes). If so, perhaps you could put it around your electronics (keeping thermal management in mind). That is pretty "out there" but so is your diagnosis. So if the shoe fits."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Mrsmoof <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32885-Maybe-it-isn-t-rosacea-at-all-Maybe-it-is-all-this-damn-Electromagneitic-Fields/page2">wrote</a> on April 3rd, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Wow.. This describes me as well. Computer screes, fluorescent lights, sitting in the car and sun shining on me (funny when I am not in a car and sun is on me my skin is fine), etc..are all major triggers. I too after leaving my computer my skin improves. My skin always looks the best when I first wake up in the morning. Nice and pale! :-) Maybe its due to sunburns in our past, maybe something to do with our eyes, who knows. All I know it sucks!</div>
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Anyway, has anyone with similar issues used sunscreen or something on their skin that has helped a lot. I am thinking about trying a sunscreen during the day when at work but my skin can be oily at times. Mainly forehead. Any suggestions on a very mild sunscreen/moisturizer? Maybe a baby version? Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks!"</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">FlushingsQueen <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32885-Maybe-it-isn-t-rosacea-at-all-Maybe-it-is-all-this-damn-Electromagneitic-Fields/page2">wrote</a> on April 3rd, 2015: </span></b>"The thing is, <span>I doubt sunscreen would do much if it is due to electromagnetic fields. I am an avid sunscreen user and have been since I was 10 years old, and it has not helped.</span> I am even thinking that all the physical sunscreens with zinc and titanium oxide I have been using these past two years are making it worse for me. Zinc and titanium are metals that conduct heat and electricity, especially zinc is a good conductor. I cannot wear chemical sunscreens as they will cause <b><a href="http://scienceviews.com/geology/zinc.html" target="_blank">a reaction too</a></b>. If mercury dental fillings can hurt us that are inside our mouth, let alone metals that we apply directly to the skin. This whole thing is maddening. I will experiment with not wearing any sunscreen these next few days and see what happens. Just a good old hat and sunglasses."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Wiry <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32885-Maybe-it-isn-t-rosacea-at-all-Maybe-it-is-all-this-damn-Electromagneitic-Fields/page2">wrote</a> on April 3rd, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Hmmm, I just don't know about all of this. I think you should do some more tests with foil on and off the phone and the monitor. I would do that over several days and get as many data points as you can. If you can absolutely confirm it is from the electronics, you can probably do things to shield yourself (or at least minimize). But there could be other things at play here : concentration, temperature, humidity, anxiety, placebo...who knows). I know people have claimed before that fluorescent lights and LCD monitors have made them flush. I suppose it is possible from the fluorescents (though I am not convinced) since the spectrum response tends to be peaky especially in the older style T-12 (due the mercury) as opposed to incandescent, which is much smoother. But newer fluorescents can still be a bit peaky. A couple of the peaks are at lower wavelengths (about 420-480nm), which tend to be aggravating to rosacea skin which is not tolerant to UV (less than about 395nm). You can search the forums for people discussing fluorescents, its come up quite a few times as I remember. I will say that some work environments cause me to flush more than others. I don't know why that is though. My suspicion is that is has to do with a combination of temperature, humidity, air quality, stress, dress clothing, etc."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">Lwemm <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32885-Maybe-it-isn-t-rosacea-at-all-Maybe-it-is-all-this-damn-Electromagneitic-Fields/page3">wrote</a> on April 6th, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"<span>I suspect the flushing from computer usage and lights is more prevalent than we would guess from the number of posts about it on here.</span> I find it interesting as I did notice when I worked that my skin and eyes would always look worse at work. All my life I have been sensitive to the fluorescent lighting in stores and malls and they make me feel sick. Some stores with mirrors, fluorescent lights and loud music are hell for me and I just don't go in. My (blue) eyes have always been sensitive and have large blood vessels making them look bloodshot. Those blood vessels have been there as long as I can remember-- definitely since my teens-- and look worse when exposed to screens and artificial lighting. Now I have dry eyes and ocular rosacea symptoms in one eye. Evening primrose oil seems to have helped slightly with that. Good luck-- I hope at least you will get to take vacation from your screen time and give your skin needed rest."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5uYZceAr5ByCEjLJgVEo6qTThJfZYH8R17RF4QSgs21xWnqbm5yEEfHAV6E2syNG-pjw-bZda_kVyGBej1varDBFa9jd-QR1wpa-FrsQRZYcAU3WC7YHBETIHiAiod4PgaiigOxXd5Od/s1600/d9ede0c409ee0209e76c0e0b837293b8.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="731" height="431" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5uYZceAr5ByCEjLJgVEo6qTThJfZYH8R17RF4QSgs21xWnqbm5yEEfHAV6E2syNG-pjw-bZda_kVyGBej1varDBFa9jd-QR1wpa-FrsQRZYcAU3WC7YHBETIHiAiod4PgaiigOxXd5Od/w438-h431/d9ede0c409ee0209e76c0e0b837293b8.jpg" width="438" /></a><b><span style="color: #990000;">hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32885-Maybe-it-isn-t-rosacea-at-all-Maybe-it-is-all-this-damn-Electromagneitic-Fields/page4">wrote</a> on April 7th, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"<a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32708-Greetings-I-finally-found-some-relief"><b>Here's</b></a> the thread going on about <span>niacinamide riboside (NR)</span> and straight niacinamide. I'd suggest taking the time to read through the whole thing. It's evolved in an interesting way and with some potentially interesting findings. I took straight niacinamide yesterday. 1000 mg in two 500 mg doses. Mistake because as Mistica mentioned in the other thread - headache! You have to work up to a stronger dose. It's WAY too early to tell if it's working. But I noticed that my vascularity seemed calm - the kind of added redness I get just from moving around and basically breathing. Also my redness was a smidge less - just my permanent blotches. I usually turn red when my home gets to 70 degrees. Today after noting how calm my face felt, I checked the thermostat and it was 72 degrees! No reaction from my skin. However, went to the store and sat under some fluorescent lights for a moment and felt a bit uncomfortable. I haven't taken any niacinamide today. Am getting a smaller mg of 250 mg and am going to work up. The science behind all of this is not only fascinating, but also reassuring. Not sure if it will help each person's rosacea. That's what we're trying to determine. But a few people on the thread are seeing results - so definitely read and join in, so you can make an informed choice one way or the other."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">hg24 <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32885-Maybe-it-isn-t-rosacea-at-all-Maybe-it-is-all-this-damn-Electromagneitic-Fields/page11">wrote</a> on May 26th, 2015: </span></b>"<span>Doctors' offices are the worst. And why leave a rosacean in those exam rooms so long?</span> I can walk in pink and by the time the doc walks in, I'm in full flush mode. The derm will leave me in a room with a laser machine that's on and warming the temp. I'm always looking immediately at the ceiling when I walk into a doc's waiting room to see where the lights are and where I can strategically sit without being directly under one."</div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">FlushingsQueen <a href="https://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/showthread.php?32885-Maybe-it-isn-t-rosacea-at-all-Maybe-it-is-all-this-damn-Electromagneitic-Fields/page11">wrote</a> on June 1st, 2015:</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>"Today has been the worst day of it all. I cannot work anymore. <span><b><span style="color: #444444;">My face is bright red, peeling and in pain. My office is brightly lit with fluorescent lighting</span></b>, similar to the ones you would find in a hospital.</span> Also, I am working 8 hours on the computer and my face is in so much pain today. I am envious that at least you guys don’t have to spend so much time around these triggers. I found <a href="http://www.lessemf.com/computer.html"><b>this</b></a> website, and they have interesting protection products. I am buying a couple of things, but I have spent thousands on this problem so far with no relief."</div>
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Scarlet Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109388039163423418noreply@blogger.com2